Louise Lemyre

Intergroup Discrimination and Self-Esteem in the Minimal Group Paradigm

This experiment was designed to test the hypothesis that intergroup discrimination in the minimal group paradigm is related to self-esteem. According to Social Identity Theory, intergroup discrimination is a strategy for achieving self-esteem via social competition aimed at increasing the positive distinctiveness of ones own group. However, other elements of the procedure, such as categorization into groups, or the opportunity to engage in a meaningful experimental task irrespective of its value for social competition, might also affect self-esteem. One hundred thirty-five undergraduates were randomly assigned to eight concurrent experimental conditions. A two-way multivariate analysis of variance on the core design produced a significant interaction effect, whereby categorized subjects who had the opportunity to discriminate between groups and noncategorized subjects who did not discriminate showed higher self-esteem than did both categorized subjects who could not engage in discrimination and noncategorized subjects who could discriminate. These results support social identity theory and also suggest that social categorization by itself may constitute a threat to self-esteem that can be resolved via social competition. Results from the supplementary conditions support the conclusion that it is intergroup discrimination, and not merely the completion of an experimental task, that redeems self-esteem.

Public Perception of Population Health Risks in Canada: Health Hazards and Sources of Information

ABSTRACT A national survey of health risk perception among 1,503 Canadians was conducted in 2004. The current survey follows-up a previous national survey conducted in 1992 and documents changes in risk perception since that time and investigates new risk issues not previously examined. This article presents a description of the ratings of perceived risk of thirty specific hazards to the Canadian population, sources of information about health issues and risk, and confidence in these information sources. Of the specific hazards considered, behavioral risks such as cigarette smoking, obesity, and unprotected sex were seen to present the greatest risk to the health of Canadians. Hazards related to the social environment (e.g., homelessness, street crime, unemployment) were seen as posing moderately high health risks. Medical devices or therapies (e.g., prescription drugs, vaccines, laser eye surgery) tended to rank the lowest in terms of health risk. Women, older respondents, and those with less education reported risks as being higher than men, younger respondents, and those with more education respectively. Large geographical differences in risk perception were also observed. Participants described receiving “a lot” of information from the news media, medical doctors, and the Internet but reported the greatest amount of confidence in medical doctors, university scientists/scientific journals, and health brochures/pamphlets.

Presenteeism and Absenteeism: Differentiated Understanding of Related Phenomena

In the past it was assumed that work attendance equated to performance. It now appears that health-related loss of productivity can be traced equally to workers showing up at work as well as to workers choosing not to. Presenteeism in the workplace, showing up for work while sick, seems now more prevalent than absenteeism. These findings are forcing organizations to reconsider their approaches regarding regular work attendance. Given this, and echoing recommendations in the literature, this study seeks to identify the main behavioral correlates of presenteeism and absenteeism in the workplace. Comparative analysis of the data from a representative sample of executives from the Public Service of Canada enables us to draw a unique picture of presenteeism and absenteeism with regards not only to the impacts of health disorders but also to the demographic, organizational, and individual factors involved. Results provide a better understanding of the similarities and differences between these phenomena, and more specifically, of the differentiated influence of certain variables. These findings provide food for thought and may pave the way to the development of new organizational measures designed to manage absenteeism without creating presenteeism.

A Social‐Cognitive Perspective of Terrorism Risk Perception and Individual Response in Canada

The volume of research on terrorism has increased since the events of September 11, 2001. However, efforts to develop a contextualized model incorporating cognitive, social-contextual, and affective factors as predictors of individual responses to this threat have been limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate a series of hypotheses drawn from such a model that was generated from a series of interviews with members of the Canadian public. Data of a national survey on perceived chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives (CBRNE) terrorism threat and preparedness were analyzed. Results demonstrated that worry and behavioral responses to terrorism, such as individual preparedness, information seeking, and avoidance behaviors, were each a function of cognitive and social-contextual factors. As an affective response, worry about terrorism independently contributed to the prediction of behavioral responses above and beyond cognitive and social-contextual factors, and partially mediated the relationships of some of these factors with behavioral responses. Perceived coping efficacy emerged as the cognitive factor associated with the most favorable response to terrorism. Hence, findings highlight the importance of fostering a sense of coping efficacy to the effectiveness of strategies aimed at improving individual preparedness for terrorism.

Is anxiety a suitable measure of decision aid effectiveness: a systematic review?

Several trials have employed anxiety measures to assess decision aid effectiveness. This study employed a systematic review method to integrate their findings. The affective impact of decision aids and the appropriateness of anxiety as a measure of decision aid effectiveness are explored. From 11,361 citations generated from searching electronic databases and journals, 26 randomised controlled trials evaluated patient decision aids; 10 included anxiety measures (HADS; STAI). The data were too heterogeneous to integrate statistically. No studies showed an increase in anxiety from exposure to decision aids versus usual care. Some patterns emerged between level of anxiety and characteristics of the decision. As raised levels of anxiety are associated with both more effective decision strategies and stressful health interventions, anxiety is an inappropriate measure to employ when evaluating decision aids. Future research needs to investigate the relationship between affect, cognition and decision aids in order to facilitate effective patient decision making.

Duration discrimination of empty time intervals marked by intermodal pulses

In 1973, Rousseau and Kristofferson reported that short empty intermodal time intervals marked by a light flash and a brief tone were poorly discriminated by subjects, and that AT,5 was constant over a large range of durations. It led them to suggest that short intramodal empty intervals, marked by stimuli from the same sensory modality, might be handled by a “more efficient mechanism” to which intermodal intervals would not have access. Unfortunately, their study lacked the basic evidence needed to make a strong statement: no direct comparison between inter- and intramodal duration discrimination and no within-subject discrimination function were available. To clarify these two issues, three experiments were performed. The data indicate that intermodal time intervals are discriminated more poorly than intramodal ones, and that intermodal duration discrimination functions follow Weber’s law. Analysis of data from different experiments lead to the conclusion that inter- and intramodal intervals are timed by a common timekeeper and that intermodal intervals induce a large noise component in the timekeeping operation.

Public Perception of Terrorism Threats and Related Information Sources in Canada: Implications for the Management of Terrorism Risks

A national survey of terrorism‐related risk perceptions was recently conducted in Canada, with a total of 1,502 adult Canadians interviewed by telephone. This paper provides a descriptive account of the perception of terrorism threats in Canada, specific types and effects of terrorism, as well as information sources on terrorism. Overall, respondents reported that terrorism was a low to moderate threat to the Canadian population and an even lower threat to themselves as individuals. They also indicated that they currently worry little about terrorism in Canada. The Canadian media was cited as the source most often referred to when seeking credible information about terrorism, whereas elected politicians and government officials were referred to the least. Demographic differences in perceptions of terrorism were examined, with gender representing an important determinant. Survey results are discussed in relation to their implications for addressing and managing the risks of terrorism as well as preparedness planning in Canada.

The structure of Canadians' health risk perceptions: Environmental, therapeutic and social health risks

Abstract Numerous studies have examined health risk perception through public ratings of health hazards, comparing them across lists, across time or across subpopulations. Yet, few have unveiled peoples mental organization and representation of the factors affecting health risk. In order to better understand how the construct of health risk is conceptualized by the public, a principal components analysis was conducted on data from a previous national survey in which Canadians rated a series of hazards with respect to perceived level of health risk. Canadians conveyed their concerns as falling into three broad components: Environmental (e.g., nuclear waste, PCBs or Dioxins, etc.), Therapeutic (e.g., contact lenses, medical X-rays, etc.), and Social health risks (e.g., motor vehicle accidents, street crime, etc.). Generally, hazards perceived as posing the most health risk were those belonging to Social health risks. Perceptions of Environmental, Therapeutic and Social health risks were higher among women, respondents with lower education or income, and among residents of Québec. Results are discussed in relation to the population health approach (Evans et al. 1994), in which the physical environment, biology, lifestyle, social environment and health care represent major determinants of the health of populations and population subgroups.

Do stressors explain the association between income and declines in self-rated health? a longitudinal analysis of the national population health survey

Although there is considerable evidence documenting the relationship between lower socioeconomic status (SES) and poorer health, longitudinal research is needed to study mechanisms that may explain this relationship. This study investigated whether income was associated with decline in self-rated health over a 2-year period and whether stressors mediated part of this social gradient. Participants in the National Population Health Survey (NPHS) who rated their health as excellent, very good, or good in 1994 and1995 were followed over 2 years. Analyses demonstrated that individuals in the 2 lowest household income quintiles had significantly greater odds of experiencing a decline in health status as compared to the highest quintile. Seven of 8 reported stressors at baseline were each associated with a significantly increased odds of experiencing a decline in self-rated health. Furthermore, these stressors explained 16% and 10% of the relationship between the lowest and 2nd lowest income quintiles and decline in self-rated health, respectively. These results suggest that stressors may be 1 mechanism underlying the social gradient in health.

Beyond the Hazard: The Role of Beliefs in Health Risk Perception

ABSTRACT This article addresses how beliefs about health risks cluster and how these relate to perceptions of risk among Canadians. A principal components analysis conducted on items reflecting various beliefs from the Canadian National Health Risk Perception Survey extracted four underlying dimensions: Cancer Dread, Trust in Regulators, Environmental Concern, and Personal Agency. Factor scores were then used to investigate relationships between belief factors and the perceived health risk of various hazards with gender, education, income, and province of residence as covariates. Environmental and Therapeutic health risk perceptions were significantly higher in respondents with high Cancer Dread and high Environmental Concern, but lower in respondents with high Trust in Regulators. Environmental health risk perceptions were lower in respondents with high Personal Agency, whereas Social health risk perceptions were higher in respondents with high Cancer Dread and Personal Agency. Results suggest that information about health risk–related beliefs can be useful in improving our understanding of the publics perceived risk of health hazards.