Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial of RealConsent2.0: a web‑based intervention to promote prosocial alcohol‑involved bystander behavior in young men

Background Sexual violence (SV) is a significant, global public health problem, particularly among young adults. Promising interventions exist, including prosocial bystander intervention programs that train bystanders to intervene in situations at-risk for SV. However, these programs suffer from critical weaknesses: (1) they do not address the proximal effect of alcohol use on bystander decision-making and (2) they rely on self-report measures to evaluate outcomes. To overcome these limitations, we integrate new content specific to alcohol use within the context of prosocial bystander intervention into an existing, evidence-based program, RealConsent1.0. The resulting program, RealConsent2.0, aims to facilitate bystander behavior among sober and intoxicated bystanders and uses a virtual reality (VR) environment to assess bystander behavior in the context of acute alcohol use. Methods This protocol paper presents the design of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in which we evaluate RealConsent2.0 for efficacy in increasing alcohol- and non-alcohol-involved bystander behavior compared to RealConsent1.0 or to an attention-control program (“Taking Charge”). The RCT is being implemented in Atlanta, GA, and Lincoln, NE. Participants will be 605, healthy men aged 21–25 years recruited through social media, community-based flyers, and university email lists. Eligible participants who provide informed consent and complete the baseline survey, which includes self-reported bystander behavior, are then randomized to one of six conditions: RealConsent2.0/alcohol, RealConsent2.0/ placebo, RealConsent1.0/alcohol, RealConsent1.0/placebo, Taking Charge/alcohol, or Taking Charge/placebo. After completing their assigned program, participants complete a laboratory session in which they consume an alcohol (target BrAC: .08%) or placebo beverage and then engage in the Bystanders in Sexual Assault Virtual Environments (BSAVE), a virtual house party comprising situations in which participants have opportunities to intervene. Self-reported bystander behavior across alcohol and non-alcohol contexts is also assessed at 6- and 12-months post-intervention. Secondary outcomes include attitudes toward, outcome expectancies for, and self-efficacy for bystander behavior via self-report. Discussion RealConsent2.0 is the first web-based intervention for young men that encourages and teaches skills to engage in prosocial bystander behavior to prevent SV while intoxicated. This is also the first study to assess the proximal effect of alcohol on bystander behavior via a VR environment

Honesty, social presence, and self-service in retail

Retail self-service checkouts (SCOs) can benefit consumers and retailers, providing control and autonomy to shoppers independent from staff. Recent research indicates that the lack of presence of staff may provide the opportunity for consumers to behave dishonestly. This study examined whether a social presence in the form of visual, humanlike SCO interface agents had an effect on dishonest user behaviour. Using a simulated SCO scenario, participants experienced various dilemmas in which they could financially benefit themselves undeservedly. We hypothesised that a humanlike social presence integrated within the checkout screen would receive more attention and result in fewer instances of dishonesty compared to a less humanlike agent. Our hypotheses were partially supported by the results. We conclude that companies adopting self-service technology may consider the implementation of social presence to support ethical consumer behaviour, but that more research is required to explore the mixed findings in the current study

Female Gamers:

International evidence indicates that the number of females involved in video-gaming is increasing. Within the context of this increase, there is a need to explore the experiences of this group of gamers in detail. This study explored female experiences of playing video-games. Data were collected from an online discussion forum dedicated to video-gaming; the sample comprised of posts drawn from 409 discussion threads. Thematic analysis of the discussions suggests that gaming is a key element of the female gamers’ identity, with females discussing the integration of gaming into their daily lives on a number of different levels. Similar to previous research, social elements of gaming is highlighted with simultaneous difficulties with online interaction emphasised. These themes are discussed in relation to relevant research in the area, along with recommendations for future research and consideration of possible explanations for the themes observed

Editorial: Positive Technology: Designing E-experiences for Positive Change

While there is little doubt that our lives are becoming increasingly digital, whether this change is for the better or for the worse is far from being settled. Rather, over the past years concerns about the personal and social impacts of technologies have been growing, fueled by dystopian Orwellian scenarios that almost on daily basis are generously dispensed by major Western media outlets. According to a recent poll involving some 1,150 experts, 47% of respondents predict that individuals’ well-being will bemore helped than harmed by digital life in the next decade, while 32% say people’s well-being will bemore harmed than helped. Only 21% of those surveyed indicated that the impact of technologies on people well-being will be negligible compared to now (Pew Research Center, 2018)

The Racing-Game Effect: Why Do Video Racing Games Increase Risk-Taking Inclinations?

The present studies investigated why video racing games increase players’ risk-taking inclinations. Four studies reveal that playing video racing games increases risk taking in a subsequent simulated road traffic situation, as well as risk-promoting cognitions and emotions, blood pressure,sensation seeking, and attitudes toward reckless driving. Study 1 ruled out the role of experimental demand in creating such effects. Studies 2 and 3 showed that the effect of playing video racing games on risk taking was partially mediated by changes in selfperceptions as a reckless driver. These effects were evident only when the individual played racing games that reward traffic violations rather than racing games that do not reward traffic violations (Study 3) and when the individual was an active player of such games rather than a passive observer (Study 4). In sum, the results underline the potential negative impact of racing games on traffic safety

The relation between bystanders' behavioral reactivity to distress and later helping behavior during a violent conflict in virtual reality

The occurrence of helping behavior is thought to be automatically triggered by reflexive reactions and promoted by intuitive decisions. Here, we studied whether reflexive reactions to an emergency situation are associated with later helping behavior in a different situation, a violent conflict. First, 29 male supporters of F.C. Barcelona performed a cued-reaction time task with a low and high cognitive load manipulation, to tap into reflexive and reflective processes respectively, during the observation of an emergency. Next, participants entered a bar in Virtual Reality and had a conversation with a virtual fellow supporter. During this conversation, a virtual Real Madrid supporter entered and started an aggressive argument with the fellow supporter that escalated into a physical fight. Verbal and physical interventions of the participant served as measures of helping behavior. Results showed that faster responses to an emergency situation during low, but not during high cognitive load, were associated with more interventions during the violent conflict. However, a tendency to describe the decision to act during the violent conflict as intuitive and reflex-like was related to more interventions. Further analyses revealed that a disposition to experience sympathy, other-oriented feelings during distressful situations, was related to self-reported intuitive decision-making, a reduced distance to the perpetrator, and higher in the intervening participants. Taken together, these results shed new light on helping behavior and are consistent with the notion of a motivational system in which the act of helping is dependent on a complex interplay between intuitive, reflexive and deliberate, reflective processes

Prosocial digital games for youth : A systematic review of interventions

Digital games aiming to improve children health behaviours have received increasing attention from scholars and practitioners due to their societal importance. However, there remains a very limited understanding on the scope, application and relevance of prosocial games on youth. This review systematically investigates the literature base of empirical examinations of prosocial digital game interventions for children and explores the measures applied and their effectiveness. According to PRISMA guidelines, a systematic literature search was performed using five academic databases (EBSCO, Ovid, ProQuest, Scopus and Web of Science). To assess risk of bias in the analysis of included studies Cochrane developed quality assessment framework RoB2 and ROBINS-I were applied. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. Discussion of the reviewed studies highlights a heterogeneity of measures and lack of a consistent framework, mixed but promising results, and implications of skills and attitudes impacting prosocial behaviours. Finally, it proposes an agenda for future research on prosocial digital games focused on implementing clear theoretical frameworks and analysing key game design attributes to enhance prosocial digital games’ effectiveness

Cognitive mechanisms for responding to mimicry from others

Compared to our understanding of neurocognitive processes involved producing mimicry, the downstream consequences of being mimicked are less clear. A wide variety of positive consequences of mimicry, such as liking and helping, have been reported in behavioural research. However, an in-depth review suggests the link from mimicry to liking and other positive outcomes may be fragile. Positive responses to mimicry can break down due to individual factors and social situations where mimicry may be unexpected. It remains unclear how the complex behavioural effects of mimicry relate to neural systems which respond to being mimicked. Mimicry activates regions associated with mirror properties, self-other processing and reward. In this review, we outline three potential models linking these regions with cognitive consequences of being mimicked. The models suggest that positive downstream consequences of mimicry may depend upon self-other overlap, detection of contingency or low prediction error. Finally, we highlight limitations with traditional research designs and suggest alternative methods for achieving highly ecological validity and experimental control. We also highlight unanswered questions which may guide future research