Psychological Mechanisms Research Articles

Self or others? The interaction effect between benefit appeals and message sidedness on green consumption

Purpose This study aims to investigate how the effectiveness of green advertising can be improved by matching benefit appeals (self vs other) and message sidedness (one-sided vs two-sided) in consumer evaluations of green products. Design/methodology/approach Four scenario experiments and one field experiment were conducted to investigate the interaction effects of benefit appeals and message sidedness on green consumption. It aims to verify the psychological mechanisms that promote green consumption when benefit appeals and message sidedness are matched and to explore the persuasiveness of this matching on consumers with different power states engaging in green consumption. Findings Studies 1 and 4 provide evidence that when advertising conveys self-benefit appeals (vs other-benefit appeals), two-sided messages (vs one-sided messages) positively promote green consumption. Importantly, Study 2 concluded that perceived manipulative intent was the psychological mechanism underlying the interaction effects of green advertising benefit appeals and message sidedness. Studies 3 and 5 confirm that the power state plays a moderating role in these effects. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to the growing research on green marketing, especially green advertising, and advances the theoretical knowledge of how to match benefit appeal with message sidedness to promote green consumption effectively. Practical implications This study provides a more comprehensive understanding of consumer evaluations of green products under the influence of benefit appeals and message sidedness. The match between benefit appeal and message sidedness can promote green consumption. These findings can help marketers and policymakers promote green consumption by designing advertisements that match benefit appeal with message sidedness. When considering the power state’s impact, marketers should consider consumers’ high- or low-power states when selecting appropriate advertisement designs. Alternatively, they can manipulate the power state to optimise the effectiveness of advertisements. Originality/value Although previous research has focused on the difference in persuasiveness between self-benefit and other appeals, little is known about how to match green benefit appeals and message sidedness to heighten the persuasiveness of green advertising to consumers. Therefore, in this study, this paper attempts to fill this research gap by exploring how green benefit appeals and message sidedness match and how green advertising may produce better persuasion effects on green consumption.

Coping and Positive Body Image in Young Women with Breast Cancer: The Buffering Role of Social Support

Background/Objectives: Considering the unique body image challenges faced by young women with breast cancer, this study aims to deepen our understanding of how coping strategies and perceived social support contribute to fostering positive body image in this population. This is an important issue as body image is capable of influencing women’s self-esteem and psychological adaptation to breast cancer. Methods: A sample of 157 young women with breast cancer (M age = 41.43; SD = 6.05; Min 26 years, Max 50 years), 43% of whom had undergone breast reconstruction, completed an online survey. The survey included measures of coping strategies, positive body image, and perceived social support. Results: No significant differences in coping strategies, perceived social support, or positive body image were observed based on reconstruction status. Moderation analyses revealed that both avoidant and problem-focused coping were significantly associated with positive body image at moderate and high levels of perceived social support, but not at low levels of perceived social support. Perceived social support moderated the relationship between coping strategies and positive body image in women with breast cancer. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of social support in enhancing the effectiveness of both avoidant and problem-focused coping strategies in promoting positive body image. Future interventions should prioritize strengthening social support networks to optimize psychological outcomes in this population.

The Risk of Tradition-Washing: Why Communicating Traditionality Increases Green Perceptions

ABSTRACT This study addresses the phenomenon of tradition-washing where consumers may infer that food products staged to appear traditional are green due to the associations of traditionality with naturalness, healthiness, tastiness, safety or authenticity. This inference persists despite limited evidence that traditional production methods result in lower environmental impact. This study tests whether communication of traditionality activates judgments of greenness and the psychological mechanisms that may explain this effect. We also examine two boundary conditions: product category and consumer dispositional nostalgia. An online experiment with 280 participants shows that the communication of traditional production significantly enhances consumer preferences and perceptions of greenness by eliciting feelings of groundedness. The effect is greater among consumers lower in nostalgia and similar across vice and virtue product categories. This study calls attention to the risk of tradition-washing as consumers conflate traditionality with greenness perceptions. Moreover, this study extends past work on the effects of traditional production methods on consumers by showing the mediating role of feelings of groundedness: because traditionality makes consumers more grounded, they elicit product perceptions of being greener and more desirable. Our findings have practical implications for stakeholders, namely companies, policymakers and consumer organizations to attenuate the risk of tradition-washing.

A moderated mediation model of the relationship between socially responsible human resource management and employee workplace green behaviour

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to present an exploration of green intrinsic motivation’s mediating role in the relationship between socially responsible human resource management (SRHRM) and employee workplace green behaviour. Additionally, green leadership behaviour’s moderating role within this relationship is investigated.Design/methodology/approachData were collected via a survey using a convenience sampling approach with a sample of 300 employees in Vietnam. A path analysis and the bootstrapping technique in the SPSS Process macro were used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results demonstrate that employee green intrinsic motivation mediates the association between SRHRM and workplace green behaviour. Furthermore, the findings indicate that green leadership behaviour attenuates the mediation.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that managers should be aware of green intrinsic motivation’s role in encouraging employee workplace green behaviour that results from SRHRM implementation. Organisations should provide resources and enact policies to promote green intrinsic motivation and foster employees’ engagement in workplace environmental activities. Additionally, organisations must be aware of the potentially negative impact of green leadership behaviour and proactively ensure that such actions are authentic, aligned with SRHRM practices, applicable to employees’ work and administered carefully to prevent the perception of micromanagement.Originality/valueThis is the first study to examine green intrinsic motivation as the underlying psychological mechanism and green leadership behaviour as the boundary condition that affects the relationship between SRHRM and employee workplace green behaviour.

The Dark Sides of Artificial Intelligence Implementation: Examining How Corporate Social Responsibility Buffers the Impact of Artificial Intelligence‐Induced Job Insecurity on Pro‐Environmental Behavior Through Meaningfulness of Work

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the complex relationships between artificial intelligence (AI)‐induced job insecurity, meaningfulness of work (MOW), pro‐environmental behavior at work (PEBW), and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in South Korean organizations. As AI technologies increasingly permeate the workplace, understanding their impact on employee attitudes and behaviors becomes crucial for organizational sustainability efforts. Drawing on several theories, we propose and test a moderated mediation model using a three‐wave time‐lagged design with 392 employees from various South Korean corporations. Our findings reveal that AI‐induced job insecurity negatively influences PEBW through the mediating role of MOW. Contrary to initial expectations, no direct relationship was found between AI‐induced job insecurity and PEBW. Instead, AI‐induced job insecurity decreases employees' MOW, which in turn reduces their engagement in PEBW. Furthermore, we found that CSR moderates the AI‐induced job insecurity‐MOW link, such that strong CSR buffers the negative influence of AI‐induced job insecurity. These results may contribute to the literature on organizational behavior, environmental sustainability, and technological change by elucidating the psychological mechanisms linking AI‐induced job insecurity to PEBW. Our study emphasizes the crucial role of MOW in this relationship. Also, it demonstrates how CSR can function as a strategic tool to weaken the potential negative impacts of AI implementation on employee attitudes and behaviors. The findings offer meaningful implications for managers and policymakers navigating the challenges of AI integration while promoting environmental sustainability at work. By maintaining employee MOW and leveraging CSR initiatives, organizations may be better equipped to foster PEBW in the face of technological changes.

Going for Equality: How Power States Influence Consumers' Preference For Advertisements With Right‐Enhancing Versus Suffering‐Reducing Appeals

ABSTRACTThis research investigates the impact of power states on consumers' preference for brands using right‐enhancing or suffering‐reducing appeals in promoting social equality. Through six studies, the present research shows that consumers with low (vs. high) power tend to exhibit a greater preference for brands using right‐enhancing (vs. suffering‐reducing) appeals. This is because experiencing low (vs. high) power increases consumers’ support for drastic (vs. incremental) social changes to help the disadvantaged group. Additionally, this effect is found to be attenuated when consumers’ perceived social mobility is low. These findings contribute to the existing literature on cause‐related marketing by clarifying the factors and psychological mechanisms that influence consumers’ reactions to various advertising messages focused on equality. Additionally, they provide valuable practical insights for marketers, helping them design effective communication strategies tailored to consumers’ power states to promote social equality initiatives.

Modifiable Psychological Mechanisms of Resilience Among UK Trainee and Newly Qualified Teachers.

Teaching is identified as a stressful occupation, with elevated levels of burnout among the profession. Research suggests that resilience may buffer against stress and psychological distress and potentially be a useful resource for this occupational group. This research aimed to identify mechanisms associated with trainee teachers' resilience across time. Using the cognitive model of resilience, we examined interpretation bias and emotion regulation as cognitive mechanisms associated with resilience. The study investigated whether these cognitive processes have an association with trainee teachers' resilience during teacher training and in the first year as teachers in two 1-year longitudinal online studies. Study 1 commenced before COVID-19 pandemic (September 2019), but ended during ongoing pandemic-related restrictions. Study 2 was conducted as a replication study, commenced during COVID-19 (May 2020). Resilience, short-term stress, chronic perceived stress, and cognitive mechanisms (interpretation bias, emotion regulation) were assessed at baseline (during teacher training), with resilience and short-term stress monitored at the 8-month and 13-month follow-ups. Across both studies, cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships were found between perceived stress, cognitive mechanisms, and resilience. Positive interpretation bias predicted trainee teachers' resilience across time, suggesting that it is likely to be a good target for interventions to promote resilience.

Availability of community resources reduces the association among community violence exposure, negative emotionality, and substance use disorders.

Exposure to community violence is associated with increased occurrence of substance use disorders (SUD). The self-medication hypothesis states that heightened negative emotionality may underlie the link between exposure to community violence and SUD. However, it is not well-understood if access to community resources, a broader public health approach, influences the purported psychological mechanisms underlying the link between community violence exposure and SUD. We examined whether negative emotionality mediates the association between youth-onset community violence exposure and having a SUD and whether community resources (i.e., density of social services, health care services, healthy food) moderate the relationship between negative emotionality and having a SUD. Moderated mediation analyses were used to test the indirect effect of negative emotionality and the moderating role of community resources on the association between negative emotionality and having a SUD. A sample of 376 participants was collected from New Haven (ages 18-73, 45.7% Black, 44.1% White, 7.6% Hispanic). There was a significant indirect effect of negative emotionality on the association between youth-onset community violence and having a substance use disorder (indirect effect=0.22, SE=0.07, p=.001, 95% CI [0.11, 0.38]; proportion mediated=0.24). Further, increased density of community resources reduced the relationship between negative emotionality and having a substance use disorder (β=-0.23, SE=0.07, p=.001, 95% CI[-0.36, -0.10]). Increasing availability of community resources may play a role in alleviating the suffering resulting from violence exposure.

Frontopolar Cortex Interacts With Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex to Causally Guide Metacognition.

Accurate metacognitive judgments about an individual's performance in a mental task require the brain to have access to representations of the quality and difficulty of first-order cognitive processes. However, little is known about how accurate metacognitive judgments are implemented in the brain. Here, we combine brain stimulation with functional neuroimaging to determine the neural and psychological mechanisms underlying the frontopolar cortex's (FPC) role in metacognition. Specifically, we evaluate two-layer neural architectures positing that FPC enables metacognitive judgments by communicating with brain regions encoding first-order decision difficulty. In support of two-layer architectures of metacognition, we found that high-intensity transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS; 4 mA peak-to-peak) over FPC impaired metacognitive accuracy; at the neural level, this impairment was reflected by reduced coupling between FPC and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), particularly during difficult metacognitive judgments. We also evaluated conceptual accounts assuming that metacognition relies on self-directed mentalizing. However, we observed no influence of FPC tACS on mentalizing performance and only a weak overlap of the networks underlying metacognition and mentalizing. Together, our findings put the FPC at the center of a two-layer architecture that enables accurate evaluations of cognitive processes, mainly via the FPC's connectivity with regions encoding first-level task difficulty, with little contributions from mentalizing-related processes.

All or Nothing? Associations Between Binary Patterns in Cocaine Use and Potential Psychological Mechanisms of Use

All or Nothing? Associations Between Binary Patterns in Cocaine Use and Potential Psychological Mechanisms of Use

Psychological significance of name changes: A case study of (north) Macedonia's name referendum.

Multiple instances of rebranding of corporations or sports teams, or changes of personal names suggest that imposed change of symbols that people identify with leads to resistance towards the symbol change. In this paper, we examine the predictive role of sacred values, identity fusion, identification and essentialism in explaining such resistance, in a unique political context of a national referendum to change Macedonia to North Macedonia. Participants (ethnic Macedonians, N = 301) took a survey measuring these variables, along with their voting intentions and behaviour, 1 week prior to a national referendum on the name change, and again several weeks later. The results indicated that while all variables predicted negative attitudes towards the name change, only considering the name a sacred value and, to a lesser extent, being identified with the country, uniquely predicted this outcome, and only sacred values uniquely predicted voting behaviour. A large proportion of the participants were fully fused with the name "Macedonia," which may have limited its predictive value. A cross-lagged analysis suggested a potential causal path from national identification to viewing the name as sacred, essentializing it and becoming fused with it. This study is the first to examine the psychological mechanisms that drive resistance to symbol change.

Hubungan Dukungan Keluarga dengan Menstrual Distress pada Remaja Putri di Klaten

Being a teenager is like being in the middle of a big transformation from being a kid to becoming a grown-up. Lots of stuff happens during this time, including hormonal, social, psychological, and behavioral adaptations to internal pressures (stressors). Family support is the most effective support system that can help alleviate psychological pressure. In this study, the instruments used were. Family support and MEDI-Q. the research population was selected using the spearman rank. Out of 70 respondents, 18 (25,7%) had strong family support, 50 (71,45) had moderate family support, and 2 (2,9%) had weak family support. Respondents with mild menstrual distress numbered 37 (52,9%), while 31 (44,3%) experienced moderate menstrual distress, and 2 (2,9%) had severe menstrual distress. When we looked at the spearman test results, we found that there was a strong connection between how much support a girl gets from her family and how much she struggles with her period. This means that having a supportive family can make a big difference in how hard it is for a girl to deal with her period Keyword: Family support, distress symptoms, menstrual distress

Effects of acute stress on cue reactivity and implicit cognitions in online compulsive buying-shopping disorder.

There is a lack of research on the impact of acute stress on the interaction of affective and cognitive processes in online compulsive buying-shopping disorder (CBSD). Therefore, this project addressed stress response, cue reactivity, attentional bias, and implicit associations in individuals with online CBSD. Women with CBSD (n = 63) and women with non-problematic online buying-shopping (n = 64) were randomly assigned to the Trier Social Stress Test or a non-stress condition. After the stress/non-stress induction, participants performed a cue-reactivity paradigm, a dot-probe paradigm, and an implicit association task, each with addiction-related (online buying-shopping) and control (social networks) cues. Individuals with CBSD showed stronger affective responses towards the addiction-related and control cues than the control group and rated the addiction-related pictures with higher 'arousal' and 'urge' than the control images. No group differences emerged in the dot-probe paradigm and implicit association task. Acute stress showed no effect on performance in the behavioural tasks. Regression models investigating the impact of craving on the relationship between stress response and implicit cognitions within the group with CBSD were not significant. The findings demonstrate the involvement and generalization of cue reactivity in online CBSD, but do not provide support for effects of acute stress on cue reactivity, attentional bias and implicit associations. Future studies should not be restricted to women and combine laboratory and naturalistic study designs to investigate the complex psychological mechanisms in online CBSD.

It's bigger on the inside: mapping the black box of motivation.

Many motivational constructs are opaque "black boxes," and should be replaced by an explicit account of the underlying psychological mechanisms. The theory of motivational systems has begun to provide such an account. I recently contributed to this tradition with a general architecture of motivation, which connects "energization" and "direction" through the goal-setting activity of emotions, and serves as an evolutionary grounded map of motivational processes.

대학생의 학업소진과 우울에 기여하는 심리적 메커니즘 연구: 평가염려 완벽주의, 학업지연행동, 실패공포, 자기구실 만들기를 중심으로

Objectives This study aims to elucidate the psychological mechanisms underlying academic burnout and depres sion among university students. To this end, it examines a multiple mediation model in which evaluative concerns perfectionism is linked to academic burnout and depression through the mediating roles of academic pro crastination, fear of failure, and self-handicapping. Methods The study surveyed a sample of 254 South Korean university students through an online self-report questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The significance of the spe cific indirect effects was confirmed using AMOS user-defined estimands. Results First, evaluation anxiety perfectionism had a significant positive effect on procrastination behaviors, fear of failure, and self-handicapping, and procrastination behaviors had a significant positive effect on fear of failure, self-handicapping, and depression. However, the direct path from procrastination behaviors to academic burnout was not significant. Second, evaluation anxiety perfectionism significantly predicted academic burnout and de pression through fear of failure and making excuses. Third, the individual mediation effects showed that the medi ating effects of fear of failure and making excuses were significant in the relationship between evaluation anxiety perfectionism and academic burnout. Finally, the mediating effects of procrastination behavior and fear of failure on the relationship between evaluation anxiety perfectionism and depression were significant, while the media ting effect of self-handicapping was not significant. Conclusions This study emphasizes the importance of examining evaluative concerns perfectionism, academic procrastination, fear of failure, and self-handicapping in tandem when seeking to understand the development of academic burnout and depression. Moreover, it implies that to effectively lower levels of academic burnout and depression, it is preferable to target maladaptive emotional and cognitive strategies associated with these con ditions, rather than focusing directly on the relatively stable personality traits.

The effects of childhood environment on problematic social media use in adulthood: the mediation of metacognitions about social media use

ABSTRACT The prevalence of problematic social media use (PSMU), along with its adverse consequences, continues to rise in various populations. This study tested the effects of childhood environment on PSMU and examined the role of behavior-specific metacognitions and frequency of social media use in mediating that relationship in the general adult population. This study’s probability sample of 501 adult residents (35.7% male) in Macao, China, aged 18–87 years (M age = 42.10, SD = 17.09), voluntarily completed an anonymous telephone survey. Path analysis results showed that positive and negative metacognitions mediated the effects of childhood socioeconomic status and unpredictability on PSMU. Frequency of use mediated the relationship between negative metacognitions and PSMU. This study was the first to demonstrate that behavior-specific metacognitions, especially the negative one, are associated with childhood environment, elucidating an important psychological mechanism that explains social media use and addiction in adulthood. Altering metacognitions of social media use can be considered in PSMU interventions.

The impact of social exclusion on experiential sports consumption: the chain mediating roles of loneliness and the need for social connection

IntroductionWith the advancement of the social economy, sports consumption has shifted from traditional material-based purchases to experiential sports consumption, emphasizing psychological engagement and emotional fulfillment. However, the psychological mechanisms behind experiential sports consumption remain underexplored, especially in the context of social exclusion.MethodsThis study is grounded in social exclusion theory, constructing a conceptual model where social exclusion is the independent variable, experiential sports consumption intention is the dependent variable, and loneliness and the need for social connection serve as mediators. A survey was conducted with 415 valid responses, and data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and the Bootstrap method to examine the relationships among the variables.ResultsThe findings indicate that social exclusion significantly and positively predicts the intention to engage in experiential sports consumption. It also has a significant positive effect on loneliness and the need for social connection. However, loneliness does not mediate the relationship between social exclusion and experiential sports consumption intention, while the need for social connection does. Furthermore, a chain mediation effect exists between loneliness and the need for social connection in the relationship between social exclusion and experiential sports consumption intention.DiscussionThese results suggest that sports organizations and enterprises should design socially engaging activities that strengthen social connections and alleviate feelings of exclusion. This study enriches the theoretical understanding of social exclusion and its impact on experiential sports consumption, providing practical insights for enhancing social inclusion through sports.

Role of Coping Behavior Strategies and Psychological Defense Mechanisms in the Formation of the Youth’s Propensity to Make Irrational Purchases

Role of Coping Behavior Strategies and Psychological Defense Mechanisms in the Formation of the Youth’s Propensity to Make Irrational Purchases

The Roles of Cognitive and Affective Factors on Employees’ Current and Future Pro‐Environmental Behaviors

ABSTRACTThe current study investigated the cognitive and affective factors driving employees’ pro‐environmental behaviors (PEBs) in organizations to address a critical gap in sustainability research. Specifically, the roles of anticipated guilt, subjective norms (SNs), and the warm glow effect in shaping current and future green behaviors were examined through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM). The findings demonstrated that anticipated guilt was the strongest predictor of PEBs, followed by SNs. The warm glow effect was also revealed to partially mediate the relationship between current and future PEBs, which offered alternative insights into the long‐term sustainability of green practices. Resultantly, the findings contributed to the theory of planned behavior and provided practical implications for organizations seeking to foster employees’ continuous environmental commitment while advancing the understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying sustained workplace PEBs.

Randomized studies in China show that studying and promoting civic honesty needs to consider local norms

Civic honesty is a crucial behavior that policymakers and business leaders strive to promote among citizens and employees. We conducted online and field experiments in China adapting the setting of a recent research which employed an innovative design to study civic honesty behavior around the globe. Results show that the psychological mechanism underlying lost-wallet reporting behavior in China is somewhat different from what has been suggested in the literature. Chinese participants indicated they are significantly more likely to put WeChat than email as contact information on their lost items, corroborating a local norm in China that email is infrequently used by ordinary Chinese citizens. Moreover, we tested multiple behavioral interventions in the field. Aiding a lost-property finder to connect to an owner using WeChat led to a reporting rate of 59.3% (vs. 7% as shown in a recent research that used email as the communication means; note that due to differences in experimental designs, no direct comparison of these reporting rates should be made however). Our research suggests that interacting with citizens from a targeted population to formulate locally informed research questions and design may be crucial for understanding and promoting civic honesty behavior.