1,720,985 research outputs found
The closing of open minds: Need for closure moderates the impact of uncertainty salience on outgroup discrimination
No full textThe impact of Regulatory Modes on self control in health behaviors
No full textRegulatory modes refer to the self-regulatory orientations of individuals engaged in goal pursuit. Locomotion is the desire for continuous progress or movement in goal pursuit, privileging the movement from state to state. Assessment, on the other hand, represents the desire to critically evaluate and compare alternative goals and means, favoring the decision of which performance are best to pursue. Apparently, locomotion and assessment regulatory orientations have an opposite impact on the allocation of resources to controlled cognitive processes. When locomotion prevails over assessment people prefer to save resources for starting and maintaining action. Thus they are not motivated to use cognitive resources for higher order mental activity. When assessment prevails, on the contrary, their main accessible goal is “evaluating, comparing, reflecting”, therefore they are motivated to use most of the available resources for higher order mental activities such as abstract thinking, counterfactuals, error detection, and, as a consequence, self control. In this paper we will present two studies aimed to investigate the different impact of the two regulatory modes on self control in health behaviors
Competenza e affidabilità inferite dai volti dei candidati e risultati elettorali reali: le dimensioni della città come variabile moderatrice.
No full textDifferenze di genere nell'uso dei media tradizionali e dei Social Network
Full text linkObiettivo di questa ricerca è evidenziare eventuali differenze, in relazione al genere, nell’uso dei media tradizionali e dei media digitali e le specifiche motivazioni all’uso dei Social Network (SN) e di Facebook (FB) in particolare. A tal scopo è stato somministrato online ad un campione di 189 studenti un questionario per rilevare a) tempi e frequenza di esposizione ai media tradizionali e ai SN; b) modalità di utilizzo di FB; c) motivazioni all’uso di FB. Allo scopo di fornire una visione integrata dei pattern di esposizione ai media tradizionali e ai SN, è stata utilizzata inizialmente una strategia di analisi che utilizza l’analisi dei cluster e l’analisi discriminante, individuando tre gruppi di soggetti: i connessi, i tradizionali e i ritirati. Dalle ulteriori analisi sono emerse significative differenze di genere: a) le donne leggono più spesso libri rispetto agli uomini e vedono più spesso la TV e passano in media più tempo sui social rispetto agli uomini; b) dichiarano di avere un numero maggiore di amici su FB e passano in media più tempo degli uomini su FB; c) ottengono punteggi più alti rispetto agli uomini nella curiosità e nel ricercare persone che non vedevo da tempo, mentre gli uomini ottengono punteggi più elevati in motivazioni come flirtare. Anche il nostro campione conferma, in linea con la letteratura, un utilizzo di FB da parte delle donne che comprende numerose attività, con un orientamento a mantenere e creare un più ampio numero di relazioni interpersonali.The objective of this research is to highlight potential gender differences in relation to the use of traditional and digital media, with a specific focus on the motivations behind the use of Social Networks (SN), in particular Facebook (FB). We administered an online survey to a sample of 189 students aimed at monitoring a) time and frequency of exposure to traditional media and SN; b) the use respondents make of FB; c) the reasons why they use FB. In order to provide an integrated view of the exposure pattern to the traditional media and to SN, we have adopted a cluster analysis and discriminant analysis, identifying three groups of users: the connected, the traditional and the detached. The subsequent analysis demonstrated significant gender differences: a) women read a higher number of books than men, they watch more TV and they spend more time on social media; b) women claim to have a greater number of friends on FB and spend on average more time than men on FB; c) women get higher scores than men on motivation like curiosity for browsing or to search for people who they have not seen for some time. In contrast, men get higher scores in motivations like flirting. Our results are in line with the findings of previous studies, showing how women use FB for a plethora of activities, with a higher orientation to maintain and create a larger number of interpersonal relationships
Comunicare la crisi nella pubblicità. Analisi dell’influenza di framing proattivi e difensivi nella valutazione del prodotto
Full text linkIn periodi di recessione e crisi economica i consumi, specialmente quelli di beni durevoli, tendono a calare. Le aziende da una parte e la ricerca accademica dall’altra hanno cercato di fare luce su quali processi portassero a prendere decisioni di acquisto in periodi di incertezza economica e se una minore o maggiore investimento nella comunicazione pubblicitaria potesse influenzare tali processi. La presente ricerca ha come obiettivo quello di fare il punto sull’evoluzione della comunicazione pubblicitaria in Italia e testare empiricamente se diversi approcci al comunicare la crisi attraverso la pubblicità possano rivelarsi più o meno efficaci. In particolare, si è voluto testare se suggerire un approccio più “proattivo” verso la crisi (con un claim come “SUPERA LA CRISI”) possa avere maggiori benefici di un approccio “difensivo” (con un claim come “SCAPPA DALLA CRISI”). I risultati confermano come i consumatori valutino meglio il prodotto pubblicizzato nel caso di un approccio proattivo da parte dell’azienda rispetto a quello difensivo. Nelle conclusioni, gli autori presentano possibili scenari applicativi e potenziali direzioni per futuri filoni di ricercaIn times of recession and economic crisis consumers tend to drop their purchases, especially in relation to durable goods. Both companies and academic research have tried to shed light on the processes that may influence consumers’ purchasing decisions in times of economic uncertainty. Furthermore, they tried to understand whether increasing or decreasing the investments in advertising could impact on these processes. The present research has the main objective of tracking the evolution of advertising communication in Italy and empirically testing if different approaches can be more or less effective to communicate the crisis. In particular, we test whether presenting a more “proactive” approach to crisis (using a claim like “OVERRUN THE CRISIS”) could be more beneficial than a “defensive” slogan (such “RUN AWAY FROM THE CRISIS”). The results confirm how consumers give higher evaluations of the product advertised through the proactive (rather than the defensive) slogan. In the concluding remarks, the authors provide suggestion to implement these findings as well as direction for potential future research
Divergent paths to martyrdom and significance among suicide attackers
Full text linkThis research used open source information to investigate the motivational backgrounds of 219 suicide attackers from various regions of the world. We inquired as to whether the attackers exhibited evidence for significance quest as a motive for their actions, and whether the eradication of significance loss and/or the aspiration for significance gain systematically differed according to attackers’ demographics. It was found that the specific nature of the significance quest motive varied in accordance with attackers’ gender, age, and education. Whereas Arab-Palestinians, males, younger attackers, and more educated attackers seem to have been motivated primarily by the possibility of significance gain, women, older attackers, those with little education, and those hailing from other regions seem to have been motivated primarily by the eradication of significance loss. Analyses also suggested that the stronger an attacker’s significance quest motive, the greater the effectiveness of their attack, as measured by the number of casualties. Methodological limitations of the present study were discussed, and the possible directions for further research were indicated
Intention to pay taxes or to avoid them: The impact of social value orientation
No full textEconomic factors such as audit rates and fines have shown inconsistent effects on tax payments, suggesting that they are not sufficient to explain tax compliance. Moreover, the tax compliance rate is surprisingly higher than what the standard economic model would predict. In the last fifteen years, literature aimed at solving this so called "puzzle of compliance" has increased and pointed out several factors that could possibly explain tax compliance processes, e.g., knowledge of the tax laws, trust toward the political system, as well as personal or social norms. The studies presented here examined the impact of social value orientation on tax morale and intention to avoid/evade taxes. Social value orientation was examined both as a chronic personal orientation (Studies 1 and 2) and as a contextual factor made salient by experimental manipulations (Study 3). The results are supportive of a relationship between social value orientation and measures of tax compliance. Furthermore, results of Study 3 provided evidence for a causal effect of social value orientation on intended tax non-compliance. The effect of social value orientation on intended tax non-compliance was mediated by tax morale (Studies 2 and 3). Results are discussed with reference to their potential practical application
'Beauty is no quality in things themselves': Epistemic motivation affects implicit preferences for art
No full textArt preferences are affected by a number of subjective factors. This paper reports two studies which investigated whether need for closure shapes implicit art preferences. It was predicted that higher need for closure would negatively affect implicit preferences for abstract art. In study one, 60 participants were tested for dispositional need for closure and then completed an Implicit Association Test (IAT) task to measure their implicit preference for abstract (vs. figurative) paintings. In study two, 54 participants completed the same IAT task. In this experiment need for closure was both manipulated by cognitive load and tapped as a dispositional trait. Results of the studies converged in showing that after controlling for other important individual factors such as participants'expertise and cognitive ability, need for closure, both as a dispositional trait and as a situationally induced motivational state, was negatively associated with implicit preference for abstract art
Social representations of governance for change towards sustainability: perspectives of sustainability advocates
No full textThere is a substantial body of literature on public understandings of large-scale ‘environmental’ phenomena such as climate change and resource degradation. At the same time, political science and economics analyse the governance arrangements to deal with such issues. These realms of research rarely meet: there has been little research into people’s understandings of the governance of environmental change. This study adds a psychological perspective to governance research by investigating social representations of governance that promotes societal change towards sustainability, and related practices. It examines data from qualitative interviews with sustainability-interested people in seven European countries (n = 105). The analysis identified building blocks of representations suitable as an analytical framework for future research on governance representations. The diversity of their content reflected a range of pathways to societal change. Representations often seemed to have a creative function as a guiding vision for individuals’ own practices, but their wider transformative potential was constrained.Energie and Industri
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