Daniel S. Bailis

What readers bring to the processing of fictional texts

Research on text processing has generally focused on the types of inferences that all readers draw in common. Our research examines aspects of processing that depend on the particular relation of the reader to the text. Students read fictional stories that contained weak and unsupported assertions and that were set either at their own school or at another school. We expected that they would be prompted to process the story information thoroughly enough to reject the assertions only if they were familiar with the story setting. Consistent with this expectation, the results showed that the away-school story, but not the home-school story, had a significant impact on students’ beliefs. These results support the view that readers must actively construct disbelief when processing fictional information.

Perceived control in relation to socioeconomic and behavioral resources for health

Perceived control is a personality characteristic that contributes to well-being, but few studies have attempted to integrate the functions of perceived control with those of other determinants of health. This research tested two hypotheses about the functions of perceived control: (a) individual differences in perceived control would account for socioeconomic differences in self-rated health status; (b) performance of health-related behaviors would account for the health benefits of perceived control. Using data from adult, nonproxy respondents in the National Population Health Survey of Canada (1995; n = 11, 110), confirmatory factor analysis supported a measurement model of self-rated health status composed of two correlated factors: physical health (i.e., chronic conditions. restricted activities, self-rated general health, physical functional capacity) and mental health (i.e., distress, depression). Structural equation modeling supported the first hypothesis, but not the second, regarding perceived control as a determinant of self-rated physical and mental health. Health-related behaviors partially mediated age differences in self-rated health, but different behaviors functioned in this way for men than for women. The findings suggest that psychological process, that of perceiving control over life events, underlies social inequality in health. Health-related behaviors appear not to serve as the primary mechanism through which perceived control influences health.

Gender differences in use of primary and secondary control strategies in older adults with major health problems

The present study examined primary and secondary control strategies among 143 men and women (73–98 years) who either reported having had or not had an acute event (heart attack or stroke), all of whom had health-related restrictions on everyday tasks and activities. Repeated measures of ANCOVAs tested the between-group effects of gender (men, women) and Acute Event (no, yes) and the within-subject effect, strategy type, on the frequency ratings of multiple control strategies. For men, having suffered an acute health event was unrelated to their use of primary control strategies. In contrast, women who had experienced an acute health event reported significantly less frequent use of primary control strategies than their counterparts who had not, perhaps suggesting that acute health events undermine proactive control striving and precipitate a shift to secondary control. Moreover, women differed significantly from men in their use of secondary control strategies, using them more often and displaying more diversity in their use. By demonstrating that womens use of primary control strategies is related to their past health events and that they adopt secondary control strategies more often than men and in a more differentiated or selective way, our findings underscore the importance of examining gender differences in strategy use during later life.

Optimistic social comparisons of older adults low in primary control: a prospective analysis of hospitalization and mortality.

Social comparison can be used strategically to bolster the self-concept. Such use may constitute secondary striving for control, when primary striving through action is unattainable. On the basis of the life span theory of control, the authors hypothesized and found that social comparison judgments would predict physical health outcomes among older adults with low primary control perceptions in the health domain. Only among such respondents, after age, sex, activities of daily living, chronic conditions, and prior hospitalization were adjusted for, did more positive social comparison judgments predict significantly lower odds of hospitalization and death over the next 2--6 years as reported in provincial health records. In later life, optimistic social comparisons may contribute to better health by providing secondary control.

Sense of Control in Late Life Health and Survival Implications

Believing that one can influence outcomes presumably fosters a psychological sense of control. So too, however, might adaptive ways of thinking known as secondary control (SC) processes that operate when outcomes are believed to be unattainable. Using a 5-year prospective design and a representative sample of adults (ages 79-98), folk beliefs (e.g., “negative experiences can be a blessing in disguise”) were used to assess SC processes. The authors expected SC Folk Beliefs would predict Sense of Control (Hypothesis 1) which, in turn, would predict self-rated health, hospital admissions, and survival (Hypothesis 2). An indirect relationship was hypothesized: SC Folk Beliefs were expected to predict outcomes through the Sense of Control (Hypothesis 3). Support was found for all hypotheses providing insights into the antecedents and consequences of a sense of control and about how SC beliefs and a sense of control function in the context of health.

Age, Relative Autonomy and Change in Health Locus of Control Beliefs A Longitudinal Study of Members of a Health-promotion Facility

Health locus of control (HLC) describes an individual’s characteristic attribution of health outcomes to internal or external causes. This four-year longitudinal study examined changes in HLC beliefs among 124 members of a health-promotion facility, related to their age (22—81) and relative autonomy toward health-related goals. HLC beliefs changed with age as developmental theories of control striving would predict. Holding age aside, the pursuit of health goals with more relative autonomy significantly offset the growth of external-chance HLC beliefs. Lack of autonomy thus appears to permit development of fatalistic attributions that may affect later coping with adverse health events.

Predicting stability and change in loneliness in later life

This study examined potential discriminators of groups of older adults showing different patterns of stability or change in loneliness over 5 years: those who became lonely, overcame loneliness, were persistently lonely, and were persistently not lonely. Discriminant function analysis results showed that the persistently lonely, compared with the persistently not lonely, were more often living alone, widowed, and experiencing poorer health and perceived control. Moreover, changes in living arrangements and perceived control predicted loneliness change. In conclusion, perceiving that one is able to meet social needs is a predictor of loneliness and loneliness change and appears to be more important than people’s friendships. Because the predictors were better able to predict entry into loneliness, results point to the promise of prevention approaches to loneliness interventions.

Self-determination and functional persuasion to encourage physical activity

This research advances a novel approach to promoting physical activity, based on the principle of functional matching in persuasion, and the self-concordance (SC) of peoples motivations for physical activity. We propose that SC establishes a positive or negative orientation toward the challenge inherent in physical activity, and that the maximum yield of participation will be achieved by communications that appeal to each orientation. In two studies, we compared how messages emphasizing challenge versus available social support would influence recipients’ self-reported practices of physical activity and attitudes toward a physical activity setting. As hypothesized, these messages had differential effects for recipients whose pursuit of physical activity varied in SC, such that favorable outcomes were more reliably associated with challenge-oriented messages among respondents higher in SC versus support-oriented messages among respondents lower in SC. The findings suggest the merits of using self-regulatory, compared with object- or personality-based, constructs and measures to indicate psychological functions of ongoing health-related behaviors.

Perceived control and risk characteristics as predictors of older adults' health risk estimates.

Overestimating ones own health risks is associated with negative affect and decreased well-being. To identify psychosocial factors that reduce pessimistic risk estimates, the authors examined global perceived (primary and secondary) control as a predictor of health risk (hip fracture) estimates among 222 community-dwelling older adults. To determine whether characteristics of the health risk moderated the effects of perceived control on risk estimates, the authors manipulated risk level (low, high) and risk attribution (controllable, uncontrollable). The effects of perceived control differed as a function of risk attribution: Regardless of implied risk level, perceived primary control significantly predicted lower risk estimates in the controllable condition but not in the uncontrollable condition. In contrast, perceived secondary control significantly predicted lower risk estimates in the uncontrollable condition but not in the controllable condition, emphasizing its importance when direct influence is not feasible. The authors discuss implications for anticipating how older adults estimate their health risks.

Affective and Behavioral Traces of Goal Conflict With Physical Activity

Two experiments examined affective and behavioral outcomes of goal conflict with physical activity. University students with high exercise motivation were primed with either the conflicting goal of academic achievement or the consistent goal of exercise. In Study 1 (N = 117), goal-conflict participants showed higher shame and distress than controls did after the priming task, and reduced physical activity 1 week later—despite the absence of significant differences in attitudes, subjective norms, perceived control, and intentions. Study 2 (N = 110) replicated these affective outcomes using alternate tasks and measures. Participants in this study received a sports/exercise water bottle, as an incentive, after priming. One week later, goal-conflict participants liked their water bottle less than controls did, had used it less often, and devalued it monetarily. Together, the findings document affective and behavioral outcomes that could translate fleeting goal conflicts into chronic underperformance of physical activity, despite high motivation.