Improving the efficacy of appearance-based sun exposure interventions with the terror management health model

The terror management health model (TMHM) suggests that when thoughts of death are accessible people become increasingly motivated to bolster their self-esteem relative to their health, because doing so offers psychological protection against mortality concerns. Two studies examined sun protection intentions as a function of mortality reminders and an appearance-based intervention. In Study 1, participants given a sun protection message that primed mortality and shown a UV-filtered photo of their face reported greater intentions to use sun protection on their face, and took more sunscreen samples than participants shown a regular photo of their face. In Study 2, reminders of mortality increased participants’ intentions to use facial sun protection when the UV photo was specifically framed as revealing appearance consequences of tanning, compared to when the photo was framed as revealing health consequences or when no photo was shown. These findings extend the TMHM, and provide preliminary evidence that appearance-based tanning interventions have a greater influence on sun protection intentions under conditions that prime thoughts of death. We discuss implications of the findings, and highlight the need for additional research examining the applicability to long-term tanning behaviour.     

Racial disparities in smoking knowledge among current smokers: Data from the health information national trends surveys

Although African-Americans (Blacks) smoke fewer cigarettes per day than European-Americans (Whites), there is ample evidence that Blacks are more susceptible to smoking-related health consequences. A variety of behavioural, social and biological factors have been linked to this increased risk. There has been little research, however, on racial differences in smoking-related knowledge and perceived risk of lung cancer. The primary goal of the current study was to evaluate beliefs and knowledge that contribute to race disparities in lung cancer risk among current smokers. Data from two separate nationally representative surveys (the Health Information National Trends surveys 2003 and 2005) were analysed. Logistic and hierarchical regressions were conducted; gender, age, education level, annual household income and amount of smoking were included as covariates. In both studies, Black smokers were significantly more likely to endorse inaccurate statements than were White smokers, and did not estimate their lung cancer risk to be significantly higher than Whites. Results highlight an important racial disparity in public health knowledge among current smokers.     

Standing Out From the Crowd: How Comparison to Prototypes Can Decrease Health-Risk Behavior in Young Adults

This research tested whether social comparison can encourage adolescents to make less risky health decisions. Two studies demonstrated that when young adults compare themselves with drinkers, they become less willing to drink if they perceive dissimilarity between themselves and those drinkers. When participants in Study 1 compared with someone who drinks regularly, their perceived similarity to prototypical drinkers was positively related to their willingness to drink. In Study 2, participants identified or contrasted themselves with prototypical drinkers; those encouraged to contrast who also felt less similar to the prototype reported less willingness to drink. These studies support the prototype/willingness model's assumption that prototypes affect willingness to drink through social comparison.     

The social class worldviews of first-generation college students

The social class worldviews (social class beliefs, attitudes, and values) of 14 first-generation college students were investigated with qualitative interviews. Consensual qualitative research analysis revealed first-generation students’ perspectives on the development of their social class worldviews, the effect of these worldviews on their transitions to college, and vice versa. The students’ pre-college beliefs and values promoted hard work and college attendance as a means of financial success. The transition to college created disequilibrium in the social class worldviews of the students interviewed, who in turn responded by attempting to adapt to the new culture, emphasizing their social class background, or downplaying the role of social class in their lives altogether. College professionals working with first-generation students are encouraged to facilitate dialogues with first-generation students about their social class worldview and its impact on students’ engagement with the college community.     

Phantom Behavioral Assimilation Effects: Systematic Biases in Social Comparison Choice Studies

ABSTRACT Consistent with social comparison theory (SCT), Blanton, Buunk, Gibbons, and Kuyper (1999) and Huguet, Dumas, Monteil, and Genestoux (2001) found that students tended to choose comparison targets who slightly outperformed them (i.e., upward comparison choices), and this had a beneficial effect on subsequent performance—a behavioral assimilation effect (BAE). We show (Studies 1 and 2) that this apparent BAE is due, in part, to uncontrolled measurement error in pretest achievement. However, using simulated data (Study 3), these phantom BAEs were eliminated with latent‐variable models with multiple indicators. In Studies 4 and 5, latent‐variable models were applied to the Blanton et al. and Huguet et al. data, resulting in substantially smaller but still significantly positive BAEs. More generally in personality research based on correlational data, failure to control measurement error in pretest/background variables will positively bias the apparent effects of personality variables of interest, but widely applicable approaches demonstrated here can correct for these biases.     

Dynamics of Friendship Reciprocity Among Professional Adults

Friendship is generally a reciprocal relation, yet many enduring ties are not symmetrical. Sometimes, only one member of a dyad considers the other a friend, or may see their relation as a close friendship while the other does not. Existing theories imply that personal and social attributes may influence the likelihood of reciprocity in friendship. In this longitudinal study, we found that demographic and educational attributes had little effect, but relative gregariousness and popularity consistently influenced development and persistence of unequally reciprocated friendships in 2 cohorts of executive MBA students. Additionally, higher gatekeeping power predicted greater tendency to befriend members of different age categories. Although gatekeeping power correlated directly with unequal reciprocity, the effect was mediated by gregariousness and popularity.     

Gender Attitudes Mediate Gender Differences in Attitudes Toward Adoption in Guatemala

Gender differences in gender role attitudes, including machismo, and attitudes toward adoption were studied in Guatemala, a country that provides a large number of children for international adoption. Guatemalan university students (N = 152) completed the machismo subscale of the Multiphasic Assessment of Cultural Constructs–short form (Cuéllar, Arnold, & González, 1995), the attitudes toward women scale for adolescents (Galambos, Peterson, Richards, & Gitelson, 1985), and an adoption beliefs scale developed for the present study. Men endorsed more machismo, more traditional gender role attitudes, and held less favorable attitudes toward adoption than women did. Gender differences in adoption attitudes were mediated by machismo and gender role attitudes. These results suggest that machismo and traditional gender role attitudes may serve as barriers in the promotion of intra-country adoption.     

Introspecting knowledge

Philosophical Studies - If we use “introspection” just as a label for that essentially first-person way we have of knowing about our own mental states, then it’s pretty obvious...     

A dual-process approach to health risk decision making: The prototype willingness model

Although dual-process models in cognitive, personality, and social psychology have stimulated a large body of research about analytic and heuristic modes of decision making, these models have seldom been applied to the study of adolescent risk behaviors. In addition, the developmental course of these two kinds of information processing, and their relation to the development of self-regulation are not well understood at this time. The current paper reviews what leading dual-process models have to say about the development of analytic and heuristic decision making, and their implications for adolescent risk behavior. In addition, it reviews research on the prototype willingness model of adolescent decision making—a dual-process model designed specifically to address non-intentional, but volitional adolescent risk behavior. It also discusses the implications of dual-process models for intervention research.     

RESEARCHING GENDER-ROLE IDEOLOGIES INTERNATIONALLY AND CROSS-CULTURALLY

Although many studies have compared gender-role ideologies internationally and cross-culturally, few researchers have attended to cultural differences in the meaningfulness or conceptual equivalence of the scale items. The literature on the use of instruments internationally is reviewed with respect to potentially universal (etic) constructs and findings. Gender differences in attitudes and the domains in which gender-related behavior is expressed differ internationally. A potential universal dimension is represented by a modern, egalitarian ideology on the one pole and a traditional ideology on the other. Using scales developed in three cultural contexts, we demonstrate that ratings of meaningfulness are correlated with the use of scores distant from the midpoint. Specific recommendations for researchers include consultation with cultural informants and incorporation of culturally specific (emic) items.