Based on my readings this is the position I take on how cognition explain why people play the lottery regularly despite the low probability of winning. Engaging in lottery playing is a form of gambling. It can also lead to a form of addiction whereby people can misperceive the chances of winning due to errors in thinking known as cognitive distortions. In this scenario cognitive distortions can happen in two forms. The first being, is the lottery player belief that the outcome now will be more likely to occur the next time. Next is the belief that being closer to the victory will bring real victory. If the lottery jackpot requires six numbers to win, a player plays the lottery and gets four winning numbers, they will be more inclined to playing and win the jackpot.
Gambling has the same effects on the brain
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Just the thought of winning a large amount of money can make anybody feel good and the player can feel more motivated to play. The brain releases chemicals fondly called “happiness chemicals” whenever something good happens. Chemicals such as serotonin, endorphins and dopamine are released as neurotransmitters when a person play a lottery ticket. This causes the brain to become used to the activity of buying a ticket and taking bigger risks.
Human beings makes decisions through heuristics which refers to mental shortcuts which allows persons to make judgments solve problems and efficiently and quickly. There are different types of heuristics some of which are availability, recognition and representativeness. In relation to playing the lottery regularly and there is a low probability of winning relates to representativeness heuristic. This relates to a decision making shortcut that employs the use of past experiences to guide the decision making process. It allows us to make decisions