The research literature on gambling behavior
indicates that American Indians (AIs) suff er from
pathological gambling at a greater rate than the
majority population. The literature also suggests that
dispositional factors, such as sensation seeking, can
infl uence gambling. However, situational factors, such
as the payback percentage of a slot machine, may
not. The present study recruited 12 AI and 12 non-AI
participants to play a simulated slot machine in three
diff erent sessions. Half of the participants in each group
were high sensation seekers. The other half were low
sensation seekiers. Across the three gambling sessions,
the simulation was programmed to pay back at a rate
of 85, 95, or 105%. Results showed non-signifi cant
diff erences in gambling behavior between AIs and
non-AIs and between high and low sensation seekers.
Participants were, however, sensitive to percentage
payback, playing more trials and betting more credits
when the percentage was 105% than when it was 85 or
95%. The present results question whether ethnicity or
certain personality characteristics, in and of themselves,
are predictive of diff erences in individuals' gambling
behavior. Results also suggest that people's gambling
behavior is sensitive to winning and losing, but not to
losing and losing even more. Implications for the study of
gambling are discussed.