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Image semantic segmentation is an essential technique for studying human behavior through image data. This paper proposes an image semantic segmentation method for human behavior research. Firstly, an end-to-end convolutional neural network architecture is proposed, which consists of a depth-separable jump-connected fully convolutional network and a conditional random field network; then jump-connected convolution is used to classify each pixel in the image, and an image semantic segmentation method based on convolutional neural network is proposed; and then a conditional random field network is used to improve the effect of image segmentation of human behavior and a linear modeling and nonlinear modeling method based on the semantic segmentation of conditional random field image is proposed. Finally, using the proposed image segmentation network, the input entrepreneurial image data is semantically segmented to obtain the contour features of the person; and the segmentation of the images in the medical field. The experimental results show that the image semantic segmentation method is effective. It is a new way to use image data to study human behavior and can be extended to other research areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the background and the process leading to the 1970–1971 launch of the Journal of Applied Social Psychology. In the late 1960s, founding editor Dr. Siegfried Streufert had a deep belief in the need to create an outlet for excellent research addressing applications of social psychology to "real‐world" problems. He looked forward to marking this milestone year of publication of JASP with this article. Sadly, Siegfried passed away in April 2019, 50 years after developing and implementing the concept for the journal. We present the history as he wrote it, with some editing, in his honor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which investigated whether decision usefulness articulates a coherent basis for accounting as a social, regulatory practice based on an extensive evidence provided by disciplines that investigate human behavior. The relationship, such as decision usefulness, to the choice of policies or regulations designed to fulfill the rationale is described and the emergence of decision usefulness from its proposal by the American Accounting Association to its articulation by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and International Accounting Standards Board is described.

The literature on help-giving behavior identifies individual-level factors that affect a help-giver's decision to help another individual. Studying a context in which work was highly interdependent and helping was pervasive, however, we propose that this emphasis on the initial point of consent is incomplete. Instead, we find that workplace help-seeking and help-giving can be intertwined behaviors enacted through an organizational routine. Our research, therefore, shifts the theoretical emphasis from one of exchange and cost to one of joint engagement. More specifically, we move beyond the initial point of consent to recast help-seeking and help-giving as an interdependent process in which both the help-seeker and the help-giver use cognitive and emotional moves to engage others and thereby propel a helping routine forward. In contrast to the existing literature, an organizational routines perspective also reveals that helping need not be limited to dyads, and that the helping routine is shaped by the work context in which help is sought. Finally, we extend these insights to the literatures on routines and coordination and debate how our results might generalize even if helping is not part of an organizational routine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implicit beliefs about the nature of human abilities have significant motivational, behavioral, and affective consequences. The purpose of this article was to review the application of implicit beliefs to the youth sport context and to provide theoretically derived and evidence-based instructional strategies to promote adaptive implicit beliefs about human abilities within this context. A narrative overview of theory and a review of research pertaining to implicit beliefs in education, sport, and physical activity are undertaken. Theoretically derived and evidence-based instructional strategies are outlined, and specific coaching behaviors are suggested. Six instructional strategies to promote adaptive implicit beliefs in these contexts are suggested: focusing on effort and persistence, facilitating challenge, promoting the value of failure, defining success as effort, the promotion of learning, and providing high expectations. It is concluded that instructional strategies may be used to facilitate positive motivational, behavioral, and affective outcomes for young people within a sport context. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article introduces a new approach to understanding peak performance and dysfunctional performance in sport, correction theory. Correction theory, based within a control theory and dynamical systems perspective, assumes that dynamic balance (a state in which a robust complex system will self-correct in response to imbalance) underwrites individual functioning. The central thesis presented in this article is that an interdependent relationship exists between peak performance and dysfunctional performance in sport. Peak performance is, in part, a (corrective) response to dysfunctional performance and vice versa. An overview of correction theory is presented, based on two propositions relating to balance. Implications of correction theory for understanding sporting performance are briefly considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We examined associations of individual, psychosocial and environmental characteristics with 4-year changes in walking among middle-to-older aged adults; few such studies have employed prospective designs. Methods: Walking for transport and walking for recreation were assessed during 2003-2004 (baseline) and 2007-2008 (follow-up) among 445 adults aged 50-65 years residing in Adelaide, Australia. Logistic regression analyses examined predictors of being in the highest quintile of decline in walking (21.4 minutes/day or more reduction in walking for transport; 18.6 minutes/day or more reduction in walking for recreation). Results: Declines in walking for transport were related to higher level of walking at baseline, low perceived benefits of activity, low family social support, a medium level of social interaction, low sense of community, and higher neighborhood walkability. Declines in walking for recreation were related to higher level of walking at baseline, low self-efficacy for activity, low family social support, and a medium level of available walking facilities. Conclusions: Declines in middle-to-older aged adults' walking for transport and walking for recreation have differing personal, psychosocial and built-environment correlates, for which particular preventive strategies may be developed. Targeted campaigns, community-based programs, and environmental and policy initiatives can be informed by these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuroscience provides a new lens through which to study information systems (IS). These NeuroIS studies investigate the neurophysiological effects related to the design, use, and impact of IS. A major advantage of this new methodology is its ability to examine human behavior at the underlying neurophysiological level, which was not possible before, and to reduce self-reporting bias in behavior research. Previous studies that have revisited important IS concepts such as trust and distrust have challenged and extended our knowledge. An increasing number of neuroscience studies in IS have given researchers, editors, reviewers, and readers new challenges in terms of determining what makes a good NeuroIS study. While earlier papers focused on how to apply specific methods (e.g., functional magnetic resonance imaging), this paper takes an IS perspective in deriving six phases for conducting NeuroIS research and offers five guidelines for planning and evaluating NeuroIS studies: to advance IS research, to apply the standards of neuroscience, to justify the choice of a neuroscience strategy of inquiry, to map IS concepts to bio-data, and to relate the experimental setting to IS-authentic situations. The guidelines provide guidance for authors, reviewers, and readers of NeuroIS studies, and thus help to capitalize on the potential of neuroscience in IS research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative research has at last achieved full respectability in the academic sphere, and the success of commercial qualitative market research is demonstrably substantial. This article traces the history of qualitative research back to the time when both strands meet, in an academic source aware of the commercial value of applied psychology, drawing upon techniques that seek to explore and explain human behaviour. It is argued that the modern understanding of qualitative research comprises a 'package' of component parts, and that the essential elements of these were first identifiable, beginning in 1925, in the work and advocacy of the psychologist, Paul Felix Lazarsfeld. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Each month, millions of women experience an ovulatory cycle that regulates fertility. Previous consumer research has found that this cycle influences women's clothing and food preferences. The authors propose that the ovulatory cycle actually has a much broader effect on women's economic behavior. Drawing on theory in evolutionary psychology, the authors hypothesize that the week-long period near ovulation should boost women's desire for relative status, which should alter their economic decisions. Findings from three studies show that women near ovulation seek positional goods to improve their social standing. Additional findings reveal that ovulation leads women to pursue positional goods when doing so improves relative standing compared with other women but not compared with men. When playing the dictator game, for example, ovulating women gave smaller offers to a female partner but not to a male partner. Overall, women's monthly hormonal fluctuations seem to have a substantial effect on consumer behavior by systematically altering their positional concerns, a finding that has important implications for marketers, consumers, and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) has been extensively used in predictive studies, but there have been considerably fewer experimental tests of the theory. One reason for this is that the guidance on developing concrete intervention strategies from the abstract theory is vague, and there are few exemplars of how to do this. The aim of this article is to provide such an exemplar. The development of an intervention to increase walking in the general public is described, based on the TPB, extended to include postvolitional processes. Identification of target constructs, elicitation of key salient beliefs underpinning these constructs, selection of appropriate behavior change techniques, and technique refinement. Each step is based on available evidence and consistent with theory. Perceived behavioral control (PBC) was identified as the key determinant of walking intentions, with an "intention-behavior gap" noted. A brief intervention was developed, using techniques to increase PBC by rehearsal of previous successful performance of behavior, along with planning techniques to translate motivation into behavior. This systematic approach taken should provide a model for others. The intervention has demonstrated efficacy in producing large changes in objectively measured walking behavior, in 2 separate evaluations reported elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While most scholars debate the importance of doing things to improve the quality of the buyer-seller relationship and investigate the positive side of salesperson's behavior, little is known about salesperson's negative behavior or what causes it. In this study, social undermining theory is employed to investigate how a variety of social undermining behaviors influence salesperson deviant behavior. A sample of 469 frontline bank employees responded to a questionnaire. Structural equation modeling and moderated regression were used to test the model, which produced results suggesting that various types of social undermining affect deviant behavior by influencing employee emotional exhaustion. The results also show that salesperson motivation moderates the effect of emotional exhaustion on deviant behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through netnographic inquiry, we explore the practice of zoomorphism by one group of ‘anthromorphs’ – Furries. We identify three interconnected narratives (escape, healing, and power) that members of the Furry subculture deploy to make sense of the world. Exploring these narratives further, we identify why these consumers are drawn to zoomorphism as a means of self-authentication. Building on this, we also identify two ways (constructing a fursuit and engaging in ritualised animalistic behaviour) in which Furries reinforce their communal status through authoritative performances that involves ‘giving oneself to the animal spirit’. To our knowledge, this study represents the first examination of Furry consumer culture, and contributes to our understanding of human–animal relations through insights for anthropomorphism, zoomorphism, and the extended self. Specifically, we identify that Furries draw on an anthropomorphised animal spirit to heal feelings of disconnection with the postmodern world. In contrast to studies on anthropomorphism, consumers draw on animal spirits to define their internal sense of self and operate more effectively within the world. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite wide-ranging multidisciplinary scholarly research on rule-breaking (or rule-following), little is known about its temporal dynamics, and causal attribution remains an open question. This paper argues that rule-breaking is a complex phenomenon that feeds back into itself and demonstrates this with a lab experiment by comparing behavior of groups previously exposed to different levels of rule-breaking. Under the feedback hypothesis, those who had previously been exposed to substantial rule-breaking should exhibit a stronger tendency to break rules compared to those without such a history, everything else being the same. This is supported by experimental results, and further analysis also suggests a temporal interaction between the feedback effect and individual propensity to rule-following. These findings show that earlier decisions on rule-breaking can shape later decisions; that is, history and the dynamic feedback effect of rule-breaking matter. Methodological and practical implications are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construct of consumer affinity, which captures country-specific favorable feelings toward particular foreign countries, was recently introduced in the international marketing literature. In this study, the authors conceptually advance the consumer affinity construct and develop a measurement instrument for capturing affinity feelings. They also link consumer affinity, country image, and consumer ethnocentrism to key consumer behavior variables-namely, perceived risk and willingness to buy products from, invest in, and visit the affinity country. The findings indicate that consumer affinity is more powerful than consumers' ethnocentric tendencies in explaining both perceived risk and willingness to buy. The results also show that consumer affinity is more influential than cognitive evaluations of a country for the majority of the behavioral outcomes considered in the study (perceived risk, visit intentions, and investment intentions). Thus, internationally active companies can benefit from leveraging consumer affinity feelings in addition to positive country images. Overall, the study emphasizes the important role of positive affect in shaping consumer behavior, thus complementing prior research that focuses exclusively on the behavioral implications of negative affect (most notably consumer animosity). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Actical accelerometer thresholds have been derived to enable objective measurement of time spent performing sedentary activity in children and adolescents, but not adults. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine Actical accelerometer sedentary activity thresholds for adults. Methods: Data were available from 3187 participants aged 6 to 79 years from a preliminary partial dataset of the Canadian Health Measures Survey, who wore an Actical for 7 days. Step count data were used to evaluate the use of 50, 100, and 800 counts per min (cpm) as sedentary activity thresholds. Minutes when no steps were recorded were considered minutes of sedentary activity. Results: The use of higher cpm thresholds resulted in a greater percentage of sedentary minutes being correctly classified as sedentary. The percentage of minutes that were incorrectly classified as sedentary was substantially higher when using a threshold of 800 cpm compared with 50 or 100 cpm. Results were similar for children, adolescents, and adults. Conclusions: These findings suggest that a threshold of 100 cpm is appropriate for classifying sedentary activity of adults when using the Actical. As such, wear periods with minutes registering less than 100 cpm would be classified as time spent performing sedentary activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite clear health benefits of physical activity, previous research has been limited in linking knowledge of physical activity recommendations to actual behavior. Methods: Using Expectancy Theory, we examined whether an individual's health outcome expectancies from physical activity might provide the missing link between knowledge and behavior. With data from a cross-sectional survey, we assessed differences between how much moderate physical activity people thought they needed for health benefits compared with what they thought experts recommended and the relationship of these differences to physical activity behaviors. Results: Our hypothesis that people with positive health outcome expectancies would report more minutes of physical activity than those with neutral or negative health outcome expectancies was supported for all self-reported physical activity behaviors (P < .001). Conclusions: It appears that the health outcome expectancy of needing more physical activity than recommended by experts is correlated with achieving more physical activity, regardless of type. Future research should address health outcome expectancies as a way to impact physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Objective physical activity data analyses focus on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) without considering lower intensity lifestyle-type activities (LA). We describe 1 ) quantity of LA (minutes and steps per day) across demographic groups, 2) proportion of LA to total physical activity, and 3) relationships between LA and MVPA using NHANES 2005-2006 accelerometer adult data (n = 3744). Methods: LA was defined as 760 to 2019 counts per minute (cpm) and MVPA as ≥2020 cpm. LA was compared within gender, ethnicity, age, and BMI groups. Regression analyses examined independent effects. Correlations were evaluated between LA and MVPA. All analyses incorporated sampling weights to represent national estimates. Results: Adults spent 110.4 ± 1.6 minutes and took 3476 ± 54 steps per day in LA. Similar to MVPA, LA was highest in men, Mexican Americans, and lowest in adults ≥60 years or obese. When LA was held constant, ethnic differences no longer predicted MVPA minutes, and age no longer predicted MVPA steps. LA and MVPA minutes (r = .84) and steps per day (r = .72) were significantly correlated, but attenuated with MVPA modified bouts (≥10 minutes sustained activity). Conclusions: LA accumulation differs between demographic subgroups and is related to MVPA: adults who spend more minutes and steps in MVPA also spend them in LA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has grown in the 21st century regarding the physical activity patterns of racial and ethnic minorities. Although more is now known about some groups, disparities in health have not diminished. The purpose of this paper is to further explore the research about physical activity for African American women and suggest ways that future research might be conducted to address social and environmental justice relative to healthy behaviors. More information about race and gender can facilitate the promotion of physical activity and healthy living for all individuals, and can address the environmental as well as policy issues influencing behavior. Research focusing on qualitative data, moving beyond explanations of only racial categorical differences, emphasizing the cultural competence of researchers, acknowledging the importance of intersectionality, and using more theorizing may promote better ways of knowing about groups such as African American women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present data from an 18-month-long longitudinal study of a sample of 40 people who received a test for cancer and who were subsequently advised by health professionals on the dietary changes that would lead to improved health. This study investigates the ways that behaviour change is instigated (or not) and how people cope with these changes. We use the Stages of Change model to categorise people by their dominant behavioural response to the test (maintainers, recyclers, no change). From these categorisations, we develop an in-depth understanding of the experience of their behavioural response. By looking at the three possible behavioural responses in this way, we provide insights into the different cognitive, emotional, and behavioural response to the disease trigger. We evaluate the implications for social marketing theory and public policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study was to identify barriers to physical activity among elderly Brazilian women of different socioeconomic status (SES). Methods: A focus-group approach was employed. Subjects were aged, on average, 69.9 years (±6.9; n = 25). SES was measured based on a structured interview and women were grouped according to SES classification. Content analysis was used to categorize mentions of barriers to physical activities followed by descriptive analysis of absolute and relative frequencies of similar reports. Results: Most common barriers among high-SES elderly women were those within "psychological, cognitive, and emotional" dimensions (33.8%) and "environmental" (29.2%). Among women from lower SES, barriers were inversely ranked, the highest prevalence was verified for environmental (33.8%) and "psychological, cognitive, and emotional" dimensions (25%). Conclusions: The results highlight that barriers perception varies according to women's SES, indicating that physical activity promotion strategies must address such differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the influence of athlete leadership behaviors on perceptions of team cohesion. The participants were 312 athletes from 25 varsity and club level teams. Each participant completed the Group Environment Questionnaire (Carron, Widmeyer, & Brawley, 1985) that assessed cohesion and the Leadership Scale for Sports (Chelladurai & Saleh, 1980) that assessed athlete leadership behaviors. Overall, it was found that individual perceptions of Training and Instruction, and Social Support positively influenced all four dimensions of cohesion (ATG-T, ATG-S, GI-T, GI-S). Furthermore, Autocratic Behavior was negatively associated with the four dimensions of cohesion. Finally, Democratic Behavior was positively related to ATG-T. These findings provide researchers, sport psychology consultants, athletes, and coaches with some initial evidence that it is important to foster the development of athlete leader behaviors to influence the team environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research in adults shows poor agreement between self-reported and objectively measured proximity to physical activity resources; however there is little such research in adolescents. This study assessed the level of agreement between self-reported and objective measures of distance to physical activity resources in adolescents; and whether perceived or actual distance was related to actual use and physical activity levels. Methods: 110 New Zealand high school students (12-18 years) were asked the time (in minutes) it would take them to walk from their home to the nearest physical activity resource, and whether they had used it in the previous month. The distance from participants' homes to the nearest resource was measured using GIS. Physical activity was assessed with accelerometers. Results: Agreement was poor, with weighted Kappa Indices ranging from 0.1 to 0.4. The facilities used most frequently were schools (90%), public parks (76%), and playing fields (74%). Closer location was associated with higher use of some facilities only. Moderate-to-vigorous activity levels were not associated with self-reported or measured distance. Conclusions: Agreement between perceived and measured access is poor among adolescents. Further research is needed to understand how individual and social factors interact with environmental factors and whether improving awareness improves use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vast majority of consumer behavior research has examined how consumers respond to products that are offered on a "take it or leave it" basis by the manufacturer. Self-design changes the rules substantially, allowing consumers to have much more control over the product's characteristics. This research examines the factors influencing consumers' evaluations of self-designed products. Three studies demonstrate that a superior fit between consumers' underlying preferences and their customized products cannot fully explain self-design evaluations. Comparisons with designers of comparable products can significantly influence evaluations as well. The first two experiments examine how social comparisons with the designers of similar "off-the-rack" products influence evaluations, identifying two key moderators useful in overcoming the negative effects of an upward comparison. A third study uses a real online design task to gain understanding of how the timing of the social comparison moderates the direction of the comparison (upward vs. equivalent) to influence evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sharing is a fundamental consumer behavior that we have either tended to overlook or to confuse with commodity exchange and gift giving. Sharing is a distinct, ancient, and increasingly vital consumer research topic that bears on a broad array of consumption issues ranging from sharing household resources versus atomized family possessions to file sharing versus intellectual property rights. This theoretical review distinguishes between sharing in and sharing out, and suggests that sharing in dissolves interpersonal boundaries posed by materialism and possession attachment through expanding the aggregate extended self. However, such sharing is challenged by growing market commoditization. Implications for consumer theory and research are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I test whether social influence affects individual investors' trading and stock returns. In each of the 20 most active stocks in Finland over 9 years, the number of owners in a municipality multiplied by the number of investors who do not own a stock, a measure of the rate of transmission of diseases and rumors through social contact, predicts individual investor trading. I control for known determinants of trade, including daily news, and show that competing explanations for the relation are unlikely. Socially motivated trades predict stock returns, and the effects are not reversed, suggesting that individuals share useful information. Individuals' susceptibility to social influence has declined during the period, but the opportunities for social influence have increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Instruments to assess physical activity are needed for (inter)national surveillance systems and comparison. Methods: Male and female adults were recruited from diverse sociocultural, educational and economic backgrounds in 9 countries (total n = 2657). GPAQ and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were administered on at least 2 occasions. Eight countries assessed criterion validity using an objective measure (pedometer or accelerometer) over 7 days. Results: Reliability coefficients were of moderate to substantial strength (Kappa 0.67 to 0.73; Spearman's rho 0.67 to 0.81). Results on concurrent validity between IPAQ and GPAQ also showed a moderate to strong positive relationship (range 0.45 to 0.65). Results on criterion validity were in the poor-fair (range 0.06 to 0.35). There were some observed differences between sex, education, BMI and urban/rural and between countries. Conclusions: Overall GPAQ provides reproducible data and showed a moderate-strong positive correlation with IPAQ, a previously validated and accepted measure of physical activity. Validation of GPAQ produced poor results although the magnitude was similar to the range reported in other studies. Overall, these results indicate that GPAQ is a suitable and acceptable instrument for monitoring physical activity in population health surveillance systems, although further replication of this work in other countries is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Physical activity is important in ill-health. Inexpensive, accurate and precise devices could help assess daily activity. We integrated novel activity-sensing technology into an earpiece used with portable musicplayers and phones; the physical-activity-sensing earpiece (PASE). Here we examined whether the PASE could accurately and precisely detect physical activity and measure its intensity and thence predict energy expenditure. Methods: Experiment 1: 18 subjects wore PASE with different body postures and during graded walking. Energy expenditure was measured using indirect calorimetry. Experiment 2: 8 subjects wore the earpiece and walked a known distance. Experiment 3: 8 subjects wore the earpiece and 'jogged' at 3.5mph. Results: The earpiece correctly distinguished lying from sitting/standing and distinguished standing still from walking (76/76 cases). PASE output showed excellent sequential increases with increased in walking velocity and energy expenditure (r² > .9). The PASE prediction of free-living walking velocity was, 2.5 ± (SD) 0.18 mph c.f. actual velocity, 2.5 ± 0.16 mph. The earpiece successfully distinguished walking at 3.5 mph from 'jogging' at the same velocity (P < .001). Conclusions: The subjects tolerated the earpiece well and were comfortable wearing it. The PASE can therefore be used to reliably monitor free-living physical activity and its associated energy expenditure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aims of this study were to describe physical activity (PA) prevalence and compare it with other countries and to investigate possible associations between PA and other lifestyle behaviors in Azorean adults. Methods: 9991 adults (5723 women), aged 37.8 ± 9.5 years, of the 2004 Azorean Physical Activity and Health Study. IPAQ assessed PA. All other lifestyle behaviors (age, gender, education level, income, employment, marital status, number of children, meal frequency, sleep time, sitting time, body mass index and alcohol and tobacco consumptions) were also self-reported. Results: 57.1% of the participants met current PA recommendations and 32.2% were categorized as Health Enhancing PA (HEPA). Women were less likely to achieve PA recommendations, as well as the HEPA level. In both genders, higher education level, employment status, higher income, and sitting for more than 3h/day were negative predictors of HEPA; and, having at least 5 meals/day was positive predictor for the same PA level. Conclusions: There is a significant proportion of Azoreans, particularly women, that does not do enough PA. Targeted programs for Azoreans aimed to increase PA levels should pay special attention on women, and consider a multifactorial approach, once several lifestyle behaviors seem to interact with PA levels, in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to assess athletes' use of moral disengagement in competitive sport. We conducted semistructured interviews with 24 elite male and female athletes in basketball and taekwondo. Participants described transgressive behaviors in competitive situations and reasons for adopting such behaviors. Content analyses revealed that the eight moral disengagement mechanisms identified in everyday life (i.e., moral justification, advantageous comparison, euphemistic labeling, minimizing or ignoring consequences, attribution of blame, dehumanization, displacement of responsibility, and diffusion of responsibility; Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 1996) were germane in sport. However, the most frequently adopted mechanisms in sport (i.e., displacement and diffusion of responsibility, attribution of blame, minimizing or ignoring consequences, and euphemistic labeling) differed somewhat from those considered most salient in everyday life (i.e., moral justification, advantageous comparison, and euphemistic labeling). Moral disengagement mechanisms linked to projecting fault onto others ("It's not my fault") and minimization of transgressions and their consequences ("It's not serious") appear to be especially prominent in sport. The findings extend the sport moral disengagement literature by showcasing athlete accounts of moral disengagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the current study was to conduct an examination of spectator (i.e., parental) behavior at youth hockey games in a large Canadian city. Using naturalistic observation methods, an event sampling procedure was used to code spectators' comments. Of specific interest were the type of remarks made, who made them (i.e., males versus females), the intensity of those remarks and whether they varied by child age, gender, and competitive level. We were also interested in whether the majority of onlookers' comments were actually directed at the players, on-ice officials, or fellow spectators. Five observers attended 69 hockey games during the 2006-2007 hockey season. There was a significant variability in the number of comments made, with an average of 105 comments per game. The majority of the comments were generally positive ones, directed at the players. Negative comments, although quite infrequent, were directed largely at the referees. Females made more comments than did males, although males made more negative and corrective comments, and females made mostly positive comments. Comments varied significantly as a function of gender and competitive level. Proportionally more negative comments were made at competitive, as opposed to recreational games. An interaction was found for female spectators as their comments varied as a function of both the competitive level and the gender of the players. Results of this study are in direct contrast to media reports of extreme parental violence at youth hockey games, and provide unique information about the role of parental involvement at youth sporting events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This prospective study was designed to identify psychological factors that predict career success in professional adult soccer. Post hoc, two groups were distinguished: (1) Male soccer players who successfully progressed into professional adult soccer (n = 18) and (2) Male soccer players who did not reach this level (n = 47). Differences between the two groups were examined on the basis of data gathered in the initial phase of their careers, 15 years earlier. The psychological factors that predicted career success while statistically controlling for initial performance level and demographic variables were goal commitment, engagement in problem-focused coping behaviors, and social support seeking. On the basis of their scores on the significant predictor and control variables, 84.6% of the adolescent youth players were classified correctly as successful or unsuccessful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of 586 members of an online market research panel completed the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) Big Five personality inventory and were then offered one of three incentives (lower than normal, normal and higher than normal) to evaluate a new consumer product. Consistent with predictions based on equity theory, participants who were offered lower than normal incentives rated the product less favourably than those who were offered normal incentives. Contrary to predictions, participants offered higher than normal incentives did not rate the product more favourably than those who were offered the normal incentive. Respondents scoring high on Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness and Extraversion rated the product more favourably than those who scored low on these dimensions. Implications for market research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research regarding the path-ways via which the environment influences physical activity is limited. This study examined the role of perceived behavioral control (PBC) in mediating the relationship between perceptions of neighborhood walkability and frequency of moderate (MODPA) and vigorous physical activity (VIGPA). Methods: Data were collected through a province-wide survey of physical activity. Telephone-interviews were conducted with 1207 adults and captured information about perceptions of neighborhood walkability, physical activity, PBC and demo-graphics. Gender-stratified regression analyses were conducted to test PBC mediation of the built environment-physical activity association. Results: Among women easy access to places for physical activity was positively associated with MODPA and VIGPA. Having many shops and places within walking distance of homes was also positively associated with MODPA among women however; reporting sidewalks on most neighborhood streets, and crime rate in the neighborhood were negatively correlated with MODPA. Among men, easy access to places for physical activity was positively associated and crime rate in the neighborhood negatively associated, with VIGPA. After adjusting for PBC, the association between easy access to places for physical activity and VIGPA and MODPA attenuated for men and women suggesting mediation of this association by PBC. Conclusions: PBC mediated the relationship between easy access to places for physical activity and physical activity, but not for other perceived environmental attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To estimate the prevalence of and identify factors associated with physical activity in leisure, transportation, occupational, and household settings. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study aimed at investigating living and health conditions among the population of São Paulo, Brazil. Data on 1318 adults aged 18 to 65 years were used. To assess physical activity, the long version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire was applied. Multivariate analysis was conducted using a hierarchical model. Results: The greatest prevalence of insufficient activity related to transportation (91.7%), followed by leisure (77.5%), occupational (68.9%), and household settings (56.7%). The variables associated with insufficient levels of physical activity in leisure were female sex, older age, low education level, nonwhite skin color, smoking, and self-reported poor health; in occupational settings were female sex, white skin color, high education level, self-reported poor health, nonsmoking, and obesity; in transportation settings were female sex; and in household settings, with male sex, separated, or widowed status and high education level. Conclusion: Physical activity in transportation and leisure settings should be encouraged. This study will serve as a reference point in monitoring different types of physical activities and implementing public physical activity policies in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Capturing neighborhood-specific physical activity is necessary to advance understanding of the relations between neighborhood walkability and physical activity. This study examined the test-retest reliability of previously developed items (from the Neighborhood Physical Activity Questionnaire) for capturing setting-specific physical activity among Canadian adults. Methods: Randomly sampled adults (N = 117) participated in 2 telephone interviews 2 to 5 days apart. Respondents were asked a series of items capturing frequency and duration of transportation-related walking, recreational walking, and moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity undertaken inside and outside the neighborhood in a usual week. The test-test reliability of reported physical activity levels were then examined using intraclass and Spearman's rank correlations, kappa coefficients, and overall agreement. Results: Participation, frequency, and the duration of transportation- related and recreational walking and vigorous-intensity physical activity inside and outside the neighborhood showed moderate to excellent test-retest reliability. Moderate reliability was found for moderate-intensity physical activity undertaken inside (κ = .48; ICC frequency = .38; ICC duration = .39) and out- side (κ = .51; ICC frequency = .79; ICC duration = .31) the neighborhood. Conclusions: Neighborhood-specific physical activity items administered by telephone interview are reliable and are therefore appropriate for use in future studies examining neighborhood walkability and physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, a number of researchers have drawn on Lyng's (1990) theorization of the concept of edgework in explorations of voluntary risk activities in late modernity. Unfortunately, a theoretical consideration of how these edgework activities are gendered is underdeveloped in the edgework literature. In this article I outline the theories that have dominated edgework literature, critique the general oversight of a nuanced theory of gender in edgework, and highlight a sample of evidence showing that participation in "risk sports" (as one example of edgework) is a gendered experience. I also outline the concept of a "gendered risk regime" as a tool for exploring risk and gender as ongoing and intersecting constructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors focus on methods to measure and plan for Internet advertising. Since Internet audiences are not bound by a schedule in the conventional sense, they propose that an exposure model for banner advertising be analyzed by frequency of Web site visits.They believe that a negative binomial distribution (NBD) model, which has been used in analyzing repeat behaviors in marketing science, can be employed as a model for measuring banner ad exposure. The model performs well for the description and prediction of the extent of exposure to online advertising campaigns and can serve as a foundation for future modeling efforts.

The negativity effect, or the greater weighing of negative as compared with equally extreme positive information in the formation of overall evaluations, is widely believed by media planners and appears to be a well-proven phenomenon in consumer psychology. Although this effect has been extensively documented under conditions of moderate to high processing involvement in the literature, its robustness in consumer environments may be overstated. Specifically, there are important differences between the experimental settings in which this effect has typically been obtained and marketplace conditions. For instance, subjects in past studies have typically evaluated unknown or hypothetical targets with the goal of forming an accurate impression. In the marketplace, consumers may be familiar with brands and likely to process brand-related information with a variety of other processing goals, such as impression and defense motivation. Using two experiments, this re-inquiry delineates conditions under which the negativity effect is likely to emerge and those under which it may be less likely to occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumer research has largely missed out on two key developments in social cognition research: the growing evidence that much of social judgment and behavior occur without conscious awareness or intent and the substantial moderating influence of social- and self-related goal pursuits on basic cognitive and reasoning processes. This evidence is described and its implications are drawn for non-conscious—including subliminal—influences on consumer behavior. The consumer research domain appears ideal for the necessary next wave of this research: the assessment of how much of a role nonconscious influences play in real life in decisions and behavior that are of real consequence to the individual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-generated validity research has demonstrated that responding to survey questions changes subsequently measured judgments and behavior. We examine the scope and persistence of the effect of measuring satisfaction on customer behavior over time. In a field experiment conducted in a financial services setting, we hypothesize and find that measuring satisfaction (a) changes one-time purchase behavior, (b) changes relational customer behaviors (likelihood of defection, aggregate product use, and profitability), and (c) results in effects that increase for months afterward and persist even a year later. These results raise questions concerning the design, interpretation, and ethics in the conduct of applied marketing research studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most recent wave of decision research goes beyond the usual critiques of linear probability weighting, exponential discounting, and other specialized assumptions, and challenges some of the most basic assumptions of the decision-making paradigm itself. In response to these challenges, decision researchers have proposed alternative accounts of behavior, some of which bear little resemblance to decision making as it is commonly conceived. I provide an overview of some of the challenges confronting the decision-making paradigm, and I present the broad outline of what I see as an emerging alternative perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This ethnographic research examines consumers' cultural production at a cattle trade show and rodeo. Consumers recreate western cultural meanings and memories related to competition, naturalism, freedom/independence, and family tradition in their interactions with ranchers, booth exhibitors, animals, and artifacts of western history. Consumers' cultural production processes are documented at four levels: consumer behavior, situational positioning, subcultural interactions, and market interactions. Implications elaborate the significance of consumers' active, yet constrained production processes; the role of cultural meanings as market mediators; and issues in consuming another culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines a psycholinguistic model of bilingual concept organization and extends it to the processing of advertisements by bilingual consumers. The model suggests that second-language (L2) messages result in inferior memory as compared with first-language (L1) stimuli. These language asymmetries in memory are thought to occur because processing an L2 message at a conceptual level is less likely than processing an L1 message conceptually. Applying this notion to advertisements, this research examines picture-text congruity as a potential moderator of language effects in memory. The results suggest that a high level of congruity between picture and text facilitates conceptual processing of L2 messages, increasing memory for second-language ads and thereby reducing the impact of language asymmetries on memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature indicating that person-, context-, and task-specific factors cause consumers to utilize different decision strategies has generally tailed to affect the specification of choice models used by practitioners and academics alike, who still tend to assume an utility maximizing, omniscient, indefatigable consumer. This article (1) introduces decision strategy selection, within a maintained compensatory framework, into aggregate choice models via latent classes, which arise because of task complexity; (2) it demonstrates that within an experimental choice task, the model reflects changing aggregate preferences as choice complexity changes and as the task progresses. The import of these findings for current practice, model interpretation, and future research needs is examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces the idea of brand community. A brand community is a specialized, non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set of social relations among admirers of a brand. Grounded in both classic and contemporary sociology and consumer behavior, this article uses ethnographic and computer mediated environment data to explore the characteristics, processes, and particularities of three brand communities (those centered on Ford Bronco, Macintosh, and Saab). These brand communities exhibit three traditional markers of community: shared consciousness, rituals and traditions, and a sense of moral responsibility. The commercial and mass-mediated ethos in which these communities are situated affects their character and structure and gives rise to their particularities. Implications for branding, sociological theories of community, and consumer behavior are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the consumer choice process, predecisional distortion is the biased evaluation of new product information to support a tentatively preferred brand. An experiment revealed that creating a good mood by the unexpected gift of a bag of candy doubled the magnitude of this bias. Furthermore, information that seemed to preserve the good mood but disconfirmed the tentative preference (by being positive about the trailing brand) had greater impact than did mood-disrupting, negative information about the leading brand. The results, especially those for the disconfirming information, were compatible with the goal of mood management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral researchers use analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests of differences between treatment means or chi-square tests of differences between proportions to provide support for empirical hypotheses about consumer behavior. These tests are typically conducted on data from "between-subjects" experiments in which participants were randomly assigned to conditions. We show that, despite using internally valid experimental designs such as this, aggregation biases can arise in which the theoretically critical pattern holds in the aggregate even though it holds for no (or few) individuals. First, we show that crossover interactions-often taken as strong evidence of moderating variables-can arise from the aggregation of two or more segments that do not exhibit such interactions when considered separately. Second, we show that certain context effects that have been reported for choice problems can result from the aggregation of two (or more) segments that do not exhibit these effects when considered separately. Given these threats to the conclusions drawn from experimental results, we describe the conditions under which unobserved heterogeneity can be ruled out as an alternative explanation based on one or more of the following: a priori considerations, derived properties, diagnostic statistics, and the results of latent class modeling. When these tests cannot rule out explanations based on unobserved heterogeneity, this is a serious problem for theorists who assume implicitly that the same theoretical principle works equally for everyone, but for random error. The empirical data patterns revealed by our diagnostics can expose the weakness in the theory but not fix it. It remains for the researcher to do further work to understand the underlying constructs that drive heterogeneity effects and to revise theory accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies have tested models incorporating cognitive as well as affective mechanisms that help explain different levels of perceived humorousness in advertising (cf. Alden and Hoyer 1993; Speck 1991). In the first of two studies, an extended incongruity resolution model of humor perception in television advertising is proposed and tested. In that test, schema familiarity is found to moderate surprise resulting from ad content incongruity. Furthermore, playfulness of the ad, ease of resolution of the incongruity in the ad and warmth created by the ad moderate the effects of surprise on humor. Thus, surprise appears to be a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for humor in television advertising. In the second study, the role of surprise in generating humor is examined in more detail. Specifically, evidence supports the hypothesis that, following exposure to incongruity, surprise can be transformed into diverse affective outcomes such as fear and humor depending on the presence of different contextual moderators. Implications of the overall model are discussed from both theoretic and applied perspectives and directions for future research are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]