{"id":7866,"date":"2018-07-09T15:31:14","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T19:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/?p=7866"},"modified":"2018-07-09T15:33:30","modified_gmt":"2018-07-09T19:33:30","slug":"the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/07\/09\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\/","title":{"rendered":"The Psychology of Decision Making in Gaming: The Real Money or a Free Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

The question of what propels or motivates people to spend their hard-earned cash on games is parallel to what makes people pay extra for VIP seats in the stadium or at an event. These questions are also similar to the phenomenon of why brides make a lot of fuss and spend huge amounts of cash into their wedding gowns when they know they’ll only wear it on their wedding day. To have an idea of casino customers\u2019 motivation, it might be useful to take a look at any of the gambling ventures, for example, ovo casino<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n

People emotionally invest in these things which have caught their respective fancies, and they’ll go to any length to see their fantasies become a reality. This seemingly simple yet complicated decision-making process and the most significant motivation issues of human behavior are the focus of psychology<\/a><\/u>.<\/strong> Psychologists have endeavored to carefully embark on a quest to attempt deciphering humans through a series of critical and systematic analysis. In their decision-making, people can be very rational, irrational, funny, and sometimes melancholic in taking decisions.<\/p>\n

\"Psychology<\/a>

Psychology applies to all areas of gaming.<\/p><\/div>\n

One might wonder why some people buy in-game contents or play for real money when there are options to play same games without incurring any cost at all. It is also the question whether those who do so are even rational to spend cash on so \u2018trivial’ thing as a game. This question is further supported by the fact that most game providers these days have failed in their responsibilities to provide a game which is fun, captivating and mentally tasking. These days, the bulk of games out in the market are designed to accrue more profit to the game developers rather than excite the players or stimulate their brains.<\/p>\n

The ploy that is frequently used by development firms is to lure or draw people to try the new games. The first levels are made quite easy and hook the player\u2019s attention. As the player gets hit by the euphoria of winning, the levels become more and more complex. Finally, the player cannot enjoy the game the same way, and a growing sense of frustration begins to hit them. By having people get used to beating these stages and imposing a negative stimulus, people feel a sense of inclination to pay for these in-game purchases to advance in the game. Thus, by seemingly offering a free game and playing with emotions, most of these firms have built a revenue-generating powerhouse in the bulk of the online games out in the market. This is entirely an economic jackpot for them, and this brilliant scheme explains why some subscribers act irrationally<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n

REASONS WHY PEOPLE PURCHASE IN-GAME CONTENT<\/h2>\n

The reasons why people spend real money on gaming are quite diverse and contrary to people’s opinions that only wealthy people do these, some people have genuine flair and derive the fulfillment from making all these purchases regardless of their financial situation. The following are some but not all of the reasons psychologists have deduced as reasons why people might be involved in the purchase of in-game features with real money:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • AVOIDING SPAM: Many free-to-play games have provided the possibility for players to earn in-game currency or goods by sending messages to friends. Spamming friends in this manner, however, is generally frowned upon. Therefore, some players rather pay up than spam their friends.<\/li>\n
  • INVESTING IN A HOBBY: The gaming activity can be considered as a hobby similar to any other free-time activity. Players may be motivated to invest financially in their hobby in addition to spending their<\/li>\n
  • PERSONALIZATION: One prominent value proposition of a lot of in-game content is that it affords players to differentiate themselves from other players by personalizing their avatar or other belonging in-game.<\/li>\n
  • CHEAP PRICE: Players may be enticed to purchase in-game content if they perceive the deals to be worthwhile.<\/li>\n
  • INDULGING THE KIDS: Games are played with young children, or given to older children to be played, both in order to entertain them and to buy free time for the parents. To support those goals, parents may sometimes need to make purchases. The children have their own motivations for gaining the content, but the parents control the money.<\/li>\n
  • SUPPORTING A GOOD GAME: Players might be enticed to spend money on in-game content to support the company running the game and thus ensuring the game’s continuance.<\/li>\n
  • SPECIAL OFFER: Players may be enticed to purchase in-game content if they perceive the deals to be cheap. This may especially be the case if there are special offers of limited quantity or for a limited amount of time.<\/li>\n
  • DISCOVERING NEW CONTENT: One major form of in-game content is simply more content to play such as maps and levels.<\/li>\n
  • PRIDE OF ACHIEVING: Item\/achievement degradation is a prominent game design pattern in free-to-play games where players’ earned achievement or items may degrade or be threatened if they are not protected.<\/li>\n
  • FINISHING: Completing different tasks and levels etc. in a game can be too difficult or time-consuming. Therefore, some players might be willing to pay for skipping parts of the game.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The question of what propels or motivates people to spend their hard-earned cash on games is parallel to what makes people pay extra for VIP seats in the stadium or at an event. These questions are also similar to the phenomenon of why brides make a lot of fuss and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18661,"featured_media":7869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[15],"tags":[1846,1845,1847],"class_list":["post-7866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial","tag-money","tag-psychology","tag-revenue"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Psychology of Decision Making in Gaming: The Real Money or a Free Game - Armchair Arcade<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/07\/09\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Psychology of Decision Making in Gaming: The Real Money or a Free Game - Armchair Arcade\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The question of what propels or motivates people to spend their hard-earned cash on games is parallel to what makes people pay extra for VIP seats in the stadium or at an event. These questions are also similar to the phenomenon of why brides make a lot of fuss and […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/07\/09\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Armchair Arcade\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Armchair-Arcade\/141237783007\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-07-09T19:31:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-07-09T19:33:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/pexels-photo-929831.jpeg?fit=1280%2C847&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"847\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jonathan Adams\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@armchairarcade\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@armchairarcade\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jonathan Adams\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/09\\\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/09\\\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jonathan Adams\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d07bd594a4c92ec802e13c5cc90d46a2\"},\"headline\":\"The Psychology of Decision Making in Gaming: The Real Money or a Free Game\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-09T19:31:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-07-09T19:33:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/09\\\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":877,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/09\\\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/pexels-photo-929831.jpeg?fit=1280%2C847&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"money\",\"psychology\",\"revenue\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Editorial\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/09\\\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/09\\\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/09\\\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Psychology of Decision Making in Gaming: The Real Money or a Free Game - Armchair Arcade\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/09\\\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/09\\\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/pexels-photo-929831.jpeg?fit=1280%2C847&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-09T19:31:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-07-09T19:33:30+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/09\\\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/09\\\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/09\\\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/pexels-photo-929831.jpeg?fit=1280%2C847&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/pexels-photo-929831.jpeg?fit=1280%2C847&ssl=1\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":847,\"caption\":\"The Psychology of Decision Making in Gaming: The Real Money or a Free Game\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/09\\\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Psychology of Decision Making in Gaming: The Real Money or a Free Game\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/\",\"name\":\"Armchair Arcade\",\"description\":\"Chronicling the complete history of videogames, computers, technology, and pop culture since 2003\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"AA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Armchair Arcade\",\"alternateName\":\"AA\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/Google-250.png?fit=250%2C250&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/Google-250.png?fit=250%2C250&ssl=1\",\"width\":250,\"height\":250,\"caption\":\"Armchair Arcade\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/pages\\\/Armchair-Arcade\\\/141237783007\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/armchairarcade\",\"https:\\\/\\\/instagram.com\\\/bill_loguidice\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/billloguidice\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/billloguidice\\\/armchair-arcade\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/BillLoguidice\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d07bd594a4c92ec802e13c5cc90d46a2\",\"name\":\"Jonathan Adams\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/Facebook-188.png?fit=96%2C96&ssl=1\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/Facebook-188.png?fit=96%2C96&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/Facebook-188.png?fit=96%2C96&ssl=1\",\"caption\":\"Jonathan Adams\"},\"description\":\"Correspondent for Armchair Arcade.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/armchairarcade.com\\\/perspectives\\\/author\\\/jonathan-adams\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Psychology of Decision Making in Gaming: The Real Money or a Free Game - Armchair Arcade","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/07\/09\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Psychology of Decision Making in Gaming: The Real Money or a Free Game - Armchair Arcade","og_description":"The question of what propels or motivates people to spend their hard-earned cash on games is parallel to what makes people pay extra for VIP seats in the stadium or at an event. These questions are also similar to the phenomenon of why brides make a lot of fuss and […]","og_url":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/07\/09\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\/","og_site_name":"Armchair Arcade","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Armchair-Arcade\/141237783007","article_published_time":"2018-07-09T19:31:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-07-09T19:33:30+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":847,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/pexels-photo-929831.jpeg?fit=1280%2C847&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jonathan Adams","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@armchairarcade","twitter_site":"@armchairarcade","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jonathan Adams","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/07\/09\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/07\/09\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\/"},"author":{"name":"Jonathan Adams","@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/#\/schema\/person\/d07bd594a4c92ec802e13c5cc90d46a2"},"headline":"The Psychology of Decision Making in Gaming: The Real Money or a Free Game","datePublished":"2018-07-09T19:31:14+00:00","dateModified":"2018-07-09T19:33:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/07\/09\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\/"},"wordCount":877,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/07\/09\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/pexels-photo-929831.jpeg?fit=1280%2C847&ssl=1","keywords":["money","psychology","revenue"],"articleSection":["Editorial"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/07\/09\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/07\/09\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\/","url":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/07\/09\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\/","name":"The Psychology of Decision Making in Gaming: The Real Money or a Free Game - Armchair Arcade","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/07\/09\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/07\/09\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/pexels-photo-929831.jpeg?fit=1280%2C847&ssl=1","datePublished":"2018-07-09T19:31:14+00:00","dateModified":"2018-07-09T19:33:30+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/07\/09\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/07\/09\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/07\/09\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/pexels-photo-929831.jpeg?fit=1280%2C847&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/pexels-photo-929831.jpeg?fit=1280%2C847&ssl=1","width":1280,"height":847,"caption":"The Psychology of Decision Making in Gaming: The Real Money or a Free Game"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/07\/09\/the-psychology-of-decision-making-in-gaming-the-real-money-or-a-free-game\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Psychology of Decision Making in Gaming: The Real Money or a Free Game"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/#website","url":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/","name":"Armchair Arcade","description":"Chronicling the complete history of videogames, computers, technology, and pop culture since 2003","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/#organization"},"alternateName":"AA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/#organization","name":"Armchair Arcade","alternateName":"AA","url":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Google-250.png?fit=250%2C250&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Google-250.png?fit=250%2C250&ssl=1","width":250,"height":250,"caption":"Armchair Arcade"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Armchair-Arcade\/141237783007","https:\/\/x.com\/armchairarcade","https:\/\/instagram.com\/bill_loguidice\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/billloguidice","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/billloguidice\/armchair-arcade\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/BillLoguidice\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/#\/schema\/person\/d07bd594a4c92ec802e13c5cc90d46a2","name":"Jonathan Adams","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Facebook-188.png?fit=96%2C96&ssl=1","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Facebook-188.png?fit=96%2C96&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Facebook-188.png?fit=96%2C96&ssl=1","caption":"Jonathan Adams"},"description":"Correspondent for Armchair Arcade.","url":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/author\/jonathan-adams\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/pexels-photo-929831.jpeg?fit=1280%2C847&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10648,"url":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2019\/12\/17\/life-without-the-internet-is-it-possible\/","url_meta":{"origin":7866,"position":0},"title":"Life Without the Internet \u2013 Is It Possible?","author":"Jonathan Adams","date":"December 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Modern life without the internet is unthinkable and even unimaginable for the generation born during its operation. At this time, we have become reliant on the internet not because we are lazy, but it has revolutionized our day to day activities, making it quite easier and more efficient. We can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Editorial"","block_context":{"text":"Editorial","link":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Life Without the Internet \u2013 Is It Possible?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/woman-in-white-t-shirt-holding-smartphone-in-front-of-laptop-914931.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/woman-in-white-t-shirt-holding-smartphone-in-front-of-laptop-914931.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/woman-in-white-t-shirt-holding-smartphone-in-front-of-laptop-914931.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/woman-in-white-t-shirt-holding-smartphone-in-front-of-laptop-914931.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/woman-in-white-t-shirt-holding-smartphone-in-front-of-laptop-914931.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11701,"url":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2020\/07\/17\/online-casino-bonus\/","url_meta":{"origin":7866,"position":1},"title":"Online Casino Bonus","author":"Andrei Kuznetsov","date":"July 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Just like every other business establishment, online casinos are established to make profits. And in a bid to make a profit, the online gambling industry has become incredibly competitive. Almost all online casinos offer bonuses and promotions to attract players. The casinos have come to realize that bonuses serve as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Editorial"","block_context":{"text":"Editorial","link":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Online Casino Bonus","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/man-in-red-button-up-shirt-3777931.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/man-in-red-button-up-shirt-3777931.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/man-in-red-button-up-shirt-3777931.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/man-in-red-button-up-shirt-3777931.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/man-in-red-button-up-shirt-3777931.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11789,"url":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2020\/08\/06\/why-free-games-are-the-norm-these-days\/","url_meta":{"origin":7866,"position":2},"title":"Why Free Games are the Norm These Days","author":"Jane Smith","date":"August 6, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Gamers from all over the world seem to have it made in the past year as many developers release AAA titles and give them out for free. Instead of having to wait for Christmas discounts, gamers can start enjoying new games almost the second they are released. But why is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Editorial"","block_context":{"text":"Editorial","link":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Why Free Games are the Norm These Days","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ss_32aa18ab3175e3002217862dd5917646d298ab6b.1920x1080.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ss_32aa18ab3175e3002217862dd5917646d298ab6b.1920x1080.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ss_32aa18ab3175e3002217862dd5917646d298ab6b.1920x1080.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ss_32aa18ab3175e3002217862dd5917646d298ab6b.1920x1080.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ss_32aa18ab3175e3002217862dd5917646d298ab6b.1920x1080.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8462,"url":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2018\/10\/10\/its-all-about-you-and-your-online-casino-games\/","url_meta":{"origin":7866,"position":3},"title":"It\u2019s all about You and Your Online Casino Games","author":"Andrei Kuznetsov","date":"October 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Technology has given so many opportunities for an individual to play their favourite games on different online sites that were not available in olden times. These sites empower us with a developed platform for players around the world to join together and challenge each other in different ways. Also to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Editorial"","block_context":{"text":"Editorial","link":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"It\u2019s all about You and Your Online Casino Games","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/new.png?fit=1200%2C609&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/new.png?fit=1200%2C609&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/new.png?fit=1200%2C609&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/new.png?fit=1200%2C609&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/new.png?fit=1200%2C609&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9588,"url":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2019\/06\/03\/casino-games-with-bonuses\/","url_meta":{"origin":7866,"position":4},"title":"Everything That You Need To Know About Playing Casino Games With Bonuses","author":"A.K. Patel","date":"June 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Playing casino games with bonuses are really quite exciting. Find out everything you need to know about playing these games here in this article.","rel":"","context":"In "Editorial"","block_context":{"text":"Editorial","link":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Everything That You Need To Know About Playing Casino Games With Bonuses","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/cards-casino-chance-269630.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/cards-casino-chance-269630.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/cards-casino-chance-269630.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/cards-casino-chance-269630.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/cards-casino-chance-269630.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9401,"url":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2019\/04\/22\/understanding-the-math-behind-low-and-high-variance-slot-machines\/","url_meta":{"origin":7866,"position":5},"title":"Understanding The Math Behind Low And High Variance Slot Machines","author":"Abigail Massimo","date":"April 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the first things you\u2019ll notice when playing slots at an online casino is that they\u2019ll give you a choice between low, medium and high variance slot machines. This refers to the amount of risk associated with each slot, and it\u2019s important to understand the variance of a slot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Editorial"","block_context":{"text":"Editorial","link":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Understanding The Math Behind Low And High Variance Slot Machines","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/addiction-betting-casino-5258.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/addiction-betting-casino-5258.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/addiction-betting-casino-5258.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/addiction-betting-casino-5258.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/addiction-betting-casino-5258.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5dH5R-22S","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18661"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}