Gender Differences in Healthcare Utilization: The Mediating Effect of Utilization Propensity

To evaluate the mediating effect of utilization propensity (UP) on gender differences in healthcare utilization (HCU), a representative sample of the German general population (N = 2,510) was assessed with questionnaires. Gender differences in HCU, UP, and the mediating effect of UP were investigated using regression analyses. UP was significantly associated with HCU. The explanatory power of gender for UP, and of UP for HCU was prevailingly weak. UP had a mediating effect on gender differences in HCU, but the effect was very small. This is partly attributable to common problems in the prediction of behavior by attitudes and the operationalization of UP.     

The Interactive Effect of Impression Motivation and Cognitive Schema on Self‐Presentation in a Personality Inventory1

Applicants usually try to put their best foot forward during personnel selection. Although past research has revealed meaningful individual differences in applicants' self‐presentation in personality tests (often called “faking”), it only concentrated on main effects and ignored the interaction of interindividual and intraindividual differences. Based on impression management theory, we hypothesized that interindividual differences in applicants' impression motivation interact with intraindividual differences in the perceived relevance of personality facets (applicants' cognitive schema). Results of hierarchical linear modeling analyses showed that both impression motivation and cognitive schema significantly affected self‐presentation. Furthermore, for participants with high levels of impression motivation, cognitive schema showed a stronger impact on self‐presentation than for those with low levels of impression motivation.