Theory and Effects in Consumer Psychology

Drawing on Calder, Brendl, Tybout, and Sternthal’s (2021) discussion of constructs and variables, I suggest that the verification approach’s focus on variables fosters a plethora of disconnected “effects” and a dearth of integrative theorizing in consumer behavior research. I discuss how publication practices and incentive structures are likely to contribute to these phenomena.     

Gradedness of visual awareness depends on attentional scope: Global perception is more graded than local perception

The gradedness or discreteness of our visual awareness has been debated. Here, we investigate the influence of spatial scope of attention on the gradedness of visual awareness. We manipulated scope of attention using hierarchical letter-based tasks (global: broad scope; local: narrow scope). Participants reported the identity of a masked hierarchical letter either at the global level or at the local level. We measured subjective awareness using the perceptual awareness scale ratings and objective performance. The results indicate more graded visual awareness (lesser slope for the awareness rating curve) at the global level compared to the local level. Graded perception was also observed in visibility ratings usage with global level task showing higher usage of the middle PAS ratings. Our results are in line with the prediction of level of processing hypothesis and show that global/local attentional scope and contextual endogenous factors influence the graded nature of our visual awareness.     

Conducting Prolonged Exposure for PTSD During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Considerations for Treatment

The unprecedented effects and duration of the COVID-19 crisis are likely to elevate the population’s level of anxiety due to psychological stress, economic hardship, and social isolation. This effect may be especially potent for individuals with preexisting mental health conditions, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy is a highly effective treatment for PTSD across trauma-exposed populations, and has been implemented effectively via telehealth. Nevertheless, PE implementation via telehealth may require specific adaptations during the COVID-19 crisis due to public health mandates calling for sheltering in place and physical distancing. This paper discusses strategies for implementing PE for PTSD during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may also be applied to other situations in which physical distancing must be considered.     

Children’s street crossing performance when auditory information about traffic is lacking

PurposeThe current study examined the impact on children’s street crossing behaviors of not having auditory-based information about traffic when crossing streets.MethodUsing a fully-immersive virtual reality system, numerous indices of children’s street crossing behaviors were measured both when they had auditory-based information about traffic and when this was lacking.ResultsThe lack of traffic sounds did not influence the inter-vehicle gap size that children crossed into but it did result in slower initiations and, ultimately, more high-risk outcomes (close calls and hits).ConclusionTraffic sounds significantly contribute to enhance children’s safety when crossing streets. Cars with reduced sounds (e.g., electric) and anything that interferes with children accessing auditory-based traffic information (e.g., wearing headphones) could increase their risk of pedestrian injury.     

Mapping people's positions regarding the acceptability of somatic gene therapy

IntroductionAs gene therapy entails potential drawbacks, studies are needed in order to know people's opinions regarding its use.ObjectivesThe present study examined French people's positions regarding somatic gene therapy.MethodA sample of 224 adults living in various areas in France was presented with 32 realistic scenarios that were created by orthogonally combining the levels of four factors: the type of illness (e.g., hemophilia), the probability of transmission of the pathogenic gene, the technique used (e.g., transfer of a functional gene just after birth), and le probability of success of the therapy.ResultsThrough cluster analysis, six qualitatively different positions were found: Never very acceptable (8% of the sample, mostly males and more educated people), Legalist (17%, mostly people who have been informed of the legal and technical aspects of the therapy), Depends on the chances of success (18%), Fully acceptable after birth (5%), Fully acceptable before birth (8%), and Quite always acceptable (33%, mostly older people with children).ConclusionAlthough it has some few detractors, the recourse to gene therapy seems to be well accepted by a majority of the participants, and this high level of acceptation hold whether the pathology considered is hemophilia, immunodeficiency, propensity to develop cancer, or cardiovascular pathology.     

Safety of micro-mobility: Riders’ psychological factors and risky behaviors of cargo TTWs in China

Cargo two- or three-wheeled vehicles (TTWs), as a new form of micro-mobility, have become a popular mode of urban cargo transportation in China. Cargo TTW riders’ psychological factors and risky behaviors lead to a number of accidents. A questionnaire is designed by comprehensively considering these factors and behaviors of cargo TTW riders that includes eleven risk factors to quantitatively analyze the risky behaviors based on structural equation modeling (SEM). One thousand three hundred nineteen participants reported using cargo TTWs on a questionnaire distributed across the country. The characteristics of riding behavior data are analyzed to verify the three-layer risk theoretical framework of “Psychological factors (Personality traits/specific factors) - Psychological acceptability of risks (confidence/perception/attitude) - Risky behaviors”. The results show that anger has a strong direct effect on riding violations, while normlessness and altruism have a direct effect on riding errors. Workload has a weak but direct effect on risky behaviors, and riding feedback has a weak and mixed effect. In addition, high-risk groups are identified by analysis of variance (ANOVA) with rider population attributes. These quantitative analyses can help guide safety countermeasures to mitigate accidents involving cargo TTWs.     

Correlations of multiple rider behaviors with self-reported attitudes,perspectives on traffic rule strictness and social desirability

Powered Two-Wheeler (PTW) riders constitute a very vulnerable group of road users, while riding a PTW is considerably more dangerous than using any other motor vehicle. Behavioral issues have been identified major moderating factors to PTW crashes, as riders display great variability in their attitudes towards road safety. Τhe aim of this paper is to present a thorough, overarching structure of relationships correlating various unsafe stated PTW rider behaviors (riding after alcohol consumption, speeding, helmet use and texting) with several self-reported attitude parameters and factors regarding rider perspectives on traffic rule strictness and social desirability. A structural equation model (SEM) was developed using data from the ESRA2 survey, which provided a broad sample encompassing 5,958 respondent riders from 32 countries. Numerous statistical relationships were discovered and quantified correlating the four examined unsafe rider behaviors with eight latent unobserved variables. All covariances between unsafe behaviors were found to be positive and statistically significant, indicating that a rider who will engage more frequently in every single one of the four examined unsafe riding behaviors is more likely to also engage in all the others as well.     

Mental health of circus artists: Psychological resilience,circus factors,and demographics predict depression,anxiety, stress,and flourishing

Circus artists perform physically demanding skills in a high-stress environment, yet little is known about their mental health. We explored emotional states of depression, anxiety, stress and flourishing in a sample of 500 circus artists. The predominantly female sample (n = 415) encompassed a range of performance levels (amateur 50%, part/full-time professional 41%, student 6%, retired 3%), with aerial acrobatics (71%) being the most frequently represented main circus discipline in the sample. Compared to previously established normative scores of a non-clinical population, circus artists scored higher on scales of emotions reflecting depression, anxiety, and stress, and lower on flourishing. They also scored higher on both state and trait resilience compared to previously established normative scores. Using a Bayesian estimation procedure, linear regression analyses showed that resilience, circus factors, and demographics (i.e., age and gender) explained between 24% and 51% of the variance in emotional states of depression, anxiety, stress, and flourishing. Consistently, circus artists with higher levels of state/trait resilience reported higher levels of psychological wellbeing, indicated by lower levels of emotional states of depression, anxiety and stress, and higher levels of flourishing. Therefore, the development of interventions for circus artists who experience lower levels of psychological wellbeing appears warranted.     

Exercise is medicine… when you enjoy it: Exercise enjoyment,relapse prevention efficacy,and health outcomes for youth within a drug and alcohol treatment service

ObjectiveEvidence for the effectiveness of exercise as therapy for youth substance use disorder (SUD) is scarce. In this study, we investigated associations between exercise enjoyment and recovery outcomes for youth undergoing residential SUD treatment.MethodUsing ecological momentary assessment, each week participants reported perceptions of exercise enjoyment, relapse prevention efficacy, self-esteem, and physical health, and associations between these variables were assessed at both between- and within-person levels. There were 97 participants (age: M = 17.5, SD = 1.57, range = 14 to 21; 37 female, 60 male), with a final sample of 64 due to participants (n = 33) discontinuing treatment within 2 weeks of commencement. Of the remaining sample, 50% (n = 32) completed 3 or more assessments, 40% (n = 26) completed 5 or more, and 25% (n = 16) completed 7 or more.ResultsRelapse prevention efficacy, self-esteem, and perceived physical health increased over time in the program. Youth who, on average, enjoyed exercise more had higher self-esteem, perceived physical health, and relapse prevention efficacy than those who enjoyed it less. Additionally, on occasions when youth enjoyed exercise more (relative to their own average), they reported higher self-esteem, perceived physical health, and relapse prevention efficacy than on occasions when they reported enjoying it less.ConclusionParticipation in—and importantly, enjoyment of—exercise was linked to key health indices and predictors of relapse for youth during SUD treatment. These findings demonstrate that participation in enjoyable structured exercise may provide an important component of successful SUD treatment.     

通勤恢复活动对工作激情的动态影响及其机制

员工在通勤时间里减少身心压力, 将身体和心理资源恢复到正常状态的活动称为“通勤恢复活动”。通勤恢复活动可能跨领域对人们的工作激情产生动态影响。通过日记研究法和潜在剖面分析法, 从短期和长期研究通勤恢复活动对工作激情的动态影响、内在机制和边界条件, 拟解决3个关键问题：第一, 通勤恢复活动如何影响员工的和谐型工作激情和强迫型工作激情及其内在机制是什么?第二, 不同自我调节模式的员工在通勤恢复活动影响工作激情的机制上如何发挥调节效应?第三, 通勤恢复活动各维度组合的不同剖面对工作激情有怎么样的影响?对这些问题的深入探讨, 不仅弥补通勤研究和恢复研究中被忽视却又十分重要的研究缺陷, 而且对人们开展通勤恢复活动提升通勤恢复活动以激发员工的工作激情, 同样有很强的现实意义。