Amazon Mechanical Research Articles

From information to action: modelling social and cognitive factors in health decisions

BackgroundThis study examines the social and cognitive factors influencing health decisions to adopt protective behaviors in a U.S. sample. A theoretical framework was developed, incorporating key variables such as perceived severity, perceived vulnerability, use of formal and informal health information, conspiracy beliefs, and political ideology. The protective behaviors studied included mask-wearing and vaccination intentions.MethodsThis study employed a cross-sectional design to explore how cognitive appraisals and socio-political factors influence health decisions. Data were collected from 742 U.S.-based participants via Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) between January 28–30, 2023.ResultsPerceived vulnerability and perceived severity had distinct effects on information source preferences. Reliance on formal sources positively correlated with compliance behaviors such as mask-wearing and vaccination, while perceived severity strongly predicted mask adherence. In contrast, perceived vulnerability was associated with conspiracy beliefs and informal information use. Notably, fear of COVID-19 did not significantly influence health behaviors. Instead, political ideology and conspiracy beliefs played a more dominant role, emphasizing the importance of integrating socio-political factors into traditional health behavior models.ConclusionsUnderstanding the complex interplay of cognitive and socio-political factors is crucial for developing effective public health strategies to enhance compliance with health guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic and future crises.

Why regulate? Understanding the role of perceived parental emotion regulation in offspring emotional development

ABSTRACTObjectiveThe current study aimed to examine the role of perceived parental emotion regulation in adult–offspring internalizing symptoms, investigating emotional intelligence (EI) as a mediator and gender as a moderator.BackgroundEI is well researched and associated with numerous benefits including academic achievement, physical and mental health, and success throughout life. While some research suggests EI can be taught, the relationship between perceived parent emotionality and offspring EI has yet to be empirically tested.MethodsTo increase participant diversity, two samples were collected and combined: one from a southwestern university and a second through Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Participants (N = 866) reported their EI and internalizing symptoms along with their perception of parents' emotion regulation during childhood.ResultsResults showed a significant relationship between perceived parental emotion regulation and internalizing symptoms that was mediated by EI, with gender serving as a significant moderator.ConclusionBoth maternal and paternal regulation play important roles in offspring EI and internalizing symptoms but perceived maternal emotion regulation may be particularly beneficial for women.ImplicationsFuture research is needed to investigate the intricacies of specific emotions, gender, and culture, as well as the impact of discrepancies in emotionality between parents and frequency of regulation versus dysregulation.

Revisiting Visual Criteria of the Ideal Neck in the Young Caucasian Female.

The description of the aesthetically ideal neck was first described by Ellenbogen and colleagues in 1980. Since then, visual and aesthetic goals of patients have evolved as new surgical techniques have been described. Our study aims to provide current objective data regarding the aesthetically ideal neck in a young Caucasian female and evaluate Ellenbogen's original criteria for a youthful neck in this specific population. A survey was created and deployed using the Amazon MTurk platform. Respondents rated a panel of digitally altered female necks from most to least attractive. These results concur with Ellenbogen's findings and suggest new criteria for defining the ideal neck: 1. Defined anterior two thirds of the mandible; 2. Presence of a subhyoid depression; 3. Subtle thyroid cartilage bulge; 4. Partial sternocleidomastoid definition; 5. Cervicomental angle of 100 degrees. While the visual criteria proposed by Ellenbogen mostly hold true, surgeons should focus on communicating with patients to determine their specific anatomic surgical goals and implementing the appropriate operative intervention.

To label or not? A choice experiment testing whether labelled green bonds matter to retail investors

Green bonds are an important sustainable finance tool that can help reorient financial flows and influence public policy in addressing climate action across the global financial markets. However, this market is still in its infancy for the retail investor segment, and it has not been sufficiently examined from a behavioural policy lens. We fill this research gap by examining whether labelling and environmental benefits framing of a green bond can influence retail investor decision-making. By employing 1105 Amazon Mechanical Turk workers across three choice scenarios, we test whether alignment of pro-environmental personal norms or having specific personal traits can have a mediating effect on their green bond preferences. Using a mix of quantitative analyses, we find that most retail investors are influenced by the presence of a ‘green label effect’. For most retail investors, we find that the presence of a green label matters more than the ‘greenness’ of a green bond or the higher financial return of a non-green bond. However, for a very small sub-set of our sample, the alignment of environmental performance-related framing with their pro-environmental personal norms, enables greater investment into enhanced performance green bonds, even at the cost of losing financial returns. Finally, personal traits like individual risk tolerance (high), or previous investment experience with investment products (bonds, stocks), gender (non-binary individuals) and those having employment experience with financial industry, are more likely to invest in a labelled green bond. Our findings have timely implications for sustainable finance public policy, as it relates to regulating the growth of such products through labelling schemes like green taxonomies as well as addressing greenwashing risks through improved regulatory oversight.

The QUIC-SP: A Spanish language tool assessing unpredictability in early life is linked to physical and mental health.

Accumulating evidence indicates that unpredictable signals in early life represent a unique form of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) associated with disrupted neurodevelopmental trajectories in children and adolescents. The Questionnaire of Unpredictability in Childhood (QUIC) was developed to assess early life unpredictability [1], encompassing social, emotional, and physical unpredictability in a child's environment, and has been validated in three independent cohorts. However, the importance of identifying ACEs in diverse populations, including non-English speaking groups, necessitates translation of the QUIC. The current study aims to translate and validate a Spanish language version of the QUIC (QUIC-SP) and assess its associations with mental and physical health. Spanish-speaking participants (N = 285) were recruited via the online market crowdsourcing platform, Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), and completed an online survey that included the QUIC-SP and validated Spanish language assessments of physical and mental health. The QUIC-SP demonstrated excellent psychometric properties and similar mean scores, endorsement rates, and internal reliability to the English language version, thus establishing its validity among Spanish-speaking adults. Higher QUIC-SP scores, indicating greater unpredictability in early life, predicted increased symptoms of anxiety, anhedonia, depression, and poorer physical health. Given significant racial and ethnic disparities in health, the QUIC-SP may serve as a valuable tool to address the public health consequences of ACEs among Spanish-speaking populations.

Association of willingness to use hormonal contraception with knowledge: a national survey.

To determine if willingness to use and concern with using hormonal contraception (HC) is associated with knowledge about HC. We conducted an online cross-sectional survey of self-identified women, US residents 18 and older using Amazon Mechanical Turk and ResearchMatch.org. Primary outcome was HC knowledge level, with participants categorized into binary knowledge level variable based on accuracy of responses to seven statements about HC (e.g. HC causes infertility, HC decreases acne). We assessed participant willingness and concern with using HC, including the primary type of concern with HC (physical, emotional, complications, other). We used bivariate tests and a multivariable logistic regression model to test the association of willingness and concern about HC to knowledge level. Of 1041 respondents ages 18-81, 18% had no concerns and were willing to use HC, 64% had some concerns but were willing to use HC, and 18% had concerns and were not willing to use HC. Respondents who had concerns but were still willing to use HC were less likely to be concerned about complications than those who were unwilling (31.0% vs. 43.7%; p<0.001). The median number of correct responses to knowledge statements was three (IQR 2-5) and 94.8% of participants answered at least one statement incorrectly. After controlling for age, current form of contraception, education, rurality, census region, political, and religious beliefs, participants who were willing to use HC without concerns (aOR=4.32; 95% CI: 2.45-7.62) and those who were willing but had concerns (aOR=2.11; 95% CI: 1.35-3.30) was associated with being more knowledgeable as compared to those not willing to use HC (reference). Women willing to use HC are more likely to be more knowledgeable about HC. More than 80% of women report concerns with HC. Patients unwilling to use HC are more likely to have knowledge gaps in their understanding of HC side effects and risk of complications. For shared decision-making, providers should specifically address the facts and myths surrounding HC to ensure patients are making informed decisions about their reproductive health.

Attitudes About Aging and Beliefs About When you Have Been or Will be Your Best Self.

Stereotypes about aging and aging anxieties are common and when internalized are related to poor physical and psychological outcomes. As a result, older adults may view themselves as having their best years behind them. The present study investigates ageism and aging anxiety as barriers to positive self-development. Participants (n = 360) between ages of 19 and 77 years old (M = 39, SD = 15.9) were recruited using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and completed measures of Ageism, Aging Anxiety, and were asked to identify when they have been or will be their Best Self. With increasing age, adults with more internalized ageism and more aging anxiety, specifically physical appearance and fear of loss, identified their Best Self with a time in the past. These findings support the idea that internalization of ageism and aging anxiety can be counterproductive for expectations for growth as one ages.

“It’s Definitely New and Different…It’s Really Engaging”: Understanding the Power of Storytelling Towards Secure Password Creation

There is a dearth in existing literature to attain systematic understanding of leveraging digital storytelling in security designs. As we begin to address this gap, we focused on user authentication where the existing password composition policies and password meters often fail to help users around creating a strong and memorable password. To this end, we conducted a lab study with 19 participants, where we updated our initial designs in an iterative manner based on their feedback. We then conducted a between-subject online study with 104 participants over Amazon Mechanical Turk to evaluate our designs. We found that all of our designs received positive ratings from participants in terms of how they felt confident, and capable in password creation upon interacting with our design. Taken together, the findings from our studies unpacked users’ perceptions and preferences in using storytelling around password creation, where we provide guideline for future research in these directions.

Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Image Enhancing Filters on Patient Expectations for Plastic Surgery Outcomes.

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies use a three-part strategy for facial visual enhancement: (1) Facial Detection, (2) Facial Landmark Detection, and (3) Filter Application (Chen in Arch Fac Plast Surg 21:361-367, 2019). In the context of the surgical patient population, open-source AI algorithms are capable of modifying or simulating images to present potential results of plastic surgery procedures. Our primary aim was to understand whether AI filter use may influence individuals' perceptions and expectations of post-surgical outcomes. We utilized Amazon's Mechanical Turk platform and collected information on prior experience using AI-driven visual enhancement. The cohort was divided into two groups: AI-exposed and non-AI-exposed. Questions gauged confidence in plastic surgery's ability to meet participant expectations. A second survey exposed users to either AI-enhanced or to unenhanced pre-operative photographs. Then, unedited post-operative photographs were shown and surgery's ability to enhance appearance was assessed. A multivariable linear analysis was constructed to measure associations between exposure to AI enhancement and survey outcomes. A total of 426 responses were analysed: 66.9% with AI exposure and 33.1% with no prior exposure. Participants with previous experience using AI-driven enhancers had a significantly higher average score for expectations after plastic surgery (P < 0.001). This finding was true across all outcomes, including surgery's ability to relieve discomfort with appearance/self-esteem (P < 0.001), to avoid post-operative complications (P < 0.001), to decrease post-operative scarring (P < 0.001), and to improve overall appearance (P < 0.001). The image comparison survey revealed that post-operative images were viewed as more successful at improving appearance when no pre-operative filter was applied (P = 0.151). Exposure to AI photograph enhancement may significantly raise expectations for plastic surgery outcomes and may predispose to having lower satisfaction after surgery. The significance of this study lies in its potential to reveal the extent to which AI technologies can shape patient understanding of their plastic surgery outcomes. Plastic surgeons aware of the effect of AI enhancement may consider using these results to guide counselling. his journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Millennials’ perceived value and intention to purchase athleisure products: the mediating role of desire for conspicuous consumption

PurposeAs Millennials consist of most of the world’s population, there is a growing body of research understanding their consumption patterns in sport. We examined the relationship among Millennials’ various perceived values, their desire for conspicuous consumption, and their intention to purchase athleisure products.Design/methodology/approachWe used a web-based survey through Amazon Mechanical Turk (n = 348) to test our research hypotheses and model.FindingsOur findings revealed that perceived price, quality, and emotional value were positively associated with both the desire for conspicuous consumption and purchase intention towards athleisure products among Millennials. Perceived emotional and social value of athleisure-related products was positively associated with their purchasing intention via the desire for conspicuous consumption.Originality/valueThis is the first study examining the association among perceived value, conspicuous consumption tendencies, and purchase intention among Millennials. Our study suggests that Millennials have unique desires and preferences in what they wear in both sporting and casual settings, which in turn, contributes to their self-presentation strategies. These findings have implications for both sport scholars and professionals.

Non-Verbal Cues in Interactive Systems: Enhancing Proactivity through Winking and Turning Gestures

This investigation investigates the extent to which proactive behaviours in interactive objects—specifically animated eyes that exhibit behaviours such as blinking and turning—improve user interaction. Through a two-phase process, we investigate the influence of these behaviors on users’ perceptions of proactivity in both physical and virtual environments. In Phase I, we conducted a real-world study using a tangible box with animated eyes to evaluate user responses to expressive behaviours in single- and multi-person interactions. The results indicate that blinking significantly improves perceptions of the box’s intentionality and engagement, thereby fostering a more robust sense of proactivity. Phase II expands this investigation to a virtual environment, where 240 participants on Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) participated, thereby validating the real-world findings. The online study confirms that perceived proactivity is consistently increased across contexts by blinking and turning. These findings indicate that integrating basic, human-like behaviors into interactive systems can enhance user engagement and provide practical advice for the development of sustainable, low-complexity interactive technologies. These discoveries facilitate the future development of resource-efficient and accessible human-computer interaction and robotic systems by simulating intentionality through minimal behavior.

The Gender Wage Gap in an Online Labor Market: The Cost of Interruptions

Abstract This paper analyzes gender differences in working patterns and wages on Amazon Mechanical Turk, a popular online labor platform. Using information on 2 million tasks, we find no gender differences in task selection nor experience. Nonetheless, women earn 20% less per hour on average. Gender differences in working patterns are a significant driver of this wage gap. Women are more likely to interrupt their working time on the platform with consequences for their task completion speed. A follow-up survey shows that the gender differences in working patterns and hourly wages are concentrated among workers with children.

The impact of visual fidelity on screen-based virtual reality food choices: A randomized pilot study.

To understand the impact of fidelity and perceived realism on virtual reality food choices, and task motivation, engagement, and interest. Randomized controlled trial. Online. 84 participants recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants were randomly assigned to either a high- (n = 43) or a low- (n = 41) visual fidelity environment and were asked to select foods to have a meal with a friend. Food choice, motivation of food choices, engagement, and interest. Simple linear regressions between visual fidelity and perceived realism, and log-linear regressions for visual fidelity or perceived realism on either motivation, interest, or engagement. Poisson models between visual fidelity or perceived realism, and food selections. Manipulating visual fidelity was not associated with perceived realism, motivation, interest, or engagement in the food selection task. Perceived realism increased motivation by 0.3% (SE 0.056; p = 0.022), interest by 1.4% (SE 0.002; p<0.001), and engagement by 0.9% (SE 0.001; p<0.001) in the food selection task. High visual fidelity decreased the total number of foods selected (B = 0.216; CI (-0.384; -0.047); p = 0.012). Perceived realism, but not visual fidelity, is important for task related factors like motivation, engagement, and interest. Visual fidelity may influence some food selections.

Role of Drinking Attitudes and Trait Impulsivity in Prenatal Alcohol Craving and Consumption in Mothers of Reproductive Age

Background/Objective Recognizing the severe consequences of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs), the present study explored the role of drinking attitudes, trait impulsivity, and decision-making toward instant gratification in alcohol craving and consumption during pregnancy among mothers of reproductive age. Methods Utilizing participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk (N = 141), we first categorized mothers into three groups: those who neither craved nor consumed alcohol during their last pregnancy, those who craved but did not consume, and those who craved and consumed alcohol. Using binomial logistic regression, we then examined what factors, if any, could differentiate between (a) mothers who craved alcohol during pregnancy and those who did not and (b) mothers who resisted alcohol cravings and those who yielded to them. Results The findings indicated that drinking attitudes significantly predicted alcohol craving during pregnancy. However, trait impulsivity emerged as a significant predictor of alcohol consumption among those who experienced cravings. Conclusion The present study contributes to a better understanding of psychological mechanisms underlying alcohol craving and consumption during pregnancy, which in turn may contribute to the development of targeted interventions for this problem.

Assessing the impact of information on patient attitudes toward artificial intelligence-based clinical decision support (AI/CDS): a pilot web-based SMART vignette study

BackgroundIt is increasingly recognised that the success of artificial intelligence-based clinical decision support (AI/CDS) tools will depend on physician and patient trust, but factors impacting patients’ views on clinical care...

LLM4CAD: Multimodal Large Language Models for Three-Dimensional Computer-Aided Design Generation

Abstract The evolution of multimodal large language models (LLMs) capable of processing diverse input modalities (e.g., text and images) holds new prospects for their application in engineering design, such as the generation of 3D computer-aided design (CAD) models. However, little is known about the ability of multimodal LLMs to generate 3D design objects, and there is a lack of quantitative assessment. In this study, we develop an approach to enable LLMs to generate 3D CAD models (i.e., LLM4CAD) and perform experiments to evaluate their efficacy where GPT-4 and GPT-4V were employed as examples. To address the challenge of data scarcity for multimodal LLM studies, we created a data synthesis pipeline to generate CAD models, sketches, and image data of typical mechanical components (e.g., gears and springs) and collect their natural language descriptions with dimensional information using Amazon Mechanical Turk. We positioned the CAD program (programming script for CAD design) as a bridge, facilitating the conversion of LLMs’ textual output into tangible CAD design objects. We focus on two critical capabilities: the generation of syntactically correct CAD programs (Cap1) and the accuracy of the parsed 3D shapes (Cap2) quantified by intersection over union. The results show that both GPT-4 and GPT-4V demonstrate great potential in 3D CAD generation by just leveraging their zero-shot learning ability. Specifically, on average, GPT-4V outperforms when processing only text-based input, exceeding the results obtained using multimodal inputs, such as text with image, for Cap 1 and Cap 2. However, when examining category-specific results of mechanical components, the prominence of multimodal inputs is increasingly evident for more complex geometries (e.g., springs and gears) in both Cap 1 and Cap 2. The potential of multimodal LLMs to improve 3D CAD generation is clear, but their application must be carefully calibrated to the complexity of the target CAD models to be generated.

A Pilot Study to Assess the Impact of a Multifactorial Explanation for Mental Illness on Prejudicial Attitudes Towards People With Mental Illness.

Public stigma and prejudice toward people with psychiatric conditions is highly prevalent and damaging. Explanations for the origins of mental illness can influence attitudes toward people with these conditions. To date, studies exploring the effects of explanations for the origins of mental illness have focused on genetic or environmental explanations, and the impact of evidence-based multifactorial explanations for psychiatric illness on public attitudes remains unknown. Participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk to watch a 4-min video about the "mental illness jar model"-an evidence-based analogy that explains the complex interactions between genes and environment in the development of mental illness. Participants provided demographic information and completed questions regarding knowledge about the causes of mental illness, and the Prejudice towards People with Mental Illness (PPMI) scale both before and after watching the video. A total of 106 eligible participants completed the study. Watching the video had no significant effect on participants' knowledge about the causes of mental illness (p = 0.06), but there was a significant decrease in prejudicial attitudes toward mental illness (p = 0.0003), the effect size was small (-0.15). The use of this brief video (available at cogastudy.org) is a promising tool to decrease prejudicial attitudes toward mental illness that warrants further study.

A Bilingual Dataset for Testing Web Probing in the US and India: The Example of Measures of Environmental Concern

To assess the feasibility of web probing in India, we conducted a study with different probing questions and a survey experiment in India and the US on the topic of environmental concern. The survey was available in English in both countries and in Hindi in India. The data was collected from December 2022 until May 2023 using the crowdsourcing platform Amazon MTurk. This resulted in 512 respondents from the US and 740 from India (English: 387 respondents, Hindi: 353 respondents). The data provides crucial insights into the performance of web probing outside the Western context and the comparability of measures of environmental concern.

Understanding Membership in Alternative Health Social Media Groups and Its Association with COVID-19 and Influenza Vaccination: Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey.

Social media platforms have become home to numerous alternative health groups where people share health information and scientifically unproven treatments. Individuals share not only health information but also health misinformation in alternative health groups on social media. Yet, little research has been carried out to understand members of these groups. This study aims to better understand various characteristics of members in alternative health groups and the association between membership and attitudes toward vaccination and COVID-19 and influenza vaccination-related behaviors. This study aims to test hypotheses about different potential characteristics of members in alternative health groups and the association between membership and attitudes toward vaccination and vaccine-related behaviors. A web-based cross-sectional survey (N=1050) was conducted. Participants were recruited from 19 alternative health social media groups and Amazon's Mechanical Turk. A total of 596 participants were members of alternative health groups and 454 were nonmembers of alternative health groups. Logistic regressions were performed to test the hypotheses about the relationship between membership and the variables of interest. Logistic regression revealed that there is a positive association between alternative health social media group membership and 3 personal characteristics: sharing trait (B=.83, SE=.11; P<.01; odds ratio [OR] 2.30, 95% CI 1.85-2.86), fear of negative evaluations (B=.19, SE=.06; P<.001, OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.06-1.37), and conspiratorial mentality (B=.33, SE=.08; P<.01; OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.18-1.65). Also, the results indicate that there is a negative association between membership and 2 characteristics: health literacy (B=-1.09, SE=.17; P<.001; OR .33, 95% CI 0.23-0.47) and attitudes toward vaccination (B=- 2.33, SE=.09; P=.02; OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.65-0.95). However, there is no association between membership and health consciousness (B=.12, SE=.10; P=.24; OR 1.13, 95% CI 0.92-1.38). Finally, membership is negatively associated with COVID-19 vaccination status (B=-.84, SE=.17; P<.001; OR 48, 95% CI 0.32-0.62), and influenza vaccination practice (B=-1.14, SE=.17; P<.001; OR .31, 95% CI 0.22-0.45). Our findings indicate that people joining alternative health social media groups differ from nonmembers in different aspects, such as sharing, fear of negative evaluations, conspiratorial mentality, and health literacy. They also suggest that there is a significant relationship between membership and vaccination. By more thoroughly exploring the demographic, or by better understanding the people for whom interventions are designed, this study is expected to help researchers to more strategically and effectively develop and implement interventions.

Development and validation of the Parental Affection/Warmth Scale (PAWS) in a sample of parents of 2- to 8-year-olds.

Parental warmth is a treatment target of emerging interventions for children with callous-unemotional traits. However, research to date has yet to examine the empirical structure of parental warmth toward young children due to the lack of clinically feasible, psychometrically sound, and comprehensive measures of warmth for this population. To address this knowledge gap, the present study developed and tested the psychometric properties of a self-report measure of parental warmth, the Parental Affection/Warmth Scale (PAWS). A sample of 899 parents of 2- to 8-year-old children (M = 4.77 years, SD = 1.95; 46.1% girls) was recruited online using Amazon's Mechanical Turk and CloudResearch. Exploratory factor analysis identified a novel three-factor structure: Warmth, Toddler-oriented Interaction, and Play-based Interaction, which was validated by a confirmatory factor analysis. However, only the PAWS Warmth subscale functioned consistently with theoretical expectations. PAWS Warmth scores were internally consistent; convergent with existing positive parenting scales; discriminant from negative parenting scales; and concurrent with child empathy, callous-unemotional traits, and conduct problems. Findings have implications for refining treatment targets for interventions focused on enhancing parental warmth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).