Craving on the spot: how emotion regulation modulates sensitivity to experimentally induced state-compulsivity and craving for video gaming and gambling

Abstract

Background: Craving is a main driver of compulsive video gaming and gambling. As a cue-triggered, affect-laden state, craving is amplified by dysfunctions in emotion regulation (ER). Prior cross-sectional research has linked craving in these domains to incidental emotion regulation, while finding no direct association with deliberate emotion regulation strategies. Methods: In this pre-registered study, craving was induced in a laboratory setting. Two groups of 70 regular video gamers and 70 gamblers underwent an audio-guided craving induction protocol. Craving and state-compulsivity were assessed pre- and post-induction, alongside baseline measures of ER (positive/negative urgency, reappraisal, and suppression). Participants were also questioned about the reasons they perceived behind craving increase: expectancy of either enjoyment/fun or relief, or an automatic impulse of unidentifiable origin. Results: The induction successfully increased craving and state-compulsivity, with no differences in induction sensitivity between groups. Corroborating pre-registered hypotheses, (a) high-positive urgency individuals exhibited a stronger surge in craving following induction, and (b) induction sensitivity was unrelated to intentional ER. Additionally, (c) participants primarily attributed craving increases to the anticipation of fun/enjoyment. However, (d) gamblers were more likely than gamers to interpret their craving as an uncontrollable impulse, and this attribution was linked to greater induction sensitivity, especially within the gambling group. Conclusion: These findings support the role of malfunctioning of incidental regulation of appetitive processes, rather than deliberate ER, in the emergence of craving. They also highlight subtle differences in craving and state-compulsivity dynamics between video gaming and gambling, suggesting avenues for future research into domain-specific mechanisms of compulsivity.