Microplastics are receiving growing attention in the public debate, while the scientific assessment of risks of microplastics to ecological and human health is still ongoing. Previous studies suggest concerns among the general public with country-specific differences. However, little is known about the reasoning underlying these concerns. By conducting qualitative interviews with German (n = 15) and Italian citizens (n = 15), this study adopted a cross-national perspective to investigate which concepts shape citizens' perceptions of microplastics. A qualitative content analysis was used, with coding categories and subcategories developed inductively. Results showed that interviewees formed assumptions around microplastics despite own uncertainties, transferred knowledge from macro- to microplastics, and used the concepts of accumulation and dose-response relationship to make sense of the topic. Moreover, they saw the domains of human health and the environment as intertwined and expressed helplessness when discussing solutions to the microplastics issue. Many themes on the topic were similar in both samples, but there were also some differences. For instance, whereas Italian participants talked about marine-related microplastics, German participants talked about airborne sources; also, German participants tended to recognize more strongly the actions their country was putting in place to address the problem. These findings underscore the need for proactive risk communication despite remaining gaps in scientific risk assessment. Beyond providing technical information, communicators should consider the reasoning behind risk perception on microplastics and address scientific uncertainty as well as the interconnectedness between the domains of human health and the environment.
Microplastics , Plastics , Humans , Communication , Qualitative Research , Italy
The present study investigated older adults' risk perception, beliefs, and self-perception in the field of kitchen hygiene and food safety. A qualitative study with semi-structured focus groups was conducted. A total of 37 older adults (60-80 years of age) from Germany participated in four focus groups that were stratified by gender. Focus groups covered older adults' food-handling practices, their perceptions of vulnerability, and their informational needs in the field of food safety. A thematic analysis approach was adopted. The coding categories and subcategories were developed inductively by the researchers based on the data. The coded data were then used to identify overarching themes and subthemes. Main results showed that older adults had confidence in their knowledge and skills with regard to food safety, perceived their post-war generation overall to be resistant and other so-called at-risk groups to be more vulnerable. Moreover, they expressed low informational needs in the area of food safety. The results suggest that age-specific aspects play a role in older adults' risk perception and highlight the need to develop age-specific risk communication strategies that take into account older adults' beliefs, knowledge, and informational needs.
Food Handling , Food Safety , Focus Groups , Qualitative Research
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Germany is only moderately breastfeeding-friendly, according to a systematic inventory from 2019. Based on a reference study, a survey on the acceptance of breastfeeding in public was conducted. The aim of the work is to capture perceptions and attitudes towards public breastfeeding in a periodic comparison. In addition, differences between the general population and mothers of young children as well as between mothers with different levels of education are considered. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 2020, 1007 people aged 16 and older and 307 mothers with children up to 24 months were surveyed online about public breastfeeding. The results were compared with a previous survey from 2016. RESULTS: In 2020, a larger percentage of mothers breastfeed in public than in 2016; it is avoided less often. Mothers with lower levels of education are less likely to breastfeed, also in public, and more likely to report mixed reactions. Among the general population, acceptance of public breastfeeding has declined, for example, in gastronomy. About one in six (17%) explicitly rejects breastfeeding in public. Knowledge about the health effects of breastfeeding is lower among the general public than among mothers. As in 2016, knowledge about the positive effects of breastfeeding is associated with greater acceptance of public breastfeeding. CONCLUSIONS: The results underline the importance of measures, for example, to communicate knowledge to the population, show breastfeeding more frequently in mass media and through positive role models, and make the settings in which families live more breastfeeding-friendly. Measures should pay special attention to women with lower levels of education.
Breast Feeding , Mothers , Child , Humans , Female , Child, Preschool , Social Status , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Germany
Poor hygiene when handling food is a major cause of foodborne illness. To investigate whether hygiene practices visible in television cooking shows influence viewers' kitchen hygiene, a study on the adoption of demonstrated hygiene behavior was conducted under controlled, experimental conditions. In a study ostensibly on cooking by following recipes participants (n = 65) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions, in which they watched a cooking video that differed only with regard to the hygiene behavior of the chef. In condition 1, the chef engaged in poor hygiene practices while preparing the dish, in condition 2 the chef's hygiene behavior was exemplary and in condition 3, the chef's hygiene behavior was not visible (control condition). After watching the video, participants were instructed to cook the recipe individually in the fully equipped laboratory kitchen. Cooking sessions were videotaped and experimenters blind to condition coded hygiene lapses committed by participants. The level of kitchen hygiene displayed in the cooking video significantly affected hygiene practices of participants cooking the recipe. Participants who had watched the cooking video with correct hygiene practices committed significantly fewer hygiene lapses than those who had watched the video with poor hygiene practices. From a risk communication perspective, TV cooking shows are well placed to convey knowledge of essential hygiene practices during food preparation to a broad audience. To facilitate behavioral change toward safer food-handling practices among viewers, visibly performing correct hygiene practices in cooking shows is a promising strategy.
Cooking , Food Safety , Hygiene , Television , Adult , Aged , Female , Foodborne Diseases/prevention & control , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Random Allocation , Young Adult
History is rife with examples of the dark side of creativity-ingenious weapons, novel torture practices, and creative terrorist attacks-yet its psychological origins are sparsely addressed and poorly understood. Building on work showing that social threat induces focused thinking as well as aggressive cognitions and readiness to fight, we propose that threats lead to more malevolent creativity and less creativity in threat-irrelevant domains. Prisoner's dilemma games were modified to evoke threat of exploitation. Participants then generated novel brick uses (Study 1, N = 113) or negotiation tactics (Study 2;N = 79). High (vs. low) social threat led to more "malevolent" creativity (e.g., using bricks as weapons; using intimidation as negotiation tactic). Social threat reduced nonthreat-related creative ideation only in Study 1. Study 2 showed that the increase of malevolent creativity was due to the motivation to defend and aggress, and emerged especially among individuals with a high need for cognition.
Creativity , Fear , Motivation , Avoidance Learning , Choice Behavior , Cognition , Female , Humans , Male , Surveys and Questionnaires , Thinking , Young Adult
BACKGROUND: Despite the undeniable benefits, breastfeeding in public has led in the past to controversies that gained a lot of media coverage. For this reason, the attitudes of the general population towards breastfeeding in public and the experiences of mothers who breastfeed in public were examined. OBJECTIVE: The objectives were to collect current data on the perception and acceptance of breastfeeding in public. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We surveyed 1003 respondents from the general population aged 14 years and over and 306 mothers with children of breastfeeding age on the subject of breastfeeding in public by means of computer-assisted web interviewing. RESULTS: Of mothers, 6% reported that their experiences of breastfeeding in public tended to be rather or very negative. Of the general population sample, 66% held the fundamental opinion that breastfeeding should be possible everywhere at all times, compared to 80% of mothers (pâ¯< 0.05). Special differences can be seen for breastfeeding in restaurants and cafes. Although only just under 50% of the population sample approves of breastfeeding in these locations, it is not avoided by the majority of mothers (54%). Overall, knowledge of the benefits of breastfeeding is associated with increased acceptance of breastfeeding in public. No special demographic characteristics were observed for the group of persons with a negative attitude towards breastfeeding in public (6%). CONCLUSIONS: No special target group for improving acceptance of breastfeeding in public can be identified in the population on the basis of the present findings. A conflict potential was identified for certain places and situations, however, which enables the development of strategies to increase acceptance.
Breast Feeding , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Mothers , Adolescent , Adult , Attitude , Child , Female , Germany , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Restaurants , Young Adult
Pesticide use and pesticide residues in foods have been the subject of controversial public discussions and media coverage in Germany. Against this background, a better understanding of public risk perceptions is needed to promote efficient public health communication. To this end, this study captures the German public's perception of pesticide residues in foods. A representative sample of the population aged 14 years and older (n = 1,004) was surveyed via computer-assisted telephone interviewing on their attitudes and knowledge with regard to pesticide residues. Based on questions regarding their typical consumer behavior, respondents were classified into conventional and organic consumers to identify differences as well as similarities between these two consumer types. As assessed with an open-ended question, both organic and conventional consumers viewed pesticides, chemicals, and toxins as the greatest threats to food quality and safety. Evaluating the risks and benefits of pesticide use, more than two-thirds of organic consumers (70%) rated the risks as greater than the benefits, compared with just over one-half of conventional consumers (53%). Concern about the detection of pesticide residues in the food chain and bodily fluids was significantly higher among organic compared with conventional consumers. Only a minority of respondents was aware that legal limits for pesticide residues (referred to as maximum residue levels) exist, with 69% of organic and 61% of conventional consumers believing that the presence of pesticide residues in foods is generally not permitted. A lack of awareness of maximum residue levels was associated with heightened levels of concern about pesticide residues. Finally, general exposure to media reporting on pesticide residues was associated with more frequent knowledge of legal limits for pesticide residues, whereas actively seeking information on pesticide residues was not. The possible mechanisms underlying these findings are discussed.
Consumer Behavior , Food Contamination , Pesticide Residues , Public Opinion , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Female , Food , Food Contamination/analysis , Food, Organic , Germany , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pesticide Residues/analysis , Pesticides , Surveys and Questionnaires , Young Adult
According to the common-sense model of self-regulation, individuals form lay representations of illnesses that guide coping procedures to manage illness threat. We meta-analyzed studies adopting the model to (a) examine the intercorrelations among illness representation dimensions, coping strategies, and illness outcomes; (b) test the sufficiency of a process model in which relations between illness representations and outcomes were mediated by coping strategies; and (c) test effects of moderators on model relations. Studies adopting the common-sense model in chronic illness (k = 254) were subjected to random-effects meta-analysis. The pattern of zero-order corrected correlations among illness representation dimensions (identity, consequences, timeline, perceived control, illness coherence, emotional representations), coping strategies (avoidance, cognitive reappraisal, emotion venting, problem-focused generic, problem-focused specific, seeking social support), and illness outcomes (disease state, distress, well-being, physical, role, and social functioning) was consistent with previous analyses. Meta-analytic path analyses supported a process model that included direct effects of illness representations on outcomes and indirect effects mediated by coping. Emotional representations and perceived control were consistently related to illness-related and functional outcomes via, respectively, lower and greater employment of coping strategies to deal with symptoms or manage treatment. Representations signaling threat (consequences, identity) had specific positive and negative indirect effects on outcomes through problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies. There was little evidence of moderation of model effects by study design, illness type and context, and study quality. A revised process model is proposed to guide future research which includes effects of moderators, individual differences, and beliefs about coping and treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record
Adaptation, Psychological , Disease/psychology , Models, Psychological , Humans , Self Concept , Self-Control
BACKGROUND: Food contaminants can pose a serious health threat. In order to carry out adequate risk communication measures, the subjective risk perception of the public must be taken into account. In this context, the breadth of the topic and insufficient terminological delimitations from residues and food additives make an elaborate explanation of the topic to consumers indispensable. A representative population survey used language adequate for lay people and a clear definition of contaminants to measure risk perceptions with regard to food contaminants among the general public. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to assess public awareness of contaminants and the perceived health risks associated with them. In addition, people's current knowledge and need for additional information, their attitudes towards contaminants, views on stakeholder accountability, as well as compliance with precautionary measures, such as avoiding certain foods to reduce health risks originating from contaminants, were assessed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A representative sample of 1001 respondents was surveyed about food contaminants via computer-assisted telephone interviewing. RESULTS: The majority of respondents rated contaminants as a serious health threat, though few of them spontaneously mentioned examples of undesirable substances in foods that fit the scientific or legal definition of contaminants. Mercury and dioxin were the most well-known contaminants. Only a minority of respondents was familiar with pyrrolizidine alkaloids. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings highlight areas that require additional attention and provide implications for risk communication geared to specific target groups.
Awareness , Communication , Food Contamination/analysis , Food Contamination/prevention & control , Public Opinion , Risk Assessment , Germany , Humans
BACKGROUND: Almost all skin cancers are the result of overexposure to UV radiation and could be prevented by adhering to a number of simple behavioural guidelines to minimise exposure to the sun. The present study examined trends in sun-protection behaviour among adults living in Western Australia, a region with high levels of UV radiation. METHODS: During five summers from 2008 to 2012, 2076 Western Australian adults participated in annual, cross-sectional telephone surveys that assessed how often they engaged in a range of sun-protection behaviour (seeking shade, staying inside and wearing a hat, protective clothing, sunscreen or sunglasses). RESULTS: Apart from an increase in sunscreen use and a consistently high use of sunglasses, most sun-protection behaviour remained stable at moderate levels during the 5-year period. Seeking shade, staying inside and wearing a hat were all practised at levels ranging between 'sometimes' and 'usually' on sunny days in summer during peak UV hours, with little to no variability across the survey years. Wearing protective clothing was the least frequent behaviour across all survey years and was significantly lower in the most recent survey year relative to baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Further efforts are required to encourage greater enactment of sun-protection behaviour, especially on the use of protective clothing and seeking shade during periods of high UV radiation.
Health Behavior , Sunlight , Adolescent , Adult , Eye Protective Devices/statistics & numerical data , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Protective Clothing/statistics & numerical data , Seasons , Sunscreening Agents/therapeutic use , Western Australia , Young Adult
The present study assessed perceptions of effective sun-protection strategies among the general public and whether these perceptions have changed in recent years. During five summers from 2007/2008 to 2011/2012, 4217 adolescents and adults living in a region with very high levels of solar UV radiation participated in annual, cross-sectional telephone surveys. Respondents' perceptions of the most effective sun-protection strategy were measured with a single open-ended question. In all survey years, sunscreen was the by far most frequently nominated sun-protection strategy, with an average mention rate of 71.0 %. The tendency to nominate sunscreen increased significantly over the 5-year study period and on average, was more common among adolescents compared to adults (81.6 vs 60.0 %) and females compared to males (73.6 vs 68.3 %). Despite respondents' increasing tendency to nominate sunscreen as the most effective sun-protection strategy, health experts have voiced concerns about flawed application practices. Current sun-protection hierarchies indicate that protective clothing and shade are better options.
Protective Clothing , Skin Neoplasms/prevention & control , Sunlight/adverse effects , Sunscreening Agents/therapeutic use , Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Protective Clothing/statistics & numerical data , Sex Factors , Surveys and Questionnaires
Facial race and sex cues can influence the magnitude of the happy categorisation advantage. It has been proposed that implicit race or sex based evaluations drive this influence. Within this account a uniform influence of social category cues on the happy categorisation advantage should be observed for all negative expressions. Support has been shown with angry and sad expressions but evidence to the contrary has been found for fearful expressions. To determine the generality of the evaluative congruence account, participants categorised happiness with either sadness, fear, or surprise displayed on White male as well as White female, Black male, or Black female faces across three experiments. Faster categorisation of happy than negative expressions was observed for female faces when presented among White male faces, and for White male faces when presented among Black male faces. These results support the evaluative congruence account when both positive and negative expressions are presented.
Black People/psychology , Cues , Facial Expression , Happiness , Social Identification , White People/psychology , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Sex Factors , Young Adult
OBJECTIVE: Protecting the skin from ultraviolet (UV) radiation is critical during adolescence to reduce the risk of developing skin cancer later in life, but adolescents tend to be less likely to engage in sun-protective behaviours than adults. The present study examined changes and trends (2001/02-2011/12) in sun-protection behaviours among adolescents living in Western Australia - a region with high levels of UV radiation. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted during 10 summers between 2001/02 and 2011/12 to investigate how often adolescents engaged in various sun-protection behaviours, including outdoor protective measures (wearing a hat, wearing protective clothing, using sunscreen, wearing sunglasses, seeking shade) and avoidance of UV radiation by staying inside. RESULTS: Hat use significantly decreased between 2001/02 and 2011/12, whereas use of sunscreen and wearing covering clothes were unchanged in most survey years relative to 2001/02. Use of sunglasses peaked in 2006/07 and 2007/08, but returned to first survey year levels in 2011/12, while staying inside was more frequently reported from 2006/07 onwards. CONCLUSIONS: New approaches are needed to minimise reactance responses in adolescents while fostering favourable attitudes to sun protection. Implications and opportunities for interventions to promote better sun-protection practices among adolescents are provided.
Adolescent Behavior , Health Behavior , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Health Promotion/methods , Skin Neoplasms/prevention & control , Sunburn/prevention & control , Adolescent , Australia , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Protective Clothing/statistics & numerical data , Sunscreening Agents/therapeutic use , Surveys and Questionnaires
In two studies, the regulatory function of approach-avoidance cues in activating cognitive control processes was investigated. It was hypothesized that avoidance motor actions, relative to approach motor actions, increase the recruitment of cognitive resources, resulting in better performance on tasks that draw on these capacities. In Study 1, error rates on a verbal response mode version of the Stroop task were analyzed. On inconsistent Stroop trials, participants in the avoidance condition made significantly fewer errors than those in the approach condition. In Study 2, performance differences on a task switching paradigm were investigated. Crucially, approach and avoidance motor actions were manipulated within-subjects by alternating between approach and avoidance motor actions on 4 blocks of trials. Temporal switching costs were significantly lower while performing an avoidance, compared to an approach motor action. These results support our hypothesis that avoidance cues, relative to approach cues, lead to improved performance on cognitive control tasks.
Cognition , Psychomotor Performance , Affect , Cues , Female , Humans , Male , Reaction Time , Young Adult
