Tamera R. Schneider

The Effects of Message Framing and Ethnic Targeting on Mammography Use Among Low-Income Women

The authors examined the effects that differently framed and targeted health messages have on persuading low-income women to obtain screening mammograms. The authors recruited 752 women over 40 years of age from community health clinics and public housing developments and assigned the women randomly to view videos that were either gain or loss framed and either targeted specifically to their ethnic groups or multicultural. Loss-framed, multicultural messages were most persuasive. The advantage of loss-framed, multicultural messages was especially apparent for Anglo women and Latinas but not for African American women. These effects were stronger after 6 months than after 12 months.

Matching health messages to monitor-blunter coping styles to motivate screening mammography.

This study examined whether providing messages matched to womens monitor-blunter coping styles is effective in encouraging mammography utilization. Female callers to a cancer information hotline were assessed at the end of their regular telephone call and classified as monitors or blunters. A randomly assigned message promoting mammography utilization, tailored for monitors or blunters, was delivered on the telephone, and a similarly tailored brochure and refrigerator magnet were mailed to participants immediately after their call. Women were telephoned 6 and 12 months later to determine whether they had obtained a mammogram. Messages matched to a womans monitor-blunter coping style encouraged mammography after 6 months more effectively than mismatched messages and were significantly more effective for blunters but not for monitors.

Message Framing and Pap Test Utilization among Women Attending a Community Health Clinic

In a randomized experiment, women (N = 441) watched either a loss- or gain-framed video emphasizing the prevention or detection functions of the Pap test to test the hypothesis that loss- and gain-framed messages differentially influence health behaviors depending on the risk involved in performing the behavior. As predicted, loss-framed messages emphasizing the costs of not detecting cervical cancer early (a risky behavior) and gain-framed messages emphasizing the benefits of preventing cervical cancer (a less risky behavior) were most persuasive in motivating women to obtain a Pap test.

The Influence of Neuroticism, Extraversion and Openness on Stress Responses

The present research moved beyond focusing on negative dispositions to investigate the influence of positive aspects of personality, namely extraversion and openness, on stress responses including appraisals, affect and task performance. Challenge appraisals occur when stressor demands are deemed commensurate with coping resources, whereas threat appraisals occur when demands are believed to outweigh coping resources. We examined the unique influence of personality on stress responses and the mediating role of appraisals. Personality was assessed, and then participants (N = 152) were exposed to a validated math stressor. We found unique effects on stress responses for neuroticism (high threat and negative affect and low positive affect), extraversion (high positive and low negative affect) and openness (high positive and low negative effect and better performance). Mediation analyses revealed that neuroticism indirectly worsened performance, through threat appraisals, and that openness indirectly increased positive affect through lower threat. These findings highlight the importance of investigating multiple aspects of personality on stress responses and provide an avenue through which stress responses can be changed-appraisals. Only by more broad investigations can interventions be tailored appropriately for different individuals to foster stress resilience.

Cardiovascular reactivity and adaptation to recurrent psychological stress: The moderating effects of evaluative observation

The impact of evaluative observation on cardiovascular reactivity and adaptation to recurrent psychological stress was evaluated in 162 undergraduate men and women. All participants performed three mental arithmetic tasks with or without evaluative observation. Impedance cardiographic, blood pressure, task performance, and stress appraisal measures were recorded for each task. Evaluative observation moderated the effects of task repetition on cardiac reactivity but not vascular reactivity. The introduction of evaluative observation disrupted cardiac adaptation, resulting in a resurgence of beta-adrenergic cardiac reactivity (p < .005), whereas the removal of evaluative observation promoted cardiac adaptation. Evaluative observation also increased stress appraisals and slowed task performance. The results support the dual process theory of habituation, rather than stimulus comparator theory, but only partially support cognitive appraisal theory.

Matching health messages to health locus of control beliefs for promoting mammography utilization

This field experiment examined the persuasiveness of matching health messages to individuals’ health locus of control beliefs in an effort to promote screening mammography. Women (N = 499) who called the New England regional office of the Cancer Information Service were stratified by their health locus of control and randomly assigned to receive a telephone message and follow-up print materials matched to either an internal or external health locus of control orientation. As expected, women who received information consistent with their health locus of control beliefs generally were more likely to obtain a mammogram 6 and 12 months after the intervention than women who received information that was not consistent with their health locus of control orientation.

Getting the Biggest Bang for Your Health Education Buck Message Framing and Reducing Health Disparities

Health information is everywhere, but can it be presented to better promote behavior? Past research finds that framing messages can effectively motivate health behaviors. This article briefly summarizes the role of message framing in health promotion in the general population, investigates findings for medically underserved populations, and discusses the influence of targeting to group characteristics on increasing the persuasiveness of framed messages. The conclusion is that theory-driven approaches lead to more persuasive messages across socioeconomic status.

A Source of Error in Self-Reports of Pap Test Utilization

The prevention and early detection of cervical cancer is achieved through womens regular use of Pap tests. Ascertaining adherence to Pap screening guidelines is often based on self-report, which may be unreliable. This study examined the reliability of Pap test self-reports and one potential source of error in them. We predicted that women having any gynecological examination (other than Pap tests) would falsely report having had a Pap test more often than women who had not experienced gynecological procedures. We compared self-reported Pap test utilization with medical records among 161 low-income women. Women with no Pap test in their medical record but who had experienced other gynecological procedures falsely reported a Pap test significantly more often than those women who actually received a Pap test or who had not received any gynecological procedure. Confusion over what type of gynecological procedures these women received could result in their under-utilization of Pap tests. Further, these findings question the validity of study findings based only on self-reported outcomes.

Stress Appraisals and Training Performance on a Complex Laboratory Task

Objective: We investigated whether training performance on a complex laboratory task differs for trainees whose stress appraisals denote challenge or threat. Background: Past research outside a training context found better performance on tasks when stress appraisals denoted challenge (in which perceived situational demands are commensurate with perceived resources) as opposed to threat (in which perceived coping resources fall short of the demands of the stressor). Method: College students performed Space Fortress during 80 3-min practice trials, 20 tests, and posttests (retention, transfer, secondary task interference). Stress appraisals were measured with a two-item scale (Experiments 1—3) or an eight-item scale (Experiment 3) with (Study 1) or without (Experiments 2 and 3) brief hands-on experience. Results: In all experiments, training improved performance and challenged trainees outperformed threatened trainees throughout training as well as on some baseline and posttraining tests. Conclusions: These studies are the first to document that stress appraisals predict training performance. They suggest that little information about a task is needed for appraisals to account for a significant amount of variance (11%) in training performance. Investigating the dynamic interplay of stress appraisals and training will increase the understanding of stress appraisals and of training. Application: Stress appraisals may improve training if used as a screening tool and/or by implementing interventions aimed at changing appraisals from threat to challenge.

Adaptive performance: a criterion problem

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an empirical examination of the convergent validity of the two foremost measurement methods used to assess adaptive performance: subjective ratings and objective task scores. Predictors of adaptive performance have been extensively examined, but limited research attention has been directed at adaptability itself as a validated construct within the job performance domain. Due to this neglect, it is unclear if researchers can generalize findings across criterion measurement methods.Design/methodology/approach – Teams of five (275 individuals) performed a computer‐based task that involved a series of disruptions requiring an adaptive response. In addition to post‐disruption task scores, subjective self‐ and peer‐ratings of adaptive performance were collected.Findings – Results did not indicate strong support for the convergent validity of subjective and objective measures. Although the measures were significantly related (r=0.47, p < 0.001) and shared a relat...