Divergent paths to martyrdom and significance among suicide attackers

This research used open source information to investigate the motivational backgrounds of 219 suicide attackers from various regions of the world. We inquired as to whether the attackers exhibited evidence for significance quest as a motive for their actions, and whether the eradication of significance loss and/or the aspiration for significance gain systematically differed according to attackers’ demographics. It was found that the specific nature of the significance quest motive varied in accordance with attackers’ gender, age, and education. Whereas Arab-Palestinians, males, younger attackers, and more educated attackers seem to have been motivated primarily by the possibility of significance gain, women, older attackers, those with little education, and those hailing from other regions seem to have been motivated primarily by the eradication of significance loss. Analyses also suggested that the stronger an attacker’s significance quest motive, the greater the effectiveness of their attack, as measured by the number of casualties. Methodological limitations of the present study were discussed, and the possible directions for further research were indicated

Differenze di genere nell'uso dei media tradizionali e dei Social Network

Obiettivo di questa ricerca è evidenziare eventuali differenze, in relazione al genere, nell’uso dei media tradizionali e dei media digitali e le specifiche motivazioni all’uso dei Social Network (SN) e di Facebook (FB) in particolare. A tal scopo è stato somministrato online ad un campione di 189 studenti un questionario per rilevare a) tempi e frequenza di esposizione ai media tradizionali e ai SN; b) modalità di utilizzo di FB; c) motivazioni all’uso di FB. Allo scopo di fornire una visione integrata dei pattern di esposizione ai media tradizionali e ai SN, è stata utilizzata inizialmente una strategia di analisi che utilizza l’analisi dei cluster e l’analisi discriminante, individuando tre gruppi di soggetti: i connessi, i tradizionali e i ritirati. Dalle ulteriori analisi sono emerse significative differenze di genere: a) le donne leggono più spesso libri rispetto agli uomini e vedono più spesso la TV e passano in media più tempo sui social rispetto agli uomini; b) dichiarano di avere un numero maggiore di amici su FB e passano in media più tempo degli uomini su FB; c) ottengono punteggi più alti rispetto agli uomini nella curiosità e nel ricercare persone che non vedevo da tempo, mentre gli uomini ottengono punteggi più elevati in motivazioni come flirtare. Anche il nostro campione conferma, in linea con la letteratura, un utilizzo di FB da parte delle donne che comprende numerose attività, con un orientamento a mantenere e creare un più ampio numero di relazioni interpersonali.The objective of this research is to highlight potential gender differences in relation to the use of traditional and digital media, with a specific focus on the motivations behind the use of Social Networks (SN), in particular Facebook (FB). We administered an online survey to a sample of 189 students aimed at monitoring a) time and frequency of exposure to traditional media and SN; b) the use respondents make of FB; c) the reasons why they use FB. In order to provide an integrated view of the exposure pattern to the traditional media and to SN, we have adopted a cluster analysis and discriminant analysis, identifying three groups of users: the connected, the traditional and the detached. The subsequent analysis demonstrated significant gender differences: a) women read a higher number of books than men, they watch more TV and they spend more time on social media; b) women claim to have a greater number of friends on FB and spend on average more time than men on FB; c) women get higher scores than men on motivation like curiosity for browsing or to search for people who they have not seen for some time. In contrast, men get higher scores in motivations like flirting. Our results are in line with the findings of previous studies, showing how women use FB for a plethora of activities, with a higher orientation to maintain and create a larger number of interpersonal relationships

Comunicare la crisi nella pubblicità. Analisi dell’influenza di framing proattivi e difensivi nella valutazione del prodotto

In periodi di recessione e crisi economica i consumi, specialmente quelli di beni durevoli, tendono a calare. Le aziende da una parte e la ricerca accademica dall’altra hanno cercato di fare luce su quali processi portassero a prendere decisioni di acquisto in periodi di incertezza economica e se una minore o maggiore investimento nella comunicazione pubblicitaria potesse influenzare tali processi. La presente ricerca ha come obiettivo quello di fare il punto sull’evoluzione della comunicazione pubblicitaria in Italia e testare empiricamente se diversi approcci al comunicare la crisi attraverso la pubblicità possano rivelarsi più o meno efficaci. In particolare, si è voluto testare se suggerire un approccio più “proattivo” verso la crisi (con un claim come “SUPERA LA CRISI”) possa avere maggiori benefici di un approccio “difensivo” (con un claim come “SCAPPA DALLA CRISI”). I risultati confermano come i consumatori valutino meglio il prodotto pubblicizzato nel caso di un approccio proattivo da parte dell’azienda rispetto a quello difensivo. Nelle conclusioni, gli autori presentano possibili scenari applicativi e potenziali direzioni per futuri filoni di ricerc

Framing Political Messages to Fit the Audience’s Regulatory Orientation: How to Improve the Efficacy of the Same Message Content

This research investigates how the impact of persuasive messages in the political domain can be improved when fit is created by subliminally priming recipients’ regulatory focus (either promotion or prevention) and by linguistic framing of the message (either strategic approach framing or strategic avoidance framing). Results of two studies show that regulatory fit: a) increases the impact of a political message favoring nuclear energy on implicit attitudes of the target audience (Study 1); and b) induces a more positive evaluation of, and intentions to vote for, the political candidate who is delivering a message concerning immigration policies (Study 2)

Framing Political Messages to Fit the Audience’s Regulatory Orientation: How to Improve the Efficacy of the Same Message Content

This research investigates how the impact of persuasive messages in the political domain can be improved when fit is created by subliminally priming recipients’ regulatory focus (either promotion or prevention) and by linguistic framing of the message (either strategic approach framing or strategic avoidance framing). Results of two studies show that regulatory fit: a) increases the impact of a political message favoring nuclear energy on implicit attitudes of the target audience (Study 1); and b) induces a more positive evaluation of, and intentions to vote for, the political candidate who is delivering a message concerning immigration policies (Study 2)

Framing Political Messages to Fit the Audience’s Regulatory Orientation: How to Improve the Efficacy of the Same Message Content

This research investigates how the impact of persuasive messages in the political domain can be improved when fit is created by subliminally priming recipients’ regulatory focus (either promotion or prevention) and by linguistic framing of the message (either strategic approach framing or strategic avoidance framing). Results of two studies show that regulatory fit: a) increases the impact of a political message favoring nuclear energy on implicit attitudes of the target audience (Study 1); and b) induces a more positive evaluation of, and intentions to vote for, the political candidate who is delivering a message concerning immigration policies (Study 2)

Framing Political Messages to Fit the Audience’s Regulatory Orientation: How to Improve the Efficacy of the Same Message Content

This research investigates how the impact of persuasive messages in the political domain can be improved when fit is created by subliminally priming recipients’ regulatory focus (either promotion or prevention) and by linguistic framing of the message (either strategic approach framing or strategic avoidance framing). Results of two studies show that regulatory fit: a) increases the impact of a political message favoring nuclear energy on implicit attitudes of the target audience (Study 1); and b) induces a more positive evaluation of, and intentions to vote for, the political candidate who is delivering a message concerning immigration policies (Study 2)

Framing Political Messages to Fit the Audience’s Regulatory Orientation: How to Improve the Efficacy of the Same Message Content

This research investigates how the impact of persuasive messages in the political domain can be improved when fit is created by subliminally priming recipients’ regulatory focus (either promotion or prevention) and by linguistic framing of the message (either strategic approach framing or strategic avoidance framing). Results of two studies show that regulatory fit: a) increases the impact of a political message favoring nuclear energy on implicit attitudes of the target audience (Study 1); and b) induces a more positive evaluation of, and intentions to vote for, the political candidate who is delivering a message concerning immigration policies (Study 2)

Need for cognitive closure modulates how perceptual decisions are affected by task difficulty and outcome relevance

The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which Need for Cognitive Closure (NCC), an individual-level epistemic motivation, can explain inter-individual variability in the cognitive effort invested on a perceptual decision making task (the random motion task). High levels of NCC are manifested in a preference for clarity, order and structure and a desire for firm and stable knowledge. The study evaluated how NCC moderates the impact of two variables known to increase the amount of cognitive effort invested on a task, namely task ambiguity (i.e., the difficulty of the perceptual discrimination) and outcome relevance (i.e., the monetary gain associated with a correct discrimination). Based on previous work and current design, we assumed that reaction times (RTs) on our motion discrimination task represent a valid index of effort investment. Task ambiguity was associated with increased cognitive effort in participants with low or medium NCC but, interestingly, it did not affect the RTs of participants with high NCC. A different pattern of association was observed for outcome relevance; high outcome relevance increased cognitive effort in participants with moderate or high NCC, but did not affect the performance of low NCC participants. In summary, the performance of individuals with low NCC was affected by task difficulty but not by outcome relevance, whereas individuals with high NCC were influenced by outcome relevance but not by task difficulty; only participants with medium NCC were affected by both task difficulty and outcome relevance. These results suggest that perceptual decision making is influenced by the interaction between context and NC

Framing Political Messages to Fit the Audience’s Regulatory Orientation: How to Improve the Efficacy of the Same Message Content

This research investigates how the impact of persuasive messages in the political domain can be improved when fit is created by subliminally priming recipients’ regulatory focus (either promotion or prevention) and by linguistic framing of the message (either strategic approach framing or strategic avoidance framing). Results of two studies show that regulatory fit: a) increases the impact of a political message favoring nuclear energy on implicit attitudes of the target audience (Study 1); and b) induces a more positive evaluation of, and intentions to vote for, the political candidate who is delivering a message concerning immigration policies (Study 2)