The role of risk perception in explaining parental sunscreen use

Objective: This study assessed: (1) whether risk perceptions about skin cancer were related to parent's use of sunscreen on their children; (2) which combination of assessments susceptibility and severity best explain parental sunscreen protection behaviours and (3) whether risk perceptions influence behaviour directly through intentions or through attitudes, subjective norms and self-efficacy.

Design: Two longitudinal studies assessed sunscreen protection behaviours of parents for their toddlers (N?=?391) and young children (N?=?436).

Main outcome measure: Parent's use of sunscreen on their children.

Results: Risk perceptions correlated with future sunscreen protection behaviours of parents but were lower than those of attitude, social influence and self-efficacy. Treating susceptibility and severity as an additive function resulted in the best model fit. Risk perceptions were related with future intention and future sunscreen protection behaviour, but the effects were mediated through attitude, social influence and self-efficacy.

Conclusions: Our path analyses suggest treating susceptibility and severity as an additive function. A multiplicative model without main effects – although often used – had the poorest fit. Risk perceptions influence behaviour by influencing attitudinal and self-efficacy beliefs. Addressing risk perceptions in health communication programs is relevant when the purpose is to increase awareness and to influence attitudes and self-efficacy.     

The role of risk perception and efficacy cognitions in the prediction of HIV-related preventive behavior and condom use

The salience of the Protection Motivation Theory to HIV preventive behavior was investigated in a sample of 468 heterosexual men 20-45 years of age recruited in Germany and at vacation spots in Spain. This theory conceptualizes self-protective behaviors as a function of the severity of the threat, perceived personal vulnerability to this threat, the availability of coping responses, and the effectiveness of these responses. Cognitive variables measured included perceived severity of the threat of AIDS, sexual self-efficacy expectancy, self-efficacy expectations in terms of sexual communication skills, response efficacy, and attitude toward condom use. On a scale of 1 (low) to 6 (high), perceived severity of the AIDS threat averaged 5.3, individual susceptibility ratings averaged 3.5, and susceptibility of peers had a mean of 4.9. Although 33% of respondents had made behavioral changes in response to the AIDS epidemic, only 15% always used condoms while 12% used them occasionally. Self-efficacy expectancy with regard to assertiveness and use of preventive measures emerged as the most significant predictor of HIV-related behaviors. The causal analyses indicated that high communicative self-efficacy expectancy is associated with high-risk sexual behaviors, while self-efficacy expectancy regarding assertiveness and the use of preventive measures promotes risk reduction. These associations were strongest in men over 26 years of age, singles, and tourists. These findings suggest a need for interventions for couples such as assertiveness training and guidance on communicating about sex and AIDS. Also demonstrated was the need for AIDS education programs to identify where participants are in terms of perceiving the threat of and coping with the AIDS epidemic and promote conditions that will help people advance to the next stage.     

The role of risk perception and efficacy cognitions in the prediction of HIV-related preventive behavior and condom use

Abstract

Based on empirical findings on the central model variables of the Protection Motivation Theory, the influence of perceived susceptibility, perceived severity of the threat of AIDS, communicative and sexual self-efficacy, and outcome expectancy on various aspects of HIV-preventive behavior was examined. The study was based on a sample of 468 heterosexual adults between the ages of 20 and 45 years. The data were obtained by means of questionnaires filled out at various vacation sites that draw mass tourism or in the subjects' home town. The most significant predictor of behavior was found to be self-efficacy expectancy as regards assertiveness and use of HIV-related preventive measures. A high communicative self-efficacy expectancy, on the other hand, is associated with a higher level of risk behavior among certain subgroups and under certain behavioral aspects. This confirms the necessity of acknowledging the different forms of self-efficacy expectancy in sexual interactions. Perceived personal threat is also associated with risk behavior with respect to certain behavioral operationalizations. From this it can be concluded that one's own behavior is used as the basis for appraising one's susceptibility. The results also show that distinctions must be made when analyzing HIV-related risk behavior. In particular, a difference must be made between absolute behavior (degree of the risk behavior) and relative behavior (change - especially reduction - in risk behavior due to the danger of AIDS).     

The role of prior knowledge in explaining hypothetical events

Having subjects explain a hypothetical future event biases their subjective likelihood estimates for that event. However, Sherman, Zehner, Johnson, and Hirt (1983, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 1127–1143) found that the biasing effects of an explanation task were reduced when subjects formed an initial impression based on the information (prior to the explanation task). Nonetheless, there are no doubt many factors that may influence subjects' ability to form strong initial impressions. The present studies address two of these factors. Experiment 1 used both subjects who were knowledgeable and unknowledgeable (naive) about a stimulus domain (football). Experiment 2 used only knowledgeable subjects, but gave these subjects information about unfamiliar teams and players. Subjects first read information about teams in an upcoming game and were then asked to explain a hypothetical victory by one team. They then made judgments about the actual future game and recalled the information. Only knowledgeable subjects given an initial impression set and given information that was easily integrated with past knowledge were able to resist the explanation bias. All other subjects demonstrated judgments that were strongly biased in the direction of the outcome explained. An examination of the relation between judgment and recall implied that knowledgeable and naive individuals differed in the ways they made judgments.     

Psychosocial factors in sunbathing and sunscreen use

Excessive exposure to the sun has been related to the development of various types of skin cancer, but use of sunscreen decreases the risk. The present project was designed to empirically examine psychosocial factors in sunbathing and sunscreen use. One hundred twenty sunbathing and nonsunbathing beachgoers were interviewed about their health practices, knowledge about skin cancer, moods, and social rewards obtained through sunbathing. They also completed several relevant personality questionnaires. Data were considered using a theoretical perspective combining aspects of health belief, social influence, social learning, and risk-taking models. Results indicate that sunbathing is clearly related to having a positive attitude toward risk taking, having little knowledge about skin cancer, reporting a relaxed mood, having friends who sunbathe, and engaging in activities related to maintaining a positive physical appearance. Sunscreen use is related to sex, having knowledge about skin cancer, knowing people who have had cancer, and reporting high levels of anxiety. The implications of these findings for the design of intervention strategies and for the future study of health-compromising behaviors are discussed.     

The role of attentional resources in explaining sex differences in object location memory

Sex differences in object location memory have been widely studied, with mixed results. The role of attention in mediating the female advantage in object location memory has not been clearly understood yet. Two experiments, involving 181 participants and using an actual object array, were conducted in the present study to examine two learning conditions: incidental and intentional. In each experiment, participants were randomly assigned to divided versus full attention conditions. The study also examined memorizing location‐maintained and location‐exchanged objects. In both experiments, in both incidental and intentional learning conditions, women outperformed men in memorizing location‐exchanged objects in the full but not in the divided attention condition. These findings confirm and extend previous ones concerning the conditions under which the female advantage in the detection of change in an array of objects occurs. The findings are discussed within an evolutionary conceptual framework.     

The role of active locomotion in space perception

It has been shown that active control of locomotion increases accuracy and precision of nonvisual space perception, but psychological mechanisms of this enhancement are poorly understood. The present study explored a hypothesis that active control of locomotion enhances space perception by facilitating crossmodal interaction between visual and nonvisual spatial information. In an experiment, blindfolded participants walked along a linear path under one of the following two conditions: (1) They walked by themselves following a guide rope and (2) they were led by an experimenter. Subsequently, they indicated the walked distance by tossing a beanbag to the origin of locomotion. The former condition gave participants greater control of their locomotion and thus represented a more active walking condition. In addition, before each trial, half the participants viewed the room in which they performed the distance perception task. The other half remained blindfolded throughout the experiment. Results showed that although the room was devoid of any particular cues for walked distances, visual knowledge of the surroundings improved the precision of nonvisual distance perception. Importantly, however, the benefit of preview was observed only when participants walked more actively. This indicates that active control of locomotion allowed participants to better utilize their visual memory of the environment for perceiving nonvisually encoded distance, suggesting that active control of locomotion served as a catalyst for integrating visual and nonvisual information to derive spatial representations of higher quality.     

The role of vision in auditory distance perception

In humans, multisensory interaction is an important strategy for improving the detection of stimuli of different nature and reducing the variability of response. It is known that the presence of visual information affects the auditory perception in the horizontal plane (azimuth), but there are few researches that study the influence of vision in the auditory distance perception. In general, the data obtained from these studies are contradictory and do not completely define the way in which visual cues affect the apparent distance of a sound source. Here psychophysical experiments on auditory distance perception in humans are performed, including and excluding visual cues. The results show that the apparent distance from the source is affected by the presence of visual information and that subjects can store in their memory a representation of the environment that later improves the perception of distance.     

声调在汉语音节感知中的作用

探讨超音段(如声调)与音段信息的共同作用机制, 对口语词汇识别研究具有重要的理论意义。有研究探讨了声调在口语词汇语义通达阶段的作用, 但在相对早期的音节感知阶段, 声调与声母、韵母的共同作用机制还缺乏系统的认识。本研究采用oddball实验范式, 通过两个行为实验考察了声调在汉语音节感知中的作用。实验1发现检测声调和声母变化的时间没有差异, 均比检测韵母变化的时间长, 表明在汉语音节感知中对声调的敏感性不及韵母。实验2发现声母和韵母的组合并没有明显优于对韵母的觉察, 但声调与声母或韵母的同时变化都促进了被试对偏差刺激的觉察, 表明声调通过与声母、韵母的结合来共同影响汉语音节的感知加工。研究结果在认知行为层面为声调在音节感知中的作用机制提供了直接的实验证据, 为进一步探讨超音段与音段信息共同作用的认知神经机制提供了基础。     

The active use of grammar in speech perception

Judgments of the location of short bursts of noise in sentences were used to reveal perceptual segmentation of sentences. It was assumed that segmentation would correspond to major constituent boundaries. In order to control for correlated variables of pitch and intonation, identical acoustic material was provided with alternate constituent structures. It was found that differences in response to identical strings were predicted by the points of variation in constituent structure.     

The effects of parental alcoholism on perception of control and imposter phenomenon

The present study examined the differences in internal and external locus of control and imposter phenomenon among persons with alcoholic and non-alcoholic parents. The subjects were 48 college students and 21 members of local Adult Children of Alcoholic groups. The students were further divided into those with alcoholic parents and non-alcoholic parents. The subjects were administered the following three instruments: the Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Control Scale for Adults (Nowicki & Duke, 1973), the Imposter Test (Chance & O’Toole, 1987), and a family history survey. Analysis of locus of control scores revealed a highly significant (p<.01) difference for externality, with Adult Children being most external and students with non-alcoholic parents least external. Similarly, internality scores differed significantly (p<.0001), with Adult Children being least, and the non-alcoholic group being most internally oriented. Analysis of variance for imposter phenomenon revealed a significant (p<.05) difference among the three groups, with the Adult Children of Alcoholics group having the highest scores and students with non-alcoholic parents having the lowest. These findings are consistent with the idea that parental alcoholism interferes with nurturing and consistent reinforcement, and with the development of personal adaptability.     

Narcissistic personality and risk perception among Chinese aviators: The mediating role of promotion focus

Optimism bias is a crucial feature of risk perception that leads to increased risk‐taking behaviour, which is a particularly salient issue among pilots in aviation settings due to the high‐stakes nature of flight. The current study sought to address the roles of narcissism and promotion focus on optimism bias in risk perception in aviation context. Participants were 239 male flight cadets from the Civil Aviation Flight University of China who completed the Narcissistic Personality Inventory‐13, the Work Regulatory Focus Scale, and an indirect measure of unrealistic optimism in risk perception, which measured risk perception for the individual and the risk assumed by other individuals performing the same task. Higher narcissism increased the likelihood of underestimating personal risks, an effect that was mediated by high promotion focus motivation, such that high narcissism led to high promotion focus motivation. The findings have important implications for improving the accuracy of risk perception in aviation risks among aviators.     

The mediating role of parental expectations in culture and well-being

In two studies, we examined the role of perceived fulfillment of parental expectations in the subjective well-being of college students. In Study 1, we found that American college students reported having higher levels of life satisfaction and self-esteem than did Japanese college students. American college students also reported having fulfilled parental expectations to a greater degree than did Japanese college students. Most importantly, the cultural difference in well-being was mediated by perceived fulfillment of parental expectations. In Study 2, we replicated the mediational finding with Asian American and European American college students. Asian American participants also perceived their parents' expectations about their academic performance to be more specific than did European Americans, which was associated with the cultural difference in perceived fulfillment of parental expectations. In short, perceived parental expectations play an important role in the cultural difference in the well-being of Asians and European Americans.     

Cognitive abilities explaining age-related changes in time perception of short and long durations

The current study investigated how the development of cognitive abilities explains the age-related changes in temporal judgment over short and long duration ranges from 0.5 to 30 s. Children (5- and 9-year-olds) as well as adults were given a temporal bisection task with four different duration ranges: a duration range shorter than 1 s, two duration ranges longer than 3 s (4-8 s and >15 s), and an intermediate duration range (1.25-2.5 s). Their cognitive abilities were also assessed using a series of neuropsychological tests. The results showed that temporal sensitivity improved with age for each duration range but that this improvement occurred earlier for the short durations than for the long durations. Furthermore, the results revealed that the age-related improvement in time sensitivity for the durations shorter than 1 s was explained by the development of short-term memory span, whereas that for long durations was explained by the development of attention/executive functions. To summarize, the development of the abilities required to process long durations seems to be explained mainly by the development of attentional resources.