Methods of data collection,perceptions of risks and losses,and motivation to give truthful answers to sensitive survey questions

Two experiments examined survey respondents' concerns about risks and losses when answering sensitive questions in a survey. In Experiment 1 subjects watched one of eight different versions of a videotaped staged interview of a woman being asked about abortion and drunk driving. Experiment 2 was an actual survey interview about women's health issues, including abortion. In Experiment 2, a large proportion of the sample had a recent abortion for which validation information from the clinic was available. Results of both experiments indicate that, when responding to questions about sensitive topics, survey respondents are concerned about risks and losses other than those covered by standard confidentiality assurances and that these other concerns affect truthful reporting. Experiment 1 showed the importance of privacy in surveys of sensitive behaviours. The experiments suggest that under some circumstances interviewer‐administration of sensitive questions may produce data as good as or better than self‐administration. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of shopping channel (online vs. offline) on message framing of naturalness

Naturalness is a significant driver of food-related choices. However, there is scarce knowledge of how textual cues could be utilised to enhance the effectiveness of naturalness claims. Drawn from construal level theory, we attempted to examine how different methods of framing naturalness affect consumers in online vs. offline shopping contexts. Study 1 employed a 2 (abstract vs. concrete) × 2 (online vs. offline) experiment with 127 respondents and demonstrated that concrete framing heightens positive attitudes via increased perceived concreteness of the message, especially in offline shopping situations. Study 2 employed a 4 (abstract vs. control vs. concrete without mentioning natural vs. concrete mentioning natural) × 2 (online vs. offline) experiment with 173 respondents and replicated findings from Study 1. Furthermore, Study 2 ruled out alternative explanations of message authenticity, transparency and credibility and indicated that the effect of message framings is truly driven by the congruency between consumers' construal level and message framings. Interestingly, no significant effect of abstractly framed naturalness claims was observed in online shopping situations, contradicting existing studies. This suggests that other psychological mechanisms may interplay and hinder the effectiveness of abstract framing in our study. Taken together, the current research demonstrate that consumers' mental representation varies across shopping platforms and how it affects their evaluation of different methods of message framing.     

The hippocampus and amygdala mediate the locomotor stimulating effects of corticotropin-releasing factor in mice

We have previously demonstrated that both stress manipulations and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) elevate locomotor activity in mice primarily in the center region of an open field. In the present study, other than confirming these findings, we have further examined the roles of the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, the amygdala, and the caudate nucleus in mediating the locomotor-stimulating effect of CRF. Results indicate that among the areas examined, the hippocampus is the most important neural substrate of the action of CRF. The amygdala is also partly responsible for the behavioral effect produced by CRF. The caudate nucleus, however, although is important in the expression of gross motor activity, is not involved in the effect of CRF on locomotion in mice. The results are compared with those obtained in rats and are discussed in terms of the interactions between CRF and stress.     

Religiosity and obesity: are overweight people more religious?

The present study was undertaken to test the recently advanced hypothesis that highly religious people are more prone to obesity than is true for people in general. Based on a sample of over 6000 middle- to older-aged women, the study found essentially no support for the hypothesis. The only possible exception was in the case of members of certain denominations with historically high birth rates.     

An Attributional Analysis of Social Accounts: Implications of Playing the Blame Game1

These studies proposed that effective social accounts should contain external, unstable, specific, and uncontrollable attributions. In Study I, managers provided accounts for a negative event. The accounts contained highly unstable and specific attributions but, contrary to original predictions, they also contained highly internal and controllable attributions. In Study 2, managers rated the effectiveness of the account. Account effectiveness was positively related to unstable attributions, but was negatively related to external and uncontrollable attributions. These relationships were stronger (more negative) for accounts communicated downward than upward. These results indicate that blaming others or deflecting personal responsibility for negative events may be ineffective, especially when one is in a high‐status role.     

The Relationships of Type A Behavior and Optimism with Job Performance and Blood Pressure

Type A behavior and optimism were examined as predictors of blood pressure and job performance in a hospital setting. Results indicate that the achievement striving dimension of Type A behavior was negatively related to blood pressure. The impatient/irritable dimension of Type A behavior was unrelated to either performance or blood pressure. The interaction of achievement striving Type A behavior and optimism was related to blood pressure and technical job performance. Specifically, achievement striving predicted blood pressure and technical performance when optimism was high but not when it was low. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Frequency of occurrence and rankings for touch-related adjectives

A three-phased study was conducted in order to develop a standardized list of touch-related adjectives. The final list consisted of 306 words that were categorized in 440 instances according to the Lederman and Klatzky (1987, 1990) dimensions of haptic properties (some words were classified in more than one dimension). The Kučera and Francis (1967) frequency of occurrence in written English for all words in the final list was also determined. A correlation was found between frequency of occurrence on the list and Kučera and Francis frequency. An analysis of the word dimensions and future applications are discussed.     

Anogenital distance and dominance status in male house mice (Mus domesticus)

Factors influencing the tendency to be aggressive were investigated in male house mice using a series of paired encounters. Body size, body lenght, body temperature, age, and anogenital distance were measured on all males. Paired encounters were conducted using a standard mouse cage as an arena. Across 64 males involved in 224 encounters, the tendency to be dominant and win encounters was significantly correlated only with anogenital distance (r = 0.383). These findings suggest that there are significant behavioral effects in male mice that could parallel the intrauterine position and related prental hormone effects that have been elucidated in female house mice and other rodents. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Women look at their experience of pregnancy

This investigation asked à diverse sample of women to identify retrospectively what they considered to be the central psychological events of their pregnancy. There was substantial agreement on eight of these. These events subsequently were scaled by a larger sample of women in terms of the emotional impact of each, using ratio scales based on each subject's individual frame of reference. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences in the remembered impact of the various events. For example, mothers who had amniocentesis or ultrasound rated getting the results of these prenatal tests second only to the moment of childbirth itself. At least six of the eight events as a group are tentatively offered as predictable crises in the biopsychosocial process that takes place from conception onward. As such, focusing on these events in the course of a pregnancy may have substantial educative and prophylactic value.