The effects of message quality and congruency on perceptions of tailored health communications

Recent research has documented the effectiveness of tailoring health behavior change messages to characteristics of the recipients, but little is known about the processes underlying these effects. Drawing from the elaboration likelihood model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986), we examined the role of message scrutiny in moderating the congruency effect (Mann, Sherman, & Updegraff, 2004). One hundred and thirty-six undergraduate participants read either a strong or weak message promoting regular dental flossing with a frame (gain vs. loss) that either matched or mismatched their motivational orientation (approach vs. avoidance). Results showed that participants were sensitive to argument quality in the matched but not mismatched conditions. Further, argument quality moderated the effect of congruency on participants’ attitudes and perceived norms regarding flossing, as well as their subsequent self-reported flossing behavior. Results suggest that increased message scrutiny underlies message tailoring effects.     

Health information processed under limited attention: is it better to be "hot" or "cool?".

INTRODUCTION: The attentional myopia model (T. Mann & A. Ward, 2004) posits that under conditions of limited attention, individuals will be disproportionately influenced by highly salient cues. The "hot/cool" model (J. Metcalfe & W. Mischel, 1999) suggests that cues designed to activate "hot" emotional systems will typically dominate attention and promote relevant behavior more than cues designed to activate "cool" cognitive systems. METHOD: While under conditions of high or low cognitive load, participants heard information regarding the use of a zinc supplement and reported their intentions to try it. In Study 1, cool message cues that promoted the use of zinc were more salient than hot cues that discouraged its use. In Study 2, hot cues that discouraged the use of zinc were more salient than cool cues that promoted its use. RESULTS: In both studies, the imposition of cognitive load increased the influence of salient cues, regardless of their motivational "temperature." CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with the attentional myopia model, either hot or cool health message cues can exert strong influence over individuals, depending on the relative salience of those cues.     

Early Identification of Autism: Implications for Counselors

The author reviews an article (L. C. Eaves & H. H. Ho, 2004) published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders that discussed screening tools and diagnostic assessments used to identify autism in 2‐year‐olds as well as a follow‐up study 2½ years later. The author also provides a discussion of the impact of receiving this diagnosis on families and roles for counselors.     

Rationally Functional Dependence

Two different types of functional dependencies are compared: dependencies that are functional due to the laws of nature and dependencies that are functional if all involved agents behave rationally. The first type of dependencies was axiomatized by Armstrong. This article gives a formal definition of the second type of functional dependencies in terms of strategic games and describes a sound and complete axiomatization of their properties. The axiomatization is significantly different from the Armstrong’s axioms.     

A Longitudinal Investigation of the Friendship Model of Relational Interdependent Self-Construal

A four-wave longitudinal study examined how relational-interdependent self-construal (RISC) or the tendency to think of one’s self in terms of close relationships, was related to cognitions and behaviors within friendships. In same-sex friendships, in both concurrent and prospective analyses, own RISC was associated with perceived friend’s RISC, own relationship supportive behaviors, and own relationship quality. Perceived friend’s RISC predicted perceived friend’s relationship supportive behaviors. Own behaviors predicted fulfillment of own friendship functions, which predicted own relationship quality. In prospective analyses, behaviors mediated the RISC-friendship function relation, and behaviors and friendship functions both mediated the RISC-relationship quality relation. However, the influence of perceived friend’s RISC on subsequent variables was through its association with perceived friend’s behavior, which was associated with own friendship functions concurrently.     

Political Moralism and Constitutional Reasoning: A Reply to Bernard Williams

Res Publica - Williams’s well-known critique of the ‘moralism’ of liberal political philosophy—its disconnect from political reality—holds special significance for the...