All About Cognitive Consistency: A Reply to Commentaries

Practice of key essential nutrition action messages and associated factors among mothers of children aged six months to two years old in Karat town, Konso zone, South Ethiopia, 2024: a community-based cross-sectional study

Background

Key essential nutrition actions (ENA) messages are a comprehensive and evidence-based nutritional package designed to improve the nutritional status during the critical first 1,000 days of life. The poor practice of ENA contributes significantly to mortality and morbidity related to malnutrition in young children. However, there is a dearth of studies focusing on the practice of key ENA messages among mothers and the factors associated with their practice. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the practice of key ENA messages among mothers of children aged 6 months to 2 years in Karat town, Konso zone, South Ethiopia in 2024.

Methods

A community-based cross-sectional study involving 421 mothers of children aged 6 months to 2 years was conducted in Karat town, Konso zone, South Ethiopia from January 15 to February 29, 2024. Respondents were chosen using computer-generated random numbers. A structured, pretested, and interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Following coding and entry into EpiData 3.1, the data were exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Logistic regression (bivariate and multivariable) was employed to identify factors influencing mothers' practice of key ENA messages, and statistical significance was set at p < 0.05 with a 95% confidence interval.

Results

The study found that 47.6% (95% CI: 42.8, 52.42%) of mothers demonstrated good practices. Having secondary education or higher, institutional delivery, receiving nutritional counseling during antenatal care (ANC), receipt of postnatal care (PNC) services, having good knowledge, and having a good attitude towards ENA all increase the likelihood of good practice.

Conclusion

This study emphasizes the need for multifaceted interventions to improve ENA practice among mothers residing in Karat town. To effectively address this issue, it is crucial to implement targeted education programs, strengthen postnatal care services, and nutritional counseling into routine antenatal care, promote institutional deliveries, and enhance awareness.

Does inconsistency always lead to negative affect? The influence of need for closure on affective reactions to cognitive inconsistency

We present an experiment showing that need for closure (NFC)-defined as the epistemic desire for certainty-can moderate individuals' affective reactions to cognitive inconsistency. Informed by Kruglanski and colleagues' new theory, that cognitive inconsistency elicits negative affect particularly under certain circumstances, we find that NFC (i.e. the desire for certain, stable and unambiguous knowledge) influences the strength of consistency effects and resulting negative affect. More specifically, we find that individuals who are high on NFC experience more negative affect upon encountering an inconsistent (vs. consistent) cognition. However, when individuals are low on NFC, inconsistency is irrelevant, and their affect depends on whether the ultimate outcome of the cognition is positive or negative. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this research.