Effect of effort and deadlines on consumer product returns

While extant research has examined return policies as a combination of time and effort, we investigate both the independent and interactive impacts of time and effort on consumer decisions to return or retain products. We find that decreasing return deadlines can have the counterintuitive effect of increasing return rates under some conditions. Using construal level theory, we propose that perceived effort (both physical and cognitive) mediates the effect of return policy on return rates leading to suppressed returns. Further, when deadlines are framed as durations between store visits, overall product returns are exacerbated except when perceived effort is high.     

The persuasive “power” of stigma?

We predicted that able-bodied individuals and White Americans would have a difficult time saying no to persuasive appeals offered by disabled individuals and Black Americans, due to their desire to make such interactions proceed smoothly. In two experiments, we show that members of stigmatized groups have a peculiar kind of persuasive “power” in face-to-face interactions with non-stigmatized individuals. In Experiment 1, wheelchair-bound confederates were more effective in publicly soliciting donations to a range of charities than confederates seated in a regular chair. In Experiment 2, Whites changed their private attitudes more following face-to-face appeals from Black than White confederates, an effect mediated by their increased efforts to appear agreeable by nodding and expressing agreement. This difference was eliminated when impression management concerns were minimized – when participants viewed the appeals on video.     

Pro-environmental attitudes,pro-environmental behaviours and nature-relatedness: Differences based on place preference

IntroductionThis study explored whether place preference, an individual's relationship with place, differentiated people on pro-environmental attitudes, nature-relatedness and pro-environmental behavior.ObjectiveThe aim was to provide a way to segment people and potentially inform behavior change messaging strategies targeting pro-environmental action.MethodOnline participants reported an urban/nature place preference, completed a sense of place measure in reference to this categorisation, followed by counter-balanced nature-relatedness, pro-environmental attitudes and pro-environmental behaviour measures.ResultsParticipants reported moderate-to-high levels of sense of place generally and place attachment specifically. Positive associations between sense of place, nature relatedness, pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours existed; but differed by place preference. Correlations were positive in the nature preference group but negative or non-significant in the urban preference group. Individuals with a nature preference reported higher nature-relatedness, pro-environmental attitudes and pro-environmental behavior.ConclusionThe results suggest place preference can discriminate individuals on a range of pro-environmental concepts and may have potential for behavior change strategies targeting these outcomes.     

Validation of the factor structure of the Greek adaptation of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ-3)

The current study aimed to confirm the factor structure and reliability of the newly translated Greek version of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3) among 1753 Greek-Cypriot high school students. Results of the structural equation modeling indicated a very good fit with the original four-factor structure of the SATAQ-3 for both males and females. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the four subscales were .92 for ‘Internalization-General’, .82 for ‘Internalization-Athlete’, .94 for ‘Pressure’ and .88 for ‘Information’. Further analyses showed no significant differences between BMI categories with respect to the Internalization-General, Internalization-Athlete and Information factors but there were significant differences on the Pressure factor. The findings of the current study support the existence of the original four-factor structure of the SATAQ-3. The validity and reliability results of the Greek version of the SATAQ-3 support its use in Greek-speaking countries or populations.     

Appreciation of nature and appreciation of environmental protection: How stable are these attitudes and which comes first?

IntroductionAttitude toward nature and attitude toward environmental protection are two separate but correlated attitudes. Little is known about the two attitudes’ stability/volatility over time, despite the practical value of such knowledge.Objectives & methodUsing longitudinal survey data from 251 adults in a cross-lagged structural equation model, we assessed the degree of spontaneous (i.e., unprompted) change in the two attitudes. We also considered whether such change could provide evidence regarding causal direction; causation could go in either of two directions between the two attitudes, or it could even be bi-directional.ResultsWe corroborated the substantive connection between attitude toward nature and attitude toward environmental protection; however, the absence of change in the attitudes despite the passage of two years disallows reliable statements about causal direction.ConclusionIt is possible to protect the environment by encouraging appreciation of nature, but change in attitude toward nature and attitude toward environmental protection may be difficult to achieve with mature individuals.     

A review of: “Agency,Health and Social Survival: The Ecopolitics of Rival Psychologies”

Caroline New (1996) Agency, Health and Social Survival: the Ecopolitics of Rival Psychologies, London: Taylor & Francis, 190 pp., $12.95     

Exploring the Strength of Association between the Components of Emotion Syndromes: The Case of Surprise

A new experimental paradigm involving a computerised quiz was used to examine, on an intra-individual level, the strength of association between four components of the surprise syndrome: cognitive (degree of prospectively estimated unexpectedness), experiential (the feeling of surprise), behavioural (degree of response delay on a parallel task), and expressive (the facial expression of surprise). It is argued that this paradigm, together with associated methods of data analysis, effectively controls for most method factors that could in previous studies have lowered the correlations among the components of emotion syndromes. It was found that (a) the components of the surprise syndrome were all positively correlated; (b) strong association existed only between the cognitive and the experiential component of surprise; (c) the coherence between syndrome components did not increase with increasing intensity of surprise; and (d) there was also only moderate coherence between the components of the facial expression of surprise (eyebrow raising, eye widening, mouth opening), although in this case, coherence tended to increase with intensity. Taken together, the findings support only a weakly probabilistic version of a behavioural syndrome view of surprise. However, the component correlations seem strong enough to support the existence of strong associations among a subset of the mental or central neurophysiological processes engaged in surprise.     

Attitudes towards psychotherapy manuals among clinicians treating eating disorders

Clinicians have relatively low uptake and implementation of evidence-based psychotherapies for the eating disorders, and this problem appears to be associated with low use of manualized approaches. This study examines clinicians' positive and negative attitudes to manuals, and possible beliefs and emotional factors that might drive those attitudes. The participants were 125 psychological therapists working with eating-disordered patients. Each completed standardised measures of attitudes to manuals and emotional states. A number of beliefs about the content of manuals were associated with both positive attitudes to the outcome of treatment and negative attitudes to their impact on the treatment process. In addition, a more positive mood was associated with more positive attitudes. Suggestions are made regarding how attitudes might be made more positive, in order to facilitate the use of evidence-based therapies for eating disorders.     

Attitudes to doctors and medicine: The preliminary development of a new scale

Abstract

The preliminary development of a new scale to measure attitudes towards medicine and doctors is described. The scale comprises four factors: “positive attitude towards doctors,” “positive attitude towards medicine,” “negative attitude towards doctors,” and “negative attitude towards medicine.” Alpha coefficients for the four scales were satisfactory, ranging from 0.69 to 0.76. Test re-test reliabilities ranged from 0.69 to 0.81. Evidence of criterion-related validity was obtained from comparison of the attitudes of five groups involved in health care: nurses, medical students, patients, and sociologists and psychologists who are teachers in medical schools. Patients and medical students held significantly more positive attitudes towards doctors and medicine that did nurses and behavioural scientists. While nurses were as negative towards doctors as sociologists and psychologists, they were significantly less negative about medicine.     

Attitudinal and normative processes in health behavior

Abstract

Given the importance of the distinction between attitudes and subjective norms for a variety of theories and interventions in social cognition and in the psychology of health, the present article presents a review of the relevant literature. Criticisms raised against the distinction include conceptual arguments, large correlations between attitudes and subjective norms, crossover effects, and methodological issues. Points in favor of the distinction include discriminant validity data, individual differences in the weights placed on attitudes and subjective norms, experimental manipulations of attitudes and subjective norms, and cognitive clustering of the beliefs presumed to underlie attitudes and subjective norms. Finally, implications of the distinction for recent research on interventions, social identity theory, and the self are considered.