Anticipated Emotions Matter

In gaming contexts with uncertain outcomes, the majority of bettors understand that positive returns on their wagers, over time, are beyond reach. Because well-established marketing and economic theory generally assumes that consumers seek a net positive return from marketplace transactions, the value associated with gamblers repeated wagers must not be captured solely by the probabilities and values associated with betting outcomes. We theorize that imagined outcomes, provoked by anticipated emotions, entail the completive value not recognized by traditional expected utility calculations. To explore this possibility, we develop and test a dual- process model that links select cognitive factors- luck-oriented locus of control and personal expertise-and emotive factors-anticipated regret and anticipated elation-to willingness to incur uncertainty-in the form of betting on long shots. Our empirical results validate this precursory model, and thus a dual-process theory, in a horse- race betting context.