A framework for the conceptualization,design, and strategic management of planned change systems

This article extends a framework for conceptualizing, designing, and managing planned change-systems. The framework argues that the adoption of social innovations is best facilitated when change organizations manage how target adopters perceive and enact the entire adoption experience. This process is accomplished by defining three critical components of the change-system and applying the principles of synergy to their design and management. Christine Moorman is an assistant professor of marketing at the Graduate School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her current research interest include consumers' use of health and nutrition information, managers' use of market research information, and social marketing. Brian Dondiego Uzzi has an M.S. in industrial administration from Carnegie-Mellon University and is presently a Ph.D. student in the department of sociology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Karen Russo France has an M.B.A. from the Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh and is currently a doctoral student in marketing at the University of Pittsburgh.     

Characterization of the discriminative stimulus effects of lorcaserin in rats

Lorcaserin is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating obesity and is under consideration for treating substance use disorders; it has agonist properties at serotonin (5‐HT)_2C receptors and might also have agonist properties at other 5‐HT receptor subtypes. This study used drug discrimination to investigate the mechanism(s) of action of lorcaserin. Male Sprague–Dawley rats discriminated 0.56 mg/kg i.p. lorcaserin from saline while responding under a fixed‐ratio 5 schedule for food. Lorcaserin (0.178‐1.0 mg/kg) dose‐dependently increased lorcaserin‐lever responding. The 5‐HT_2C receptor agonist mCPP and the 5‐HT_2A receptor agonist DOM each occasioned greater than 90% lorcaserin‐lever responding in seven of eight rats. The 5‐HT_1A receptor agonist 8‐OH‐DPAT occasioned greater than 90% lorcaserin‐lever responding in four of seven rats. The 5‐HT_2C receptor selective antagonist SB 242084 attenuated lorcaserin‐lever responding in all eight rats and the 5‐HT_2A receptor selective antagonist MDL 100907 attenuated lorcaserin‐lever responding in six of seven rats. These results suggest that, in addition to agonist properties at 5‐HT_2C receptors, lorcaserin also has agonist properties at 5‐HT_2A and 5‐HT_1A receptors. Because some drugs with 5‐HT_2A receptor agonist properties are abused, it is important to fully characterize the behavioral effects of lorcaserin while considering its potential for treating substance use disorders.     

Genetic Testing Considerations in Breast Cancer Patients

Genetic testing is now feasible for a growing number of cancers. Although the implications for unaffected relatives have been widely described, the impact of the tests on affected individuals are often not recognized. We present and discuss four cases that highlight some of the issues—for example, feelings of guilt and anxiety, intrafamilial conflict, and support needs—that may arise in testing affected individuals. We offer some suggestions to aid in the approach to such testing.     

Why Women Approve of Affirmative Action: The Study of a Predictive Model

The self-interest model has often been used to predict the reactions of advantaged groups to affirmative action. It is argued that self-interest also plays a role in the genesis of attitudes of disadvantaged groups, such as women. More precisely, it is hypothesised that considerations of personal interest have an impact on considerations of collective interest which in turn have an impact on the sense of collective relative deprivation (CRD). In the past, it was shown that women who felt collectively deprived approved of strategies designed to eliminate systemic barriers. No link was found, however, between CRD and preferential treatment. Women, in majority, were opposed to this strategy. On the basis of a model introduced by Taylor and McKirnan (1984), it is argued that women who have experienced discrimination on the basis of sex in spite of the introduction of affirmative action strategies may support preferential treatment. The hypotheses were integrated in a model and tested using LISREL causal modelling. In total, 197 female francophone workers participated in the study. They were all employed in a large firm where in the last five years attempts were made to reduce sex asymmetries. These efforts however were not successful; the percentage of women in non-traditional jobs increased by only 2%. The proposed model was tested successfully. The results are discussed in light of previous paradigms and practical implications.     

A Longitudinal Study of Parental Depressive Symptoms and Coparenting in the First 18 Months

Although the negative impact of postpartum depression on parenting behaviors has been well established—albeit separately—for mothers and fathers, the respective and joint impact of both parents' mood on family‐group interactive behaviors, such as coparenting support and conflict behaviors between the parents, have not yet been investigated. The aim of this study was to examine the association between parental depressive symptoms and coparenting behaviors in a low‐risk sample of families with infants, exploring reciprocity between the variables, as well as gender differences between mothers and fathers regarding these links. At 3 (T1), 9 (T2), and 18 months postpartum (T3), we assessed both parents' depressive symptoms with a self‐report questionnaire and observed coparenting support and conflict during triadic mother–father–child interactions. The results revealed that higher maternal depressive symptoms at T1 were associated with lower support at T1 and T2. Conflict at T3 was associated with higher maternal depressive symptoms at T3 and, more surprisingly, with less depressive symptoms in mothers at T2 and fathers at T3. Cross‐lagged associations suggested that parental depressive symptoms were more likely to influence coparenting than the reverse. Moreover, maternal depressive symptoms were more likely to be linked to coparenting behaviors than were paternal depressive symptoms. These results confirm that parental—mostly maternal—depressive symptoms, even of mild intensity, may jeopardize the development of healthy family‐level relations, which previous research has shown to be crucial for child development.     

Psychological Factors Associated with a Better Quality of Life Following Head-Up Tilt Testing

Quality of life (QoL) is reduced in patients with recurrent vasovagal (VVS) or unexplained syncope (US). Little is known concerning the natural evolution of QoL following diagnosis. Psychological factors contributing to QoL improvement, such as psychological distress and self-efficacy remain to be explored. The objective of this study is to examine whether QoL changes 2 months and 6 months following head-up tilt (HUT) testing as well as to determine whether psychological factors are predictive of changes in QoL. Seventy-three patients undergoing HUT for recurrent syncope were interviewed 1 month before as well as 2 months and 6 months following HUT, using semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. Pre-HUT QoL was significantly worse than at the 2-month (p = 0.000) and 6-month follow-ups (p = 0.000). Psychological distress at baseline was associated with worse QoL 2 months post-HUT (Beta = .280; p = .024), independently of socio-demographic and clinical factors. Improved self-efficacy at follow-up predicted improvements in QoL (Beta = −.186; p = .023). Two and 6 months post-HUT, QoL is mproved in patients with recurrent syncope. Better QoL is predicted by low psychological distress and a heightened sense of self-efficacy following HUT. Strategies for enhancing self-efficacy and reducing psychological distress could be an efficient way to promote QoL in patients suffering from recurrent syncope.     

Package Graphics and Consumer Product Beliefs

In recent years, marketers' tactics to increase product sales through health claims have been scrutinized by public policy makers. The culmination of this process was the passage of the National Labeling Education Act, which highly restricts the type, amount, and format of nutritional information conveyed on the package. In this investigation, we examine an under-explored aspect of the package—its colors and pictures—to determine what, if any, impact these aspects have on consumer beliefs regarding important product characteristics. We find that even when very concrete verbal information is used, graphical representations have a significant and long-term effect on product beliefs and purchase intentions.     

Pain: Biopsychosocial Mechanisms and Management

Traditionally, pain has been viewed as a sensory event warning of tissue damage or illness. This explanation fails to account for many of the experiences of people suffering from clinically painful conditions. Over the past two decades, a new biopsychosocial perspective on pain has emerged. This perspective emphasizes that pain is a dynamic process that not only is influenced by biological, psychological, and social mechanisms of pain, but also produces biological, psychological, and social changes that can affect future responses to pain. This review presents findings from recent studies of the biological, psychological, and social mechanisms of pain and discusses the implications of these findings for pain research, assessment, prevention, and treatment, as well as for health care policy.     

Psychological Factors Associated with Emotional Responses to Receiving Genetic Risk Information

This study identified levels of distress, and predictors of levels of distress, in women undergoing assessment for genetic risk of breast/ovarian cancer based on their family history. It comprised a cohort study following 154 women who completed questionnaires at entry into a cancer genetic assessment programme and following risk provision. Independent significant associates of anxiety following risk provision were age, neuroticism, feeling hopeless about developing cancer, a perceived lack of control over developing cancer, lack of a social confidant, and a coping response involving acceptance/resignation. Depression was associated with age, neuroticism, feeling hopeless about developing cancer, lack of social confidant, and a coping response involving acceptance/resignation. To avoid high levels of psychological morbidity in future cohorts undergoing cancer genetic risk assessment, information should be given that emphasises that some degree of control over health outcomes through behaviour change or increased surveillance is possible.