Forum
What is DR@W Forum?
DR@W Forum is an interdisciplinary discussion series which focuses on theoretical and empirical research about decision making.
The usual structure of the forum is a 30 - 45 minute introduction of the topic/working paper, with ample additional time for discussion.
The audience prefers discussing work-in-progress topics as opposed to finished papers. We meet on Thursdays between 2:30 and 3:45pm during term time, with streaming via Zoom. Contact John Taylor (John.Taylor[at]wbs.ac.uk) if you would like to suggest a speaker for a future event. Notifications of upcoming DR@W Forum events along with other decision research related activities can be obtained by registering with the moderated Behaviour Spotlight email listLink opens in a new window.
Note that several talks during the 2024/25 academic year are being hosted and orgnanised by the Economics department. This is indicated in the calendar entries. These talks will all take place in the Social Studies building. If you require further details regarding these sessions, please contact Matthew Ridley (Matthew.Ridley[at]Warwick.ac.uk) in the Economics department.
Psychology Department Seminar - Philip Newell (Bristol)
The ‘illusion of control’ is an influential psychological theory stating that people frequently overestimate the extent to which they can affect outcomes in objectively-chance based events. The illusion of control was first demonstrated in purely chance-based gambling games such as the lottery and craps, and has gone on to be particularly influential in gambling psychology, where it has been proposed as one of the core cognitive illusions underlying disordered gamblers’ irrational thoughts about gambling. This theory therefore also has important applied implications, as the correction of cognitive illusions forms the basis of current gold-standard CBT treatments for gambling disorder, for which the NHS is opening 15 new clinics. In this talk I will discuss research which aims to conceptually-replicate early gambling-based illusion of control effects, and conclude with various implications both for gambling psychology and the treatment of gambling disorder.