Gambling as Play

Bibliographic Data

ID9766567
AuthorsJames F Smith (0009-0009-1704-5778), Vicki Abt
Year1984
Volume474
Issue1
Pages122-132
Publication date1984-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7162 • E-ISSN: 1552-3349
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0002716284474001011
OpenAlexW2168136206
LanguageEN
Citations received24
References cited2

Individuals are socialized into a culture by means of various myths and rituals characteristic of that culture. Among the rituals that reflect, articulate, and transmit cultural myths are play and games. Materialism and competition are two distinguishing traits of the American character that are reflected in the games children and adolescents play; and in a world that encourages great expectations while offering diminishing opportunities for fulfillment, the playing of gambling games provides a form of recreation that is a product of and a contributor to prevailing cultural myths. The cultural context of childhood and adolescent socialization is discussed. Within this context, selected games combining chance and skill illustrate ways in which individuals learn to bet. As teacher and mirror of cultural values, such games may actually predispose Americans to gambling behavior, and it is not surprising that commercial gambling among adults has become such a significant social, economic, and cultural issue in contemporary American civilization

Civilization · Competition (biology · Context (archaeology · Mythology · Political science · Recreation · Socialization · Sociology · Gambling Behavior and Treatments · History · Psychology · Social Psychology

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