Spencer Murch is a PhD student at UBC’s Cognitive Science program. He is a graduate fellow of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Spencer’s research focuses on the experience of immersion during slot machine gambling. This phenomenon is related to concepts of flow and dissociation and is typically reported as a feeling of being “in the zone.” It is also a predictor of problem gambling risk.

With that said, the goal of Spencer’s studies is to identify meaningful predictors of immersion and problem gambling risk using cognitive tasks and advanced psychophysiological technologies like mobile eye tracking and non-invasive cardiac output. Ultimately, Spencer hopes to reduce the incidence of gambling disorder associated with modern slot machine use.

Spencer’s research interests include gambling, attention, psychophysiology and applied psychology

Murch, W. S., & Clark, L. (2019). Effects of bet size and multi-line play on immersion and respiratory sinus arrhythmia during electronic gaming machine use. Addictive Behaviors, 88, 67–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.08.014

Kennedy, D., Goshko, C. B., Murch, W. S., Limbrick-Oldfield, E. H., Dunn, B. D., & Clark, L. (2019). Interoception and respiratory sinus arrhythmia in gambling disorder. Psychophysiology, [ePub ahead of print], 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13333

Murch, W. S., & Clark, L. (2018). Commentary on Graydon et al. (2018): Realistic simulations and nudging gambling policy. Addiction, 114, 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14493

Chu, S., Limbrick-Oldfield, E. H., Murch, W. S., & Clark, L. (2018). Why do slot machine gamblers use stopping devices? Findings from a ‘Casino Lab’ experiment. International Gambling Studies, 18(2), 310–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2017.1413125

Ferland, J.-M. N., Adams, W. K., Murch, S., Wei, L., Clark, L., & Winstanley, C. A. (2018). Investigating the influence of ‘losses disguised as wins’ on decision making and motivation in rats. Behavioural Pharmacology, 29(8), 732-744. https://doi.org/10.1097/FBP.0000000000000455

Murch, W. S., Chu, S. W. M., & Clark, L. (2017). Measuring the Slot Machine Zone With Attentional Dual Tasks and Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 31(3), 375–384. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000251

Silveira, M. M., Murch, W. S., Clark, L., & Winstanley, C. A. (2016). Chronic atomoxetine treatment during adolescence does not influence decision-making on a rodent gambling task, but does modulate amphetamine’s effect on impulsive action in adulthood. Behavioural Pharmacology, 27(4), 350-63. https://doi.org/10.1097/FBP.0000000000000203

Cocker, P. J., Hosking, J. G., Murch, W. S., Clark, L., & Winstanley, C. A. (2016). Activation of dopamine D4 receptors within the anterior cingulate cortex enhances the erroneous expectation of reward on a rat slot machine task. Neuropharmacology, 105, 186-195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2016.01.019

Murch, W. S., & Clark, L. (2016). Games in the Brain: Neural Substrates of Gambling Addiction. The Neuroscientist, 22(5), 534–545. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073858415591474

Coren Prize for Overall Best MA Thesis, UBC Department of Psychology (2017)

Doctoral Scholarship (PGS-D), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (2017)

Graduate Scholarship, UBC Department of Psychology (2016)

Poster Prize, New Horizons in Responsible Gambling Conference (2016)

Graduate Scholarship, UBC Department of Psychology (2015)

Certificate of Academic Excellence, Canadian Psychological Association (2014)