Nikos Kalampalikis

Focus Groups and Ecological Practices: A Psychosocial Approach

The aim of this article is to show that focus groups (FGs) are a relevant method for the study of social representations of ecological practices and the meanings they have acquired in different socio-cultural contexts. First, relevant theoretical elements about ecological practices and representations are mentioned. Then, our different steps of designing FGs are detailed. A comparison between French and German FGs illustrates different processes of social representations and evidences how the tasks and stimuli structure group discussions about practices. Results highlight the role of the majoritys opinion in facing scientific uncertainty and in the evaluation of ecological practices. They also point out different ways of anchoring them. For the French participants, ecological practices are means of acting according to political values, whereas for the German group members, they are compromises between individual and altruistic interests. Furthermore, the potentialities of FGs are discussed.

Perception of Lung Cancer among the General Population and Comparison with Other Cancers

Introduction: To evaluate the perception of lung cancer in the general population to identify obstacles in patient–doctor communications. Methods: A prospective nationwide survey was conducted using a questionnaire and lexical approaches given to 2200 healthy subjects selected within a representative polling database. Results: Of the 1469 subjects eligible for full analysis, most were well informed regarding the epidemiological changes to lung cancer and the main risk factors. The overall survival of patients with lung cancer (32%) was overestimated, and the survival of patients with early stages of lung cancer was underestimated (52%). Lung cancer was identified as a severe disease (82%) with a worse prognosis than other cancers. Most of the population was aware of the main treatments available, except for targeted therapy. Using lexical analyses, we observed that a major proportion considered lung cancer to be a tobacco-induced, life-threatening disease that involved major treatment, and a minor proportion considered it to be an environmentally induced disease. Compared with breast cancer, lung cancer was characterized by a greater feeling of guilt and was more frequently associated with lifestyle. Conclusions: We have identified knowledge gaps in the perception of lung cancer and have highlighted a need for a public information campaign on lung-cancer screening to promote the good survival rate from early-stage disease and the progress achieved with new therapeutic strategies.

Giving or giving back: New psychosocial insights from sperm donors in France

Despite the growing importance of the international scientific literature concerning donor insemination, studies of French samples are rare. We recently had the opportunity to conduct a nationwide study on psychosocial issues related to semen donation in France. In this article, we present the main results of an analysis of the narratives of 33 sperm donors. We examine the meaning they attribute to this experience, their motivations, the social ramifications of their action, and their perspective on the principles of sperm donation in France. We highlight our results by comparing them to those derived from other recent international studies in different legislative contexts. Finally, we suggest a hypothesis regarding donor motivations based on recent literature in social sciences regarding the fundamental role of gift and reciprocity. These issues, particularly the anonymity of gamete donation, are currently at the heart of a national debate related to the expected revision of the French bioethics law.

When the Model Fits the Frame The Impact of Regulatory Fit on Efficacy Appraisal and Persuasion in Health Communication

In health-promotional campaigns, positive and negative role models can be deployed to illustrate the benefits or costs of certain behaviors. The main purpose of this article is to investigate why, how, and when exposure to role models strengthens the persuasiveness of a message, according to regulatory fit theory. We argue that exposure to a positive versus a negative model activates individuals’ goals toward promotion rather than prevention. By means of two experiments, we demonstrate that high levels of persuasion occur when a message advertising healthy dietary habits offers a regulatory fit between its framing and the described role model. Our data also establish that the effects of such internal regulatory fit by vicarious experience depend on individuals’ perceptions of response-efficacy and self-efficacy. Our findings constitute a significant theoretical complement to previous research on regulatory fit and contain valuable practical implications for health-promotional campaigns.

There is nothing so practical as a good... history: Kurt Lewin's place in the historical chapters of French language Social Psychology Textbooks

Abstract This article examines the paradoxical place occupied by Kurt Lewin in the history of social psychology. By analysing an exhaustive corpus of all French-language social psychology textbooks published between 1946 and 2000, we attempt to bring to light both the frequency of references to the author and the rhetoric employed to present his scientific contribution. Our results reveal a paradox underlying the way in which this eminent social psychologist is referred to. While the importance of his role in the formation of this discipline is emphatically reinforced, the full extent of his relevance is not accounted for. This paradox thus takes the form of a marginalisation, which is manifested in a tendency to concentrate on only a portion of his publications, in the stereotyped presentation of his experiments, and in the insufficient context provided for his studies.

Sperm donor regulation and disclosure intentions: Results from a nationwide multi-centre study in France

Gamete donation in Europe is not regulated by a common legal framework. Different laws regarding donor anonymity and remuneration exist in different countries. In France, gamete donation is characterized by a stable legal framework – the existing system of anonymous and non-remunerated donation remained unchanged following a period of public and parliamentary debate in 2011 – but little evidence is available concerning recipients’ views and experiences of gamete donation. This article describes findings from a questionnaire completed individually by 714 heterosexual couple members undergoing a donor conception procedure at one of 20 national fertility centres in France. Participants were invited to report their attitudes towards the French legal framework, their perceptions of the anonymous donor, and their intentions to disclose donor conception to their child and to other people. The majority of respondents (93%) approved of the current legal framework. Participants indicated that they thought about the sperm donor in ways that emphasized his act of donation without describing him as a specific individual. A majority (71%) also stated that they intended to tell their child about their donor conception. Given that this is the largest nationwide study of French recipients of donor sperm, the findings make an important contribution to the research evidence currently available about prospective parents’ perspectives in the increasingly uncommon context of donor anonymity in Europe.

Prevalence of HIV at the Kokoyo informal gold mining site: what lies behind the glitter of gold with regard to HIV epidemics in Mali? A community-based approach (the ANRS-12339 Sanu Gundo cross-sectional survey)

Objectives The aim of this article was to estimate HIV prevalence and the factors associated with HIV seropositivity in the population living and working at the informal artisanal small-scale gold mining (IASGM) site of Kokoyo in Mali, using data from the Sanu Gundo survey. Our main hypothesis was that HIV prevalence is higher in the context of IASGM than in the country as a whole. Design The ANRS-12339 Sanu Gundo was a cross-sectional survey conducted in December 2015. The quantitative survey consisted of face-to-face administration of questionnaires. Five focus groups were conducted for the qualitative survey. HIV prevalence was calculated for the sample, and according to the type of activity performed in IASGM. Settings The IASGM site of Kokoyo, one of the largest sites in Mali (between 6000 and 1000 people). Participants 224 respondents: 37.5% were gold-diggers, 33% retail traders, 6.7% tombolomas (ie, traditional guards) and 9% female sex workers. The remaining 13.8% reported another activity (mainly street vending). Primary and secondary outcome measures HIV prevalence and HIV prevalence according to subgroup, as defined by their activity at the Kokoyo IASGM. A probit logistic regression was implemented to estimate the characteristics associated with HIV seropositivity. Results HIV prevalence for the total sample was 8% (95% CI 7.7% to 8.3%), which is much higher than the 2015 national prevalence of 1.3%Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). The probability of HIV seropositivity was 7.8% (p=0.037) higher for female non-sex workers than for any other category, and this probability increased significantly with age. Qualitative data revealed the non-systematic use of condoms with sex workers; and long distance from health services was the main barrier to accessing care. Conclusions Integrated policymaking should pay special attention to infectious diseases among populations in IASGM zones. Bringing information/prevention activities closer to people working in gold mining zones is an urgent public health action.

The magic of social thought

Studying social thinking provides a promising field of investigation for the constitution of common knowledge in communication and action of historically and culturally situated groups. Its genealogy helps the understanding of the symbolic efficacy of social practices and their own operating collective logic. The English translation of a short version of Serge Moscovici’s article on the new magical thinking allows a wider audience to gain access, for the first time, to a text that perfectly illustrates the currentness and relevance of the social psychology of knowledge.

Le donneur dans les récits de conception : pratiques narratives de parenté par recours au don de spermatozoïdes

Little is known about the parents of donor-conceived offspring in France, where the anonymity of the donor prevails. The present study associates quantitative data informing the attitudes and decisions of parents towards disclosure and qualitative data related to their experience of being parents of a donor-conceived offspring. The quantitative results about the becoming of the conception narratives (n=929 requesting people, including 216 parents) confirmed that most parents decided to tell their child about the donor conception. The analysis of the semi-structured interviews of 37 parents defined the existence of a paradox between the conception stories mentioning the donor, who is objectified as a seed, and the representational project parents mostly pursue, which is anchored in a normalisation process.

Le donneur dans les récits de conception : pratiques narratives de parents ayant recours au don de sperme

Little is known about the parents of donor-conceived offspring in France, where the anonymity of the donor prevails. The present study associates quantitative data informing the attitudes and decisions of parents towards disclosure and qualitative data related to their experience of being parents of a donor-conceived offspring. The quantitative results about the becoming of the conception narratives (n=929 requesting people, including 216 parents) confirmed that most parents decided to tell their child about the donor conception. The analysis of the semi-structured interviews of 37 parents defined the existence of a paradox between the conception stories mentioning the donor, who is objectified as a seed, and the representational project parents mostly pursue, which is anchored in a normalisation process.