“I'll wait for the English one”: COVID-19 vaccine country of origin,national identity,and their effects on vaccine perceptions and uptake willingness

Vaccines can play a crucial role in reducing the negative outcomes of pandemics. In this paper we explore how vaccine perceptions and uptake willingness can be affected by vaccine-related information, the vaccine's country of origin, and national identity. Study 1 (N = 800) showed that a vaccine manufactured by China was perceived more negatively compared to vaccines from the UK, Germany, and Chile. Providing vaccine effectiveness information (83%) increased preference for waiting for an alternative vaccine and reduced perceived effectiveness of a vaccine from China. Brexit supporters perceived vaccines as less safe in general, and particularly thought of a vaccine from China as less competent, effective, and trustworthy, and were less prepared to have it. Study 2 (N = 601) largely replicated findings of Study 1 regarding the effects of a vaccine's country of origin. Moreover, participants who reported a higher sense of British superiority reported more negative attitudes towards a vaccine from China. However, apart from the aforementioned main effects of Study 2, our attempt to manipulate British identity vis a vis a Global identity in order to examine particular national-identity related outcomes was not successful. Overall, vaccine characteristics can interact with various social psychological factors, potentially affecting people's perceptions and willingness to uptake particular measures to support personal and public health.     

Videoconferencing versus face-to-face psychotherapy: Insights from patients and psychotherapists about comparability of therapeutic alliance,empathy and treatment characteristics

Objective

Videoconferencing psychotherapy (VCT) is an effective treatment option. Yet, it is unclear whether a similar therapeutic alliance as in conventional face-to-face psychotherapy (F2F) can be achieved, since previous studies yielded mixed results. Furthermore, surveys about the attitudes towards VCT amongst patients have been missing until now. The current study gathered opinions from patients and psychotherapists about the perceived comparability of VCT and F2F regarding contextual factors and treatment characteristics, focusing on therapeutic alliance and empathy.

Method

An online survey amongst patients (N = 189) and practitioners (N = 57) taking part in cognitive behavioural therapy was conducted after the first lockdown in Germany due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a resulting transition from F2F to VCT for most participants.

Results

While patients experienced therapeutic alliance and empathy as comparable, psychotherapists indicated advantages of F2F. Both groups indicated advantages of F2F for the therapy contents and expressed advantages of VCT for flexibility regarding location and time. More than half of the participants expressed a preference for a combination of analogue and digital therapy.

Conclusion

The perceived disadvantages of VCT can be addressed, for example, with training programmes for psychotherapists targeting communication in VCT and adapting established psychotherapy methods to a digital format to further improve VCT.     

Homeless Adults’ Recovery Experiences in Housing First and Traditional Services Programs in Seven European Countries

Across Europe, as governments turn to housing-led strategies in attempts to reverse rising rates of homelessness, increasing numbers of Housing First (HF) programs are being implemented. As HF programs become more widespread, it is important to understand how service users experience them compared to the more prevalent traditional treatment-first approach to addressing long-term homelessness. Although there is a large body of research on service users’ experiences of Housing First compared to treatment-first in North American contexts, comparatively less is known about how these two categories of homeless services are experienced in the European context. In a correlational and cross-sectional study, part of a larger examination of homelessness in Europe, participants (n = 520) engaged with either HF (n = 245) or traditional services (TS; n = 275) programs in seven countries completed measures of their experiences of services (consumer choice, housing quality, and service satisfaction) and recovery (time in independent housing, psychiatric symptoms, and community integration). Across the seven countries, participants engaged with HF programs reported experiencing more consumer choice, better perceived housing quality, and more satisfaction with services than participants engaged in TS programs. Participants in HF programs also reported a greater proportion of time in independent accommodation, fewer psychiatric symptoms, and more community integration. Varying patterns of association between experiences of services and recovery outcomes were observed. Findings indicate HF consistently predicts greater recovery than TS across diverse sociopolitical and economic contexts. Implications of findings for configurations of homeless services and homeless services policy are discussed.     

People with more misconceptions about automated vehicles might be more positive toward them

Automated vehicle (AV) technology is likely to influence transportation, mobility, and society dramatically. The year 2020 was a horizon year for the AV, as manufacturers expected commercial AVs to be available to the general market. However, we experienced one cycle of hyperbole for these “self-driving” cars, which are still unavailable to consumers. Meanwhile, many persistent beliefs about this technology are factual or arguable misconceptions. However, the public attitude literature rarely examines public misconceptions of AVs. Thus, we explored the prevalence of three misconceptions: “AVs are already available in the market,” “AVs do not need to be driven manually at all,” and “Mature business models for AVs have been established.” We investigated these misconceptions’ correlations with several cognitive (i.e., benefit and risk perceptions), affective (i.e., positive and negative affect), and behavioral components (i.e., behavioral intention and willingness to pay) of attitudes and trust in AVs. Our online survey in China (N = 1,026) indicated that more than 70% of participants hold one or more of the three misconceptions, with one-third believing that AVs are already available in the market. Furthermore, participants believing one or more of the three misconceptions were more positive regarding specific attitudinal factors (e.g., those who believed that AVs are already available reported greater behavioral intention to use and willingness to pay for AVs than those who rejected this misbelief). This finding indicates that people who are more wrong about AVs might be more positive toward AVs. We need effective and accurate public communication to dispel public misconceptions about AVs and build rational expectations.     

Psychometric properties and measurement invariance of Depression,Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21) across cultures

Cross-culturally measurement invariant instruments are useful for the assessment of mental symptoms across cultures. The current study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21) (DASS) across Pakistan and Germany. German participants were recruited through an online survey (N = 1323), while Pakistani participants were recruited through online survey or paper-and-pencil survey (N = 1841). The DASS-21 showed good reliability, construct and structure validity in both countries. The DASS-21 indicated partial weak (stress subscale) and partial strong measurement invariance (depression and anxiety subscales) between both countries. Latent mean comparison of depression and anxiety symptoms between Pakistani and German students indicated that Pakistani university students experience more symptoms of depression and anxiety. Results suggest that the DASS-21 could be used in Pakistan and Germany, but caution should be taken when making direct comparisons between the two countries.     

Young drivers’ perception of hazards: Variation with experience and day versus night

Young novice drivers have a relatively high crash risk for several years following initial licensing, and while all drivers are at greater risk at night, the night-time increase is greater for inexperienced drivers. Poor hazard perception has been identified as an important contributor to inexperienced drivers’ risk, but research on day-night differences in hazard perception for drivers varying in experience is lacking. This exploratory study investigated the nature of hazards reported by young inexperienced drivers versus more experienced and slightly older drivers. Hazards were not pre-identified by researchers; participants were simply provided with a general definition of ‘hazard’. Analysis focused on how experience level affected qualitative differences in the kinds of hazards reported, with particular focus on day-night differences.The 53 participants ranged in driving experience from learners through to 5+years post licensing, and in age from 16 to 30 years. They viewed 14 day- and night-time video clips of a diverse range of driving situations, pausing the video whenever they identified a hazard and then explaining why they had paused it at that point. Their responses were recorded. Content analysis of responses showed that more experienced drivers reported visibility-related hazards significantly more often than inexperienced ones, and significantly more so at night. They also commented significantly more on hazards related to tight bends in the road and significantly less on hazards concerning compliance with rules. Comments tended to be fewer with higher vehicle speeds, particularly for the least experienced drivers.Results are discussed in terms of how experience-related differences in drivers’ cognitive schemata and mental models are likely to affect hazard perception and crash risk, particularly at night. Some implications for driver training and license testing are suggested.     

REPORTED INCIDENCE RATES OF WORK-RELATED SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE UNITED STATES: USING META-ANALYSIS TO EXPLAIN REPORTED RATE DISPARITIES

This study presents a meta-analytic review of the incidence of sexual harassment in the U.S. The impact of 3 main moderator variables (type of survey used, sampling technique, and the type of work environment in which the study was conducted) on the reported incidence rate was estimated by cumulating incidence rates reported in the literature. Results show that directly querying the respondents about whether or not they experienced sexual harassment (vs. using questionnaires that listed behaviors believed to constitute sexual harassment), and employing probability-sampling techniques (vs. convenience sampling), led to substantially lower estimates of sexual harassment incidence. In addition, the results suggest that sexual harassment is more prevalent in organizations characterized by relatively large power differentials between organizational levels. Based on more than 86,000 respondents from 55 probability samples, on average, 58% of women report having experienced potentially harassing behaviors and 24% report having experienced sexual harassment at work.     

All work and no play: A focus on leisure time as a means for promoting health

In a study of 294 participants the relationship between attitude to leisure time and engagement in leisure activities and psychological and physical health was investigated Using questionnaire methods a consistent and significant relationship was found in that individuals with more positive attitudes towards and engagement in leisure activities experienced less general psychological distress, anxiety, depression, and hostility. They also experienced higher levels of positive affect and reported feeling physically healthier. Leisure measures were also related to levels of achievement motivation. The data points to leisure time behaviour as a rich source of information about coping styles and the positive use of leisure counselling as a therapeutic intervention.     

Self-esteem,personality and Internet Addiction: A cross-cultural comparison study

Previous work from Germany and Austria highlighted the importance of personality and excessive private Internet usage for Internet Addiction (IA). In a cross-cultural approach we tried to replicate a negative association between IA and the personality trait of self-directedness in Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, Colombia, China, Taiwan and Sweden and as well the finding that persons with a damaged self-esteem have a higher proclivity for becoming Internet addicted in Bulgaria, Spain, Germany and Colombia. In total N = 989 took part in the study. Results show that the personality dimension self-directedness was negatively correlated to the IA score of the participants in all samples. In contrast, no interaction effect between implicit and explicit self-esteem on IA could be observed.     

Response of part-time belt users to enhanced seat belt reminder systems of different duty cycles and duration

Enhanced seat belt reminders are an effective means of increasing seat belt use. It is important to optimize the design of these systems so that they increase belt use and are acceptable to vehicle occupants. This study examined the effects of duty cycle and duration on seat belt reminder effectiveness and annoyance. It also evaluated the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) duration requirement. Eighty part-time belt users experienced one of four seat belt reminders in a driving simulator and rated the likelihood that they would buckle up and how annoyed they were every 45 s. Overall, participants that experienced an enhanced reminder said they would be more likely to buckle up than participants that experienced a basic reminder which complied with but did not exceed the US federal requirements. The reported likelihood of buckling up did not change significantly as reminder duration increased. Increasing the duty cycle of the chime and flashing icon in a reminder cycle did not influence these ratings either, but it did make the system more annoying. Reducing the duty cycle of enhanced reminders would be one method of increasing user acceptance while ensuring the reminder system still motivates belt use. Lastly, the variation in duration and duty cycle permitted under Euro NCAP requirements for seat belt reminders did not affect the reported likelihood of belt use for participants in the three enhanced reminder conditions.     

Age Differences Across Adulthood in Interpretations of Situations and Situation–Behaviour Contingencies for Big Five States

In the last two decades, a burgeoning literature has begun to clarify the processes underlying personality traits and momentary trait‐relevant behaviour. However, such work has almost exclusively investigated these questions in young adults. During the same period, much has been learned about adult personality trait development but with scant attention to the momentary processes that contribute to development. The current work connects these two topics, testing developmental questions about adult age differences and thus examining how age matters to personality processes. The study examines how four important situation characteristics are experienced in everyday life and how situations covary with Big Five trait‐relevant behaviour (i.e. situation–behaviour contingencies). Two samples were collected (total N = 316), each assessing three age groups: young, middle‐aged, and older adults. Using experience sampling method, participants completed reports four or five times per day across a representative period of daily life. Results suggested age differences in how situations are experienced on average, in the variability around these average situation experiences, and in situation–behaviour contingencies. The results therefore highlight that, across adulthood, age groups experience chronically different situations, differ in how much the situations they experience vary moment to moment, and differ in how much situation experience predicts their enactment of traits. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Moral Blameworthiness and the Reactive Attitudes

In this paper, I present and defend a novel version of the Reactive Attitude account of moral blameworthiness. In Section 1, I introduce the Reactive Attitude account and outline Allan Gibbard’s version of it. In Section 2, I present the Wrong Kind of Reasons Problem, which has been at the heart of much recent discussion about the nature of value, and explain why a reformulation of it causes serious problems for versions of the Reactive Attitude account such as Gibbard’s. In Section 3, I consider some ways in which Gibbard might attempt to avoid the Wrong Kind of Reason Problem. I argue that all of these ways fail to achieve their aim and further contend that the Wrong Kind of Reason Problem cannot be solved in a sufficiently convincing manner by the widely used method of making ad hoc distinctions among kinds of properties, kinds of attitudes, and kinds of reasons. In Section 4, I sketch my own version of the Reactive Attitude account of moral blameworthiness and show that it simply avoids the Wrong Kind of Reason Problem rather than attempting to solve the problem on a piecemeal basis.     

How Gender Counts When Couples Count Their Money

In this study we explored the ways in which men's and women's personal incomes are treated and experienced differently in the family. Two hundred and fourteen participants (102 men and 112 women) in dual-earner couples were recruited in a random sample telephone survey. Participants reported a double standard in which women receive more praise than men for their incomes. Men reported stronger negative and positive feelings about their incomes than women. Regardless of gender, the higher the participants' income category the more gratitude they received from spouses and the more appreciated they felt. Wives' absolute incomes elicited husbands' gratitude, whereas husbands' relative incomes influenced wives' gratitude. Women who outearned their husbands reported no negative consequences. Although money still carries gendered meaning, women's incomes may earn increasing clout in the family. The ways in which praise, criticism, and gratitude for earnings provide a window on how gender is done and undone in the family are discussed.     

A survey on adverse incidents in legal psychology studies: Reflections on ethics review

Ethics committees (ECs) regulate research activities to maintain research participants' autonomy and to protect them from harm and injury. No research to date attempted to establish how much risk is involved in social‐science research. Using a survey approach, we set out to estimate the risk of being involved in an incident for research participants in legal psychology and assessed researchers' views of ECs. Fifty‐nine of 188 respondents (31%) stated that they had experienced one or more incidents with a participant. The estimated risk of being involved in an incident was one to three per 10,000 participants, which according to biomedical standards defines a rare risk. Although some researchers were satisfied with their EC, the general tenor was one of discontent due to conservative decision‐making, lacking expertise, and overstepping demands. Whether ECs succeed in protecting participants from loss of autonomy, harm and injury are unknown but are open to empirical research.     

What do you (think you) need? Perceived vs. experienced effects of need fulfillment on well-being

We compared two approaches towards assessing inter-individual differences in the effect of satisfaction and frustration of basic needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness) on well-being: perceived need effects (beliefs about the effect of need fulfillment on one’s well-being) and experienced need effects (the within-person coupling of need fulfillment and well-being). In two studies (total N = 1281), participants reported perceived need effects in a multidimensional way. In Study 2, daily need fulfillment and affective well-being were additionally assessed (daily-diary study; ten days). Associations between perceived and experienced need effects were significant (albeit small) for all three frustration dimensions, but only for one satisfaction dimension (relatedness), suggesting that they capture different constructs and might be related to different outcomes.     

A comparison of preschoolers' recall of experienced versus non‐experienced events across multiple interviews

Preschool children's recall of both experienced and non‐experienced activities was examined across three interviews. One hundred and six children aged 4 to 5 years (58 males, 48 females) from both low and high socioeconomic status areas participated in an event called the Deakin Activities, which consisted of two experienced activities. One or two days later, the children were asked to recall what happened in the two activities and an activity they had not experienced which was suggested to have occurred along with the experienced activities. Next, children were given false suggestions about one of the experienced (true‐biased) activities and the non‐experienced (false) activity. For the remaining experienced (true‐unbiased) activity, no questions were asked. Three and eight days after the activities were presented, children were again required to recall all three activities in their own words while a variety of suggestive techniques were used as encouragers. The results revealed that irrespective of the SES group, assent rates across the true and false activities became more similar after the first interview. Furthermore, children's narratives about the false activity became more similar in detail, structure and quality to their narratives about the true activities across interviews. However, the rate of fantastic/improbable details was higher for the false activity compared to the true activities, children reported more interviewer suggestions about the false activity than the true‐biased activity, and there were fewer confabulation errors reported about the false activity compared to the true activities. The implications of the results are discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Participants' perceptions of smartphone travel surveys

Smartphone travel surveys are becoming of central importance in collecting detailed, accurate data of people’s travel activities. As with their conventional survey counterparts, the quality of data collected through these surveys is adversely affected by participants’ non-response and resulting biases. However, little is known about the factors affecting people’s perceptions and intentions to continue participating in such surveys. Although literature has investigated the associations between individuals’ socio-demographic attributes and their likelihood of survey participation, the impact of their subjective perceptions and attitudes on their survey participation intentions and behaviour is underexplored. Hence, through a model of participants’ perceptions of smartphone travel survey applications (survey apps), this study aims to reveal such impacts and how they affect the participants’ intentions to continue participating in these surveys. In this study, a survey is designed and used to collect data in a smartphone travel survey before the participants are asked about their personal perceptions and attitudes. Partial least squares path modelling (PLS-PM) is applied to analyse the data, as it allows simultaneous estimation of the relationships between multiple latent constructs as well as the indicators of each construct. The results showed a significant, positive impact of the perceived “ease of use” and “usefulness” of the survey app as the technological medium of data collection on the participants’ “satisfaction” and “intention” to continue participating in the corresponding survey. The study also found that participants’ perceived “risk” associated with privacy concerns did not have any significant impact on their intention to continue participating in the survey.     

Unvaxxed and unafraid: Unvaccinated Americans perceive less disease risk than do vaccinated Americans

Is disease risk perception accurately calibrated among the unvaccinated? People shift their attitudes to rationalize their choices, so those who choose to be unvaccinated may be motivated to feel less at risk. In three studies (total N = 1446), we asked Americans how worried they were about catching/spreading influenza and COVID-19 and whether they were vaccinated against those diseases. Unvaccinated participants felt less at risk of catching/spreading the diseases they were unvaccinated against than vaccinated participants. For instance, unvaccinated participants felt ∼24% less at risk of catching/spreading COVID-19 and had ∼28% stronger intention to engage in activities that carried a high risk of COVID-19 transmission (Study 3). Overall, those who choose to be the most vulnerable to disease feel and act the least vulnerable.     

An interview study exploring clients' experiences of receiving therapeutic support for family estrangement in the UK

Many people experience estrangement from a family member, which is broadly understood to refer to negative relationships that are characterised by little or no contact. However, little is known about how people cope with family estrangement. To address this gap, interviews were conducted with 46 participants who identified as being estranged from a parent/sibling and/or child and having sought therapeutic support for this experience. The participants were recruited from a UK-based charity that supports individuals experiencing family estrangement. The participants had a range of experiences of therapeutic support, with most (N = 31, 67%) having paid for private therapy. The data were analysed using thematic analysis, and three themes were generated: (1) finding the missing qualities in estranged family relationships: warmth, validation and safety; (2) speaking the unspoken: addressing the causes and consequences of estrangement; and (3) learning relational skills: improving the relationship with oneself and with others. When the causes of estrangement were addressed in the context of a safe therapeutic relationship, participants learned strategies to improve the relationships they had both with themselves and with others. When participants experienced a cold or unresponsive therapeutic relationship, and the causes and consequences of estrangement were not adequately addressed or understood, counselling was experienced as unhelpful. Individuals who seek therapeutic support for family estrangement have specific needs. Training around these needs and the causes and consequences of estrangement could be beneficial to helping professionals and the clients with whom they work.