How casinos build addictive machines and infrastructures, to perpetuate pathological behaviour for profits at the expense of our behaviour and autonomy
In any stories or movies, the setting is what makes a scene so memorable a scene that causes us to cry, love or fear over. To build a good movie is to have a good set and a good atmosphere, that develops the characters and grips the reader, until the final pages.
Well, setting apears everywhere, from that of our homes that makes it warm and inviting, the cinemas and aeroplanes. Similarly casinos encourage pathological behaviour by simple design and detail to human psychology. From where the ATM machines are, the slot machines and that of the colours on the wall, despite it being so small and rarely taken interest in, everything from to the small to the large in a casino are all meticulously planned to the smallest details to rain in profits at the expense of our wellbeing and control.
Casinos have a reputation for enticing people to invest more time and money than they plan, for better or worse. Casinos want you to concentrate on what you’re doing and not on what’s going on around you. This simple philosophy is reflected within many of their design, as a result casinos have no or few windows, no or few clocks, and notoriously poor cell phone reception. While regulating the temperature, air quality, at some joints casino’s inject pure oxygen and even pheromones into the air systems to promote violent gambling activity, according to reports. As Harrah’s Casino in Las Vegas saw a 45 percent rise in revenue from slot machines near where a good fragrance was sprayed as opposed to machines without a scent, all in an attempt to bringing in profits through unconsciously cultivating conditions that support our ability to gamble.
While also controlling the environment and ambience of a place by controlling the colours not just of the walls or decorations but also the carpeting and even the slot machines. We know from design and art studies that colour is the first and most important aspect of anything that is seen. Kissmetrics, a web-based analytics company, compiled several colour psychology studies to come up with a comprehensive and easy to use reference infographic for how color affects consumers. Which increased brand recognition by more than 80%, directly linked to consumer confidence and repeat purchasing.
Animations, like colour, should always be used purposefully with the intent to explain complex ideas in a simple, building-block way as opposed to doing something simply because it seems “Cool.”
The casinos are betting that you will enjoy getting lost and perhaps spend more money than you intended as you make your way around. Putting a ton of information on one slide or graphic can confuse your reviewer and, much like the PowerPoint build concept described in the animations section.
As any businesses understand it is easier to grow and keep existing customers than to find new ones-do your customers know all the products or services you provide? Developing personal relationships with your customers through regular meetings, phone calls, or lunches and then keep them involved digitally. The psychology of buying, as known in the Western world with regards to color, style, page/slide architecture, and dominant buying methodologies.
The knowledge that we have gained over the understanding of human psychology, can be used for better or for worse, for manipulation or for building a society that values ideals such as inclusiveness and kindness. However more often than not with the capitalistic ideal that we live and breed in, profits are at the center of almost every decisions, which is in no exception for casinos that exploit such knowledge to breed pathological behaviour, threatening the very social and economic fabric of humanity. Which will beg the question to how as scientist constantly uncover how the human brain functions and acts on stimulates, whether we would use such knowledge with care or would it be used for individual gain.
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About the author:
Eldon Tse — Hong Kong 🇭🇰 | Instagram
Always open to listening to new opinion and groundbreaking ideas, to reach me please feel free to contact me through Instagram.