Dying to Fit In: How Interpersonal Networks Shape COVID-19 Health Outcomes Through Discussion and Social Norms.

Research has repeatedly demonstrated the ability of social networks, interpersonal discussion, and perceived social norms to shape health-related outcomes. There are still substantial gaps, however, in understanding the theoretical mechanism that holds these components together, as well as the boundary conditions of their effects. Employing ego-network analysis with a representative sample of Illinois residents (N = 711) and focusing on the context of COVID-19 vaccine adherence, this study constructs a comprehensive framework to examine the direct, indirect, and conditional relationships linking social capital within networks, factual knowledge, and vaccination. Overall, the results point to the ability of tight-knit networks to influence knowledge and behavior for better or worse, depending on the composition of the network and its conversational valence. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

From Watching to Calling: Linking Variations in an Entertainment-Education Storyline with Calls to a Health Hotline.

Substantial gaps exist in the theoretical conceptualization and practical development of entertainment-education, as studies often fail to account for the ways in which intrinsic message characteristics influence subsequent behavior. These gaps served as the impetus for an international collaborative project that evaluated Vencer el Miedo ("Overcome the Fear"), a Spanish-language program that aired in Mexico from January to March 2020. The telenovela was produced with the aim of improving sexual and reproductive health knowledge and behaviors by modeling effective ways to discuss and negotiate safer sex practices. The show was accompanied by a telephone hotline called OrientaSEX operated by professional counselors from MEXFAM, Planned Parenthood's Mexican affiliate. Utilizing an interrupted time series analysis of calls made to OrientaSEX (N = 11,878) and focusing on changes in the volume of calls and the identity of callers following key moments in the storyline, the findings support the central role played by transitional characters and their similarity to audience members. Implications of these results for the theory and practice of entertainment-education are discussed.

Just a Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Messages Go Down: Using Stories and Vicarious Self-Affirmation to Reduce e-Cigarette Use.

While prior research has demonstrated the benefits of self-affirming individuals prior to exposing them to potentially threatening health messages, the current study assesses the feasibility of inducing self-affirmation vicariously through the success of a character in a narrative. In Study 1, college-age participants who regularly use e-cigarettes (N = 225) were randomly assigned to read one of two versions of a story depicting a college student of their own gender. The versions were identical except in the vicarious self-affirmation (VSA) condition, the main character achieves success (i.e., honored with a prestigious award) before being confronted by a friend about the dangers associated with their e-cigarette use; whereas in the vicarious control condition, the achievement is mentioned after the risk information. Results of the posttest and 10-day follow-up demonstrated that VSA reduced messages derogation, while increasing self-appraisal and perceived risk. The effect of VSA on e-cigarette outcomes was moderated by frequency of use, with heavier users benefiting the most. Study 2 (N = 152) confirmed that traditional value affirmation works with our stimuli on a comparable population.

Involved, United, and Efficacious: Could Self-Affirmation Be the Solution to California's Drought?

Self-affirmation theory posits that thoughts and actions that affirm an important aspect of the self-concept can make people more susceptible to change by casting their self in a positive light. Whereas much of the current literature has been restricted to individual-level concerns, the current study provides longitudinal evidence for behavioral outcomes in the context of the California drought, advancing our theoretical knowledge regarding the underlying processes that lead self-affirmed individuals to address societal risks and collective concerns. The results of a three-wave experimental study (N = 91) indicated that relative to nonaffirmed counterparts, self-affirmed participants reported on higher levels of support for water conservation policies, as well as on reduction of water use that endured for 30 days following the self-affirming manipulation. In both cases, the effects were mediated by collective-efficacy but not by self-efficacy. Relevant explanations are considered and practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

You Should Know Better: Can Self-Affirmation Facilitate Information-Seeking Behavior and Interpersonal Discussion?

This study explores whether self-affirmation has the capacity not merely to reduce the perceived threat associated with health-related information but also to facilitate interpersonal discussion and affect health information-seeking behavior. The context for the study is the ongoing California drought, which serves as suitable context to examine the intersection of self-affirmation and information-seeking behavior because it involves a threatening message (the destructive consequences of the drought) and highlights discrepancies between actual (water waste) and prosocial (water conservation) behavior. Results of a month-long longitudinal panel study demonstrate significant effects of self-affirmation on interpersonal discussion, information seeking, knowledge, and water-conserving behavior across time. Implications for theorizing longer term effects of self-affirmation and practical implications for promoting behavioral change through the enhancement of knowledge and self-esteem are considered.

Is all anger created equal? A meta-analytic assessment of anger elicitation in persuasion research.

Although veritable libraries have been written about anger, the practical and theoretical understanding of its effects has been somewhat hampered by the difficulty of experimentally manipulating this emotion. Thus, key questions related to methodological precision and theoretical clarity remain, specifically with regard to whether and how anger induction techniques may interact with various moderators and elicit other co-occurring emotions in the process. Addressing this gap, a meta-analysis of 31 experimental studies in persuasion offers insights regarding the effect of anger elicitation on felt anger and its sensitivity to a host of theoretically meaningful moderators, as well as the relationship between anger induction and the arousal of other incidental emotions. Findings broadly affirm the complexity of anger as a contested emotion and offer new insight into methodological considerations and theoretical nuances of anger elicitations to be taken into account in persuasion research. These results should be interpreted with the caveat of an exclusive focus on persuasion and a Western-centric corpus of studies, further accenting the need to diversify and expand research into emotions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Cellular Immunity Is Critical for Assessing COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness in Immunocompromised Individuals.

COVID-19 vaccine clinical development was conducted with unprecedented speed. Immunity measurements were concentrated on the antibody response which left significant gaps in our understanding how robust and long-lasting immune protection develops. Better understanding the cellular immune response will fill those gaps, especially in the elderly and immunocompromised populations which not only have the highest risk for severe infection, but also frequently have inadequate antibody responses. Although cellular immunity measurements are more logistically complex to conduct for clinical trials compared to antibody measurements, the feasibility and benefit of doing them in clinical trials has been demonstrated and so should be more widely adopted. Adding significant cellular response metrics will provide a deeper understanding of the overall immune response to COVID-19 vaccination, which will significantly inform vaccination strategies for the most vulnerable populations. Better monitoring of overall immunity will also substantially benefit other vaccine development efforts, and indeed any therapies that involve the immune system as part of the therapeutic strategy.