Mere Exposure Research Articles

Refugee awareness of a transformative intervention to increase blood donations

PurposeThis study aims to test the efficacy of the awareness of a transformative health service communication intervention targeted to African refugees in Australia, designed to increase their intentions to participate in blood donation and reduce any identified barriers.Design/methodology/approachFollowing the intervention launch, a survey was administered to African refugees. The data were analysed with structural equation modelling.FindingsIntervention awareness increases refugees’ blood donation knowledge and intentions. Although it has no direct effect on refugees’ medical mistrust or perceived discrimination, intervention awareness indirectly reduces medical mistrust. The findings, thus, suggest that the intervention was transformative: it directly and indirectly reduced barriers to refugee participation in blood donation services.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations include a relatively small sample size, single-country context and measures that address blood donation intentions versus behaviours.Social implicationsAddressing health service inequities through intervention awareness, via the mere exposure effect, can facilitate refugees’ health service participation and inclusion.Originality/valueThis study contributes to transformative service research and responds to calls to improve individual and community well-being by testing a transformative intervention targeted towards vulnerable consumers. Not all targeted refugees donated blood, but being encouraged to participate in this health service within the host society can foster their greater inclusion.

Living Rough: An exploratory study on the vulnerabilities of rough sleepers in Birmingham, United Kingdom

The rough sleeping homeless cohort is a marginalised population that has steadily increased over the past 10 years, across the United Kingdom (UK). Understanding this type of homelessness and the vulnerabilities associated with it is crucial, as it is often misconstrued due to policy ambiguity. This article examines rough sleepers as a vulnerable cohort and explores the precursors that lead to them becoming vulnerable and subsequently victimised. The key findings revealed that rough sleepers frequently endure implicit and explicit modes of exploitation. Their implicit exploitation puts them in a position of vulnerability that affects their ability to trust the public, statutory and third sector organisations. This questions their belonging in society and forces them to establish new ties and bonds, which exposes them to additional vulnerabilities. The explicit exploitation is the mere exposure of living in the streets, which puts them at greater risk of being victimised by the public, statutory bodies and criminal groups. This article concludes by offering practical recommendations of how the issue of rough sleeping can be better addressed via multi-agency, governmental, and academic work.

When novel and familiar look alike: Testing the impact of comparison focus on familiarity and behavioural intentions towards ethnic food

People are often reluctant when it comes to approaching novel food. This behavioural tendency falls under the label of food neophobia. Prior research based on mere exposure indicated that novel foods are more likely approached when perceived as more familiar. The present paper proposes a strategy to increase the perceived familiarity of ethnic food that is not based on direct exposure, but instead, on comparative thinking. Across three pre-registered studies (n = 649), the impact of a comparison focus manipulation on familiarity, perceived closeness, and intention to try ethnic foods was tested. Participants were presented with ethnic recipes and asked to highlight the ingredients that made the recipe alike vs. different from known food. Study 1 revealed that focusing on similarities increased the perceived familiarity of an ethnic food relative to a no-comparison condition, but not to a difference condition. As the latter non-significant comparison was likely due to the specific features of the ethnic food considered, in Studies 2 and 3 a mixed design was adopted. Each participant was asked to process two different ethnic recipes, one assigned to a no-comparison focus task and the other to a comparison focus (similarity vs. difference) task. Results demonstrated that the food assigned to the comparison task increased in familiarity and perceived closeness, whereas the effect did not emerge on behavioural intentions. Crucially, this was true only when the comparison focus was on the similarities with Italian recipes. These findings provide useful insights for future research within the context of food-behaviour change.

NMR-based Metabolomics and Fatty Acid Profiles to Unravel Biomarkers in Preclinical Animal Models of Compulsive Behavior.

Compulsivity is a key manifestation of inhibitory control deficit and a cardinal symptom of psychopathological conditions such as obsessive-compulsive and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders, in which metabolic alterations have raised attention as putative biomarkers for early identification. The present study assessed the metabolic profile in a preclinical model of a compulsive phenotype of rats. We used the schedule-induced polydipsia (SIP) method to classify male Wistar rats into high drinkers (HDs) or low drinkers (LDs) according to their compulsive drinking rate developed by exposure to a fixed-time 60 s (FT-60) schedule of reinforcement with water available ad libitum during 20 sessions. Before and after SIP, blood samples were collected for subsequent serum analysis by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy coupled to multivariate analysis. Although no differences existed in the pre-SIP set, the compulsive drinking behavior induced remarkable metabolic alterations: HD rats selected by SIP exhibited a hyperlipidemic, hypoglycemic, and hyperglutaminergic profile compared with their low-compulsive counterparts. Interestingly, these alterations were not attributable to the mere exposure to reward pellets because a control experiment did not show differences between HDs and LDs after 20 sessions of pellet consumption without intermittent reinforcement. Our results shed light toward the implication of dietary and metabolic factors underpinning the vulnerability to compulsive behaviors.

Do Dolls Resemble Their Makers?

Many often say that people resemble their pets or that the faces of manga characters and Buddha statues resemble those of their artists. Previous studies demonstrated that participants could match dogs with their owners, suggesting that pets resemble their owners. Other studies also demonstrated that people can match personal belongings, including inanimate objects, to their owners. However, it is unknown whether people tend to make objects that resemble themselves. In this study, we examined whether people tend to make objects that resemble themselves with dolls made of cloth as stimuli. The results demonstrated that people tend to project themselves into dolls, even in the case of amateur college students. The mere exposure effect or the algorithm “self seeks like” may be at play in not only people’s selection of pets but also their making of objects.

Perceptions of attractions, residents as “more knowledgeable others” and destination image: Evidence from two destinations

AbstractDrawing on work on the “more knowledgeable other” (MKO) and the mere exposure theory (MET), this study envisaged that visitors' engagement and interaction with key informants, along with their perceptions of the attractions visited, affect their image of and satisfaction with the destination. Findings drawn from two studies indicate that interaction with MKOs and perceptions of attractions determine cognitive, affective, and conative image along with overall satisfaction. Events held in local attractions that promote visitors' interaction with MKOs are proposed for tourists to gain better insights to the place and its locals.

Motor imagery helps updating internal models during microgravity exposure.

Skilled movements result from a mixture of feedforward and feedback mechanisms conceptualized by internal models. These mechanisms subserve both motor execution and motor imagery. Current research suggests that imagery allows updating feedforward mechanisms, leading to better performance in familiar contexts. Does this still hold in radically new contexts? Here, we test this ability by asking participants to imagine swinging arm movements around shoulder in normal gravity condition and in microgravity in which studies showed that movements slow down. We timed several cycles of actual and imagined arm pendular movements in three groups of subjects during parabolic flight campaign. The first, control, group remained on the ground. The second group was exposed to microgravity but did not imagine movements inflight. The third group was exposed to microgravity and imagined movements inflight. All groups performed and imagined the movements before and after the flight. We predicted that a mere exposure to microgravity would induce changes in imagined movement duration. We found this held true for the group who imagined the movements, suggesting an update of internal representations of gravity. However, we did not find a similar effect in the group exposed to microgravity despite the fact that the participants lived the same gravitational variations as the first group. Overall, these results suggest that motor imagery contributes to update internal representations of the considered movement in unfamiliar environments, while a mere exposure proved to be insufficient.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Gravity strongly affects the way movements are performed. How internal models process this information to adapt behavior to novel contexts is still unknown. The microgravity environment itself does not provide enough information to optimally adjust the period of natural arm swinging movements to microgravity. However, motor imagery of the task while immersed in microgravity was sufficient to update internal models. These results show that actually executing a task is not necessary to update graviception.

Habits of collective memory.

Collective memory can generally be defined as an account of the past that is shared by members of a group and is part of their identity project. In this paper, we attempt to discuss collective memory in terms of narrative, schema, and habit, three constructs that reflect an underlying assumption that humans are "cognitive misers" who gravitate toward ways to handle large amounts of information in efficient ways. Narrative makes it possible to grasp together a series of events into a meaningful whole, and collective memory emerges when members of a group share the same narrative tools. Schemata in the form of "narrative templates" are posited underlying codes that provide insight into patterns of narratives in collective memory. Lastly, habit is what drives much of human behavior: it allows us to perform a behavior unconsciously and automatically upon mere exposure to a context cue, which in turn allows for increased ease and efficiency in everything we do. Together, narrative, schema and habit provide insight into the building blocks of collective memory and why it can be so notoriously resistant to change. While our account may raise more questions than answers, we believe that this could be a fruitful and novel approach to the study of collective memory and hope it can contribute to both theoretical discussion and practical efforts to address one of today's most vexing issues.

Mere exposure effect to Japanese kana characters: Evidence from exposure frequency outside laboratories and a cross-cultural comparison

Mere exposure effect to Japanese kana characters: Evidence from exposure frequency outside laboratories and a cross-cultural comparison

How Degrees of Vape Use Relate to Illicit Substance Use by Youth Aged 13 To 17 in The United States

Neurobiology studies on co-occurrence of nicotine and addiction indicate that nicotine primes the brain for greater likelihood of experimentation with illicit drugs and increases risk of addiction. Young people, whose brains are still developing, may experience greater and longer lasting neurobiological changes upon addiction or even mere exposure to nicotine [1]. In laboratory experiments, mice pre-exposed with nicotine via cigarette or vape demonstrated addictive behaviors around THC; however, mice pre-exposed with normal air did not demonstrate these addictive behaviors [2]. Nicotine use can also increase the rewarding feeling derived from using other mind-altering drugs; therefore, vaping itself may be a dangerous gateway that increases the propensity for other types of substance use and addiction [3].

Photo-Editing Software and the Mere Exposure Effect in Dermatology and Aesthetics.

Photo-Editing Software and the Mere Exposure Effect in Dermatology and Aesthetics.

Hedonic Preferences to Audio and Visual Stimulation in Seniors with Cognitive Impairments.

Background:Hedonic (or aesthetic) preferences to repeated sensory stimulation can remain stable over time (Island of Stability Effect, ISE) or vary with prior exposures (Mere Exposure Effect, MEE).Objective:Here we compared the liking ratings of seniors with cognitive impairments (mostly mild-to-moderate dementia, DPs) and neurotypical senior controls (CNs) to audio and visual stimuli and examined whether those ratings conformed to the ISE or the MEE predictions.Method:Participants (n = 212) rated sets of stimuli repeated three times at weekly intervals: images of Picasso’s paintings, PANTONE color cards, and avant-garde music clips.Results:The aggregated liking ratings of DPs and CNs were stable over time, in line with the ISE model. However, latent growth modeling indicated that those stable responses might have masked differences at the individual level, since seniors in both cohorts exhibited clusters of different responses over the time evaluated, supporting the predictions of the MEE. Notably, there was a dampening of hedonic experiences in DPs comparatively to CNs.Conclusion:The presence of hedonic responses (and individual variations) in DPs is relevant not only to their wellbeing and therapy interventions involving audio and visual stimulation, but also to the design of spaces that offset the downturn in hedonic experiences affecting seniors with cognitive impairments.

Evaluation of a self-fitting, shape memory polymer scaffold in a rabbit calvarial defect model

Self-fitting scaffolds prepared from biodegradable poly(ε-caprolactone)-diacrylate (PCL-DA) have been developed for the treatment of craniomaxillofacial (CMF) bone defects. As a thermoresponsive shape memory polymer (SMP), with the mere exposure to warm saline, these porous scaffolds achieve a conformal fit in defects. This behavior was expected to be advantageous to osseointegration and thus bone healing. Herein, for an initial assessment of their regenerative potential, a pilot in vivo study was performed using a rabbit calvarial defect model. Exogenous growth factors and cells were excluded from the scaffolds. Key scaffold material properties were confirmed to be maintained following gamma sterilization. To assess scaffold integration and neotissue infiltration along the defect perimeter, non-critically sized (d = 8 mm) bilateral calvarial defects were created in 12 New Zealand white rabbits. Bone formation was assessed at 4 and 16 weeks using histological analysis and micro-CT, comparing defects treated with an SMP scaffold (d = 9 mm x t = 1 or 2 mm) to untreated defects (i.e. defects able to heal without intervention). To further assess osseointegration, push-out tests were performed at 16 weeks and compared to defects treated with poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) discs (d = 8.5 mm x t = 2 mm). The results of this study confirmed that the SMP scaffolds were biocompatible and highly conducive to bone formation and ingrowth at the perimeter. Ultimately, this resulted in similar bone volume and surface area versus untreated defects and superior performance in push-out testing versus defects treated with PEEK discs. Statement of significanceCurrent treatments of craniomaxillofacial (CMF) bone defects include biologic and synthetic grafts but they are limited in their ability to form good contact with adjacent tissue. A regenerative engineering approach using a biologic-free scaffold able to achieve conformal fitting represents a potential “off-the-shelf” surgical product to heal CMF bone defects. Having not yet been evaluated in vivo, this study provided the preliminary assessment of the bone healing potential of self-fitting PCL scaffolds using a rabbit calvarial defect model. The study was designed to assess scaffold biocompatibility as well as bone formation and ingrowth using histology, micro-CT, and biomechanical push-out tests. The favorable results provide a basis to pursue establishing self-fitting scaffolds as a treatment option for CMF defects.

Visual exploration in adults: Habituation, mere exposure, or optimal level of arousal?

Exploration is one of the most powerful behaviours that drive learning from infancy to adulthood. The aim of the current study was to examine the role of novelty and subjective preference in visual exploration. To do this, we combined a visual exploration task with a subjective evaluation task, presenting novel and familiar pictures. The first goal was to ascertain whether, as demonstrated in babies, short habituation favors visual exploration of familiarity, whereas longer habituation leads to an exploration of novelty. The second goal was to evaluate the influence of familiarization on participants’ subjective evaluation of the stimuli. When presented with novel and very familiar stimuli, participants explored the novel stimuli more. In line with the optimal-level of arousal model, participants showed more positive evaluations of the semi-familiar stimuli compared with very familiar or very novel ones.

The Effects of the Healthy Primary School of the Future on Children's Fruit and Vegetable Preferences, Familiarity and Intake.

Mere exposure is an often-described strategy to increase children’s food familiarity, preferences, and intake. Research investigating this method in less controlled settings is scarce. This study investigates the effects of repeated fruit and vegetable (FV) exposure through the Healthy Primary School of the Future (HPSF) on children’s FV familiarity, preferences, and intake. The study had a longitudinal quasi-experimental design comparing two full HPSFs (focus: nutrition and physical activity) with two partial HPSFs (focus: physical activity) in the Netherlands. Annual measurements (child-reported questionnaires) were conducted during 2015–2019 in 833 7–12-year-old children. The study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02800616). After correction for baseline, full HPSFs had, on average, a lower number of unfamiliar vegetable items after one (effect size (ES) = −0.28) and three years (ES = −0.35) and a higher number of disliked vegetable items after one year (ES = 0.24) than partial HPSFs. Unfavorable intervention effects were observed for fruit intake after one (odds ratio (OR) = 0.609) and four years (OR = 0.451). Repeated FV exposure had limited effects on children’s FV familiarity, preferences, and intake, likely due to insufficient taste exposure. Considering the widespread implementation of school-based mere exposure efforts, it is highly relevant to further investigate under which circumstances mere exposure effectively contributes to improvements in (determinants of) FV intake.

Artificial fairness? Trust in algorithmic police decision-making

ObjectivesTest whether (1) people view a policing decision made by an algorithm as more or less trustworthy than when an officer makes the same decision; (2) people who are presented with a specific instance of algorithmic policing have greater or lesser support for the general use of algorithmic policing in general; and (3) people use trust as a heuristic through which to make sense of an unfamiliar technology like algorithmic policing.MethodsAn online experiment tested whether different decision-making methods, outcomes and scenario types affect judgements about the appropriateness and fairness of decision-making and the general acceptability of police use of this particular technology.ResultsPeople see a decision as less fair and less appropriate when an algorithm decides, compared to when an officer decides. Yet, perceptions of fairness and appropriateness were strong predictors of support for police use of algorithms, and being exposed to a successful use of an algorithm was linked, via trust in the decision made, to greater support for police use of algorithms.ConclusionsMaking decisions solely based on algorithms might damage trust, and the more police rely solely on algorithmic decision-making, the less trusting people may be in decisions. However, mere exposure to the successful use of algorithms seems to enhance the general acceptability of this technology.

What drives increases in hindsight impressions after the reception of biased media content?

Prior research has shown that reading biased media content (e.g., Wikipedia articles) can increase recipients' hindsight bias. It remained unclear, however, which features of the biased texts led to such an increase. We examined this question in a longitudinal experimental study (N = 190). Specifically, we tested whether repeated exposure to already known information (H₁), a more coherent presentation of the information (H₂), or the presentation of novel information (H₃) affected readers' hindsight impressions of likelihood, inevitability, and foreseeability. To this end, participants initially learned about an event by reading several short news, and, 1 week later, received one of several summarizing texts, which systematically varied in the information contained. We found empirical support for the unique effect of mere repeated exposure and receiving novel information. Since media coverage of meaningful events is usually highly repetitive but also often comprising novel information, our findings contribute to a better understanding of how hindsight bias may publicly persist or even increase over time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Bilingual adaptations in early development.

Infants raised in bilingual homes redirect attention faster than infants raised in monolingual homes. How can mere exposure to a bilingual environment affect an infant's cognitive development? The more complex language environment may drive infants to explore (gather more information from) their visual environment to facilitate learning.

Experimental manipulation of muscularity preferences through visual diet and associative learning.

Body preferences are somewhat flexible and this variability may be the result of one’s visual diet (whereby mere exposure to certain bodies shifts preferences), associative learning mechanisms (whereby cues to health and status within the population are internalised and affect body preferences), or a mixture of both visual diet and associative learning effects. We tested how these factors may drive changes in preferences for muscularity in male bodies across a male and female sample. Three studies were conducted where participants viewed manipulation images of high and/or low muscle mass males which were either aspirational (high status clothing and posture) and/or neutral (no obvious cues to status). Preferences for muscularity were recorded before and after exposure to such manipulation images to assess whether body preferences had changed following manipulation. We found evidence for both the visual diet and associative learning hypotheses. Exposure to non-muscular male bodies decreased preferences for muscular bodies irrespective of image valence. Exposure to aspirational non-muscular male bodies alongside neutral muscular male bodies also led to a decrease in muscularity preferences. Further, when manipulation conditions are less obviously skewed towards a particular body type, preferences still shifted in the direction of the most prevalent body type, suggesting that demand characteristics are unlikely to have confounded results of previous adaptation experiments with more obvious manipulations.

Efficiency and Exposure: Reconciling the Effects of Website Browsing Behaviors for Non-transactional Outcomes

Organizations invest heavily in developing and maintaining websites to meet various transactional (e.g., online purchases) and non-transactional (e.g., influencing brand attitude and disseminating product information organizational goals. In considering non-transactional outcomes—specifically brand attitude formation and information dissemination—one finds that two literature streams emerge, although they present different recommendations. First, cognitive attitude formation research recommends designing interfaces to promote an efficient experience that takes less time and requires less movement among webpages. On the other hand, the mere exposure literature recommends that longer durations and more exposure to related ideas should improve non-transactional outcomes. To understand the relationship between these two perspectives, we tested related hypotheses in a within-subjects observational experiment with a follow-up survey 10 days later. Building on theory regarding task characteristics, we also included goal-directedness as a hypothesized moderating variable. We found that more time spent on a website was associated with greater brand attitude improvement and product knowledge retention, but that more webpage views was associated with reduced product knowledge. In addition, the task type influenced the relationships between webpages viewed and brand attitude and between time spent and product knowledge retention.