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We tested whether a didactic and a narrative video (i.e. educational content and personal stories versus irrelevant information) could boost colorectal cancer (CRC) screening intention directly and through cognitive predictors of CRC screening behavior. We also tested whether exposure to a story changed participants' affective forecasting, reducing the perception of negative emotions associated with CRC screening (disgust, embarrassment, and fear). The study was conducted online with a between‐participants design and recruiting a convenience sample (N = 375). We found that, compared with watching the control video, being exposed to the narrative video about CRC screening was indirectly associated with greater screening intention via vicarious experience and positive attitudes, whereas watching the didactic video was positively associated with CRC screening intention only among participants who had received an invitation letter but did not get screened, and among those yet to receive an invitation to screen. In the latter group, screening intention was boosted through positive attitudes. Our findings do not confirm that stories change affective forecasting, but narration likely fosters messages acceptance through vicarious experience. We also found support for the effectiveness of physicians' recommendations in promoting CRC screening, an intervention that might be effectively administered through a generalized, cost‐effective video. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates are suboptimal. This systematic review and meta-analysis examine the role of disgust in CRC screening avoidance. A systematic literature search was conducted. In all, 46 studies were included in the review. Among these, 16 studies were compared with a meta-analytical approach in order to 1) estimate the effect size of state disgust on screening intention and attendance; 2) examine whether methodological characteristics moderate the effect of state disgust on screening behaviour; 3) estimate the effect sizes of trait disgust and type of exam kit on state disgust. In the reviewed studies, state disgust was often associated with CRC screening and especially with CRC screening avoidance. The meta-analysis confirmed low-to-moderate negative effects of state disgust on screening intention and attendance. Population sampling strategy was the only significant moderator of the effect of state disgust on screening attendance, i.e. studies that used convenience (versus random/representative) samples found a significantly lower effect size. Trait disgust and type of exam kit exerted a large and a moderate-to-large positive effect, respectively, on state disgust. Disgust can boost CRC screening avoidance. Further studies and interventions must be designed to help patients in overcoming this emotional barrier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess a three‐factor version of the Emotional Barriers to Bowel Screening (EBBS) scale; analyze the scale's psychometric properties; and investigate the associations of fecal disgust, embarrassment, and fear with colorectal cancer (CRC) screening avoidance. Methods: Retrospective design: We asked participants to rate negative emotions associated with CRC screenings as well as whether they had ever attended a fecal occult blood test. Sample: 268 Italian adults aged 45−74 years. Measures: negative emotions, screening knowledge, CRC risk perception, demographic and background data, and hypothetical medical help‐seeking. Analyses: Confirmatory factor analyses, correlations, logistic regressions. Results: The EBBS scale is a multidimensional instrument and, at least where fecal tests are of interest, can be used without the insertion disgust subscale. The analyzed negative emotions were negatively correlated with screening attendance and positively correlated with intention to delay seeking medical help. However, logistic regression models showed that, of the three analyzed emotions, fear about outcome was the only significant predictor of screening behavior and delaying medical care. Conclusions: Further studies can adopt the version of the EBBS scale that is most suitable for their research contexts. Interventions must be designed to reassure patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Exogenous shocks trigger rally effects, leading the public opinion toward increased trust in institutions. Rally effects have an important social function because they help society react to shocks rapidly and efficiently as a single unit and cohesively face the threat. However, little is known about the individual functions that these effects fulfil. In this study, we aimed to analyze the individual functions of the rally effect. Method: In a three‐wave longitudinal study on a quota sample of the Italian adult population (N = 1070), we analyzed the individual consequences of the increase in institutional trust triggered by the COVID‐19 pandemic. Results: A path analysis showed that increased trust in political, super partes and international institutions fostered well‐being, reducing anxiety, collective angst, and anger via the mediation of participants' perceived control over their lives. Conclusion: Beyond their well‐known social functions, rally effects fulfil the individual function of favoring people's psychological well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the realm of political communication, the effects of personal verbal attacks on political opponents have long been studied. However, less well understood are the effects of flattery on such opponents. I present an experiment showing that praising a political opponent elicits an audience’s positive emotions, which in turn positively influences source trustworthiness, and ultimately increases the likelihood of voting for that source. In contrast, attacking an opponent elicits aversion, which in turn negatively influences source trustworthiness, thus reducing the likelihood of voting for the source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In three studies we tested whether concern for personal reputation varies as a function of the entitativity of the community or group to which individuals belong. The first correlational study (N = 135) showed that perceived group entitativity was positively correlated with concern for personal reputation expressed by its members. The second 2 × 2 factorial design experiment (N = 104) confirmed that, regardless of the kind of group, the level of manipulated entitativity enhances individuals' concern for reputation. Finally, the third 2 × 2 factorial design experiment (N = 98) indicated that this link is fully mediated by the fear of social exclusion. This research contributes to defining conditions influencing reputation management processes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present research aims to test the communicative efficacy of an in-store marketing activity consisting of placing products on an end-of-aisle display stand. Two studies were conducted to test the positive effect exerted by the display stand applied to two convenience goods: a very familiar product (i.e. toothpaste in Study 1) and a less familiar one (i.e. instant chocolate pudding mix in Study 2). These two convenience goods were each articulated in three brands as a function of their awareness. Results of both experiments showed that end-of-aisle display stands significantly influenced consumers' attitude towards the product and, indirectly, their purchase intention. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Two experiments were designed to examine how transgressing the gender-based norm of restricting food intake (i.e., the "eating lightly" social norm), provoked in women the desire to engage in stereotypically feminine activities, such as watching a romance movie or wearing feminine items in order to balance the negative consequences of overindulging in food. Study 1 (N = 110) showed that after recalling an overeating episode (vs. remembering a situation in which they were able to control their food ingestion), women (but not men) experienced negative emotions that increased their desire to watch romance movies. Study 2 (N = 123) showed that an imagined overeating experience was perceived by women as an unfeminine behavior. This perception in turn induced negative emotions that increased the likelihood of preferring feminine objects. Finally, for these women, the choice of feminine objects improved their self-ascribed femininity. Our results contribute to the understanding of overeating as an identity-relevant behavior for women—able to generate psychological consequences beyond the food domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]