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Mark Bennett's mildly amusing attack on my letter writing article (Readers' reactions, THES, January 12) contains a couple of understandable but misguided assumptions.

First, Bennett assumes that my anecdote about how I became an "expert" on scratchcards meant I had no authority to speak in this area. Having spent eight years studying fruit machine addiction, I had the expertise to apply my work to write about a similar emerging phenomenon.

Second, Bennett makes the assumption that letter writing and speaking to the media are the same activity. They are not. I talk to the media in my professional capacity only about areas in which I have carried out research or about areas that have applications from research I do.

Mark Griffiths
Reader in psychology
Nottingham Trent University