Social identity, attribution, and emotion: comparisons of Americans, Korean Americans, and Koreans.

The social identity of another person, in addition to the social identity of self, can be an important factor affecting the types of attribution judgments and emotions that individuals indicate for the other person. In April 2007, the perpetrator of the shooting incident on the Virginia Tech University campus was identified as a person who emigrated to the USA from Korea at a young age. The current study compared non-Korean Americans, Korean Americans, Koreans in the USA, and Koreans in Korea in terms of their attributions and emotions concerning the perpetrator and the shooting incident. Participants were asked to indicate (1) the extent to which they attributed the cause of the incident to either American society or the perpetrator, (2) their emotions (e.g., upset), and (3) the extent to which they categorized the perpetrator as an American, a Korean American, or a Korean. The results indicated that non-Korean Americans were most likely to attribute the cause of the incident to the perpetrator as opposed to American society. Non-Korean Americans, Korean Americans, and Koreans in the United States had more negative emotions (e.g., unhappy, sad, and upset) about the incident than Koreans in Korea did. The results also indicated that individuals differed in their attributions and emotions depending on how they categorized the perpetrator. For example, categorizing the perpetrator as being a Korean was positively related to Americans' tendency to hold the perpetrator responsible, while categorizing the perpetrator as being an American was negatively related to the tendency to hold the perpetrator responsible among Koreans in Korea. The findings may imply that social identity theory, intergroup emotion theory, and cultural orientations (e.g., individualism and collectivism) can provide insights into people's reactions to a tragic incident.

Concern as motivation for protection: an investigation of mothers' concern about daughters' breast cancer risk.

The present study surveyed mothers with daughters (N = 386) to investigate how mothers' concern about their daughters' breast cancer risk influenced intentions to engage in preventive behaviors. Using protection motivation theory as a framework, self-efficacy, response efficacy, and level of concern were posited to influence protective behavioral intention in distinct ways. Results from regression analyses indicate that self-efficacy, response efficacy, and mothers' concern are significant predictors of intentions to engage in preventive behaviors with daughters. In addition, a content analysis of mothers' open-ended reasons for their concern about their daughters' breast cancer risk yield a list of specific concerns and trends that vary by concern level and individual comment valence. The authors discuss implications for incorporating mothers' concerns into breast cancer prevention messages as a novel strategy for campaign designers.

Social norms, self-identity, and attention to social comparison information in the context of exercise and healthy diet behavior.

Social norms research has identified a range of distinct norms based on different referent groups that confer influence across a number of behaviors. The current survey study extends social norms research in two ways. First, this research tests the distinctiveness of four types of social norms: distal peer descriptive, distal peer injunctive, proximal peer descriptive, and proximal peer injunctive norms. Second, the current study examines the relationship between social norms and intentions to exercise and maintain a healthy diet, and includes self-identity and attention to social comparison information as moderators of the social norms and intention relationship. Results revealed the distinctiveness of the four types of social norms. Proximal peer descriptive and proximal peer injunctive norms were related to intention to exercise and intention to maintain a healthy diet, while distal peer injunctive norms were related only to intention to have a healthy diet. Additionally, self-identity was a significant moderator. Results are discussed within the context of implications for social norms campaigns.

Mothers' Intentions to Teach Adolescent Daughters about Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Activities: The Influence of Self-Efficacy, Response Efficacy, & Personal Responsibility.

The current study examined whether self-efficacy (SE), response efficacy (RE), and personal responsibility (PR) affect mothers' intentions (N=139) to teach their adolescent and pre-adolescent daughters about breast cancer risk reduction measures such as maintaining a healthy diet, exercising on a regular basis, and avoiding chemical exposures. Results showed that both SE and RE were related to mothers' intentions to teach their daughters how to maintain a healthy diet, engage in regular exercise behavior, and avoid chemical exposures. However, PR was not related to any behavioral intention. Implications for breast cancer message development for communication campaigns are discussed.

Differences between white Americans and Asian Americans for social responsibility, individual right and intentions regarding organ donation.

This study examined factors affecting intention to enroll in an organ donor registry and intention to talk to family about organ donation. Participants indicated their views about maintaining body integrity as an individual right and donating organs as a social responsibility. Results showed that the influence of social responsibility on intention to enroll was stronger for white Americans than for Asian Americans. Individual right was negatively associated with intention to enroll among Asian Americans, but not among white Americans. Social responsibility was significant for intention to talk among both white Americans and Asian Americans, but individual right was not significant.

Ethnic differences in intention to enroll in a state organ donor registry and intention to talk with family about organ donation.

This study compared African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and White Americans on their intentions to enroll in a state organ donor registry and to talk with family about organ donation. The overall results showed that attitudes and subjective norms from the theory of planned behavior were significantly related to intention to enroll whereas perceived behavioral control was not. Attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control were significantly related to intention to talk with family. The differences among ethnic groups were small, but the relationship between attitudes and intention to enroll was stronger for Asian Americans and weaker for African Americans than for White Americans. The implications of these and other findings are discussed for organ donation campaigns.