Expertise and the illusion of expertise in gambling

Abstract

Research on the phenomenon of problem gambling could be characterised as the investigation of factors involved in the acquisition, development and maintenance of gambling behaviour. In this chapter, we aim at integrating the problem gambling research field with the psychology of expertise research field in two ways. First, we address the issue of acquisition of expertise in gambling using theories of expertise. Second, we introduce the concept of the illusion of expertise as one of the possible causes for the maintenance of problem gambling.