What do state lotteries, the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, and the recent $35 billion judgment against R.
J.
Reynolds to the family of a deceased smoker have in common? The answer is that these are all potential ways to get rich without having to come up with innovative ideas or work hard to succeed.
On the other hand, they all rely on a considerable amount of luck that is outside of the control of most people.
How often do you hear family, co-workers, and friends say that as soon as they win the lottery, things will change and they will be gone? This may be said jokingly, but in the minds of many people who enter, there is some expectation that the chance of winning is much greater than the actual probabilities would suggest.
The larger issue from my perspective is whether things like the lottery or Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes have a negative influence on the national psyche.
For one thing, it is clear that people tend to grossly overestimate their chances of gaining wealth from these sources.
However, the question is "does this shift the perspective of the individual?" Psychologists have researched a concept called "locus of control.
" Briefly, do you feel that your outcomes are guided by things that you do and are under your control? If you do, then you have an internal locus of control (you outcomes are determined within you).
Your outcomes in life are determined by you and what you do.
Alternatively, do you believe that your outcomes in life are the result of things outside of your control? This would be things like destiny, fate or luck.
If this is your predominant belief, then you have an external locus of control (your outcomes are determined by factors external to you).
If you believe, for example that your outcomes are from the grace of god and there is nothing that you can do about this, then you would have an external locus of control.
If you believe that god helps those that help themselves, then you would have an internal locus of control.
The question is whether a focus on lotteries and sweepstakes shifts a person's mentality to an external locus of control.
Are we moving from a "Horatio Alger" mentality where your own perseverance will make us successful to a "Lottery Culture" where your outcomes are the results of luck, fate, random factors, and the grace of god? Research has shown that people with an external locus of control, when they gamble are more likely to choose games of chance such as roulette or slot machines.
On the other hand, people with an internal locus of control are more likely to choose games of skill such as poker.
However, the question is one of causality.
Does an external locus of control cause a predisposition towards games of chance or does engaging in games of chances or the lottery make you more external in your outlook? There is no research available to address this issue directly.
Most of this research looks at the association between preferring chance games or the lottery and having an external locus of control, but does not delve into the thorny question of what causes what.
However, there is psychological research that would suggest that people who play lotteries can develop a stronger external focus.
In other words, their belief that their outcomes are out of their control gains strength over time because they play the lottery or the sign up for the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes.
The area of attribution theory in social psychology is focused on how we attribute causes of other people's or our own behavior.
It suggests that humans are not rational creatures, but rather rationalizing beings.
We are not always aware of the causes of our own behavior, so we tend to reconstruct the likely causes by first searching the external environment.
If a reasonable cause cannot be found externally, we look within.
So, if you buy a lottery ticket or mail in the Publisher's Clearinghouse form, does this reinforce your belief that your outcomes are derived externally by luck or fate? Why am I buying this ticket or mailing in this form? It must be that I believe that luck or fate drive my outcomes.
As I do more of this, the belief becomes stronger.
From the perspective of the psychological viewpoint, it is what it is.
However, from a societal viewpoint do lotteries create a psychology that goes against self-sufficiency? Will people rely on the whims of god or total luck to drive their successes in life rather than to proactively try to shape their own outcomes? Being passive may not be a good way to ensure success.
Are we developing a "lottery culture" in the US that is actually working against the culture moving forward? The psychology certainly would suggest that possibility.
J.
Reynolds to the family of a deceased smoker have in common? The answer is that these are all potential ways to get rich without having to come up with innovative ideas or work hard to succeed.
On the other hand, they all rely on a considerable amount of luck that is outside of the control of most people.
How often do you hear family, co-workers, and friends say that as soon as they win the lottery, things will change and they will be gone? This may be said jokingly, but in the minds of many people who enter, there is some expectation that the chance of winning is much greater than the actual probabilities would suggest.
The larger issue from my perspective is whether things like the lottery or Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes have a negative influence on the national psyche.
For one thing, it is clear that people tend to grossly overestimate their chances of gaining wealth from these sources.
However, the question is "does this shift the perspective of the individual?" Psychologists have researched a concept called "locus of control.
" Briefly, do you feel that your outcomes are guided by things that you do and are under your control? If you do, then you have an internal locus of control (you outcomes are determined within you).
Your outcomes in life are determined by you and what you do.
Alternatively, do you believe that your outcomes in life are the result of things outside of your control? This would be things like destiny, fate or luck.
If this is your predominant belief, then you have an external locus of control (your outcomes are determined by factors external to you).
If you believe, for example that your outcomes are from the grace of god and there is nothing that you can do about this, then you would have an external locus of control.
If you believe that god helps those that help themselves, then you would have an internal locus of control.
The question is whether a focus on lotteries and sweepstakes shifts a person's mentality to an external locus of control.
Are we moving from a "Horatio Alger" mentality where your own perseverance will make us successful to a "Lottery Culture" where your outcomes are the results of luck, fate, random factors, and the grace of god? Research has shown that people with an external locus of control, when they gamble are more likely to choose games of chance such as roulette or slot machines.
On the other hand, people with an internal locus of control are more likely to choose games of skill such as poker.
However, the question is one of causality.
Does an external locus of control cause a predisposition towards games of chance or does engaging in games of chances or the lottery make you more external in your outlook? There is no research available to address this issue directly.
Most of this research looks at the association between preferring chance games or the lottery and having an external locus of control, but does not delve into the thorny question of what causes what.
However, there is psychological research that would suggest that people who play lotteries can develop a stronger external focus.
In other words, their belief that their outcomes are out of their control gains strength over time because they play the lottery or the sign up for the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes.
The area of attribution theory in social psychology is focused on how we attribute causes of other people's or our own behavior.
It suggests that humans are not rational creatures, but rather rationalizing beings.
We are not always aware of the causes of our own behavior, so we tend to reconstruct the likely causes by first searching the external environment.
If a reasonable cause cannot be found externally, we look within.
So, if you buy a lottery ticket or mail in the Publisher's Clearinghouse form, does this reinforce your belief that your outcomes are derived externally by luck or fate? Why am I buying this ticket or mailing in this form? It must be that I believe that luck or fate drive my outcomes.
As I do more of this, the belief becomes stronger.
From the perspective of the psychological viewpoint, it is what it is.
However, from a societal viewpoint do lotteries create a psychology that goes against self-sufficiency? Will people rely on the whims of god or total luck to drive their successes in life rather than to proactively try to shape their own outcomes? Being passive may not be a good way to ensure success.
Are we developing a "lottery culture" in the US that is actually working against the culture moving forward? The psychology certainly would suggest that possibility.
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