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

Unbalanced der(5)t(5;20) Translocation Associated With Megalencephaly, Perisylvian Polymicrogyria, Polydactyly and Hydrocephalus

The combination of megalencephaly, perisylvian polymicrogyria, polydactyly and hydrocephalus (MPPH) is a rare syndrome of unknown cause. We observed two first cousins affected by an MPPH-like phenotype with a submicroscopic chromosome 5q35 deletion as a result of an unbalanced der(5)t(5;20)(q35.2;q13.3) translocation, including the NSD1 Sotos syndrome locus. We describe the phenotype and the deletion breakpoints of the two MPPH-like patients and compare these with five unrelated MPPH and Sotos patients harboring a 5q35 microdeletion. Mapping of the breakpoints in the two cousins was performed by MLPA, FISH, high density SNP-arrays and Q-PCR for the 5q35 deletion and 20q13 duplication. The 5q35 deletion area of the two cousins almost completely overlaps with earlier described patients with an atypical Sotos microdeletion, except for the DRD1 gene. The five unrelated MPPH patients neither showed submicroscopic chromosomal aberrations nor DRD1 mutations. We reviewed the brain MRI of 10 Sotos patients and did not detect polymicrogyria in any of them. In our two cousins, the MPPH-like phenotype is probably caused by the contribution of genes on both chromosome 5q35 and 20q13. Some patients with MPPH may harbor a submicroscopic chromosomal aberration and therefore high-resolution array analysis should be part of the diagnostic workup. (C) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc

Unbalanced der(5)t(5;20) translocation associated with megalencephaly, perisylvian polymicrogyria, polydactyly and hydrocephalus

The combination of megalencephaly, perisylvian polymicrogyria, polydactyly and hydrocephalus (MPPH) is a rare syndrome of unknown cause. We observed two first cousins affected by an MPPH-like phenotype with a submicroscopic chromosome 5q35 deletion as a result of an unbalanced der(5)t(5;20)(q35.2;q13.3) translocation, including the NSD1 Sotos syndrome locus. We describe the phenotype and the deletion breakpoints of the two MPPH-l

Dutch influences on English literary culture in the early renaissance, 1470–1650

During the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the Low Countries made a series of important contributions to English literature. Through such agents as the printers of Antwerp and Amsterdam, and the movements of Dutch scholars and Calvinist refugees, the Low Countries exerted a continuous impact on the literary culture of England. This article examines the scope of Dutch influence during the English Renaissance, indicates some of its key effects, and provides an overview of existing scholarship on the subject

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 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