Health performance of individuals within the Campbell paradigm

The relationship between readiness to change pain-related exercise participation and perceived work ability: a cross-sectional study of factory workers

BACKGROUND

Healthy lifestyle behaviours are associated with protection against health disorders and pain. Exercise participation is one such behaviour, associated with improved outcomes in those experiencing pain. Musculoskeletal pain is highly prevalent in the workplace, particularly in factory workers and associated loss of work function is recognised as having a great impact on individuals, society and the economy. A worker's 'readiness to change pain behaviour' is an important factor to consider in achieving a healthy lifestyle behaviour and potentially improved function. This study aimed to examine the relationship between a cohort of factory workers 'readiness to change pain behaviour' such as exercise and their 'perceived work ability'.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study design was used to establish the relationship between 'readiness to change pain behaviours' and 'perceived work ability'. The Multidimensional Pain Related Change Questionnaire 2 (MPRCQ2) was used to measure readiness to change various pain behaviours including exercise. The Work Ability Index (WAI) was used to assess 'perceived work ability'. Seventy-five factory workers, aged over 18 (66 male, 9 female) were recruited using convenience sampling between September-November 2019. Correlation and multiple regression were used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Mean WAI, MPRCQ2 and MPRCQ2 exercise component were 41.89 (SD 5.28), 4.26 (SD 1.01) and 4.40 (SD 1.69). MPRCQ2 and MPRCQ2 exercise component were not significant predictors of WAI in factory workers (F (2, 72) = 2.17, p > 0.001). There was no significant relationship between MPRCQ2 and WAI (rs = .09, p > .05). However, there was a significant positive relationship between MPRCQ2 exercise component and WAI (rs = .23, p < .05).

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that readiness to change pain-related exercise participation has a positive association with 'perceived work ability'. Further research should explore the causal relationship and consider strength training as a specific type of exercise.

Acting inconsistently with an important goal predicts compensatory health behaviors through regret

OBJECTIVE

This study explored affective mechanisms of compensatory health behaviors after acting inconsistently with an important goal. Specifically, we propose and test a model in which regret over being in a situation that inhibits goal pursuit lays at the root of an individual's engagement in compensatory behaviors such as avoiding fatty foods and sweets.

METHODS

A total of 185 participants committed to being healthy took part in a longitudinal experiment (t₀-t₃). At t₀ we measured the extent to which the goal of being healthy was important to participants. At t₁ in the laboratory setting we manipulated inconsistency with the goal by asking participants to taste foods either more or less calorie-dense. After the manipulation (t₂) we measured experienced regret. Twenty-four hours later (t₃), participants declared whether they engaged in compensatory health behaviors such as avoiding fat-dense food and sweets.

RESULTS

As predicted, acting inconsistently with a goal was associated with higher levels of experienced regret. Higher regret, in turn, predicted engagement in compensatory health behaviors. Moreover, subjective importance of the goal moderated the effect of inconsistency on experienced regret in such a way that more committed individuals experienced more regret when they acted inconsistently with a goal.

CONCLUSIONS

We discuss the results and propose new avenues for research on compensation in broader contexts of situational and individual differences.

Energy and resource-saving behaviours in European Union countries: The Campbell paradigm and goal framing theory approaches

The promotion of energy and resource-saving behaviour is one of the primary tools to enhance the reduction of resource consumption and seeking energy and resource efficiency. The aim of this study was, referring to the Campbell paradigm and goal framing theory, to analyse the main determinants of different types of energy and resource-saving behaviours in the European Union (EU) countries. Therefore, it was analysed whether environmental and health concerns and environmental responsibility equally influenced pro-environmental behaviours and whether all types of behaviours related to energy and resource-saving were guided by the same goals. The results showed that the performance of energy and resource-saving behaviours varied across European countries, and in separate EU countries, people were more willing to perform different types of behaviour. Furthermore, respondents who were more concerned about environmental issues and health and were more environmentally responsible tended to perform a variety of actions related to energy and resource-saving. Considering separate behaviours related to energy and resource-saving, environmental responsibility significantly and positively influenced all behaviours. Environmental concern significantly and positively determined all types of behaviours except water-saving behaviour. Health concerns significantly and positively influenced only the avoidance of buying over-packaged products. The analysis of relationships among separate behaviours revealed that behaviours related to energy and resource-saving were guided by different goals and the cost of these behaviours were different. Thus, policymakers should consider these goals to promote energy and resource-saving behaviour in the household sector.

The Campbell Paradigm as a Behavior-Predictive Reinterpretation of the Classical Tripartite Model of Attitudes

In this article, we introduce the "Campbell Paradigm" as a novel variant of Rosenberg and Hovland's (1960) tripartite model of attitudes. The Campbell Paradigm is based on a highly restricted measurement model that speaks of a compensatory relation between a person's latent attitude and the costs that come with any specific behavior. It overcomes the overarching weakness of the original tripartite model (i.e., its relative irrelevance for actual behavior) and offers a parsimonious explanation for behavior. Even though this seems attractive, we also discuss why the paradigm has not gained momentum in the 50 years since it was originally proposed by Donald T. Campbell. To demonstrate the paradigm's suitability even when implemented with an unrefined instrument in a domain where it has not been used previously, we apply the paradigm to a classic data example from attitude research from the 1984 US presidential election to account for the electorate's voting intentions and actual voting behaviors.

The Role of Attitude Strength in Behavioral Spillover: Attitude Matters-But Not Necessarily as a Moderator

Studies on how one behavior affects subsequent behaviors find evidence for two opposite trends: Sometimes a first behavior increases the likelihood of engaging in additional behaviors that contribute to the same goal (positive behavioral spillover), and at other times a first behavior decreases this likelihood (negative spillover). A factor that may explain both patterns is attitude strength. A stronger (more favorable) attitude toward an issue may make the connections between related behaviors more salient and increase the motivation to work toward the underlying goal. We predicted that people with a stronger (more favorable) attitude are more likely to engage in subsequent behaviors that address an issue they care about. Two experiments tested the prediction in the contexts of pro-environmental and health behavior. Study 1 (N = 378) provided some support for the predicted moderating role of attitude toward the environment when participants recalled either an environmentally friendly or unfriendly action: A strong attitude increased the likelihood, whereas a weak attitude decreased the likelihood of carrying out successive goal-conducive behaviors. When compared to a neutral control condition in Study 2 (N = 929), participants with a weak environmental attitude supported pro-environmental petitions less strongly after an environmentally harmful action. Support for such petitions did not waver, however, among participants with a strong environmental attitude: They consistently acted environmentally friendly. Contrary to the hypothesis, in neither study did strength of attitude toward personal health moderate the effect of an initial behavior in the expected direction. In sum, the two studies provided only limited evidence for behavioral spillover: Participants mostly acted in accordance with their attitude but were hardly affected by recalling previous actions. When behavioral spillover did occur, however, a strong environmental attitude tended to increase the likelihood of acting in an environmentally friendly way, whereas the behavior of those with a weak attitude was less predictable. This research contributes to a more nuanced theoretical understanding of the role of attitude in spillover, but provides only limited evidence for its role as a moderator.

Conformity Within the Campbell Paradigm

Abstract. Conformity – people’s propensity to comply with the norms and expectations of others – is an important driver of behavior. In this research, we develop a measure of people’s level of conformity which is grounded in an innovative paradigm from attitude research. By relying on relatively easy-to-answer questions about past activities, the new scale addresses some of the conceptual and methodical shortcomings of existing conformity measures. Using a sample of 1,398 people, we calibrated individuals’ claims about how they have conformed with norms, conventions, and the expectations of others in the past. Even though some conformity items seem somewhat gender sensitive, all 33 of them nevertheless form a fairly reliable Rasch scale (rel = .67). Convergent and discriminant validity were corroborated with substantial overlaps with traditional conformity, social desirability, and conscientiousness measures, and with a moderate negative correspondence with people’s desire for uniqueness. Incremental and explanatory validity was provided in a quasi-experiment ( n = 152) on evaluations of commercials.

Mindfully Green and Healthy: An Indirect Path from Mindfulness to Ecological Behavior

This paper examines the nature of the link between mindfulness and ecological behavior. Based on the notion that mindfulness incorporates heightened awareness of bodily sensations, we suggest an indirect path from mindfulness to ecological behavior that is mediated through individual health behavior, such as improved nutrition and increased exercise. This indirect path is corroborated with two online studies (n = 147/n = 239) where mindfulness, personal health behavior and ecological behavior were assessed. We conclude that increased mindful awareness of momentary experience indeed favors more healthy lifestyles, which in turn relate to increased ecological behavior beyond personal health benefits. The findings support an agreeableness of personal and planetary health behavior and open up a path for environmental educational interventions based on mindfulness practices and personal health gains.

Phase transitions in the q-voter model with noise on a duplex clique

We study a nonlinear q-voter model with stochastic noise, interpreted in the social context as independence, on a duplex network. To study the role of the multilevelness in this model we propose three methods of transferring the model from a mono- to a multiplex network. They take into account two criteria: one related to the status of independence (LOCAL vs GLOBAL) and one related to peer pressure (AND vs OR). In order to examine the influence of the presence of more than one level in the social network, we perform simulations on a particularly simple multiplex: a duplex clique, which consists of two fully overlapped complete graphs (cliques). Solving numerically the rate equation and simultaneously conducting Monte Carlo simulations, we provide evidence that even a simple rearrangement into a duplex topology may lead to significant changes in the observed behavior. However, qualitative changes in the phase transitions can be observed for only one of the considered rules: LOCAL&AND. For this rule the phase transition becomes discontinuous for q=5, whereas for a monoplex such behavior is observed for q=6. Interestingly, only this rule admits construction of realistic variants of the model, in line with recent social experiments.

The development of the ProMAS: a Probabilistic Medication Adherence Scale

Current self-report medication adherence measures often provide heavily skewed results with limited variance, suggesting that most participants are highly adherent. This contrasts with findings from objective adherence measures. We argue that one of the main limitations of these self-report measures is the limited range covered by the behaviors assessed. That is, the items do not match the adherence behaviors that people perform, resulting in a ceiling effect. In this paper, we present a new self-reported medication adherence scale based on the Rasch model approach (the ProMAS), which covers a wide range of adherence behaviors. The ProMAS was tested with 370 elderly receiving medication for chronic conditions. The results indicated that the ProMAS provided adherence scores with sufficient fit to the Rasch model. Furthermore, the ProMAS covered a wider range of adherence behaviors compared to the widely used Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS) instrument, resulting in more variance and less skewness in adherence scores. We conclude that the ProMAS is more capable of discriminating between people with different adherence rates than the MARS.

Attitudes and defaults save lives and protect the environment jointly and compensatorily: understanding the behavioral efficacy of nudges and other structural interventions

A better understanding of when and why nudges (e.g., defaults, visibility or accessibility alterations) and other structural behavior-change measures work or fail can help avoid subsequent surprises such as unexpected political opposition. In this paper, we challenge the unilateral focus on structural interventions—which seemingly control people's behavioral decisions—as such a focus ignores the flipside—namely, attitudes or, as they are called in economics, preferences. We argue for a conceptual understanding of individual behavior that views personal attitudes and behavioral costs as its two separate compensatorily effective determinants. This classical understanding was reintroduced into attitude research as the Campbell paradigm. In the logic of the Campbell paradigm, a person's attitude becomes obvious in the face of the behavioral costs the person surmounts. Technically, individual attitudes reveal themselves in a set of cost-dependent transitively ordered performances. Behavioral costs in turn reflect the structural boundary conditions that are relevant as obstructive and/or supportive environmental forces that generically affect a specific behavior. So far, our research on people’s attitudes toward environmental protection has demonstrated that the Campbell paradigm—and thus its conceptual account of individual behavior—holds true for approximately 95% of the people in a given society.