| Undergraduate students were recruited based on their frequency of gambling and cannabis use and illusory pattern perception was assessed following random assignment to either a lack-of-control or control condition. In the lack-of-control condition, a sense of lack of control was experimentally induced, whereas the control condition served as a baseline. Based on gambling and cannabis use problem severity, participants (N = 218) were categorized as either at-risk gamblers, at-risk cannabis users, pure controls, non-pure controls, or at-risk comorbid participants. While no group effect was observed, the results partially replicated the findings of Whitson and Galinsky (2008), whereby relative to the control condition, participants in the lack-of-control condition tended to perceive more illusory patterns; as well as more real patterns. The results are discussed with respect to avenues for future research. |
