Effects of advertising on problem gambling: Neural-cue reactivity as a possible underlying mechanism

Problem gambling has recently been reclassified as a non-substance-associated behavioral addiction. To the associated vital impact (family, social, labor, and economic), we must add its increasing incidence in recent years, which has led to prioritizing the problem from the point of view of public health. Although the effects of advertising on gambling behavior have been explored since the second half of the twentieth century, there is a lack of research regarding its underlying mechanisms. Thus, the objective of this review is to present an update on the effects of advertisements on gambling attitudes and behavioral intentions, as well as to present the neurobiological correlates of gambling-related cues as a possible hypothesis for this effect. Advertisements in various formats may act both as a precipitating factor and as a maintenance factor for the gambling disorder, changing both attitudes and beliefs about gambling. Activation of brain areas related to reward, such as accumbens nucleus, to memory, such as hippocampus or amygdala, and to executive functions could be the underlying mechanism of this effect. Also, ads promoting responsible gambling do not appear to be effective in reducing behavior or encouraging self-control, but the available evidence is scarce. Therefore, the number of studies on this topic needs to increase. In addition, the available evidence questions the effectiveness of responsible gambling policies to promote self-control in this population, as well as to reduce the negative impact of this disorder, so future research on neural-cue reactivity to gambling-related stimuli may serve to improve the design of advertising strategies that increase the impact of these messages

Representation of female beauty in advertising

Many studies have addressed the effects of the continuous presentation of ideal female beauty by the media and, especially, advertising. Multiple theories have attempted to identify the main mechanisms that cause the detrimental effects of exposure to such an idealized female image in advertising content. However, most such evidence has been correlational, whereas experimental evidence is very limited. Moreover, the impact of minimal exposure to such content has not yet been studied in detail. This experimental study investigates the short-term impact of reduced exposure (by viewing three beauty stereotype-related advertisements) on psychological well-being, body satisfaction, and the possible emergence of weight control behaviors in young women. The results reveal that even such brief exposure was sufficient to negatively influence the emotional well-being of the participants, who reported feeling more uncomfortable, insecure, anxious, and frustrated than women assigned to the control condition. The results of this experimental study thus reveal that advertising can influence the mood and behaviors of young women. In turn, they also reported greater intention to engage in weight and calorie control behaviors. Likewise, a mediation analysis revealed that the effect of such representations of female beauty on weight control behaviors was mediated by the decrease in the emotional well-being of the participants. The social and media implications of this work are discussed

Redes, tweets y engagement: análisis de las bibliotecas universitarias españolas en Twitter

The libraries of Spanish universities have significantly increased their presence and activity on social networks, especially on Twitter. This article analyzes the use that Spanish university libraries (member of the Red de Bibliotecas Universitarias Españolas, Rebiun) make of Twitter. Specifically, through the analysis of social networks, content analysis and non-parametric statistical tests, this research analyzes the network generated on Twitter by the 59 Spanish university libraries that have profiles on this platform as well as the purpose, content, the format and engagement of their tweets. The results indicate that the university libraries form a single-component network on Twitter with a certain degree of cohesion, but with several communities, in which the tweets about service information and the tweets with pictures are the most numerous. Tweets with pictures generate greater engagement independently of their content

Estereotipos de género y redes sociales: consumo de contenido generado por influencers entre los preadolescentes y adolescentes

La interiorización de los estereotipos de género comienza en una etapa tan temprana como la preadolescencia y la adolescencia. Las redes sociales y los influencers destacan entre todos los factores involucrados en su adopción y asimilación. Dado que los menores comienzan a consumir contenido en redes sociales muy pequeños, los influencers se han convertido en modelos de referencia para ellos. La presente investigación tiene por objetivo examinar las preferencias y comportamientos de los menores en redes sociales respecto a sus influencers favoritos y detectar hasta qué punto pueden reforzar los estereotipos de género preexistentes. Con este objetivo, se ha llevado a cabo un cuestionario (nivel de confianza <95% y error muestral +-3,5%) entre 800 menores españoles de 8 a 16 años, consumidores habituales de contenido creado por influencers. Los resultados de la encuesta muestran que los niños y adolescentes tienden a seguir influencers con diferentes perfiles, dedican una cantidad de tiempo desigual a esta actividad y muestran preferencias por diferentes redes sociales y tipos de contenidos. Estos resultaron conducen a la conclusión de que hay una tendencia generalizada a reproducir comportamientos y preferencias asociadas con los estereotipos tradicionales masculino y femenino

Influence of the Cumulative Incidence of COVID-19 Cases on the Mental Health of the Spanish Out-of-Hospital Professionals

This study aimed to analyze the psychological affectation of health professionals (HPs) of Spanish Emergency Medical Services (EMSs) according to the cumulative incidence (CI) of COVID19 cases in the regions in which they worked. A cross-sectional descriptive study was designed, including all HPs working in any EMS of the Spanish geography between 1 February 2021 and 30 April 2021. Their level of stress, anxiety and depression (DASS-21) and the perception of self-efficacy (GSES) were the study’s main results. A 2-factor analysis of covariance was used to determine if the CI regions of COVID-19 cases determined the psychological impact on each of the studied variables. A total of 1710 HPs were included. A third presented psychological impairment classified as severe. The interaction of CI regions with the studied variables did not influence their levels of stress, anxiety, depression or self-efficacy. Women, younger HPs or those with less EMS work experience, emergency medical technicians (EMT), workers who had to modify their working conditions or those who lived with minors or dependents suffered a greater impact from the COVID-19 pandemic in certain regions. These HPs have shown high levels of stress, anxiety, depression and medium levels of self-efficacy, with similar data in the different geographical areas. Psychological support is essential to mitigate their suffering and teach them to react to adverse events.This research was funded by Fundación ASISA and Sociedad Española de Urgencias y Emergencias (SEMES)

The Risk of Emergence of Boomerang Effect in Communication against Violence

Violent behaviors cause concern among people, policy makers, politicians, educators, social workers, parents associations, etc. From different fields and perspectives, measures are taken to try to solve the problem of violence. Institutional communication campaigns against violence and the publication of news related to violent events are often some of the actions used by policy makers. But some of the literature and data have shown that its effectiveness is not always exactly as expected. And even some anti-violence messages, can have the opposite effect and reinforce the attitudes of those who thought that violence is necessary. The hypothesis is that most people assume with no problem the core message of anti-violence campaigns. But, and this is the key issue and most problematic, individuals who are more likely to be violent (precisely those who should address such communications) could react to anti-violence message in a violent way. There is a tragic paradox: the anti-violence message could increase the predisposition to violent behavior. This would be a case of what some literature called boomerang effect. This article highlights the need for detailed empirical studies on certain effects of media (desensitization, imitation, accessibility and reactance), which could help explain the emergence of the boomerang effect

Buscando la inclusión de las minorías en un contexto multicultural. Una revisión teórica del prejuicio y de las estrategias para reducirlo

Asistimos al periodo de mayor movilidad migratoria de la historia y, aunque los motivos de este flujo continuo son diversos (conflictos bélicos, desigualdades geoeconómicas, etc.), una de sus consecuencias más notables es la creciente concentración de grupos minoritarios en algunas sociedades, hasta el punto que llegan a convertirse en un auténtico crisol multicultural. En este contexto, las actitudes que los miembros de dichas sociedades desarrollen hacia tales grupos son claves para facilitar su integración y una convivencia pacífica, armoniosa y beneficiosa para todos. Pero el prejuicio, entendido como una evaluación negativa hacia otro grupo social, es consustancial a cualquier sociedad y especialmente relevante cuando se analizan los conflictos intergrupales. Además, una vez que se han formado, los prejuicios tienden a autoperpetuarse en el tiempo, incluso pueden llegar a ser realmente resistentes al cambio. Por ello, en este trabajo, se pretende abordar dicho problema social a partir de una amplia revisión teórica del prejuicio y de las diferentes propuestas existentes para reducirlo.We are currently witnessing the period of greatest migration movements in history. Although the reasons for this continuing flow of migrants are diverse and include war, geo-economic inequalities and others, one of the most remarkable consequences is the increasing concentration of minority groups in certain societies that become a multiethnic melting pot. In this context, the attitudes that members of these societies develop towards such groups are key to facilitating their integration and peaceful, harmonious and mutually beneficial coexistence. However, prejudice, defined as a negative evaluation of another social group, is inherent in all societies and particularly relevant when analyzing intergroup conflict. Furthermore, once formed, prejudice tends to be self-perpetuating throughout time and resistant to change. This paper aims to address this social problem through a theoretical review of prejudice and the different proposals to reduce it

Citizen participation in Twitter: Anti-vaccine controversies in times of COVID-19

Twitter has transformed into one of the main platforms for citizen engagement today. However, even though previous studies have focused on opinions about vaccines in general or about specific vaccines, opinions towards COVID-19 vaccines on Twitter have not been researched to date. The objective of this research is, by using social network analysis and language processing tools, to examine the degree to which the opinions and interactions present on Twitter are favorable or unfavorable towards the main COVID-19 vaccines. In addition, the relevance of each of the vaccines is studied, as well as their level of controversy. Likewise, the present study investigates, for the first time, the conversation from different perspectives including the content and also the participants, by analyzing in detail the verified accounts and using tools for the detection of bots. In global terms, the results from verified accounts show a moderate favorability towards the COVID-19 vaccines, the most accepted being those of Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, and Sputnik V. On the other hand, the vaccine that attracts the most attention is the Russian Sputnik V, which is also the most controversial, behind those developed in China. Finally, verified users are shown to be relevant agents in the conversation due to their greater capacity for dissemination and reach, while the presence of bots is practically non-existent

Buscando la inclusión de las minorías en un contexto multicultural: una revisión teórica del prejuicio y de las estrategias para reducirlo.

Asistimos al periodo de mayor movilidad migratoria de la historia y, aunque los motivos de este flujo continuo son diversos (conflictos bélicos, desigualdades geoeconómicas, etc.), una de sus consecuencias más notables es la creciente concentración de grupos minoritarios en algunas sociedades, hasta el punto que llegan a convertirse en un auténtico crisol multicultural. En este contexto, las actitudes que los miembros de dichas sociedades desarrollen hacia tales grupos son claves para facilitar su integración y una convivencia pacífica, armoniosa y beneficiosa para todos. Pero el prejuicio, entendido como una evaluación negativa hacia otro grupo social, es consustancial a cualquier sociedad y especialmente relevante cuando se analizan los conflictos intergrupales. Además, una vez que se han formado, los prejuicios tienden a autoperpetuarse en el tiempo, incluso pueden llegar a ser realmente resistentes al cambio. Por ello, en este trabajo, se pretende abordar dicho problema social a partir de una amplia revisión teórica del prejuicio y de las diferentes propuestas existentes para reducirlo.We are currently witnessing the period of greatest migration movements in history. Although the reasons for this continuing flow of migrants are diverse and include war, geo-economic inequalities and others, one of the most remarkable consequences is the increasing concentration of minority groups in certain societies that become a multiethnic melting pot. In this context, the attitudes that members of these societies develop towards such groups are key to facilitating their integration and peaceful, harmonious and mutually beneficial coexistence. However, prejudice, defined as a negative evaluation of another social group, is inherent in all societies and particularly relevant when analyzing intergroup conflict. Furthermore, once formed, prejudice tends to be self-perpetuating throughout time and resistant to change. This paper aims to address this social problem through a theoretical review of prejudice and the different proposals to reduce it

Participación ciudadana en Twitter: Polémicas antivacunas en tiempos del COVID-19

Twitter has transformed into one of the main platforms for citizen engagement today. However, even though previous studies have focused on opinions about vaccines in general or about specific vaccines, opinions towards COVID-19 vaccines on Twitter have not been researched to date. The objective of this research is, by using social network analysis and language processing tools, to examine the degree to which the opinions and interactions present on Twitter are favorable or unfavorable towards the main COVID-19 vaccines. In addition, the relevance of each of the vaccines is studied, as well as their level of controversy. Likewise, the present study investigates, for the first time, the conversation from different perspectives including the content and also the participants, by analyzing in detail the verified accounts and using tools for the detection of bots. In global terms, the results from verified accounts show a moderate favorability towards the COVID-19 vaccines, the most accepted being those of Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, and Sputnik V. On the other hand, the vaccine that attracts the most attention is the Russian Sputnik V, which is also the most controversial, behind those developed in China. Finally, verified users are shown to be relevant agents in the conversation due to their greater capacity for dissemination and reach, while the presence of bots is practically non-existentTwitter se ha transformado en una de las principales plataformas de participación ciudadana hoy en día. Sin embargo, aun cuando estudios similares previos se han centrado en la opinión sobre las vacunas en general o sobre otras vacunas específicas, hasta la fecha no se han investigado las opiniones hacia las vacunas contra la COVID-19 en Twitter. El objetivo de esta investigación es, mediante el uso de herramientas de análisis de redes sociales y de herramientas de procesamiento del lenguaje, examinar el grado en el que las opiniones e interacciones presentes en Twitter son favorables o no hacia las principales vacunas de la COVID-19. Además, se estudia la relevancia de cada una de las principales vacunas, así como su nivel de controversia (polemicidad). Igualmente, el presente estudio investiga por primera vez la conversación no solo desde el punto de vista del contenido, sino también de los participantes que la integran, analizando en detalle las cuentas verificadas y empleando herramientas para la detección de bots. En términos globales, los resultados muestran una moderada favorabilidad hacia las vacunas de la COVID-19, siendo las más aceptadas las de Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer y Moderna, y la de Sputnik V en el caso concreto de las cuentas verificadas. Por otro lado, la vacuna que más atención acapara es la rusa Sputnik V, que es además la más polémica por detrás de las de origen chino. Por último, los usuarios verificados se muestran como agentes relevantes de la conversación por su mayor capacidad de difusión y alcance, mientras que la presencia de bots es prácticamente inexistent