How social background and interest in science are linked to junior high school students' perceptions of the ecological transition.

Junior high school students are tomorrow's key protagonists in the ecological transition. They need enlightened education to face the uncertainty and challenges of climate change. The development of climate change education programs requires a clear understanding of how young people perceive the issue. This study deals with social representations. Its aim was to understand how social background and interest in science are linked to the way young people perceive the concept of the ecological transition. Four hundred twenty-nine junior high school students took part in this study. Data were collected and subjected to prototypical analysis and factorial correspondence analysis. Three main findings emerged from the analysis: (1) the participants had significant knowledge of the ecological transition, (2) their awareness of the social aspects of climate change was limited, and (3) their representations of the ecological transition were linked to their interest in science and their parents' social background. To conclude, these results underline the importance of educating all social classes about effective solutions for the ecological transition. Our findings also highlight the need to consider existing representations and prior knowledge when designing educational programs on climate change issues.

When a refusal turns into donation: the moderating effect of the initial position toward blood donation in the door-in-the-face effectiveness.

This research aimed to test the moderating effect of people's initial position to blood donation on the actual acceptance to donate blood in a door-in-the-face situation. This position (attitude, self-importance, normative beliefs) was measured one month prior to the request (Study 1, N = 99) or immediately before (Study 2, N = 80). The results revealed that the door-in-the-face effect is moderated by the importance of blood donation to the self, all the more so when the position is made salient. This highlights the specific character of blood donation in France and the centrality of the importance of donating for the self at the heart of the DITF technique. These results offer new insights into the conditions that must be met to achieve acceptance to donate blood after an initial refusal.

Step In, Step Out from the First Lockdown: An Exploration of COVID-19 Perceptions in France and Quebec.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research was to describe and analyze the role of psychological and behavioral factors on perceptions of COVID-19 in France and Quebec at three different times during the pandemic. DESIGN: We conducted three qualitative and quantitative studies (Study 1 N = 255, Study 2 N = 230, Study 3 N = 143). Participants were asked to evaluate psychological and behavioral measures: at the beginning of lockdown (Study 1), during lockdown (Study 2), and during lockdown exit (Study 3). RESULTS: Results of Study 1 show that perceptions of COVID-19 are organized around fear and a sense of threat. During the lockdown, participants mentioned for the first time the health practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (Study 2). Psychological and social impacts constitute a central theme in participants' discourse (Study 2 and 3). CONCLUSIONS: The results show that perceptions of risk during a pandemic are socially constructed. Perceptions seem to be influenced by the political and health management of a territory and by the evolution of behavioral and psychological responses.

Association between quality of life of adolescents with type 1 diabetes and parents' illness perception as evaluated by adolescents.

Children and adolescents account for half of all cases of type 1 diabetes, which is one of the most common pediatric chronic diseases. The disease's effects and the treatment/disease-management protocols patients must follow can lead to a marked deterioration in quality of life, especially for adolescents. Patients' illness perceptions have been shown to impact their quality of life, but do other people's illness perceptions also have an effect? The present study addressed this question by investigating possible links between the quality of life of adolescent patients with type 1 diabetes and illness perceptions, measured in terms of the adolescents' self-perceptions, parents' self-perceptions, and the adolescents' evaluations of their parents' perceptions. We asked 41 adolescents (M = 13.9 years; SD = 1.9) who had been undergoing treatment for type 1 diabetes for at least a year (M = 6.6 years; SD = 3.7) to complete the Diabetes Quality of Life for Youth Questionnaire-Short Form (DQOLY-SF) and the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R). They completed the IPQ-R twice, once to state their own opinions (self-report) and once to give their evaluations of their parents' perceptions. At the same time, but in a different room, their parents (N = 47) completed the IPQ-R (self-report). Quality of life was predicted by gender (p < .05) and by the parents' emotional representations (p < .01) and perceptions of consequences (p < .01) as evaluated by the adolescents. This new approach provides new insights into the impact of parents' perceptions on the quality of life of adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

From technological acceptability to appropriation by users: methodological steps for device assessment in road safety.

This article presents the methodology developed within the framework of the research project SARI (Automated Road Surveillance for Driver and Administrator Information). This methodology is based on the logic of action research. The article presents the different stages in the development of technological innovation addressing vehicle control loss when driving on a curve. The results observed in speed reduction illustrate that no matter how optimal an innovation may be technologically speaking, it is only as effective as it is acceptable from a user standpoint. This acceptability can only be obtained if the technology is developed by engineers in liaison with social science specialists.