Abstract:

The near-miss effect refers to a phenomenon that near-miss losses can elicit individuals’ higher physiological arousal and stronger gambling motivation than full-miss losses and winnings, which could lead to gambling persistence of gamblers. Researches on the near-miss effect have important theoretical value for understanding the cognitive and neural mechanisms of dynamic outcome evaluation in decision-making processes and shedding light on the mechanisms of pathological gambling. Studies have found convergent evidence that near-miss losses have motivationally enhancing properties. However, the cognitive and neural mechanisms of the near-miss effect are still under debate. In addition, the role that the near-miss effect played in pathological gambling is still unclear. At present, there are three main theoretical explanations for the near-miss effect: the cognitive misrepresentation hypothesis, the illusion of control theory, and the frustration hypothesis. The neural correlates of the near-miss effect mainly involve the insula and ventral striatum. Future researches should further explore the theoretical models of the near-miss effect, improve the experimental paradigm, various research methods, and examine the effect in pathological populations.

Key words: near-miss effect, the cognitive misrepresentation hypothesis, the illusion of control theory, the frustration hypothesis, insula, ventral striatum