177 research outputs found
Fearing the Disease or the Vaccine:The Case of COVID-19
As studies indicate that people perceive COVID-19 as a threatening disease, the demand for a vaccine against the disease could be expected to be high. Vaccine safety concerns might nevertheless outweigh the perceived disease risks when an individual decides whether or not to accept the vaccine. We investigated the role of perceived risk of COVID-19 (i.e., perceived likelihood of infection, perceived disease severity, and disease-related worry) and perceived safety of a prospective vaccine against COVID-19 in predicting intentions to accept a COVID-19 vaccine. Three Finnish samples were surveyed: 825 parents of small children, 205 individuals living in an area with suboptimal vaccination coverage, and 1325 Facebook users nationwide. As points of reference, we compared the perceptions of COVID-19 to those of influenza and measles. COVID-19 was perceived as a threatening disease—more so than influenza and measles. The strongest predictor of COVID-19 vaccination intentions was trusting the safety of the potential vaccine. Those perceiving COVID-19 as a severe disease were also slightly more intent on taking a COVID-19 vaccine. Informing the public about the safety of a forthcoming COVID-19 vaccine should be the focus for health authorities aiming to achieve a high vaccine uptake
The Behavioral Immune System and Vaccination Intentions During the Coronavirus Pandemic
The behavioral immune system is considered to be a psychological adaptation that decreases the risk of infection. Research suggests that, in the current environment, this system can produce attitudes with negative health consequences, such as increased vaccine hesitancy. In three studies, we investigated whether two facets of the behavioral immune system—germ aversion (i.e., aversion to potential pathogen transmission) and perceived infectability (i.e., perceived susceptibility to disease)—predicted intentions to accept COVID-19 and influenza vaccination during the pandemic. The behavioral immune system mechanisms were measured before the COVID-19 pandemic in one study, and during the pandemic in two. In contrast to previous research, those with higher germ aversion during the pandemic perceived vaccines to be safer and had higher intentions to accept vaccination. Germ aversion before the pandemic was not associated with vaccination intentions. Individuals who perceived themselves as more susceptible to disease were slightly more willing to accept vaccination. We conjecture that high disease threat reverses the relationship between the behavioral immune system response and vaccination. As the associations were weak, individual differences in germ aversion and perceived infectability are of little practical relevance for vaccine uptake
To which world regions does the valence–dominance model of social perception apply?
Over the past 10 years, Oosterhof and Todorov’s valence–dominance model has emerged as the most prominent account of how people evaluate faces on social dimensions. In this model, two dimensions (valence and dominance) underpin social judgements of faces. Because this model has primarily been developed and tested in Western regions, it is unclear whether these findings apply to other regions. We addressed this question by replicating Oosterhof and Todorov’s methodology across 11 world regions, 41 countries and 11,570 participants. When we used Oosterhof and Todorov’s original analysis strategy, the valence–dominance model generalized across regions. When we used an alternative methodology to allow for correlated dimensions, we observed much less generalization. Collectively, these results suggest that, while the valence–dominance model generalizes very well across regions when dimensions are forced to be orthogonal, regional differences are revealed when we use different extraction methods and correlate and rotate the dimension reduction solution
Unwillingness to engage in behaviors that protect against COVID-19: the role of conspiracy beliefs, trust, and endorsement of complementary and alternative medicine
Background We investigated if people's response to the official recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with conspiracy beliefs related to COVID-19, a distrust in the sources providing information on COVID-19, and an endorsement of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Methods The sample consisted of 1325 Finnish adults who filled out an online survey marketed on Facebook. Structural regression analysis was used to investigate whether: 1) conspiracy beliefs, a distrust in information sources, and endorsement of CAM predict people's response to the non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented by the government during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2) conspiracy beliefs, a distrust in information sources, and endorsement of CAM are related to people's willingness to take a COVID-19 vaccine. Results Individuals with more conspiracy beliefs and a lower trust in information sources were less likely to have a positive response to the NPIs. Individuals with less trust in information sources and more endorsement of CAM were more unwilling to take a COVID-19 vaccine. Distrust in information sources was the strongest and most consistent predictor in all models. Our analyses also revealed that some of the people who respond negatively to the NPIs also have a lower likelihood to take the vaccine. This association was partly related to a lower trust in information sources. Conclusions Distrusting the establishment to provide accurate information, believing in conspiracy theories, and endorsing treatments and substances that are not part of conventional medicine, are all associated with a more negative response to the official guidelines during COVID-19. How people respond to the guidelines, however, is more strongly and consistently related to the degree of trust they feel in the information sources, than to their tendency to hold conspiracy beliefs or endorse CAM. These findings highlight the need for governments and health authorities to create communication strategies that build public trust
The factorial structure of the Hong Psychological Reactance Scale in two Finnish samples
Psychological assessment scales need to be psychometrically sound, but previous
research on the factorial structure of one of the most common measures of trait
reactance, the Hong Psychological Reactance Scale (HPRS), has provided multiple
latent structures and contradicting findings, and the statistical methodology of
previous research can be criticized. These issues raise questions regarding the
interpretability and usefulness of the HPRS as a measure of trait reactance. In
this two-part study, we followed contemporary statistical recommendations and
tested the fit of 12 previously observed factor solutions of the HPRS using
confirmatory factor analysis in two relatively large Finnish samples (n
= 624 & 518). Furthermore, we tested what factor structure was supported by
a data-driven exploratory factor analysis approach. Both our confirmatory and exploratory
factor analyses supported a one-factor solution for the HPRS. However, in the
exploratory analyses, the single factor accounted for only approximately 40% of
the total variance. Our results also indicated that a reduced scale provided
the best fit in our confirmatory analyses. Combined, these findings imply that the
HPRS could use some improvement. Finally, to shed more light on the reactance
construct and the construct validity of the HPRS, we replicated previous
research showing negative associations between trait reactance and the Big Five
Agreeableness and Conscientiousness traits.</p
Trait reactance as psychological motivation to reject vaccination:Two longitudinal studies and one experimental study
Sensory qualities of the phantom hand map in the residual forearm of amputees
OBJECTIVE: Most amputees experience referred sensations, known as a phantom hand map, on the residual forearm, where touch on specific areas is perceived as touch on the amputated hand. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensory qualities of the phantom hand map.METHODS: In 10 traumatic forearm-amputees touch thres-holds and discriminative touch of the phantom hand map were assessed and compared with corresponding areas on the contralateral forearm. The study assessed the localization of touch on the phantom hand map, and how distinct and similar to normal touch the referred feeling was.RESULTS: Similar touch thresholds were seen in the phantom hand map and the control site. Tactile discrimination, requiring both detection of stimulus and interpretation, was significantly better in the phantom hand map.CONCLUSION: This explorative study suggests that the phantom hand map and the superior tactile discrimination seen in the phantom hand map are based on adaptations within the brain. Further studies investigating the neural basis for the phantom hand map are needed
Trait reactance and trust in doctors as predictors of vaccination behavior, vaccine attitudes, and use of complementary and alternative medicine in parents of young children
Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate
whether anti-vaccination attitudes and behavior, and positive attitudes to
complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), are driven by trait reactance and
a distrust in medical doctors.
Methods: The sample consisted of 770 Finnish parents who
filled out an online survey. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to
examine if trait reactance plays a role in vaccination decisions, vaccine
attitudes, and in the use of CAM, and whether that relationship is mediated by
trust in medical doctors.
Results: Parents with higher trait reactance had
lower trust in doctors, more negative attitudes to vaccines, a higher
likelihood of not accepting vaccines for their children and themselves, and a
higher likelihood to use CAM treatments that are not included in evidence-based
medicine. Our analyses also revealed associations between vaccination behavior
and CAM use and vaccine attitudes and CAM use, but there was no support for the
previous notion that these associations would be explained by trait reactance
and trust in doctors.
Conclusions: Taken together, higher trait reactance seems to be relevant for attitudes
and behaviors that go against conventional medicine, because trait reactance is
connected to a distrust in medical doctors. Our
findings also suggest that high trait reactance and low trust in doctors function
differently for different people: For some individuals they might be associated
with anti-vaccination attitudes and behavior, while for others they might be related
to CAM use. We speculate that this is because people differ in what is
important to them, leading them to react against different aspects of
conventional medicine
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