The Impact of Informational Intervention on HPV Vaccination Intention among Heterosexual Men.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs). However, despite widespread under-vaccination amongst men and the importance of vaccinating both sexes to curb the spread of HPV, research has focused on promoting HPV vaccination predominantly amongst women. Therefore, the current study examines the effectiveness of different informational interventions in promoting vaccination intentions amongst heterosexual men. In a preregistered study of 583 unvaccinated adult men, we randomly assigned participants to one of four informational interventions aimed at promoting awareness of HPV risks and vaccine uptake: (1) risks to oneself (n = 145), (2) risks to their female partner (n = 144), (3) risks to oneself and their female partner (n = 153), and (4) general vaccine information (n = 153). Amongst participants reporting a sexual history (67%), intentions to get vaccinated significantly increased by 10.75 points on a 100-point scale (p < 0.01) after they received information about the risks of HPV for both themselves and their female partner, compared to receiving information about only their own HPV risk. These findings provide valuable guidance for public health officials and policymakers into the effectiveness of different messaging strategies in promoting HPV vaccination amongst adult male populations to increase vaccination rates.

Foreign language reduces false memories by increasing memory monitoring.

People have false memories that distort their recollection of past events. Language is an important source of such memories, from providing false inferences to outright misinformation. Here we investigate the impact of using a native or foreign language on bilinguals' susceptibility to false memories. Although language has been argued to impact false memories in multiple ways, our study was inspired by recent work in the decision-making literature, which leads to the novel hypothesis that foreign language encourages people to engage in careful memory monitoring that could reduce false memories. This hypothesis contrasts with a processing load account, which predicts that a foreign language would increase false memories because it is naturally more difficult to process information in a foreign language. We tested these hypotheses using two false memory tasks. Using the DRM task, Experiment 1 found that individuals were more accurate in identifying false memories when using their foreign language compared with their native tongue, consistent with the memory monitoring hypothesis. Using the misinformation task, Experiment 2 found that processing misleading information in one's foreign language eliminated false memories, again supporting the hypothesis that a foreign language increases the use of memory monitoring. These findings support a monitoring hypothesis that has been overlooked in prior studies on bilingualism and false memory, with implications for billions of people who regularly use a foreign language. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Use of a language intervention to reduce vaccine hesitancy.

Vaccine hesitancy is a major global challenge facing COVID-19 immunization programs. Its main source is low public trust in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine. In a preregistered experimental study, we investigated how using a foreign language when communicating COVID-19 vaccine information influences vaccine acceptance. Hong Kong Chinese residents (N = 611) received COVID-19 vaccine information either in their native Chinese or in English. English increased trust in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine and, as a result, reduced vaccine hesitancy. This indicates that language can impact vaccine attitudes and demonstrate the potential of language interventions for a low cost, actionable strategy to curtail vaccine hesitancy amongst bilingual populations. Language interventions could contribute towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of health and well-being.