Mimicry of Food Intake: The Dynamic Interplay between Eating Companions

Numerous studies have shown that people adjust their intake directly to that of their eating companions; they eat more when others eat more, and less when others inhibit intake. A potential explanation for this modeling effect is that both eating companions' food intake becomes synchronized through processes of behavioral mimicry. No study, however, has tested whether behavioral mimicry can partially account for this modeling effect. To capture behavioral mimicry, real-time observations of dyads of young females having an evening meal were conducted. It was assessed whether mimicry depended on the time of the interaction and on the person who took the bite. A total of 70 young female dyads took part in the study, from which the total number of bites (N = 3,888) was used as unit of analyses. For each dyad, the total number of bites and the exact time at which each person took a bite were coded. Behavioral mimicry was operationalized as a bite taken within a fixed 5-second interval after the other person had taken a bite, whereas non-mimicked bites were defined as bites taken outside the 5-second interval. It was found that both women mimicked each other's eating behavior. They were more likely to take a bite of their meal in congruence with their eating companion rather than eating at their own pace. This behavioral mimicry was found to be more prominent at the beginning than at the end of the interaction. This study suggests that behavioral mimicry may partially account for social modeling of food intake

Self-control and the effects of movie alcohol portrayals on immediate alcohol consumption in male college students

Contains fulltext : 148873.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Background: In movies, alcohol-related cues are frequently depicted and there is evidence for a link between movie alcohol cues and immediate alcohol consumption. Less is known about factors influencing immediate effects movie alcohol exposure on drinking. The exertion of self-control is thought to be important in avoiding or resisting certain temptations. Aims: The aim of the present study was to assess the immediate effects of movie alcohol portrayals on drinking of male social drinkers and to assess the moderating role of self-control in this relation. It was hypothesized that participants would drink more when exposed to movie alcohol portrayals and that especially participants with low self-control would be affected by these portrayals. Methods: A between-subjects design comparing two movie conditions (alcohol or no portrayal of alcohol) was used, in which 154 pairs of male friends (ages 18-30) watched a 1-h movie in a semi-naturalistic living room setting. Their alcohol consumption while watching was examined. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing self-control as well as their self-reported weekly alcohol use. A multivariate regression analysis was conducted to test the effects of movie condition on alcohol consumption. Results: Self-control moderated the relation between movie condition and alcohol consumption. Assignment to the alcohol movie condition increased alcohol consumption during the movie for males with high self-control but not for males with low self-control. Conclusion: Viewing a movie with alcohol portrayals can lead to higher alcohol consumption in a specific sample of young men while watching a movie.7 p

Do we act upon what we see? Effects of media alcohol portrayals on immediate drinking behaviour

Contains fulltext : 129547.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, 08 januari 2014Promotor : Engels, R.C.M.E. Co-promotor : Anschutz, D.J.175 p

The Effect of Alcohol Advertising on Immediate Alcohol Consumption in College Students: An Experimental Study

Contains fulltext : 102951.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Background:  Survey studies have emphasized a positive association between exposure to alcohol advertising on television (TV) and the onset and continuation of drinking among young people. Alcohol advertising might also directly influence viewers’ consumption of alcohol while watching TV. The present study therefore tested the immediate effects of alcohol advertisements on the alcohol consumption of young adults while watching a movie. Weekly drinking, problem drinking, positive and arousal expectancies of alcohol, ad recall, attitude, and skepticism toward the ads were tested as moderators. Methods:  An experimental design comparing 2 advertisement conditions (alcohol ads vs. nonalcohol ads) was used. A total of 80 men, young adult friendly dyads (ages 18 to 29) participated. The study examined actual alcohol consumption while watching a 1-hour movie with 3 advertising breaks. A multivariate regression analysis was used to examine the effects of advertisement condition on alcohol consumption. Results:  Assignment to the alcohol advertisement condition did not increase alcohol consumption. In addition, no moderating effects between advertisement condition and the individual factors on alcohol consumption were found. Conclusions:  Viewing alcohol advertising did not lead to higher alcohol consumption in young men while watching a movie. However, replications of this study using other samples (e.g., different countries and cultures), other settings (e.g., movie theater, home), and with other designs (e.g., different movies and alcohol ads, cumulative exposure, extended exposure effects) are warranted.7 p

Teachers and parents reading aloud, time consuming and tedious or absolutely wonderful? : A systematic literature study of the role of teachers and parents when reading aloud

Syftet med denna konsumtionsuppsats är att undersöka vilka effekter högläsning av barnlitteratur har för barnet. Vi har studerat forskning som berör hur lärarens och föräldrarnas högläsning sker och vilken påverkan det har på barnets läsutveckling. Läsning som en del av elevers språkliga förmåga har över tid försämrats i svenska skolor. Media påvisar ofta de svenska elevernas bristande kunskaper inom bland annat läsförståelse. Sådana läsresultat presenteras i undersökningar av exempelvis PISA och PIRLS. I relation till dessa undersökningar visas att både barnets föräldrar och lärare har en inverkan på barnets intresse för läsning, utvecklandet av ett ordförråd och en läsförståelse. Samtliga vetenskapliga artiklar som använts i uppsatsen är från den internationella databasen ERIC. Vi har avgränsat oss till forskning som rör barn upp till årskurs tre. I resultatet har vi kunnat se att vissa lärare arbetar med tydliga strategier vid högläsning medan andra inte gör det. Det som utmärkte sig var att eleverna gynnades mest av en läsning som skedde interaktivt d.v.s. att bland annat föra samtal innan, under och efter läsningen. Dessa samtal kan ske på olika sätt beroende på syftet. I resultatet framgår också att en interaktiv högläsning utvecklar barns ordförråd, läsintresse och läsbeteende. Dock råder tvetydigheter om hur gynnsam interaktiv läsning är för läsförståelsen. Grunden för ett barns ordförråd läggs redan tidigt i livet och likaså dennes intresse för böcker. Därför har vi valt att även studera högläsning i hemmet. Resultatet visar att den interaktiva högläsningen även i detta fall var mest gynnsamt för barnet i jämförelse med de barn vars föräldrar bara läser för dem. Av den interaktiva högläsningen skapades bl.a. längre diskussioner inom familjen. I relation till resultatet kan vi se att högläsning är bra om den är interaktiv men annars finns andra aktiviteter som kan användas istället. Dessutom behöver både föräldrar och lärare erbjuda barnet en stöttande läsmiljö och en positiv bild av läsning. Får barnet detta redan tidigt i livet är det lättare för lärare i skolan att fortsätta stötta eleven och behålla den positiva bilden

Do we act upon what we see? Direct effects of alcohol cues in movies on young adults' alcohol drinking

Contains fulltext : 99259.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Aims: Ample survey research has shown that alcohol portrayals in movies affect the development of alcohol consumption in youth. Hence, there is preliminary evidence that alcohol portrayals in movies also directly influence viewers' drinking of alcohol while watching movies. One process that might account for these direct effects is imitation. The present study therefore examined whether young people imitate actors sipping alcohol on screen. Methods: We observed sipping behaviours of 79 young adults (ages 18-25) watching a 60-min movie clip, 'What Happens in Vegas', in a semi-naturalistic home setting. Each of the 79 participants was exposed to 25 alcohol cues. Two-level logistic regression analyses were used to analyse whether participants in general imitated actors' sipping during this clip. In addition, we applied proportional hazard models in a survival analysis framework (Cox regression) to test whether there was a difference in imitation of the cues between male and female participants, and to test whether the timing of the actors' sipping throughout the movie played a role. Results: The findings showed that participants were more likely to sip in accordance with the actors' sipping than without such a cue. Further, we found that men were more likely to imitate actors' sipping than females and that participants tended to respond to actors' sipping at the beginning of the movie rather than at the end. Conclusion: Exposure to actors sipping alcohol in a movie seems to have an immediate impact on the drinking behaviour of viewers, via the mechanism of imitation.6 p

The Effect of Alcohol Advertising on Immediate Alcohol Consumption in College Students: An Experimental Study

Contains fulltext : 102951.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Background:  Survey studies have emphasized a positive association between exposure to alcohol advertising on television (TV) and the onset and continuation of drinking among young people. Alcohol advertising might also directly influence viewers’ consumption of alcohol while watching TV. The present study therefore tested the immediate effects of alcohol advertisements on the alcohol consumption of young adults while watching a movie. Weekly drinking, problem drinking, positive and arousal expectancies of alcohol, ad recall, attitude, and skepticism toward the ads were tested as moderators. Methods:  An experimental design comparing 2 advertisement conditions (alcohol ads vs. nonalcohol ads) was used. A total of 80 men, young adult friendly dyads (ages 18 to 29) participated. The study examined actual alcohol consumption while watching a 1-hour movie with 3 advertising breaks. A multivariate regression analysis was used to examine the effects of advertisement condition on alcohol consumption. Results:  Assignment to the alcohol advertisement condition did not increase alcohol consumption. In addition, no moderating effects between advertisement condition and the individual factors on alcohol consumption were found. Conclusions:  Viewing alcohol advertising did not lead to higher alcohol consumption in young men while watching a movie. However, replications of this study using other samples (e.g., different countries and cultures), other settings (e.g., movie theater, home), and with other designs (e.g., different movies and alcohol ads, cumulative exposure, extended exposure effects) are warranted.7 p

Physiological measurements of stress preceding incidents of challenging behavior in people with severe to profound intellectual disabilities: Longitudinal study protocol of single-case studies

BACKGROUND: Clients with severe to profound intellectual disabilities (SPID) and challenging behavior (CB) and the professional caregivers that support them are vulnerable to high stress levels, which negatively impact their well-being and the quality of care. CB is thought to result from an increase in the intensity and frequency of clients' stress experiences. In turn, staff members experience stress in dealing with this behavior, and stressed staff members might behave in ways that increase clients' stress levels, contributing to the origin and maintenance of CB. Research into these dyadic interactions between clients and staff is scarce for people with SPID, especially in real-life situations. The barriers of studying stress in this population include clients' difficulties in communicating stress experiences and the lack of an objective continuous measure of stress. OBJECTIVE: This paper presents a protocol for studying patterns of physiological stress in 15 client-caregiver dyads in the 30 minutes preceding incidents of CB compared to control periods without CB and the interplay between the stress levels of clients and professional caregivers. METHODS: We will conduct 15 single-case studies to assess patterns of physiological stress in dyads of clients with SPID and professional caregivers prior to CB in several Dutch residential institutes. Client-caregiver dyads will wear the Empatica E4 wristband for 20 sessions of 3 to 8 hours without interruptions of daily routines while caregivers report clients' CB. The physiological measures obtained will be electrodermal activity (microsiemens) and heart rate (beats per minute). A multilevel model with repeated measures at the incident level nested within the person level will be applied, employing separate models for electrodermal activity and heart rate to compare stress levels in the 30 minutes prior to incidents with control epochs. Covariates in the models include movement, temperature, and gender. In addition, cross-recurrence quantification analyses will be performed to study the synchronization between the stress levels of clients and professional caregivers. RESULTS: The Ethics Committee of the Radboud University (NL-number: NL71683.091.19) approved the study on February 12, 2020. In total, 15 organizations have declared their commitment to participate in the study. The first result is expected in the spring of 2022. CONCLUSIONS: Study results will demonstrate whether changes in patterns of electrodermal activity and heart rate are apparent in the 30 minutes preceding an incident of CB compared to baseline levels when the client does not engage in CB. The synchronization between caregivers' and clients' physiological stress levels will be explored with cross-recurrence quantification analyses. Insights into the physiological stress levels of clients and caregivers may contribute to a reduction of CB and an improvement of both clients' and caregivers' safety and well-being. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/24911

Individualized behavioral change of externalizing and internalizing problems and predicting factors in residential youth care

Item does not contain fulltextThe present study examined individualized behavioral change of externalizing and internalizing problems of adolescents in residential youth care, divided into different change groups (improvement, no change, or deterioration), by using the reliable change index. We also identified demographic and clinical factors that may predict individual behavioral change. A naturalistic dataset was used which consisted of adolescents referred to open or compulsory residential care who had outcome measures at the beginning and end of treatment. In total 742 reports of behavior problems were included: the sample consists of 265 adolescents with self-reports, 341 adolescents with group care worker reports, and 136 adolescents with parent reports. Only 42 adolescents had three sources of report, 202 adolescents had two sources of report, and 212 adolescents had one source of report. The majority of adolescents (50-73%) showed nonsignificant change in either externalizing or internalizing problems during their stay in residential care, regardless of informant. Higher problem severity at the beginning of treatment was a significant predictor of improvement in externalizing and internalizing problems throughout treatment, but the other factors (i.e., age, gender, ethnicity, and treatment duration) showed no effect. In conclusion, this study shows that with the current system of monitoring, more than half of the adolescents in residential care do not show significant change over time. This may indicate either that residential stay does not necessarily cause a significant change in problems for all adolescents, or that the system currently used for treatment monitoring is suboptimal in detecting such a change.13 juli 202011 p