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Consumers tend to prefer brands whose image is congruent with their actual or their ideal self. Despite the critical importance of self-brand congruence, the literature currently exclusively relies on self-reported self-brand congruence, and lacks a measure that sheds light on its determinants. In the current research we propose and test a new determinant of self-brand congruence: brand affective congruence (BAC). BAC is based on how people intuitively assess affective meaning of different cultural concepts on the three dimensions of evaluation, potency and activity. Using an empirical study, we find that BAC is an effective determinant of self-brand congruence and has positive downstream effects on brand-self connection, brand trust, purchase intentions, and willingness to pay a higher price.

The worldwide spread of a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) since December 2019 has posed a severe threat to individuals well-being. While the world at large is waiting that the released vaccines immunize most citizens, public health experts suggest that, in the meantime, it is only through behavior change that the spread of COVID-19 can be controlled. Importantly, the required behaviors are aimed not only at safeguarding one s own health. Instead, individuals are asked to adapt their behaviors to protect the community at large. This raises the question of which social concerns and moral principles make people willing to do so. We considered in 23 countries (N = 6948) individuals willingness to engage in prescribed and discretionary behaviors, as well as country-level and individual-level factors that might drive such behavioral intentions. Results from multilevel multiple regressions, with country as the nesting variable, showed that publicized number of infections were not significantly related to individual intentions to comply with the prescribed measures and intentions to engage in discretionary prosocial behaviors. Instead, psychological differences in terms of trust in government, citizens, and in particular toward science predicted individuals behavioral intentions across countries. The more people endorsed moral principles of fairness and care (vs. loyalty and authority), the more they were inclined to report trust in science, which, in turn, statistically predicted prescribed and discretionary behavioral intentions. Results have implications for the type of intervention and public communication strategies that should be most effective to induce the behavioral changes that are needed to control the COVID-19 outbreak. Fil: Pagliaro, Stefano. Universidad de Chieti Pescara; Italia Fil: Sacchi, Simona. University of Milano Bicocca; Italia Fil: Pacilli, Maria Giuseppina. Università di Perugia; Italia Fil: Brambilla, Marco. Università degli Studi di Milano; Italia Fil: Lionetti, Francesca. Universidad de Chieti Pescara; Italia Fil: Bettache, Karim. Monash University; Australia Fil: Bianchi, Mauro. Universidade Lusófona; Portugal Fil: Biella, Marco. Eberhard Karls Universitat Tubingen; Alemania Fil: Bonnot, Virginie. Universite de Paris; Francia Fil: Boza, Mihaela. University Alexandru Ioan Cuza; Rumania Fil: Butera, Fabrizio. Universite de Lausanne; Suiza Fil: Batur, Suzan Ceylan. University of Economics and Technology; Turquía Fil: Chong, Kristy. Monash University; Australia Fil: Chopova, Tatiana. Utrecht University; Países Bajos Fil: Crimston, Charlie R.. University of Queensland; Australia Fil: Alvarez, Belen. University of Queensland; Australia Fil: Cuadrado, Isabel. Universidad de Almería; España Fil: Ellemers, Naomi. University of Utrecht; Países Bajos Fil: Formanowicz, Magdalena. University Social Sciences and Humanities; Polonia. Nicolaus Copernicus University; Polonia Fil: Graupmann, Verena. DePaul University; Estados Unidos Fil: Gkinopoulos, Theofilos. University of Greenwich; Reino Unido Fil: Jeong, Evelyn Hye Kyung. University of Limerick; Irlanda Fil: Lahti, Inga Jasinskaja. University of Helsinki; Finlandia Fil: Jetten, Jolanda. University of Queensland; Australia Fil: Bin, Kabir Muhib. University of Limerick; Irlanda Fil: Mao, Yanhui. Southwest Jiaotong University; China Fil: McCoy, Christine. The University of Queensland; Australia Fil: Mehnaz, Farah. University of Limerick; Irlanda Fil: Minescu, Anca. University of Limerick; Irlanda Fil: Sirlopu, David. Universidad del Desarrollo; Chile Fil: Simic, Andrej. Università degli Studi di Milano; Italia Fil: Travaglino, Giovanni. University Of Kent; Reino Unido. Chinese University Of Hong Kong; Hong Kong Fil: Uskul, Ayse K.. University Of Kent; Reino Unido Fil: Zanetti, Cinzia. Universite de Lausanne; Suiza Fil: Zinn, Anna. University of Exeter; Reino Unido Fil: Zubieta, Elena Mercedes. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología; Argentina

Subjective measures of mental effort have been shown to be relatively insensitive in Indonesian participants. An open question is whether this insensitivity reflects how mental effort is experienced or how it is reported. We compared the performance, subjective workload ratings, heart rate and heart-rate variability (HRV) of 31 Dutch and 30 Indonesian participants under single- and dual-task conditions. Indonesians performed faster but less accurately and used a narrower range of subjective workload ratings than did the Dutch. Dutch participants showed a decrease in HRV both in the mid-frequency (MF) and high-frequency bands and an increase in heart rate during task performance compared with the resting period. Indonesians showed this pattern in the MF band only. The decrease of HRV in the MF band in both groups suggests that the relative insensitivity of subjective mental effort scales among Indonesians has to do with how workload is reported rather than with how it is experienced. Practitioner summary: The sensitivity of the subjective measures of mental workload has been shown to depend on culture. Here, we show that heart-rate variability reacts similarly to workload in Eastern as in Western participants. This suggests that culture influences more how invested mental effort is reported than how it is experienced psychophysiologically.

Cognitive ergonomics is well entrenched in North American and most European work environments, where systems and products are designed with the capabilities and limitations of the user in mind. A prominent technique for analysing task demands is subjective mental workload measurement. Subjective ratings of mental workload have been shown—in North American and European populations—to be reliable and sensitive to changes in mental workload. However, there is reason to think that cultural differences may affect subjective ratings. This study compared the performance and subjective mental workload ratings of Indonesian (n = 87) and Dutch (n = 88) students in the context of a hybrid memory/visual search task. Performance was comparable for the two groups, but the sensitivity of the subjective workload measures was better in the Dutch than in the Indonesian group. The results are interpreted in light of social axioms and cultural values. Statement of Relevance: Now more than ever ergonomists must think beyond n...

Introduction.Relatively strong adherence to conservative values and/or relatively strict sex-related moral standards logically restricts the sexual repertoire and will lower the threshold for experiencing negative emotions in a sexual context. In turn, this may generate withdrawal and avoidance behavior, which is at the nucleus of vaginismus.Aim.To examine whether indeed strong adherence to conservative morals and/or strict sexual standards may be involved in vaginismus.Main Outcome Measures.The Schwartz Value Survey (SVS) to investigate the individual's value pattern and the Sexual Disgust Questionnaire (SDQ) to index the willingness to perform certain sexual activities as an indirect measure of sex-related moral standards.Methods.The SVS and SDQ were completed by three groups: women diagnosed with vaginismus (N = 24), a group of women diagnosed with dyspareunia (N = 24), and a healthy control group of women without sexual complaints (N = 32).Results.Specifically, the vaginismus group showed relatively low scores on liberal values together with comparatively high scores on conservative values. Additionally, the vaginismus group was more restricted in their readiness to perform particular sex-related behaviors than the control group. The dyspareunia group, on both the SVS and the SDQ, placed between the vaginismus and the control group, but not significantly different than either of the groups.Conclusions.The findings are consistent with the view that low liberal and high conservative values, along with restricted sexual standards, are involved in the development/maintenance of vaginismus. Borg C, de Jong PJ, and Weijmar Schultz W. Vaginismus and dyspareunia: Relationship with general and sex-related moral standards. J Sex Med 2011;8:223-231.

The present study provides a comprehensive investigation of the relationship between Openness and political orientation and activism in Europe. Analyses were conducted on the four waves of the European Social Survey, including large representative samples in up to 26 European countries (total N > 175,000). In line with previous studies, a robust, positive relationship between Openness and left-wing political orientation was obtained in Western Europe. However, in Eastern Europe, the relationship between Openness and political orientation was weaker, and reversed in three out of four waves. Moreover, Openness yielded significant positive relationships with unconventional activism and to a lesser degree with conventional activism. The magnitude of the relationship between Openness and activism was dependent on political orientation and region. Stronger associations between Openness and activism were found for those having a left-wing orientation in Western Europe, whereas in Eastern Europe, Openness was somewhat stronger related to activism for those having a right-wing orientation. In the discussion we elaborate on the role of the geo-political context in the relationship between Openness and political variables.