Michèle M. Schlehofer

Psychological predictors of college students' cell phone use while driving

Despite the known risk, many people talk on a phone while driving. This study explored psychological predictors of cell phone use while driving. College students (final N=69) completed a survey and predicted their driving performance both with and without a simultaneous phone conversation. Their actual performance on a driving simulator was then assessed. Cell phone use reduced performance on the simulation task. Further, perceiving oneself as good at compensating for driving distractions, overestimating ones performance on the driving simulator, and high illusory control predicted more frequent cell phone use while driving in everyday life. Finally, those who talked more frequently on a phone while driving had poorer real-world driving records. These findings suggest illusory control and positive illusions partly explain drivers decisions of whether to use cell phones while driving.

Control, Denial, and Heightened Sensitivity Reactions to Personal Threat: Testing the Generalizability of the Threat Orientation Approach

The threat orientation model proposes three dispositional responses to threats: control, heightened sensitivity, and denial. Two studies explored the psychometric properties of the previously developed threat orientation scales and the relationship between the orientations and the responses to a variety of threats. Study 1 found that the control-based and heightened sensitivity–based scales are reliable and were related to perceptions of health, financial, and terrorist threats with a nationally representative sample. Findings held across gender, age, and ethnic groups. Furthermore, Study 1 suggested two types of denial processes: optimistic denial and avoidance denial. Study 2 used a diverse sample to gain additional evidence for two processes of denial and developed measures of each type.

Reactions to a health threat: Dispositional threat orientations and message characteristics

OBJECTIVES This study explored the interactive effects of dispositional threat orientation, type of message, and having children on reactions to a message about exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) in plastics. DESIGN The study used a 2 (message: Fear Arousal or Plain)×2 (parenting status: child or no child)×2 (threat orientation: high or low) mixed factorial design. METHODS Adults (N= 200) recruited via the Internet completed measures of threat orientations, reported whether they were a parent, and read either a low or high fear-arousal message about the risks of BPA exposure. They then completed measures of reactions to the message (perceived susceptibility to BPA effects, negative emotions, and behavioural intentions to engage in protection). RESULTS Depending on threat orientations, the fear arousal version of the message and parenthood had strikingly different effects, ranging from no effect (for those high in a control-based approach) to prompting change (for those low in a control-based approach) to counterproductive (for those high in an optimistic denial approach). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that considering individual differences and their interactions with situational factors could improve both the predictive ability of threat protection theories and the delivery of messages intended to change behaviour.

Individual Differences in Mediators and Reactions to a Personal Safety Threat Message

Individual differences in processing information about a personal threat message about bisphenol A (BPA) risk were examined using the threat orientation model (Thompson & Schlehofer, 2008). Adults (N = 448) read a risk message concerning BPA in plastics. Threat orientations, intentions to protect oneself from BPA risk, and emotional and cognitive reactions to the message were measured. Individuals with different approaches to threat reached different conclusions about the message and used different information in that process. These findings suggest that consideration of individual differences could improve the predictive ability of existing theoretical models and the effectiveness of health and safety messages.

Breast Health Beliefs, Behaviors, and Barriers Among Latina Permanent Resident and Migratory Farm Workers

There is a dearth of research on the breast health behaviors of migratory farm workers. This research used focus group methodology to compare the breast cancer beliefs and barriers of Latina women working as migratory farmers (n = 33) and permanent residents (n = 31). In comparison to their permanent resident counterparts, migrant farmers had low knowledge about the causes of breast cancer, and experienced significant barriers to care. Many barriers were cultural-specific, including culturally-based gender roles. These findings have significant implications for designing culturally-relevant interventions to improve access to care among this population.

Teaching Experientially in the Undergraduate Community Psychology Classroom

Experiential learning is a useful teaching tool in the undergraduate community psychology classroom. In addition to improving student outcomes, experiential learning is particularly relevant for community psychology, as it aligns with several core values of the field and can prompt not only student learning, but also civic engagement, social justice, and community betterment. In this article, we provide an overview of the themed issue on “Experiential Teaching Practices in Undergraduate Community Psychology.” The issue contains a variety of experiential teaching examples that fall into three clusters: (a) individual and group service-learning exercises; (b) using community experiences to augment in-class learning outside of a service-learning context; and (c) ways of having students draw on prior out-of-class or in-class community experiences to increase student understanding.