Using message framing to motivate HIV testing among low-income, ethnic minority women.

This study compared the effectiveness of 4 videotaped educational programs designed to motivate HIV testing among low-income, ethnic minority women. Four hundred eighty women were assigned randomly to watch one of 2 gain-framed or 2 loss-framed videos. Consistent with prospect theory, participants' perceptions of the certainty of the outcome of an HIV test moderated the effects of framing on self-reported testing behavior 6 months after video exposure. Among participants who reported being certain of the test's outcome, those who saw a gain-framed video reported a higher rate of testing than those who saw a loss-framed message. Among women who perceived the outcome of HIV testing as relatively uncertain, gain- and loss-framed videos led to similar rates of self-reported testing, with some advantage for the loss-framed message.     

Theory of mind selectively predicts preschoolers’ knowledge‐based selective word learning

Children can selectively attend to various attributes of a model, such as past accuracy or physical strength, to guide their social learning. There is a debate regarding whether a relation exists between theory‐of‐mind skills and selective learning. We hypothesized that high performance on theory‐of‐mind tasks would predict preference for learning new words from accurate informants (an epistemic attribute), but not from physically strong informants (a non‐epistemic attribute). Three‐ and 4‐year‐olds (N = 65) completed two selective learning tasks, and their theory‐of‐mind abilities were assessed. As expected, performance on a theory‐of‐mind battery predicted children's preference to learn from more accurate informants but not from physically stronger informants. Results thus suggest that preschoolers with more advanced theory of mind have a better understanding of knowledge and apply that understanding to guide their selection of informants. This work has important implications for research on children's developing social cognition and early learning.     

Illness representations,pain and physical function in patients with rheumatic disorders: between- and within-person associations

Objectives: Rehabilitation for patients with rheumatic diseases improves both illness representations (IR) and clinical outcomes such as pain and physical functioning (PF). However, it is unclear whether IR may affect and, in turn, are affected by pain and PF. In this study, we examined both between-person associations and within-person associations between IR and pain/PF over time on three measurement occasions. Furthermore, cross-lagged relationships were examined.

Design and main outcome measures: This secondary analysis is based on data from N?=?186 patients with rheumatic diseases. Data on pain, PF and IR were assessed using self-report questionnaires at the beginning, the end and three months after a 3-week inpatient rehabilitation.

Methods: To separate between- and within-person level, data were analysed using random-intercept cross-lagged panel models.

Results: On both the between-person level (r?=?|0.21|???|0.44|) and the within-person level (r?=?|0.15|???|0.46|), pain and PF were related to cognitive and emotional IR. In addition, we found within-person bidirectional cross-lagged effects between emotional IR and PF.

Conclusion: IR show complex relationships with pain and PF. Improving PF might improve subsequent illness-related emotional distress and vice versa.