Significance loss brings to extreme self-care related behaviors: the role of interpersonal influence and obsessive (vs. harmonious) passion.

Building on Significance Quest Theory we hypothesized that significance loss feelings can bring people to extreme self-care related behaviors via (a) the susceptibility to interpersonal influence, and (b) the development of a predominance of obsessive (vs. harmonious) passion toward the self-care. To test these hypotheses, we ran one cross-sectional study among voluntary participants (N = 401). Results confirmed our hypotheses, suggesting that physical appearance is perceived as a fruitful and useful route to maintain or even restoring ones' personal sense of significance. Notably, these results shed light on another scope that can be exploited to achieve social significance (i.e., physical appearance) through extremism, and could represent a starting point to design practical intervention to reduce the examined extreme behaviors.

An Examination of the Inverse Relationship Between Dimensions of Political Skill and Interpersonal Conflict at Work: Exploring Perceived Control as a Mediating Factor.

Political skill has been established as an antidote to workplace stress and strain. However, despite the scholarly attention it has attracted, we still know very little about mediating mechanisms that explain this relationship and the role of political skill dimensions in mitigating workplace stressors. Thus, in this study, we investigate the impact of perceived control as a mediating mechanism between the political skill dimensions (i.e., social astuteness, interpersonal influence, networking ability, apparent sincerity) and interpersonal conflict (i.e., stress arising due to social interactions). Structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the data collected from 370 employees in a textile organization. The study found that perceived control mediated the relationship of social astuteness, interpersonal influence, and networking ability with interpersonal conflict. It, however, did not mediate the link between apparent sincerity and interpersonal conflict. Limitations, implications, and directions for future research are also discussed.

How leader humor stimulates subordinate boundary-spanning behavior: A social information processing theory perspective.

Based on social information processing theory, we provide a novel theoretical account of how and when leader humor influences subordinate boundary-spanning behavior. We develop a moderated mediation model explicating the mechanism of psychological safety and the boundary condition of subordinate interpersonal influence. Using multiwave data, we tested our research hypotheses with a sample of 452 members from 140 teams in a Chinese information technology (IT) company. Results showed that leader humor positively affects subordinate boundary-spanning behavior via increased psychological safety. Moreover, this mediated effect is stronger when subordinates have high interpersonal influence. These findings offer theoretical and practical insights into boundary-spanning activities and leader humor, which we discuss.

I'll scratch your back if you give me a compliment: Exploring psychological mechanisms underlying compliments' effects on compliance.

Although compliments can be an effective compliance tactic, little is known about the reasons for their effectiveness. Two studies tested three potential mechanisms underlying the use of compliments as a compliance tactic: reciprocity, positive mood, and liking. In both studies, participants were either primed with the reciprocity norm or not, then received either complimentary or neutral feedback from a stranger. Participants were later faced with a request from the stranger. Mood, liking for the requestor, and compliance were measured. As predicted, compliments increased compliance in both studies. Neither study found evidence for positive mood nor liking as a mediator of the compliment effect. However, reciprocity priming was found to moderate the compliment effect in both studies, suggesting that compliments are effective, at least in part, because they invoke the reciprocity norm.

Online Fake News about Food: Self-Evaluation, Social Influence, and the Stages of Change Moderation.

In the Italian context, the diffusion of online fake news about food is becoming increasingly fast-paced and widespread, making it more difficult for the public to recognize reliable information. Moreover, this phenomenon is deteriorating the relation with public institutions and industries. The purpose of this article is to provide a more advanced understanding of the individual psychological factors and the social influence that contributes to the belief in food-related online fake news and the aspects that can increase or mitigate this risk. Data were collected with a self-report questionnaire between February and March 2019. We obtained 1004 valid questionnaires filled out by a representative sample of Italian population, extracted by stratified sampling. We used structural equation modelling and the multi-group analyses to test our hypothesis. The results show that self-evaluation negatively affects the social-influence, which in turn positively affects the belief in online fake news. Moreover, this latter relationship is moderated by the readiness to change. Our results suggest that individual psychological characteristics and social influence are important in explaining the belief in online fake news in the food sector; however, a pivotal role is played by the motivation of lifestyle change. This should be considered to engage people in clear and effective communication.

Effects of Self-Expressive Brand and Susceptibility to Interpersonal Influence on Brand Addiction: Mediating Role of Brand Passion.

Although the concept of the consumer-brand relationship has undergone rapid change over the past two decades, the issue of brand addiction is still generally neglected in the literature. Based on social identity theory, the research develops a conceptual model of the influence of self-expressive brands (SEBs) and susceptibility to interpersonal influence (SUSCEP) on brand addiction. The results of this research demonstrate both separate and joint effects of SEBs and SUSCEP on brand addiction. In addition, harmonious brand passion and obsessive brand passion positively mediate the relationships among SEB, SUSCEP, and brand addiction. The research explores the formation mechanism of brand addiction from a new perspective and has important practical implications for brand marketers concerned with finding the most effective means to enhance the consumer-brand relationship.

Interpersonal influences on self-management in the eHealth era: Predicting the uses of eHealth tools for self-care in America.

Drawing on the social cognitive theory and the comprehensive model of information seeking, this study proposes a theoretical framework that systematically examines the role of interpersonal factors in individuals' self-management in the eHealth context. The framework was tested with a sample of 965 eHealth users drawn from the National Cancer Institute's 2018 Health Information National Trends Survey. Structural equation modelling was performed to model the relationships among patient-centred communication, social support, self-efficacy, perceptions of eHealth tools and eHealth behaviours. The results established social support and patient-centred communication as two important sources of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy together with characteristics of eHealth tools were associated with higher utility of eHealth tools, which further predicted higher levels of eHealth behaviours. The results show that incorporating interpersonal factors in health interventions may enhance the targets' self-efficacy in self-management and indirectly motivates eHealth behaviours.

Construction and Validation of the Interpersonal Influence Tactics Circumplex (IIT-C) Scales.

Assessment of interpersonal dispositions (e.g., traits, problems) commonly employs self- and informant-report measures that conform to the two-dimensional interpersonal circumplex (IPC) model. Here, we adopted the IPC and interpersonal theory as a framework for mapping the universe of content of interpersonal influence. Although there are existing measures of influence tactics used in influence research, this literature is divided among disciplines with varying construct definitions and no unifying theory. Here, we define interpersonal influence as the conscious maneuvering of one's behavior to engender desired responses from others in interpersonal situations. The current article details the construction and validation of the Interpersonal Influence Tactics Circumplex (IIT-C) Scales in two samples (Ns = 862, 608). The 64-item IIT-C assesses a comprehensive taxonomy of interpersonal influence tactics conforming to the structure of the IPC. Circumplex structure of the IIT-C was confirmed and replicated. Using the structural summary method for circumplex data, associations with other IPC measures, existing measures of influence, normal personality traits, and pathological personality traits supported the validity of IIT-C scores. The IIT-C assesses a theoretically based and empirically derived set of interpersonal influence tactics and provides a common language for integrating distinct streams of influence research by conforming to the IPC.

Interpersonal effects of parents and adolescents on each other's health behaviours: a dyadic extension of the theory of planned behaviour.

OBJECTIVE: Interpersonal relationships are important predictors of health outcomes and interpersonal influences on behaviours may be key mechanisms underlying such effects. Most health behaviour theories focus on intrapersonal factors and may not adequately account for interpersonal influences. We evaluate a dyadic extension of the Theory of Planned Behaviour by examining whether parent and adolescent characteristics (attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and intentions) are associated with not only their own but also each other's intentions/behaviours. DESIGN: Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, we analyse responses from 1717 parent-adolescent dyads from the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Adolescents/parents completed self-reports of their fruit and vegetable consumption, junk food and sugary drinks consumption, engagement in physical activity, and engagement in screen time sedentary behaviours. RESULTS: Parent/adolescent characteristics are associated with each other's health-relevant intentions/behaviours above the effects of individuals' own characteristics on their own behaviours. Parent/adolescent characteristics covary with each other's outcomes with similar strength, but parent characteristics more strongly relate to adolescent intentions, whereas adolescent characteristics more strongly relate to parent behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: Parents and adolescents may bidirectionally influence each other's health intentions/behaviours. This highlights the importance of dyadic models of health behaviour and suggests intervention targets.

Insights into stigma management communication theory: Considering stigmatization as interpersonal influence.

The theory of stigma management communication has helped identify and categorize the communication tactics people use to manage stigmatization, yet communication research has provided little insight into predictors of these tactics. To address this gap, we considered stigmatization through the lens of interpersonal influence: as an act in which stigmatizers attempt to persuade their targets to accept categorization and de-individualization into a social group and, further, to accept its marginalized status in the society at large. We used the obstacle hypothesis, a theory of resistance to interpersonal influence, to derive predictors of stigma management strategies. Participants (N=124) facing possible stigmatization due to their genetic risk for a chronic health condition completed an online survey and shared memories of their initial test disclosures. The empirical tests showed that having a stronger sense of meaning in life, more unsafe experiences, and a broader information network predicted resisting stigmatization. Guilt predicted greater use of avoidance strategies (e.g., secrecy and avoiding risky interpersonal settings). We discussed practical implications of bolstering one's sense of meaning in life and argumentation skills and their connections to resilience research.

Reported bed net ownership and use in social contacts is associated with uptake of bed nets for malaria prevention in pregnant women in Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Despite progress made in the last decades, malaria persists as a pressing health issue in sub-Saharan Africa. Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to infection and serious health outcomes for themselves and their unborn child. Risk can be mitigated through appropriate use of control measures such as insecticide-treated bed nets. Although social networks can influence uptake of preventive strategies, the role of social influence on bed net ownership has not been explored. During an evaluation of a bed net distribution programme, the influence of non-health care advisors on ownership and use of bed nets by pregnant women in Kumasi, Ghana was examined. METHODS: Data were collected through in-person interviews with 300 pregnant women seeking antenatal care in an urban hospital in Kumasi, Ghana. Participants were asked about their bed net ownership, bed net use, and information about three personal contacts that they go to for pregnancy advice. Information about these advisors was combined into an influence score. Logistic regression models were used to determine the association between the score and bed net ownership. Those who owned a bed net were further assessed to determine if interpersonal influence was associated with self-reported sleeping under the bed net the previous night. RESULTS: Of the 294 women in the analysis, 229 (78%) reported owning bed nets. Of these bed net owners, 139 (61%) reported using a bed net the previous night. A dose response relationship was observed between the interpersonal influence score and bed net ownership and use. Compared to the lowest influence score, those with the highest influence score (>1 SD above the mean) were marginally more likely to own a bed net [OR = 2.37, 95% CI (0.87, 6.39)] and much more likely to use their bed net [5.38, 95% CI (1.89, 15.25)] after adjusting for other factors. CONCLUSIONS: Interpersonal influence appears to have modest impact on ownership and use of bed nets by pregnant women in an urban area of Ghana. Further investigations would need to be conducted to determine if the relationship is causal or if individuals who associate are simply more likely to have similar practices.

Social-cognitive determinants of exercise behaviour among adolescents with mild congenital heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, most adolescents with mild congenital heart disease (CHD) undergo medical or surgical correction in early childhood for their congenital anomalies. There is a need to examine the determinants of exercise behaviour among adolescents (CHD) who are able to exercise. AIMS: The aims of this study were to examine determinants of exercise among adolescents with mild CHD, including personal beliefs about exercise, interpersonal influences on exercise, and availability of physical environments for exercise, based on social-cognitive theory. METHOD: A repeated-measures study was conducted at three medical centres in Taiwan. All participants, 126 adolescents with CHD aged 12 to 18 years, had a cardiologist's recommendation of exercise with no limits or limits only on vigorous exercise. Self-administered questionnaires were completed during a summer vacation and again in the fall semester of school along with a 7-day exercise log. The data were analysed using structured equation modelling. RESULTS: The effect of interpersonal influences on total exercise and moderate-to-vigorous exercise was mediated by personal exercise beliefs. Peer influences had significant effects on moderate-to-vigorous exercise through the mediator of perceived exercise self-efficacy. There was no significant difference in the determinants of exercise behaviour during two periods. Personal exercise beliefs, particularly perceived exercise self-efficacy, played the most important role in determining the performance of moderate-to-vigorous exercise. CONCLUSIONS: The social-cognitive determinants may serve as a clinical reference for promoting exercise among adolescents with mild CHD.

Detecting Depression Severity from Vocal Prosody.

To investigate the relation between vocal prosody and change in depression severity over time, 57 participants from a clinical trial for treatment of depression were evaluated at seven-week intervals using a semi-structured clinical interview for depression severity (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression: HRSD). All participants met criteria for Major Depressive Disorder at week 1. Using both perceptual judgments by naive listeners and quantitative analyses of vocal timing and fundamental frequency, three hypotheses were tested: 1) Naive listeners can perceive the severity of depression from vocal recordings of depressed participants and interviewers. 2) Quantitative features of vocal prosody in depressed participants reveal change in symptom severity over the course of depression. And 3) Interpersonal effects occur as well; such that vocal prosody in interviewers shows corresponding effects. These hypotheses were strongly supported. Together, participants' and interviewers' vocal prosody accounted for about 60% of variation in depression scores, and detected ordinal range of depression severity (low, mild, and moderate-to-severe) in 69% of cases (kappa = 0.53). These findings suggest that analysis of vocal prosody could be a powerful tool to assist in depression screening and monitoring over the course of depressive disorder and recovery.