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Sorry Rory - trading and gambling both contain an element of variable schedule reinforcement, so in that respect I tend to lump the two together with regards to its effect on behavior.
I've read that's the main reason slot games are so addictive (not sure of source now), is that getting rewarded at random times that have no discernible relationship to the actions you take. I've also read this as a (one) reason people stay in abusive relationships. The abuser will, at random times and inconsequential of the other person's actions, reward the victim with gifts/love/etc. So the victim has enough reward to keep them around, and potentially, maybe develop a sort of addiction to the acts of kindness. I imagine you probably observe these scenarios with your work?
"It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop." Confucius
As I'm here just to update on the opening post for anyone interested.
"I'm in the hospital with a recently homed family who had been homeless until a short while ago. The mother and older son were injured by an uncle who was looking for money to pay gambling debts. "
The man in question agreed to get some therapy, usual counselling and Naltrexone which he thinks helped a lot. He seems back on track.
Posted at the same moment there
Oh yes... though I'm no relationship councilor (I take a stab at clinical depression in teens when required) I'd tend to agree.
It has been found to work pretty well for gambling addicts. The uncle was horrified by what he did, he had no long history of being aggressive.
I had no great involvement though beyond deciding to help not charge him. The decision to use naltrexone was his therapists. My charity just paid for it and helped him physically relocate away from some bad influences. Medellin has a very surprising number of electronic gambling places.
I guess its important to make some distinction between the new "FOBT" type machines which are engineered to be "crack like" addictive and more traditional gambling. It is quite probable they were designed using fMRI brain scanning which is extensively used in advertising (and politics) lately to maximise subconscious response.
Often we can see however that new traders self-create something very akin to "FOBT" systems. Screens of almost useless indicators, over-trading and massively abusing leverage.
An interesting benefit of charity work is it helps one develop a relaxed attitude to fear plus many useful behaviors for trading.
I don't physically get involved as much as I would like lately for my GF's peace of mind, mysterious Spanish (I barely speak) and frankly security reasons, (it is freakin Medellin hehe). Handling genuinely threatening conflict is a skill that needs reinforcement, use it or lose it.
I found it extremely one-sided and manipulative. Which is what it was supposed to be I guess, sort of an expose on the poor, exploited gambling addicts and the big, evil, money-siphoning casinos. But I've got no sympathy for losers who lie and steal from their employers and those who love them so they can push bright, blinking buttons on a screen. You should know from the moment you step into a casino that the whole thing is rigged and the house always has the edge (unless you're an expert card counter or dice thrower, but that's getting harder and harder). Those slobs sitting at the slots burning up their savings and kids' college tuition get what they deserve.
Sadly, and this is what I really detested about the story, it's getting more and more accepted to just blame someone else for your problems.
