A non 12 step approach to addiction treatment teaches people to distinguish the difference between positive and negative outcomes related to addictive behavior. Gambling Addiction and Reward Systems - The Study Pathological gambling, or gambling addiction, occurs when recreational activity becomes dysfunctional and detrimental, and many pathological gamblers need addiction treatment to overcome their addictive behavior. Pathological gamblers typically face a variety of cognitive distortions in which they overestimate their chances of winning. Some speculate that the excitement of “near-miss” outcomes in gambling games encourage such cognitive distortions. In a previous study with healthy participants, researchers found that near-miss outcomes in recreational gamblers shared overlappin...