Winning the Battle but Losing the War: Ironic Effects of Training Consumers to Detect Deceptive Advertising Tactics

Misleading information pervades marketing communications, and is a long-standing issue in business ethics. Regulators place a heavy burden on consumers to detect misleading information, and a number of studies have shown training can improve their ability to do so. However, the possible side effects have largely gone unexamined. We provide evidence for one such side-effect, whereby training consumers to detect a specific tactic (illegitimate endorsers), leaves them more vulnerable to a second tactic included in the same ad (a restrictive qualifying footnote), relative to untrained controls. We update standard notions of persuasion knowledge using a goal systems approach that allows for multiple vigilance goals to explain such side-effects in terms of goal shielding, which is a generally adaptive process by which activation and/or fulfillment of a low-level goal inhibits alternative detection goals. Furthermore, the same goal systems logic is used to develop a more general form of training that activates a higher-level goal (general skepticism). This more general training improved detection of a broader set of tactics without the negative goal shielding side effect.

A PROTOCOL STUDY FOR THE INVESTIGATION OF CHEMICALLY-ASSISTED PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT IN FOUR DOMAINS

Chemically-assisted performance enhancement (CAPE), which involves the use of substances in order to prevent illness or improve performance and appearance, is a recent trend of our society. CAPE has been extensively investigated in competitive sports, however, there is only limited evidence with respect to other life domains such as work and study. The objective of the present paper is to describe the protocol of a study that will address the above-mentioned gaps in the literature. The study involves a longitudinal evaluation of predictive factors derived from the Theory of Triadic Influence and Goal Systems Theory. The study aims to: a) propose a sound and comprehensive theoretical model that will include the commonalities of the manifestation of CAPE behaviours across different settings and b) highlight the conceptual differences that are necessary to be taken into account for tailor-made intervention in these settings. The study is expected to assist in the development of a comprehensive understanding of performance enhancement behaviours across different life domains. The longitudinal design of the study and the breadth of the measured variables are considered as an asset that will contribute to understanding commonalities and conceptual differences in performance enhancement behaviours across different life domains and provide the evidence base for tailor-made intervention in these domains.

A goal-systems perspective on plant-based eating: keys to successful adherence in university students

Objective:To explore adherence to a plant-based diet from the perspective of goals- and motivations-based systems.Design:A cross-sectional, survey-based study was conducted regarding eating patterns, goals and motivations for current eating habits.Setting:Data were collected using an online survey platform, including the Goal Systems Assessment Battery (GSAB) and other survey tools.Participants:University students were recruited, including thirty-three students reporting successful maintenance of a plant-based diet (Adherents) and sixty-three students trying to adhere to a plant-based diet (Non-adherents).Results:Using GSAB subscale scores, discriminant function analyses significantly differentiated adherents v. non-adherents, accounting for 49·0 % of between-group variance (χ2 (13) = 42·03, P < 0·000). It correctly classified 72·7 % of adherents and 88·9 % of non-adherents. Constructs including value, self-efficacy, planning/stimulus control and positive affect were significant and included in the discriminant function. Logistic regression results suggested that participants who successfully adhered to a plant-based diet were seventeen times more likely to report ‘To manage or treat a medical condition’ as motivation and almost seven times more likely to report ‘To align with my ethical beliefs’ as motivation compared with non-adherents. However, these participants were 94 % less likely to report ‘To maintain and/or improve my health’ as motivation compared with non-adherents. Controlling for motivations, hierarchical logistic regression showed that only planning as part of the GSAB self-regulatory system predicted adherence to a plant-based diet.Conclusions:Values-based approaches to plant-based diets, including consideration for ethical beliefs, self-efficacy and proper planning, may be key for successful maintenance of this diet long-term.

Motivational Perspectives on Chronic Pain

This edited volume is the first to present a cohesive account of adaptation to chronic pain from a motivational perspective. Across the 15 chapters, scholars from diverse domains of psychology explore the multileveled and bidirectional nature of pain and motivation, drawing from a broad array of constructs, including self-regulation, goal systems, cognitive control, attention, conflict, interpersonal processes, coping, conditioning, and stress reactivity. Also addressed is the relation between pain and psychopathology, the nature of pain-affect dynamics, and the neural mechanisms underlying the pain experience. Applied considerations are presented in chapters on Motivational Interviewing, ACT, Internet-based methods, and related clinical topics. Our volume provides an up-to-date compendium of cutting-edge research and interventions that collectively illustrate the utility of viewing chronic pain as neither a “disease” nor an imposed lifestyle, but as the emergent and potentially flexible product of a complex transactional system that is bounded by sociocultural factors, on the one hand, and by biogenetic and neural moderating forces on the other. The chapters capture the vibrancy of current theory, research, and practice while pointing toward unexplored new directions. Students and seasoned pain researchers will find within the motivation-centered framework a host of intriguing ideas to complement extant formulations. And those engaged in treating/training persons with chronic pain will discover the unique, integrative value of motivational models.

The Computational Challenges of Pursuing Multiple Goals: Network Structure of Goal Systems Predicts Human Performance

Extant psychological theories attribute people’s failure to achieve their goals primarily to failures of self-control, insufficient motivation, or lacking skills. We develop a complementary theory specifying conditions under which the computational complexity of making the right decisions becomes prohibitive of goal achievement regardless of skill or motivation. We support our theory by predicting human performance from factors determining the computational complexity of selecting the optimal set of means for goal achievement. Following previous theories of goal pursuit, we express the relationship between goals and means as a bipartite graph where edges between means and goals indicate which means can be used to achieve which goals. This allows us to map two computational challenges that arise in goal achievement onto two classic combinatorial optimization problems: Set Cover and Maximum Coverage. While these problems are believed to be computationally intractable on general networks, their solution can be nevertheless efficiently approximated when the structure of the network resembles a tree. Thus, our initial prediction was that people should perform better with goal systems that are more tree-like. In addition, our theory predicted that people’s performance at selecting means should be a U-shaped function of the average number of goals each means is relevant to and the average number of means through which each goal could be accomplished. Here we report on six behavioral experiments which confirmed these predictions. Our results suggest that combinatorial parameters that are instrumental to algorithm design can also be useful for understanding when and why people struggle to pursue their goals effectively.

The social media political participation model: A goal systems theory perspective

Although studies suggest that the use of social media can promote political participation (PP), there is a lack of theorizing about the psychological processes underlying this relationship. This article attempts to fill this gap by suggesting a social media political participation model. Taking a goal systemic perspective, the model specifies a set of interrelated processes that need to be realized so that social media use affects PP. Furthermore, key contingent conditions are outlined and insights into fostering PP are offered. The article explains ways of testing the model with surveys and experiments. Implications for future research are discussed.