Non-student Sample Research Articles

Cross-cultural comparisons of social penetration on reality dating television: A look at First Dates UK and First Dates South Africa

Research into the initiation of romantic relationships through first dates has aided in a deeper understanding into the important norms that make for a successful first romantic encounter through variables such as the role of attachment, attractiveness and goals involved in these encounters. Yet there remains an underappreciation of the communicative processes in the social dynamics across different cultural contexts in these first romantic encounters using non-student samples. Of particular importance is the role of how partners balance the information needs of presenting themselves as a suitable partner while simultaneously assessing the suitability of their date as a potential mate. By doing so, a social exchange paradigm is often implemented in the process to find love. Through social penetration theory (SPT) as a predictive lens, I compare how couples on the first seasons of (n = 12) and (n = 10) moved through the stages of intimacy as a result of mutual communication. Textual analysis suggests that cultural variation in the communicative act of self-disclosure was less of a predictor than was the desire to form an intimate bond.

Does student sampling impact our understanding of argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness?

Student samples are regularly used in research. While student samples are convenient and easy to access, the use of such samples has been criticized for exposing theories and research to internal validity threats, as students are not representative of the general population. Using argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness as contexts for analysis, this study explores the extent to which student and non-student samples differ in published empirical research. We found that in the case of the original verbal aggression and argumentativeness measures, sample type did not moderate the means among argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness studies. We discuss the implications of these findings in terms of student vs. non-student samples.

Procrastination and Health in Nurses: Investigating the Roles of Stress, Health Behaviours and Social Support.

Objectives: Evidence linking chronic procrastination to a range of poor health outcomes and trajectories continues to build. Yet, much of this research has been conducted in academic contexts or in non-student samples. Despite theory indicating that high-stress contexts increase vulnerability for procrastination, the pathways linking chronic procrastination to health outcomes proposed by the procrastination-health model have not been examined in a high stress environment. Accordingly, we tested the contribution of procrastination to health in nurses and whether social support was a protective factor. Design: Pre-registered cross-sectional study using a random sample of nurses recruited from the membership of a regional nursing association, supplemented by nurses and nurse trainees recruited from online nursing associations, conferences and forums. Methods: Nurses and nurse trainees (N = 597) completed measures of chronic procrastination, stress, health behaviours, social support and self-rated health. Results: Chronic procrastination was associated with perceived stress, health behaviours, self-rated health and social support in the expected directions. Consistent with the procrastination-health model, structural equation modelling revealed significant indirect effects linking chronic procrastination to poor self-rated health through higher stress and fewer health behaviours. Contrary to our hypotheses, social support did not moderate these pathways. Conclusions: This study is the first to demonstrate the relevance of procrastination for health in high-stress, non-academic contexts and to find support for both the stress and behavioural pathways linking procrastination to poor health outcomes. Findings further highlight the importance of addressing chronic procrastination as a vulnerability factor for poor health in nurses.

Testing a policy intervention in the lab: differences between students and non-students in switching bank accounts

The reliance on student samples has long been a subject of debate in experimental approaches to studying behaviour. We contribute to this discussion by looking at differences in financial behaviour between a student and a non-student sample in three sets of lab experiments conducted in Spain, Germany and Poland (n=857). Participants from both samples switched more often and made better financial decisions after they received a message encouraging them to switch financial service providers. While the size of the effect on switching frequency was comparable between the two samples, the effect on switching quality was significantly stronger on non-students. Further analysis suggests this is due to a better performance of students before the prompt leaving less room for improvement by the reminder. Results suggest that experimental evidence derived from students should be generalized with caution.

A Helpful Measure to Measure Help: The Construction and Validation of the Intergroup Giving and Intergroup Acting in Favor of Refugees Scale (IGIAF)

Since 2015, Europe has experienced two important influxes of vulnerable migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Despite heterogenous reactions within and across countries, acts of humanitarianism and solidarity have occurred in a diverse range of behaviors. Given the particularities of Intergroup Helping in favor of refugees, a more nuanced understanding of intentions to engage in helping behaviors would enrich theoretical and applied research. We developed and validated a scale of Intergroup Helping in favor of refugees, that covers the two dimensions of help, i.e., Intergroup Giving (alleviating the suffering of others) and Intergroup Acting (addressing injustices and inequalities). Following scale construction practices, we proceeded in three phases. First, we identified and defined our domains of interest, and proceeded to collect representative helping behaviors, using secondary data of semi-structured interviews on volunteers. These behaviors were pre-tested. Then, across two studies, we examined the scale’s reliability, dimensionality, and validity qualities. Study 1 was distributed among a student sample at two time-points. Results yielded robust internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and predictive validity, and displayed preliminary evidence of the bidimensional structure. Study 2 was distributed among a non-student sample and supported the bidimensional structure of the scale. This research demonstrates that Intergroup Helping intentions in favor of refugees can be classified into Intergroup Giving and Intergroup Acting behaviors and offers a predictive tool to investigate these behaviors in an intergroup context.

To whom do people reply in comment sections? Effects of attitude (un)congeniality, age, confidence, and knowledge

Phenomena like echo chambers and societal polarization have often been linked to an individual preference for like-minded information (selective exposure). This view has been challenged recently: behavior on comment sections in online forums suggests the opposite dynamic, with users more likely to reply to attitudinally uncongenial content. Three experimental studies (total N = 1524) explore boundary conditions of this uncongeniality bias by measuring participants’ tendency to reply to comments on climate science. Studies 1 (student sample) and 2 (non-student sample) replicate the uncongeniality bias. However, Study 3 (representative for age and gender in Germany) yielded a surprising congeniality bias (a preference for replying to congenial comments) which was driven by participants with higher age. Further results across studies suggest that high confidence increases engagement (general likelihood to reply) but reduces antagonism (likelihood to reply to uncongenial content). Conversely, high knowledge reduces engagement but increases the uncongeniality bias.

Higher education enrollment as a risk factor for somnolence and hypersomnolence

This study aimed to compare the prevalence of somnolence and hypersomnolence between a higher education student and non-student sample. Hershner and Chervin [Hershner in Nat sci sleep 10.2147/NSS.S62907, 2014] defined somnolence as lapses into drowsiness, consequently leading to the inability to maintain alertness. This definition aligns with the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's (AASM) definition [Berry in Am Acad Sleep Med 176:2012, 2012]. Hypersomnolence differs from this, as suggested by Lammers et al. [Lammers in Sleep Med Rev 52, 101306, 2020], and refers to the experience of excessive daytime sleepiness. It is commonly observed that individuals enrolled in higher education courses often experience somnolence and hypersomnolence; however, it is currently unclear whether this is more prevalent in students compared to the general population. An online survey was administered to 202 participants measuring somnolence, hypersomnolence, sleep quality, sleep efficiency, sleep disturbance, sleep duration, circadian preference, and daytime dysfunction. 94 participants were non-students, and 108 were enrolled in higher education. Significant differences were found between student and non-student samples for somnolence but not for hypersomnolence. Furthermore, within the non-student sample a multiple linear regression demonstrated that hypersomnolence was predicted by daytime dysfunction. The results suggest that there are differences in the predictors of somnolence and hypersomnolence between a student and non-student sample. Consequently, this study highlights that students experience hypersomnolence and somnolence differently to their non-student counterparts. Thus, warranting the need for further investigating within this unique population.

Social entrepreneurial role models’ influence on social entrepreneurial self-efficacy, social entrepreneurial intent, and social entrepreneurial action in South Africa: the moderating role of moral obligation

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how social entrepreneurial role models influence social entrepreneurial self-efficacy, social entrepreneurial intent and social entrepreneurial action, with moral obligation as a moderator.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional survey of 261 pupils in the South African province of the Eastern Cape was used in the research study. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypotheses.FindingsThe research revealed that having social entrepreneurial role models has a positive impact on both social entrepreneurial self-efficacy and social entrepreneurial intent. In addition, a connection was found between social entrepreneurial intent and entrepreneurial action. The influence of moral obligation was found to be a positive and a significant moderator. Moreover, the association between social entrepreneurial role models and social entrepreneurial intent was mediated by social entrepreneurial self-efficacy.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are not generalizable to nonstudent samples because students constituted the sample for gathering data. Future study therefore requires considering nonstudents to generalize the outcomes. This research should be replicated in other South African provinces and other developing countries for comparative outcomes.Practical implicationsSince social entrepreneurial role models have been practically linked to social entrepreneurship intent and entrepreneurial efficacy, understanding the factors that influence student’s decision to start a social enterprise is critical in South Africa to develop targeted interventions aimed at encouraging young people to start new businesses. Policymakers, society and entrepreneurial education will all benefit from the findings.Originality/valueThis study contributes to bridging the knowledge gap as it investigates how social entrepreneurial role models influence social entrepreneurial self-efficacy, social entrepreneurial intent and social entrepreneurial action, with moral obligation as a moderator. Encouraging social entrepreneurship among South African youth would also help address societal issues. This is a pioneering study in the context of an emerging economy such as South Africa, where social entrepreneurship is so integral.

Celebrity co‐creator or celebrity endorser? Exploring mediating and moderating factors in Marcom decision

AbstractThe present research delves into the concept of celebrity co‐creation from the consumer behavior perspective. It explores the impact of the degree of a celebrity's involvement with a brand (celebrity as an endorser vs. celebrity as a co‐creator) on consumers' advertisement and brand‐based evaluations (Study 1) and purchase behavior (Study 2). The research subsequently incorporates the mediating effects of consumers' perceived risk (Study 3) and the moderating effect of celebrity expertise (Study 4) in the relationships. Three of the four studies were controlled experiments among nonstudent samples (combined n = 486), while one was a field study. Major findings indicate that a celebrity co‐creator is more effective than a celebrity endorser, but both cases of celebrity presence are more effective than the control (Studies 1 and 2). This effect is observed to be mediated by the consumers' perceived risk (Study 3) and moderated by the celebrity's expertise (Study 4). The present research provides a new direction to value co‐creation research from the communications perspective and adds to the literature on celebrity endorsements.

Theories of reasoning and focal point play with a matched non-student sample

We present a coordination game experiment testing the robustness of the predictive power of level-k reasoning and team reasoning in a sample of Chinese tax administrators that is matched for likely socio-economic characteristics with our student sample. We show how the incidence of coordination game play is virtually identical between Chinese tax administrators and university students. However, compared to non-students, students are more attracted by the focal point when this offers equal payoffs while the other equilibria do not. Evidence from an additional experiment suggests that this could be because payoff equality promotes team reasoning more effectively among students.

A review of the effect of alcohol hangover on attention and memory

Alcohol hangover (AH) refers to adverse mental and physical symptoms after a heavy consumption of alcoholic drinks, which had a significant effect on socioeconomic development and drew a huge amount of interest among psychologists in recent years. Studies found that AH mainly affected peoples cognitive performances, especially memory and attention functioning, while the findings in this field were controversial. This paper aimed to review the articles and examine the effects of AH on attention and memory by focusing on their cognitive subdomains and different study designs to find explanations for their inconsistent results. The review article showed that among attention functioning, psychologists found consistent damaging effects of AH on selective attention and sustained attention behaviors whereas the effects of divided attention performance were inconsistent. Moreover, insufficient attentional resources were regarded as the mechanism of divided attention deficit during the AH state. Among studies of memory functioning, the encoding phase was believed to be a significant factor for impaired retrospective memory performance during the AH state compared with the retrieval phase, while the effect of the memory retrieval process was not clearly tested during AH. In addition, the AH state also negatively affected the prospective memory ability to implement behaviors at a specific future time or place. The distinct study methodologies (laboratory vs. naturalistic studies; within-subject vs. between-subject design; student vs. non-student sample) were suggested to be the contributors to these conflicting results.

Perspective-taking with affected others to promote climate change mitigation.

Prior evidence suggests that perspective-taking may promote pro-environmental behavior, at least for low-cost behaviors or local environmental problems. Climate change, however, requires costly mitigation efforts and is a global problem. Thus, in this study, we examine whether perspective-taking in the context of climate change is effective in promoting mitigation behaviors, including actual and/or costly behaviors, the mechanisms through which perspective-taking works, and if the distance to the person adversely affected by climate change matters for the effect. We conducted an online experiment with a non-student sample from Germany (n = 557), utilizing a 2 × 2 factorial design, to investigate the impact of perspective-taking and distance on three outcome measures: a climate donation, signing a petition, and approval of mitigation policies. We find that perspective-taking does not promote these mitigation behaviors, yet it raises the degree perspective-takers value and - for close others - feel connected with the affected person. Exploratory analysis shows that dispositional perspective-taking and empathic concern are correlated with mitigation behaviors.

Chronic Stress, Hair Cortisol, and Risky Decision-Making Processes in Young Adults

Components of risky decision making, such as risk perception, risk aversion, and risk taking may be impacted by chronic stress. Research suggests college students report higher chronic stress than non-student peers, however, it is unclear how the chronic stress of the pandemic may have differentially impacted these groups. Predicting risky decision making requires a nuanced understanding of how the experience and physiology of chronic stress impact choice cognitions. We assessed chronic stress, risk perception, risk aversion, and risk taking in 18-25 year old university students (N = 141) and age-matched non-student peers (N = 142). A subsample of university students (N = 57) provided hair samples to measure cortisol concentrations. We administered self-report chronic stress scales, the Domain Specific Risk Taking scale to assess risk cognitions, and the Balloon Analogue Risk Task to assess risk-taking. Contrary to previous research, non-students reported greater chronic stress and exhibited lower risk taking behavior compared to college students. Regardless of student status, higher self-reported chronic stress correlated with greater risk perception and lower risk aversion. Hair cortisol concentration was not related to either risk cognitions or risky behavior. Chronic stress influences decision making cognitions among young adults. The non-student sample reported more stress than university students, perhaps due to the economic and societal upheaval during the pandemic. Hair cortisol concentration was unrelated to chronic stress or decision making. Cortisol levels are influenced by many factors beyond chronic stress; it’s dysregulation may be reflected in both hyper- and hypo-reactivity.

The Role of Trust and Distrust in the Relationship between Corporate Social Irresponsibility and Boycott Intentions: A Parallel Mediation Analysis

Several boycotts have demonstrated that stakeholders can effectively force even large companies to abandon harmful activities. However, people do not always join boycotts, even in the case of severely egregious corporate behaviour. Thus, our understanding of this substantive form of ethical consumption is limited. To extend the knowledge about the process that leads to boycotting, this study examines the role of trust and distrust in the corporate culprits as two distinct mediators between an irresponsibility appraisal of corporate action and boycotting intentions. The conceptual model is tested on data from a survey conducted on a non-student sample. The research findings show that distrust in the transgressing firm fully mediates the relationship between perceived irresponsibility of corporate behaviour and consumer propensity to boycott such organisations. In other words, this research suggests that predictions about future irresponsible corporate behaviour (i.e. distrust) are key to convincing consumers to punish the corporate culprit

The station scientist: Examining the impact of race and sex of broadcast meteorologists on credibility, trust, and information retention

Broadcast meteorologists hold a set of skills unique in a newsroom. Not only must a broadcast meteorologist utilize communication skills similar to that of a newscaster, they are also typically versed in some physical science. In addition, the field of meteorology has an unfortunate disparity when examining job statistics as they relate to race and biological sex. Generally speaking, men outnumber women in broadcast television positions three to one, and minorities are often outnumbered or excluded from coverage altogether. Drawing on Uses and Gratifications and Media System Dependency Theory, this project examined the effects of race and biological sex on the audience perceptions of forecaster trust, credibility, and information retention. Two experiments were conducted, and analysis of variance was utilized to examine the hypotheses and research questions. The first experiment tested the manipulations of forecaster race and sex in the form of a mock weather hit – using a student sample. The results generally suggest that there are mixed findings for the effects of forecaster race and sex on the dependent variables of trust, credibility, and information retention. The second experiment tested the same two manipulations from experiment one on a non-student sample. The results are discussed in terms of how individuals may perceive forecasters given their race, sex, or degree level, and the potential implications for processing information or forming attitudes and decisions based off this behavior.

A Meta-Analysis Comparing the Effectiveness of Narrative vs. Statistical Evidence: Health vs. Non-Health Contexts

ABSTRACT This study is a meta-analysis of primary studies that make a direct comparison between narrative and statistical evidence in both health- and non-health-related communication contexts. The meta-analysis included 50 studies with 65 experimental pairs (k = 65) based on 13,113 (20–1270) participants. We examined the overall persuasiveness of evidence type by computing the correlations (r’s) for all pairs, based on the random-effects model, which revealed an effect size of 0.016 (95% CI, −0.014 to 0.045, p = 0.296). Two types of evidence did not significantly differ in effectiveness under either communicative context. The moderation analysis indicated that narrative evidence had a significant advantage over statistical evidence for health messages advocating for prevention behaviors. Compared to non-student samples, the narrative evidence trumped statistical evidence for health-related issues. As communication research continues to investigate the implications for message persuasiveness derived by narrative and statistical appeals, our study suggests that the relative effectiveness is likely a complicated and nuanced matter. Practical implications and limitations have also been outlined.

Psychometric evaluation of the inventory of dimensions of emerging adulthood (IDEA) in China

Background/ObjectiveEmerging adulthood (EA, age range between 18 to 29 years) is an important developmental stage that is characterized by marked social and psychological changes. Currently, its developmental features are quantified by the Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA) but a validated Chinese version of this questionnaire (IDEA-C) is lacking. Thus, this research, which consists of two consecutive studies, aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the translated IDEA in a Chinese sample of emerging adults. MethodFirstly, a forward-backward translation of the IDEA-C scale was conducted. Item analysis and exploratory factor analysis were performed in Sample 1a (n = 2438), followed by structural validity test in Sample 1b (n = 2461). Concurrent validity and internal consistency were evaluated in Sample 1(n = 4899). Finally, test-retest reliability was tested in Sample 2 (n = 185). Then, the second study aimed to test the factor structure proposed by study 1 in the non-student sample (n = 2200) by confirmatory factor analysis. In addition, the second study also investigated whether the attainment of college education influenced the EA experience of non-student emerging adults in China. And the association was examined between the socioeconomic status of emerging adults and the subscales of IDEA. ResultsIn the college sample, the IDEA-C scale presented a four-factor structure different from the original five-factor structure (χ2(190)=1116.84, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.97; TLI = 0.96; SRMR = 0.039; RMSEA = 0.050 [90%CI=0.047-0.052]). In addition, IDEA-C exhibited good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha >0.77), test-retest reliability (r>0.49, p < 0.01) and concurrent validity. And the CFA in non-student sample also showed an adequate fit indices (χ2(158) =710.10, p < 0.001, TLI=0.93, CFI=0.94, SRMR=0.038, RMSEA=0.04 [90%CI=0.037-0.040]) and an adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha >0.64) and test-retest reliability (r>0.43, p < 0.01). ConclusionThe results of the present study confirmed that the Chinese version of the IDEA is found to be valid for measuring psychological characteristics of EA in Chinese-speaking samples of emerging adults.

Association between fear of COVID-19 and hoarding behavior during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating role of mental health status.

Hoarding behavior can effectively improve people's ability to resist risks, so as to reduce the negative effects of risks. However, excessive hoarding behavior will seriously reduce people's quality of life. The COVID-19 pandemic can cause excessive hoarding in a large number of people in a short period of time, and also cause a series of economic problems such as social material shortage. It is unclear how hoarding levels are linked to fear and negative emotions caused by COVID-19 among people of different educational backgrounds and social status. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and hoarding behavior in different populations in school and social contexts, as well as the mediating role of negative emotions and the moderating role of subjective/objective social status and education level in this process. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted in various provinces in China in January 2022. Demographic information, the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status, the Fear of COVID-19 scale, the Depression Anxiety Stress-21, and the Saving Inventory-Revised were used to evaluate the severity of individual hoarding symptoms, the frequency of hoarding, the degree of fear, and the negative emotions (depression, anxiety, stress) caused by COVID-19. Research data showed that fear of COVID-19 was significantly correlated with hoarding behavior (p < 0.05). Fear of COVID-19 was significantly lower in the student sample than in the nonstudent sample (p < 0.05). Negative emotions played a mediating role in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and hoarding behavior (p < 0.05). Educational and economic levels moderated this process, but social status did not. Compared with the student sample, educational background and income had less of a moderating effect on the depression, anxiety, and stress caused by fear of COVID-19 in the nonstudent sample. However, these factors had a more regulative effect on the clutter and excessive acquisition behavior caused by depression, anxiety, and stress, although not on difficulty discarding. These findings suggest that reduce negative emotions in the population, improve cognitive levels, and provide financial support from governments may be effective ways to reduce hoarding symptoms.

Free tumbler in Snapchat vs coffee tasting ticket in Instagram: the impact of gift type and message type on B2C gift-giving on different social media platforms

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the differential effects of the type of gift (material vs experiential) offered on Snapchat and Instagram (Study 1) and how the impacts of gift type and message type (informational vs emotional) vary by the two different image-sharing social media platform in a business-to-consumer (B2C) gift-giving context (Study 2).Design/methodology/approachStudy 1 used a two (social media: Snapchat vs Instagram) by two (gift type: material vs experiential) between-subject factorial design, whereas Study 2 used a two (social media: Snapchat vs Instagram) by two (gift type: material vs experiential) by two (message type: informational vs emotional) between-subject factorial design. A series of analyses of covariance was conducted to test the suggested hypotheses.FindingsStudy 1 demonstrated that the promotion of material gifts was more effective on Snapchat than on Instagram, while the promotion of experiential gifts was more effective on Instagram than on Snapchat. Study 2 showed that the impacts of gift type and message type varied by social media platform. The promotion of an experiential gift with an emotional ad appeal was found to be more effective on Instagram than on Snapchat, while the promotion of a material gift using an informational ad appeal was found to be more effective on Snapchat than on Instagram.Research limitations/implicationsThis research used a college student sample for the experiments. However, to extend the generalizability of the results, it is recommended that future experiments be conducted with nonstudent samples. Also, the current research manipulated the two different social media conditions, Snapchat vs Instagram, by enforcing participants to use their social media and then provided experimental stimuli in a different screen from their social media account. If the stimuli were distributed through participants’ real social media account, the external validity of this research could be enhanced. Finally, future research should apply this framework to other countries with different social media platforms to confirm the generalizability of the study’s findings.Practical implicationsThis research can thus contribute to the development of new guidelines for planning social media marketing in the business gift-giving context. By leveraging findings that the fit effect of gift types and advertising appeals differs based on social media platform, practitioners can create a more effective social media plan for their advertising campaigns. Given that copywriting and media plans are among the most important and difficult work in the business of advertising, this study’s findings would assist advertising practitioners in planning and executing the most effective advertising campaigns.Originality/valueThe findings of this study provide valuable insights for the development of effective brand promotion strategies for B2C gift-giving via social media.

Attitude Towards Marketing Surveys: The Comparison of Student and Non-Student Samples

Using student samples in marketing research is a debated issue. This study aims to test the differences in attitude towards surveys and marketing surveys between student and non-student samples, the variation differences in attitude towards surveys and marketing surveys between student and non-student sample, the differences among sample groups by means of the impact of different types of promised incentive. The sample of the study consists of two convenient sample groups (student and non-student samples). The survey was applied online and face-to-face to randomly selected 94 college students and 90 non-student individuals. The results demonstrate that there is a difference in attitude towards surveys but not for marketing surveys. While results measuring survey value results are mixed, there is no difference in variation of attitude towards marketing surveys for student and non-student samples. Also, no significant differences exist for the incentives related to the attitude towards marketing surveys.&nbsp;