A Test of a Model of Consumers' Responses to Product‐Manual Safety Information: A Replication and Extension1

Product manuals play an important role in the delivery of marketplace safety information. The present study extends prior conceptualizations of individuals' responses to threat communication by explicitly incorporating coping response efficacy and assessing relationships among arousal dimensions and coping appraisal processes in a more naturalistic context (i. e., in‐home, self‐paced exposure) than previous research. Proposed relationships among arousal, efficacy, and behavioral intentions are tested and largely supported. Based on the findings of the study, issues relevant to researchers and practitioners in the area are discussed.     

An investigation of the relationship between self-efficacy and the communication effectiveness of product manual formats

Product manuals have been virtually ignored in published research despite their relevance to consumer satisfaction and marketplace safety. This study examines self-efficacy (perceptions of capabilities related to operating a product) and how it influences the effectiveness of and is also influenced by three safety message formats commonly used in product manuals (i.e., 1. safety messages presented in list format at the front of the manual; 2; safety messages presented by semantic similarity interspersed throughout the manual—chunked format, and 3. safety messages presented in a combined format—both list and chunked). As anticipated, pre-exposure self-efficacy was a significant covariate which was found to be positively related to post-exposure self-efficacy and negatively related to information evaluation. Further, controlling for pre-exposure self-efficacy, post-exposure self-efficacy was significantly lower in the combined (list plus chunked) condition. Findings of this research have important implications for the practice of repeating safety warnings and future research in the consumer information domain.Authors are listed in alphabetical order. This study was supported by an Illinois State University Research Grant.     

Product Owner Manuals: An Exploratory Study of Nonreaders Versus Readers1

Empirical literature relating to the use of product owner manual information is sparse, despite the fact that the topic holds important marketplace safety implications. This study employed a survey methodology to explore manual-specific psychographic as well as demographic variables. Discriminant analysis found prior experience and time considerations to be among the most important variables in differentiating between nonreaders and readers of manuals. Results are discussed within the context of Russo's (1988) cost-benefit framework related to information usage. Following this perspective, we offer some initial ideas for programs aimed at increasing nonreaders' utilization of manuals.     

The use of product owner manuals: A comparison of older versus younger consumers

The present study addresses a relatively unexplored area by examining older consumers' interface with product owner manuals. Specifically, compared to younger consumers, seniors evidenced significantly greater usage of manuals and readership of specific sections. Overall, regression analyses utilizing context, product characteristic, product familiarity, general perceptions of manuals and demographic variables as predictors of manual use found prior knowledge and the perception that manuals are helpful to be among the most significant variables explaining readership. In general, these same variables reflect the extent of overlap between factors explaining manual usage for both older and younger consumers. Relevant literature from related domains provides the context for a discussion of findings and areas for future research.The authors wish to thank Dr. Dixie Mills for her input in the early stages of this research.     

THE WIDENING WORLD OF FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT: COMMENTS ON FOUR MANUALS AND BEYOND

An escalating number of materials have been published recently on the topic of functional assessment and assessment‐based behavioral interventions. We review four manuals that purport to provide practical guidance for conducting functional assessment. An examination of these manuals yields encouraging evidence that the field of behavioral support has made notable progress in adopting a functional (behavior‐analytic) approach to unwanted behaviors. The content of the manuals, considered in the context of emerging perspectives in behavioral support, suggests a number of important issues and directions that should be addressed by future functional assessment research and practice.     

The Food Warden: An Exploration of Issues in Distributing Responsibilities for Safe-by-Design Synthetic Biology Applications

The Safe-by-Design approach in synthetic biology holds the promise of designing the building blocks of life in an organism guided by the value of safety. This paves a new way for using biotechnologies safely. However, the Safe-by-Design approach moves the bulk of the responsibility for safety to the actors in the research and development phase. Also, it assumes that safety can be defined and understood by all stakeholders in the same way. These assumptions are problematic and might actually undermine safety. This research explores these assumptions through the use of a Group Decision Room. In this set up, anonymous and non-anonymous deliberation methods are used for different stakeholders to exchange views. During the session, a potential synthetic biology application is used as a case for investigation: the Food Warden, a biosensor contained in meat packaging for indicating the freshness of meat. Participants discuss what potential issues might arise, how responsibilities should be distributed in a forward-looking way, who is to blame if something would go wrong. They are also asked what safety and responsibility mean at different phases, and for different stakeholders. The results of the session are not generalizable, but provide valuable insights. Issues of safety cannot all be taken care of in the R&D phase. Also, when things go wrong, there are proximal and distal causes to consider. In addition, capacities of actors play an important role in defining their responsibilities. Last but not least, this research provides a new perspective on the role of instruction manuals in achieving safety.     

Role of the market maven in retailing: A general marketplace influencer

This article deals with the market maven. This maven is a general marketplace influencer which may be a significant constraint in the retail setting. This South African study highlights the importance of word-of-mouth communication in business. The South African market was chosen because of its cultural diversity and its unique set of European and African influences. This paper reviews the literature concerned with general marketplace influencers. It then reports the results of a study of 621 respondents. The results show that mavens appear to be good targets for general messages about marketing mix changes, messages spanning multiple product categories and messages concerning new product introductions. These results indicate that mavens appear to be good targets for retailers, provided they can be targeted effectively.     

Neue Felder in der Operationalisierten Psychodynamischen Diagnostik

After the operationalized psychodynamic diagnostics (OPD) system became well established in clinical as well as research contexts, especially in German speaking countries, the OPD task force now focuses on issues, such as modules and new manuals which are related to various clinical contexts. In this article new modules and manuals are presented and discussed in summarized form: the modules for addiction disorders and for forensic patients, the new OPD-2 manual for children and adolescents, an OPD-based manual for formulating initial assessment reports for insurance companies as well as a conceptualization for an operationalized psychodynamic therapy (OPT).     

Co-construction and performancescapes

Although prior literature has emphasized marketplace participants' co-construction mostly in terms of symbolic, oral, or emotional aspects of a consumption experience, there has not been much attention paid to potential concerns around success, failure, strategies, risk, dependence, and competition involved. This article, by building on the existing body of research, introduces the notion of performancescapes to better understand these issues as they relate to participant performances in the co-construction of marketplace experiences. Performances have the character of being an accomplishment involving an interactive quality and an element of risk. Accordingly, highlighting competencies and effectiveness rather than just the meaning enables us to concentrate on issues of success, failure, and risk. Furthermore, it is not uncommon to examine the marketer side of marketplace performances, but the customer side is generally neglected or assumed to be more passive. In this paper, we explore some of the ways through which service providers and clients participate in a marketplace stage as a performancescape in order to have a successful co-constructed performance. We further maintain that the performative competencies of consumers can be as significant as that of marketers or service providers. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Another View of Translation Manuals and the Study of Science

The article argues for the possibility of translation manuals having an implicit internal structure. This structure is composed of specific methodological assumptions and techniques. Using the (N)-type and (G)-type distinction developed by Fuller for the study of scientific behavior, it is shown that these are incomplete characterizations of translation manuals. A more complete characterization must involve an analysis of how the presence or absence of methodological rules influences the interpretation of specific research questions. It is further argued that while Quine's original indeterminacy thesis cannot be completely rejected, in some cases it can be modified to reflect the importance of the methodological constraints. Finally, it is suggested that the more critical analysis of translation manuals will benefit the on-going debates in the study of scientific behavior.     

A survey of parent training manuals

Twenty-six commercially available parent training manuals were surveyed with the goal of providing helpful information to the professional for selection of manuals. Included were manuals for parents as well as manuals for professionals for use in conducting individual or group treatment. The following information was given for all manuals: the characteristics of the target populations for whom the manuals were intended, readability levels, use made of technical language, provision of glossary, organization and format of the book, availability of supplementary materials such as leaders' guides, and references to reviews by other authors. In an additional section, the research literature dealing with evaluation of these manuals was reviewed and summarized as a means of acquainting the reader with the available scientific information on their effectiveness. A report on the status of each manual in terms of evaluation was provided in tabular form. The evaluation of manuals by conduct of empirical research to determine their usefulness to the consumer was emphasized.     

Treatment manuals: use in the treatment of bulimia nervosa

As psychology has moved toward emphasizing evidence-based practice, use of treatment manuals has extended from research trials into clinical practice. Minimal research has directly evaluated use of manuals in clinical practice. This survey of international eating disorder professionals examined use of manuals with 259 clinicians’ most recent client with bulimia nervosa. Although evidence-based manuals for bulimia nervosa exist, only 35.9% of clinicians reported using a manual. Clinicians were more likely to use a manual if they were younger; were treating an adult client; were clinical psychologists; were involved in research related to eating disorders; and endorsed a cognitive-behavioral orientation. Clinicians were less likely to use a manual if they provided eclectic psychotherapy that incorporated multiple psychotherapeutic approaches. We conclude that psychotherapy provided in clinical practice often does not align with the specific form validated in research trials, and “eclecticism” is at odds with efforts to disseminate manuals into clinical practice.     

Treatment manuals and the advancement of psychoanalytic knowledge: The Treatment Manual of the Tavistock Adult Depression Study

This paper has two aims: first, it seeks to understand the absence of treatment manuals in psychoanalysis. Secondly, it summarizes the treatment manual of the Tavistock Adult Depression Study, which describes the form of psychoanalytic psychotherapy whose effectiveness has been evaluated both in the Tavistock Adult Depression Study (TADS); and in the German Die Langzeittherapie bei chronischen Depressionen (LAC) Studie. Throughout the history of psychoanalysis, opinions about treatment manuals, empirical research and their antecedents have been deeply divided. After tracing the often polarized unfolding of these matters, the paper proposes that emotional and cognitive difficulties as well as scientific ones underpin their persistence. It is suggested that greater familiarity with them may lead to better combinations of outcome research and psychoanalysis: for example, the Tavistock manual seeks to match one account of the objects, aims, values, spirit and methods of psychoanalysis (as well as of connected forms of psychoanalytic psychotherapy); and also to meet what is required of treatment manuals by random allocation controlled trials. It has been a crucial element in the above studies of the outcome of long‐term psychoanalytic psychotherapies with chronically depressed patients. After describing the Tavistock Manual, the paper concludes suggesting that, if appropriately constructed, treatment manuals can make a contribution to the advancement of specifically psychoanalytic knowledge.     

Stem cell research: a target article collection: Part I--Jordan's banks,a view from the first years of human embryonic stem cell research

This essay will address the ethical issues that have emerged in the first considerations of the newly emerging stem cell technology. Many of us in the field of bioethics were deliberating related issues as we first learned of the new science and confronted the ethical issues it raised. In this essay, I will draw on the work of colleagues who were asked to reflect on the early stages of the research (members of the IRBs, the Geron Ethicist Advisory Board, and the National Bioethics Advisory Commission) as the field debated the issues of consent, moral status, use of animal tissues, abortion, use of fetal tissue, and the nature and goals of entrepreneurial research. In this new capacity, ethicists weighed the problem of privacy, the role of justice considerations, and the issues of the marketplace in science. At this point, it is clear that far more issues remain unresolved than are settled, that there is largely unexplored territory ahead, and that the single most important task that faces us as a field is a steady call for ongoing conversation and public debate.     

Neuroscience and Ethics: Intersections

This essay will address the ethical issues that have emerged in the first considerations of the newly emerging stem cell technology. Many of us in the field of bioethics were deliberating related issues as we first learned of the new science and confronted the ethical issues it raised. In this essay, I will draw on the work of colleagues who were asked to reflect on early stages of the research (members of the IRBs, the Geron Ethicist Advisory Board, and the National Bioethics Advisory Commission) as the field debated the issues of consent, moral status, use of animal tissues, abortion, use of fetal tissue, and the nature and goals of entrepreneurial research. In this new capacity, ethicists weighed the problem of privacy, the role of justice considerations, and the issues of the marketplace in science. At this point, it is clear that far more issues remain unresolved than are settled, that there is largely unexplored territory ahead, and that the single most important task that faces us as a field is a steady call for ongoing conversation and public debate.     

Protecting people in research: a comparison between biomedical and traffic research

Traffic research shares a fundamental dilemma with other areas of empirical research in which humans are potentially put at risk. Research is justified because it can improve safety in the long run. Nevertheless, people can be harmed in the research situation. Hence, we need to balance short-term risks against long-term safety improvements, much as in other areas of research with human subjects. In this paper we focus on ethical issues that arise when human beings are directly affected in the performance of research by examining how the ethical requirements in biomedical research can inform traffic research. After introducing the basic ethical requirements on biomedical research, each of the major requirements is discussed in relation to traffic research. We identify the main areas where biomedical research and traffic research differ, and where the ethical requirements from the former cannot easily be transferred to the latter. Finally, we argue that there is a need for systematic studies of the ethics of traffic research and point to some of the issues that need to be addressed.     

市场元认知和市场社会智力

对市场元认知和市场社会智力的研究正在成为消费者行为研究的新趋势之一。该文首先简要介绍了市场元认知和市场社会智力的概念及其发展背景;其次解释了市场元认知和市场社会智力的终身发展性和情境特定性;然后介绍了这方面研究的应用和新进展,同时阐述了其对研究思路及方法的指导作用;最后评价了这一发展趋势,并展望了其对中国消费心理学的影响。     

Persuasion Knowledge in the Marketplace: A Meta-Analysis

Since the introduction of the persuasion knowledge model more than 25 years ago, many research studies have investigated how consumers’ persuasion knowledge affects their reactions to persuasion attempts. While most results have shown that persuasion knowledge increases coping responses and leads to less favorable evaluations of marketer actions, the findings vary considerably, leaving researchers with a limited understanding of the substance and structure of persuasion knowledge effects and the conditions that explain their variability. To develop a better understanding of persuasion knowledge effects in the marketplace, this study builds on the concept of persuasion to predict responses to marketers’ attempts to persuade consumers with different levels of persuasion knowledge. The study presents a meta-analysis of the findings in 148 papers and 171 distinct data sets. Persuasion knowledge effects can be viewed as substantial compared with persuasion attempts, but persuasion knowledge cannot suppress or eliminate persuasion effects in the marketplace, as it only reaches around 50% of the explanatory power of persuasion. Persuasion knowledge effects on evaluations and coping depend on the characteristics of the persuasion process. All persuasion elements that help consumers identify and better understand benefits not just for themselves, but also for marketers and how marketers realize their benefits—such as the use of personal communication, communication about unfamiliar products or products with experience attributes, and receiver experience—lead to less favorable effects for marketers. This paper’s insights provide a new framework for persuasion knowledge effects in the marketplace, ideas for future research, and implications for researchers, consumers, policymakers, and marketers.     

The sacred second: religious moments in a Colombo marketplace

How does the marketplace of a busy city shape the religious practices of its shopkeepers? Combining historical and ethnographic research, this article examines the cosmopolitan past and present of Colombo’s Pettah neighbourhood. Its role as an Indian Ocean port resulted in a continual influx of new religious players, leaving its present pluralistic pantheon, from which shopkeepers (many of whom have made their own transoceanic journeys to work in other port cities like Dubai) can choose the saint or god best suited for their needs. Meanwhile, the pace of the marketplace has structured religious time accordingly; sacred moments are improvised sporadically among the bustle of the business day. Religious ritual is now part of the general pattern of marketplace routine, along with a number of other habits for passing time – unscheduled but expected activity, both personally meaningful and socially symbolic. In turn, religious performance can enhance market performance, instrumentalised in spur-of-the-moment sales techniques, lines between sacred and profane continually blurred.