Most people who gamble or play video games do so for reasons related to fun, enjoyment or escapism. However, in some cases these reasons are overshadowed by an intense and persistent desire that is difficult to control, known as craving. Understanding why this desire arises and how it relates to behavioural problems is key to promoting psychological well-being.
A team of researchers from the Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), in collaboration with the University of Zaragoza, the University of Valencia, the Complutense University of Madrid and the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium), has analysed how the way people experience and regulate their emotions influences craving, both in video games and in gambling, and how this desire can lead to more serious consequences when not managed properly.
Intense emotions and impulsive behaviour
Emotions serve an adaptive purpose, but when experienced with great intensity, they can lead to impulsive behaviour. This impulsivity, which occurs in emotionally intense situations, manifests as a psychological trait known as emotional urgency, which describes the tendency to react hastily or act on impulse when experiencing strong emotions.
The results show that positive emotional urgency (acting impulsively when experiencing pleasant and intense emotions) is associated with a greater craving for video games or gambling among people who frequently engage in these activities. This suggests that it is not only negative emotions that are involved in the development of problematic behaviours: intense positive emotions can also increase the desire to continue playing.
Furthermore, craving acts as a link between emotional impulsivity and the severity of the problems. In other words, people with a greater sense of positive emotional urgency tend to experience more craving, and this intense desire is in turn associated with greater difficulties linked to these behaviours.
The importance of regulating emotions
Beyond simply experiencing intense emotions, how those emotions are managed makes a significant difference. The study analysed two common strategies for emotional regulation:
- Reprocessing, which involves changing the way one thinks about a situation in order to reduce its emotional impact.
- Expressive suppression, which involves hiding or inhibiting the expression of one’s feelings.
The results suggest that these strategies do not have the same effect in all contexts. In the case of video games, people who tend to suppress their emotions show a stronger link between craving and gaming-related problems. This suggests that ignoring or suppressing one’s feelings can make it harder to manage the intense urge to play.
In contrast, in the context of gambling, reprocessing appears to have a protective effect. People who use this strategy more frequently show a weaker link between craving and the severity of their problems, suggesting that reframing emotional experiences may help to reduce the negative impact of intense craving. Alternatively, it is also possible that those who make greater use of reprocessing are more likely to underestimate the significance of their symptoms and, therefore, prevent craving from leading to greater awareness of the problems arising from gambling.
In any case, neither the reprocessing nor the suppression affected craving levels, but only their translation into greater perceived problems arising from the corresponding activity.
What does this study tell us?
This research reinforces the idea that craving is closely linked to the way people regulate and respond to their emotions. It also shows that not all emotional strategies are equally helpful, and that some may help prevent craving from becoming a problem, whilst others may intensify it.
These findings have significant implications for prevention and psychological intervention. Fostering more adaptive emotional regulation skills, such as mindfulness, could be an effective way to reduce the impact of craving and promote a healthier relationship with video games and gambling.
Overall, the study offers a more comprehensive and human perspective on how emotional processes influence everyday behaviours which, for some people, can cause significant distress.
Reference
Rivero, F. J., Barrada, J. R., Muela, I., Perales, J. C., López-Guerrero, J., Navas, J. F., García-Gómez, E.-A., Brevers, D., & Ciudad-Fernández, V. (2025). Untangling the role of emotion regulation in gambling and video gaming cravings: A replication and extension study. Addictive Behaviors, 170, Article 108393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2025.108393
Contact at the CIMCYC
Francisco J. Rivero (franrivero@ugr.es)