The relationship between attentional bias and body image disturbance

Body image disturbance is a both a risk factor for, and a symptom of, many eating disorders and refers to the misperception of and dissatisfaction with one’s own body. Some studies show that women with high body dissatisfaction direct more attention to low weight bodies. This attentional bias can result in the overestimation of body size via body size adaptation—a temporary perceptual shift experienced after exposure to extreme stimuli. Therefore, attention may have a causal role in body image disturbance. In this thesis, I test the effects of attentional bias to bodies of different sizes on body size adaptation and body dissatisfaction using a training dot probe task (Chapter 2) and a training visual search task (Chapter 5). I test the association between body dissatisfaction and attentional bias to low weight bodies using an assessment version of the dot probe task (Chapter 3), a systematic review and meta-analysis (Chapter 4) that synthesises the results of Chapters 2 and 3 with 30 additional eligible studies, and an assessment version of the Attentional Response to Distal vs. Proximal Emotional Information (ARDPEI) task (Chapter 6). From this research, I conclude that gaze tracking studies do provide evidence for a positive association between body dissatisfaction and attentional bias to low weight bodies in women. Women with high (compared to low) body dissatisfaction direct more gaze towards low weight female body stimuli. However, reaction time measures do not provide evidence for this association and instead demonstrate poor reliability as measures of individual differences in attention. This thesis does not provide strong evidence for an effect of attentional bias to bodies of different sizes on body size adaptation or body dissatisfaction; however, given attention was measured using reaction times, future research using gaze tracking should be conducted to further explore the effect of attentional bias to bodies of different sizes on body size adaptation or body dissatisfaction

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e. a controlling message) compared to no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly-internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared to the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly-internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing: Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about a situation. Participants from 87 countries and regions (n = 21,644) were randomly assigned to one of two brief reappraisal interventions (reconstrual or repurposing) or one of two control conditions (active or passive). Results revealed that both reappraisal interventions (vesus both control conditions) consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions across different measures. Reconstrual and repurposing interventions had similar effects. Importantly, planned exploratory analyses indicated that reappraisal interventions did not reduce intentions to practice preventive health behaviours. The findings demonstrate the viability of creating scalable, low-cost interventions for use around the world

What role do social resources play for minority ethnic graduates in the graduate employment market? A review of a targeted market intervention.

Higher education has traditionally been a route to career entry. In the last three decades, the UK government policy to open up higher education to many more students has almost doubled the proportion of the population with undergraduate degrees. However, this has not kept pace with graduate-level employment, and many graduates find it challenging to access entry-level roles. While structurally disadvantaged graduates may possess an abundance of human capital at the conclusion of their studies, they may not possess adequate amounts of social capital, i.e. connections, which can benefit job acquisition. This paper reviews a training intervention designed to help structurally disadvantaged minority ethnic graduates access careers in one specific business management discipline, corporate communications. The intervention was designed to deliver both discipline-specific human capital and social capital. Through interviews with graduates who were accepted for training, and those that were not, the main themes addressed by the intervention were established: the challenge of the transition from university to employment, the role of connections in supporting that transition, understanding the value of connections and using them to access opportunities. Targeted training interventions may have a role to play in levelling the playing field for disadvantaged graduates and career access