1,721,153 research outputs found
Future Self-Continuity and Health Behavior
Full text linkThe current research expands the theory of future self-continuity, or perceived connection with
one's future self, by comparing each self-continuity component and assessing it in a novel
domain, health behavior. Future self-continuity is the theory that suggests that the degree to
which individuals feel connected to their future selves influence consequential behavior. This
research employed Hershfield’s (2011) composition of self-continuity: perceived future
vividness, similarity, and positivity (a measure comparable to future self-caring in the present
research). Study 1 demonstrated that future self-caring has the strongest associations with key
health behaviors relevant to mortality and morbidity (smoking, diet, physical activity, alcohol
consumption, and sleep). Studies 2 and 3 included a novel future self-caring manipulation task,
which indicated that future self-caring does not affect intentions and willingness to engage in
health behavior, but does influence temporal preferences for immediate pleasure versus long-term-
health. This research offers insights into the role of the self in determining health behavior,
and suggests new strategies that could be used to promote health behavior change.Bachelor of Art
Forming Implementation Intentions: A Novel Strategy for Overcoming the Negative Impact of Social Comparisons on Body Satisfaction
Full text linkBody dissatisfaction is associated with significant negative psychological consequences.
The purpose of the present study was to determine whether forming implementation
intentions, a powerful strategy for modifying behaviors and attitudes through implicit
processes, could improve body satisfaction.Bachelor of Art
A Meta-Analysis of Social Norms Interventions: Effects on Health Behavior Change
Full text linkObjective: Social norms interventions have been widely used to influence health behaviors, but their effectiveness varies across different behavioral domains. This meta-analysis was conducted to (a) evaluate the effectiveness of social norms interventions in changing actual behaviors, (b) assess the moderating role of descriptive versus injunctive norms interventions, (c) examine whether intervention effectiveness differs across health behavior categories, and (d) analyze the impact of social norms interventions on perceived norms. Methods: A total of 140 effect sizes from 112 studies were included in this analysis. Cohen’s d was used as the effect size measure, and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed around each mean. Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were performed to examine the role of moderators. Results: Social norms interventions yielded a small to moderate effect on behavior change (d = 0.104, 95% CI [0.068, 0.141]). Diet-related behaviors showed the strongest effect (d = 0.219), while alcohol consumption interventions had the weakest (d = 0.104). The effectiveness of vaccination and exercise interventions was more variable. Meta-regression revealed that descriptive and injunctive norms interventions functioned as significant moderators, though their effects varied by health behavior. Perceived norms changed pre- to post-intervention, but further research is needed to establish whether these changes directly mediate behavior. Conclusion: This meta-analysis provides evidence that social norms interventions can influence health behaviors, though their impact is modest and varies by behavioral domain. Future research should explore the sustainability of these interventions and the mechanisms by which changes in perceived norms translate into behavioral change.Bachelor of Art
Mental Contrasting to Promote Health Behavior Change: Meta-Analysis of Behavioral Impact, Mechanisms, and Combined Effects with Implementation Intentions
Full text linkObjective: Adherence to recommended health behaviors can save lives and reduce healthcare costs. This meta-analysis was performed to (a) evaluate the effectiveness of mental contrasting in promoting health behavior adherence, (b) quantify the impact of combining mental contrasting with implementation intentions on health behavior change, and (c) test the impact of mental contrasting on the specified mechanisms of change: energization, reality evaluations, adapting to negative feedback, future-reality associations, and obstacle-behavior associations. We also aligned behavioral responses to expectations of success. Methods: A total of 33 studies were included in this analysis (k=99). Cohen’s d formed the effect size for this study and 95% CI were computed around each mean. Results: MC (d=0.325, 95%CI =0.236 to 0.414) and MCII (d=0.359 95%CI= 0.259 to 0.458) yielded significant effect sizes. Also, when people engage in mental contrasting, it creates a nonconscious effect that triggers the specified mechanisms of change, leading to goal attainment. These effects are stronger when expectations of success are high and weaker when expectations of success are low. Conclusion: This analysis supports that mental contrasting is a beneficial tool for improving health behaviors and shows the mechanisms of mental contrasting exerts its effects. More studies are needed to further test the impact of MC and MCII on health behavior change.Bachelor of Art
Reducing Health Information Avoidance by Mental Contrasting
No full textObjective: Staying informed on one’s health is critical for positive health outcomes. However, the possibility of receiving bad news leads many people (via both deliberate and automatic processes) to opt out of learning personal health information. The self-regulation exercise of mental contrasting has helped people improve a vast range of behaviors, and this study is the first to test its effectiveness in helping people reduce health information avoidance. We hypothesized that participants who engaged in mental contrasting would be more open to learning their personal melanoma risk than participants who completed a reflection activity. Method: A randomized controlled trial was administered on MTurk (n = 354). Participants completed a mental contrasting exercise or a reflection activity before filling out a melanoma risk calculator. Upon completion of the calculator, they chose whether and how much information they would like to learn about their melanoma risk. Results: Chi-square testing indicated that mental contrasting was effective in decreasing melanoma risk avoidance. Conclusion: As a brief and engaging method of reducing health information avoidance, mental contrasting may be useful in real health settings.
Keywords: health information avoidance, mental contrasting, Fantasy Realization TheoryBachelor of Art
Energization and Tension on the Intention-Behavior Relationship
Full text linkThe present research focuses on investigating the interaction between motivation and psychological arousal in both approach and avoidance goals. The primary objective is to gain unique insights into the roles of energization and tension in moderating the intention-behavior relationship. Drawing from the perspectives of achievement motivation, psychological arousal, and the energization theory of motivation, this project aims to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the significance of subjective feelings in goal pursuit. Moreover, theories of challenge and threat, as well as regulatory focus theory, are reviewed to contextualize the potential findings of this project, thereby adding to the existing literature on the behavioral implications of these theories. Ultimately, the findings from the study may offer valuable guidelines for enhancing existing interventions aimed at bridging the intention-behavior gap. Two studies, one cross-sectional and one longitudinal, were designed to explore the behavioral implications of psychological arousal in goal-pursuit processes.Bachelor of Scienc
The Impact of Source, Channel, and Theme on Receptivity to Tobacco Control Messages
Full text linkMass media campaigns can effectively promote quitting and reduce smoking prevalence. However, questions remain about specific message components that make campaign messages most effective. This experimental research investigated the impact of message channel, source, and theme on the credibility and perceived effectiveness of tobacco control messages. We conducted two experiments to test tobacco control messages among U.S. adults. The first experiment used message channel and message source as between-subjects factors, and message theme as within-subjects factors. Outcome measures included source credibility, message believability, perceived effectiveness, and attitudes towards the message. The second experiment used only message source and theme as between-subject factors. Outcome measures included message believability and perceived effectiveness. Results suggest that the theme of a tobacco control message has a greater impact than source or channel on the evaluations of a message. Future tobacco control media campaigns may utilize this research to maximally impact message outcomes.Master of Art
EXAMINING THE ROLE OF EMOTION DIFFERENTIATION AND PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY DURING ACUTE STRESS
Full text linkEmotion differentiation (ED) -- the tendency to experience and identify emotions with specificity -- is a robust predictor of adaptive responses to daily hassles; yet its role during acute stress is understudied. Herein, we investigate the effects of ED on participants’ self-reported and physiological responses to an acute stress task. Healthy young adults (N = 195) completed a modified experience sampling procedure and later completed a standardized stress task. We found higher negative emotion differentiation (NED) was associated with less intense self-reported negative emotions during the stressor, although people with higher NED also exhibited greater cardiac-mediated sympathetic reactivity. In exploratory analyses, we tested the indirect effect of NED on self-reported stress through the tendency to make internally-focus attributions about performance on the task but did not find significant results. Our results suggest that people with higher NED may experience their emotions as more manageable regardless of their physiological arousal.Master of Art
Investigating the Reciprocal Within- and Between-Person Association Between Daily Physical Activity and Affect
Full text linkThe purpose of this study was to investigate the bidirectional within- and between-person associations between daily physical activity (PA) and affect. Ninety-one overweight/obese adults wore an activPAL accelerometer for 21 days, completed morning and evening daily diaries about affect, and completed evening reports about recreational moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and strength-training. Higher average self-reported MVPA was associated with lower average evening negative activated affect (b=-0.01). Higher average levels of morning positive activated (PR=1.08) and deactivated (PR=1.12) affect were associated with greater average self-reported MVPA. Higher morning negative activated affect (PR=0.87) was associated with less average self-reported MVPA. On days when participants experienced higher negative activated affect than usual, they had 35% lower odds of participating in self-reported strength-training (OR=0.65). The results support a cyclical relationship between affect and physical activity, more positive people participate in physical activity and more active people have lower average negative affect.Master of Art
Moralization of Religiosity Explains Worldwide Trends in Religious Belief
Full text linkReligion is an enduring part of human culture, but religious belief is declining in some societies. What explains which societies secularize and which individuals leave their faiths? We propose that the moralization of religiosity—the belief that religion is essential to morality—helps explain trends in religious change. Historical cross-cultural, retrospective longitudinal, survey, and experimental studies (N=229,888) all reveal that nations are less likely to secularize and individuals are less likely to deconvert when they see religion as essential to moral goodness. Cross-cultural variation in moralization of religiosity explains why some countries secularized faster than others from 1995-2014 (Study 1; N=218,603). Present-day moralization of religiosity predicts a lower likelihood of deconverting within the U.S. (Study 2; N=924), and across countries and world religions (Study 3; N=8,686). Study 4 (N=701) shows that childhood exposure to moralization of religiosity predicts a stronger likelihood to maintain religion across the lifespan. Study 5 (N=513) shows that moralization of religiosity predicts prejudice towards deconverts and atheists, suggesting that moralization of religiosity inhibits deconversion due to perceived reputational costs. Finally, Study 6 (N=461) replicates our key findings with an experiment. By explaining both individual religious cognition and large-scale religious behavior, the moralization of religiosity reconciles sociological and psychological approaches to understanding religious change.Master of Art
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