Mimicry and law: Experiments in a natural setting of a law company

This paper joins an effort to build a relational approach to law practice by testing mimicry as a vehicle for building trust in a legal context. Mimicry research indicates that this phenomenon leads to benefits, like greater trust, willingness to help, and satisfaction from interactions, which shows a potential for practical applications in, for example, a legal context. In two experiments conducted in the natural setting of a legal company, the tendency to trust the mimicker on a yet unresearched and deep level, namely putting one's legal future and security in the hands of an attorney, was measured. Both experiments consistently showed a greater tendency to give legal representation to an attorney when she verbally (Experiment #1) as well as both verbally and nonverbally (Experiment #2) mimicked the client. This paper explores the potential of applying mimicry in a legal service environment, focusing on fostering cooperation in professional conversations. Furthermore, the study contributes to the existing literature on mimicry by examining its effect on trust. Possible dangers, future studies and limitations are also discussed.

Is the COVID-19 bad news game good news? Testing whether creating and disseminating fake news about vaccines in a computer game reduces people's belief in anti-vaccine arguments

Improving vaccination eagerness is crucial, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and establishing new procedures to achieve that goal is highly important. Previous research (Roozenbeek & van der Linden, 2019a, 2019b) has indicated that playing the "Bad News" game, in which a player spreads fake news to gain followers, reduces people's belief in fake news. The goal of the present paper was to test an analogous new game called "COVID-19 Bad News (CBN)" to improve one's eagerness to vaccinate against coronavirus. CBN was constructed to examine whether creating and disseminating fake news focused on vaccinations and the COVID-19 pandemic has a similar effect and improves people's attitudes toward vaccination. Two experiments were conducted where participants played CBN or Tetris and afterwards evaluated the credibility of statements about vaccines against COVID-19 and finally filled out a questionnaire concerning their attitudes toward vaccination. The results show that playing CBN does not reduce evaluations of the credibility of all statements that are unfavorable to vaccines (false as well as true). Additionally, it does not enhance readiness to vaccinate. Future research and limitations are discussed.

The chameleon effect in customer relationship management: Experiments on the spillover effects of mimicry in natural settings of a chain hotel and a chain grocery shop

Numerous experiments have proven that mimicry is highly beneficial (mainly to the mimicker but also to the mimickee). Some studies have shown initial data suggesting the potential of applying this knowledge to business settings. In the present paper we unpack this issue in two ways. First, by presenting potential benefits stemming from mimicry for the mimicking dyad, and second for the business environment represented by the mimicker. Two consecutive studies: a Pretest and a Main Experiment run in natural settings showed great potential in improving the assessments of quality of service provided by verbally mimicking (or not). The results of both studies showed that mimicry offers benefits for the mimicker (increased employee kindness and employee evaluation), and also spillover to the organization/company represented by the mimicking employee (increased opinion of and willingness to return to the shop/hotel). Future research directions and limitations are discussed.

Do unbiased people act more rationally?-The case of comparative realism and vaccine intention

Within different populations and at various stages of the pandemic, it has been demonstrated that individuals believe they are less likely to become infected than their average peer. This is known as comparative optimism and it has been one of the reproducible effects in social psychology. However, in previous and even the most recent studies, researchers often neglected to consider unbiased individuals and inspect the differences between biased and unbiased individuals. In a mini meta-analysis of six studies (Study 1), we discovered that unbiased individuals have lower vaccine intention than biased ones. In two pre-registered, follow-up studies, we aimed at testing the reproducibility of this phenomenon and its explanations. In Study 2 we replicated the main effect and found no evidence for differences in psychological control between biased and unbiased groups. In Study 3 we also replicated the effect and found that realists hold more centric views on the trade-offs between threats from getting vaccinated and getting ill. We discuss the interpretation and implication of our results in the context of the academic and lay-persons' views on rationality. We also put forward empirical and theoretical arguments for considering unbiased individuals as a separate phenomenon in the domain of self-others comparisons.

It Matters to Whom You Compare Yourself: The Case of Unrealistic Optimism and Gender-Specific Comparisons

Unrealistic Optimism (UO) appears when comparing participants' risk estimates for themselves with an average peer, which typically results in lower risk estimates for the self. This article reports nuanced effects when comparison varies in terms of the gender of the peer. In three studies (total N = 2,468, representative sample), we assessed people's risk estimates for COVID-19 infections for peers with the same or other gender. If a peer's gender is not taken into account, previous studies were replicated: Compared with others, participants perceived themselves as less likely to get infected with COVID-19. Interestingly, this effect was qualified by gender: Respondents perceived women as less threatened than men because women are perceived as more cautious and compliant with medical guidelines.

The Effects of Offering Freedom to Comply by Pediatricians and Nurses, Using the But-You-Are-Free (BYAF) Technique, on Vaccination Compliance on 185 Parents of Newborn Babies Conducted in Outpatient Clinics in Poland Between January 2022 and July 2022

BACKGROUND This study aimed to evaluate, in outpatient clinics in Poland between January 2022 and July 2022, the effectiveness of the But-You-Are-Free (BYAF) social influence technique by healthcare professionals during interaction with 185 parents deciding about vaccinating (eg, Hexacima, Prevenor 13, Synflorix, Rotateq, Act Hib, Boostrix, Pentaxim, DTP, Imovax, Priorix, MMR, Tetracim, Adacel, Euvax B, Fuvax, FSME, Varilix, Nimenrix, Bexero vaccines) their babies. MATERIAL AND METHODS During an interaction with pediatricians or nurses, the parents were encouraged to vaccinate their babies. In experimental condition (111 interactions), the BYAF technique was employed, and the phrase "But you are free" was added at the end of the conversation. In the control condition (74 interactions), it was not employed. RESULTS In the experimental condition, 71 (64%) participants declared intention to vaccinate their children. In the control condition, it 61 (84%) participants declared intention to vaccinate (the difference in percentages was significant: P=0.006). The number of parents who actually vaccinated their babies in the experimental condition was 92 (83%) and in the control condition it was 70 (95%; P=0.018). CONCLUSIONS The findings showed that participants who were exposed to the BYAF technique declared lower intentions to vaccinate their babies, and vaccinated them less often than those in the control condition. This result critically highlights that this technique should not be employed in the medical settings of pediatric vaccination.

Temporal aspects of unrealistic optimism and robustness of this bias: A longitudinal study in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Numerous studies on unrealistic optimism (UO) have shown that people claim they are less exposed to COVID-19 infection than others. Yet, it has not been assessed if this bias evolves; does it escalate or diminish when the information about the threat changes? The present paper fills this gap. For 12 months 120 participants estimated their own and their peers' risk of COVID-19 infection. Results show that UO regarding COVID-19 infection is an enduring phenomenon-It was the dominant tendency throughout almost the entire study and was never substituted by Unrealistic Pessimism. While the presence of UO-bias was constant, its magnitude changed. We tested possible predictors of these changes: the daily new cases/deaths, the changes in governmental restrictions and the mobility of participants' community. Out of these predictors, only changes in governmental restrictions proved to be significant- when the restrictions tightened, UO increased.

Biased Social Comparison in the Moment of Crisis

Abstract. The better-than-average effect (BTAE) is a mechanism where people perceive oneself as better than others. The BTAE could be one of the phenomena explaining why people follow – in the moment of a global health crisis – guidelines (“I am superior to others, and I [will]) take extra precautions, e.g., a vaccine shot”). In this paper, we investigate the BTAE with 3,066 respondents. In Study 1, in all countries, across two measurements in time, the BTAE was present: Participants rated their involvement in self-protection as greater in comparison to others. Study 2 replicated this effect, proving its robustness. Participants estimated their willingness to vaccinate as higher than others. The BTAE was a significant predictor of willingness to vaccinate.

COVID-19 and a biased public mentality toward infection and vaccination: A case of unrealistic optimism and social comparisons between the vaccinated and unvaccinated

Unrealistic Optimism in the context of COVID-19 is described as the tendency to perceive peers as being more at risk of infection. To date, however, no research has proposed more specific comparisons. The present article not only replicates the most recent body of literature showing that people perceive themselves as less prone to COVID-19 infection than their peers, but fills the aforementioned gap by providing additional and more specific comparisons between those vaccinated and unvaccinated against COVID-19. Such comparisons may be crucial to curb the possibility of resurgence of COVID-19 by assessing how unvaccinated individuals perceive the probability of being infected by coronavirus. Some 622 Prolific—(un)vaccinated against COVID-19—users participated in an online quasi-experiment. Participants estimated the risk of COVID-19 infection for themselves, their peers or the average (un)vaccinated peer, which is a new addition to the literature. Results showed that there was an unrealistic optimism effect. Participants estimated their risk for infection as lower in comparison to others. Surprisingly, results showed that for unvaccinated people, vaccines seem to be an effective tool to reduce the risk of infection, but not for themselves.

Media intervention program for reducing unrealistic optimism bias: The link between unrealistic optimism, well-being, and health

Unrealistic optimism is the tendency to perceive oneself as safer than others in situations that equally threaten everybody. By reducing fear, this bias boosts one's well-being; however, it is also a deterrent to one's health. Three experiments were run in a mixed-design on 1831 participants to eliminate unrealistic optimism (measured by two items-probability of COVID-19 infection for oneself and for others; within-subjects) toward the probability of COVID-19 infection via articles/videos. A between-subject factor was created by manipulation. Ostensibly, daily newspaper articles describing other people diligently following medical recommendations (experiment 1) and videos showing people who did not follow these recommendations (experiment 2) reduced unrealistic optimism. The third experiment, which included both articles and videos, replicated these results. These results can be applied to strategies for written and video communications that can be used by governments and public health agencies as best practices concerning not only COVID-19 but also any subsequent public health threat while promoting proactive, optimal, and healthy functioning of the individual.

You Want to Know the Truth? Then Don’t Mimic!

Abstract. Clinical psychologists have frequently reported that similarity in movements can be greatly beneficial. It increases rapport and favors a better understanding of clients’ emotions. Social psychologists have shown that mimicking instills greater trust in the mimicker and that mimickees disclose more intimate information. Therefore, mimicry seems to be an ideal tool to implement during therapeutic interventions. However, the current study reveals a potentially perilous outcome stemming from mimicry: mimicked (verbally – Study 1, N = 49; nonverbally – Study 2, N = 40) participants were more eager to cheat the mimicker. This means that incorporating mimicry into the therapeutic process may lead to clients misinforming therapists. The discussion section describes some caveats associated with the experiments and suggests directions for future research.

We are infected with the new, mutated virus UO-COVID-19

INTRODUCTION

Optimism is boosted by leaders hoping for job creation, increased business spending, and a high consumption rate. In this research, we assessed the hazardous side effect for global health policies stemming from this optimism: unrealistic optimism (being unrealistically optimistic about future negative events), which may be responsible for new infections and may prevent the eradication of COVID-19. The goal of the research was not only to assess whether this effect exists and to find out whether such an effect is global but also to evaluate whether there are groups resistant to this effect (presenting a potential toolkit for reducing this effect).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In May and April of 2020, online surveys were administered among students in Iran, Kazakhstan, and Poland respectively to assess the unrealistic optimism/pessimism. In study 1/objective 1, the survey was conducted twice (in a period of about 3 weeks) to assess the potential change (due to the anonymous codes delivered by the participants, we were able to make follow-ups between the same participants) in time in the 3 countries. In the first wave, 1611 participants took the survey. In the second wave, there were 1426 respondents. In study 2, the survey was conducted among 207 Polish healthcare workers of the frontline hospital.

RESULTS

In study 1 across the 3 cultures (the first wave for unmatched data by the code of the specific participant F(1, 1608) = 419.2; p < 0.001, and for matched data F(1, 372) = 167.195; p < 0.001; η_p² = 0.31; η_p² = 0.21; the second wave for unmatched data F(1, 1423) = 359.61; p < 0.001; η_p² = 0.2, and for matched F(1, 372) = 166.84; p < 0.001; η_p² = 0.31), unrealistic optimism is present, and importantly it is constant in time. In study 2, unrealistic optimism was not found among healthcare professionals, who we hypothesized due to the medical knowledge are not inclined to be unrealistically optimistic t(206) = 1.06; p = 0.290, d = 0.07.

CONCLUSION

Medical education of COVID-19 severity might reduce unrealistic optimism, which may be the reason why pandemic restrictions are not being respected.

Unrealistic Optimism in the Time of Coronavirus Pandemic: May It Help to Kill, If So-Whom: Disease or the Person?

Objective: The results of numerous empirical studies have showed the occurrence of so-called unrealistic optimism. Thus, we aimed to investigate whether in the situation of an imminent coronavirus pandemic, people would still perceive themselves as being less exposed to the disease than others. Methods: Survey studies were conducted to examine the level of unrealistic optimism. Participants (n = 171, 67.3% of women) in a subjective way judged the risk of their coronavirus infection and the likelihood that this would happen to an average student of the same sex from their class. The survey was conducted in three waves: prior to the announcement of the first case of coronavirus (2–3 March), immediately after that announcement (5–6 March), and a few days later (9–10 March). Results: We showed that women estimated the chances of being infected as significantly higher (M = 4.52, SD = 2.079; t = 2.387; p = 0.018; Cohen’s d = 0.393) than men (M = 3.71, SD = 2.042). The phenomenon of unrealistic optimism was observed especially in men (as compared to other male participants) as it appeared in all three measures (M (you) = 3.95 vs. M (other male student) = 4.63; M = 3.71 vs. M = 4.68, and M = 4.46 vs. M = 5.38 in phase one, two, and three, respectively; p ≤ 0.006 for all comparison), but also in women in the last two measures (M (you) = 4.55 vs. M (other female student) = 4.95, and M = 4.99 vs. M = 5.38 in phase 2 and 3, respectively; p ≤ 0.012 for both comparisons). Conclusions: The study revealed a fairly general occurrence of unrealistic optimism, which was mainly observed in men as it appeared in all three measures, but also in women in the last two measures. This result is important for health experts who are responsible for making people comply with regulations concerning social distancing, putting masks on to stop infection, and staying at home. It is possible that unrealistically optimistic people will behave much less in line with the aforementioned recommendations, causing coronavirus to spread widely.

Mortality, morbidity and case fatality from myocardial infarction and the cardiovascular risk profile in the Warsaw population

The present study, based on the World Health Organization (WHO) MONICA Project design, covers two Warsaw districts inhabited by 274442 people, aged 25-64. In the studied population over the years 1976-1985, no significant time-trends were found of cardiovascular disease (CVD), ischemic heart disease (IHD), myocardial infarction (MI) and cerebrovascular mortality, whereas the hypertension mortality trends increased significantly. The MI attack rate in 1984/85 in men aged 25-64 was 466/100,000 and that of women 173/100,000. Within the last 14-15 years the age-standardized MI attack rates increased by 35% in men aged 35-64 and by 65% in women. The 28-day case fatality was 40% in men and 35% in women. Fatality was highest the first day after the onset of symptoms, and only 66% of men and 72% of women survived the first 3 days after onset. No significant differences in age-standardized mean values of plasma total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol and systolic blood pressure (BP) were found between men and women. Mean values of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL) and of the Quatelet index were higher in the female population, whereas the triglyceride level, diastolic BP, and the number of cigarettes smoked daily were higher in the male population. In men, the plasma total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol values did not change with age, but the tryglyceride values decreased; in women, the plasma total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride values increased with age. Mean values of systolic and diastolic BP increased with age in both sexes, whereas the number of cigarettes smoked daily decreased.

Dietary habits of the middle-aged Warsaw population in 1984 relative to nutritional guidelines

The dietary habits of 1265 men and 1309 women aged 35-64 years were assessed by food frequencies and 24-h recall. The consumption of fat was high relative to Recommended Dietary Allowances (mean 137% of RDA in the diet of men and 108% in women). The diet was deficient in carbohydrates (80 and 67% respectively), calcium (81 and 64%), vitamin A (84% for both sexes), vitamin B1 (91 and 74%), and vitamin C (41 and 30%). Energy, protein, dietary fibre, iron and vitamin B2 were at the RDA or exceeded it in the men's diet but were insufficient in the women's diet. Fat accounted for 38.5% (men) and 37.7% (women) of energy, with 15.8% of the energy derived from saturated fatty acids and 4.2% from polyunsaturates. The amount of cholesterol consumed was 641 and 452 mg, respectively. This type of diet may contribute to increased incidence of ischaemic heart disease. Only three meals a day were taken by over 83% of the respondents, with over 5-h intervals between meals which may, in addition, contribute to obesity.

Results from a comparative dietary assessment in Europe: I. Comparison of dietary information derived from concurrently applied frequency questionnaires and quantitative measurement instruments

Data from four central European dietary investigations carried out between 1982 and 1984 in the German Democratic Republic, Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany applying both a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and a quantitative recording instrument (24-h recall, 3-d record or 10- to 14-d record) were analysed to compare frequency of food consumption as reported by the FFQ with the corresponding information as derived from the quantitative instrument. The actual intake was found to be overestimated by the FFQ for categories of frequent consumption and underestimated for categories of rare consumption. Categories for which both instruments yielded similar estimates of frequency were found to vary between food items and to depend on the overall frequency of consumption of an item. This indicates that when using unvalidated FFQs and taking their FFQ-categories literally artificial differences of food consumption within the population(s) under study can be introduced. This implies also the tendency that the average food intake estimated through FFQs can yield unrealistically high values for items consumed frequently.

Results from a comparative dietary assessment in Europe: II. Feasibility of pooling individual-based dietary data between countries

Dietary investigations in four central European survey populations carried out in the German Democratic Republic, Poland and Denmark between 1982 and 1984 using different methodologies were analysed in order to assess the possibilities of characterizing the dietary habits of individual survey participants in a comparable fashion. This was done with the view of assessing the feasibility of a pooled cancer cohort study. For this purpose a method has been devised to combine dietary information derived by food frequency questionnaires and quantitative recording methods into a quantitative characterization of individuals' habits. A comparable characterization between different cultural settings could be demonstrated for a selected list of food items. The selection was determined by the food items considered in common in the different food frequency questionnaires and yielding sufficient and comparable variation as well as absolute amounts of intake. This was more clearly found for food items such as 'fruit' which experience a concise role in dietary habits. However, the observed discrepancies of the different dietary methods within the countries, and, most importantly, between the countries, result in distributions of average daily consumption values which are not deemed to be comparable.

Changes in the dietary habits of male workers in Warsaw plants over a period of four years

At the Polish Trial on Ischaemic Heart Disease Prevention begun in 1976-77 the dietary habits of 5,484 male workers aged 40-59 years working in 14 Warsaw plants were assessed by 24-hour recall. After two and four years of follow-up in 1978-79 and 1980-81 this study was repeated in random samples of the previously screened population still in employment in these plants i.e., 652 men (response rate after two years=70.4%) and 574 men (response rate after four years=65.0%). In the initial screening the mean energy value of the reported daily food ration was 2,700 kcal/11,296 kJ. This energy derived 13.6% from protein, 37.1% from fat, and 49.3% from carbohydrate. After two years the mean energy value of the daily food ration as well as the amounts of the daily consumed fat and carbohydrate and vitamin B1 had decreased significantly. The amounts of the remaining nutrients were not significantly changed. After four years only the mean daily consumption of vitamin C was decreased significantly. The mean values of the total energy value of the food ration as well as of the amounts of nutrients were not significantly different. On the other hand, differences were found in the amount of food products--the reported consumption of cereals and bread as well as animal fat increased significantly, while the consumption of meat and meat products, vegetable fats, fruits and sugar decreased.