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Pariera KL, Brody E. Encouraging Parental Sexual Communication with Teen Sons: A Social Norms Experiment. HEALTH COMMUNICATION 2023; 38:1395-1403. [PMID: 34894919 DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2021.2010352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Parent-child sexual communication is associated with myriad positive sex-related outcomes for young people, but these conversations tend to be infrequent and limited in scope. Using the Social Norms Approach, we hypothesized that learning that other parents talk with their children about sex-related topics would motivate parents to talk about more sex-related topics with their son. In an online experiment, parents in the United States (N = 378) with a son aged 13-16 were asked how many of 30 sex-related topics they had discussed with their son after exposure to one of the two SNA messages or a control. A 30-day follow-up study repeated these questions. The experiment revealed no significant differences between the three conditions, but all three conditions resulted in greater intentions to discuss more topics with their son in the future. Regardless of condition, parents who identify their sons as gay or bisexual talked about more sex-related topics than parents of sons who identify their sons as straight. The results from this study suggest that social norms messages are not more effective at increasing parents' communication intentions. Parents in all conditions planned to discuss more sex-related topics with their son, suggesting that simply bringing these topics to parents' attention may be enough to increase intentions to have these conversations. Findings are discussed in light of motivating and equipping parents to handle these conversations and tailoring educational materials for parents based on their child's sexual and romantic orientation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrina L Pariera
- Department of Organizational Sciences and Communication, The George Washington University
| | - Evan Brody
- Department of Communication, University of Kentucky
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Seligman LD, Swedish EF, Rose JP, Baker JM. An Initial Investigation of the Use of Comparative Referents to Assess Social Anxiety. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT 2018. [DOI: 10.1027/1015-5759/a000349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Abstract. The current study examined the validity of two self-report measures of social anxiety constructed using social comparative referent points. It was hypothesized that these comparison measures would be both reliable and valid. Results indicated that two different comparative versions – one invoking injunctive norms and another invoking descriptive norms – showed good reliability, excellent internal consistency, and acceptable convergent and discriminant validity. The comparative measures also predicted positive functioning, some aspects of social quality of life, and social anxiety as measured by an independent self-report. These findings suggest that adding a comparative reference point to instructions on social anxiety measures may aid in the assessment of social anxiety.
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Bird S, Harris AJ. Robust, domain-specific effects of prior context in risk preferences for pension choice. JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DECISION MAKING 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/bdm.2077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Bird
- Department of Experimental Psychology; University College London; London UK
| | - Adam J.L. Harris
- Department of Experimental Psychology; University College London; London UK
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Robinson E, Kersbergen I. Overweight or about right? A norm comparison explanation of perceived weight status. Obes Sci Pract 2017; 3:36-43. [PMID: 28392930 PMCID: PMC5358078 DOI: 10.1002/osp4.89] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2016] [Revised: 11/15/2016] [Accepted: 11/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives Body‐weight norms may explain why personal evaluations of weight status are often inaccurate. Here, we tested a ‘norm comparison’ explanation of weight status perceptions, whereby personal evaluations of weight status are biased by perceived body‐weight norms. Methods Study 1 examined whether perceptions of how one's own body weight compares to an average person predict personal evaluations of weight status. Study 2 examined whether manipulating perceptions of how one's own body weight compares to an average person influences whether or not a person identifies their own weight status as being overweight. Results In Study 1, if participants rated their body weight as being similar to the body weight of an average person, they were less likely to identify their weight status as being overweight. In Study 2, participants that were led to believe that their body weight was heavier than the average person were more likely to perceive their own weight status as being overweight. Conclusions Personal perceptions of weight status are likely to be shaped by a ‘norm comparison’ process. As overweight becomes more normal, underestimation of weight status amongst individuals with overweight and obesity will be more common.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Robinson
- Psychological Sciences University of Liverpool Liverpool UK
| | - I Kersbergen
- Psychological Sciences University of Liverpool Liverpool UK
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Garratt EA, Chandola T, Purdam K, Wood AM. Income and Social Rank Influence UK Children's Behavioral Problems: A Longitudinal Analysis. Child Dev 2016; 88:1302-1320. [DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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The interactive role of income (material position) and income rank (psychosocial position) in psychological distress: a 9-year longitudinal study of 30,000 UK parents. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2016; 51:1361-1372. [PMID: 27376656 DOI: 10.1007/s00127-016-1255-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2015] [Accepted: 06/12/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Parents face an increased risk of psychological distress compared with adults without children, and families with children also have lower average household incomes. Past research suggests that absolute income (material position) and income status (psychosocial position) influence psychological distress, but their combined effects on changes in psychological distress have not been examined. Whether absolute income interacts with income status to influence psychological distress are also key questions. METHODS We used fixed-effects panel models to examine longitudinal associations between psychological distress (measured on the Kessler scale) and absolute income, distance from the regional mean income, and regional income rank (a proxy for status) using data from 29,107 parents included in the UK Millennium Cohort Study (2003-2012). RESULTS Psychological distress was determined by an interaction between absolute income and income rank: higher absolute income was associated with lower psychological distress across the income spectrum, while the benefits of higher income rank were evident only in the highest income parents. Parents' psychological distress was, therefore, determined by a combination of income-related material and psychosocial factors. CONCLUSIONS Both material and psychosocial factors contribute to well-being. Higher absolute incomes were associated with lower psychological distress across the income spectrum, demonstrating the importance of material factors. Conversely, income status was associated with psychological distress only at higher absolute incomes, suggesting that psychosocial factors are more relevant to distress in more advantaged, higher income parents. Clinical interventions could, therefore, consider both the material and psychosocial impacts of income on psychological distress.
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Moore SC, Wood AM, Moore L, Shepherd J, Murphy S, Brown GDA. A rank based social norms model of how people judge their levels of drunkenness whilst intoxicated. BMC Public Health 2016; 16:798. [PMID: 27619969 PMCID: PMC5020440 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-016-3469-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2015] [Accepted: 08/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A rank based social norms model predicts that drinkers' judgements about their drinking will be based on the rank of their breath alcohol level amongst that of others in the immediate environment, rather than their actual breath alcohol level, with lower relative rank associated with greater feelings of safety. This study tested this hypothesis and examined how people judge their levels of drunkenness and the health consequences of their drinking whilst they are intoxicated in social drinking environments. METHODS Breath alcohol testing of 1,862 people (mean age = 26.96 years; 61.86 % male) in drinking environments. A subset (N = 400) also answered four questions asking about their perceptions of their drunkenness and the health consequences of their drinking (plus background measures). RESULTS Perceptions of drunkenness and the health consequences of drinking were regressed on: (a) breath alcohol level, (b) the rank of the breath alcohol level amongst that of others in the same environment, and (c) covariates. Only rank of breath alcohol level predicted perceptions: How drunk they felt (b 3.78, 95 % CI 1.69 5.87), how extreme they regarded their drinking that night (b 3.7, 95 % CI 1.3 6.20), how at risk their long-term health was due to their current level of drinking (b 4.1, 95 % CI 0.2 8.0) and how likely they felt they would experience liver cirrhosis (b 4.8. 95 % CI 0.7 8.8). People were more influenced by more sober others than by more drunk others. CONCLUSION Whilst intoxicated and in drinking environments, people base judgements regarding their drinking on how their level of intoxication ranks relative to that of others of the same gender around them, not on their actual levels of intoxication. Thus, when in the company of others who are intoxicated, drinkers were found to be more likely to underestimate their own level of drinking, drunkenness and associated risks. The implications of these results, for example that increasing the numbers of sober people in night time environments could improve subjective assessments of drunkenness, are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon C Moore
- Violence & Society Research Group, School of Dentistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, CF14 4XY, UK.
| | - Alex M Wood
- Behavioural Science Centre, Stirling Management School, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, FK9 4LA, UK
| | - Laurence Moore
- MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow, Scotland, G2 3QB, UK
| | - Jonathan Shepherd
- Violence & Society Research Group, School of Dentistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, CF14 4XY, UK
| | - Simon Murphy
- Centre for the Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions for Public Health Improvement, Cardiff School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, 1-3 Museum Place, Cardiff, Wales, CF10 3BD, UK
| | - Gordon D A Brown
- Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Coventry, England, CV4 7AL, UK
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Hounkpatin HO, Wood AM, Dunn G. Does income relate to health due to psychosocial or material factors? Consistent support for the psychosocial hypothesis requires operationalization with income rank not the Yitzhaki Index. Soc Sci Med 2015; 150:76-84. [PMID: 26735333 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2015] [Revised: 11/03/2015] [Accepted: 12/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Research on why income influences health has produced mixed findings. Many, but not all, studies suggest that the relationship between income and health is due to income indicating psychosocial position rather than the associated material benefits. The inconsistent findings may be partly due to the use of the Yitzhaki Index, a function which calculates the accumulated income shortfall for an individual relative to those with higher income, in order to represent the psychosocial position conferred by income. The current study tests whether an alternative specification - income rank - provides more consistent conclusions regarding the psychosocial effect of income on health. We used data from two nationally representative samples: 14,224 observations from 9,404 participants across three waves (2004, 2008, and 2012) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and 29,237 observations from 8,441 individuals across seven waves (2007-2013) of the Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences (LISS). Multilevel regression models indicated that income rank was a stronger and more consistent predictor than both the Yitzhaki Index and actual income of self-rated and objective health. The psychosocial hypothesis is more consistently supported when income rank is used to test it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hilda Osafo Hounkpatin
- Academic Unit of Primary Care and Population Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, South Academic Block, Southampton General Hospital, Tremona Road, Southampton, Hampshire SO16 6YD, UK.
| | - Alex M Wood
- Behavioural Sciences Centre, Stirling Management School, University of Stirling, Scotland, FK9 4LA, UK; Manchester Centre for Health Psychology, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
| | - Graham Dunn
- Centre for Biostatistics, Institute of Population Health, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
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Visual exposure to obesity: Experimental effects on attraction toward overweight men and mate choice in females. Int J Obes (Lond) 2015; 39:1390-4. [PMID: 25999045 DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2015.87] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2015] [Revised: 04/07/2015] [Accepted: 05/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cultural differences in ideal body weight are well established, but less research has examined attraction toward potential mates of heavier body weights. We examined whether exposure to obesity increases physical attraction toward overweight men. METHODS In Studies 1 and 2, we examined the effect that exposure to obese vs healthy weight men had on female attraction toward an overweight man. Study 3 examined whether females who are regularly exposed to males of heavier body weights reported a greater attraction toward overweight men. Study 4 tested whether females in an online dating study were more likely to choose to date an overweight man, after having been exposed to obesity. RESULTS Exposure to obesity altered visual perceptions of what normal and therefore healthy body weights were and this resulted in greater attraction toward an overweight man (Studies 1 and 2). Females regularly exposed to men of heavier body weight reported a greater attraction toward overweight men (Study 3). After exposure to obesity, females in an online dating study were more likely to choose to date an overweight man ahead of a healthy weight man (Study 4). CONCLUSIONS Exposure to male obesity increases female attraction toward overweight men and may affect mate choice.
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The effect of framing and normative messages in building support for climate policies. PLoS One 2014; 9:e114335. [PMID: 25501009 PMCID: PMC4266503 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2014] [Accepted: 10/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are required to mitigate climate change. However, there is low willingness amongst the public to prioritise climate policies for reducing emissions. Here we show that the extent to which Australians are prepared to reduce their country's CO2 emissions is greater when the costs to future national income are framed as a "foregone-gain"--incomes rise in the future but not by as much as in the absence of emission cuts--rather than as a "loss"--incomes decrease relative to the baseline expected future levels (Studies 1 & 2). The provision of a normative message identifying Australia as one of the world's largest CO2 emitters did not increase the amount by which individuals were prepared to reduce emissions (Study 1), whereas a normative message revealing the emission policy preferences of other Australians did (Study 2). The results suggest that framing the costs of reducing emissions as a smaller increase in future income and communicating normative information about others' emission policy preferences are effective methods for leveraging public support for emission cuts.
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Leavett R, Nash HM, Snowling MJ. Am I dyslexic? Parental self-report of literacy difficulties. DYSLEXIA (CHICHESTER, ENGLAND) 2014; 20:297-304. [PMID: 25185509 DOI: 10.1002/dys.1481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2013] [Revised: 07/25/2014] [Accepted: 07/29/2014] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
In the absence of criteria for the diagnosis of dyslexia, considerable weight is given to self-report, in particular in studies of children at family risk of dyslexia. The present paper uses secondary data from a previous study to compare parents who self-report as dyslexic and those who do not, in relation to objectively determined levels of ability. In general, adults are more likely to self-report as 'dyslexic' if they have poorer reading and spelling skills and also if there is a discrepancy between IQ and measured literacy. However, parents of higher social status who have mild literacy difficulties are more likely to self-report as dyslexic than parents who have weaker literacy skills but are less socially advantaged. Together the findings suggest that the judgement as to whether or not a parent considers themselves 'dyslexic' is made relative to others in the same social sphere. Those who are socially disadvantaged may, in turn, be less likely to seek support for their children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Leavett
- Department of Psychology, University of York, UK
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Bilderbeck AC, Brown GDA, Read J, Woolrich M, Cowen PJ, Behrens TEJ, Rogers RD. Serotonin and social norms: tryptophan depletion impairs social comparison and leads to resource depletion in a multiplayer harvesting game. Psychol Sci 2014; 25:1303-13. [PMID: 24815611 PMCID: PMC4230382 DOI: 10.1177/0956797614527830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2013] [Accepted: 02/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
How do people sustain resources for the benefit of individuals and communities and avoid the tragedy of the commons, in which shared resources become exhausted? In the present study, we examined the role of serotonin activity and social norms in the management of depletable resources. Healthy adults, alongside social partners, completed a multiplayer resource-dilemma game in which they repeatedly harvested from a partially replenishable monetary resource. Dietary tryptophan depletion, leading to reduced serotonin activity, was associated with aggressive harvesting strategies and disrupted use of the social norms given by distributions of other players’ harvests. Tryptophan-depleted participants more frequently exhausted the resource completely and also accumulated fewer rewards than participants who were not tryptophan depleted. Our findings show that rank-based social comparisons are crucial to the management of depletable resources, and that serotonin mediates responses to social norms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Judi Read
- Nuffield Department of Primary Healthcare Sciences, University of Oxford
| | - Mark Woolrich
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, University of Oxford
| | | | - Tim E J Behrens
- Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain, University of Oxford
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Sentencing, severity, and social norms: a rank-based model of contextual influence on judgments of crimes and punishments. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2013; 144:538-47. [PMID: 24140821 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2013.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2013] [Revised: 09/08/2013] [Accepted: 09/17/2013] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Context effects have been shown to bias lay people's evaluations of the severity of crimes and punishments. To investigate the cognitive mechanisms behind these effects, we develop and apply a rank-based social norms approach to judgments of perceived crime seriousness and sentence appropriateness. In Study 1, we find that (a) people believe on average that 84% of people illegally download software more than they do themselves and (b) their judged severity of, and concern about, their own illegal software downloading is predicted not by its amount but by how this amount is believed (typically inaccurately) to rank within a social comparison distribution. Studies 2 and 3 find that the judged appropriateness of a given sentence length is highly dependent on the length of other sentences available in the decision-making context: The same objective sentence was judged as approximately four times stricter when it was the second longest sentence being considered than when it was the fifth longest. It is concluded that the same mechanisms that are used to judge the magnitude of psychophysical stimuli bias judgments about legal matters.
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