Nuclear Waste: Facts,Fears, and Attitudes1

This study examined the effects of a television documentary about the safety of the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in the Northwest of England upon public attitudes. In a study of 805 respondents from four districts in the Southwest of England, we assessed attitudes and beliefs both before and after the documentary about Sellafield. Results indicated a significant attitude change in a more antinuclear direction. Respondents who had seen or heard about the events at Sellafield tended to be more antinuclear after the broadcast. Finally, respondents living close to the existing nuclear power stations in the Southwest of England tended to see the events at Sellafield as less serious than the remaining respondents. Furthermore, this difference in perceived seriousness between respondents living near a nuclear power station and the remaining respondents was much more pronounced in ratings of the environmental risks of the local nuclear power stations in Southwest England.     

Evaluative language,cognitive effort and attitude change

The present article deals with the effects of the use of evaluatively biased language on attitudes, and with the role of cognitive effort. We tested whether active information processing — formulating arguments on the basis of evaluatively biased language — was a necessary condition for attitude change. Results of the present study support the prediction that using evaluative language can infuence attitudes, but that these effects depend on the amount of cognitive effort.     

Anticipated Regret and Precautionary Sexual Behavior1

This study investigated the impact of anticipated regret on precautionary sexual behavior. Results show that anticipated regret predicts a significant and independent proportion of variance in expectations about future contraceptive behavior. A simple model combining attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and anticipated regret explained 65% of the variance in behavioral expectations. Behavioral expectations explained 34% of the variance in contraceptive behavior of respondents who had casual sex in the 4 weeks following the first session of the study. Implications for our understanding of precautionary sexual behavior and for campaigns aiming to increase safer sexual practices are discussed.     

Belief Importance in Expectancy-Value Models of Attitudes1

In this study, 312 respondents were asked to indicate their attitude toward smoking and their smoking behavior. Attitudes were assessed by a direct attitude measure (4 items) and a series of 15 belief statements about the possible consequences of smoking. Next, respondents were asked to select the 3 consequences they found most important. Attitude scores derived from these important beliefs were more predictive of behavior than those based on all 15 beliefs, and far superior to attitude scores based on the remaining 12 beliefs. Differences between the 2 groups (smokers vs. nonsmokers) were more pronounced when attitude scores were based on important beliefs, and disappeared for scores based on nonselected, less important beliefs. It is argued that incorporating belief importance in expectancy-value models helps to assess the structure of attitudes and could improve our insight in the determinants of behavioral preference.     

Evaluating Eve: visceral states influence the evaluation of impulsive behavior

Impulsive behavior is a common source of stigma. The authors argue that people often stigmatize impulsive behavior because they fail to appreciate the influence visceral impulses have on behavior. Because people tend to underestimate the motivational force of cravings for sex, drugs, food, and so forth, they are prone to stigmatize those who act on these impulses. In line with this reasoning, in 4 studies, the authors found that participants who were in a cold state (e.g., not hungry) made less favorable evaluations of a related impulsive behavior (impulsive eating) than did participants who were in a hot state (e.g., hungry). This empathy gap effect was tested with 3 different visceral states--fatigue, hunger, and sexual arousal--and was found both when participants evaluated others' impulsive behavior (Studies 1 & 2) and when participants evaluated their own impulsive behavior (Study 3). Study 3 also demonstrated that the empathy gap effect is due to different perceptions of the strength of the visceral state itself. Finally, Study 4 revealed that this effect is state specific: Hungry people, for example, evaluated only hunger-driven impulses, and not other forms of impulse, more favorably.     

Patients suffering from nonspecific work-related upper extremity disorders exhibit insufficient movement strategies

The purpose of this research was to investigate whether patients experiencing nonspecific complaints of the forearm caused by sustained use of the personal computer exhibit deviant movement strategies as compared to healthy participants. Patients (N=10) and controls (N=24) performed a graphical aiming task combined with an auditory memory task. Force production (pen pressure), kinematic- and performance variables were recorded. During a trial, the control group gradually increased pen pressure from the stationary phases to the dynamic phase. The patients increased their pen pressure much more abruptly and to such a degree that the final pressure during real-time movement far exceeded that of the controls. Memory load led to a greater increase of pen pressure from the stationary phase to the dynamic phase in the patient group. Patients further displayed longer reaction times. The results are discussed within the framework of our recent theory on the role of neuromotor noise in the regulation of task performance under conditions of stress.