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.