On a standard slot machine, if a win is signalled by “cherry–cherry–cherry,” then “cherry–cherry–lemon” would be considered a near miss. Near misses also occur in games of chance, but the crucial difference is that in a game of chance the outcome is a random event. This is an instance where the “near miss” has a clear reinforcing function on the player’s free-throw behaviour. With each successive throw, variations in the throwing technique that get the ball closer towards the hoop increase in probability (i.e., are selected for). ( 2015): consider a novice player making repeated free throws in basketball. A good example is provided by Witts et al. Near misses, also called near hits or near wins, are said to occur when the elements of a game or task “suggest” to a player that they have almost achieved a favourable result. Although a clear conditional response was obtained from the reel, subsequent testing in extinction revealed no conditionally reinforcing function of this stimulus on operant response frequency. Experiment 3 used a further simplified procedure to assess the validity of the resistance-to-extinction paradigm when a probable conditional reinforcer was present on the reel stimuli.

The results of both experiments failed to support the near-miss effect hypothesis. Experiment 2 extended Experiment 1’s procedure to human participants. Experiment 1 used a tightly controlled resistance-to-extinction procedure in pigeons to evaluate the putative reinforcing effect of near misses relative to a control “far-miss” reel pattern. In the present manuscript, we will review this literature and present experimental assessments of the near-miss effect on the frequency of the gambling response. Skinner first proposed the idea that near-miss events might reinforce continued play in slot machines, and despite some inconsistencies in the experimental literature, belief in this “near-miss effect” has remained strong. For instance, obtaining “cherry–cherry–lemon” on a slot machine could be considered a near miss. In games of chance, a near miss is said to occur when feedback for a loss approximates a win.

Fruit machine reel 4 fault