Peter W. de Vries

Enhancing self-protective behavior: efficacy beliefs and peer feedback in risk communication

In times of a high-impact safety incident citizens may have a variety of sources available to help them cope with the situation. This research focuses on the interplay of efficacy information in risk communication messages and peer feedback, such as responses on social network sites (SNSs) in the context of a high-impact risk on the intention to engage in self-protective behavior. The study pitted high and low efficacy information messages against supporting and opposing peer feedback (N = 242). Results show a significant interaction effect between efficacy information in a news article and peer feedback from SNS messages on both the intention to engage in self-protective behavior and levels of involvement. Participants who received the article with more efficacy information and also received supportive peer feedback via SNS messages were more likely to express higher levels of involvement and greater intentions to engage in protective behavior. When confronted with a low efficacious news article, the effect of peer feedback on these two variables was significantly stronger. Finally, implications for theory and government risk communication are discussed.

Consumer response to product-integrated energy feedback : behavior, goal level shifts, and energy conservation

Results of recent experiments suggest that interactive control panels of individual appliances can be used to stimulate energy saving behavior by offering the means for consumers to set a goal and receive immediate energy use feedback. The underlying source of the behavioral response, however, remains unclear. The present study compares the effects of a foot-in-the-door intervention, designed to activate a general conservation goal, and a specific task-related goal-setting procedure on the basis of feedback intervention theory (FIT). FIT predicts that any intervention that results in activating a goal at any other hierarchical level of specificity than that needed to perform a task in an energy-saving way will distract attention from the conservation action and attenuate performance. Results lend support to this interpretation. The roles of attention, goal parameters, and goal prioritization are discussed in terms of the present and future research.

Social presence as a conduit to the social dimensions of online trust

Trust is considered to reduce uncertainty, and, therefore, is a prerequisite for people to engage in online transactions. Social presence potentially bridges the discrepancy between offline and online commerce in terms of face-to-face interaction. These concepts are often studied under the assumption that social presence in itself increases trust. In addition, these studies typically treat trust as a unidimensional concept. The proposed research targets the influence of social presence on trust by taking account of the multidimensional nature of the latter, as well as the attributions made to the salient person. It is expected that behavioural information, i.e., the expressed preference of a referent in a product choice task, will only affect social trust dimensions if the salience of this referent is increased by means of displaying an image. Data will be available at the time of the conference.

Telling friend from foe : Environmental cues improve detection accuracy of individuals with hostile intentions

Purpose Detecting deviant behaviours that precede and are related to crimes can help prevent these crimes. Research suggests that the psychological mindset of wrongdoers may differ from others, such that they are more anxious, self-focussed, and vigilant. As a result, their responses to environmental cues, specifically those that signal risk of exposure, may differ. Method In two randomized controlled trials, participants with high (vs. low) cognitive load walked a pre-defined route to carry out a hostile or non-hostile task. En route, participants were exposed to a strong (vs. mild) cue from a security officer (Study 1), or a cue (vs. no cue) resembling police walkie-talkie static noise (Study 2). Participants filled out a questionnaire measuring psychological constructs. Reactions during the task were recorded and presented to independent observers to determine the participants’ intent. Results Participants with high (vs. low) cognitive load who were exposed to a strong (vs. mild or no) cue while carrying out their task were more often correctly identified by observers as either innocent or hostile based on their behaviour. Analysis of the questionnaire revealed that the experience of hostile intentions is related to anxiety, inhibitory control of anxiety, activation control of normal behaviour, and to other relevant constructs which may explain why cues that signal risk of exposure can improve the detection accuracy of individuals with hostile intentions. Conclusion These studies show that cues that signal risk of exposure can improve the detection of wrongdoers and the role of self-regulation in the suppression of anxiety and deviant behaviours.

Persuasive Technology Against Public Nuisance – Public Urination in the Urban Nightlife District

Assumptions of the goal framing theory are applied to the specific context of a nightlife environment. Focusing on public urination as specific and often occurring antisocial behaviour in nightlife environments, this research explored how choice behaviour of potential public urinators can be influenced in a positive way. One boundary condition was to intervene in choice behaviour without negatively affecting the widely appreciated attractive and stimulating character of nightlife environments. Five experimental forms of nudging and priming are conducted to facilitate alternative social behaviour and to further stimulate potential public urinators to perform social behaviour. This was done by activating positive emotions, presenting visible and accessible alternatives and influencing subjective norms. Facilitating social behaviour reduced public urination by 41%, while additional interventions reduced public urination up to 67%. The results contribute to an extension of goal framing theory to specific contexts like nightlife environments.

Using the lost letter technique to measure real-life behavioral effects of alcohol use

Abstract Introduction and aims: People’s behaviors after alcohol use are more extreme and alcohol has a narrowing effect on a person’s cognitive capacity. We tested this effect, making use of the Lost-Letter Technique (LLT), in which the return rate of “lost letters” by public mail is used to measure altruistic behavior. We hypothesized that return rates would be lower when people are under the influence of alcohol, and that an anti-alcohol prime in the address would even further decrease return rates. Design and methods: 768 letters were dropped, half of those at times when some degree of intoxication was likely versus when sober passers-by were common. Three different addressees were used to convey an anti-alcohol cue, a charitable cue, and a neutral cue. Results: The average response rate was 33.1%, and was significantly lower during late bar hours than during lunch hours (20.3% versus 45.8%). Also, when envelopes were found by people who were more likely to have consumed alcohol, anti-alcohol cues gained significantly lower response rates (12.7% versus 23.1%). Discussion and conclusions: This study confirms that alcohol use causes less altruistic behavior and different responses to alcohol-related cues, suggesting that LLT is a promising method to study people’s behavior. Future research could also focus on other substances, (mood-)states, and technology as a means of data collection.