Dimensional and social comparisons in a health fitness context.

Whereas prior research has found that people are influenced by both internal (e.g., dimensional) and external (e.g., social) comparative information in academic contexts, we experimentally examined the influence of such comparisons in a health fitness context. Participants engaged in "physical and mental fitness" tasks (e.g., performing sit-ups, memorizing words) and were randomly assigned to receive (1) social comparative feedback indicating their physical or mental fitness was better or worse than their peers or (2) dimensional comparative feedback indicating their performance in a target domain (e.g., mental fitness) was better or worse than a referent domain (e.g., physical fitness). Results showed that participants who made upward comparisons had lower fitness self-evaluations and more negative (less positive) emotional reactions to the feedback for the target domain, with the effect being nominally stronger for social than dimensional comparisons and for mental than physical fitness. Findings are discussed in the context of comparison-based models and health behavior theories.

Tendencies for Comparing Up and Down: An Examination of the Directional Subscales of the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure.

People vary in their individual tendencies to compare to others-referred to as social comparison orientation (SCO). Researchers have heretofore developed and validated a scale to assess SCO-the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (INCOM). The standard INCOM assesses non-directional comparisons, but not directional comparisons to better- and worse-off others. The goal of the present research was to examine the factor structure and validity of directional (and non-directional) comparison tendencies using the expanded INCOM. Across four archival studies and one pre-registered study using student and non-student samples, we provide evidence for 1) a 3-factor structure for the INCOM with non-directional, directional-upward, and directional-downward SCO dimensions, 2) inter-correlations among the SCO dimensions suggesting convergent validity of the directional scales, 3) greater endorsement of non-directional, then directional-upward, and directional-downward SCO, 4) lower SCO among older individuals and members of racial/ethnic minority groups, and 5) strong and consistent associations of directional-upward SCO with well-being and affect, appearance beliefs (e.g., body satisfaction), social emotions (e.g., envy), and agency-related motivations and consequences in interpersonal contexts, but smaller and less consistent associations of non-directional and directional-downward SCO with outcomes (with notable exceptions). Taken together, this research indicates that SCO is a multi-faceted individual difference variable.

Which measures of perceived vulnerability predict protective intentions-and when?

Assessing perceived vulnerability to a health threat is essential to understanding how people conceptualize their risk, and to predicting how likely they are to engage in protective behaviors. However, there is limited consensus about which of many measures of perceived vulnerability predict behavior best. We tested whether the ability of different measures to predict protective intentions varies as a function of the type of information people learn about their risk. Online participants (N = 909) read information about a novel respiratory disease before answering measures of perceived vulnerability and vaccination intentions. Type-of-risk information was varied across three between-participant groups. Participants learned either: (1) only information about their comparative standing on the primary risk factors (comparative-only), (2) their comparative standing as well as the base-rate of the disease in the population (+ base-rate), or (3) their comparative standing as well as more specific estimates of their absolute risk (+ absolute-chart). Experiential and affective measures of perceived vulnerability predicted protective intentions well regardless of how participants learned about their risk, while the predictive ability of deliberative numeric and comparative measures varied based on the type of risk information provided. These results broaden the generalizability of key prior findings (i.e., some prior findings about which measures predict best may apply no matter how people learn about their risk), but the results also reveal boundary conditions and critical points of distinction for determining how to best assess perceived vulnerability.

Increased levels of autistic traits are associated with atypical moral judgments.

Despite evidence often showing differences between groups with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and neurotypical controls in moral judgment, the precise nature of these differences has been difficult to establish. At least two reasons for this are (1) that ASD (and its associated characteristics) is difficult to define and (2) that morality, and the inclinations that undergird it, are hard to measure empirically. These challenges have made conclusive associations between ASD and particular patterns of moral judgment hard to come by. Thus, in the current study, participants levels of a traits associated with ASD were assessed by their responses to a questionnaire (i.e., the Iowa Screener) before they made moral judgments across a set of 20 moral dilemmas that independently assess utilitarian and deontological processing. Interestingly, results indicated that increased levels of autistic traits were associated with fewer moral judgments corresponding to either moral theory; that is, higher levels of autistic traits were associated with atypical patterns of moral judgment. In addition, and consistent with some prior methods (e.g., Gaeth et al., 2016), participant scores on the Iowa Screener, as well as their self-identification, were used to categorize participants between two groups (i.e., ASD and Typical) for exploratory purposes. Taken together, this research better informs the relationship between ASD and its associated traits with moral judgment and can inform certain discrepant findings in the field. Implications and ideas for future research are discussed, such as whether traits associated with ASD might relate to alternative moral inclinations, beyond deontology and utilitarianism.

The prospective relations of substance use frequency to social distancing behaviors and intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of social distancing self-efficacy.

To identify factors that increase risk for nonadherence to recommended health protective behaviors during pandemics, this study examined the prospective relations of substance use frequency to both adherence to social distancing recommendations and social distancing intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the role of social distancing self-efficacy in these relations. A U.S. community sample of 377 adults completed a prospective online study, including an initial assessment between March 27 and April 5, 2020, and a follow-up assessment one-month later. Results revealed a significant direct relation of baseline substance use frequency to lower adherence to social distancing recommendations one-month later. Results also revealed significant indirect relations of greater substance use frequency to lower levels of both social distancing behaviors and intentions one-month later through lower social distancing self-efficacy. Results highlight the relevance of substance use and social distancing self-efficacy to lower adherence to social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The impact of stay-at-home orders on vulnerability assessments and precautionary intentions during a pandemic.

In 2020, a novel emerging infectious disease - COVID-19 - became a global pandemic and prompted unprecedented social distancing measures. We examined the associations of voluntary stay-at-home (SAH) orders during the COVID-19 pandemic with vulnerability assessments and precautionary intentions (e.g. social distancing, hand washing). A quasi-experimental study using an online adult sample was conducted in U.S. states with and without voluntary SAH orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Self-report surveys assessed vulnerability assessments and precautionary intentions. Participants living in states with SAH orders showed inflated vulnerability assessments for contracting COVID-19, and this association was stronger for affect-laden than cognitively-based assessments. Moreover, only affect-laden vulnerability assessments were uniquely associated with precautionary intentions and accounted for the relationship between SAH orders and precautionary intentions. Our study was among the first to explore the impact of voluntary SAH orders on vulnerability assessments and precautionary intentions. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for health behavioral models and applications for promoting self-protective actions during a pandemic.

The effects of social-media based social comparison information and similarity mindsets on COVID-19 vaccination uptake cognitions.

Vaccine hesitancy-delays in vaccine uptake when one is readily available-is an important public health issue. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of psychosocial factors in influencing cognitions and behaviors related to vaccine uptake have been examined. Using an online sample of unvaccinated U.S. adults (N = 300), we examined the influence of COVID-19-related social media-based comparison information (e.g., others' attitudes about taking the vaccine)-as well as the moderating impact of (dis)similarity mindsets and indirect influence of affective associations, norm perceptions, and self-evaluations of efficacy-on vaccination uptake intentions. Participants reported higher intentions for vaccine uptake following exposure to cautious comparison models (e.g., those that engaged in health prevention behaviors, intended to get vaccinated) versus risky comparison models (e.g., those who did not engage in health prevention behaviors, did not intend to get vaccinated) and neutral comparison models and this effect was indirect through positive affective associations about taking the vaccine. There were no main or interactive effects of (dis)similarity mindsets. Understanding the psychosocial factors that influence health cognitions and behaviors in the context of an infectious disease pandemic will advance theoretical development and aid in creating interventions targeting vaccine uptake.

Absolute and comparative risk assessments: evidence for the utility of incorporating internal comparisons into models of risk perception.

Numerous health behavior models have emphasized absolute risk perceptions as prominent predictors of future behavior and intentions, but more recent research has shown that people also attend to comparative risk information. While most research highlights external (social) comparisons as the primary way people contextualize risk, it is also possible that people use internal comparisons, such as comparing their current risk to their past risk (temporal comparisons) or comparing their risk for one health threat to their risk for another health threat (dimensional comparisons).Objective: The current research sought to examine differences in absolute, external, and internal comparative risk perceptions across a variety of health threats.Design: This study utilized a cross-sectional design wherein participants completed all study materials online. Main outcome measures: MTurk workers (N = 654) responded to questions about absolute and comparative risk perceptions, concern, and precautionary intentions.Results: Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that although absolute risk perceptions were positively associated with concern and precautionary intentions for all health threats, comparative risk perceptions also accounted for unique variance in all models. Internal comparisons were uniquely associated with concern and intentions even when accounting for absolute and external comparative risk perceptions in nearly all models.Conclusion: These findings provide the first systematic evidence for the utility of incorporating internal comparisons into models of risk perception.

Adherence to Social Distancing Guidelines Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Roles of Pseudoscientific Beliefs, Trust, Political Party Affiliation, and Risk Perceptions.

BACKGROUND: Adherence to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines varies across individuals. PURPOSE: This study examined the relations of pseudoscientific and just world beliefs, generalized and institutional trust, and political party affiliation to adherence to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines over three months, as well as the explanatory role of COVID-19 risk perceptions in these relations. METHODS: A U.S. nationwide sample of 430 adults (49.8% women; mean age = 40.72) completed a prospective online study, including an initial assessment (between March 27 and April 5, 2020), a 1 month follow-up (between April 27 and May 21, 2020), and a 3 month follow-up (between June 26 and July 15, 2020). We hypothesized that greater pseudoscientific and just world beliefs, lower governmental, institutional, and dispositional trust, and Republican Party affiliation would be associated with lower initial adherence to social distancing and greater reductions in social distancing over time and that COVID-19 risk perceptions would account for significant variance in these relations. RESULTS: Results revealed unique associations of lower governmental trust, greater COVID-19 pseudoscientific beliefs, and greater trust in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to lower initial adherence to social distancing. Whereas greater COVID-19 risk perceptions and CDC trust were associated with less steep declines in social distancing over time, both Republican (vs. Democratic) Party affiliation and greater COVID-19 pseudoscientific beliefs were associated with steeper declines in social distancing over time (relations accounted for by lower COVID-19 risk perceptions). CONCLUSIONS: Results highlight the utility of public health interventions aimed at improving scientific literacy and emphasizing bipartisan support for social distancing guidelines.

Cross-sectional evaluation of perceived health care provider engagement, self-efficacy, and ART adherence in people living with HIV/AIDS.

Despite advancements in the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS, adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) remains suboptimal. Research indicates that health care provider (HCP) engagement is related to adherence, yet little is known about the specific pathways that underlie this relation. This cross-sectional study examined the relation between perceived HCP engagement and ART adherence in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), as well as the role of adherence self-efficacy in this relation. Participants (N = 207) completed self-report measures assessing monthly ART adherence, perceived ability to take ART as prescribed, and perceptions of HCP engagement. Results of a path analysis revealed a direct positive relation between perceived HCP engagement and ART adherence, and a significant indirect relation of perceived HCP engagement to ART adherence through adherence self-efficacy. Higher perceived HCP engagement was related to greater adherence self-efficacy, which, in turn was related to higher ART adherence. Findings are consistent with research demonstrating that HCP support leads to increased motivation to engage in treatment and extends past work on the importance of positive patient-provider relationships. Notably, results suggest that increasing patient perceptions of HCP engagement may be one way to boost adherence self-efficacy and improve ART adherence in PLWHA.

The prospective influence of COVID-19 affective risk assessments and intolerance of uncertainty on later dimensions of health anxiety.

The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to increase risk for the development of health anxiety. Given that elevated health anxiety can contribute to maladaptive health behaviors, there is a need to identify individual difference factors that may increase health anxiety risk. This study examined the unique and interactive relations of COVID-19 affective risk assessments (worry about risk for contracting/dying from COVID-19) and intolerance of uncertainty to later health anxiety dimensions. A U.S. community sample of 364 participants completed online self-report measures at a baseline assessment (Time 1) and one month later (Time 2). Time 1 intolerance of uncertainty was uniquely associated with the Time 2 health anxiety dimension of body vigilance. Time 1 affective risk assessments and intolerance of uncertainty were uniquely associated with later perceived likelihood that an illness would be acquired and anticipated negative consequences of an illness. The latter finding was qualified by a significant interaction, such that affective risk assessments were positively associated with anticipated negative consequences of having an illness only among participants with mean and low levels of intolerance of uncertainty. Results speak to the relevance of different risk factors for health anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight targets for reducing health anxiety risk.

Thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness explain the associations of COVID-19 social and economic consequences to suicide risk.

OBJECTIVE: The social and economic consequences of COVID-19 and related public health interventions aimed at slowing the spread of the virus have been proposed to increase suicide risk. However, no research has examined these relations. This study examined the relations of two COVID-19 consequences (i.e., stay-at-home orders and job loss) to suicide risk through thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and loneliness. METHOD: Online data from a nationwide community sample of 500 adults (mean age = 40) from 45 states were collected between March 27 and April 5, 2020. Participants completed measures assessing thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, loneliness, and suicide risk, as well as whether they (a) were currently under a stay-at-home order and (b) had experienced a recent job loss due to the pandemic. RESULTS: Results revealed a significant indirect relation of stay-at-home order status to suicide risk through thwarted belongingness. Further, whereas recent job loss was significantly correlated with suicide risk, neither the direct relation of job loss to suicide risk (when accounting for their shared relations to perceived burdensomeness) nor the indirect relation through perceived burdensomeness was significant. CONCLUSIONS: Results highlight the potential benefits of interventions targeting thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness to offset suicide risk during this pandemic.

Psychological Outcomes Associated with Stay-at-Home Orders and the Perceived Impact of COVID-19 on Daily Life.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the widespread implementation of extraordinary physical distancing interventions (e.g., stay-at-home orders) to slow the spread of the virus. Although vital, these interventions may be socially and economically disruptive, contributing to adverse psychological outcomes. This study examined relations of both stay-at-home orders and the perceived impact of COVID-19 on daily life to psychological outcomes (depression, health anxiety, financial worry, social support, and loneliness) in a nationwide U.S. community adult sample (N = 500; 47% women, mean age = 40). Participants completed questionnaires assessing psychological outcomes, stay-at-home order status, and COVID-19's impact on their daily life. Being under a stay-at-home order was associated with greater health anxiety, financial worry, and loneliness. Moreover, the perceived impact of COVID-19 on daily life was positively associated with health anxiety, financial worry, and social support, but negatively associated with loneliness. Findings highlight the importance of social connection to mitigate negative psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Examining Relationships between Gender, Opioid Dependence, and Distress Tolerance among Patients in Substance Use Disorder Treatment.

Background: Opioid abuse/dependence is associated with multiple negative outcomes relative to other forms of substance abuse/dependence, including relapse. Research identifying modifiable characteristics associated with opioid dependence and associated negative outcomes may inform the development of targeted interventions for this high-risk population. One factor warranting investigation is low distress tolerance (DT). Purpose/Objectives: In a sample of patients in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, the present study examined DT levels among patients with current opioid dependence versus no history of opioid dependence, as well as the moderating role of gender. We predicted that patients with opioid dependence would exhibit lower DT than those without a history of opioid dependence, and that women with opioid dependence would exhibit lower levels of DT than men with opioid dependence. Methods: A sample of 203 patients in residential SUD treatment were administered a series of diagnostic interviews and a behavioral measure of DT. Results: DT did not differ significantly as a function of opioid dependence. However, there was a significant opioid dependence by gender interaction, such that men with current opioid dependence exhibited significantly lower levels of DT than women with opioid dependence and men without a history of opioid dependence. Conclusions/Importance: Findings highlight a modifiable characteristic associated with opioid dependence among men that may be targeted in interventions.

Examining the impact of online rejection among emerging adults with borderline personality pathology: Development of a novel online group chat social rejection paradigm.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by emotional reactivity and interpersonal sensitivity, including greater emotional and cognitive reactivity to social rejection than controls. However, existing social rejection paradigms are not relevant to the particular social contexts that are increasingly relevant for adolescents and young adults (i.e., social media and online settings). This study examined emotional, parasympathetic, and cognitive responses to a novel online group chat social interaction task among emerging adults (18-24 years old) with a range of BPD pathology. Consistent with hypotheses, results revealed greater hostility and upset feelings, worse mood, greater threat to social needs, and greater respiratory sinus arrhythmia withdrawal in response to this task among participants in the rejection versus inclusion condition. Less support was found for the hypothesized relation of BPD pathology to greater reactivity to online social rejection. Specifically, although results revealed positive relations of BPD pathology with both negative mood in general and hostility in particular, in response to the task among participants in the rejection (but not inclusion) condition, the effect sizes associated with these findings were small, and the other hypothesized interactions of BPD pathology and group chat task condition were not significant. Conversely, results revealed associations of BPD pathology with greater threat to social needs and lower positive mood in response to the group chat task, regardless of condition. Results provide preliminary support for the utility of this novel online group chat rejection task for eliciting negative emotional, parasympathetic, and cognitive reactions in emerging adults with a range of BPD pathology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

"Transformation Tuesday": Temporal context and post valence influence the provision of social support on social media.

Social network sites (SNSs) such as Facebook have become integral in the development and maintenance of interpersonal relationships. Users of SNSs seek social support and validation, often using posts that illustrate how they have changed over time. The purpose of the present research is to examine how the valence and temporal context of an SNS post affect the likelihood of other users providing social support. Participants viewed hypothetical SNS posts and reported their intentions to provide social support to the users. Results revealed that participants were more likely to provide social support for posts that were positive and included temporal context (i.e., depicted improvement over time; Study 1). Furthermore, this research suggests that visual representations of change over time are needed to elicit social support (Study 2). Results are discussed in terms of their practical implications for SNS users and theoretical implications for the literature on social support and social media.

Experiencing is believing: prior experience moderates the impact of self-based and socially-based cues in the context of blood donation.

Two studies explored how self-based cues (i.e., self-efficacy), socially-based cues (i.e., perceived social norms), and prior blood donation experience differentially influence behavioral intentions. In Study 1, undergraduate students (N = 766) completed an online study that evaluated prior experiences, self-efficacy, perceived norms, and behavioral intentions in the context of blood donation. In Study 2, a community sample (N = 199) from a clinic waiting room completed similar measures. Across both studies, having high self-efficacy was a necessary and sufficient antecedent to high intentions, regardless of norm perception for donors. For non-donors, however, high self-efficacy was necessary but not sufficient; non-donors' intentions were higher when giving blood was perceived to be normative, but far lower when it was not. When self-efficacy was low, the effects of experience and norms did not exert meaningful effects and donation intentions were quite low. These results demonstrate that the impact of self-based and socially-based cues on behavioral intentions may differ as a function of experience. The findings can inform public health initiatives and enhance the accuracy of theoretical models by directly examining experience as a moderator.

Sources of bias in peoples' social-comparative estimates of food consumption.

Understanding how healthfully people think they eat compared to others has implications for their motivation to engage in dietary change and the adoption of health recommendations. Our goal was to investigate the scope, sources, and measurements of bias in comparative food consumption beliefs. Across 4 experiments, participants made direct comparisons of how their consumption compared to their peers' consumption and/or estimated their personal consumption of various foods/nutrients and the consumption by peers, allowing the measurement of indirect comparisons. Critically, the healthiness and commonness of the foods varied. When the commonness and healthiness of foods both varied, indirect comparative estimates were more affected by the healthiness of the food, suggesting a role for self-serving motivations, while direct comparisons were more affected by the commonness of the food, suggesting egocentrism as a nonmotivated source of comparative bias. When commonness did not vary, the healthiness of the foods impacted both direct and indirect comparisons, with a greater influence on indirect comparisons. These results suggest that both motivated and nonmotivated sources of bias should be taken into account when creating interventions aimed at improving eating habits and highlights the need for researchers to be sensitive to how they measure perceptions of comparative eating habits. (PsycINFO Database Record

Identifying when choice helps: clarifying the relationships between choice making, self-construal, and pain.

Prior research indicates that making choices before a painful task can sometimes reduce pain. We examined the possibility that independent and interdependent self-construals moderate the effect of choice on pain. Further, we tested between two types of choice: instrumental and non-instrumental. Healthy normotensive undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of three conditions prior to the cold pressor task. Participants in an instrumental choice condition selected which hand to immerse in the water and were told this choice might help reduce their pain. Non-instrumental choice participants selected which hand to immerse but were given no information about potential pain reduction. Control participants were given no choice or additional instructions. Low interdependence individuals reported less pain than high interdependence individuals-but only when given an instrumental choice. These data indicate that not all forms of choice reduce pain and not all individuals benefit from choice. Instead, individuals low in interdependence exhibit pain relief from instrumental choices.

Social-class indicators differentially predict engagement in prevention vs. detection behaviours.

OBJECTIVE: Few systematic studies have examined the contexts in which social-class variables will predict engagement in health-relevant behaviours. The current research examined whether the impact of social-class on health behaviours depends upon how social-class is assessed and the category of health behaviour under consideration. METHOD: Our sample was drawn from the Health Information National Trends Survey in 2012 (N = 3959). Participants reported their income and education as well as their engagement in a variety of prevention and detection behaviours. RESULTS: Consistent with our hypothesised framework, we found that income predicted engagement in a variety of detection behaviours above and beyond education, whereas education predicted engagement in a variety of prevention behaviours above and beyond income. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that income and education operate on health behaviours via different pathways and have implications for public health policy and intervention.