Applying a Modified Moral Decision Making Model to Change Habitual Car Use: How Can Commitment be Effective?

Une intervention basée sur une théorie a été réalisée auprès d’un échantillon de 297 automobilistes pour tenter de lancer de nouvelles habitudes de déplacement (essayer de préférer les transports en commun plutôt que la voiture). Un modèle de modification d’une décision morale relevant de la théorie de Schwartz et Howard (1981) fut exploité dans la conception d’une intervention associant une technique de décristallisation des comportements antérieurs (remise provisoire d’une carte gratuite) avec une technique focalisée sur une norme (appel à l’implication). L’échantillon était constitué de 297 citoyens allemands pouvant utiliser facilement leur voiture et vivant dans des quartiers bien desservis par les transports en commun. Les participants ont été répartis au hasard dans quatre conditions (implication précédée par une carte gratuite, seulement l’implication, seulement la carte gratuite et groupe contrôle) et durent faire part de leur choix de transport pour un trajet précis et habituel (par exemple aller au travail) sur une durée de huit semaines suivie d’une période contrôle de deux semaines. En outre, les variables du modèle (la règle personnelle de réduction de l’utilisation de la voiture, les normes sociales, les coûts comportementaux ressentis et les habitudes) ont été enregistrées toutes les deux semaines. Bien que les effets globaux de l’intervention aient été faibles, les résultats montrent qu’une motivation morale est un prédicteur pertinent du choix d’un mode de transport qui peut être renforcé par une intervention portant sur l’implication précédée par un changement temporaire de la situation. A theory‐driven intervention was carried out to initiate the try‐out of a new travel mode behavior (try out taking public transport instead of car) in a sample of habitual car users (N= 297). A modified moral decision making model based on the theory of Schwartz and Howard (1981 ) served as background for the design of an intervention combining a habit‐defrosting technique (temporary gift of a free ticket) with a norm‐focused technique (plea for commitment). The sample consisted of 297 German citizens with good car access and living in areas with a convenient supply of public transportation. Participants were randomly assigned to four groups (commitment preceded by a free ticket, commitment only, free ticket only, and control) and had to report their travel mode choice for a particular, regular trip (e.g. trip to work) for a period of 8 weeks and a 2‐week follow‐up period. Additionally, model variables (personal norm to reduce car use, social norm, perceived behavioral costs, and habit) were recorded every 2 weeks. Although overall effects of the interventions were small, results indicate that a moral motivation is a relevant predictor for travel mode choices and can be stabilised by a commitment intervention preceded by a temporary change of the situation.     

Dimensions of Religiousness and Cancer Screening Behaviors Among Church-Going Latinas

Churches are a promising setting through which to reach Latinas with cancer control efforts. A better understanding of the dimensions of religiousness that impact health behaviors could inform efforts to tailor cancer control programs for this setting. The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between dimensions of religiousness with adherence to cancer screening recommendations among church-going Latinas. Female Spanish-speaking members, aged 18 and older from a Baptist church in Boston, Massachusetts (N = 78), were interviewed about cancer screening behaviors and dimensions of religiousness. We examined adherence to individual cancer screening tests (mammography, Pap test, and colonoscopy), as well as adherence to all screening tests for which participants were age-eligible. Dimensions of religiousness assessed included church participation, religious support, active and passive spiritual health locus of control, and positive and negative religious coping. Results showed that roughly half (46 %) of the sample had not received all of the cancer screening tests for which they were age-eligible. In multivariate analyses, positive religious coping was significantly associated with adherence to all age-appropriate screening (OR = 5.30, p < .01). Additional research is warranted to replicate these results in larger, more representative samples and to examine the extent to which enhancement of religious coping could increase the impact of cancer control interventions for Latinas.     

Terrorist threat and employees' perceived ability to cope with organizational change

This study investigated the impact of the perceived threat of terrorism on employees' ability to cope with organizational change as well as potentially underlying psychological mechanisms related to work satisfaction and initiative. Three days after the 2006 thwarted terrorist attacks in the United Kingdom, participants were reminded of terrorist threat (by pictures of terrorist attacks) reported lower levels in their ability to cope with organizational change, as well as lower levels of work satisfaction, than did participants who were not reminded of terrorist threat. Three months later, the same terror salience manipulation had no differential effect on these variables. Mediation analyses revealed that work satisfaction mediated the impact of terror salience on employees' ability to cope with organizational change.     

Cooperation Versus Competition Effects on Information Sharing and Use in Group Decision‐Making

Information processing in groups has long been seen as a cooperative process. In contrast with this assumption, group members were rarely found to behave cooperatively: They withhold unshared information and stick to initial incorrect decisions. In the present article, we examined how group members' cooperative and competitive motives impact on group information processing and propose that information sharing and use in groups could be seen as strategic behavior. We reviewed the latest developments in the literature investigating different forms of strategic information processing and their underlying mechanisms. This review suggests that explicit cooperative goals are needed for effective group decision‐making.