Social Psychological Bulletin最新文献

The authors use infrared thermography measurements of skin temperature to non-invasively assess the heat production of Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT). In species other than humans, BAT has been linked to maternal care, and may thus be crucial for understanding differences in attachment security. Whereas early BAT research measured its relative presence in the human body through radioactive tracers, researchers have recently used infrared thermography measurement of skin temperature in cold conditions to study BAT thermogenesis outside of medical facilities. Infrared thermography relies on comparing skin temperature in the supraclavicular region (where a BAT depot is located) with skin temperature in the sternal region (which contains no BAT depots) in cold conditions, when the supraclavicular BAT depot produces heat. We replicated an infrared thermography protocol, which previously reported an increase of 0.2 °C in supraclavicular (vs. sternal) skin temperature in cold (vs. control) conditions in only 7 adults, which probably led to overestimation of the effect. With a much larger sample size (N = 94 young adults) and a similar protocol, we did not find any significant variation in relative, Cohen’s d = 0.10, 95% CI [-0.31, 0.50], or absolute supraclavicular skin temperature, Cohen’s d = 0.11, 95% CI [-0.30, 0.52]. Using conditional random forests, we also excluded a variety of alternative explanations for why the method failed to achieve an effect. This protocol of infrared thermography cannot measure BAT thermogenesis and is thus not recommended for future studies to study individual differences in attachment.

Even when perception of risks such as earthquakes is high, preparation is generally low. Previous research shows relatively minor changes in the framing of target issues can impact decisions. In the area of risk, the terms “natural hazards” and “natural disasters” are used inconsistently. Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour as a framework, we conducted an online experiment with a large community sample from Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand (N = 604) to examine possible framing effects. Half of the participants were asked about their attitudes and intentions regarding preparing for natural hazards and half about natural disasters. We found few significant differences in mean factor scores between the two groups, suggesting that people have attitudes and perceptions of similar strength for both natural hazards and natural disasters. However, half of the factors in structural equation modelling differed in significance or valence between the two conditions and intentions to prepare were positively associated with information-seeking behaviour only for the natural hazards frame, not the natural disaster frame. These findings suggest that the way in which these issues are framed meaningfully impacts how intentions form and translate to actual behaviour. It is possible that participants understood disaster as manifested, devastating impacts of a natural event rather than the potential for impact implied by the term hazard. Such interpretations could influence perceptions of preventability, and therefore preparation. These findings have critical implications for public information campaigns and interventions aimed at increasing preparedness for the risk posed by natural hazards.