Trust in medical organizations predicts pandemic (H1N1) 2009 vaccination behavior and perceived efficacy of protection measures in the Swiss public

Following the recent avian influenza and pandemic (H1N1) 2009 outbreaks, public trust in medical and political authorities is emerging as a new predictor of compliance with officially recommended protection measures. In a two-wave longitudinal survey of adults in French-speaking Switzerland, trust in medical organizations longitudinally predicted actual vaccination status 6months later, during the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 vaccination campaign. No other variables explained significant amounts of variance. Trust in medical organizations also predicted perceived efficacy of officially recommended protection measures (getting vaccinated, washing hands, wearing a mask, sneezing into the elbow), as did beliefs about health issues (perceived vulnerability to disease, threat perceptions). These findings show that in the case of emerging infectious diseases, actual behavior and perceived efficacy of protection measures may have different antecedents. Moreover, they suggest that public trust is a crucial determinant of vaccination behavior and underscore the practical importance of managing trust in disease prevention campaign

A power challenging theory of society, or a conservative mindset? Upward and downward conspiracy theories as ideologically distinct beliefs

Even though conspiracy theories are diverse, they are typically construed as a homogeneous phenomenon. Based on classic theorizations of conspiracy theories by Popper (1945; 2002) and Moscovici (1987), we propose to distinguish between belief in upward conspiracy theories (i.e., targeting relatively powerful groups) and downward conspiracy theories (i.e., targeting relatively powerless groups). The former are theorized as power-challenging beliefs and the latter are theorized as being underpinned by conservative ideology. Across three studies conducted in Belgium (Total N = 2363), we show that these two types of conspiracy beliefs indeed relate differently to power-challenging attitudes (i.e., political extremism, feelings of leadership breakdown) and conservative ideology. Specifically, upward conspiracy beliefs were characterized by a U-shaped relationship with political orientation (i.e., an “extremism” bias), and a strong relationship with feelings of leadership breakdown. By contrast, downward conspiracy beliefs were strongly associated with conservative ideology. Both types of conspiracy beliefs were, however, positively correlated

Of precarity and conspiracy: introducing a socio-functional model of conspiracy beliefs

Conspiracy Beliefs (CB) are a key vector of violent extremism, radicalism and unconventional political events. So far, social-psychological research has extensively documented how cognitive, emotional and intergroup factors can promote CB. Evidence also suggests that adherence to CB moves along social class lines: low-income and low-education are among the most robust predictors of CB. Yet, the potential role of precarity—the subjective experience of permanent insecurity stemming from objective material strain—in shaping CB remains largely unexplored. In this paper, we propose for the first time a socio-functional model of CB. We test the hypothesis that precarity could foster increased CB because it undermines trust in government and the broader political ‘elites’. Data from the World Value Survey (n = 21,650; Study 1, electoral CB) and from representative samples from polls conducted in France (n = 1760, Study 2a, conspiracy mentality) and Italy (n = 2196, Study 2b, COVID-19 CB), corroborate a mediation model whereby precarity is directly and indirectly associated with lower trust in authorities and higher CB. In addition, these links are robust to adjustment on income, self-reported SES and education. Considering precarity allows for a truly social-psychological understanding of CB as the by-product of structural issues (e.g. growing inequalities). Results from our socio-functional model suggest that implementing solutions at the socio-economic level could prove efficient in fighting CB

Compréhension du public de la COVID-19 (COP – COVID) : influence du genre et de l’âge sur la compréhension de la pandémie après la 1ère vague

En décembre en 2019, le premier cas de COVID-19 est détecté en Chine. Le nombre de cas augmentant rapidement sur le plan international, l’OMS donne à la COVID-19 le statut de pandémie en mars 2020 et le Conseil Fédéral Suisse instaure un semi-confinement dès le 13 mars 2020. Dès lors, les services de santé suisses ont été contraints de se réorganiser et d’augmenter leur capacité pour prendre en charge les patient·e·s COVID-19. En parallèle, le gouvernement a émis des recommandations afin de protéger les personnes vulnérables et d’éviter la surcharge des hôpitaux. Ces recommandations sont basées sur le respect de règles de distanciation sociale et de gestes barrières (p.ex. : l’hygiène des mains et le port du masque), et ont été accompagnées de mesures exceptionnelles telles que la fermeture ponctuelle des restaurants, des commerces, des espaces culturels et sportifs, la généralisation du télétravail, etc. L’adhésion de la population à ces mesures, qui ont pu être parfois contraignantes, dépend des représentations et de la compréhension qu’elle a de la maladie : quelles sont ses origines, son mode de propagation, les stratégies efficaces pour s’en protéger, les enjeux sanitaires, etc. Connaître ces représentations et la façon dont la population appréhende la maladie et ses enjeux est dès lors crucial pour adapter la communication et les politiques publiques et, ainsi, lutter efficacement contre la propagation du virus. Dans ce but, nous avons réalisé une étude par questionnaire auprès d’un échantillon de la population adulte de trois cantons suisses : Genève, Vaud et Fribourg. Nous présentons, dans ce document, les principaux résultats en fonction de l’âge et du genre des répondant·e·s

Time to Switch to Second-line Antiretroviral Therapy in Children With Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Europe and Thailand.

Background: Data on durability of first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) in children with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are limited. We assessed time to switch to second-line therapy in 16 European countries and Thailand. Methods: Children aged <18 years initiating combination ART (≥2 nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors [NRTIs] plus nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor [NNRTI] or boosted protease inhibitor [PI]) were included. Switch to second-line was defined as (i) change across drug class (PI to NNRTI or vice versa) or within PI class plus change of ≥1 NRTI; (ii) change from single to dual PI; or (iii) addition of a new drug class. Cumulative incidence of switch was calculated with death and loss to follow-up as competing risks. Results: Of 3668 children included, median age at ART initiation was 6.1 (interquartile range (IQR), 1.7-10.5) years. Initial regimens were 32% PI based, 34% nevirapine (NVP) based, and 33% efavirenz based. Median duration of follow-up was 5.4 (IQR, 2.9-8.3) years. Cumulative incidence of switch at 5 years was 21% (95% confidence interval, 20%-23%), with significant regional variations. Median time to switch was 30 (IQR, 16-58) months; two-thirds of switches were related to treatment failure. In multivariable analysis, older age, severe immunosuppression and higher viral load (VL) at ART start, and NVP-based initial regimens were associated with increased risk of switch. Conclusions: One in 5 children switched to a second-line regimen by 5 years of ART, with two-thirds failure related. Advanced HIV, older age, and NVP-based regimens were associated with increased risk of switch

Racism in soccer ? Perception of challenges of black and white players by white referees, soccer players, and fans.

This experiment investigated challenge evaluations in soccer and their relation to prejudice: more precisely, whether skin colour may influence judgements of soccer tackles. Three groups of participants (soccer players, referees and soccer fans) were asked to evaluate challenges, featuring Black and White players as aggressors and victims in a mixed-design study. Results showed that participants made some differentiations between Black and White players in a challenge evaluation task. Participants were more likely to consider within-group challenges as fouls and were faster to consider challenges made by Black players as fouls. On the other hand, fouls made by White players were seen as more severe. There were no major differences between the participating groups, suggesting that the observed effects were independent of how good players were or whether they were referees or not

The Noises of Conspiracy: Psychology of Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories

In this review, more than 10 years of research in conspiracy theory beliefs is summarised. As conspiracy theories have these past years invaded the public domain in the whole world, a trend which culminated during COVID-19 pandemic, a growing number of psychologists investigated their antecedents and consequences. In this review, I expose and discuss the definitions, the rationality, the consequences, the measures, the potential causes, and some remedies against the proliferation of conspiracy theory beliefs. The potential causes are classified in five categories. The societal-political category (social inequalities and political extremism), the social category (intergroup competition), the personal (psychopathological) category (personality traits, such as paranoia, schizotypy, narcissism, etc.), the cognitive (irrational) category (cognitive biases and other irrational beliefs), and the communicational category (communication via Internet and social media, and narrative appeal)

A psycholinguistic investigation of football players’mental representations of game situations: Does expertise count?

In order to progress through a competitive sporting event, athletes need to form mental representations of the situations they encounter. In this paper, we present three experiments exploring the mental representations of football players when presented with written material describing football game situations. Experiment 1 assessed off-line processing by having players of different levels generate written football scripts. The results predominantly showed that players of lower expertise were less “other-oriented” and included more emotional elements in their mental representations. Experiments 2a and 2b further explored these differences. Using an on-line measure, a reading-time paradigm, we showed that First Division players’ mental representations more easily included “others” and less readily included emotions, as opposed to both National League and Fifth Division players. Although Fifth Division and National League were similar, different cognitive processes may underlie the construction of the players’ mental representations

Complotisme et extrémisme

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe