Using Non-Fit Messages to De-Intensify Reactions to Threatening Advice

Sometimes experts need to provide potentially upsetting advice. For example, physicians may recommend hospice for a terminally ill patient because it best meets their needs, but the patient and their family dislike this advised option. The present research examines whether regulatory non-fit could be used to improve these types of situations. The findings from eight studies in which participants imagined receiving upsetting advice from a physician demonstrate that regulatory non-fit between the form of the physician’s advice (emphasizing gains vs. avoiding losses) and the participants’ motivational orientation (promotion vs. prevention) improves participants’ evaluation of an initially disliked option. Regulatory non-fit de-intensifies participants’ initial attitudes by making them less confident in their initial judgments and motivating them to think more thoroughly about the arguments presented. Furthermore, consistent with previous research on regulatory fit, the studies show that the mechanism of regulatory non-fit differs as a function of participants’ involvement in the evaluation of the option

Adaptive Appraisals of Anxiety Moderate the Association between Cortisol Reactivity and Performance in Salary Negotiations

Prior research suggests that stress can be harmful in high-stakes contexts such as negotiations. However, few studies actually measure stress physiologically during negotiations, nor do studies offer interventions to combat the potential negative effects of heightened physiological responses in negotiation contexts. In the current research, we offer evidence that the negative effects of cortisol increases on negotiation performance can be reduced through a reappraisal of anxiety manipulation. We experimentally induced adaptive appraisals by randomly assigning 97 male and female participants to receive either instructions to appraise their anxiety as beneficial to the negotiation or no specific instructions on how to appraise the situation. We also measured participants’ cortisol responses prior to and following the negotiation. Results revealed that cortisol increases were positively related to negotiation performance for participants who were told to view anxiety as beneficial, and not detrimental, for negotiation performance (appraisal condition). In contrast, cortisol increases were negatively related to negotiation performance for participants given no instructions on appraising their anxiety (control condition). These findings offer a means through which to combat the potentially deleterious effects of heightened cortisol reactivity on negotiation outcomes

Eye-tracking evidence shows that non-fit messaging impacts attention, attitudes and choice

When patients have strong initial attitudes about a medical intervention, they might not be open to learning new information when choosing whether or not to receive the intervention. We aim to show that non-fit messaging (messages framed in a manner that is incongruent with recipients’ motivational orientation) can increase attention to the message content, thereby de-intensifying an initial attitude bias and reducing the influence of this bias on choice. In this study, 196 students received information about the pros and cons of a vaccine, framed in either a fit or non-fit manner with their motivational orientation. The results show that when information was presented in a non-fit (vs. fit) manner, the strength of participants’ initial attitude was reduced. An eye-tracking procedure indicated that participants read information more thoroughly (measured by the average length of fixation time while reading) in the non-fit condition versus fit condition. This average time of fixation mediated the effect of message framing on the strength of people’s attitudes. A reduction in attitude was associated with participants’ ability to recall the given information correctly and make a choice consistent with the provided information. Non-fit messaging increases individuals’ willingness to process information when individuals’ pre-existing attitude biases might otherwise cause them to make uninformed decisions

Preferences for Electronic Modes of Communication Among Older Primary Care Patients: Cross-sectional Survey

BackgroundHealth information delivered via daily modes of communication such as email, text, or telephone reportedly supports improved health behavior and outcomes. While different modes of communication beyond clinical visits have proven successful for patient outcomes, preferences for communication modes have not been comprehensively studied among older primary care patients. We addressed this gap by assessing patient preferences for receiving cancer screening and other information from their doctors’ offices. ObjectiveWe explored stated preferences by communication modes through the lens of social determinants of health (SDOH) to gauge acceptability and equity implications for future interventions. MethodsA cross-sectional survey was mailed to primary care patients aged 45-75 years, in 2020-2021, which assessed respondents' use of telephones, computers, or tablets in daily life and their preferred modes of communication for different types of health information, including educational materials about cancer screening, tips for taking prescription medication, and protection from respiratory diseases from their doctors’ offices. Respondents indicated their willingness to receive messages from their doctors’ offices via each of the provided modes of communication, including telephone, text, email, patient portals, websites, and social media, on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from “unwilling” to “willing.” We present the percentage of respondents who indicated that they were “willing” to receive information via specific electronic mode. Chi-square tests were used to compare participants’ willingness by social characteristics. ResultsIn total, 133 people completed the survey (response rate 27%). The average respondent age was 64 years, 82 (63%) respondents were female, 106 (83%) were White, 20 (16%) were Black, and 1 (1%) was Asian. In total, 75 (58%) respondents had a bachelor’s degree or higher; 26 (20%) resided in rural areas, 37 (29%) in suburban areas, 50 (39%) in a town, and 15 (12%) in a city. The majority, 73 (57%), reported being comfortable with their income. Preferences of respondents for electronic communication about cancer screening were distributed as follows: 100 (75%) respondents were willing to receive information from their doctor’s office via their patient portal, 98 (74%) via email, 75 (56%) via text, 60 (45%) via the hospital website, 50 (38%) via telephone, and 14 (11%) via social media. About 6 (5%) respondents were unwilling to receive any communication via electronic modes. Preferences were distributed similarly for other types of information. Respondents reporting lesser income and education consistently preferred receiving telephone calls relative to other communication modes. ConclusionsTo optimize health communication and reach a socioeconomically diverse population, telephone calls should be added to electronic communication, especially for people with less income and education. Further research needs to identify the underlying reasons for the observed differences and how best to ensure that socioeconomically diverse groups of older adults can access reliable health information and health care services

Adaptive Appraisals of Anxiety Moderate the Association between Cortisol Reactivity and Performance in Salary Negotiations

Open data to accompany our research article

Perspectives on using decision-making nudges in physician-patient communications.

Patients engaging in shared decision making must weigh the likelihood of positive and negative outcomes and deal with uncertainty and negative emotions in the situations where desirable options might not be available. The use of "nudges," or communication techniques that influence patients' choices in a predictable direction, may assist patients in making complex decisions. However, nudging patients may be perceived as inappropriate influence on patients' choices. We sought to determine whether key stakeholders, physicians, and laypersons without clinical training consider the use of nudges to be ethical and appropriate in medical decision making. Eighty-nine resident-physicians and 336 Mechanical-Turk workers (i.e., non-clinicians) evaluated two hypothetical preference-sensitive situations, in which a patient with advanced cancer chooses between chemotherapy and hospice care. We varied the following: (1) whether or not the patient's decision was influenced by a mistaken judgment (i.e., decision-making bias) and (2) whether or not the physician used a nudge. Each participant reported the extent to which the communication was ethical, appropriate, and desirable. Both physicians and non-clinicians considered using nudges more positively than not using them, regardless of an initial decision-making bias in patients' considerations. Decomposing this effect, we found that physicians viewed the nudge that endorsed hospice care more favorably than the nudge that endorsed chemotherapy, while non-clinicians viewed the nudge that endorsed chemotherapy more favorably than the nudge that endorsed hospice care. We discuss implications and propose exploring further physicians' and patients' differences in the perception of nudges; the differences may suggest limitations for using nudges in medical decisions

Relationship between Post-Negotiation Cortisol Levels and Negotiation Performance by Condition, Controlling for Pre-Negotiation Cortisol.

<p>Note: Cortisol units are μg/dL. Slopes are reported as unstandardized betas.</p