Predicting Self-Management Behaviors in Familial Hypercholesterolemia Using an Integrated Theoretical Model: the Impact of Beliefs About Illnesses and Beliefs About Behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Hagger, Martin S; Hardcastle, Sarah J; Hingley, Catherine; Strickland, Ella; Pang, Jing; Watts, Gerald F

2016-06-01

Patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) are at markedly increased risk of coronary artery disease. Regular participation in three self-management behaviors, physical activity, healthy eating, and adherence to medication, can significantly reduce this risk in FH patients. We aimed to predict intentions to engage in these self-management behaviors in FH patients using a multi-theory, integrated model that makes the distinction between beliefs about illness and beliefs about self-management behaviors. Using a cross-sectional, correlational design, patients (N = 110) diagnosed with FH from a clinic in Perth, Western Australia, self-completed a questionnaire that measured constructs from three health behavior theories: the common sense model of illness representations (serious consequences, timeline, personal control, treatment control, illness coherence, emotional representations); theory of planned behavior (attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control); and social cognitive theory (self-efficacy). Structural equation models for each self-management behavior revealed consistent and statistically significant effects of attitudes on intentions across the three behaviors. Subjective norms predicted intentions for health eating only and self-efficacy predicted intentions for physical activity only. There were no effects for the perceived behavioral control and common sense model constructs in any model. Attitudes feature prominently in determining intentions to engage in self-management behaviors in FH patients. The prominence of these attitudinal beliefs about self-management behaviors, as opposed to illness beliefs, suggest that addressing these beliefs may be a priority in the management of FH.

Extraterrestrial beliefs and experiences: an application of the theory of reasoned action.

Science.gov (United States)

Patry, A L; Pelletier, L G

2001-04-01

The authors expanded the applicability of I. Ajzen and M. Fishbein's (1980) theory of reasoned action by assessing the participants' beliefs, attitudes, and experiences related to sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and to alien abductions. The authors designed and administered a survey on UFO phenomena to 398 Canadian students. The survey contains items relating to each component of Ajzen and Fishbein's model, as well as scales that evaluate paranormal beliefs and social desirability. A majority of the sample believed in UFOs, although most had never seen one. However, only a minority believed in alien abductions--again, most without having had any reported experience. According to path analyses, UFO beliefs originated from societal forces rather than from personal experiences as the model would predict.

Quantum Graphical Models and Belief Propagation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leifer, M.S.; Poulin, D.

2008-01-01

Belief Propagation algorithms acting on Graphical Models of classical probability distributions, such as Markov Networks, Factor Graphs and Bayesian Networks, are amongst the most powerful known methods for deriving probabilistic inferences amongst large numbers of random variables. This paper presents a generalization of these concepts and methods to the quantum case, based on the idea that quantum theory can be thought of as a noncommutative, operator-valued, generalization of classical probability theory. Some novel characterizations of quantum conditional independence are derived, and definitions of Quantum n-Bifactor Networks, Markov Networks, Factor Graphs and Bayesian Networks are proposed. The structure of Quantum Markov Networks is investigated and some partial characterization results are obtained, along the lines of the Hammersley-Clifford theorem. A Quantum Belief Propagation algorithm is presented and is shown to converge on 1-Bifactor Networks and Markov Networks when the underlying graph is a tree. The use of Quantum Belief Propagation as a heuristic algorithm in cases where it is not known to converge is discussed. Applications to decoding quantum error correcting codes and to the simulation of many-body quantum systems are described

Nursing opinion leadership: a preliminary model derived from philosophic theories of rational belief.

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Anderson, Christine A; Whall, Ann L

2013-10-01

Opinion leaders are informal leaders who have the ability to influence others' decisions about adopting new products, practices or ideas. In the healthcare setting, the importance of translating new research evidence into practice has led to interest in understanding how opinion leaders could be used to speed this process. Despite continued interest, gaps in understanding opinion leadership remain. Agent-based models are computer models that have proven to be useful for representing dynamic and contextual phenomena such as opinion leadership. The purpose of this paper is to describe the work conducted in preparation for the development of an agent-based model of nursing opinion leadership. The aim of this phase of the model development project was to clarify basic assumptions about opinions, the individual attributes of opinion leaders and characteristics of the context in which they are effective. The process used to clarify these assumptions was the construction of a preliminary nursing opinion leader model, derived from philosophical theories about belief formation. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Causal beliefs about depression in different cultural groups—what do cognitive psychological theories of causal learning and reasoning predict?

OpenAIRE

Hagmayer, York; Engelmann, Neele

2014-01-01

Cognitive psychological research focuses on causal learning and reasoning while cognitive anthropological and social science research tend to focus on systems of beliefs. Our aim was to explore how these two types of research can inform each other. Cognitive psychological theories (causal model theory and causal Bayes nets) were used to derive predictions for systems of causal beliefs. These predictions were then applied to lay theories of depression as a specific test case. A systematic lite...

Associations between belief in conspiracy theories and the maladaptive personality traits of the personality inventory for DSM-5.

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Swami, Viren; Weis, Laura; Lay, Alixe; Barron, David; Furnham, Adrian

2016-02-28

Conspiracy theories can be treated as both rational narratives of the world as well as outcomes of underlying maladaptive traits. Here, we examined associations between belief in conspiracy theories and individual differences in personality disorders. An Internet-based sample (N=259) completed measures of belief in conspiracy theories and the 25 facets of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5). Preliminary analyses showed no significant differences in belief in conspiracy theories across participant sex, ethnicity, and education. Regression analyses showed that the PID-5 facets of Unusual Beliefs and Experiences and, to a lesser extent, Suspiciousness, significantly predicted belief in conspiracy theories. These findings highlight a role for maladaptive personality traits in understanding belief in conspiracy theories, but require further investigation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Predicting human papillomavirus vaccine uptake in young adult women: Comparing the Health Belief Model and Theory of Planned Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Gerend, Mary A.; Shepherd, Janet E.

2012-01-01

Background Although theories of health behavior have guided thousands of studies, relatively few studies have compared these theories against one another. Purpose The purpose of the current study was to compare two classic theories of health behavior—the Health Belief Model (HBM) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)—in their prediction of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. Methods After watching a gain-framed, loss-framed, or control video, women (N=739) ages 18–26 completed a survey assessing HBM and TPB constructs. HPV vaccine uptake was assessed ten months later. Results Although the message framing intervention had no effect on vaccine uptake, support was observed for both the TPB and HBM. Nevertheless, the TPB consistently outperformed the HBM. Key predictors of uptake included subjective norms, self-efficacy, and vaccine cost. Conclusions Despite the observed advantage of the TPB, findings revealed considerable overlap between the two theories and highlighted the importance of proximal versus distal predictors of health behavior. PMID:22547155

Cognitive biases explain religious belief, paranormal belief, and belief in life's purpose.

Science.gov (United States)

Willard, Aiyana K; Norenzayan, Ara

2013-11-01

Cognitive theories of religion have postulated several cognitive biases that predispose human minds towards religious belief. However, to date, these hypotheses have not been tested simultaneously and in relation to each other, using an individual difference approach. We used a path model to assess the extent to which several interacting cognitive tendencies, namely mentalizing, mind body dualism, teleological thinking, and anthropomorphism, as well as cultural exposure to religion, predict belief in God, paranormal beliefs and belief in life's purpose. Our model, based on two independent samples (N=492 and N=920) found that the previously known relationship between mentalizing and belief is mediated by individual differences in dualism, and to a lesser extent by teleological thinking. Anthropomorphism was unrelated to religious belief, but was related to paranormal belief. Cultural exposure to religion (mostly Christianity) was negatively related to anthropomorphism, and was unrelated to any of the other cognitive tendencies. These patterns were robust for both men and women, and across at least two ethnic identifications. The data were most consistent with a path model suggesting that mentalizing comes first, which leads to dualism and teleology, which in turn lead to religious, paranormal, and life's-purpose beliefs. Alternative theoretical models were tested but did not find empirical support. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exploring Spiritual Beliefs in Relation to Adlerian Theory.

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Polanski, Patricia J.

2002-01-01

This article describes one counselor's exploration of her spiritual beliefs in relation to Adler's theory of counseling and human development in an effort to move toward ideological consistency and to enhance competence in addressing spiritual dimensions of clients' development. (Contains 34 references.) (GCP)

Aggregating imprecise or conflicting beliefs: An experimental investigation using modern ambiguity theories

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A. Baillon (Aurélien); L. Cabantous (Laure); P.P. Wakker (Peter)

2012-01-01

textabstractTwo experiments show that violations of expected utility due to ambiguity, found in general decision experiments, also affect belief aggregation. Hence we use modern ambiguity theories to analyze belief aggregation, thus obtaining more refined and empirically more valid results than

Causal beliefs about depression in different cultural groups – What do cognitive psychological theories of causal learning and reasoning predict?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

York eHagmayer

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Cognitive psychological research focusses on causal learning and reasoning while cognitive anthropological and social science research tend to focus on systems of beliefs. Our aim was to explore how these two types of research can inform each other. Cognitive psychological theories (causal model theory and causal Bayes nets were used to derive predictions for systems of causal beliefs. These predictions were then applied to lay theories of depression as a specific test case. A systematic literature review on causal beliefs about depression was conducted, including original, quantitative research. Thirty-six studies investigating 13 non-Western and 32 Western cultural groups were analysed by classifying assumed causes and preferred forms of treatment into common categories. Relations between beliefs and treatment preferences were assessed. Substantial agreement between cultural groups was found with respect to the impact of observable causes. Stress was generally rated as most important. Less agreement resulted for hidden, especially supernatural causes. Causal beliefs were clearly related to treatment preferences in Western groups, while evidence was mostly lacking for non-Western groups. Overall predictions were supported, but there were considerable methodological limitations. Pointers to future research, which may combine studies on causal beliefs with experimental paradigms on causal reasoning, are given.

Information fusion-based approach for studying influence on Twitter using belief theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Azaza, Lobna; Kirgizov, Sergey; Savonnet, Marinette; Leclercq, Éric; Gastineau, Nicolas; Faiz, Rim

2016-01-01

Influence in Twitter has become recently a hot research topic, since this micro-blogging service is widely used to share and disseminate information. Some users are more able than others to influence and persuade peers. Thus, studying most influential users leads to reach a large-scale information diffusion area, something very useful in marketing or political campaigns. In this study, we propose a new approach for multi-level influence assessment on multi-relational networks, such as Twitter . We define a social graph to model the relationships between users as a multiplex graph where users are represented by nodes, and links model the different relations between them (e.g., retweets , mentions , and replies ). We explore how relations between nodes in this graph could reveal about the influence degree and propose a generic computational model to assess influence degree of a certain node. This is based on the conjunctive combination rule from the belief functions theory to combine different types of relations. We experiment the proposed method on a large amount of data gathered from Twitter during the European Elections 2014 and deduce top influential candidates. The results show that our model is flexible enough to to consider multiple interactions combination according to social scientists needs or requirements and that the numerical results of the belief theory are accurate. We also evaluate the approach over the CLEF RepLab 2014 data set and show that our approach leads to quite interesting results.

Moral foundations, worldviews, moral absolutism and belief in conspiracy theories.

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Leone, Luigi; Giacomantonio, Mauro; Lauriola, Marco

2017-09-05

In the present research, we examined whether individual differences in basic moral concerns might be related to a greater endorsement of conspiracy theories. Building on the notion that conspiracy theories often deal with super-individual relevant events in which a group perspective is central, we proposed that individual differences in moral concerns pertaining to group- and community-concerns (i.e., binding moral foundations) rather than to individual well-being (i.e., individualising moral foundations) would be positively associated with conspiracy beliefs. We further hypothesised that such relations would be totally mediated by beliefs in a dangerous world and by embracing moral absolutism. We found support for these predictions in two community samples (Ns: 319; 514). Theoretical implications were discussed. © 2017 International Union of Psychological Science.

Associations between belief in conspiracy theories and the maladaptive personality traits of the personality inventory for DSM-5

OpenAIRE

Swami, Viren; Weis, Laura; Lay, Alixe; Barron, David; Furnham, Adrian

2015-01-01

Conspiracy theories can be treated as both rational narratives of the world as well as outcomes of underlying maladaptive traits. Here, we examined associations between belief in conspiracy theories and individual differences in personality disorders. An Internet-based sample (N=259) completed measures of belief in conspiracy theories and the 25 facets of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5). Preliminary analyses showed no significant differences in belief in conspiracy theories across...

An application of belief-importance theory in the domain of academic achievement.

Science.gov (United States)

Petrides, K V; Frederickson, Norah

2011-03-01

BACKGROUND. Belief-importance (belimp; Petrides, 2010a,b) theory posits that personality traits confer on the individual a propensity to perceive convergences and divergences between their belief that they can attain goals and the importance that they place on these goals. The theory suggests that these convergences and divergences have important implications for affect, motivation, and action. AIMS. To test belimp theory using performance-based criteria relating to academic achievement and constructs from the personality domain. SAMPLES. Two hundred and forty-two students, of whom 121 were male and 117 were female (4 unreported). They were approximately 18 years old at the time of testing. METHODS. Data were collected on the belief and importance of academic achievement, the Giant Three personality dimensions, and trait emotional intelligence (trait EI). Academic achievement was operationalized via Key Stage 3 and A-level assessment results. RESULTS. Four hypotheses concerning academic achievement were tested and confirmed, with the Motivation quadrant scoring higher than the other three belimp quadrants (Hubris, Depression, and Apathy). Four hypotheses concerning personality were tested, of which two were confirmed, with the Hubris quadrant scoring highest on psychoticism and the Depression quadrant scoring highest on neuroticism. Four hierarchical regressions demonstrated the incremental validity of the belief and importance belimp coordinates over the Giant Three personality dimensions in the prediction of academic achievement. CONCLUSIONS. The results are encouraging for belimp theory and complement similarly supportive findings in Petrides (2010b,c). ©2010 The British Psychological Society.

The Relationship between College Zoology Students' Beliefs about Evolutionary Theory and Religion.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinclair, Anne; And Others

1997-01-01

Researchers administered surveys to college zoology students prior to, and immediately following a study of evolutionary theory, to assess their understanding and acceptance of evidence supporting the theory. Results showed students had many misconceptions about the theory. Their beliefs interfered with their ability to objectively view scientific…

The influence of online store beliefs on consumer online impulse buying: A model and empirical application

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhagen, T.; van Dolen, W.

2011-01-01

Our study provides insight into the relationships between online store beliefs and consumer online impulse buying behavior. Drawing upon cognitive emotion theory, we developed a model and showed how beliefs about functional convenience (online store merchandise attractiveness and ease of use) and

Myths or theories? Alternative beliefs about HIV and AIDS in South African working class communities.

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Dickinson, David

2013-09-01

Despite three decades of public health promotion based on the scientific explanation of HIV/AIDS, alternative explanations of the disease continue to circulate. While these are seen as counter-productive to health education efforts, what is rarely analysed is their plurality and their tenacity. This article analyses the 'AIDS myths' collected by African HIV/AIDS workplace peer educators during an action research project. These beliefs about HIV/AIDS are organised, in this article, around core ideas that form the basis of 'folk' and 'lay theories' of HIV/AIDS. These constitute non-scientific explanations of HIV/AIDS, with folk theories drawing on bodies of knowledge that are independent of HIV/AIDS while lay theories are generated in response to the disease. A categorisation of alternative beliefs about HIV/AIDS is presented which comprises three folk theories - African traditional beliefs, Christian theology, and racial conspiracy - and three lay theories, all focused on avoiding HIV infection. Using this schema, the article describes how the plausibility of these alternative theories of HIV/AIDS lies not in their scientific validity, but in the robustness of the core idea at the heart of each folk or lay theory. Folk and lay theories of HIV/AIDS are also often highly palatable in that they provide hope and comfort in terms of prevention, cure, and the allocation of blame. This study argue that there is coherence and value to these alternative HIV/AIDS beliefs which should not be dismissed as ignorance, idle speculation or simple misunderstandings. A serious engagement with folk and lay theories of HIV/AIDS helps explain the continued circulation of alternative beliefs of HIV/AIDS and the slow uptake of behavioural change messages around the disease.

The importance of health belief models in determining self-care behaviour in diabetes.

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Harvey, J N; Lawson, V L

2009-01-01

Patients' self-care behaviours have a major role in diabetes management. Diabetes education provides the required knowledge, but despite this, self-care is often suboptimal. The degree to which patients follow advice as regards the various self-care behaviours is determined by their health beliefs (Illness Representations or Personal Models) of diabetes. Psychometric studies have tried to categorize and measure the beliefs about illness that influence patients to adhere to treatment recommendations in diabetes. Various models have been proposed to explain the relationship between beliefs and behaviour. Leventhal's Self-Regulatory Model, which takes account of the emotional as well as the objective rational response to illness, currently seems to offer the best system for identifying the determinants of patient self-care behaviour. A review of interventions indicates those based on psychological theory offer professionals the best chance of maximizing their patients' contribution to diabetes self-management and achieving improved outcomes, both glycaemic and psychosocial. Studies designed specifically to modify illness representations are now being undertaken. This brief review aims to summarize developments in this area of psychological theory over the last 20 years and the implications for promoting better self-care behaviour in diabetes.

My belief or yours? Differential theory of mind deficits in frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

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Le Bouc, Raphaël; Lenfant, Pierre; Delbeuck, Xavier; Ravasi, Laura; Lebert, Florence; Semah, Franck; Pasquier, Florence

2012-10-01

Theory of mind reasoning-the ability to understand someone else's mental states, such as beliefs, intentions and desires-is crucial in social interaction. It has been suggested that a theory of mind deficit may account for some of the abnormalities in interpersonal behaviour that characterize patients affected by behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia. However, there are conflicting reports as to whether understanding someone else's mind is a key difference between behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. Literature data on the relationship between theory of mind abilities and executive functions are also contradictory. These disparities may be due to underestimation of the fractionation within theory of mind components. A recent theoretical framework suggests that taking someone else's mental perspective requires two distinct processes: inferring someone else's belief and inhibiting one's own belief, with involvement of the temporoparietal and right frontal cortices, respectively. Therefore, we performed a neuropsychological and neuroimaging study to investigate the hypothesis whereby distinct cognitive deficits could impair theory of mind reasoning in patients with Alzheimer's disease and patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia. We used a three-option false belief task to assess theory of mind components in 11 patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia, 12 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 20 healthy elderly control subjects. The patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia and those with Alzheimer's disease were matched for age, gender, education and global cognitive impairment. [(18)F]-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography imaging was used to investigate neural correlates of theory of mind reasoning deficits. Performance in the three-option false belief task revealed differential impairments in the components of theory of mind

Five-Year-Olds’ Systematic Errors in Second-Order False Belief Tasks Are Due to First-Order Theory of Mind Strategy Selection: A Computational Modeling Study

Science.gov (United States)

Arslan, Burcu; Taatgen, Niels A.; Verbrugge, Rineke

2017-01-01

The focus of studies on second-order false belief reasoning generally was on investigating the roles of executive functions and language with correlational studies. Different from those studies, we focus on the question how 5-year-olds select and revise reasoning strategies in second-order false belief tasks by constructing two computational cognitive models of this process: an instance-based learning model and a reinforcement learning model. Unlike the reinforcement learning model, the instance-based learning model predicted that children who fail second-order false belief tasks would give answers based on first-order theory of mind (ToM) reasoning as opposed to zero-order reasoning. This prediction was confirmed with an empirical study that we conducted with 72 5- to 6-year-old children. The results showed that 17% of the answers were correct and 83% of the answers were wrong. In line with our prediction, 65% of the wrong answers were based on a first-order ToM strategy, while only 29% of them were based on a zero-order strategy (the remaining 6% of subjects did not provide any answer). Based on our instance-based learning model, we propose that when children get feedback “Wrong,” they explicitly revise their strategy to a higher level instead of implicitly selecting one of the available ToM strategies. Moreover, we predict that children’s failures are due to lack of experience and that with exposure to second-order false belief reasoning, children can revise their wrong first-order reasoning strategy to a correct second-order reasoning strategy. PMID:28293206

Five-Year-Olds' Systematic Errors in Second-Order False Belief Tasks Are Due to First-Order Theory of Mind Strategy Selection: A Computational Modeling Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Arslan, Burcu; Taatgen, Niels A; Verbrugge, Rineke

2017-01-01

The focus of studies on second-order false belief reasoning generally was on investigating the roles of executive functions and language with correlational studies. Different from those studies, we focus on the question how 5-year-olds select and revise reasoning strategies in second-order false belief tasks by constructing two computational cognitive models of this process: an instance-based learning model and a reinforcement learning model. Unlike the reinforcement learning model, the instance-based learning model predicted that children who fail second-order false belief tasks would give answers based on first-order theory of mind (ToM) reasoning as opposed to zero-order reasoning. This prediction was confirmed with an empirical study that we conducted with 72 5- to 6-year-old children. The results showed that 17% of the answers were correct and 83% of the answers were wrong. In line with our prediction, 65% of the wrong answers were based on a first-order ToM strategy, while only 29% of them were based on a zero-order strategy (the remaining 6% of subjects did not provide any answer). Based on our instance-based learning model, we propose that when children get feedback "Wrong," they explicitly revise their strategy to a higher level instead of implicitly selecting one of the available ToM strategies. Moreover, we predict that children's failures are due to lack of experience and that with exposure to second-order false belief reasoning, children can revise their wrong first-order reasoning strategy to a correct second-order reasoning strategy.

Uncertainty theory

CERN Document Server

Liu, Baoding

2015-01-01

When no samples are available to estimate a probability distribution, we have to invite some domain experts to evaluate the belief degree that each event will happen. Perhaps some people think that the belief degree should be modeled by subjective probability or fuzzy set theory. However, it is usually inappropriate because both of them may lead to counterintuitive results in this case. In order to rationally deal with belief degrees, uncertainty theory was founded in 2007 and subsequently studied by many researchers. Nowadays, uncertainty theory has become a branch of axiomatic mathematics for modeling belief degrees. This is an introductory textbook on uncertainty theory, uncertain programming, uncertain statistics, uncertain risk analysis, uncertain reliability analysis, uncertain set, uncertain logic, uncertain inference, uncertain process, uncertain calculus, and uncertain differential equation. This textbook also shows applications of uncertainty theory to scheduling, logistics, networks, data mining, c...

Health Belief Model and Labelling Theory in the Analysis of Preventive Behaviors to Address Biopsychosocial Impacts of Sexual Violence Among Street Children in YOGYAKARTA

OpenAIRE

Intan Noor Khalifah; Argyo Demartoto; Harsono Salimo

2017-01-01

Background: Street children are at high risk of sexual violence. Necessary measures should be undertaken to address deleterious biopsychosocial impacts of sexual violence. This study aimed to analyze the preventive behaviors to address biopsychosocial impacts of sexual violence among street children in Yogyakarta using Health Belief Model and Labelling Theory.Subjects and Method: This study was qualitative descriptive with phenomenology approach. The key informants for this study included Hea...

Temporo-Parietal Junction Activity in Theory-of-Mind Tasks: Falseness, Beliefs, or Attention

Science.gov (United States)

Aichhorn, Markus; Perner, Josef; Weiss, Benjamin; Kronbichler, Martin; Staffen, Wolfgang; Ladurner, Gunther

2009-01-01

By combining the false belief (FB) and photo (PH) vignettes to identify theory-of-mind areas with the false sign (FS) vignettes, we re-establish the functional asymmetry between the left and right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ). The right TPJ (TPJ-R) is specially sensitive to processing belief information, whereas the left TPJ (TPJ-L) is equally…

Epistemological Beliefs and Knowledge Sharing in Work Teams: A New Model and Research Questions

Science.gov (United States)

Weinberg, Frankie J.

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a knowledge-sharing model that explains individual members' motivation to share knowledge (knowledge donation and knowledge collection). Design/methodology/approach: The model is based on social-constructivist theories of epistemological beliefs, learning and distributed cognition, and is organized…

The relationship between epistemological beliefs, implicit theories of intelligence, and self-regulated learning among Norwegian postsecondary students.

Science.gov (United States)

Bråten, Ivar; Strømsø, Helge I

2005-12-01

More empirical work is needed to examine the dimensionality of personal epistemology and relations between those dimensions and motivational and strategic components of self-regulated learning. In particular, there is great need to investigate personal epistemology and its relation to self-regulated learning across cultures and academic contexts. Because the demarcation between personal epistemology and implicit theories of intelligence has been questioned, dimensions of personal epistemology should also be studied in relation to implicit theories of intelligence. The primary aim was to examine the dimensionality of personal epistemology and the relation between those dimensions and implicit theories of intelligence in the cultural context of Norwegian postsecondary education. A secondary aim was to examine the relative contribution of epistemological beliefs and theories of intelligence to motivational and strategic components of self-regulated learning in different academic contexts within that culture. The first sample included 178 business administration students in a traditional transmission-oriented instructional context; the second, 108 student teachers in an innovative pedagogical context. The dimensionality of the Schommer Epistemological Questionnaire was examined through factor analyses, and the resulting dimensions were examined in relation to implicit theories of intelligence. We performed multiple regression analyses, separately for the two academic contexts, to try to predict motivational (i.e. self-efficacy beliefs, mastery goal orientation, and interest) and strategic (i.e. self-regulatory strategy use) components of self-regulated learning with epistemological beliefs and implicit theories of intelligence. Considerable cross-cultural generalizability was found for the dimensionality of personal epistemology. Moreover, the dimensions of personal epistemology seemed to represent constructs separate from the construct of implicit theories of

Knowledge formalization for vector data matching using belief theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana-Maria Olteanu-Raimond

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Nowadays geographic vector data is produced both by public and private institutions using well defined specifications or crowdsourcing via Web 2.0 mapping portals. As a result, multiple representations of the same real world objects exist, without any links between these different representations. This becomes an issue when integration, updates, or multi-level analysis needs to be performed, as well as for data quality assessment. In this paper a multi-criteria data matching approach allowing the automatic definition of links between identical features is proposed. The originality of the approach is that the process is guided by an explicit representation and fusion of knowledge from various sources. Moreover the imperfection (imprecision, uncertainty, and incompleteness is explicitly modeled in the process. Belief theory is used to represent and fuse knowledge from different sources, to model imperfection, and make a decision. Experiments are reported on real data coming from different producers, having different scales and either representing relief (isolated points or road networks (linear data.

Theory of mind in schizophrenia: exploring neural mechanisms of belief attribution.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Junghee; Quintana, Javier; Nori, Poorang; Green, Michael F

2011-01-01

Although previous behavioral studies have shown that schizophrenia patients have impaired theory of mind (ToM), the neural mechanisms associated with this impairment are poorly understood. This study aimed to identify the neural mechanisms of ToM in schizophrenia, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with a belief attribution task. In the scanner, 12 schizophrenia patients and 13 healthy control subjects performed the belief attribution task with three conditions: a false belief condition, a false photograph condition, and a simple reading condition. For the false belief versus simple reading conditions, schizophrenia patients showed reduced neural activation in areas including the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) compared with controls. Further, during the false belief versus false photograph conditions, we observed increased activations in the TPJ and the MPFC in healthy controls, but not in schizophrenia patients. For the false photograph versus simple reading condition, both groups showed comparable neural activations. Schizophrenia patients showed reduced task-related activation in the TPJ and the MPFC during the false belief condition compared with controls, but not for the false photograph condition. This pattern suggests that reduced activation in these regions is associated with, and specific to, impaired ToM in schizophrenia.

Deus or Darwin: randomness and belief in theories about the origin of life

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rutjens, B.T.; van der Pligt, J.; van Harreveld, F.

2010-01-01

A simple reminder of the fact that we do not always control life's outcomes reduced people's belief in Darwin's Theory of Evolution. This control-threat resulted in a relative preference for theories of life that thwart randomness, either by stressing the role of a controlling God (Intelligent

Girl in the Cellar: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Investigation of Belief in Conspiracy Theories about the Kidnapping of Natascha Kampusch

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefan eStieger

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The present study utilized a repeated cross-sectional survey design to examine belief in conspiracy theories about the abduction of Natascha Kampusch. At two time points (October 2009 and October 2011, participants drawn from independent cross-sections of the Austrian population (Time Point 1, N = 281; Time Point 2, N = 277 completed a novel measure of belief in conspiracy theories concerning the abduction of Kampusch, as well as measures of general conspiracist ideation, self-esteem, paranormal and superstitious beliefs, cognitive ability, and media exposure to the Kampusch case. Results indicated that although belief in the Kampusch conspiracy theory declined between testing periods, the effect size of the difference was small. In addition, belief in the Kampusch conspiracy theory was significantly predicted by general conspiracist ideation at both time points. The need to conduct further longitudinal tests of conspiracist ideation is emphasized in conclusion.

Girl in the cellar: a repeated cross-sectional investigation of belief in conspiracy theories about the kidnapping of Natascha Kampusch

Science.gov (United States)

Stieger, Stefan; Gumhalter, Nora; Tran, Ulrich S.; Voracek, Martin; Swami, Viren

2013-01-01

The present study utilized a repeated cross-sectional survey design to examine belief in conspiracy theories about the abduction of Natascha Kampusch. At two time points (October 2009 and October 2011), participants drawn from independent cross-sections of the Austrian population (Time Point 1, N = 281; Time Point 2, N = 277) completed a novel measure of belief in conspiracy theories concerning the abduction of Kampusch, as well as measures of general conspiracist ideation, self-esteem, paranormal and superstitious beliefs, cognitive ability, and media exposure to the Kampusch case. Results indicated that although belief in the Kampusch conspiracy theory declined between testing periods, the effect size of the difference was small. In addition, belief in the Kampusch conspiracy theory was significantly predicted by general conspiracist ideation at both time points. The need to conduct further longitudinal tests of conspiracist ideation is emphasized in conclusion. PMID:23745118

Smoking Beliefs Among Chinese Secondary School Students: A Theory-Based Qualitative Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Xiang; White, Katherine M; Young, Ross McD; Obst, Patricia L

2018-02-07

China has the world's greatest number of smokers but theory-based smoking interventions are rare. To develop an effective intervention, understanding the determinants of Chinese adolescent smoking is crucial. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is empirically supported to predict and assist in informing intervention strategies to change health-related behaviors. Based on the TPB, the elicitation of shared smoking beliefs among adolescents can inform future intervention designs among this at-risk population. We investigated the beliefs from six focus groups (N = 30) of one senior secondary school in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. We used semi-structured questions based on the TPB framework, including prompts about behavioral (advantages and disadvantages), normative (important referents), and control (barriers and facilitators) beliefs. Following the Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) methodology, data were discussed until consensus was reached. Auditing was undertaken by an external researcher. Seven domains (advantages, disadvantages, approvers, disapprovers, facilitators, barriers, and smoker images) were examined. Smoking as a gendered behavior, smoking as influenced by cultural and environmental contexts, smoking as a strategy to cope with stress, and awareness of the harm of smoking, are highlighted themes across domains. Data suggested an extended-TPB framework as an appropriate approach to adopt when addressing smoking beliefs among the target population. These beliefs can be utilized to inform future school-based interventions and public health campaigns targeting smoking among Chinese adolescents. A modified TPB approach has potential for future smoking interventions among Chinese adolescents. Beliefs elicited in this study form a strong basis for designing a location- and population-specific antismoking programme. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights

Beliefs about meditating among university students, faculty, and staff: a theory-based salient belief elicitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lederer, Alyssa M; Middlestadt, Susan E

2014-01-01

Stress impacts college students, faculty, and staff alike. Although meditation has been found to decrease stress, it is an underutilized strategy. This study used the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA) to identify beliefs underlying university constituents' decision to meditate. N=96 students, faculty, and staff at a large midwestern university during spring 2012. A survey measured the RAA global constructs and elicited the beliefs underlying intention to meditate. Thematic and frequency analyses and multiple regression were performed. Quantitative analyses showed that intention to meditate was significantly predicted (R2=.632) by attitude, perceived norm, and perceived behavioral control. Qualitative analyses revealed advantages (eg, reduced stress; feeling calmer), disadvantages (eg, takes time; will not work), and facilitating circumstances (eg, having more time; having quiet space) of meditating. Results of this theory-based research suggest how college health professionals can encourage meditation practice through individual, interpersonal, and environmental interventions.

Evaluation of risk from acts of terrorism :the adversary/defender model using belief and fuzzy sets.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Darby, John L.

2006-09-01

Risk from an act of terrorism is a combination of the likelihood of an attack, the likelihood of success of the attack, and the consequences of the attack. The considerable epistemic uncertainty in each of these three factors can be addressed using the belief/plausibility measure of uncertainty from the Dempster/Shafer theory of evidence. The adversary determines the likelihood of the attack. The success of the attack and the consequences of the attack are determined by the security system and mitigation measures put in place by the defender. This report documents a process for evaluating risk of terrorist acts using an adversary/defender model with belief/plausibility as the measure of uncertainty. Also, the adversary model is a linguistic model that applies belief/plausibility to fuzzy sets used in an approximate reasoning rule base.

Using a Marginal Structural Model to Design a Theory-Based Mass Media Campaign.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiromu Nishiuchi

Full Text Available The essential first step in the development of mass media health campaigns is to identify specific beliefs of the target audience. The challenge is to prioritize suitable beliefs derived from behavioral theory. The purpose of this study was to identify suitable beliefs to target in a mass media campaign to change behavior using a new method to estimate the possible effect size of a small set of beliefs.Data were drawn from the 2010 Japanese Young Female Smoker Survey (n = 500, conducted by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Survey measures included intention to quit smoking, psychological beliefs (attitude, norms, and perceived control based on the theory of planned behavior and socioeconomic status (age, education, household income, and marital status. To identify suitable candidate beliefs for a mass media health campaign, we estimated the possible effect size required to change the intention to quit smoking among the population of young Japanese women using the population attributable fraction from a marginal structural model.Thirteen percent of study participants intended to quit smoking. The marginal structural model estimated a population attributable fraction of 47 psychological beliefs (21 attitudes, 6 norms, and 19 perceived controls after controlling for socioeconomic status. The belief, "I could quit smoking if my husband or significant other recommended it" suggested a promising target for a mass media campaign (population attributable fraction = 0.12, 95% CI = 0.02-0.23. Messages targeting this belief could possibly improve intention rates by up to 12% among this population. The analysis also suggested the potential for regulatory action.This study proposed a method by which campaign planners can develop theory-based mass communication strategies to change health behaviors at the population level. This method might contribute to improving the quality of future mass health communication strategies and further

Using a Marginal Structural Model to Design a Theory-Based Mass Media Campaign.

Science.gov (United States)

Nishiuchi, Hiromu; Taguri, Masataka; Ishikawa, Yoshiki

2016-01-01

The essential first step in the development of mass media health campaigns is to identify specific beliefs of the target audience. The challenge is to prioritize suitable beliefs derived from behavioral theory. The purpose of this study was to identify suitable beliefs to target in a mass media campaign to change behavior using a new method to estimate the possible effect size of a small set of beliefs. Data were drawn from the 2010 Japanese Young Female Smoker Survey (n = 500), conducted by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Survey measures included intention to quit smoking, psychological beliefs (attitude, norms, and perceived control) based on the theory of planned behavior and socioeconomic status (age, education, household income, and marital status). To identify suitable candidate beliefs for a mass media health campaign, we estimated the possible effect size required to change the intention to quit smoking among the population of young Japanese women using the population attributable fraction from a marginal structural model. Thirteen percent of study participants intended to quit smoking. The marginal structural model estimated a population attributable fraction of 47 psychological beliefs (21 attitudes, 6 norms, and 19 perceived controls) after controlling for socioeconomic status. The belief, "I could quit smoking if my husband or significant other recommended it" suggested a promising target for a mass media campaign (population attributable fraction = 0.12, 95% CI = 0.02-0.23). Messages targeting this belief could possibly improve intention rates by up to 12% among this population. The analysis also suggested the potential for regulatory action. This study proposed a method by which campaign planners can develop theory-based mass communication strategies to change health behaviors at the population level. This method might contribute to improving the quality of future mass health communication strategies and further research is needed.

Health beliefs affect the correct replacement of daily disposable contact lenses: Predicting compliance with the Health Belief Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Livi, Stefano; Zeri, Fabrizio; Baroni, Rossella

2017-02-01

To assess the compliance of Daily Disposable Contact Lenses (DDCLs) wearers with replacing lenses at a manufacturer-recommended replacement frequency. To evaluate the ability of two different Health Behavioural Theories (HBT), The Health Belief Model (HBM) and The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), in predicting compliance. A multi-centre survey was conducted using a questionnaire completed anonymously by contact lens wearers during the purchase of DDCLs. Three hundred and fifty-four questionnaires were returned. The survey comprised 58.5% females and 41.5% males (mean age 34±12years). Twenty-three percent of respondents were non-compliant with manufacturer-recommended replacement frequency (re-using DDCLs at least once). The main reason for re-using DDCLs was "to save money" (35%). Predictions of compliance behaviour (past behaviour or future intentions) on the basis of the two HBT was investigated through logistic regression analysis: both TPB factors (subjective norms and perceived behavioural control) were significant (pbehaviour and future intentions) and perceived benefit (only for past behaviour) as significant factors (pbehavioural control of daily replacement (behavioural control) are of paramount importance in improving compliance. With reference to the HBM, it is important to warn DDCLs wearers of the severity of a contact-lens-related eye infection, and to underline the possibility of its prevention. Copyright © 2016 British Contact Lens Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Testing VBN theory in Japan: Relationships between values, beliefs, norms, and acceptability and expected effects of a car pricing policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hiratsuka, Jiro; Perlaviciute, Goda; Steg, Linda

The VBN (value-belief-norm) theory of environmentalism postulates that values influence pro-environmental behaviour via pro-environmental beliefs and personal norms. A few studies provided support for the theory in explaining pro-environmental behaviour in Europe and Latin America. Beyond these

English Syllabus Interpretation: The Relationship between Literary Theories and Teacher Beliefs

Science.gov (United States)

Ireland, Jill; O'Sullivan, Kerry-Ann; Duchesne, Susan

2017-01-01

This paper examines the relationship between the literary theories underpinning an English syllabus and teachers' personal epistemologies and pedagogical beliefs. The study discussed here used semi-structured interviews and an online survey to investigate 50 New South Wales teachers' views of the theoretical basis of a senior English syllabus that…

Strategic Belief Management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Foss, Nicolai Juul

While (managerial) beliefs are central to many aspects of strategic organization, interactive beliefs are almost entirely neglected, save for some game theory treatments. In an increasingly connected and networked economy, firms confront coordination problems that arise because of network effects....... The capability to manage beliefs will increasingly be a strategic one, a key source of wealth creation, and a key research area for strategic organization scholars.......While (managerial) beliefs are central to many aspects of strategic organization, interactive beliefs are almost entirely neglected, save for some game theory treatments. In an increasingly connected and networked economy, firms confront coordination problems that arise because of network effects...

When fast logic meets slow belief: Evidence for a parallel-processing model of belief bias.

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Trippas, Dries; Thompson, Valerie A; Handley, Simon J

2017-05-01

Two experiments pitted the default-interventionist account of belief bias against a parallel-processing model. According to the former, belief bias occurs because a fast, belief-based evaluation of the conclusion pre-empts a working-memory demanding logical analysis. In contrast, according to the latter both belief-based and logic-based responding occur in parallel. Participants were given deductive reasoning problems of variable complexity and instructed to decide whether the conclusion was valid on half the trials or to decide whether the conclusion was believable on the other half. When belief and logic conflict, the default-interventionist view predicts that it should take less time to respond on the basis of belief than logic, and that the believability of a conclusion should interfere with judgments of validity, but not the reverse. The parallel-processing view predicts that beliefs should interfere with logic judgments only if the processing required to evaluate the logical structure exceeds that required to evaluate the knowledge necessary to make a belief-based judgment, and vice versa otherwise. Consistent with this latter view, for the simplest reasoning problems (modus ponens), judgments of belief resulted in lower accuracy than judgments of validity, and believability interfered more with judgments of validity than the converse. For problems of moderate complexity (modus tollens and single-model syllogisms), the interference was symmetrical, in that validity interfered with belief judgments to the same degree that believability interfered with validity judgments. For the most complex (three-term multiple-model syllogisms), conclusion believability interfered more with judgments of validity than vice versa, in spite of the significant interference from conclusion validity on judgments of belief.

Towards the Measurement of EFL Listening Beliefs with Item Response Theory Methods

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Nix, John-Michael L.; Tseng, Wen-Ta

2014-01-01

The present research aims to identify the underlying English listening belief structure of English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners, thereby informing methodologies for subsequent analysis of beliefs with respect to listening achievement. Development of a measurement model of English listening learning beliefs entailed the creation of an…

Lenses on Reading An Introduction to Theories and Models

CERN Document Server

Tracey, Diane H

2012-01-01

This widely adopted text explores key theories and models that frame reading instruction and research. Readers learn why theory matters in designing and implementing high-quality instruction and research; how to critically evaluate the assumptions and beliefs that guide their own work; and what can be gained by looking at reading through multiple theoretical lenses. For each theoretical model, classroom applications are brought to life with engaging vignettes and teacher reflections. Research applications are discussed and illustrated with descriptions of exemplary studies. New to This Edition

Public beliefs about and attitudes towards bipolar disorder: testing theory based models of stigma.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellison, Nell; Mason, Oliver; Scior, Katrina

2015-04-01

Given the vast literature into public beliefs and attitudes towards schizophrenia and depression, there is paucity of research on attitudes towards bipolar disorder despite its similar prevalence to schizophrenia. This study explored public beliefs and attitudes towards bipolar disorder and examined the relationship between these different components of stigma. Using an online questionnaire distributed via email, social networking sites and public institutions, 753 members of the UK population were presented with a vignette depicting someone who met DSM-IV criteria for bipolar disorder. Causal beliefs, beliefs about prognosis, emotional reactions, stereotypes, and social distance were assessed in response to the vignette. Preacher and Hayes procedure for estimating direct and indirect effects of multiple mediators was used to examine the relationship between these components of stigma. Bipolar disorder was primarily associated with positive beliefs and attitudes and elicited a relatively low desire for social distance. Fear partially mediated the relationship between stereotypes and social distance. Biomedical causal beliefs reduced desire for social distance by increasing compassion, whereas fate causal beliefs increased it through eliciting fear. Psychosocial causal beliefs had mixed effects. The measurement of stigma using vignettes and self-report questionnaires has implications for ecological validity and participants may have been reluctant to reveal the true extent of their negative attitudes. Dissemination of these findings to people with bipolar disorder has implications for the reduction of internalised stigma in this population. Anti-stigma campaigns should attend to causal beliefs, stereotypes and emotional reactions as these all play a vital role in discriminatory behaviour towards people with bipolar disorder. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The theory of reasoned action as parallel constraint satisfaction: towards a dynamic computational model of health behavior.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark G Orr

Full Text Available The reasoned action approach, although ubiquitous in health behavior theory (e.g., Theory of Reasoned Action/Planned Behavior, does not adequately address two key dynamical aspects of health behavior: learning and the effect of immediate social context (i.e., social influence. To remedy this, we put forth a computational implementation of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA using artificial-neural networks. Our model re-conceptualized behavioral intention as arising from a dynamic constraint satisfaction mechanism among a set of beliefs. In two simulations, we show that constraint satisfaction can simultaneously incorporate the effects of past experience (via learning with the effects of immediate social context to yield behavioral intention, i.e., intention is dynamically constructed from both an individual's pre-existing belief structure and the beliefs of others in the individual's social context. In a third simulation, we illustrate the predictive ability of the model with respect to empirically derived behavioral intention. As the first known computational model of health behavior, it represents a significant advance in theory towards understanding the dynamics of health behavior. Furthermore, our approach may inform the development of population-level agent-based models of health behavior that aim to incorporate psychological theory into models of population dynamics.

The theory of reasoned action as parallel constraint satisfaction: towards a dynamic computational model of health behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Orr, Mark G; Thrush, Roxanne; Plaut, David C

2013-01-01

The reasoned action approach, although ubiquitous in health behavior theory (e.g., Theory of Reasoned Action/Planned Behavior), does not adequately address two key dynamical aspects of health behavior: learning and the effect of immediate social context (i.e., social influence). To remedy this, we put forth a computational implementation of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) using artificial-neural networks. Our model re-conceptualized behavioral intention as arising from a dynamic constraint satisfaction mechanism among a set of beliefs. In two simulations, we show that constraint satisfaction can simultaneously incorporate the effects of past experience (via learning) with the effects of immediate social context to yield behavioral intention, i.e., intention is dynamically constructed from both an individual's pre-existing belief structure and the beliefs of others in the individual's social context. In a third simulation, we illustrate the predictive ability of the model with respect to empirically derived behavioral intention. As the first known computational model of health behavior, it represents a significant advance in theory towards understanding the dynamics of health behavior. Furthermore, our approach may inform the development of population-level agent-based models of health behavior that aim to incorporate psychological theory into models of population dynamics.

When fast logic meets slow belief: Evidence for a parallel-processing model of belief bias

OpenAIRE

Trippas, Dries; Thompson, Valerie A.; Handley, Simon J.

2016-01-01

Two experiments pitted the default-interventionist account of belief bias against a parallel-processing model. According to the former, belief bias occurs because a fast, belief-based evaluation of the conclusion pre-empts a working-memory demanding logical analysis. In contrast, according to the latter both belief-based and logic-based responding occur in parallel. Participants were given deductive reasoning problems of variable complexity and instructed to decide whether the conclusion was ...

Conspiracist ideation in Britain and Austria: evidence of a monological belief system and associations between individual psychological differences and real-world and fictitious conspiracy theories.

Science.gov (United States)

Swami, Viren; Coles, Rebecca; Stieger, Stefan; Pietschnig, Jakob; Furnham, Adrian; Rehim, Sherry; Voracek, Martin

2011-08-01

Despite evidence of widespread belief in conspiracy theories, there remains a dearth of research on the individual difference correlates of conspiracist ideation. In two studies, we sought to overcome this limitation by examining correlations between conspiracist ideation and a range of individual psychological factors. In Study 1, 817 Britons indicated their agreement with conspiracist ideation concerning the July 7, 2005 (7/7), London bombings, and completed a battery of individual difference scales. Results showed that stronger belief in 7/7 conspiracy theories was predicted by stronger belief in other real-world conspiracy theories, greater exposure to conspiracist ideation, higher political cynicism, greater support for democratic principles, more negative attitudes to authority, lower self-esteem, and lower Agreeableness. In Study 2, 281 Austrians indicated their agreement with an entirely fictitious conspiracy theory and completed a battery of individual difference measures not examined in Study 1. Results showed that belief in the entirely fictitious conspiracy theory was significantly associated with stronger belief in other real-world conspiracy theories, stronger paranormal beliefs, and lower crystallized intelligence. These results are discussed in terms of the potential of identifying individual difference constellations among conspiracy theorists. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

Biology Students' and Teachers' Religious Beliefs and Attitudes towards Theory of Evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Ozay Kose, Esra

2010-01-01

Evolution has not being well addressed in schools partly because it is a controversial topic in religious views. In the present study, it is explored to what extent Turkish secondary school biology teachers and students accommodate the theory of biological evolution with their religious beliefs. Two-hundred fifty secondary school students and…

When do normative beliefs about aggression predict aggressive behavior? An application of I3 theory.

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Li, Jian-Bin; Nie, Yan-Gang; Boardley, Ian D; Dou, Kai; Situ, Qiao-Min

2015-01-01

I(3) theory assumes that aggressive behavior is dependent on three orthogonal processes (i.e., Instigator, Impellance, and Inhibition). Previous studies showed that Impellance (trait aggressiveness, retaliation tendencies) better predicted aggression when Instigator was strong and Inhibition was weak. In the current study, we predicted that another Impellance (i.e., normative beliefs about aggression) might predict aggression when Instigator was absent and Inhibition was high (i.e., the perfect calm proposition). In two experiments, participants first completed the normative beliefs about aggression questionnaire. Two weeks later, participants' self-control resources were manipulated either using the Stroop task (study 1, N = 148) or through an "e-crossing" task (study 2, N = 180). Afterwards, with or without being provoked, participants played a game with an ostensible partner where they had a chance to aggress against them. Study 1 found that normative beliefs about aggression negatively and significantly predicted aggressive behavior only when provocation was absent and self-control resources were not depleted. In Study 2, normative beliefs about aggression negatively predicted aggressive behavior at marginal significance level only in the "no-provocation and no-depletion" condition. In conclusion, the current study provides partial support for the perfect calm proposition and I(3) theory. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Using the Health Belief Model for Bulimia Prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Grodner, Michele

1991-01-01

Discusses application of the Health Belief Model to the prevention of bulimia, describing each model component. The article considers the individual's beliefs about bulimia and bulimic-like behaviors as a means of predicting the likelihood of behavior change to prevent clinically diagnosable bulimia. (SM)

Examining the incremental contribution of metacognitive beliefs beyond content-specific beliefs in relation to posttraumatic stress in a community sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Fergus, Thomas A; Bardeen, Joseph R

2017-11-01

Cognitive-behavioral models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) propose that the content of one's thoughts, including negative beliefs about the self, others, and world, play a fundamental role in our understanding and treatment of PTSD. Metacognitive theory suggests that metacognitive beliefs (i.e., beliefs about thinking), rather than content-specific beliefs, underlie PTSD. The present study provided the first known examination of the incremental contribution of metacognitive beliefs and trauma-related cognitions in relation to posttraumatic stress. Community adults recruited through an online crowdsourcing website who reported experiencing a criterion A traumatic event (N = 299) completed self-report measures of the study variables. Results from multiple linear regression analyses indicated that metacognitive beliefs of the uncontrollability and danger of thinking shared associations with each posttraumatic stress symptom cluster after accounting for the effects of content-specific beliefs and other covariates. The individual content-specific beliefs did not consistently share associations with posttraumatic stress symptoms in the regression analyses. The contribution of the individual content-specific beliefs to posttraumatic stress symptoms was consistently attenuated or rendered nonsignificant after accounting for metacognitive beliefs. These results are consistent with metacognitive theory in suggesting that metacognitive beliefs may be more important than trauma-related thought content in relation to posttraumatic stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

An application of belief-importance theory with reference to trait emotional intelligence, mood, and somatic complaints.

Science.gov (United States)

Petrides, K V

2011-04-01

This article describes the basic principles of belief-importance (belimp) theory and tests them in two empirical studies. Belimp theory hypothesizes that personality traits confer a propensity to perceive convergences and divergences between our belief that we can attain goals and the importance that we place on these goals. Belief and importance are conceptualized as two coordinates, together defining the belimp plane. Four distinct quadrants can be identified within the belimp plane (Hubris, Motivation, Depression and Apathy), broadly corresponding to the personality dimensions of trait emotional intelligence, conscientiousness, neuroticism and introversion. Study 1 (N=365) defines the four quadrants in relation to goals about financial security and shows that they score differently on trait emotional intelligence, mood and somatic complaints. Study 2 (N=230) defines the quadrants in relation to goals about appearance and, separately, in relation to goals about popularity, and replicates the findings of the first study. Strategies and requirements for testing belimp theory are presented, as are a number of theoretical and practical advantages that it can potentially offer. © 2010 The Author. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2010 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

Measurement of math beliefs and their associations with math behaviors in college students.

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Hendy, Helen M; Schorschinsky, Nancy; Wade, Barbara

2014-12-01

Our purpose in the present study was to expand understanding of math beliefs in college students by developing 3 new psychometrically tested scales as guided by expectancy-value theory, self-efficacy theory, and health belief model. Additionally, we identified which math beliefs (and which theory) best explained variance in math behaviors and performance by college students and which students were most likely to have problematic math beliefs. Study participants included 368 college math students who completed questionnaires to report math behaviors (attending class, doing homework, reading textbooks, asking for help) and used a 5-point rating scale to indicate a variety of math beliefs. For a subset of 84 students, math professors provided final math grades. Factor analyses produced a 10-item Math Value Scale with 2 subscales (Class Devaluation, No Future Value), a 7-item single-dimension Math Confidence Scale, and an 11-item Math Barriers Scale with 2 subscales (Math Anxiety, Discouraging Words). Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that high levels of the newly discovered class devaluation belief (guided by expectancy-value theory) were most consistently associated with poor math behaviors in college students, with high math anxiety (guided by health belief model) and low math confidence (guided by self-efficacy theory) also found to be significant. Analyses of covariance revealed that younger and male students were at increased risk for class devaluation and older students were at increased risk for poor math confidence. (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Motivational beliefs, values, and goals.

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Eccles, Jacquelynne S; Wigfield, Allan

2002-01-01

This chapter reviews the recent research on motivation, beliefs, values, and goals, focusing on developmental and educational psychology. The authors divide the chapter into four major sections: theories focused on expectancies for success (self-efficacy theory and control theory), theories focused on task value (theories focused on intrinsic motivation, self-determination, flow, interest, and goals), theories that integrate expectancies and values (attribution theory, the expectancy-value models of Eccles et al., Feather, and Heckhausen, and self-worth theory), and theories integrating motivation and cognition (social cognitive theories of self-regulation and motivation, the work by Winne & Marx, Borkowski et al., Pintrich et al., and theories of motivation and volition). The authors end the chapter with a discussion of how to integrate theories of self-regulation and expectancy-value models of motivation and suggest new directions for future research.

A new non-specificity measure in evidence theory based on belief intervals

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Yang Yi; Han Deqiang; Jean Dezert

2016-01-01

In the theory of belief functions, the measure of uncertainty is an important concept, which is used for representing some types of uncertainty incorporated in bodies of evidence such as the discord and the non-specificity. For the non-specificity part, some traditional measures use for reference the Hartley measure in classical set theory;other traditional measures use the simple and heuristic function for joint use of mass assignments and the cardinality of focal elements. In this paper, a new non-specificity measure is proposed using lengths of belief intervals, which represent the degree of imprecision. Therefore, it has more intuitive physical meaning. It can be proved that our new measure can be rewritten in a general form for the non-specificity. Our new measure is also proved to be a strict non-specificity measure with some desired properties. Numerical examples, simulations, the related analyses and proofs are provided to show the characteristics and good properties of the new non-specificity definition. An example of an application of the new non-specificity measure is also presented.

The message changes belief and the rest is theory: the "1% or less" milk campaign and reasoned action.

Science.gov (United States)

Booth-Butterfield, Steve; Reger, Bill

2004-09-01

Theory-based approaches to public health interventions are useful for designing, implementing, and evaluating research. This paper describes and presents data to support the theoretical force behind the "1% or less" nutrition intervention studies. Using the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), high-fat (whole and 2%) milk users were targeted. Supermarket milk sale data were collected, and randomly selected intervention and comparison community residents were surveyed via telephone to assess milk use. TRA constructs were used in the surveys that were conducted immediately before and after a 6-week mass media campaign. Campaign messages were aimed at changing behavioral rather than normative beliefs. We found significant and predicted changes in intervention participants on intention, attitude, and behavioral beliefs, but not subjective norm outcomes. A path model showed support that TRA variables mediated significant changes in self-reported milk use. The analysis further validates the TRAs and supports a template using both the Principle of Compatibility and TRA to aid development and implementation of messages for effective behavior change field interventions.

The Pivotal Role of Effort Beliefs in Mediating Implicit Theories of Intelligence and Achievement Goals and Academic Motivations

Science.gov (United States)

Tempelaar, Dirk T.; Rienties, Bart; Giesbers, Bas; Gijselaers, Wim H.

2015-01-01

Empirical studies into meaning systems surrounding implicit theories of intelligence typically entail two stringent assumptions: that different implicit theories and different effort beliefs represent opposite poles on a single scale, and that implicit theories directly impact the constructs as achievement goals and academic motivations. Through…

Holographic Transformation, Belief Propagation and Loop Calculus for Generalized Probabilistic Theories

OpenAIRE

Mori, Ryuhei

2015-01-01

The holographic transformation, belief propagation and loop calculus are generalized to problems in generalized probabilistic theories including quantum mechanics. In this work, the partition function of classical factor graph is represented by an inner product of two high-dimensional vectors both of which can be decomposed to tensor products of low-dimensional vectors. On the representation, the holographic transformation is clearly understood by using adjoint linear maps. Furthermore, on th...

Lenses on reading an introduction to theories and models

CERN Document Server

Tracey, Diane H

2017-01-01

Widely adopted as an ideal introduction to the major models of reading, this text guides students to understand and facilitate children's literacy development. Coverage encompasses the full range of theories that have informed reading instruction and research, from classical thinking to cutting-edge cognitive, social learning, physiological, and affective perspectives. Readers learn how theory shapes instructional decision making and how to critically evaluate the assumptions and beliefs that underlie their own teaching. Pedagogical features include framing and discussion questions, learning a

An Evaluation of Self-Esteem and Impression Management Theories of Anticipatory Belief Change.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaes, Gerald G.; Tedeschi, James T.

1978-01-01

Theories of anticipatory belief change were examined as a function of whether subjects were reminded that their preexperimental attitudes were known, the source of the expected persuasive communication (expert vs peer), and whether instructions were given on the experimenter's concern with opinion change. All three variables interacted.…

Development of a theory-based (PEN-3 and Health Belief Model), culturally relevant intervention on cervical cancer prevention among Latina immigrants using intervention mapping.

Science.gov (United States)

Scarinci, Isabel C; Bandura, Lisa; Hidalgo, Bertha; Cherrington, Andrea

2012-01-01

The development of efficacious theory-based, culturally relevant interventions to promote cervical cancer prevention among underserved populations is crucial to the elimination of cancer disparities. The purpose of this article is to describe the development of a theory-based, culturally relevant intervention focusing on primary (sexual risk reduction) and secondary (Pap smear) prevention of cervical cancer among Latina immigrants using intervention mapping (IM). The PEN-3 and Health Belief Model provided theoretical guidance for the intervention development and implementation. IM provides a logical five-step framework in intervention development: delineating proximal program objectives, selecting theory-based intervention methods and strategies, developing a program plan, planning for adoption in implementation, and creating evaluation plans and instruments. We first conducted an extensive literature review and qualitatively examined the sociocultural factors associated with primary and secondary prevention of cervical cancer. We then proceeded to quantitatively validate the qualitative findings, which led to development matrices linking the theoretical constructs with intervention objectives and strategies as well as evaluation. IM was a helpful tool in the development of a theory-based, culturally relevant intervention addressing primary and secondary prevention among Latina immigrants.

Folk-Economic Beliefs: An Evolutionary Cognitive Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyer, Pascal; Petersen, Michael Bang

2017-10-12

The domain of "folk-economics" consists in explicit beliefs about the economy held by laypeople, untrained in economics, about such topics as e.g., the causes of the wealth of nations, the benefits or drawbacks of markets and international trade, the effects of regulation, the origins of inequality, the connection between work and wages, the economic consequences of immigration, or the possible causes of unemployment. These beliefs are crucial in forming people's political beliefs, and in shaping their reception of different policies. Yet, they often conflict with elementary principles of economic theory and are often described as the consequences of ignorance, irrationality or specific biases. As we will argue, these past perspectives fail to predict the particular contents of popular folk-economic beliefs and, as a result, there is no systematic study of the cognitive factors involved in their emergence and cultural success. Here we propose that the cultural success of particular beliefs about the economy is predictable if we consider the influence of specialized, largely automatic inference systems that evolved as adaptations to ancestral human small-scale sociality. These systems, for which there is independent evidence, include free-rider detection, fairness-based partner-choice, ownership intuitions, coalitional psychology, and more. Information about modern mass-market conditions activates these specific inference-systems, resulting in particular intuitions, e.g., that impersonal transactions are dangerous or that international trade is a zero-sum game. These intuitions in turn make specific policy proposals more likely than others to become intuitively compelling, and as a consequence exert a crucial influence on political choices.

Beliefs about God and mental health among American adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Silton, Nava R; Flannelly, Kevin J; Galek, Kathleen; Ellison, Christopher G

2014-10-01

This study examines the association between beliefs about God and psychiatric symptoms in the context of Evolutionary Threat Assessment System Theory, using data from the 2010 Baylor Religion Survey of US Adults (N = 1,426). Three beliefs about God were tested separately in ordinary least squares regression models to predict five classes of psychiatric symptoms: general anxiety, social anxiety, paranoia, obsession, and compulsion. Belief in a punitive God was positively associated with four psychiatric symptoms, while belief in a benevolent God was negatively associated with four psychiatric symptoms, controlling for demographic characteristics, religiousness, and strength of belief in God. Belief in a deistic God and one's overall belief in God were not significantly related to any psychiatric symptoms.

Measuring Individual Differences in Generic Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories Across Cultures: Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire

Science.gov (United States)

Bruder, Martin; Haffke, Peter; Neave, Nick; Nouripanah, Nina; Imhoff, Roland

2013-01-01

Conspiracy theories are ubiquitous when it comes to explaining political events and societal phenomena. Individuals differ not only in the degree to which they believe in specific conspiracy theories, but also in their general susceptibility to explanations based on such theories, that is, their conspiracy mentality. We present the Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire (CMQ), an instrument designed to efficiently assess differences in the generic tendency to engage in conspiracist ideation within and across cultures. The CMQ is available in English, German, and Turkish. In four studies, we examined the CMQ’s factorial structure, reliability, measurement equivalence across cultures, and its convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity. Analyses based on a cross-cultural sample (Study 1a; N = 7,766) supported the conceptualization of conspiracy mentality as a one-dimensional construct across the three language versions of the CMQ that is stable across time (Study 1b; N = 141). Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated cross-cultural measurement equivalence of the CMQ items. The instrument could therefore be used to examine differences in conspiracy mentality between European, North American, and Middle Eastern cultures. In Studies 2–4 (total N = 476), we report (re-)analyses of three datasets demonstrating the validity of the CMQ in student and working population samples in the UK and Germany. First, attesting to its convergent validity, the CMQ was highly correlated with another measure of generic conspiracy belief. Second, the CMQ showed patterns of meaningful associations with personality measures (e.g., Big Five dimensions, schizotypy), other generalized political attitudes (e.g., social dominance orientation and right-wing authoritarianism), and further individual differences (e.g., paranormal belief, lack of socio-political control). Finally, the CMQ predicted beliefs in specific conspiracy theories over and above other individual

Beliefs About Appearance, Cognitive Distraction and Sexual Functioning in Men and Women: A Mediation Model Based on Cognitive Theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Elizabet; Pascoal, Patrícia M; Nobre, Pedro

2016-09-01

Dysfunctional beliefs about body appearance and cognitive distraction from body appearance during sexual activity have been associated with sexual problems, particularly in women. However, there are no studies examining the interplay between these dimensions and the mechanisms by which they affect sexual functioning. To examine the mediating role of cognitive distraction with body appearance on the relation between beliefs about appearance and sexual functioning. The study sample consisted of 426 heterosexual participants (129 men and 297 women) involved in an exclusive dyadic committed relationship who answered an online questionnaire. The Body Appearance Cognitive Distraction Scale, the Beliefs About Appearance Scale, the International Index of Erectile Function, and the Female Sexual Function Index. The findings indicated that cognitive distraction with body appearance fully mediated the relation between beliefs about appearance and sexual functioning in men and women. The results support the role of beliefs about appearance and cognitive distraction based on body appearance in predicting sexual functioning, reaffirming the role of cognitive models in explaining sexual functioning in men and women. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Sexual Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Recursive BDI-Agent Model for Theory of Mind and its Applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosse, T.; Memon, Z.A.; Treur, J.

2011-01-01

This article discusses a formal belief, desire, intention (BDI)-based agent model for theory of mind (ToM). The model uses BDI concepts to describe the reasoning process of an agent that reasons about the reasoning process of another agent, which is also based on BDI concepts. We discuss three

Crack smokers' intention to use condoms with loved partners: intervention development using the theory of reasoned action, condom beliefs, and processes of change.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowen, A M; Williams, M; McCoy, H V; McCoy, C B

2001-10-01

Prevalence rates of HIV infection acquired through heterosexual contacts have risen steadily since 1982. Crack cocaine smokers are at particular risk of HIV infection due to heterosexual exposure. HIV risk reduction interventions seeking to increase condom use among drug users have met with minimal success, and there is a need for interventions to be strongly grounded in psychosocial models of behaviour change. This study presents the results of an investigation of predictors of intention to use condoms and related therapy processes among heterosexual drug users. Data were analyzed from 586 crack smokers recruited in Washington, DC, Miami, Florida, and Collier County, Florida who reported having both primary and casual sex partners. Participants responded to items derived from the theory of reasoned action, the theory of planned behaviour and the transtheoretical model of change. Condom use beliefs and therapy processes used to initiate and maintain condom use were assessed. Outcome expectancies and normative beliefs were the strongest predictors of intention to use condoms with a primary sexual partner. In turn, beliefs that condoms inhibit sexual romance and decrease sexual pleasure strongly predicted outcome expectancies. Therapy processes found to be associated with these constructs included: self-liberation, counter conditioning and stimulus control/reinforcement. Results suggest that HIV risk reduction interventions using a group format and targeting condom beliefs related to sexual romance and pleasure will decrease negative outcome expectancies about condom use. Also, reinforcing attempts to use condoms with intimate partners should increase positive outcome expectancies and intention to initiate or maintain condoms with a primary sexual partner.

The SDT Model of Belief Bias: Complexity, Time, and Cognitive Ability Mediate the Effects of Believability

Science.gov (United States)

Trippas, Dries; Handley, Simon J.; Verde, Michael F.

2013-01-01

When people evaluate conclusions, they are often influenced by prior beliefs. Prevalent theories claim that "belief bias" affects the quality of syllogistic reasoning. However, recent work by Dube, Rotello, and Heit (2010) has suggested that belief bias may be a simple response bias. In Experiment 1, receiver operating characteristic…

Theory of Belief Functions for Data Analysis and Machine Learning Applications: Review and Prospects

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Denoeux, Thierry

The Dempster-Shafer theory of belief functions provides a unified framework for handling both aleatory uncertainty, arising from statistical variability in populations, and epistemic uncertainty, arising from incompleteness of knowledge. An overview of both the fundamentals and some recent developments in this theory will first be presented. Several applications in data analysis and machine learning will then be reviewed, including learning under partial supervision, multi-label classification, ensemble clustering and the treatment of pairwise comparisons in sensory or preference analysis.

Theory of mind development in Chinese children: a meta-analysis of false-belief understanding across cultures and languages.

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Liu, David; Wellman, Henry M; Tardif, Twila; Sabbagh, Mark A

2008-03-01

Theory of mind is claimed to develop universally among humans across cultures with vastly different folk psychologies. However, in the attempt to test and confirm a claim of universality, individual studies have been limited by small sample sizes, sample specificities, and an overwhelming focus on Anglo- European children. The current meta-analysis of children's false-belief performance provides the most comprehensive examination to date of theory-of-mind development in a population of non-Western children speaking non-Indo-European languages (i.e., Mandarin and Cantonese). The meta-analysis consisted of 196 Chinese conditions (127 from mainland China and 69 from Hong Kong), representing responses from more than 3,000 children, compared with 155 similar North American conditions (83 conditions from the United States and 72 conditions from Canada). The findings show parallel developmental trajectories of false-belief understanding for children in China and North America coupled with significant differences in the timing of development across communities-children's false-belief performance varied across different locales by as much as 2 or more years. These data support the importance of both universal trajectories and specific experiential factors in the development of theory of mind.

The Impact of a Practice-Teaching Professional Development Model on Teachers' Inquiry Instruction and Inquiry Efficacy Beliefs

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Lotter, Christine R.; Thompson, Stephen; Dickenson, Tammiee S.; Smiley, Whitney F.; Blue, Genine; Rea, Mary

2018-01-01

This study examined changes in middle school teachers' beliefs about inquiry, implementation of inquiry practices, and self-efficacy to teach science through inquiry after participating in a year-long professional development program. The professional development model design was based on Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory of learning and…

Measurement Models for Reasoned Action Theory

OpenAIRE

Hennessy, Michael; Bleakley, Amy; Fishbein, Martin

2012-01-01

Quantitative researchers distinguish between causal and effect indicators. What are the analytic problems when both types of measures are present in a quantitative reasoned action analysis? To answer this question, we use data from a longitudinal study to estimate the association between two constructs central to reasoned action theory: behavioral beliefs and attitudes toward the behavior. The belief items are causal indicators that define a latent variable index while the attitude items are ...

Deep Belief Nets for Topic Modeling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maaløe, Lars; Arngren, Morten; Winther, Ole

2015-01-01

-formative. In this paper we describe large-scale content based collaborative filtering for digital publishing. To solve the digital publishing recommender problem we compare two approaches: latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) and deep be-lief nets (DBN) that both find low-dimensional latent representations for documents....... Efficient retrieval can be carried out in the latent representation. We work both on public benchmarks and digital media content provided by Issuu, an on-line publishing platform. This article also comes with a newly developed deep belief nets toolbox for topic modeling tailored towards performance...

A comparison of Theory of Planned Behavior beliefs and healthy eating between couples without children and first-time parents.

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Bassett-Gunter, Rebecca L; Levy-Milne, Ryna; Naylor, Patti Jean; Symons Downs, Danielle; Benoit, Cecilia; Warburton, Darren E R; Blanchard, Chris M; Rhodes, Ryan E

2015-01-01

To examine the relationship between Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) beliefs and eating behavior, explore which beliefs have the greatest association with eating behavior, and explore differences between adults without children and first-time parents. Longitudinal evaluation via questionnaires and food records at baseline and 6 and 12 months. Couples without children (n = 72) and first-time parents (n = 100). fruit and vegetable consumption and fat consumption. TPB beliefs. Pearson correlations between TPB beliefs and eating behavior; exploratory data reduction via linear regression. Control beliefs were associated with eating behavior (r = .26-.46; P controlling for past behavior, control beliefs were associated with eating behavior for first-time parents only. Control beliefs regarding preparation and time had the strongest associations with fruit and vegetable consumption for mothers (β = .26; P control beliefs suggests room for improvement via intervention. Interventions guided by TPB should target control beliefs to enhance healthy eating among new parents. Strategies (eg, individual, environmental, policy) to enhance control beliefs regarding healthy eating despite limited time and opportunity for preparation may be particularly valuable. Copyright © 2015 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bayesian Image Segmentations by Potts Prior and Loopy Belief Propagation

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Tanaka, Kazuyuki; Kataoka, Shun; Yasuda, Muneki; Waizumi, Yuji; Hsu, Chiou-Ting

2014-12-01

This paper presents a Bayesian image segmentation model based on Potts prior and loopy belief propagation. The proposed Bayesian model involves several terms, including the pairwise interactions of Potts models, and the average vectors and covariant matrices of Gauss distributions in color image modeling. These terms are often referred to as hyperparameters in statistical machine learning theory. In order to determine these hyperparameters, we propose a new scheme for hyperparameter estimation based on conditional maximization of entropy in the Potts prior. The algorithm is given based on loopy belief propagation. In addition, we compare our conditional maximum entropy framework with the conventional maximum likelihood framework, and also clarify how the first order phase transitions in loopy belief propagations for Potts models influence our hyperparameter estimation procedures.

Modeling the Evolution of Beliefs Using an Attentional Focus Mechanism.

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Dimitrije Marković

2015-10-01

Full Text Available For making decisions in everyday life we often have first to infer the set of environmental features that are relevant for the current task. Here we investigated the computational mechanisms underlying the evolution of beliefs about the relevance of environmental features in a dynamical and noisy environment. For this purpose we designed a probabilistic Wisconsin card sorting task (WCST with belief solicitation, in which subjects were presented with stimuli composed of multiple visual features. At each moment in time a particular feature was relevant for obtaining reward, and participants had to infer which feature was relevant and report their beliefs accordingly. To test the hypothesis that attentional focus modulates the belief update process, we derived and fitted several probabilistic and non-probabilistic behavioral models, which either incorporate a dynamical model of attentional focus, in the form of a hierarchical winner-take-all neuronal network, or a diffusive model, without attention-like features. We used Bayesian model selection to identify the most likely generative model of subjects' behavior and found that attention-like features in the behavioral model are essential for explaining subjects' responses. Furthermore, we demonstrate a method for integrating both connectionist and Bayesian models of decision making within a single framework that allowed us to infer hidden belief processes of human subjects.

Survey of osteoporosis preventive behaviors among women in Fasa: The Application of the Health Belief Model and Social Cognitive Theory

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Ali Khani Jeihooni

2016-04-01

self-regulation, social protection of social cognitive theory, and questionnaire of functional feeding and walking were determined to prevent osteoporosis in women. The data were analyzed using SPSS 16 software. Results: The average age of women was 40/9± 6/2 years. The variables of perceived susceptibility, motivation, social support and self-regulation for walking behavior and variables of perceived sensitivity and self-regulation for feeding behavior were predicted. There was a significant association between walking performance and perceived susceptibility (B=0.252 ,p=0/007, motivation (B=0.235 ,p=0.009, social support (B=0.078 ,p=0.030 and Self-regulation (B=0.105 ,p=0.007. In this study, there was a significant association between nutritional performance and perceived susceptibility (B=0.10,p=0.02, self-regulation (r=0.069 ,p=0.050. The variables under study expressed 29/1% of the variance in walking behavior and 20/2% of the variance in feeding behavior in osteoporosis prevention. Conclusion: The study indicated that perceived susceptibility, motivation, self-regulation and social support, otherwise more people might have osteoporosis preventive behaviors better .Health Belief Model and Social Cognitive Theory can be used as a framework for designing and implementing educational interventions for the prevention of osteoporosis in women and can help to improve and maintain their health.

Effect of health belief model and health promotion model on breast cancer early diagnosis behavior: a systematic review.

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Ersin, Fatma; Bahar, Zuhal

2011-01-01

Breast cancer is an important public health problem on the grounds that it is frequently seen and it is a fatal disease. The objective of this systematic analysis is to indicate the effects of interventions performed by nurses by using the Health Belief Model (HBM) and Health Promotion Model (HPM) on the breast cancer early diagnosis behaviors and on the components of the Health Belief Model and Health Promotion Model. The reveiw was created in line with the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination guide dated 2009 (CRD) and developed by York University National Institute of Health Researches. Review was conducted by using PUBMED, OVID, EBSCO and COCHRANE databases. Six hundred seventy eight studies (PUBMED: 236, OVID: 162, EBSCO: 175, COCHRANE:105) were found in total at the end of the review. Abstracts and full texts of these six hundred seventy eight studies were evaluated in terms of inclusion and exclusion criteria and 9 studies were determined to meet the criteria. Samplings of the studies varied between ninety four and one thousand six hundred fifty five. It was detected in the studies that educations provided by taking the theories as basis became effective on the breast cancer early diagnosis behaviors. When the literature is examined, it is observed that the experimental researches which compare the concepts of Health Belief Model (HBM) and Health Promotion Model (HPM) preoperatively and postoperatively and show the effect of these concepts on education and are conducted by nurses are limited in number. Randomized controlled studies which compare HBM and HPM concepts preoperatively and postoperatively and show the efficiency of the interventions can be useful in evaluating the efficiency of the interventions.

Attitudes Towards Seeking Psychological Help: An Integrative Model Based on Contact, Essentialist Beliefs About Mental Illness, and Stigma.

Science.gov (United States)

Hantzi, Alexandra; Anagnostopoulos, Fotios; Alexiou, Eva

2018-06-16

Based on intergroup contact theory, a proposed comprehensive model of attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help was tested, including both potential barriers to mental health help-seeking (i.e., public stigma and self-stigma of seeking help, prejudicial and essentialist beliefs about mental illness, intergroup anxiety) and potential facilitators (i.e., direct and extended contact with persons with mental illness). Relevant measures were completed by 119 community-dwelling participants. Path analysis showed that direct (but not extended) contact with mental illness, by reducing intergroup anxiety, led to less negative beliefs about mental illness and weaker essentialist beliefs about mental illness (the latter being directly and positively associated with negative beliefs about mental illness). Moreover, less negative beliefs about mental illness, by reducing perceptions of self (but not public) stigma of seeking psychological help, were related to more positive attitudes towards help-seeking. Results are discussed in the context of the (unintentional) adverse effects of biogenetic (essentialist) explanations of mental disorders, and the clinical implications regarding interventions that aim at improving help-seeking attitudes.

Global Diversity and Local Consensus in Status Beliefs : The Role of Network Clustering and Resistance to Belief Change

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Grow, André; Flache, Andreas; Wittek, Rafael

2017-01-01

Formal models of status construction theory suggest that beliefs about the relative social worth and competence of members of different social groups can emerge from face-to-face interactions in task-focused groups and eventually become consensual in large populations. We propose two extensions of

Logical Theories for Agent Introspection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bolander, Thomas

2004-01-01

Artificial intelligence systems (agents) generally have models of the environments they inhabit which they use for representing facts, for reasoning about these facts and for planning actions. Much intelligent behaviour seems to involve an ability to model not only one's external environment...... by self-reference. In the standard approach taken in artificial intelligence, the model that an agent has of its environment is represented as a set of beliefs. These beliefs are expressed as logical formulas within a formal, logical theory. When the logical theory is expressive enough to allow...... introspective reasoning, the presence of self-reference causes the theory to be prone to inconsistency. The challenge therefore becomes to construct logical theories supporting introspective reasoning while at the same time ensuring that consistency is retained. In the thesis, we meet this challenge by devising...

Social norms and efficacy beliefs drive the Alarmed segment’s public-sphere climate actions

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Doherty, Kathryn L.; Webler, Thomas N.

2016-09-01

Surprisingly few individuals who are highly concerned about climate change take action to influence public policies. To assess social-psychological and cognitive drivers of public-sphere climate actions of Global Warming’s Six Americas `Alarmed’ segment, we developed a behaviour model and tested it using structural equation modelling of survey data from Vermont, USA (N = 702). Our model, which integrates social cognitive theory, social norms research, and value belief norm theory, explains 36-64% of the variance in five behaviours. Here we show descriptive social norms, self-efficacy, personal response efficacy, and collective response efficacy as strong driving forces of: voting, donating, volunteering, contacting government officials, and protesting about climate change. The belief that similar others took action increased behaviour and strengthened efficacy beliefs, which also led to greater action. Our results imply that communication efforts targeting Alarmed individuals and their public actions should include strategies that foster beliefs about positive descriptive social norms and efficacy.

Changing Conspiracy Beliefs through Rationality and Ridiculing.

Science.gov (United States)

Orosz, Gábor; Krekó, Péter; Paskuj, Benedek; Tóth-Király, István; Bőthe, Beáta; Roland-Lévy, Christine

2016-01-01

Conspiracy theory (CT) beliefs can be harmful. How is it possible to reduce them effectively? Three reduction strategies were tested in an online experiment using general and well-known CT beliefs on a comprehensive randomly assigned Hungarian sample ( N = 813): exposing rational counter CT arguments, ridiculing those who hold CT beliefs, and empathizing with the targets of CT beliefs. Several relevant individual differences were measured. Rational and ridiculing arguments were effective in reducing CT, whereas empathizing with the targets of CTs had no effect. Individual differences played no role in CT reduction, but the perceived intelligence and competence of the individual who conveyed the CT belief-reduction information contributed to the success of the CT belief reduction. Rational arguments targeting the link between the object of belief and its characteristics appear to be an effective tool in fighting conspiracy theory beliefs.

Analyzing Sexual Health-Related Beliefs Among Couples in Marriage Based on the Health Belief Model

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Majid Barati

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Sexual health is the integrity between mind, emotions, and body, and any disorder leading to discoordination, can be associated with sexual dysfunction. The aim of this study was to investigate the beliefs of couples attending marriage counseling centers toward sexual health based on the health belief model. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional descriptive study was performed on 400 couples referring to marriage counseling centers of Hamadan recruited with a random sampling method. The participants completed a self-administered questionnaire including demographic characteristics, knowledge and health belief model constructs. Data analysis was performed using SPSS-16 software, by Pearson’s coefficient correlation, independent T-test, and one-way ANOVA. Results: Couples had a moderate knowledge of sexual health. In addition, perceived susceptibility and severity of the consequences of unsafe sexual behavior among couples were not satisfactory however, perceived benefits and barriers were reported in a relatively good level. Internet and friends were the most important sources for sexual health information. Conclusion: Promoting knowledge and beliefs toward sexual health by preparing training packages based on the needs of couples and removing obstacles to have normal sexual behavior are necessary.

Measuring Individual Differences in Generic Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories Across Cultures: The Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire (CMQ

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Martin eBruder

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Conspiracy theories are ubiquitous when it comes to explaining political events and societal phenomena. Individuals differ not only in the degree to which they believe in specific conspiracy theories, but also in their general susceptibility to explanations based on such theories, that is, their conspiracy mentality. We present the Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire (CMQ, an instrument designed to efficiently assess differences in the generic tendency to engage in conspiracist ideation within and across cultures. The CMQ is available in English, German, and Turkish. In four studies, we examined the CMQ’s factorial structure, reliability, measurement equivalence across cultures, and its convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity. Analyses based on a cross-cultural sample (Study 1a; N = 7,766 supported the conceptualization of conspiracy mentality as a one-dimensional construct across the three language versions of the CMQ that is stable across time (Study 1b; N = 141. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated cross-cultural measurement equivalence of the CMQ items. The instrument could therefore be used to examine differences in conspiracy mentality between European, North American, and Middle Eastern cultures. In Studies 2-4 (total N = 476, we report (re-analyses of 3 datasets demonstrating the validity of the CMQ in student and working population samples in the UK and Germany. First, attesting to its convergent validity, the CMQ was highly correlated with another measure of generic conspiracy belief. Second, the CMQ showed patterns of meaningful associations with personality measures (e.g., Big Five dimensions, schizotypy, other generalized political attitudes (e.g., social dominance orientation and right-wing authoritarianism, and further individual differences (e.g., paranormal belief, lack of socio-political control. Finally, the CMQ predicted beliefs in specific conspiracy theories over and above other individual

Theories of reasoned action and planned behavior as models of condom use: a meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Albarracín, D; Johnson, B T; Fishbein, M; Muellerleile, P A

2001-01-01

To examine how well the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior predict condom use, the authors synthesized 96 data sets (N = 22,594) containing associations between the models' key variables. Consistent with the theory of reasoned action's predictions, (a) condom use was related to intentions (weighted mean r. = .45), (b) intentions were based on attitudes (r. = .58) and subjective norms (r. = .39), and (c) attitudes were associated with behavioral beliefs (r. = .56) and norms were associated with normative beliefs (r. = .46). Consistent with the theory of planned behavior's predictions, perceived behavioral control was related to condom use intentions (r. = .45) and condom use (r. = .25), but in contrast to the theory, it did not contribute significantly to condom use. The strength of these associations, however, was influenced by the consideration of past behavior. Implications of these results for HIV prevention efforts are discussed.

What Happens When a Teacher's Science Belief Structure Is in Disequilibrium? Entangled Nature of Beliefs and Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Anita; Park, Soonhye; Hand, Brian

2017-08-01

This qualitative case study examined the process of change in an experienced elementary teacher's belief structure during implementation of an inquiry-based science program. Difficulties generally associated with ascertaining beliefs were minimized by using Leatham's (Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 9, 91-102 (2006) Sensible System Framework, enabling researchers to obtain rich descriptions of the teacher's belief structure by focusing on words (professed beliefs), intentions (intended beliefs), and actions (enacted beliefs). Models were constructed of the teacher's belief structure before and after implementation of the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) approach (Hand et al. International Journal of Science Education, 26(2), 131-149, 2004), an inquiry-based approach to teaching science. Key beliefs for this teacher were related to how students learn, goals for teaching science, focus of instruction, and roles of teacher and student. Ultimately, the teacher shifted her professed, intended, and enacted beliefs resulting in a shift from a teacher-centered to a student-centered classroom. Findings support Thagard's Coherence Theory of Justification (2002), positing that change in one belief creates a state of disequilibrium that must be alleviated by changing/realigning other beliefs in order to re-establish coherence in the overall belief structure. This research focus is distinct from the general trend in teacher beliefs research in important ways. Most significant is that this study was not focused on the traditional two lists—those beliefs that were consistent with practice and those that were inconsistent with practice—but instead focused on the entwined nature of beliefs and practice and have shown that a teacher's practice can be viewed as their enacted beliefs, an integral part of the teacher's overall belief structure.

Exploring the relation between People’s Theories of Intelligence and Beliefs about Brain Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashley J Thomas

2015-07-01

Full Text Available A person’s belief about whether intelligence can change (called their implicit theory of intelligence predicts something about that person’s thinking and behavior. People who believe intelligence is fixed (called entity theorists attribute failure to traits (i.e. I failed the test because I’m not smart. and tend to be less motivated in school; those who believe intelligence is malleable (called incremental theorists tend to attribute failure to behavior (i.e. I failed the test because I didn’t study. and are more motivated in school. In previous studies, researchers have characterized participants as either entity or incremental theorists based on their agreement or disagreement with three statements. The present study further explored the theories-of-intelligence construct in two ways: first, we asked whether these theories are coherent, in the sense that they show up not only in participants’ responses to the three standard assessment items, but on a broad range of questions about intelligence and the brain. Second, we asked whether these theories are discrete or continuous. In other words, we asked whether people one thing or the other (i.e. that intelligence is malleable or fixed, or if there is a continuous range of beliefs (i.e., people believe in malleability to a greater or lesser degree. Study (1 asked participants a range of general questions about the malleability of intelligence and the brain. Study (2 asked participants more specific questions about the brains of a pair of identical twins who were separated at birth. Results showed that theories of intelligence are coherent: participants’ responses to the three standard survey items are correlated with their responses to questions about the brain. But the theories are not discrete: although responses to the three standard survey items fell into a bimodal distribution, responses to the broader range of questions fell into a normal distribution suggesting the theories are

Examining the Effect of External Factors and Context-Dependent Beliefs of Teachers in the Use of ICT in Teaching: Using an Elaborated Theory of Planned Behavior

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Salleh, Sallimah; Laxman, Kumar

2015-01-01

Research into teachers' attitudes, beliefs, competence, and inhibitions in relation to their use of technology may provide answers to a series of questions from administrators that relate to teachers' classroom implementation of Information and Communication Technology. The theory of planned behavior is a useful model for providing a framework for…

Modeling intelligent agent beliefs in a card game scenario

Science.gov (United States)

Gołuński, Marcel; Tomanek, Roman; WÄ siewicz, Piotr

In this paper we explore the problem of intelligent agent beliefs. We model agent beliefs using multimodal logics of belief, KD45(m) system implemented as a directed graph depicting Kripke semantics, precisely. We present a card game engine application which allows multiple agents to connect to a given game session and play the card game. As an example simplified version of popular Saboteur card game is used. Implementation was done in Java language using following libraries and applications: Apache Mina, LWJGL.

Belief-based Tobacco Smoking Scale: Evaluating the PsychometricProperties of the Theory of Planned Behavior’s Constructs

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Majid Barati

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Background: At present, there are no comprehensive validated instruments for measuring adolescents’ beliefs regarding tobacco smoking in the Iranian society. This study aimed to evaluate the validity, reliability and feasibility of the belief-based tobacco smoking scale using the Theory of Planned Behavior’s (TPB constructs as a theoretical framework.Methods: This cross-sectional validation study was carried out on 410 male adolescents of Hamadan, west of Iran, recruited through multi-stage random sampling method. Reliability was assessed by internal consistency and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC. In addition, Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA and Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA were performed to test construct valid-ity. Content validity was examined using Content Validity Index (CVI and Con-tent Validity Ratio (CVR.Results: Results obtained from factor analysis showed that the data was fit to the model (X2=391.43, P<0.001 and TPB consisted of 22 items measuring sev-en components which explaining 69.7% of the common variance. The mean scores for the CVI and CVR were 0.89 and 0.80; respectively. Additional anal-yses indicated acceptable results for internal consistency reliability values ranging from 0.55 to 0.92.Conclusion: The belief-based tobacco smoking questionnaire is a reliable and valid instrument and now is acceptable and suitable and can be used in future studies.

Testing Theory of Planned Behavior and Neo-Socioanalytic Theory models of trait activity, industriousness, exercise social cognitions, exercise intentions, and physical activity in a representative U.S. sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Vo, Phuong T; Bogg, Tim

2015-01-01

Prior research identified assorted relations between trait and social cognition models of personality and engagement in physical activity. Using a representative U.S. sample (N = 957), the goal of the present study was to test two alternative structural models of the relationships among the extraversion-related facet of activity, the conscientiousness-related facet of industriousness, social cognitions from the Theory of Planned Behavior (perceived behavioral control, affective attitudes, subjective norms, intentions), Social Cognitive Theory (self-efficacy, outcome expectancies), and the Transtheoretical Model (behavioral processes of change), and engagement in physical activity. Path analyses with bootstrapping procedures were used to model direct and indirect effects of trait and social cognition constructs on physical activity through two distinct frameworks - the Theory of Planned Behavior and Neo-Socioanalytic Theory. While both models showed good internal fit, comparative model information criteria showed the Theory-of-Planned-Behavior-informed model provided a better fit. In the model, social cognitions fully mediated the relationships from the activity facet and industriousness to intentions for and engagement in physical activity, such that the relationships were primarily maintained by positive affective evaluations, positive expected outcomes, and confidence in overcoming barriers related to physical activity engagement. The resultant model - termed the Disposition-Belief-Motivation model- is proposed as a useful framework for organizing and integrating personality trait facets and social cognitions from various theoretical perspectives to investigate the expression of health-related behaviors, such as physical activity. Moreover, the results are discussed in terms of extending the application of the Disposition-Belief-Motivation model to longitudinal and intervention designs for physical activity engagement.

Imprecise Beliefs in a Principal Agent Model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rigotti, L.

1998-01-01

This paper presents a principal-agent model where the agent has multiple, or imprecise, beliefs. We model this situation formally by assuming the agent's preferences are incomplete. One can interpret this multiplicity as an agent's limited knowledge of the surrounding environment. In this setting,

Assessing the Multidimensional Relationship Between Medication Beliefs and Adherence in Older Adults With Hypertension Using Polynomial Regression.

Science.gov (United States)

Dillon, Paul; Phillips, L Alison; Gallagher, Paul; Smith, Susan M; Stewart, Derek; Cousins, Gráinne

2018-02-05

The Necessity-Concerns Framework (NCF) is a multidimensional theory describing the relationship between patients' positive and negative evaluations of their medication which interplay to influence adherence. Most studies evaluating the NCF have failed to account for the multidimensional nature of the theory, placing the separate dimensions of medication "necessity beliefs" and "concerns" onto a single dimension (e.g., the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire-difference score model). To assess the multidimensional effect of patient medication beliefs (concerns and necessity beliefs) on medication adherence using polynomial regression with response surface analysis. Community-dwelling older adults >65 years (n = 1,211) presenting their own prescription for antihypertensive medication to 106 community pharmacies in the Republic of Ireland rated their concerns and necessity beliefs to antihypertensive medications at baseline and their adherence to antihypertensive medication at 12 months via structured telephone interview. Confirmatory polynomial regression found the difference-score model to be inaccurate; subsequent exploratory analysis identified a quadratic model to be the best-fitting polynomial model. Adherence was lowest among those with strong medication concerns and weak necessity beliefs, and adherence was greatest for those with weak concerns and strong necessity beliefs (slope β = -0.77, pnecessity beliefs had lower adherence than those with simultaneously low concerns and necessity beliefs (slope β = -0.36, p = .004; curvature β = -0.25, p = .003). The difference-score model fails to account for the potential nonreciprocal effects. Results extend evidence supporting the use of polynomial regression to assess the multidimensional effect of medication beliefs on adherence.

Advances in cognitive theory and therapy: the generic cognitive model.

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Beck, Aaron T; Haigh, Emily A P

2014-01-01

For over 50 years, Beck's cognitive model has provided an evidence-based way to conceptualize and treat psychological disorders. The generic cognitive model represents a set of common principles that can be applied across the spectrum of psychological disorders. The updated theoretical model provides a framework for addressing significant questions regarding the phenomenology of disorders not explained in previous iterations of the original model. New additions to the theory include continuity of adaptive and maladaptive function, dual information processing, energizing of schemas, and attentional focus. The model includes a theory of modes, an organization of schemas relevant to expectancies, self-evaluations, rules, and memories. A description of the new theoretical model is followed by a presentation of the corresponding applied model, which provides a template for conceptualizing a specific disorder and formulating a case. The focus on beliefs differentiates disorders and provides a target for treatment. A variety of interventions are described.

Scaling Irrational Beliefs in the General Attitude and Belief Scale

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Lindsay R. Owings

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Accurate measurement of key constructs is essential to the continued development of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT. The General Attitude and Belief Scale (GABS, a contemporary inventory of rational and irrational beliefs based on current REBT theory, is one of the most valid and widely used instruments available, and recent research has continued to improve its psychometric standing. In this study of 544 students, item response theory (IRT methods were used (a to identify the most informative item in each irrational subscale of the GABS, (b to determine the level of irrationality represented by each of those items, and (c to suggest a condensed form of the GABS for further study with clinical populations. Administering only the most psychometrically informative items to clients could result in economies of time and effort. Further research based on the scaling of items could clarify the specific patterns of irrational beliefs associated with particular clinical syndromes.

Comparisons of Belief-Based Personality Constructs in Polish and American University Students: Paranormal Beliefs, Locus of Control, Irrational Beliefs, and Social Interest.

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Tobacyk, Jerome J.; Tobacyk, Zofia Socha

1992-01-01

Uses Social Learning Theory to compare 149 university students from Poland with 136 university students from the southern United States for belief-based personality constructs and personality correlates of paranormal beliefs. As hypothesized, Poles reported a more external locus of control and significantly greater endorsement of irrational…

The dynamics of belief in climate change and its risks in business organisations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bleda, Mercedes; Shackley, Simon

2008-01-01

This paper presents a simulation model of the formation of the belief in climate change of a business organisation using a systems dynamics approach. Understanding how businesses form their belief on the issue of climate change is of paramount importance given the key role of beliefs and cognitive characteristics in the triggering and shaping of organisational adaptation processes. The main assumption of the model is that the dynamics of belief is driven by the perceived actual and potential changes in competitiveness as a consequence of climate impacts rather than by the growth of an ecological 'business conscience'. The model has been built using the STELLA software program, and it is based upon theoretical hypotheses drawn from behavioural studies of organisations and evolutionary theories of economic change. (author)

Quantum field inspired model of decision making: Asymptotic stabilization of belief state via interaction with surrounding mental environment

OpenAIRE

Bagarello, Fabio; Basieva, Irina; Khrennikov, Andrei

2017-01-01

This paper is devoted to justification of quantum-like models of the process of decision making based on the theory of open quantum systems, i.e. decision making is considered as decoherence. This process is modeled as interaction of a decision maker, Alice, with a mental (information) environment ${\\cal R}$ surrounding her. Such an interaction generates "dissipation of uncertainty" from Alice's belief-state $\\rho(t)$ into ${\\cal R}$ and asymptotic stabilization of $\\rho(t)$ to a steady belie...

Comparison of Metacognitive Beliefs and the Amount the Sensation Seeking in

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Tayebe Kashefi

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Background: The metacognitive theory refers to beliefs and theories which people experience in according to their familiarities and their excitements, such beliefs can involve other kinds of treatments toward paying attention to specific types of thoughts, about other acquintive events. Materials and Methods: In this correlational descriptive study, the subjects were consisted 264 people. The samples for addicted subjects were chosen amongst those who had registered their names in addiction centers. These people were chosen by simple sample method Torbat-e-Heydariyeh in 2010-11. The witness cluster was also consisted with, socio-individualistic characteristics. To gather the outcoming data properly, the Metacognitive beliefs questionnaire (MCQ-30 and Zuckerman sensation seeking using. SPSS-16 software, descriptive statistical indices used to analyze data. Results: There were significant differences of scores between two group in metacognitive beliefs and sensation seeking (p<0.01. Conclusion: The current survey is equivalent with basic hypothesies of metacognitive model and psychological status of addicts.

The influence of relationship beliefs on gift giving

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Rai Dipankar

2017-12-01

Full Text Available People have fundamental beliefs about what constitutes a good relationship, known as implicit theories of relationship, where some people have destiny beliefs whereas others have growth beliefs. People with destiny beliefs believe that potential partners are meant either for each other or not, whereas people with growth beliefs believe that successful relationships are cultivated and developed. This research shows that different implicit theories of relationship influence consumers’ gift choice to their significant others. We demonstrate, through two studies, that consumers with destiny beliefs prefer giving gifts that are more feasible in nature, whereas consumers with growth beliefs prefer giving gifts that are more desirable in nature. We show that this effect is mediated by desirability-feasibility considerations. Specifically, consumers with destiny beliefs focus on feasibility considerations, which leads them to choose a highly feasible gift. Conversely, consumers with growth beliefs focus on desirability considerations, which leads them to choose a highly desirable gift. We also discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of our research.

What attitudes and beliefs underlie patients' decisions about participating in chemotherapy trials?

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Sutherland, H J; da Cunha, R; Lockwood, G A; Till, J E

1998-01-01

The theory of reasoned action, which postulates that personal attitudes and external social influences predict intentions to undertake a behavior, was used as a conceptual framework for developing a questionnaire to elicit beliefs and attitudes associated with the decision to participate in a hypothetical cancer chemotherapy trial. After completing the questionnaire, two-thirds of the 150 respondents indicated they would enroll in such a trial if it were available. Considerable variation existed in both "universal" and "trial-specific" beliefs and attitudes underpinning their intentions. A substantial amount of the variance in "intention" to participate was explained by "attitude" alone (75%). Social influences, although statistically significant, made a mere 1% additional contribution. One interpretation is that subjective expected-utility theory, which essentially predicts beliefs or "attitude," is a better model. The authors conclude that both theories may be criticized regarding how well they capture the rationality and nuances of decision behavior.

Association between Perceived Value and Self-Medication with Antibiotics: An Observational Study Based on Health Belief Model Theory

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Annisa N. Insany

2015-06-01

Full Text Available High prevalence of self medication with antibiotics can increase the probability of irrational use of antibiotics which may lead antibiotics resistance. Thus, shifting of behavior is required to minimize the irrational use of antibiotics. This study was aimed to determine the association between public perceived value and self-medication with antibiotics which can be used to develop an intervention model in order to reduce the practice of self-medication with antibiotics. An observational study was conducted during the period of November–December 2014.The subjects were patients who visit primary health care facilities in Bandung. A structured-interview that has been validated was used to investigate the association between perceived value and self-medication behavior based on the Health Belief Model theory (perceived susceptibility, benefits, barrier, and cues to action. Approximately 506 respondents were drawn randomly from 43 community healthcare centers and 8 pharmacies. Data was analyzed by using descriptive statistics and logistic regression (CI 95%, α = 5%. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire were shown with a correlation coefficient of >0.3 and a cronbach-alpha value of 0.719, respectively. We found that 29.45% of respondents practiced self-medication with antibiotics over the last six months. Additionally, there was no significant association between the perceived susceptibility, benefits, barrier, and cues to action with self-medication behavior (p>0.05. Easiness to access antibiotics without prescription was presumed as a factor that contribute to self-medication with antibiotics, therefore strict regulation in antibiotics use is very needed as a basic intervention to decrease self-medication with antibiotic.

Testing Theory of Planned Behavior and Neo-Socioanalytic Theory models of trait activity, industriousness, exercise social cognitions, exercise intentions, and physical activity in a representative U.S. sample

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Phuong Thi Vo

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Prior research identified assorted relations between trait and social cognition models of personality and engagement in physical activity. Using a representative U.S. sample (N = 957, the goal of the present study was to test two alternative structural models of the relationships among the extraversion-related facet of activity, the conscientiousness-related facet of industriousness, social cognitions from the Theory of Planned Behavior (perceived behavioral control, affective attitudes, subjective norms, intentions, Social Cognitive Theory (self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, and the Transtheoretical Model (behavioral processes of change, and engagement in physical activity. Path analyses with bootstrapping procedures were used to model direct and indirect effects of trait and social cognition constructs on physical activity through two distinct frameworks – the Theory of Planned Behavior and Neo-Socioanalytic Theory. While both models showed good internal fit, comparative model information criteria showed the Theory-of-Planned-Behavior-informed model provided a better fit. In the model, social cognitions fully mediated the relationships from the activity facet and industriousness to intentions for and engagement in physical activity, such that the relationships were primarily maintained by positive affective evaluations, positive expected outcomes, and confidence in overcoming barriers related to physical activity engagement. The resultant model – termed the Disposition-Belief-Motivation model – is proposed as a useful framework for organizing and integrating personality trait facets and social cognitions from various theoretical perspectives to investigate the expression of health-related behaviors, such as physical activity. Moreover, the results are discussed in terms of extending the application of the Disposition-Belief-Motivation model to longitudinal and intervention designs for physical activity engagement.

A belief-based evolutionarily stable strategy.

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Deng, Xinyang; Wang, Zhen; Liu, Qi; Deng, Yong; Mahadevan, Sankaran

2014-11-21

As an equilibrium refinement of the Nash equilibrium, evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) is a key concept in evolutionary game theory and has attracted growing interest. An ESS can be either a pure strategy or a mixed strategy. Even though the randomness is allowed in mixed strategy, the selection probability of pure strategy in a mixed strategy may fluctuate due to the impact of many factors. The fluctuation can lead to more uncertainty. In this paper, such uncertainty involved in mixed strategy has been further taken into consideration: a belief strategy is proposed in terms of Dempster-Shafer evidence theory. Furthermore, based on the proposed belief strategy, a belief-based ESS has been developed. The belief strategy and belief-based ESS can reduce to the mixed strategy and mixed ESS, which provide more realistic and powerful tools to describe interactions among agents. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Belief change

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Booth, R

2011-08-01

Full Text Available in the presence of Vacuity. 3.2 Partial meet theory contraction The preceding construction works equally well when B is taken to be a theory K. But in this case, since the input to contraction is a theory, we should expect the output to be a theory too... that is analogous to that of a belief set K in theory change. Intuitively, E is the ?current? set of expectations of the agent, and the plausible consequences of a sentence ? are those sentences ? for which ? |?? holds. The set of expectations E is not explicitly...

Lifespan Aging and Belief Reasoning: Influences of Executive Function and Social Cue Decoding

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Phillips, Louise H.; Bull, Rebecca; Allen, Roy; Insch, Pauline; Burr, Kirsty; Ogg, Will

2011-01-01

Older adults often perform poorly on Theory of Mind (ToM) tests that require understanding of others' beliefs and intentions. The course and specificity of age changes in belief reasoning across the adult lifespan is unclear, as is the cause of the age effects. Cognitive and neuropsychological models predict that two types of processing might…

Testing Theory of Planned Behavior and Neo-Socioanalytic Theory models of trait activity, industriousness, exercise social cognitions, exercise intentions, and physical activity in a representative U.S. sample

Science.gov (United States)

Vo, Phuong T.; Bogg, Tim

2015-01-01

Prior research identified assorted relations between trait and social cognition models of personality and engagement in physical activity. Using a representative U.S. sample (N = 957), the goal of the present study was to test two alternative structural models of the relationships among the extraversion-related facet of activity, the conscientiousness-related facet of industriousness, social cognitions from the Theory of Planned Behavior (perceived behavioral control, affective attitudes, subjective norms, intentions), Social Cognitive Theory (self-efficacy, outcome expectancies), and the Transtheoretical Model (behavioral processes of change), and engagement in physical activity. Path analyses with bootstrapping procedures were used to model direct and indirect effects of trait and social cognition constructs on physical activity through two distinct frameworks – the Theory of Planned Behavior and Neo-Socioanalytic Theory. While both models showed good internal fit, comparative model information criteria showed the Theory-of-Planned-Behavior-informed model provided a better fit. In the model, social cognitions fully mediated the relationships from the activity facet and industriousness to intentions for and engagement in physical activity, such that the relationships were primarily maintained by positive affective evaluations, positive expected outcomes, and confidence in overcoming barriers related to physical activity engagement. The resultant model – termed the Disposition-Belief-Motivation model– is proposed as a useful framework for organizing and integrating personality trait facets and social cognitions from various theoretical perspectives to investigate the expression of health-related behaviors, such as physical activity. Moreover, the results are discussed in terms of extending the application of the Disposition-Belief-Motivation model to longitudinal and intervention designs for physical activity engagement. PMID:26300811

Equilibria in social belief removal

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Booth, R

2008-09-01

Full Text Available In studies of multi-agent interaction, especially in game theory, the notion of equilibrium often plays a prominent role. A typical scenario for the belief merging problem is one in which several agents pool their beliefs together to form a...

Teacher Beliefs and Intentions regarding the Instruction of English Grammar under National Curriculum Reforms: A Theory of Planned Behaviour Perspective

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Underwood, Paul R.

2012-01-01

While numerous studies in mainstream education have drawn on the Theory of Planned Behaviour to investigate curriculum impact, in English Language Teaching contexts such research is scant. This study applies the theory to anticipate the impact of the Japanese national curriculum for English, by exploring the beliefs of senior high school teachers…

Women Infant and Children program participants' beliefs and consumption of soy milk : Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior.

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Wheeler, Ashley; Chapman-Novakofski, Karen

2014-02-01

The purpose of this study was to determine if Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) variables predict soy milk intake in a sample of WIC participants in 2 Illinois counties (n = 380). A cross-sectional survey was used, which examined soy foods intake, behavioral beliefs, subjective norms, motivation, and intention. Soy product intake was low at both sites, and many participants (40%) did not know that soy milk was WIC approved. Most (> 70%) wanted to comply with their health care providers, but didn't know their opinions about soy milk (50-66%). Intention was significantly correlated with intake (0.507, P ≤ 0.01; 0.308, P ≤ 0.05). Environmental beliefs (0.282 and 0.410, P ≤ 0.01) and expectancy beliefs (0.490 and 0.636, P ≤ 0.01) were correlated with intention. At site 1, 30% of the variance in intention to consume soy milk was explained by expectancy beliefs and subjective norm beliefs (P expectancy beliefs. The TPB variables of expectancy beliefs predicted intention to consume soy milk in WIC participants. Therefore, knowing more about the health benefits of soy and how to cook with soy milk would increase WIC participants' intention to consume soy milk. Positive messages about soy milk from health care providers could influence intake.

Probing for the Multiplicative Term in Modern Expectancy-Value Theory: A Latent Interaction Modeling Study

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Trautwein, Ulrich; Marsh, Herbert W.; Nagengast, Benjamin; Ludtke, Oliver; Nagy, Gabriel; Jonkmann, Kathrin

2012-01-01

In modern expectancy-value theory (EVT) in educational psychology, expectancy and value beliefs additively predict performance, persistence, and task choice. In contrast to earlier formulations of EVT, the multiplicative term Expectancy x Value in regression-type models typically plays no major role in educational psychology. The present study…

Changing Preservice Teachers' Beliefs about Motivating Students

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Peterson, Sarah; Schreiber, Jim; Moss, Connie

2011-01-01

We examined the effects of an educational psychology course on students' beliefs about motivating students. After providing opportunities to engage in systematic intentional inquiry of their beliefs about teaching and learning, we expected that students' beliefs would become more soundly based in theory and research. Following several classes on…

Salient Public Beliefs Underlying Disaster Preparedness Behaviors: A Theory-Based Qualitative Study.

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Najafi, Mehdi; Ardalan, Ali; Akbarisari, Ali; Noorbala, Ahmad Ali; Elmi, Helen

2017-04-01

Introduction Given the increasing importance of disaster preparedness in Tehran, the capital of Iran, interventions encouraging disaster preparedness behavior (DPB) are needed. This study was conducted to show how an elicitation method can be used to identify salient consequences, referents, and circumstances about DPB and provide recommendations for interventions and quantitative research. A theory-based qualitative study using a semi-structured elicitation questionnaire was conducted with 132 heads of households from 22 districts in Tehran, Iran. Following the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), six open-ended questions were used to record the opinion of people about DPB: advantages of engaging in DPB; disadvantages of doing so; people who approve; people who disapprove; things that make it easy; and things that make it difficult. Content analysis showed the categories of salient consequences, reference groups, and circumstances. The three most frequently mentioned advantages obtained from inhabitants of Tehran were health outcomes (eg, it helps us to save our lives, it provides basic needs, and it protects us until relief workers arrive); other salient advantages were mentioned (eg, helps family reunification). The main disadvantage was preparedness anxiety. Family members were the most frequently mentioned social referent when people were asked who might approve or disapprove of their DPB. The two main circumstances perceived to obstruct DPB included not having enough knowledge or enough time. The results of this qualitative study suggest that interventions to encourage DPB among Tehran inhabitants should address: perceived consequences of DPB on health and other factors beyond health; barriers of not having enough knowledge and time perceived to hinder DPB; and social approval. More accurate research on salient beliefs with close-ended items developed from these open-ended data and with larger sample sizes of Tehran inhabitants is necessary. Research with other

Stroke survivors' endorsement of a "stress belief model" of stroke prevention predicts control of risk factors for recurrent stroke.

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Phillips, L Alison; Tuhrim, Stanley; Kronish, Ian M; Horowitz, Carol R

2014-01-01

Perceptions that stress causes and stress-reduction controls hypertension have been associated with poorer blood pressure (BP) control in hypertension populations. The current study investigated these "stress-model perceptions" in stroke survivors regarding prevention of recurrent stroke and the influence of these perceptions on patients' stroke risk factor control. Stroke and transient ischemic attack survivors (N=600) participated in an in-person interview in which they were asked about their beliefs regarding control of future stroke; BP and cholesterol were measured directly after the interview. Counter to expectations, patients who endorsed a "stress-model" but not a "medication-model" of stroke prevention were in better control of their stroke risk factors (BP and cholesterol) than those who endorsed a medication-model but not a stress-model of stroke prevention (OR for poor control=.54, Wald statistic=6.07, p=.01). This result was not explained by between group differences in patients' reported medication adherence. The results have implications for theory and practice, regarding the role of stress belief models and acute cardiac events, compared to chronic hypertension.

Beliefs related to adherence to oral antidiabetic treatment according to the Theory of Planned Behavior.

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Jannuzzi, Fernanda Freire; Rodrigues, Roberta Cunha Matheus; Cornélio, Marilia Estevam; São-João, Thaís Moreira; Gallani, Maria Cecília Bueno Jayme

2014-01-01

to identify salient behavioral, normative, control and self-efficacy beliefs related to the behavior of adherence to oral antidiabetic agents, using the Theory of Planned Behavior. cross-sectional, exploratory study with 17 diabetic patients in chronic use of oral antidiabetic medication and in outpatient follow-up. Individual interviews were recorded, transcribed and content-analyzed using pre-established categories. behavioral beliefs concerning advantages and disadvantages of adhering to medication emerged, such as the possibility of avoiding complications from diabetes, preventing or delaying the use of insulin, and a perception of side effects. The children of patients and physicians are seen as important social references who influence medication adherence. The factors that facilitate adherence include access to free-of-cost medication and taking medications associated with temporal markers. On the other hand, a complex therapeutic regimen was considered a factor that hinders adherence. Understanding how to use medication and forgetfulness impact the perception of patients regarding their ability to adhere to oral antidiabetic agents. medication adherence is a complex behavior permeated by behavioral, normative, control and self-efficacy beliefs that should be taken into account when assessing determinants of behavior.

The moderating role of rational beliefs in the relationship between irrational beliefs and posttraumatic stress symptomology.

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Hyland, Philip; Shevlin, Mark; Adamson, Gary; Boduszek, Daniel

2014-05-01

Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) assumes that rational beliefs act as cognitive protective factors against the development of psychopathology; however little empirical evidence exists regarding the nature of the possible protective effects that they offer. The current study investigates whether rational beliefs moderate the impact of irrational beliefs on posttraumatic stress symptomology (PTS). Three hundred and thirteen active law enforcement, military, and related emergency service personnel took part in the current study. Sequential moderated multiple regression analysis was employed to investigate: (i) the direct impact of irrational beliefs on PTS; (ii) the direct impact of rational beliefs on PTS; (iii) the moderating effects of rational beliefs in the relationship between irrational beliefs and PTS. The irrational beliefs predicted by REBT theory emerged as critical predictors of PTS symptomology, in particular Depreciation beliefs. Rational beliefs (Preferences, and Acceptance beliefs) had a direct, negative impact on levels of PTS, and Acceptance beliefs moderated the impact of Catastrophizing beliefs on PTS. Irrational beliefs are important cognitive vulnerability factors in symptoms of PTS, while rational beliefs (Acceptance) appear to have a protective role in the emergence of PTS symptoms, both directly and by moderating the impact of Catastrophizing beliefs.

A meta-analysis of the relationship between rational beliefs and psychological distress.

Science.gov (United States)

Oltean, Horea-Radu; David, Daniel Ovidiu

2018-06-01

 Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) model of psychological health assumes that rational beliefs cause functional emotions and adaptive behavior, but the presumed role of rational beliefs as protective factor against psychological distress/disorders is still in debate. An important step in validating an evidence-based therapy is to investigate the underling theoretical assumptions. Thus, the aim of the present meta-analysis is to investigate the direction and magnitude of the relationship between rational beliefs and psychological distress.  Our search identified 26 studies that met our criteria. We evaluated the effect size using the random-effects model and we tested the moderator role of several variables. The overall results revealed a medium negative association between rational beliefs and psychological distress, r = -0.31. The strongest association was found for unconditional acceptance beliefs (r = -0.41). The results add empirical evidence for the underling theory of REBT and revealed that the strength of the association between rational beliefs and distress is robust for a wide range of emotional problems. Therefore, rational beliefs could be a trans-diagnostic protective factor against distress. Moreover, results emphasized that rational beliefs type is an important factor, suggesting an increased focus in therapy on the developing of unconditional acceptance and self-acceptance beliefs. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Connecting the dots: Illusory pattern perception predicts belief in conspiracies and the supernatural.

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van Prooijen, Jan-Willem; Douglas, Karen M; De Inocencio, Clara

2018-04-01

A common assumption is that belief in conspiracy theories and supernatural phenomena are grounded in illusory pattern perception. In the present research we systematically tested this assumption. Study 1 revealed that such irrational beliefs are related to perceiving patterns in randomly generated coin toss outcomes. In Study 2, pattern search instructions exerted an indirect effect on irrational beliefs through pattern perception. Study 3 revealed that perceiving patterns in chaotic but not in structured paintings predicted irrational beliefs. In Study 4, we found that agreement with texts supporting paranormal phenomena or conspiracy theories predicted pattern perception. In Study 5, we manipulated belief in a specific conspiracy theory. This manipulation influenced the extent to which people perceive patterns in world events, which in turn predicted unrelated irrational beliefs. We conclude that illusory pattern perception is a central cognitive mechanism accounting for conspiracy theories and supernatural beliefs.

Connecting the dots: Illusory pattern perception predicts belief in conspiracies and the supernatural

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas, Karen M.; De Inocencio, Clara

2017-01-01

Abstract A common assumption is that belief in conspiracy theories and supernatural phenomena are grounded in illusory pattern perception. In the present research we systematically tested this assumption. Study 1 revealed that such irrational beliefs are related to perceiving patterns in randomly generated coin toss outcomes. In Study 2, pattern search instructions exerted an indirect effect on irrational beliefs through pattern perception. Study 3 revealed that perceiving patterns in chaotic but not in structured paintings predicted irrational beliefs. In Study 4, we found that agreement with texts supporting paranormal phenomena or conspiracy theories predicted pattern perception. In Study 5, we manipulated belief in a specific conspiracy theory. This manipulation influenced the extent to which people perceive patterns in world events, which in turn predicted unrelated irrational beliefs. We conclude that illusory pattern perception is a central cognitive mechanism accounting for conspiracy theories and supernatural beliefs. PMID:29695889

Ranking Theory and Conditional Reasoning.

Science.gov (United States)

Skovgaard-Olsen, Niels

2016-05-01

Ranking theory is a formal epistemology that has been developed in over 600 pages in Spohn's recent book The Laws of Belief, which aims to provide a normative account of the dynamics of beliefs that presents an alternative to current probabilistic approaches. It has long been received in the AI community, but it has not yet found application in experimental psychology. The purpose of this paper is to derive clear, quantitative predictions by exploiting a parallel between ranking theory and a statistical model called logistic regression. This approach is illustrated by the development of a model for the conditional inference task using Spohn's (2013) ranking theoretic approach to conditionals. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Theory-based physical activity beliefs by race and activity levels among older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Kosma, Maria; Cardinal, Bradley J

2016-01-01

Given the benefits of physical activity and the high proportion of inactivity among older adults, the purpose was to elicit theory-based behavioral, normative, and control physical activity beliefs among 140 educationally and economically diverse older adults and compare their beliefs by race (Blacks vs. Whites) and physical activity levels (inactive/underactive vs. highly active individuals). This was an elicitation study that took place in eight, mostly rural community settings in a Southeastern US state, such as Council of Aging Offices, retirement centers, and churches. Participants' behavioral, normative, and control beliefs were elicited via in person interviews. A valid and reliable questionnaire was also used to assess their physical activity levels. According to the content analysis, inactive/underactive participants reported fewer physical activity advantages than highly active participants. Common physical activity advantages between the two groups were overall health, emotional functioning, and physical functioning. Similar physical activity advantages were reported among Blacks and Whites with overall health being the most important advantage. The most common physical activity disadvantages and barriers for all four groups were falls, injuries, pain, and health issues. Inactive/underactive individuals and Blacks tended to report more disadvantages and barriers than their peers. Common physical activity supporters were family members, friends and peers, and health-care professionals. In their physical activity motivational programs, health promoters should reinforce physical activity benefits, social support, access to activity programs, and safety when intervening among older adults.

Behavioral and social sciences theories and models: are they used in unintentional injury prevention research?

Science.gov (United States)

Trifiletti, L B; Gielen, A C; Sleet, D A; Hopkins, K

2005-06-01

Behavioral and social sciences theories and models have the potential to enhance efforts to reduce unintentional injuries. The authors reviewed the published literature on behavioral and social science theory applications to unintentional injury problems to enumerate and categorize the ways different theories and models are used in injury prevention research. The authors conducted a systematic review to evaluate the published literature from 1980 to 2001 on behavioral and social science theory applications to unintentional injury prevention and control. Electronic database searches in PubMed and PsycINFO identified articles that combined behavioral and social sciences theories and models and injury causes. The authors identified some articles that examined behavioral and social science theories and models and unintentional injury topics, but found that several important theories have never been applied to unintentional injury prevention. Among the articles identified, the PRECEDE PROCEED Model was cited most frequently, followed by the Theory of Reasoned Action/Theory of Planned Behavior and Health Belief Model. When behavioral and social sciences theories and models were applied to unintentional injury topics, they were most frequently used to guide program design, implementation or develop evaluation measures; few examples of theory testing were found. Results suggest that the use of behavioral and social sciences theories and models in unintentional injury prevention research is only marginally represented in the mainstream, peer-reviewed literature. Both the fields of injury prevention and behavioral and social sciences could benefit from greater collaborative research to enhance behavioral approaches to injury control.

Belief Bisimulation for Hidden Markov Models Logical Characterisation and Decision Algorithm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jansen, David N.; Nielson, Flemming; Zhang, Lijun

2012-01-01

This paper establishes connections between logical equivalences and bisimulation relations for hidden Markov models (HMM). Both standard and belief state bisimulations are considered. We also present decision algorithms for the bisimilarities. For standard bisimilarity, an extension of the usual...... partition refinement algorithm is enough. Belief bisimilarity, being a relation on the continuous space of belief states, cannot be described directly. Instead, we show how to generate a linear equation system in time cubic in the number of states....

Belief revision and delusions: how do patients with schizophrenia take advice?

Science.gov (United States)

Kaliuzhna, Mariia; Chambon, Valérian; Franck, Nicolas; Testud, Bérangère; Van der Henst, Jean-Baptiste

2012-01-01

The dominant cognitive model that accounts for the persistence of delusional beliefs in schizophrenia postulates that patients suffer from a general deficit in belief revision. It is generally assumed that this deficit is a consequence of impaired reasoning skills. However, the possibility that such inflexibility affects the entire system of a patient's beliefs has rarely been empirically tested. Using delusion-neutral material in a well-documented advice-taking task, the present study reports that patients with schizophrenia: 1) revise their beliefs, 2) take into account socially provided information to do so, 3) are not overconfident about their judgments, and 4) show less egocentric advice-discounting than controls. This study thus shows that delusional patients' difficulty in revising beliefs is more selective than had been previously assumed. The specificities of the task and the implications for a theory of delusion formation are discussed.

Changing Conspiracy Beliefs through Rationality and Ridiculing

OpenAIRE

Orosz, Gábor; Krekó, Péter; Paskuj, Benedek; Tóth-Király, István; Bőthe, Beáta; Roland-Lévy, Christine

2016-01-01

Conspiracy theory (CT) beliefs can be harmful. How is it possible to reduce them effectively? Three reduction strategies were tested in an online experiment using general and well-known CT beliefs on a comprehensive randomly assigned Hungarian sample (N = 813): exposing rational counter CT arguments, ridiculing those who hold CT beliefs, and empathizing with the targets of CT beliefs. Several relevant individual differences were measured. Rational and ridiculing arguments were effective in re...

Language Learner Beliefs from an Attributional Perspective

OpenAIRE

Gabillon, Zehra

2013-01-01

International audience; This qualitative study, aimed to analyze eight French-speaking learners' beliefs about English and English language learning. The data were obtained via semi-structured interviews. The study drew on Weiner's attribution theory of achievement motivation and Bandura's self-efficacy theory. The novelty about this research is the employment of an attributional analysis framework to study and explain the learners' stated beliefs about English and English language learning.

Individualized measurement of irrational beliefs in remitted depressives.

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Solomon, Ari; Arnow, Bruce A; Gotlib, Ian H; Wind, Brian

2003-04-01

Recent reviews of cognitive theories of depression have noted that individualized assessment strategies might help to resolve mixed findings regarding the stability of depressotypic beliefs and attitudes. We describe encouraging results for an individualized measure of one such cognitive construct, irrational beliefs. Twenty depression-prone women (recurrent major depressives in full remission) and twenty closely matched never-depressed controls completed leading forced-choice measures of irrational beliefs (the Belief Scale; BS) and sociotropy-autonomy (The Revised Personal Style Inventory), as well as the Specific Demands on Self Scale (SDS). The BS requires participants to rate their agreement with twenty preselected statements of irrational beliefs, while the SDS focuses on whether participants harbor any strongly held irrational beliefs, even if uncommon or idiosyncratic. Consistent with previous research, there were no group differences on the traditional measure of irrational beliefs. In contrast, depression-prone participants strongly exceeded controls on the SDS, and this difference persisted after controlling for residual depression, anxiety symptoms, anxiety diagnoses, sociotropy, and autonomy. These findings provide some initial support for a key assumption of the rational-emotive model of depression, and, more broadly, suggest that individualized assessment strategies may help researchers capture the core negative beliefs of asymptomatic individuals, even in the absence of mood or cognitive priming. Copyright 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 59: 439-455, 2003.

Using the Theory of Planned Behavior to Understand the Beliefs of Chinese Teachers Concerning Teaching Games for Understanding

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Wang, Lijuan

2013-01-01

This study describes the beliefs of Physical Education (PE) teachers regarding Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Twenty PE teachers participated in this study. Data collection consisted of a survey on demographic data and semistructured interviews. The research results indicate that the teachers…

Using the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction to Understand College Students' STI Testing Beliefs, Intentions, and Behaviors.

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Wombacher, Kevin; Dai, Minhao; Matig, Jacob J; Harrington, Nancy Grant

2018-03-22

To identify salient behavioral determinants related to STI testing among college students by testing a model based on the integrative model of behavioral (IMBP) prediction. 265 undergraduate students from a large university in the Southeastern US. Formative and survey research to test an IMBP-based model that explores the relationships between determinants and STI testing intention and behavior. Results of path analyses supported a model in which attitudinal beliefs predicted intention and intention predicted behavior. Normative beliefs and behavioral control beliefs were not significant in the model; however, select individual normative and control beliefs were significantly correlated with intention and behavior. Attitudinal beliefs are the strongest predictor of STI testing intention and behavior. Future efforts to increase STI testing rates should identify and target salient attitudinal beliefs.

Ability Beliefs, Task Value, and Performance as a Function of Race in a Dart-Throwing Task

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Gao, Zan; Kosma, Maria; Harrison, Louis, Jr.

2009-01-01

This study examines differences in self-efficacy, expectancy-related beliefs, task value, and performance in a dart-throwing task as a function of race among diverse college students using the expectancy-value model and self-efficacy theory. It also examines the predictive contributions of these beliefs on task performance within each racial…

Belief attribution despite verbal interference.

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Forgeot d'Arc, Baudouin; Ramus, Franck

2011-05-01

False-belief (FB) tasks have been widely used to study the ability of individuals to represent the content of their conspecifics' mental states (theory of mind). However, the cognitive processes involved are still poorly understood, and it remains particularly debated whether language and inner speech are necessary for the attribution of beliefs to other agents. We present a completely nonverbal paradigm consisting of silent animated cartoons in five closely related conditions, systematically teasing apart different aspects of scene analysis and allowing the assessment of the attribution of beliefs, goals, and physical causation. In order to test the role of language in belief attribution, we used verbal shadowing as a dual task to inhibit inner speech. Data on 58 healthy adults indicate that verbal interference decreases overall performance, but has no specific effect on belief attribution. Participants remained able to attribute beliefs despite heavy concurrent demands on their verbal abilities. Our results are most consistent with the hypothesis that belief attribution is independent from inner speech.

A Preliminary Investigation of Pathways to Inflated Responsibility Beliefs in Children with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

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Collins, Lindsey M; Coles, Meredith E

2018-05-01

Cognitive theorists posit that inflated responsibility beliefs contribute to the development of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Salkovskis et al. (1999) proposed that experiencing heightened responsibility, overprotective parents and rigid rules, and thinking one influenced or caused a negative life event act as 'pathways' to the development of inflated responsibility beliefs, thereby increasing risk for OCD. Studies in adults with OCD and non-clinical adolescents support the link between these experiences and responsibility beliefs (Coles et al., 2015; Halvaiepour and Nosratabadi, 2015), but the theory has never been tested in youth with current OCD. We provided an initial test of the theory by Salkovskis et al. (1999) in youth with OCD. We predicted that childhood experiences proposed by Salkovskis et al. (1999) would correlate positively with responsibility and harm beliefs and OCD symptom severity. Twenty youth with OCD (age 9‒16 years) completed a new child-report measure of the experiences hypothesized by Salkovskis et al. (1999), the Pathways to Inflated Responsibility Beliefs Scale-Child Version (PIRBS-CV). Youth also completed the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire-Child Version (Coles et al., 2010) and the Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-Child Version (Foa et al., 2010). Consistent with hypotheses, the PIRBS-CV was significantly related to responsibility and harm beliefs and OCD symptom severity. Results provide initial support for the theory proposed by Salkovskis et al. (1999) as applied to youth with OCD. Future studies are needed to further assess the model in early-onset OCD.

A cross-country comparison of intensive care physicians’ beliefs about their transfusion behaviour: A qualitative study using the theoretical domains framework

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Islam Rafat

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Evidence of variations in red blood cell transfusion practices have been reported in a wide range of clinical settings. Parallel studies in Canada and the United Kingdom were designed to explore transfusion behaviour in intensive care physicians. The aim of this paper is three-fold: first, to explore beliefs that influence Canadian intensive care physicians’ transfusion behaviour; second, to systematically select relevant theories and models using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF to inform a future predictive study; and third, to compare its results with the UK study. Methods Ten intensive care unit (ICU physicians throughout Canada were interviewed. Physicians’ responses were coded into theoretical domains, and specific beliefs were generated for each response. Theoretical domains relevant to behaviour change were identified, and specific constructs from the relevant domains were used to select psychological theories. The results from Canada and the United Kingdom were compared. Results Seven theoretical domains populated by 31 specific beliefs were identified as relevant to the target behaviour. The domains Beliefs about capabilities (confident to not transfuse if patients’ clinical condition is stable, Beliefs about consequences (positive beliefs of reducing infection and saving resources and negative beliefs about risking patients’ clinical outcome and potentially more work, Social influences (transfusion decision is influenced by team members and patients’ relatives, and Behavioural regulation (wide range of approaches to encourage restrictive transfusion that were identified in the UK study were also relevant in the Canadian context. Three additional domains, Knowledge (it requires more evidence to support restrictive transfusion, Social/professional role and identity (conflicting beliefs about not adhering to guidelines, referring to evidence, believing restrictive transfusion as professional standard

A cross-country comparison of intensive care physicians' beliefs about their transfusion behaviour: a qualitative study using the Theoretical Domains Framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Islam, Rafat; Tinmouth, Alan T; Francis, Jill J; Brehaut, Jamie C; Born, Jennifer; Stockton, Charlotte; Stanworth, Simon J; Eccles, Martin P; Cuthbertson, Brian H; Hyde, Chris; Grimshaw, Jeremy M

2012-09-21

Evidence of variations in red blood cell transfusion practices have been reported in a wide range of clinical settings. Parallel studies in Canada and the United Kingdom were designed to explore transfusion behaviour in intensive care physicians. The aim of this paper is three-fold: first, to explore beliefs that influence Canadian intensive care physicians' transfusion behaviour; second, to systematically select relevant theories and models using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to inform a future predictive study; and third, to compare its results with the UK study. Ten intensive care unit (ICU) physicians throughout Canada were interviewed. Physicians' responses were coded into theoretical domains, and specific beliefs were generated for each response. Theoretical domains relevant to behaviour change were identified, and specific constructs from the relevant domains were used to select psychological theories. The results from Canada and the United Kingdom were compared. Seven theoretical domains populated by 31 specific beliefs were identified as relevant to the target behaviour. The domains Beliefs about capabilities (confident to not transfuse if patients' clinical condition is stable), Beliefs about consequences (positive beliefs of reducing infection and saving resources and negative beliefs about risking patients' clinical outcome and potentially more work), Social influences (transfusion decision is influenced by team members and patients' relatives), and Behavioural regulation (wide range of approaches to encourage restrictive transfusion) that were identified in the UK study were also relevant in the Canadian context. Three additional domains, Knowledge (it requires more evidence to support restrictive transfusion), Social/professional role and identity (conflicting beliefs about not adhering to guidelines, referring to evidence, believing restrictive transfusion as professional standard, and believing that guideline is important for other

A cross-country comparison of intensive care physicians’ beliefs about their transfusion behaviour: A qualitative study using the theoretical domains framework

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Evidence of variations in red blood cell transfusion practices have been reported in a wide range of clinical settings. Parallel studies in Canada and the United Kingdom were designed to explore transfusion behaviour in intensive care physicians. The aim of this paper is three-fold: first, to explore beliefs that influence Canadian intensive care physicians’ transfusion behaviour; second, to systematically select relevant theories and models using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to inform a future predictive study; and third, to compare its results with the UK study. Methods Ten intensive care unit (ICU) physicians throughout Canada were interviewed. Physicians’ responses were coded into theoretical domains, and specific beliefs were generated for each response. Theoretical domains relevant to behaviour change were identified, and specific constructs from the relevant domains were used to select psychological theories. The results from Canada and the United Kingdom were compared. Results Seven theoretical domains populated by 31 specific beliefs were identified as relevant to the target behaviour. The domains Beliefs about capabilities (confident to not transfuse if patients’ clinical condition is stable), Beliefs about consequences (positive beliefs of reducing infection and saving resources and negative beliefs about risking patients’ clinical outcome and potentially more work), Social influences (transfusion decision is influenced by team members and patients’ relatives), and Behavioural regulation (wide range of approaches to encourage restrictive transfusion) that were identified in the UK study were also relevant in the Canadian context. Three additional domains, Knowledge (it requires more evidence to support restrictive transfusion), Social/professional role and identity (conflicting beliefs about not adhering to guidelines, referring to evidence, believing restrictive transfusion as professional standard, and believing that

Measurement Models for Reasoned Action Theory.

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Hennessy, Michael; Bleakley, Amy; Fishbein, Martin

2012-03-01

Quantitative researchers distinguish between causal and effect indicators. What are the analytic problems when both types of measures are present in a quantitative reasoned action analysis? To answer this question, we use data from a longitudinal study to estimate the association between two constructs central to reasoned action theory: behavioral beliefs and attitudes toward the behavior. The belief items are causal indicators that define a latent variable index while the attitude items are effect indicators that reflect the operation of a latent variable scale. We identify the issues when effect and causal indicators are present in a single analysis and conclude that both types of indicators can be incorporated in the analysis of data based on the reasoned action approach.

Intentions of Chiropractic Interns Regarding use of Health Promotion in Practice: Applying Theory of Reasoned Action to Identify Attitudes, Beliefs, and Influencing Factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Marion W; Ndetan, Harrison; Williams, Ronald D

2009-01-01

The theory of reasoned action is a health behavioral theory that has been used to predict personal health behaviors and intentions as well as those of providers delivering health care. The purpose of this study was to determine interns' future practices regarding the use of health promotion using this model to develop survey questions and to determine attitudes and perceived influences on their prospective behaviors in general, toward the use of health promotion once in practice. Across the course of one year, all graduating interns at a chiropractic college were queried with a 20 question survey designed using the theory of reasoned action. Frequencies and inferential statistics were performed including prediction modeling using logistic regression. A majority (>85%) of interns indicated they would use health promotion in practice. Differences were noted based on perceived skill levels, perception of educational emphasis, various normative beliefs, and gender. Most interns will use some form of health promotion in practice. Normative influences including those seen as key influencers are as powerful a predictor as perceived education or skill levels on future practice of health promotion.

Lossed in translation: an off-the-shelf method to recover probabilistic beliefs from loss-averse agents.

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Offerman, Theo; Palley, Asa B

2016-01-01

Strictly proper scoring rules are designed to truthfully elicit subjective probabilistic beliefs from risk neutral agents. Previous experimental studies have identified two problems with this method: (i) risk aversion causes agents to bias their reports toward the probability of [Formula: see text], and (ii) for moderate beliefs agents simply report [Formula: see text]. Applying a prospect theory model of risk preferences, we show that loss aversion can explain both of these behavioral phenomena. Using the insights of this model, we develop a simple off-the-shelf probability assessment mechanism that encourages loss-averse agents to report true beliefs. In an experiment, we demonstrate the effectiveness of this modification in both eliminating uninformative reports and eliciting true probabilistic beliefs.

Economic versus belief-based models: Shedding light on the adoption of novel green technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Girod, Bastien; Mayer, Sebastian; Nägele, Florian

2017-01-01

Understanding the determinants for the adoption of novel green consumer technologies is important to effectively foster their diffusion. Energy and environmental science literature often takes an approach based on economic variables such as objectively measureable household and technology characteristics. Increasingly, also subjective variables based on personal belief are considered. On the basis of a survey about the intention to adopt an exemplary novel green consumer technology (intelligent thermostats), we contribute to the clarification of the explanatory power of these two approaches. We first compare the economic model to the belief-based model and second, investigate how beliefs about the green technology are influenced by personal environmental norms and innovativeness. Our evaluation shows that the belief-based model explains considerably higher variance in the intention to adopt. Thereby the perceived hedonic satisfaction, usefulness, habit and facilitating conditions reveal as key determinants. Moreover, environmental norms show lower impact than personal innovativeness. In the discussion we consolidate these findings and point to the risk of omitted variable bias when selectively including belief-based variables in adoption models. Our findings suggest that policies can effectively accelerate the early market diffusion of green consumer technologies by incentivizing retailers to introduce and market such technologies. - Highlights: • Adoption of a green consumer technology (energy-saving thermostats) is evaluated. • Subjective beliefs about the technology show higher impact than objective measures. • Key beliefs relate to pleasure, usefulness, habits and facilitating conditions. • Personal innovativeness is more relevant for adoption than environmental norms. • Isolated use of belief-based adoption determinants can lead to omitted variable bias.

The theory of reasoned action as a model of marijuana use: tests of implicit assumptions and applicability to high-risk young women.

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Morrison, Diane M; Golder, Seana; Keller, Thomas E; Gillmore, Mary Rogers

2002-09-01

The theory of reasoned action (TRA) is used to model decisions about substance use among young mothers who became premaritally pregnant at age 17 or younger. The results of structural equation modeling to test the TRA indicated that most relationships specified by the model were significant and in the predicted direction. Attitude was a stronger predictor of intention than norm, but both were significantly related to intention, and intention was related to actual marijuana use 6 months later. Outcome beliefs were bidimensional, and positive outcome beliefs, but not negative beliefs, were significantly related to attitude. Prior marijuana use was only partially mediated by the TRA variables; it also was directly related to intentions to use marijuana and to subsequent use.

Free will and paranormal beliefs.

Science.gov (United States)

Mogi, Ken

2014-01-01

Free will is one of the fundamental aspects of human cognition. In the context of cognitive neuroscience, various experiments on time perception, sensorimotor coordination, and agency suggest the possibility that it is a robust illusion (a feeling independent of actual causal relationship with actions) constructed by neural mechanisms. Humans are known to suffer from various cognitive biases and failures, and the sense of free will might be one of them. Here I report a positive correlation between the belief in free will and paranormal beliefs (UFO, reincarnation, astrology, and psi). Web questionnaires involving 2076 subjects (978 males, 1087 females, and 11 other genders) were conducted, which revealed significant positive correlations between belief in free will (theory and practice) and paranormal beliefs. There was no significant correlation between belief in free will and knowledge in paranormal phenomena. Paranormal belief scores for females were significantly higher than those for males, with corresponding significant (albeit weaker) difference in belief in free will. These results are consistent with the view that free will is an illusion which shares common cognitive elements with paranormal beliefs.

Free will and paranormal beliefs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ken eMogi

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Free will is one of the fundamental aspects of human cognition. In the context of cognitive neuroscience, various experiments on time perception, sensorimotor coordination, and agency suggest the possibility that it is a robust illusion (a feeling independent of actual causal relationship with actions constructed by neural mechanisms. Humans are known to suffer from various cognitive biases and failures, and the sense of free will might be one of them. Here I report a positive correlation between the belief in free will and paranormal beliefs (UFO, reincarnation, astrology, and psi. Web questionnaires involving 2076 subjects (978 males, 1087 females, and 11 other genders were conducted, which revealed significant positive correlations between belief in free will (theory and practice and paranormal beliefs. There was no significant correlation between belief in free will and knowledge in paranormal phenomena. Paranormal belief scores for females were significantly higher than those for males, with corresponding significant (albeit weaker difference in belief in free will. These results are consistent with the view that free will is an illusion which shares common cognitive elements with paranormal beliefs.

Free will and paranormal beliefs

Science.gov (United States)

Mogi, Ken

2014-01-01

Free will is one of the fundamental aspects of human cognition. In the context of cognitive neuroscience, various experiments on time perception, sensorimotor coordination, and agency suggest the possibility that it is a robust illusion (a feeling independent of actual causal relationship with actions) constructed by neural mechanisms. Humans are known to suffer from various cognitive biases and failures, and the sense of free will might be one of them. Here I report a positive correlation between the belief in free will and paranormal beliefs (UFO, reincarnation, astrology, and psi). Web questionnaires involving 2076 subjects (978 males, 1087 females, and 11 other genders) were conducted, which revealed significant positive correlations between belief in free will (theory and practice) and paranormal beliefs. There was no significant correlation between belief in free will and knowledge in paranormal phenomena. Paranormal belief scores for females were significantly higher than those for males, with corresponding significant (albeit weaker) difference in belief in free will. These results are consistent with the view that free will is an illusion which shares common cognitive elements with paranormal beliefs. PMID:24765084

Personality, personal model beliefs, and self-care in adolescents and young adults with Type 1 diabetes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chas Skinner, T.; Hampson, Sarah E.; Fife-Schaw, Chris

2002-01-01

This study compared 3 models of association between personality, personal model beliefs, and self-care in a cross-sectional design. These models were as follows: (a) Emotional stability determines self-care indirectly through personal model beliefs, and conscientiousness is a direct predictor of ....... Participants (N = 358, aged 12-30 years) with Type 1 diabetes completed measures of personality, personal model beliefs, and self-care. Structural equation modeling indicated that Model C was the best fit to the data....

Nothing Happens by Accident, or Does It? A Low Prior for Randomness Does Not Explain Belief in Conspiracy Theories.

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Dieguez, Sebastian; Wagner-Egger, Pascal; Gauvrit, Nicolas

2015-11-01

Belief in conspiracy theories has often been associated with a biased perception of randomness, akin to a nothing-happens-by-accident heuristic. Indeed, a low prior for randomness (i.e., believing that randomness is a priori unlikely) could plausibly explain the tendency to believe that a planned deception lies behind many events, as well as the tendency to perceive meaningful information in scattered and irrelevant details; both of these tendencies are traits diagnostic of conspiracist ideation. In three studies, we investigated this hypothesis and failed to find the predicted association between low prior for randomness and conspiracist ideation, even when randomness was explicitly opposed to malevolent human intervention. Conspiracy believers' and nonbelievers' perceptions of randomness were not only indistinguishable from each other but also accurate compared with the normative view arising from the algorithmic information framework. Thus, the motto "nothing happens by accident," taken at face value, does not explain belief in conspiracy theories. © The Author(s) 2015.

Beliefs related to adherence to oral antidiabetic treatment according to the Theory of Planned Behavior1

Science.gov (United States)

Jannuzzi, Fernanda Freire; Rodrigues, Roberta Cunha Matheus; Cornélio, Marilia Estevam; São-João, Thaís Moreira; Gallani, Maria Cecília Bueno Jayme

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE: to identify salient behavioral, normative, control and self-efficacy beliefs related to the behavior of adherence to oral antidiabetic agents, using the Theory of Planned Behavior. METHOD: cross-sectional, exploratory study with 17 diabetic patients in chronic use of oral antidiabetic medication and in outpatient follow-up. Individual interviews were recorded, transcribed and content-analyzed using pre-established categories. RESULTS: behavioral beliefs concerning advantages and disadvantages of adhering to medication emerged, such as the possibility of avoiding complications from diabetes, preventing or delaying the use of insulin, and a perception of side effects. The children of patients and physicians are seen as important social references who influence medication adherence. The factors that facilitate adherence include access to free-of-cost medication and taking medications associated with temporal markers. On the other hand, a complex therapeutic regimen was considered a factor that hinders adherence. Understanding how to use medication and forgetfulness impact the perception of patients regarding their ability to adhere to oral antidiabetic agents. CONCLUSION: medication adherence is a complex behavior permeated by behavioral, normative, control and self-efficacy beliefs that should be taken into account when assessing determinants of behavior. PMID:25296135

Belief revision and delusions: how do patients with schizophrenia take advice?

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Mariia Kaliuzhna

Full Text Available The dominant cognitive model that accounts for the persistence of delusional beliefs in schizophrenia postulates that patients suffer from a general deficit in belief revision. It is generally assumed that this deficit is a consequence of impaired reasoning skills. However, the possibility that such inflexibility affects the entire system of a patient's beliefs has rarely been empirically tested. Using delusion-neutral material in a well-documented advice-taking task, the present study reports that patients with schizophrenia: 1 revise their beliefs, 2 take into account socially provided information to do so, 3 are not overconfident about their judgments, and 4 show less egocentric advice-discounting than controls. This study thus shows that delusional patients' difficulty in revising beliefs is more selective than had been previously assumed. The specificities of the task and the implications for a theory of delusion formation are discussed.

Using the Theory of Planned Behavior to identify key beliefs underlying chlamydia testing intentions in a sample of young people living in deprived areas.

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Booth, Amy R; Norman, Paul; Harris, Peter R; Goyder, Elizabeth

2015-09-01

The Theory of Planned Behavior was used to identify the key behavioural, normative and control beliefs underlying intentions to test regularly for chlamydia among young people living in socially and economically deprived areas - a high-risk group for infection. Participants (N = 278, 53% male; mean age 17 years) were recruited from a vocational college situated in an area in the most deprived national quintile (England). Participants completed measures of behavioural, normative and control beliefs, plus intention to test regularly for chlamydia. The behavioural, normative and control beliefs most strongly correlated with intentions to test regularly for chlamydia were beliefs about stopping the spread of infection, partners' behaviour and the availability of testing. These beliefs represent potential targets for interventions to increase chlamydia testing among young people living in deprived areas. © The Author(s) 2013.

Quantitative modeling of operational risk in finance and banking using possibility theory

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Chaudhuri, Arindam

2016-01-01

This book offers a comprehensive guide to the modelling of operational risk using possibility theory. It provides a set of methods for measuring operational risks under a certain degree of vagueness and impreciseness, as encountered in real-life data. It shows how possibility theory and indeterminate uncertainty-encompassing degrees of belief can be applied in analysing the risk function, and describes the parametric g-and-h distribution associated with extreme value theory as an interesting candidate in this regard. The book offers a complete assessment of fuzzy methods for determining both value at risk (VaR) and subjective value at risk (SVaR), together with a stability estimation of VaR and SVaR. Based on the simulation studies and case studies reported on here, the possibilistic quantification of risk performs consistently better than the probabilistic model. Risk is evaluated by integrating two fuzzy techniques: the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process and the fuzzy extension of techniques for order prefere...

Teachers' Beliefs about Integrating Digital Literacy into Classroom Practice: An Investigation Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Sadaf, Ayesha; Johnson, Barbara L.

2017-01-01

This study explored teachers' behavioral, normative, and control beliefs related to digital literacy integration into their classrooms. Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used as a theoretical framework to collect and analyze data. Findings revealed that teachers' integration of digital literacy were related to their behavioral beliefs…

Effects of a persuasive communication on beliefs, attitudes, and career choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Strader, M K; Katz, B M

1990-04-01

Fishbein's Theory of Reasoned Action was used to formulate a persuasive communication in an attempt to influence unclassified American college students' beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors regarding signing up for a career as a registered nurse. A two-stage cluster sample was used to assign 90 male and female students to either an experimental or control group. After persuasive communication exposure, the experimental group showed a significantly more positive change in beliefs, attitudes, and intentions than did the control group exposed to a neutral message. Sign-up rate was also statistically significant for the experimental group. With the Fishbein model to predict sign-up behavior, no other scores were found to add to the prediction once behavioral intention was entered into the model. Change in behavioral intention explained 49% of the variation in behavior. Normative belief scores did not approach statistical significance.

Children's Understandings of Characters' Beliefs in Persuasive Arguments: Links with Gender and Theory of Mind

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Kolodziejczyk, Anna M.; Bosacki, Sandra L.

2015-01-01

This study investigated the role of gender plays in the relation between children's theory of mind (ToM) and persuasion. We explored children's use of the belief information of the characters involved within a persuasive situation. In two studies, children (four- to eight-year-olds) performed a comic strip task that described a…

Expectancy-Value Theory of Achievement Motivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wigfield; Eccles

2000-01-01

We discuss the expectancy-value theory of motivation, focusing on an expectancy-value model developed and researched by Eccles, Wigfield, and their colleagues. Definitions of crucial constructs in the model, including ability beliefs, expectancies for success, and the components of subjective task values, are provided. These definitions are compared to those of related constructs, including self-efficacy, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and interest. Research is reviewed dealing with two issues: (1) change in children's and adolescents' ability beliefs, expectancies for success, and subjective values, and (2) relations of children's and adolescents' ability-expectancy beliefs and subjective task values to their performance and choice of activities. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

A Biometric for Neurobiology of Influence with Social Informatics Using Game Theory

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Mark Rahmes

2013-04-01

Full Text Available This paper is constructed on the premise that human belief dependent emotions can be triggered by story-telling or narratives. With recent technological advancements to measure neurobiological measurements of the brain, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI and non-invasive brain computing interface (BCI equipment, these technologies can allow for visualization and data collection of brain activation patterns showing unconsciously controlled responses to narratives or stories. Current game theory application to belief networks has been modeled to help explain observed behavior when material payoffs of others matters to the individual. We discuss a method of how game theory, utilizing communication packet theory, can now be modeled to belief dependent emotions and intentions measured through a new biometric tool correlating neurobiological emotional states and responses.

A Biometric for Neurobiology of Influence with Social Informatics Using Game Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark Rahmes

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This paper is constructed on the premise that human belief dependent emotions can be triggered by story-telling or narratives. With recent technological advancements to measure neurobiological measurements of the brain, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI and non-invasive brain computing interface (BCI equipment, these technologies can allow for visualization and data collection of brain activation patterns showing unconsciously controlled responses to narratives or stories. Current game theory application to belief networks has been modeled to help explain observed behavior when material payoffs of others matters to the individual. We discuss a method of how game theory, utilizing communication packet theory, can now be modeled to belief dependent emotions and intentions measured through a new biometric tool correlating neurobiological emotional states and responses.

Constructing rule-based models using the belief functions framework

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Almeida, R.J.; Denoeux, T.; Kaymak, U.; Greco, S.; Bouchon-Meunier, B.; Coletti, G.; Fedrizzi, M.; Matarazzo, B.; Yager, R.R.

2012-01-01

Abstract. We study a new approach to regression analysis. We propose a new rule-based regression model using the theoretical framework of belief functions. For this purpose we use the recently proposed Evidential c-means (ECM) to derive rule-based models solely from data. ECM allocates, for each

Sexual-Reproductive Health Belief Model of college students

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Masoomeh Simbar

2004-09-01

Full Text Available Sexual- reproductive health of youth is one of the most unknown aspects of our community, while the world, including our country is faced with the risk of AIDS spreading. The aim of this study was to describe Health Belief Model (HBM of the students about sexual-reproductive health behaviors and evaluate the ability of the model in predicting related behaviors. By using quota sampling, 1117 male and female students of Qazvin Medical Science and International universities were included in the study in 1991. A self-completed questionnaire was prepared containing close questions based on HBM components including perceived threats (susceptibility and severity of related diseases, perceived reproductive benefits and barriers and self efficacy of youth about reproductive health. A total of 645 of participants were female and 457 were male (Mean age 21.4±2.4 and 22.7±3.5, respectively. The Health Belief Model of the students showed that they perceived a moderate threat for AIDS and venereal diseases and their health outcomes. Most of them perceived the benefits of reproductive health behaviors. They believed that the ability of youth in considering reproductive health is low or moderate. However, they noted to some barriers for spreading of reproductive health in youth including inadequacy of services. Boys felt a higher level of threat for acquiring the AIDS and venereal diseases in compare to girls, but girls had a higher knowledge about these diseases and their complications. The Health Belief Model of the students with premarital intercourse behavior was not significantly different with the students without this behavior (Mann-Withney, P<0.05. Female students and the students without the history of premarital intercourse had significantly more positive attitude towards abstinence, comparing to male students and students with the history of premarital intercourse, respectively (Mann-Withney, P<0.05. Seventy five percent of students believed in

Modeling the Relations among Students' Epistemological Beliefs, Motivation, Learning Approach, and Achievement

Science.gov (United States)

Kizilgunes, Berna; Tekkaya, Ceren; Sungur, Semra

2009-01-01

The authors proposed a model to explain how epistemological beliefs, achievement motivation, and learning approach related to achievement. The authors assumed that epistemological beliefs influence achievement indirectly through their effect on achievement motivation and learning approach. Participants were 1,041 6th-grade students. Results of the…

Teachers' Beliefs about the Development of Teacher-Adolescent Trust

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Russell, Shannon L.; Wentzel, Kathryn R.; Donlan, Alice E.

2016-01-01

In this study, we examined teachers' beliefs concerning the meaning and nature of teacher--student trust in a diverse sample of secondary-school teachers (n = 34). Using a grounded-theory approach, a process model of teacher-adolescent trust emerged based on semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Antecedents of trust could be categorised as…

Model theory

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Chang, CC

2012-01-01

Model theory deals with a branch of mathematical logic showing connections between a formal language and its interpretations or models. This is the first and most successful textbook in logical model theory. Extensively updated and corrected in 1990 to accommodate developments in model theoretic methods - including classification theory and nonstandard analysis - the third edition added entirely new sections, exercises, and references. Each chapter introduces an individual method and discusses specific applications. Basic methods of constructing models include constants, elementary chains, Sko

Charting the Eccles' Expectancy-Value Model from Mothers' Beliefs in Childhood to Youths' Activities in Adolescence

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Simpkins, Sandra D.; Fredricks, Jennifer A.; Eccles, Jacquelynne S.

2012-01-01

The Eccles' expectancy-value model posits that a cascade of mechanisms explain associations between parents' beliefs and youths' achievement-related behaviors. Specifically, parents' beliefs predict parents' behaviors; in turn, parents' behaviors predict youths' motivational beliefs, and youths' motivational beliefs predict their behaviors. This…

Role of Family Background, Student Behaviors, and School-Related Beliefs in Predicting High School Dropout

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Parr, Alyssa K.; Bonitz, Verena S.

2015-01-01

The authors' purpose was to test a parsimonious model derived from social cognitive career theory (R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, & G. Hackett, 1994) and expectancy value theory (J. S. Eccles & A. Wigfield, 2002) that integrates groups of variables (demographic background, student behaviors, and school-related beliefs) with the goal of…

The Relationships among Chinese Practicing Teachers' Epistemic Beliefs, Pedagogical Beliefs and Their Beliefs about the Use of ICT

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Deng, Feng; Chai, Ching Sing; Tsai, Chin-Chung; Lee, Min-Hsien

2014-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the relationships among practicing teachers' epistemic beliefs, pedagogical beliefs and their beliefs about the use of ICT through survey methodology. Participants were 396 high school practicing teachers from mainland China. The path analysis results analyzed via structural equation modelling technique indicated…

The effect of DTC advertisement content on belief tenacity: a study of appeals and argument types.

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Jalnawala, Nekshan; Wilkin, Noel E

2007-03-01

Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) has an influence on patients' perceptions, awareness, and behaviors. Inoculation theory and the model of belief processing provide insights into cognition that stand to increase our understanding of how patients process the information presented in these advertisements and form beliefs about medications. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of sidedness of appeals and argument types in understanding beliefs that are formed after exposure to advertisements. DTCA and negative experiences were used to study these constructs. A 2 (1-sided vs 2-sided appeals) x 2 (causal vs authoritative arguments) factorial study design was used. A total of 263 undergraduate students were assigned to view 1 of the 4 mock flu-medication advertisements and complete a questionnaire. Subjects were then presented with a negative scenario and were asked to fill out a questionnaire based on the information in the ad and in the negative scenario. The dependent measures included belief change, change in intent to inquire, and standardized price change. Data were analyzed using 2-way analysis of variance. Subjects exposed to 2-sided appeals showed lower belief change, standardized price change, and change in intent to inquire following a negative experience than subjects exposed to 1-sided appeals (Pappeal and argument type on initial belief and initial intent to inquire. Some support for aspects of inoculation theory and theory of belief formation was found. The findings suggest that complying with the "fair-balance" requirement may be beneficial to pharmaceutical marketers as 2-sided appeals increase the tenacity of consumers' beliefs. Higher initial belief and intent to inquire when causal arguments are used in 2-sided promotional messages suggest that use of data to substantiate claims in advertisements may result in enhanced beliefs about the merits of advertised medication.

Some Contributions of Self-Efficacy Research to Self-Concept Theory.

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Gorrell, Jeffrey

1990-01-01

Self-efficacy theory and research contribute to self-concept theory primarily by supporting the enhancement model of belief change. This article describes current problems with self-concept theory, describes self-efficacy research, and suggests that self-efficacy theory and methodology present findings that strengthen the association between…

Language and Theory of Mind in Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Relationship between Complement Syntax and False Belief Task Performance

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Lind, Sophie E.; Bowler, Dermot M.

2009-01-01

This study aimed to test the hypothesis that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) use their knowledge of complement syntax as a means of "hacking out" solutions to false belief tasks, despite lacking a representational theory of mind (ToM). Participants completed a "memory for complements" task, a measure of receptive vocabulary, and…

Negative feedback, beliefs and personal goals in prediction of dysfunctional emotions

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Popov Boris

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT demonstrates good results in evaluation therapy researches. However, some of its basic concepts, as well as theory as a whole itself, did not receive satisfactory empirical support so far, in comparison to other cognitive models (Beck, Lazarus etc.. Quasiexperimental study was designed to test the role that (1 negative feedback (A and (2 irrational beliefs (B both play in formation of dysfunctional negative emotions, in the context of significant personal goals (in our case value of potential award - G. ABC theoretical model received limited support: statistically significant three-times interaction A x B x G was found in predicting general negative emotional state, as well as anger. In contrast with that, ANOVA showed only main effect of irrational beliefs (as continuous variable to be significant in predicting emotions of anxiety and depression. Findings are discussed in the context of REBT theory of emotions, as well as their possible practical applications. Limitations of the study were also mentioned. .

Political extremism predicts belief in conspiracy theories

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van Prooijen, J.W.; Krouwel, A.P.M.; Pollet, T. V.

2015-01-01

Historical records suggest that the political extremes—at both the “left” and the “right”—substantially endorsed conspiracy beliefs about other-minded groups. The present contribution empirically tests whether extreme political ideologies, at either side of the political spectrum, are positively

Using health psychology to help patients: theories of behaviour change.

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Barley, Elizabeth; Lawson, Victoria

2016-09-08

Behaviour change theories and related research evidence highlight the complexity of making and sticking to health-related behaviour changes. These theories make explicit factors that influence behaviour change, such as health beliefs, past behaviour, intention, social influences, perceived control and the context of the behaviour. Nurses can use this information to understand why a particular patient may find making recommended health behaviour changes difficult and to determine factors that may help them. This article outlines five well-established theories of behaviour change: the health belief model, the theory of planned behaviour, the stages of change model, self-determination theory, and temporal self-regulation theory. The evidence for interventions that are informed by these theories is then explored and appraised. The extent and quality of evidence varies depending on the type of behaviour and patients targeted, but evidence from randomised controlled trials indicates that interventions informed by theory can result in behaviour change.

Social psychological origins of conspiracy theories: the case of the jewish conspiracy theory in malaysia.

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Swami, Viren

2012-01-01

Two studies examined correlates of belief in a Jewish conspiracy theory among Malays in Malaysia, a culture in which state-directed conspiracism as a means of dealing with perceived external and internal threats is widespread. In Study 1, 368 participants from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, completed a novel measure of belief in a Jewish conspiracy theory, along with measures of general conspiracist ideation, and anomie. Initial analysis showed that the novel scale factorially reduced to a single dimension. Further analysis showed that belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was only significantly associated with general conspiracist ideation, but the strength of the association was weak. In Study 2, 314 participants completed the measure of belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory, along with measures of general conspiracist ideation, and ideological attitudes. Results showed that belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was associated with anti-Israeli attitudes, modern racism directed at the Chinese, right-wing authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation. General conspiracist ideation did not emerge as a significant predictor once other variables had been accounted for. These results suggest that there may be specific cultural and social psychological forces that drive belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory within the Malaysian context. Specifically, belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory among Malaysian Malays appears to serve ideological needs and as a mask for anti-Chinese sentiment, which may in turn reaffirm their perceived ability to shape socio-political processes.

Social Psychological Origins of Conspiracy Theories: The Case of the Jewish Conspiracy Theory in Malaysia

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Swami, Viren

2012-01-01

Two studies examined correlates of belief in a Jewish conspiracy theory among Malays in Malaysia, a culture in which state-directed conspiracism as a means of dealing with perceived external and internal threats is widespread. In Study 1, 368 participants from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, completed a novel measure of belief in a Jewish conspiracy theory, along with measures of general conspiracist ideation, and anomie. Initial analysis showed that the novel scale factorially reduced to a single dimension. Further analysis showed that belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was only significantly associated with general conspiracist ideation, but the strength of the association was weak. In Study 2, 314 participants completed the measure of belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory, along with measures of general conspiracist ideation, and ideological attitudes. Results showed that belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was associated with anti-Israeli attitudes, modern racism directed at the Chinese, right-wing authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation. General conspiracist ideation did not emerge as a significant predictor once other variables had been accounted for. These results suggest that there may be specific cultural and social psychological forces that drive belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory within the Malaysian context. Specifically, belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory among Malaysian Malays appears to serve ideological needs and as a mask for anti-Chinese sentiment, which may in turn reaffirm their perceived ability to shape socio-political processes. PMID:22888323

Social psychological origins of conspiracy theories: The case of the Jewish conspiracy theory in Malaysia

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Viren eSwami

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Two studies examined correlates of belief in a Jewish conspiracy theory among Malays in Malaysia, a culture in which state-directed conspiracism as a means of dealing with perceived external and internal threats is widespread. In Study 1, 368 participants from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, completed a novel measure of belief in a Jewish conspiracy theory, along with measures of general conspiracist ideation and anomie. Initial analysis showed that the novel scale factorially reduced to a single dimension. Further analysis showed that belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was only significantly associated with general conspiracist ideation, but the strength of the association was weak. In Study 2, 314 participants completed the measure of belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory, along with measures of general conspiracist ideation and ideological attitudes. Results showed that belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was associated with anti-Israeli attitudes, modern racism directed at Chinese, right-wing authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation. General conspiracist ideation did not emerge as a significant predictor once other variables had been accounted for. These results suggest that there may be specific cultural and social psychological forces that drive belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory within the Malaysian context. Specifically, belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory among Malaysian Malays appears to serve ideological needs and as a mask for anti-Chinese sentiment, which may in turn reaffirm their perceived ability to shape socio-political processes.

A causal model explaining the relationships governing beliefs, attitudes, and hypnotic responsiveness.

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Shimizu, Takahiro

2014-01-01

The author developed a new scale aimed at measuring beliefs about "hypnotic states" and investigated the influence of such beliefs and attitudes on hypnotic responses in a large sample of Japanese undergraduate students. Exploratory factor analysis of this new questionnaire examining beliefs about hypnotic states yielded four factors: Dissociative or Depersonalized Experience, Loss of Self-Control, Therapeutic Expectation, and Arousing Extraordinary Ability. The results of structural equation modeling showed that Therapeutic Expectation and Arousing Extraordinary Ability influenced hypnotizability through attitudes toward hypnosis, while also directly affecting subjective experiences without mediating attitudes. Present findings suggest that it is more effective to enhance therapeutic expectations than to correct misconceptions about hypnotic states in modification of patients' beliefs before initiating treatment.

Level of paranormal beliefs and its relationship with explanatory models, treatment adherence and satisfaction

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Dushad Ram

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Paranormal beliefs are common among patients with mental illness. Such beliefs may mediate conceptualization of illness, treatment satisfaction and medication adherence. Objective To study the level of paranormal beliefs and its relationship with explanatory models, treatment adherence and satisfaction using standardized assessment tool. Methods Eighty nine patients with mental illness in remission were assessed with Sociodemographic proforma, Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS, Mental Distress Explanatory Model Questionnaire (MMAS, Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS and Short Assessment of Patient Satisfaction (SAPS. Results Results revealed a high level of paranormal beliefs on RPBS (Mean 83.96, SD ± 23.91. Variables that had a statistically significant group difference on the score of RPBS were domicile status (p < 05, diagnosis (p < 001, method of treatment sought before (p < 001. In a linear regression analysis four variables explained 35.4% of the variance (R2 = .38, R2Adjusted = .35, F = 13.04, p < .001 in RPBS Score. These variables were total score of MDEMQ (Beta = .308, t = 3.435, p < .001, total score of MMAS (beta = .357, t = 3. 716, p < .001 and magico-religious treatment received earlier (beta = .306, t = 3.52, p < .001 and SAPS. Discussion Based on the finding of this study, it may be concluded that the level of paranormal beliefs may vary with some demographic variables. Levels of paranormal beliefs is positively associated with explanatory models and adherence in patients with mental illness in remission.

Identifying beliefs underlying pre-drivers' intentions to take risks: An application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour.

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Rowe, Richard; Andrews, Elizabeth; Harris, Peter R; Armitage, Christopher J; McKenna, Frank P; Norman, Paul

2016-04-01

Novice motorists are at high crash risk during the first few months of driving. Risky behaviours such as speeding and driving while distracted are well-documented contributors to crash risk during this period. To reduce this public health burden, effective road safety interventions need to target the pre-driving period. We use the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to identify the pre-driver beliefs underlying intentions to drive over the speed limit (N=77), and while over the legal alcohol limit (N=72), talking on a hand-held mobile phone (N=77) and feeling very tired (N=68). The TPB explained between 41% and 69% of the variance in intentions to perform these behaviours. Attitudes were strong predictors of intentions for all behaviours. Subjective norms and perceived behavioural control were significant, though weaker, independent predictors of speeding and mobile phone use. Behavioural beliefs underlying these attitudes could be separated into those reflecting perceived disadvantages (e.g., speeding increases my risk of crash) and advantages (e.g., speeding gives me a thrill). Interventions that can make these beliefs safer in pre-drivers may reduce crash risk once independent driving has begun. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intentions of Chiropractic Interns Regarding use of Health Promotion in Practice: Applying Theory of Reasoned Action to Identify Attitudes, Beliefs, and Influencing Factors

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Evans, Marion W.; Ndetan, Harrison; Williams, Ronald D.

2009-01-01

Purpose: The theory of reasoned action is a health behavioral theory that has been used to predict personal health behaviors and intentions as well as those of providers delivering health care. The purpose of this study was to determine interns' future practices regarding the use of health promotion using this model to develop survey questions and to determine attitudes and perceived influences on their prospective behaviors in general, toward the use of health promotion once in practice. Methods: Across the course of one year, all graduating interns at a chiropractic college were queried with a 20 question survey designed using the theory of reasoned action. Frequencies and inferential statistics were performed including prediction modeling using logistic regression. Results: A majority (>85%) of interns indicated they would use health promotion in practice. Differences were noted based on perceived skill levels, perception of educational emphasis, various normative beliefs, and gender. Conclusion: Most interns will use some form of health promotion in practice. Normative influences including those seen as key influencers are as powerful a predictor as perceived education or skill levels on future practice of health promotion. PMID:19390679

Evaluation of physical activity web sites for use of behavior change theories.

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Doshi, Amol; Patrick, Kevin; Sallis, James F; Calfas, Karen

2003-01-01

Physical activity (PA) Web sites were assessed for their use of behavior change theories, including constructs of the health belief model, Transtheoretical Model, social cognitive theory, and the theory of reasoned action and planned behavior. An evaluation template for assessing PA Web sites was developed, and content validity and interrater reliability were demonstrated. Two independent raters evaluated 24 PA Web sites. Web sites varied widely in application of theory-based constructs, ranging from 5 to 48 on a 100-point scale. The most common intervention strategies were general information, social support, and realistic goal areas. Coverage of theory-based strategies was low, varying from 26% for social cognitive theory to 39% for health belief model. Overall, PA Web sites provided little assessment, feedback, or individually tailored assistance for users. They were unable to substantially tailor the on-line experience for users at different stages of change or different demographic characteristics.

Understanding Students' Motivation in Sport and Physical Education: From the Expectancy-Value Model and Self-Efficacy Theory Perspectives

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Gao, Zan; Lee, Amelia M.; Harrison, Louis, Jr.

2008-01-01

In this article, the roles of individuals' expectancy beliefs and incentives (i.e., task value, outcome expectancy) in sport and physical education are examined from expectancy-value model and self-efficacy theory perspectives. Overviews of the two theoretical frameworks and the conceptual and measurement issues are provided, followed by a review…

Language and theory of mind in autism spectrum disorder: the relationship between complement syntax and false belief task performance.

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Lind, Sophie E; Bowler, Dermot M

2009-06-01

This study aimed to test the hypothesis that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) use their knowledge of complement syntax as a means of "hacking out" solutions to false belief tasks, despite lacking a representational theory of mind (ToM). Participants completed a "memory for complements" task, a measure of receptive vocabulary, and traditional location change and unexpected contents false belief tasks. Consistent with predictions, the correlation between complement syntax score and location change task performance was significantly stronger within the ASD group than within the comparison group. However, contrary to predictions, complement syntax score was not significantly correlated with unexpected contents task performance within either group. Possible explanations for this pattern of results are considered.

Rational Irrationality: Modeling Climate Change Belief Polarization Using Bayesian Networks.

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Cook, John; Lewandowsky, Stephan

2016-01-01

Belief polarization is said to occur when two people respond to the same evidence by updating their beliefs in opposite directions. This response is considered to be "irrational" because it involves contrary updating, a form of belief updating that appears to violate normatively optimal responding, as for example dictated by Bayes' theorem. In light of much evidence that people are capable of normatively optimal behavior, belief polarization presents a puzzling exception. We show that Bayesian networks, or Bayes nets, can simulate rational belief updating. When fit to experimental data, Bayes nets can help identify the factors that contribute to polarization. We present a study into belief updating concerning the reality of climate change in response to information about the scientific consensus on anthropogenic global warming (AGW). The study used representative samples of Australian and U.S. Among Australians, consensus information partially neutralized the influence of worldview, with free-market supporters showing a greater increase in acceptance of human-caused global warming relative to free-market opponents. In contrast, while consensus information overall had a positive effect on perceived consensus among U.S. participants, there was a reduction in perceived consensus and acceptance of human-caused global warming for strong supporters of unregulated free markets. Fitting a Bayes net model to the data indicated that under a Bayesian framework, free-market support is a significant driver of beliefs about climate change and trust in climate scientists. Further, active distrust of climate scientists among a small number of U.S. conservatives drives contrary updating in response to consensus information among this particular group. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Latent structure of the social anxiety scale and relations between social anxiety and irrational beliefs

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Tovilović Snežana

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The research which was realized belongs to one of three research fields within framework of rational-emotional-behavioral therapy (REBT - to the theory of emotional disorders. It was undertaken with the aim to establish presence and nature of relations between social anxiety, treated as dimension and the construct of irrational beliefs from REBT theory. The research was carried out on the sample of 261 students of Novi Sad University, both genders, age 18 to 26. First of all, the latent structure of newly constructed Scale of Social Anxiety (SA of the author Tovilović S. was tested. SA scale was proved to be of satisfying reliability (α =0.92. Principal-component factor analysis was conducted under gathered data. Four factors of social anxiety, which explain 44,09% of total variance of the items of SA scale, were named: social-evaluation anxiety, inhibition in social-uncertain situations, low self-respect and hypersensitivity on rejection. The other test that was used is Scale of General Attitudes and Beliefs of the author Marić Z. Reliability of the sub-scale of irrational beliefs that was got on our sample is α =0.91 yet the subscale of rational beliefs is α =0.70. Canonical correlational analysis was conducted under manifest variables of both scales. Three pairs of statistically significant canonical factors were got, with correlations within the span between Rc=0.78 and Rc=0.64. We discussed nature of correlation between social anxiety and irrational beliefs in the light of REBT model of social phobia, REBT theory of emotional disorder, researches and model of social anxiety in wider, cognitive-behavioral framework.

Religion, evolution, and mental health: attachment theory and ETAS theory.

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Flannelly, Kevin J; Galek, Kathleen

2010-09-01

This article reviews the historical origins of Attachment Theory and Evolutionary Threat Assessment Systems Theory (ETAS Theory), their evolutionary basis and their application in research on religion and mental health. Attachment Theory has been most commonly applied to religion and mental health in research on God as an attachment figure, which has shown that secure attachment to God is positively associated with psychological well-being. Its broader application to religion and mental health is comprehensively discussed by Kirkpatrick (2005). ETAS Theory explains why certain religious beliefs--including beliefs about God and life-after-death--should have an adverse association, an advantageous association, or no association at all with mental health. Moreover, it makes specific predictions to this effect, which have been confirmed, in part. The authors advocate the application of ETAS Theory in research on religion and mental health because it explains how religious and other beliefs related to the dangerousness of the world can directly affect psychiatric symptoms through their affects on specific brain structures.

A non-linear dynamical approach to belief revision in cognitive behavioral therapy

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Kronemyer, David; Bystritsky, Alexander

2014-01-01

Belief revision is the key change mechanism underlying the psychological intervention known as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). It both motivates and reinforces new behavior. In this review we analyze and apply a novel approach to this process based on AGM theory of belief revision, named after its proponents, Carlos Alchourrón, Peter Gärdenfors and David Makinson. AGM is a set-theoretical model. We reconceptualize it as describing a non-linear, dynamical system that occurs within a semantic space, which can be represented as a phase plane comprising all of the brain's attentional, cognitive, affective and physiological resources. Triggering events, such as anxiety-producing or depressing situations in the real world, or their imaginal equivalents, mobilize these assets so they converge on an equilibrium point. A preference function then evaluates and integrates evidentiary data associated with individual beliefs, selecting some of them and comprising them into a belief set, which is a metastable state. Belief sets evolve in time from one metastable state to another. In the phase space, this evolution creates a heteroclinic channel. AGM regulates this process and characterizes the outcome at each equilibrium point. Its objective is to define the necessary and sufficient conditions for belief revision by simultaneously minimizing the set of new beliefs that have to be adopted, and the set of old beliefs that have to be discarded or reformulated. Using AGM, belief revision can be modeled using three (and only three) fundamental syntactical operations performed on belief sets, which are expansion; revision; and contraction. Expansion is like adding a new belief without changing any old ones. Revision is like adding a new belief and changing old, inconsistent ones. Contraction is like changing an old belief without adding any new ones. We provide operationalized examples of this process in action. PMID:24860491

Consumers' beliefs and behavioural intentions towards organic food. Evidence from the Czech Republic.

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Zagata, Lukas

2012-08-01

Research has revealed that organic consumers share beliefs about positive health effects, environmentally friendly production and better taste of organic food. Yet, very little is known about the decisions of organic consumers in post-socialist countries with emerging organic food markets. In order to examine this area a representative data set (N=1054) from the Czech Republic was used. Target group of the study has become the Czech consumers that purchase organic food on regular basis. The consumers' behaviour was conceptualised with the use of the theory of planned behaviour (ToPB). Firstly, the ToPB model was tested, and secondly, belief-based factors that influence the decisions and behaviour of consumers were explored. The theory proved able to predict and explain the behaviour of Czech organic consumers. The best predictors of the intention to purchase organic food are attitudes towards the behaviour and subjective norms. Decisive positions in consumers' beliefs have product- and process-based qualities. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

From axiomatics of quantum probability to modelling geological uncertainty and management of intelligent hydrocarbon reservoirs with the theory of open quantum systems

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Lozada Aguilar, Miguel Ángel; Khrennikov, Andrei; Oleschko, Klaudia

2018-04-01

As was recently shown by the authors, quantum probability theory can be used for the modelling of the process of decision-making (e.g. probabilistic risk analysis) for macroscopic geophysical structures such as hydrocarbon reservoirs. This approach can be considered as a geophysical realization of Hilbert's programme on axiomatization of statistical models in physics (the famous sixth Hilbert problem). In this conceptual paper, we continue development of this approach to decision-making under uncertainty which is generated by complexity, variability, heterogeneity, anisotropy, as well as the restrictions to accessibility of subsurface structures. The belief state of a geological expert about the potential of exploring a hydrocarbon reservoir is continuously updated by outputs of measurements, and selection of mathematical models and scales of numerical simulation. These outputs can be treated as signals from the information environment E. The dynamics of the belief state can be modelled with the aid of the theory of open quantum systems: a quantum state (representing uncertainty in beliefs) is dynamically modified through coupling with E; stabilization to a steady state determines a decision strategy. In this paper, the process of decision-making about hydrocarbon reservoirs (e.g. `explore or not?'; `open new well or not?'; `contaminated by water or not?'; `double or triple porosity medium?') is modelled by using the Gorini-Kossakowski-Sudarshan-Lindblad equation. In our model, this equation describes the evolution of experts' predictions about a geophysical structure. We proceed with the information approach to quantum theory and the subjective interpretation of quantum probabilities (due to quantum Bayesianism). This article is part of the theme issue `Hilbert's sixth problem'.

From axiomatics of quantum probability to modelling geological uncertainty and management of intelligent hydrocarbon reservoirs with the theory of open quantum systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Lozada Aguilar, Miguel Ángel; Khrennikov, Andrei; Oleschko, Klaudia

2018-04-28

As was recently shown by the authors, quantum probability theory can be used for the modelling of the process of decision-making (e.g. probabilistic risk analysis) for macroscopic geophysical structures such as hydrocarbon reservoirs. This approach can be considered as a geophysical realization of Hilbert's programme on axiomatization of statistical models in physics (the famous sixth Hilbert problem). In this conceptual paper , we continue development of this approach to decision-making under uncertainty which is generated by complexity, variability, heterogeneity, anisotropy, as well as the restrictions to accessibility of subsurface structures. The belief state of a geological expert about the potential of exploring a hydrocarbon reservoir is continuously updated by outputs of measurements, and selection of mathematical models and scales of numerical simulation. These outputs can be treated as signals from the information environment E The dynamics of the belief state can be modelled with the aid of the theory of open quantum systems: a quantum state (representing uncertainty in beliefs) is dynamically modified through coupling with E ; stabilization to a steady state determines a decision strategy. In this paper, the process of decision-making about hydrocarbon reservoirs (e.g. 'explore or not?'; 'open new well or not?'; 'contaminated by water or not?'; 'double or triple porosity medium?') is modelled by using the Gorini-Kossakowski-Sudarshan-Lindblad equation. In our model, this equation describes the evolution of experts' predictions about a geophysical structure. We proceed with the information approach to quantum theory and the subjective interpretation of quantum probabilities (due to quantum Bayesianism).This article is part of the theme issue 'Hilbert's sixth problem'. © 2018 The Author(s).

Ontological confusions but not mentalizing abilities predict religious belief, paranormal belief, and belief in supernatural purpose.

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Lindeman, Marjaana; Svedholm-Häkkinen, Annika M; Lipsanen, Jari

2015-01-01

The current research tested the hypothesis that the abilities for understanding other people's minds give rise to the cognitive biases that underlie supernatural beliefs. We used structural equation modeling (N=2789) to determine the roles of various mentalizing tendencies, namely self-reported affective and cognitive empathy (i.e., mind reading), actual cognitive and affective empathic abilities, hyper-empathizing, and two cognitive biases (core ontological confusions and promiscuous teleology) in giving rise to supernatural beliefs. Support for a path from mentalizing abilities through cognitive biases to supernatural beliefs was weak. The relationships of mentalizing abilities with supernatural beliefs were also weak, and these relationships were not substantially mediated by cognitive biases. Core ontological confusions emerged as the best predictor, while promiscuous teleology predicted only a small proportion of variance. The results were similar for religious beliefs, paranormal beliefs, and for belief in supernatural purpose. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Beliefs influencing community pharmacists' interventions with chronic kidney disease patients: A theory-based qualitative study.

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Quintana-Bárcena, Patricia; Lalonde, Lyne; Lauzier, Sophie

2018-04-06

Drug-related problems (DRPs) are highly prevalent in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Community pharmacists are ideally positioned to manage these DRPs. However, little is known about the factors influencing their interventions with CKD patients. Using the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this qualitative study sought to: (1) explore the behavioral beliefs (perceived advantages and disadvantages), normative beliefs (perceived expectations of significant others) and control beliefs (perceived barriers and facilitators) influencing community pharmacists' interventions related to identifying and managing DRPs in CKD; and (2) compare these beliefs among three DRPs prevalent in CKD patients. Community pharmacists in Quebec, Canada participated in face-to-face individual semi-structured interviews. The topic guide was based on the TPB. Three vignettes were presented to stimulate community pharmacists' thoughts about their interventions regarding: (1) the use of an inappropriate over-the-counter laxative; (2) prescriptions of anti-inflammatory medications; and (3) non-adherence to antihypertensive medication. Integral transcripts of audio recordings were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings on each of the three DRPs were systematically compared. Fifteen community pharmacists participated in the study. All expressed a positive attitude toward DRP management, mentioning advantages such as gaining the patient's loyalty as a client and avoiding CKD complications. Participants mentioned that patients and physicians generally approve their interventions, but the dynamics of these relationships may vary depending on the DRP. Common barriers in the management of the three DRPs were the pharmacists' limited time and heavy workloads. The pharmacists felt that the main disadvantage is that these interventions interrupt the workflow in the pharmacy. Community pharmacists hold positive views of their interventions in CKD. However, enhancing community pharmacists

A Mixed Exam Format Closes the Gap for Students with a Conflict between Their Religious Belief & the Theory of Evolution

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Stanger-Hall, Kathrin F.; Wenner, Julianne A.

2014-01-01

We assessed the performance of students with a self-reported conflict between their religious belief and the theory of evolution in two sections of a large introductory biology course (N = 373 students). Student performance was measured through pretest and posttest evolution essays and multiple- choice (MC) questions (evolution-related and…

Remarks on “A new non-specificity measure in evidence theory based on belief intervals”

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Joaquín ABELLÁN

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Two types of uncertainty co-exist in the theory of evidence: discord and non-specificity. From 90s, many mathematical expressions have arisen to quantify these two parts in an evidence. An important aspect of each measure presented is the verification of a coherent set of properties. About non-specificity, so far only one measure verifies an important set of those properties. Very recently, a new measure of non-specificity based on belief intervals has been presented as an alternative measure that quantifies a similar set of properties (Yang et al., 2016. It is shown that the new measure really does not verify two of those important properties. Some errors have been found in their corresponding proofs in the original publication. Keywords: Additivity, Imprecise probabilities, Non-specificity, Subadditivity, Theory of evidence, Uncertainty measures

Development and validation of the Alzheimer's prevention beliefs measure in a multi-ethnic cohort-a behavioral theory approach.

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Seifan, Alon; Ganzer, Christine A; Vermeylen, Francoise; Parry, Stephen; Zhu, Jifeng; Lyons, Abigail; Isaacson, Richard; Kim, Sarang

2017-12-01

Understanding health beliefs and how they influence willingness will enable the development of targeted curricula that maximize public engagement in Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk reduction behaviors. Literature on behavioral theory and community input was used to develop and validate a health beliefs survey about AD risk reduction among 428 community-dwelling adults. Principal component analysis was performed to assess internal consistency. Linear regression was performed to identify key predictors of Willingness to engage in AD risk reduction behaviors. The measure as well as the individual scales (Benefits, Barriers, Severity, Susceptibility and Social Norm) were found to be internally consistent. Overall, as Benefits and Barriers scores increased, Willingness scores also increased. Those without prior AD experience or family history had lower willingness scores. Finally, we observed an interaction between age and norms, suggesting that social factors related to AD prevention may differentially affect people of different ages. The Alzheimer Prevention Beliefs Measure provides assessment of several health belief factors related to AD prevention. Age, Family History, Logistical Barriers and total Benefits are significant determinants of willingness to engage in AD risk reduction behaviors, such as seeing a doctor or making a lifestyle change. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Efficacy of an extended theory of planned behaviour model for predicting caterers' hand hygiene practices.

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Clayton, Deborah A; Griffith, Christopher J

2008-04-01

The main aim of this study was to determine the factors which influence caterers' hand hygiene practices using social cognitive theory. One hundred and fifteen food handlers from 29 catering businesses were observed carrying out 31,050 food preparation actions in their workplace. Caterers subsequently completed the Hand Hygiene Instrument (HHI), which ascertained attitudes towards hand hygiene using constructs from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Health Belief Model. The TPB provided a useful framework for understanding caterers' implementation of hand hygiene practices, explaining 34% of the variance in hand hygiene malpractices (p behavioural control and intention (p food safety culture.

Learning topic models by belief propagation.

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Zeng, Jia; Cheung, William K; Liu, Jiming

2013-05-01

Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) is an important hierarchical Bayesian model for probabilistic topic modeling, which attracts worldwide interest and touches on many important applications in text mining, computer vision and computational biology. This paper represents the collapsed LDA as a factor graph, which enables the classic loopy belief propagation (BP) algorithm for approximate inference and parameter estimation. Although two commonly used approximate inference methods, such as variational Bayes (VB) and collapsed Gibbs sampling (GS), have gained great success in learning LDA, the proposed BP is competitive in both speed and accuracy, as validated by encouraging experimental results on four large-scale document datasets. Furthermore, the BP algorithm has the potential to become a generic scheme for learning variants of LDA-based topic models in the collapsed space. To this end, we show how to learn two typical variants of LDA-based topic models, such as author-topic models (ATM) and relational topic models (RTM), using BP based on the factor graph representations.

A Practitioner's Instrument for Measuring Secondary Mathematics Teachers' Beliefs Surrounding Learner-Centered Classroom Practice.

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Lischka, Alyson E; Garner, Mary

In this paper we present the development and validation of a Mathematics Teaching Pedagogical and Discourse Beliefs Instrument (MTPDBI), a 20 item partial-credit survey designed and analyzed using Rasch measurement theory. Items on the MTPDBI address beliefs about the nature of mathematics, teaching and learning mathematics, and classroom discourse practices. A Rasch partial credit model (Masters, 1982) was estimated from the pilot study data. Results show that item separation reliability is .96 and person separation reliability is .71. Other analyses indicate the instrument is a viable measure of secondary teachers' beliefs about reform-oriented mathematics teaching and learning. This instrument is proposed as a useful measure of teacher beliefs for those working with pre-service and in-service teacher development.

Heuristic and analytic processes in reasoning: an event-related potential study of belief bias.

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Banks, Adrian P; Hope, Christopher

2014-03-01

Human reasoning involves both heuristic and analytic processes. This study of belief bias in relational reasoning investigated whether the two processes occur serially or in parallel. Participants evaluated the validity of problems in which the conclusions were either logically valid or invalid and either believable or unbelievable. Problems in which the conclusions presented a conflict between the logically valid response and the believable response elicited a more positive P3 than problems in which there was no conflict. This shows that P3 is influenced by the interaction of belief and logic rather than either of these factors on its own. These findings indicate that belief and logic influence reasoning at the same time, supporting models in which belief-based and logical evaluations occur in parallel but not theories in which belief-based heuristic evaluations precede logical analysis.

An improved α-cut approach to transforming fuzzy membership function into basic belief assignment

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Yang Yi

2016-08-01

Full Text Available In practical applications, pieces of evidence originated from different sources might be modeled by different uncertainty theories. To implement the evidence combination under the Dempster–Shafer evidence theory (DST framework, transformations from the other type of uncertainty representation into the basic belief assignment are needed. α-Cut is an important approach to transforming a fuzzy membership function into a basic belief assignment, which provides a bridge between the fuzzy set theory and the DST. Some drawbacks of the traditional α-cut approach caused by its normalization step are pointed out in this paper. An improved α-cut approach is proposed, which can counteract the drawbacks of the traditional α-cut approach and has good properties. Illustrative examples, experiments and related analyses are provided to show the rationality of the improved α-cut approach.

Belief, hope and faith.

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Figueiredo, Luis Claudio

2004-12-01

A case of hysteria is presented in order to create a frame of reference for the author's approach to the concepts of hope, belief and faith. A difference between hope as a 'sad passion' (which is here called regressive hope) and hope as a principle of mental functioning is established. The concept of hope will at first always be based on beliefs--either beliefs organised in the paranoid-schizoid position (called here fragmented and delusional beliefs)--or those organised from the depressive position (complex systems of beliefs, which end up being dogmatic); the latter typically occur in neurotics. It is suggested here that there is another possibility for hope, which is based on faith. The meaning of faith is considered here externally to the religious sense. The solid establishment of hope as a principle--based on faith--can be viewed as responsible for the opening up of creative potentials and as one of the main aims of analysis. Such an aim, however requires the establishment of a deep relationship, both in theory and in clinical practice, between the Kleinian question of the depressive position and the Freudian question of the Oedipus complex.

The Weird World of Cross-Cultural False-Belief Research: A True- and False-Belief Study among Samoan Children Based on Commands

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Mayer, Andreas; Träuble, Birgit

2015-01-01

Previous cross-cultural research using false-belief tasks has explored whether children's theory of mind develops synchronously across cultures. Success on false-belief tasks is usually interpreted as an important indicator of children's mental state understanding, but inconsistent findings have led to questions regarding the interpretation of…

Commercial Conspiracy Theories

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Adrian eFurnham

2013-06-01

Full Text Available There are many ways to categorise conspiracy theories. In the present study, we examined individual and demographic predictors of beliefs in commercial conspiracy theories among a British sample of over 300 women and men. Results showed people were cynical and sceptical with regard to advertising tricks, as well as the tactics of organisations like banks and alcohol, drug and tobacco companies. Beliefs sorted into four identifiable clusters, labelled sneakiness, manipulative, change-the-rules and suppression/prevention. The high alpha for the overall scale suggested general beliefs in commercial conspiracy. Regressions suggested that those people who were less religious, more left-wing, more pessimistic, less (self-defined as wealthy, less Neurotic and less Open-to-Experience believed there was more commercial conspiracy. Overall the individual difference variables explained relatively little of the variance in these beliefs.The implications of these findings for the literature on conspiracy theories are discussed.

Causal beliefs of the public and social acceptance of persons with mental illness: a comparative analysis of schizophrenia, depression and alcohol dependence.

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Schomerus, G; Matschinger, H; Angermeyer, M C

2014-01-01

There is an ongoing debate whether biological illness explanations improve tolerance towards persons with mental illness or not. Several theoretical models have been proposed to predict the relationship between causal beliefs and social acceptance. This study uses path models to compare different theoretical predictions regarding attitudes towards persons with schizophrenia, depression and alcohol dependence. In a representative population survey in Germany (n = 3642), we elicited agreement with belief in biogenetic causes, current stress and childhood adversities as causes of either disorder as described in an unlabelled case vignette. We further elicited potentially mediating attitudes related to different theories about the consequences of biogenetic causal beliefs (attribution theory: onset responsibility, offset responsibility; genetic essentialism: differentness, dangerousness; genetic optimism: treatability) and social acceptance. For each vignette condition, we calculated a multiple mediator path model containing all variables. Biogenetic beliefs were associated with lower social acceptance in schizophrenia and depression, and with higher acceptance in alcohol dependence. In schizophrenia and depression, perceived differentness and dangerousness mediated the largest indirect effects, the consequences of biogenetic causal explanations thus being in accordance with the predictions of genetic essentialism. Psychosocial causal beliefs had differential effects: belief in current stress as a cause was associated with higher acceptance in schizophrenia, while belief in childhood adversities resulted in lower acceptance of a person with depression. Biological causal explanations seem beneficial in alcohol dependence, but harmful in schizophrenia and depression. The negative correlates of believing in childhood adversities as a cause of depression merit further exploration.

Testing a biopsychosocial model of the basic birth beliefs.

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Preis, Heidi; Chen, Rony; Eisner, Michal; Pardo, Joseph; Peled, Yoav; Wiznitzer, Arnon; Benyamini, Yael

2018-03-01

Women perceive what birth is even before they are pregnant for the first time. Part of this conceptualization is the basic belief about birth as a medical and natural process. These two separate beliefs are pivotal in the decision-making process about labor and birth. Adapting Engel's biopsychosocial framework, we explored the importance of a wide range of factors which may contribute to these beliefs among first-time mothers. This observational study included 413 primiparae ≥24 weeks' gestation, recruited in medical centers and in natural birth communities in Israel. The women completed a questionnaire which included the Birth Beliefs Scale and a variety of biopsychosocial characteristics such as obstetric history, birth environment, optimism, health-related anxiety, and maternal expectations. Psychological dispositions were more related to the birth beliefs than the social or biomedical factors. Sociodemographic characteristics and birth environment were only marginally related to the birth beliefs. The basic belief that birth is a natural process was positively related to optimism and to conceiving spontaneously. Beliefs that birth is a medical process were related to pessimism, health-related anxiety, and to expectations that an infant's behavior reflects mothering. Expectations about motherhood as being naturally fulfilling were positively related to both beliefs. Psychological factors seem to be most influential in the conceptualization of the beliefs. It is important to recognize how women interpret the messages they receive about birth which, together with their obstetric experience, shape their beliefs. Future studies are recommended to understand the evolution of these beliefs, especially within diverse cultures. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Resolving the theory of planned behaviour's 'expectancy-value muddle' using dimensional salience.

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Newton, Joshua D; Ewing, Michael T; Burney, Sue; Hay, Margaret

2012-01-01

The theory of planned behaviour is one of the most widely used models of decision-making in the health literature. Unfortunately, the primary method for assessing the theory's belief-based expectancy-value models results in statistically uninterpretable findings, giving rise to what has become known as the 'expectancy-value muddle'. Moreover, existing methods for resolving this muddle are associated with various conceptual or practical limitations. This study addresses these issues by identifying and evaluating a parsimonious method for resolving the expectancy-value muddle. Three hundred and nine Australian residents aged 18-24 years rated the expectancy and value of 18 beliefs about posthumous organ donation. Participants also nominated their five most salient beliefs using a dimensional salience approach. Salient beliefs were perceived as being more likely to eventuate than non-salient beliefs, indicating that salient beliefs could be used to signify the expectancy component. The expectancy-value term was therefore represented by summing the value ratings of salient beliefs, an approach that predicted attitude (adjusted R2 = 0.21) and intention (adjusted R2 = 0.21). These findings suggest that the dimensional salience approach is a useful method for overcoming the expectancy-value muddle in applied research settings.

The Accidental Transgressor: Morally Relevant Theory of Mind

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Killen, Melanie; Mulvey, Kelly Lynn; Richardson, Cameron; Jampol, Noah

2014-01-01

To test young children’s false belief theory of mind in a morally relevant context, two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, children (N = 162) at 3.5, 5.5, and 7.5 years of age were administered 3 tasks: prototypic moral transgression task, false belief theory of mind task (ToM), and an “accidental transgressor” task, which measured a morally relevant false belief theory of mind (MoToM). Children who did not pass false belief ToM were more likely to attribute negative intentions to an accidental transgressor than children who passed false belief ToM, and to use moral reasons when blaming the accidental transgressor. In Experiment 2, children (N = 46) who did not pass false belief ToM viewed it as more acceptable to punish the accidental transgressor than did participants who passed false belief ToM. Findings are discussed in light of research on the emergence of moral judgment and theory of mind. PMID:21377148

Generalizing a model beyond the inherence heuristic and applying it to beliefs about objective value.

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Wood, Graham

2014-10-01

The inherence heuristic is characterized as part of an instantiation of a more general model that describes the interaction between undeveloped intuitions, produced by System 1 heuristics, and developed beliefs, constructed by System 2 reasoning. The general model is described and illustrated by examining another instantiation of the process that constructs belief in objective moral value.

The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories.

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Douglas, Karen M; Sutton, Robbie M; Cichocka, Aleksandra

2017-12-01

What psychological factors drive the popularity of conspiracy theories , which explain important events as secret plots by powerful and malevolent groups? What are the psychological consequences of adopting these theories? We review the current research and find that it answers the first of these questions more thoroughly than the second. Belief in conspiracy theories appears to be driven by motives that can be characterized as epistemic (understanding one's environment), existential (being safe and in control of one's environment), and social (maintaining a positive image of the self and the social group). However, little research has investigated the consequences of conspiracy belief, and to date, this research does not indicate that conspiracy belief fulfills people's motivations. Instead, for many people, conspiracy belief may be more appealing than satisfying. Further research is needed to determine for whom, and under what conditions, conspiracy theories may satisfy key psychological motives.

KNOWLEDGE, BELIEF AND THE TEACHER J.G. Mbae

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The definition of knowledge and its relation to belief is one of the central. questions of the theory of knowledge. The question is of sigptllcance not only for the epistemologist but also for the classroom teacher as it has certain practical implications. In practical terms the difference between knowledge and belief could easily ...

Normative Beliefs, Attitudes, and Social Norms: People Reduce Waste as an Index of Social Relationships When Spending Leisure Time

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Wei-Ta Fang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This study has adopted and refined Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior, theory of reasoned action, and the value–belief–norm theory by Stern et al. to investigate the effects of normative beliefs, attitudes, and social norms on pro-environmental behavioral intentions. A total of 391 valid responses were collected from visitors to a theme park in Taiwan. A structure equation analysis indicated that the overall fit of the proposed model was supported. It was also found that both attitudes and social norms had positive and significant influence on waste reduction. While the results did not reveal any direct relation between normative beliefs and behavioral intentions, normative beliefs had positive direct influence on social norms and attitudes, which in turn had an impact on behavioral intentions. The findings provided further insights about pro-environmental behavioral intentions from an Asia perspective and highlighted important implications for environmental policies and education to reduce waste.

Physical Education Teachers' Beliefs and Intentions toward Teaching Students with Disabilities

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Jeong, Mihye; Block, Martin E.

2011-01-01

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TpB) measures the effect that individuals' behavioral belief, normative belief, and control beliefs have on their intentions to perform a specific behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine: (a) whether the TpB could predict physical educators' intentions and (b) whether physical educators' intentions and…

Relation between belief and performance in perceptual decision making.

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Drugowitsch, Jan; Moreno-Bote, Rubén; Pouget, Alexandre

2014-01-01

In an uncertain and ambiguous world, effective decision making requires that subjects form and maintain a belief about the correctness of their choices, a process called meta-cognition. Prediction of future outcomes and self-monitoring are only effective if belief closely matches behavioral performance. Equality between belief and performance is also critical for experimentalists to gain insight into the subjects' belief by simply measuring their performance. Assuming that the decision maker holds the correct model of the world, one might indeed expect that belief and performance should go hand in hand. Unfortunately, we show here that this is rarely the case when performance is defined as the percentage of correct responses for a fixed stimulus, a standard definition in psychophysics. In this case, belief equals performance only for a very narrow family of tasks, whereas in others they will only be very weakly correlated. As we will see it is possible to restore this equality in specific circumstances but this remedy is only effective for a decision-maker, not for an experimenter. We furthermore show that belief and performance do not match when conditioned on task difficulty--as is common practice when plotting the psychometric curve--highlighting common pitfalls in previous neuroscience work. Finally, we demonstrate that miscalibration and the hard-easy effect observed in humans' and other animals' certainty judgments could be explained by a mismatch between the experimenter's and decision maker's expected distribution of task difficulties. These results have important implications for experimental design and are of relevance for theories that aim to unravel the nature of meta-cognition.

Teachers' Beliefs and Their Intention to Use Interactive Simulations in Their Classrooms

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Kriek, Jeanne; Stols, Gerrit

2010-01-01

In this pilot study, we sought to examine the influence of the beliefs of Grade 10 to 12 physical science teachers on their intended and actual usage of interactive simulations (Physics Education Technology, or PhET) in their classrooms. A combination of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the Technology Acceptance Model and the Innovation Diffusion…

Moral Beliefs and Cognitive Homogeneity

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Nevia Dolcini

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The Emotional Perception Model of moral judgment intends to account for experientialism about morality and moral reasoning. In explaining how moral beliefs are formed and applied in practical reasoning, the model attempts to overcome the mismatch between reason and action/desire: morality isn’t about reason for actions, yet moral beliefs, if caused by desires, may play a motivational role in (moral agency. The account allows for two kinds of moral beliefs: genuine moral beliefs, which enjoy a relation to desire, and motivationally inert moral beliefs acquired in ways other than experience. Such etiology-based dichotomy of concepts, I will argue, leads to the undesirable view of cognition as a non-homogeneous phenomenon. Moreover, the distinction between moral beliefs and moral beliefs would entail a further dichotomy encompassing the domain of moral agency: one and the same action might possibly be either genuine moral, or not moral, if acted by individuals lacking the capacity for moral feelings, such as psychopaths.

Application of GIS based data driven evidential belief function model to predict groundwater potential zonation

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Nampak, Haleh; Pradhan, Biswajeet; Manap, Mohammad Abd

2014-05-01

The objective of this paper is to exploit potential application of an evidential belief function (EBF) model for spatial prediction of groundwater productivity at Langat basin area, Malaysia using geographic information system (GIS) technique. About 125 groundwater yield data were collected from well locations. Subsequently, the groundwater yield was divided into high (⩾11 m3/h) and low yields (divided into a testing dataset 70% (42 wells) for training the model and the remaining 30% (18 wells) was used for validation purpose. To perform cross validation, the frequency ratio (FR) approach was applied into remaining groundwater wells with low yield to show the spatial correlation between the low potential zones of groundwater productivity. A total of twelve groundwater conditioning factors that affect the storage of groundwater occurrences were derived from various data sources such as satellite based imagery, topographic maps and associated database. Those twelve groundwater conditioning factors are elevation, slope, curvature, stream power index (SPI), topographic wetness index (TWI), drainage density, lithology, lineament density, land use, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), soil and rainfall. Subsequently, the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence model was applied to prepare the groundwater potential map. Finally, the result of groundwater potential map derived from belief map was validated using testing data. Furthermore, to compare the performance of the EBF result, logistic regression model was applied. The success-rate and prediction-rate curves were computed to estimate the efficiency of the employed EBF model compared to LR method. The validation results demonstrated that the success-rate for EBF and LR methods were 83% and 82% respectively. The area under the curve for prediction-rate of EBF and LR methods were calculated 78% and 72% respectively. The outputs achieved from the current research proved the efficiency of EBF in groundwater

The effect of safety education based on Health Belief Model (HBM on the workers practice of Borujen industrial town in using the personal protection respiratory equipments

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A. Hasanzadeh

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Background and aims   Every year 50-158 million occupational diseases and job accidents occur in the world. Studies on the job injuries show that about 150000 injuries occur annually in  Iran. Unhealthy behaviors are important problems in public health. Education is one of the best ways to change unhealthy behaviors. Interventions based on model and theories have many  capacities for behavior change. Health Belief Model is one of the health education models that are  useful for behavior change. This research has been performed in order to assess the effect of health  education program based on health belief model (HBM to prevent occupational respiratory   diseases in workers.   Methods   Aquasi-experimental design was used for this interventional study, in which 88 of workers of Borujen industrial town participated, who were randomly assigned to experimental and control group. Data collecting tool were a self-administered questionnaire including 53 questions based on health belief model that was completed by the workers, in addition to the performance check list which was conducted by researcher via insensible controlling the workers' safety behaviour. Validity and reliability of the tools were examined prior to the study. Educational  intervention was conducted in the first stage following by the second data collection one month  later. The data of both experimental and control group were compared statistically before and  after the intervention.   Results   The results showed that the mean of the grade of all parts of health belief model  (HBM and performance mark of the workers about safety and use of personal respiratory  preventive equipment in experimental group after educational intervention compared to prior the  study and also compared to control group were significantly increased.   Conclusion   The results of this survey showed that by enhancement of health belief model (HBM components including

Models of misbelief: Integrating motivational and deficit theories of delusions.

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McKay, Ryan; Langdon, Robyn; Coltheart, Max

2007-12-01

The impact of our desires and preferences upon our ordinary, everyday beliefs is well-documented [Gilovich, T. (1991). How we know what isn't so: The fallibility of human reason in everyday life. New York: The Free Press.]. The influence of such motivational factors on delusions, which are instances of pathological misbelief, has tended however to be neglected by certain prevailing models of delusion formation and maintenance. This paper explores a distinction between two general classes of theoretical explanation for delusions; the motivational and the deficit. Motivational approaches view delusions as extreme instances of self-deception; as defensive attempts to relieve pain and distress. Deficit approaches, in contrast, view delusions as the consequence of defects in the normal functioning of belief mechanisms, underpinned by neuroanatomical or neurophysiological abnormalities. It is argued that although there are good reasons to be sceptical of motivational theories (particularly in their more floridly psychodynamic manifestations), recent experiments confirm that motives are important causal forces where delusions are concerned. It is therefore concluded that the most comprehensive account of delusions will involve a theoretical unification of both motivational and deficit approaches.

Assessment of Health Belief Model (HBM impact on knowledge, beliefs, and self-efficacy of women in need of genetic counseling

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Mitra Moodi

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Regarding the ever-increasing of genetic diseases, counseling for the prevention of these diseases has got overwhelming necessity. Thus, promoting individuals’ awareness of. genetic counseling is required. The current study aimed at determining  the effect of an educational program based on Health Belief Model on knowledge, beliefs, and self-efficacy of urbanized women in need of genetic counseling. Materials and Methods: In this randomized field trial study, 80 married women in need of genetic counseling were divided into two equal case and control groups. Data collection means were a researcher-designed questionnaire consisting of demographic data and health belief model queries, which were completed by interview. Educational intervention was done during three 90 minute sessions with one week interval between each one. Finally, the obtained data was fed into SPSS (version 16 applying the statistical tests of Chi-square, repeated ANOVA, independent t-test, Mann-Whitney and Friedman for analysis; and P0.05, but the difference became significant immediately and three months after intervention (P<0.001. There was a significant difference between the knowledge, threat, perceived benefits, barriers and self-efficacy in the two groups three week intervals before and  immediately after intervention, before and after the three months, immediately and after three months in the experimental group (P<0.001, but the difference was not significant in the control group. Conclusion: The results showed that educational interventions based on HBM increases women's knowledge, beliefs, and self-efficacy regarding the role of genetic counseling in the prevention of congenital malformations.

Teaching Science for Social Justice: An Examination of Elementary Preservice Teachers' Beliefs

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Eslinger, James C.

This qualitative study examines the beliefs and belief changes of eleven elementary preservice teachers about teaching science for social justice. Using constructivist grounded theory, it forwards a new theory of belief change about teaching science for social justice. The theory posits that three teaching and learning conditions may facilitate belief change: preservice teachers need to recognize (1) the relationship between science and society; (2) the relationship between individuals and society; and (3) the importance of taking action on socioscientific issues. This research responds to calls by critical scholars of teacher education who contend that beliefs in relation to equity, diversity, and multiculturalism need to be explored. They have found that many preservice teachers hold beliefs that are antithetical to social justice tenets. Since beliefs are generally considered to be precursors to actions, identifying and promoting change in beliefs are important to teaching science for social justice. Such a move may lead to the advancement of curricular and pedagogical efforts to promote the academic participation and success in elementary science of Aboriginal and racialized minority students. The study was undertaken in a year-long science methods course taught by the researcher. It was centered on the preservice teachers -- their beliefs, their belief changes, and the course pedagogies that they identified as crucial to their changes. However, the course was based on the researcher-instructor's review of the scholarly literature on science education, teacher education, and social justice. It utilized a critical -- cultural theoretical framework, and was aligned to the three dimensions of critical nature of science, critical knowledge and pedagogy, and sociopolitical action. Findings indicate that, at the beginning of the year, preservice teachers held two types of beliefs (liberal and critical) and, by the end of the course, they experienced three kinds of

Organizational Conspiracy Beliefs: Implications for Leadership Styles and Employee Outcomes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Prooijen, Jan-Willem; de Vries, Reinout Everhard

2016-01-01

Purpose Belief in conspiracy theories about societal events is widespread among citizens. The extent to which conspiracy beliefs about managers and supervisors matter in the micro-level setting of organizations has not yet been examined, however. We investigated if leadership styles predict

Application of Dempster-Shafer theory in dose response outcome analysis

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Chen, Wenzhou; Cui, Yunfeng; He, Yanyan; Yu, Yan; Galvin, James; Hussaini, Yousuff M.; Xiao, Ying

2012-09-01

The Quantitative Analysis of Normal Tissue Effects in the Clinic (QUANTEC) reviews summarize the currently available three-dimensional dose/volume/outcome data from multi-institutions and numerous articles to update and refine the normal tissue dose/volume tolerance guidelines. As pointed out in the review, the data have limitations and even some inconsistency. However, with the help of new physical and statistical techniques, the information in the review could be updated so that patient care can be continually improved. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate the application of a mathematical theory, the Dempster-Shafer theory, in dose/volume/outcome data analysis. We applied this theory to the original data obtained from published clinical studies describing dose response for radiation pneumonitis. Belief and plausibility concepts were introduced for dose response evaluation. We were also able to consider the uncertainty and inconsistency of the data from these studies with Yager's combination rule, a special methodology of Dempster-Shafer theory, to fuse the data at several specific doses. The values of belief and plausibility functions were obtained at the corresponding doses. Then we applied the Lyman-Kutcher-Burman (LKB) model to fit these values and a belief-plausibility range was obtained. This range could be considered as a probability range to assist physicians and treatment planners in determining acceptable dose-volume constraints. Finally, the parameters obtained from the LKB model fitting were compared with those in Emami and Burman's papers and those from other frequentist statistics methods. We found that Emami and Burman's parameters are within the belief-plausibility range we calculated by the Dempster-Shafer theory.

The Theory-based Influence of Map Features on Risk Beliefs: Self-reports of What is Seen and Understood for Maps Depicting an Environmental Health Hazard

OpenAIRE

Severtson, Dolores J.; Vatovec, Christine

2012-01-01

Theory-based research is needed to understand how maps of environmental health risk information influence risk beliefs and protective behavior. Using theoretical concepts from multiple fields of study including visual cognition, semiotics, health behavior, and learning and memory supports a comprehensive assessment of this influence. We report results from thirteen cognitive interviews that provide theory-based insights into how visual features influenced what participants saw ...

Educational Theory and Classroom Behavior.

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Swanson, Ronald G.; Smith, William S.

1979-01-01

Described are two instruments used in a workshop designed to help teachers clarify their own beliefs about education and to shape their classroom behavior accordingly. The Student-Content Inventory concerns styles of student-teacher interaction and the Educational Theory Inventory correlates the respondent's beliefs to major educational theories.…

Are Cultural Values and Beliefs Included in U.S. Based HIV Interventions?

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Wyatt, Gail E.; Williams, John K.; Gupta, Arpana; Malebranche, Dominique

2013-01-01

Objective To determine the extent to which current U.S. based HIV/AIDS prevention and risk reduction interventions address and include aspects of cultural beliefs in definitions, curricula, measures and related theories that may contradict current safer sex messages. Method A comprehensive literature review was conducted to determine which published HIV/AIDS prevention and risk reduction interventions incorporated aspects of cultural beliefs. Results This review of 166 HIV prevention and risk reduction interventions, published between 1988 and 2010, identified 34 interventions that varied in cultural definitions and the integration of cultural concepts. Conclusion HIV interventions need to move beyond targeting specific populations based upon race/ethnicity, gender, sexual, drug and/or risk behaviors and incorporate cultural beliefs and experiences pertinent to an individual’s risk. Theory based interventions that incorporate cultural beliefs within a contextual framework are needed if prevention and risk reduction messages are to reach targeted at risk populations. Implications for the lack of uniformity of cultural definitions, measures and related theories are discussed and recommendations are made to ensure that cultural beliefs are acknowledged for their potential conflict with safer sex skills and practices. PMID:21884721

Psychometric properties of the Survey of Personal Beliefs: a rational-emotive measure of irrational thinking.

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Demaria, T P; Kassinove, H; Dill, C A

1989-01-01

A test consistency and confirmatory factor analyses were performed on the Survey of Personal Beliefs, a new measure of irrational thinking based on rational-emotive personality theory. The survey, which was logically derived, includes a general rationality factor and subscales measuring five hypothesized core categories of irrational beliefs. Subjects included a nonclinical sample of 130 men and 150 women, with a mean age of 46. Results indicated that the Survey of Personal Beliefs had satisfactory total and scale reliability. The confirmatory analyses supported a higher order factor model including 5 first-order factors ( awfulizing, self-directed shoulds, other-directed shoulds, low frustration tolerance, and self-worth) and 1 second-order or general factor.

The role of salient beliefs in graduates’ intention to apply

OpenAIRE

Samantha Adams; François de Kock

2015-01-01

Orientation: Organisations compete fiercely to recruit the best graduates, because they consider them a rich source of future talent. In the recruitment literature, it has become increasingly important to understand the factors that influence graduate applicant intentions. Research purpose: Drawing on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), we tested a model proposing that applicant intention is a function of their attitude towards applying, beliefs about referent other’s expectations (su...

Teleconference Use among Office Workers: An Interorganizational Comparison of an Extended Theory of Planned Behavior Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siu Hing Lo

2014-02-01

Full Text Available From a corporate social responsibility perspective, there are many reasons to promote teleconference use as an alternative to business travel. The present study examines psychosocial and organizational factors relevant to teleconference use. We tested an extended Theory of Planned Behavior model of teleconference use among office workers of four organizations. Results indicate that intention was the strongest direct predictor of teleconference use. Habit and perceived norm, in turn, were the strongest predictors of intention to use teleconference. In contrast, attitude was only weakly predictive and perceived control not predictive at all of intention to use teleconference. We also examined how this model was influenced by the organizational context by comparing organizations from two different regions, and organizations from the private vs. the public sector. Most teleconference-related beliefs differed between regions and organizational sectors. The relevance of specific attitudinal and normative beliefs to the overall attitude and perceived norm also differed between organizational sectors. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Nurses' attitudinal and normative beliefs concerning hemodynamic assessment by pulmonary artery catheterization.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinto, Cristiano José Mendes; Colombo, Roberta Cunha Rodrigues; Gallani, Maria Cecília Bueno Jayme

2006-01-01

The objective of this study was to identify, by using the Theory of Reasoned Action/Theory of Planned Behavior, the attitude and normative beliefs that influence the behavioral intention of the nurse to perform a hemodynamic assessment using the pulmonary artery catheterization. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews involving 23 nurses from three hospitals in the city of Campinas, São Paulo. The data were analyzed according to a qualitative methodology. Among the Attitude Beliefs, affective beliefs and those related to the advantages and disadvantages of performing the behavior stand out. Among the Normative Beliefs social referents were identified for the behavior, as well as the behavior-stimulating factors and the factors that discourage the performance of the behavior.

Explaining body size beliefs in anorexia.

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Gadsby, Stephen

2017-11-01

Cognitive neuropsychiatry has had much success in providing theoretical models for the causal origins of many delusional beliefs. Recently, it has been suggested that some anorexia nervosa patients' beliefs about their own body size should be considered delusions. As such, it seems high time the methods of cognitive neuropsychiatry were turned to modelling the false body size beliefs of anorexics. In this paper, I adopt an empiricist approach to modelling the causal origins of false body size beliefs in anorexia. Within the background of cognitive neuropsychiatry, empiricist models claim that abnormal beliefs are grounded by abnormal experiences bearing similar content. I discuss the kinds of abnormal experiences of body size anorexics suffer from which could ground their false beliefs about body size. These oversized experiences come in three varieties: false self-other body comparisons, spontaneous mental imagery of a fat body and distorted perception of affordances. Further theoretical and empirical research into the oversized experiences which anorexics suffer from presents a promising avenue for understanding and treating the disorder.

Betting and Belief: Modeling the Impact of Prediction Markets on Public Attribution of Climate Change

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Gilligan, J. M.; Nay, J. J.; van der Linden, M.

2016-12-01

Despite overwhelming scientific evidence and an almost complete consensus among scientists, a large fraction of the American public is not convinced that global warming is anthropogenic. This doubt correlates strongly with political, ideological, and cultural orientation. [1] It has been proposed that people who do not trust climate scientists tend to trust markets, so prediction markets might be able to influence their beliefs about the causes of climate change. [2] We present results from an agent-based simulation of a prediction market in which traders invest based on their beliefs about what drives global temperature change (here, either CO2 concentration or total solar irradiance (TSI), which is a popular hypothesis among many who doubt the dominant role of CO2). At each time step, traders use historical and observed temperatures and projected future forcings (CO2 or TSI) to update Bayesian posterior probability distributions for future temperatures, conditional on their belief about what drives climate change. Traders then bet on future temperatures by trading in climate futures. Trading proceeds by a continuous double auction. Traders are randomly assigned initial beliefs about climate change, and they have some probability of changing their beliefs to match those of the most successful traders in their social network. We simulate two alternate realities in which the global temperature is controlled either by CO2 or by TSI, with stochastic noise. In both cases traders' beliefs converge, with a large majority reaching agreement on the actual cause of climate change. This convergence is robust, but the speed with which consensus emerges depends on characteristics of the traders' psychology and the structure of the market. Our model can serve as a test-bed for studying how beliefs might evolve under different market structures and different modes of decision-making and belief-change. We will report progress on studying alternate models of belief-change. This

Evaluation of Three Osteoporosis Prevention Programs for Young Women: Application of the Health Belief Model

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Lein, Donald H.; Turner, Lori; Wilroy, Jereme

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of theory-based osteoporosis prevention programs on calcium and vitamin D intakes and osteoporosis health beliefs in young women. Methods: Women (N = 152) aged 19 to 25 years were randomly assigned to one of 3 groups: a brochure group (n = 51), a computer-tailored program group…

High School Students' Scientific Epistemological Beliefs, Self-Efficacy in Learning Physics and Attitudes toward Physics: A Structural Equation Model

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Kapucu, Serkan; Bahçivan, Eralp

2015-01-01

Background: There are some theoretical evidences that explain the relationships between core beliefs (i.e., epistemological beliefs) and peripheral beliefs (self-efficacy in learning) in the literature. The close relationships of such type of beliefs with attitudes are also discussed by some researchers. Constructing a model that investigates…

Supernatural beliefs, aetiological models and help seeking behaviour in patients with schizophrenia.

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Kate, Natasha; Grover, Sandeep; Kulhara, Parmanand; Nehra, Ritu

2012-01-01

Few studies have evaluated the supernatural beliefs of patients with schizophrenia. This study aimed to study the personal beliefs, aetiological models and help seeking behaviour of patients with schizophrenia using a self-rated questionnaire. Seventy three patients returned the completed supernatural Attitude questionnaire. 62% of patients admitted that people in their community believed in sorcery and other magico-religious phenomena. One fourth to half of patients believed in ghosts/evil spirit (26%), spirit intrusion (28.8%) and sorcery (46.6%). Two-third patients believed that mental illness can occur either due to sorcery, ghosts/evil spirit, spirit intrusion, divine wrath, planetary/astrological influences, dissatisfied or evil spirits and bad deeds of the past. 40% of the subjects attributed mental disorders to more than one of these beliefs. About half of the patients (46.6%) believed that only performance of prayers was sufficient to improve their mental status. Few patients (9.6%) believed that magico-religious rituals were sufficient to improve their mental illness but about one-fourth (24.7%) admitted that during recent episode either they or their caregivers performed magico-religious rituals. Supernatural beliefs are common in patients with schizophrenia and many of them attribute the symptoms of mental disorders to these beliefs.

Rule-Based Reasoning Is Fast and Belief-Based Reasoning Can Be Slow: Challenging Current Explanations of Belief-Bias and Base-Rate Neglect

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Newman, Ian R.; Gibb, Maia; Thompson, Valerie A.

2017-01-01

It is commonly assumed that belief-based reasoning is fast and automatic, whereas rule-based reasoning is slower and more effortful. Dual-Process theories of reasoning rely on this speed-asymmetry explanation to account for a number of reasoning phenomena, such as base-rate neglect and belief-bias. The goal of the current study was to test this…

Relation between Belief and Performance in Perceptual Decision Making

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Drugowitsch, Jan; Moreno-Bote, Rubén; Pouget, Alexandre

2014-01-01

In an uncertain and ambiguous world, effective decision making requires that subjects form and maintain a belief about the correctness of their choices, a process called meta-cognition. Prediction of future outcomes and self-monitoring are only effective if belief closely matches behavioral performance. Equality between belief and performance is also critical for experimentalists to gain insight into the subjects' belief by simply measuring their performance. Assuming that the decision maker holds the correct model of the world, one might indeed expect that belief and performance should go hand in hand. Unfortunately, we show here that this is rarely the case when performance is defined as the percentage of correct responses for a fixed stimulus, a standard definition in psychophysics. In this case, belief equals performance only for a very narrow family of tasks, whereas in others they will only be very weakly correlated. As we will see it is possible to restore this equality in specific circumstances but this remedy is only effective for a decision-maker, not for an experimenter. We furthermore show that belief and performance do not match when conditioned on task difficulty – as is common practice when plotting the psychometric curve – highlighting common pitfalls in previous neuroscience work. Finally, we demonstrate that miscalibration and the hard-easy effect observed in humans' and other animals' certainty judgments could be explained by a mismatch between the experimenter's and decision maker's expected distribution of task difficulties. These results have important implications for experimental design and are of relevance for theories that aim to unravel the nature of meta-cognition. PMID:24816801

Evaluation of a Theory of Instructional Sequences for Physics Instruction

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Wackermann, Rainer; Trendel, Georg; Fischer, Hans E.

2010-05-01

The background of the study is the theory of basis models of teaching and learning, a comprehensive set of models of learning processes which includes, for example, learning through experience and problem-solving. The combined use of different models of learning processes has not been fully investigated and it is frequently not clear under what circumstances a particular model should be used by teachers. In contrast, the theory under investigation here gives guidelines for choosing a particular model and provides instructional sequences for each model. The aim is to investigate the implementation of the theory applied to physics instruction and to show if possible effects for the students may be attributed to the use of the theory. Therefore, a theory-oriented education programme for 18 physics teachers was developed and implemented in the 2005/06 school year. The main features of the intervention consisted of coaching physics lessons and video analysis according to the theory. The study follows a pre-treatment-post design with non-equivalent control group. Findings of repeated-measures ANOVAs show large effects for teachers' subjective beliefs, large effects for classroom actions, and small to medium effects for student outcomes such as perceived instructional quality and student emotions. The teachers/classes that applied the theory especially well according to video analysis showed the larger effects. The results showed that differentiating between different models of learning processes improves physics instruction. Effects can be followed through to student outcomes. The education programme effect was clearer for classroom actions and students' outcomes than for teachers' beliefs.

Identifying Underlying Beliefs About Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Low-Income Older Adults: An Elicitation Study Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior.

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Jung, Seung Eun; Shin, Yeon Ho; Kim, Sunyoung; Hermann, Janice; Bice, Crystal

2017-10-01

Identify underlying salient behavioral, normative, and control beliefs about fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption among limited-income older adults. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used as the framework for conducting semistructured individual interviews in 2016. Two congregate meal sites in the city of Tuscaloosa, AL. A total of 25 low-income older adults aged ≥60 years. Behavioral, normative, and control beliefs about F&V intake. All interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using a hybrid inductive and deductive content analysis approach. The elicitation interviews identified salient behavioral, normative, and control beliefs about F&V intake among low-income older adults. These results can be used to develop nutrition education programs aimed at improving economically vulnerable older adults' F&V intake. Copyright © 2017 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Intuitive theories of information: beliefs about the value of redundancy.

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Soll, J B

1999-03-01

In many situations, quantity estimates from multiple experts or diagnostic instruments must be collected and combined. Normatively, and all else equal, one should value information sources that are nonredundant, in the sense that correlation in forecast errors should be minimized. Past research on the preference for redundancy has been inconclusive. While some studies have suggested that people correctly place higher value on uncorrelated inputs when collecting estimates, others have shown that people either ignore correlation or, in some cases, even prefer it. The present experiments show that the preference for redundancy depends on one's intuitive theory of information. The most common intuitive theory identified is the Error Tradeoff Model (ETM), which explicitly distinguishes between measurement error and bias. According to ETM, measurement error can only be averaged out by consulting the same source multiple times (normatively false), and bias can only be averaged out by consulting different sources (normatively true). As a result, ETM leads people to prefer redundant estimates when the ratio of measurement error to bias is relatively high. Other participants favored different theories. Some adopted the normative model, while others were reluctant to mathematically average estimates from different sources in any circumstance. In a post hoc analysis, science majors were more likely than others to subscribe to the normative model. While tentative, this result lends insight into how intuitive theories might develop and also has potential ramifications for how statistical concepts such as correlation might best be learned and internalized. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

Treatment beliefs underlying intended treatment choices in knee and hip osteoarthritis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Selten, E.M.H.; Geenen, R.; Schers, H.J.; van den Hoogen, F.H.J.; van der Meulen-Dilling, R.G.; Van der Laan, W.H.; Nijhof, M.W.; van den Ende, C.H.M.; Vriezekolk, J.E.

Purpose Patients’ beliefs about treatment modalities for knee and hip osteoarthritis (OA) will underlie their treatment choices. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, it is hypothesized that patients’ beliefs, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control guide their treatment choices. Also,

Competence and Performance in Belief-Desire Reasoning across Two Cultures: The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth about False Belief?

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Yazdi, Amir Amin; German, Tim P.; Defeyter, Margaret Anne; Siegal, Michael

2006-01-01

There is a change in false belief task performance across the 3-5 year age range, as confirmed in a recent meta-analysis [Wellman, H. M., Cross, D., & Watson, J. (2001). Meta-analysis of theory mind development: The truth about false-belief. "Child Development," 72, 655-684]. This meta-analysis identified several performance factors influencing…

Latent constructs of the autobiographical memory questionnaire: a recollection-belief model of autobiographical experience.

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Fitzgerald, Joseph M; Broadbridge, Carissa L

2013-01-01

Many researchers employ single-item scales of subjective experiences such as imagery and confidence to assess autobiographical memory. We tested the hypothesis that four latent constructs, recollection, belief, impact, and rehearsal, account for the variance in commonly used scales across four different types of autobiographical memory: earliest childhood memory, cue word memory of personal experience, highly vivid memory, and most stressful memory. Participants rated each memory on scales hypothesised to be indicators of one of four latent constructs. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses and structural analyses confirmed the similarity of the latent constructs of recollection, belief, impact, and rehearsal, as well as the similarity of the structural relationships among those constructs across memory type. The observed pattern of mean differences between the varieties of autobiographical experiences was consistent with prior research and theory in the study of autobiographical memory.

Influence of a persuasive strategy on nursing students' beliefs and attitudes toward provision of care to people living with HIV/AIDS.

Science.gov (United States)

Valois, P; Turgeon, H; Godin, G; Blondeau, D; Cote, F

2001-11-01

Based on the theory of planned behavior and the elaboration likelihood model, the aim of this study was to verify the effect of persuasive messages on nursing students' beliefs and attitudes regarding provision of care to people living with HIV/AIDS. The assumption was that a persuasive communication strategy induces a constructive change in beliefs and attitudes regarding provision of care. Baseline data collection was performed among a group of 74 nursing students (experimental group = 27; control group = 47). The questionnaire assessed the variables of the theory of planned behavior (i.e., beliefs, attitudes, perceived behavioral control). The results confirmed that persuasive messages generated a change in beliefs and attitudes of the nursing students concerning providing care to people living with HIV/AIDS. It appears that this strategy of modifying behavioral predispositions is effective and generates cognitive and affective changes. Therefore, educational programs should take these observations into consideration to ensure that future nurses are better prepared to provide appropriate care to people living with HIV/AIDS.

Health Promoting Self-Care Behaviors and Its Related Factors in Elderly: Application of Health Belief Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mojtaba Azadbakht

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Health beliefs significantly affect health promoting self-care behaviors. The most important model designed based on health beliefs is the Health Belief Model. This study examined the association between health belief model constructs and demographic factors with behaviors in elderly. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 465 elders referring to Tehran's cultural centers recruited with a multi-stage sampling method. Study instruments were questionnaires regarding demographic information, health beliefs, self-efficacy and health-promoting self-care behaviors. Data analysis was performed using SPSS-22 software by Independent T-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation and Multiple linear regression. Results: The mean (±SD age of subjects was 68.24±6.12 years and the mean of general self-care score was 1.79±0.36. Gender (P=0.011, economy (P<0.001, education level (P<0.001 and age (P=0.008 were significantly associated with self-care behaviors. Regression analysis showed that perceived barriers, self-efficacy and perceived severity were determinants of behavior (P<0.001. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it is essential to pay special attention to self-efficacy, perceived severity and perceived barriers to design health education for elderly.

Embodied Censorship: Academic Writing Rituals and the Production of Belief

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Hahn, Edward

2014-01-01

As compositionists have constructed a critical discourse on whiteness, they have tacitly theorized how students' bodies can stifle efforts to both reflect on unfamiliar beliefs and critique their own beliefs. While Composition's latent theories of "embodied censorship" challenge the notion that rationality or empathy can enable…

The theory of "truth": how counterindustry campaigns affect smoking behavior among teens.

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Hershey, James C; Niederdeppe, Jeff; Evans, W Douglas; Nonnemaker, James; Blahut, Steven; Holden, Debra; Messeri, Peter; Haviland, M Lyndon

2005-01-01

This study used structural equation modeling to test a theory-based model of the pathways by which exposure to the "truth" counterindustry media campaign influenced beliefs, attitudes, and smoking behavior in national random-digit-dial telephone surveys of 16,000 12- to 17-year-olds before, 8 months after, and 15 months after campaign launch. Consistent with concepts from the theory of reasoned action, youth in markets with higher levels of campaign exposure had more negative beliefs about tobacco industry practices and more negative attitudes toward the tobacco industry. Models also provided support for a social inoculation effect, because negative industry attitudes were associated with lower receptivity to protobacco advertising and with less progression along a continuum of smoking intentions and behavior.

Cognitive control in belief-laden reasoning during conclusion processing: An ERP study

OpenAIRE

Junlong Luo, Xiumin Du , Edward J. N. Stupple, Xiao Xiao, Lei Jia , Qinglin Zhang ,

2012-01-01

Belief-bias is the tendency to accept conclusions that are compatible with existing beliefs more frequently than those that contradict beliefs. It is one of the most replicated behavioral findings in the reasoning literature. Recently, neuroimaging studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and event-related potentials (ERPs) have provided a new perspective and have demonstrated neural correlates of belief bias that have been viewed as supportive of dual process theories of be...

The Effect of an Educational Intervention Program on the Adoption of Low Back Pain Preventive Behaviors in Nurses: An Application of the Health Belief Model

OpenAIRE

Sharafkhani, Naser; Khorsandi, Mahboobeh; Shamsi, Mohsen; Ranjbaran, Mehdi

2015-01-01

Study Design?Randomized controlled trial. Objective?The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of a theory-based educational intervention program on the level of knowledge and Health Belief Model (HBM) constructs among nurses in terms of the adoption of preventive behaviors. Methods?This pretest/posttest quasi-experimental study was conducted on 100 nurses who were recruited through the multistage sampling method. The nurses were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups....

Sensing supernatural agency : An empirical quest on the socio-cognitive foundations of supernatural beliefs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Maij, D.L.R.

2018-01-01

Why did people started to belief in the supernatural (i.e., in culturally specific unverifiable beliefs about non-physical phenomena that do not coincide with a naturalistic worldview) independently from each other? According to proponents of evolutionary ‘by-product’ theories, supernatural beliefs

Modeling Interpersonal Correlates of Condomless Anal Sex among Gay and Bisexual Men: An Application of Attachment Theory.

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Starks, Tyrel J; Castro, Michael A; Castiblanco, Juan P; Millar, Brett M

2017-05-01

The existing literature has identified that beliefs about the interpersonal meaning of condom use are a significant predictor of condomless anal sex (CAS). Some have suggested that condom use in this context may function as a form of nonverbal communication. This study utilized attachment theory as a framework and tested a hypothesized model linking adult attachment to CAS through communication skills and condom expectancies. An online survey was completed by 122 single, HIV-negative gay and bisexual (GB) men living in the U.S. They completed measures of adult attachment (anxious and avoidant), condom expectancies regarding intimacy and pleasure interference, communication skills, self-assessed mate value, and recent CAS with casual partners. There was a significant, positive bivariate association between anxious attachment and receptive CAS. In path model analyses, two over-arching pathways emerged. In the other-oriented pathway, anxious attachment, self-perceived mate value, and emotional communication predicted the belief that condoms interfere with intimacy. In turn, intimacy interference expectancies were positively associated with the odds of receptive CAS. In the self-oriented pathway, assertive communication skills mediated a link between avoidant attachment and the belief that condoms interfere with sexual pleasure. Pleasure interference expectancies were positively associated with the odds of insertive CAS. The findings highlight the importance of relational or interpersonal concerns in sexual risk-taking among single GB men. Attachment theory may serve as a framework for organizing these interpersonal correlates of CAS. Results are consistent with the conceptualization of condom use as a form of nonverbal attachment-related behavior. Implications for sexual health and risk-reduction interventions are explored in this context.

Model theory and modules

CERN Document Server

Prest, M

1988-01-01

In recent years the interplay between model theory and other branches of mathematics has led to many deep and intriguing results. In this, the first book on the topic, the theme is the interplay between model theory and the theory of modules. The book is intended to be a self-contained introduction to the subject and introduces the requisite model theory and module theory as it is needed. Dr Prest develops the basic ideas concerning what can be said about modules using the information which may be expressed in a first-order language. Later chapters discuss stability-theoretic aspects of module

Beliefs about Meditating among University Students, Faculty, and Staff: A Theory-Based Salient Belief Elicitation

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Lederer, Alyssa M.; Middlestadt, Susan E.

2014-01-01

Objective: Stress impacts college students, faculty, and staff alike. Although meditation has been found to decrease stress, it is an underutilized strategy. This study used the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA) to identify beliefs underlying university constituents' decision to meditate. Participants: N = 96 students, faculty, and staff at a large…

Are cultural values and beliefs included in U.S. based HIV interventions?

Science.gov (United States)

Wyatt, Gail E; Williams, John K; Gupta, Arpana; Malebranche, Dominique

2012-11-01

To determine the extent to which current United States based human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) prevention and risk reduction interventions address and include aspects of cultural beliefs in definitions, curricula, measures and related theories that may contradict current safer sex messages. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to determine which published human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) prevention and risk reduction interventions incorporated aspects of cultural beliefs. This review of 166 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and risk reduction interventions, published between 1988 and 2010, identified 34 interventions that varied in cultural definitions and the integration of cultural concepts. human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) interventions need to move beyond targeting specific populations based upon race/ethnicity, gender, sexual, drug and/or risk behaviors and incorporate cultural beliefs and experiences pertinent to an individual's risk. Theory based interventions that incorporate cultural beliefs within a contextual framework are needed if prevention and risk reduction messages are to reach targeted at risk populations. Implications for the lack of uniformity of cultural definitions, measures and related theories are discussed and recommendations are made to ensure that cultural beliefs are acknowledged for their potential conflict with safer sex skills and practices. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Managing Dog Waste: Campaign Insights from the Health Belief Model

Science.gov (United States)

Typhina, Eli; Yan, Changmin

2014-01-01

Aiming to help municipalities develop effective education and outreach campaigns to reduce stormwater pollutants, such as pet waste, this study applied the Health Belief Model (HBM) to identify perceptions of dog waste and corresponding collection behaviors from dog owners living in a small U.S. city. Results of 455 online survey responses…

Women Infant and Children program participants' beliefs and consumption of soy milk : Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior

OpenAIRE

Wheeler, Ashley; Chapman-Novakofski, Karen

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine if Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) variables predict soy milk intake in a sample of WIC participants in 2 Illinois counties (n = 380). A cross-sectional survey was used, which examined soy foods intake, behavioral beliefs, subjective norms, motivation, and intention. Soy product intake was low at both sites, and many participants (40%) did not know that soy milk was WIC approved. Most (> 70%) wanted to comply with their health care providers, but di...

AN EDUCATIONAL THEORY MODEL--(SIGGS), AN INTEGRATION OF SET THEORY, INFORMATION THEORY, AND GRAPH THEORY WITH GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY.

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MACCIA, ELIZABETH S.; AND OTHERS

AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF 20 ITEMS AND A DISCUSSION OF ITS SIGNIFICANCE WAS PRESENTED TO DESCRIBE CURRENT UTILIZATION OF SUBJECT THEORIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN EDUCATIONAL THEORY. ALSO, A THEORY MODEL WAS USED TO DEMONSTRATE CONSTRUCTION OF A SCIENTIFIC EDUCATIONAL THEORY. THE THEORY MODEL INCORPORATED SET THEORY (S), INFORMATION THEORY…

The Relationship between Deliberative Belief, Critical Thinking and College Students' Engagement Attitudes in Volunteering

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Lin, Chun-Wen

2017-01-01

Aristotle once said that moral deliberation is supposed to find reasons, which may lead us to renounce spurious moral beliefs in pursuit of authentic goodness. The aim of this study was to construct a theoretical model, based on Aristotle's deliberation theory framework, representing college students' attitudes toward volunteering in nursing…

The theory-based influence of map features on risk beliefs: self-reports of what is seen and understood for maps depicting an environmental health hazard.

Science.gov (United States)

Severtson, Dolores J; Vatovec, Christine

2012-08-01

Theory-based research is needed to understand how maps of environmental health risk information influence risk beliefs and protective behavior. Using theoretical concepts from multiple fields of study including visual cognition, semiotics, health behavior, and learning and memory supports a comprehensive assessment of this influence. The authors report results from 13 cognitive interviews that provide theory-based insights into how visual features influenced what participants saw and the meaning of what they saw as they viewed 3 formats of water test results for private wells (choropleth map, dot map, and a table). The unit of perception, color, proximity to hazards, geographic distribution, and visual salience had substantial influences on what participants saw and their resulting risk beliefs. These influences are explained by theoretical factors that shape what is seen, properties of features that shape cognition (preattentive, symbolic, visual salience), information processing (top-down and bottom-up), and the strength of concrete compared with abstract information. Personal relevance guided top-down attention to proximal and larger hazards that shaped stronger risk beliefs. Meaning was more local for small perceptual units and global for large units. Three aspects of color were important: preattentive "incremental risk" meaning of sequential shading, symbolic safety meaning of stoplight colors, and visual salience that drew attention. The lack of imagery, geographic information, and color diminished interest in table information. Numeracy and prior beliefs influenced comprehension for some participants. Results guided the creation of an integrated conceptual framework for application to future studies. Ethics should guide the selection of map features that support appropriate communication goals.

Remarriage Beliefs as Predictors of Marital Quality and Positive Interaction in Stepcouples: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model.

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Garneau, Chelsea L; Higginbotham, Brian; Adler-Baeder, Francesca

2015-12-01

Using an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, we examined remarriage beliefs as predictors of marital quality and positive interaction in a sample of 179 stepcouples. Three beliefs were measured using subscales from the Remarriage Belief Inventory (RMBI) including success is slim, children are the priority, and finances should be pooled. Several significant actor and partner effects were found for both wives' and husbands' beliefs. Wives' marital quality was positively associated with their own beliefs that finances should be pooled and negatively associated with their own beliefs that success is slim. Wives' reports of their own and spouses' positive interaction were both positively associated with their beliefs that finances should be pooled. Their reports of spouses' positive interaction were also negatively associated with husbands' beliefs that success is slim. Husbands' marital quality was positively associated with wives' beliefs that children are the priority, positively associated with their own beliefs that finances should be pooled, and negatively with success is slim. Positive interaction for husbands was positively associated with wives' beliefs that finances should be pooled and negatively associated with their own beliefs that success is slim. Finally, husbands' reports of positive interaction for their spouses were positively associated with wives' beliefs that finances should be pooled. Implications for future research utilizing dyadic data analysis with stepcouples are addressed. © 2015 Family Process Institute.

False belief understanding in Cantonese-speaking children.

Science.gov (United States)

Tardif, Twila; Wellman, Henry M; Cheung, Kar Man

2004-11-01

The present study investigates the performance of 96 Cantonese-speaking three- to five-year-old preschoolers on three false belief tasks - a deceptive object, a change of location, and an unexpected contents task encompassing a variety of task factors. Most importantly, the research examines the possibility that false belief performance depends on specific linguistic factors such as the type of verb used in the test question--an explicitly false vs. a neutral belief verb. Cantonese was chosen as particularly useful for examining this question because it explicitly codes belief status as either neutral (nam5) or false (ji5wai4), and because it offers additional linguistic and cultural contrasts to research conducted on false belief with children learning English and other Indo-European languages. As expected, a strong age effect was found, as well as a significant advantage for children who received the explicit false belief (ji5wai4) wording and for those who were asked to explain rather than predict the protagonist's actions. Interestingly, there was also a strong task difference with children performing better on the deceptive object task than on the other two false belief tasks. We argue that these results point both to universal trajectories in theory of mind development and to interesting, but localized, effects of language and culture on children's false belief understanding.

Social Cognition, Child Neglect, and Child Injury Risk: The Contribution of Maternal Social Information Processing to Maladaptive Injury Prevention Beliefs Within a High-Risk Sample.

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Azar, Sandra T; Miller, Elizabeth A; Stevenson, Michael T; Johnson, David R

2017-08-01

Inadequate supervision has been linked to children's injuries. Parental injury prevention beliefs may play a role in supervision, yet little theory has examined the origins of such beliefs. This study examined whether mothers who perpetrated child neglect, who as a group provide inadequate supervision, have more maladaptive beliefs. Then, it tested a social information processing (SIP) model for explaining these beliefs. SIP and injury prevention beliefs were assessed in disadvantaged mothers of preschoolers (N  =  145), half with child neglect histories. The neglect group exhibited significantly more maladaptive injury prevention beliefs than comparisons. As predicted, SIP was linked to beliefs that may increase injury risk, even after accounting for relevant sociodemographic variables. Findings support the link of beliefs to injury risk and suggest that specific cognitive problems may underlie these beliefs. Future work should further validate this model, which may inform enhancements to prevention efforts. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Examining Belief and Confidence in Schizophrenia

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Joyce, Dan W.; Averbeck, Bruno B.; Frith, Chris D.; Shergill, Sukhwinder S.

2018-01-01

Background People with psychoses often report fixed, delusional beliefs that are sustained even in the presence of unequivocal contrary evidence. Such delusional beliefs are the result of integrating new and old evidence inappropriately in forming a cognitive model. We propose and test a cognitive model of belief formation using experimental data from an interactive “Rock Paper Scissors” game. Methods Participants (33 controls and 27 people with schizophrenia) played a competitive, time-pressured interactive two-player game (Rock, Paper, Scissors). Participant’s behavior was modeled by a generative computational model using leaky-integrator and temporal difference methods. This model describes how new and old evidence is integrated to form both a playing strategy to beat the opponent and provide a mechanism for reporting confidence in one’s playing strategy to win against the opponent Results People with schizophrenia fail to appropriately model their opponent’s play despite consistent (rather than random) patterns that can be exploited in the simulated opponent’s play. This is manifest as a failure to weigh existing evidence appropriately against new evidence. Further, participants with schizophrenia show a ‘jumping to conclusions’ bias, reporting successful discovery of a winning strategy with insufficient evidence. Conclusions The model presented suggests two tentative mechanisms in delusional belief formation – i) one for modeling patterns in other’s behavior, where people with schizophrenia fail to use old evidence appropriately and ii) a meta-cognitive mechanism for ‘confidence’ in such beliefs where people with schizophrenia overweight recent reward history in deciding on the value of beliefs about the opponent. PMID:23521846

DeepQA: improving the estimation of single protein model quality with deep belief networks.

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Cao, Renzhi; Bhattacharya, Debswapna; Hou, Jie; Cheng, Jianlin

2016-12-05

Protein quality assessment (QA) useful for ranking and selecting protein models has long been viewed as one of the major challenges for protein tertiary structure prediction. Especially, estimating the quality of a single protein model, which is important for selecting a few good models out of a large model pool consisting of mostly low-quality models, is still a largely unsolved problem. We introduce a novel single-model quality assessment method DeepQA based on deep belief network that utilizes a number of selected features describing the quality of a model from different perspectives, such as energy, physio-chemical characteristics, and structural information. The deep belief network is trained on several large datasets consisting of models from the Critical Assessment of Protein Structure Prediction (CASP) experiments, several publicly available datasets, and models generated by our in-house ab initio method. Our experiments demonstrate that deep belief network has better performance compared to Support Vector Machines and Neural Networks on the protein model quality assessment problem, and our method DeepQA achieves the state-of-the-art performance on CASP11 dataset. It also outperformed two well-established methods in selecting good outlier models from a large set of models of mostly low quality generated by ab initio modeling methods. DeepQA is a useful deep learning tool for protein single model quality assessment and protein structure prediction. The source code, executable, document and training/test datasets of DeepQA for Linux is freely available to non-commercial users at http://cactus.rnet.missouri.edu/DeepQA/ .

Scaling of Theory-of-Mind Tasks

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Wellman, Henry M.; Liu, David

2004-01-01

Two studies address the sequence of understandings evident in preschoolers' developing theory of mind. The first, preliminary study provides a meta-analysis of research comparing different types of mental state understandings (e.g., desires vs. beliefs, ignorance vs. false belief). The second, primary study tests a theory-of-mind scale for…

Stalinist ritual and belief system : Reflections on "political religion"

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Ree, E.

2016-01-01

This article offers a critical assessment of the Political Religion Theory on the basis of a comparative analysis of the Orthodox and Stalinist belief systems and ritual. The theory works under the assumption that sacralisation of secular objects endows these objects with a transcendental, divine

Probability Estimation in the Framework of Intuitionistic Fuzzy Evidence Theory

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Yafei Song

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Intuitionistic fuzzy (IF evidence theory, as an extension of Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence to the intuitionistic fuzzy environment, is exploited to process imprecise and vague information. Since its inception, much interest has been concentrated on IF evidence theory. Many works on the belief functions in IF information systems have appeared. Although belief functions on the IF sets can deal with uncertainty and vagueness well, it is not convenient for decision making. This paper addresses the issue of probability estimation in the framework of IF evidence theory with the hope of making rational decision. Background knowledge about evidence theory, fuzzy set, and IF set is firstly reviewed, followed by introduction of IF evidence theory. Axiomatic properties of probability distribution are then proposed to assist our interpretation. Finally, probability estimations based on fuzzy and IF belief functions together with their proofs are presented. It is verified that the probability estimation method based on IF belief functions is also potentially applicable to classical evidence theory and fuzzy evidence theory. Moreover, IF belief functions can be combined in a convenient way once they are transformed to interval-valued possibilities.

Application of the health belief model and social cognitive theory for osteoporosis preventive nutritional behaviors in a sample of Iranian women.

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Jeihooni, Ali Khani; Hidarnia, Alireza; Kaveh, Mohammad Hossein; Hajizadeh, Ebrahim; Askari, Alireza

2016-01-01

Osteoporosis is the most common metabolic bone disease. The purpose of this study is to investigate the health belief model (HBM) and social cognitive theory (SCT) for osteoporosis preventive nutritional behaviors in women. In this quasi-experimental study, 120 patients who were women and registered under the health centers in Fasa City, Fars Province, Iran were selected. A questionnaire consisting of HBM constructs and the constructs of self-regulation and social support from SCT was used to measure nutrition performance. Bone mineral density was recorded at the lumbar spine and femur. The intervention for the experimental group included 10 educational sessions of 55-60 min of speech, group discussion, questions and answers, as well as posters and educational pamphlets, film screenings, and PowerPoint displays. Data were analyzed using SPSS 19 via Chi-square test, independent t-test, and repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) at a significance level of 0.05. After intervention, the experimental group showed a significant increase in the HBM constructs, self-regulation, social support, and nutrition performance, compared to the control group. Six months after the intervention, the value of lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) T-score increased to 0.127 in the experimental group, while it reduced to -0.043 in the control group. The value of the hip BMD T-score increased to 0.125 in the intervention group, but it decreased to -0.028 in the control group. This study showed the effectiveness of HBM and constructs of self-regulation and social support on adoption of nutrition behaviors and increase in the bone density to prevent osteoporosis.

New Pathways between Group Theory and Model Theory

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Fuchs, László; Goldsmith, Brendan; Strüngmann, Lutz

2017-01-01

This volume focuses on group theory and model theory with a particular emphasis on the interplay of the two areas. The survey papers provide an overview of the developments across group, module, and model theory while the research papers present the most recent study in those same areas. With introductory sections that make the topics easily accessible to students, the papers in this volume will appeal to beginning graduate students and experienced researchers alike. As a whole, this book offers a cross-section view of the areas in group, module, and model theory, covering topics such as DP-minimal groups, Abelian groups, countable 1-transitive trees, and module approximations. The papers in this book are the proceedings of the conference “New Pathways between Group Theory and Model Theory,” which took place February 1-4, 2016, in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany, in honor of the editors’ colleague Rüdiger Göbel. This publication is dedicated to Professor Göbel, who passed away in 2014. He was one of th...

Conspiracy beliefs and knowledge about HIV origins among adolescents in Soweto, South Africa.

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Hogg, Robert; Nkala, Busisiwe; Dietrich, Janan; Collins, Alexandra; Closson, Kalysha; Cui, Zishan; Kanters, Steve; Chia, Jason; Barhafuma, Bernard; Palmer, Alexis; Kaida, Angela; Gray, Glenda; Miller, Cari

2017-01-01

We examined adolescents' knowledge regarding the origin of HIV/AIDS and correlates of beliefs surrounding conspiracy theories in Soweto, South Africa. Now, a decade post-AIDS denialism, South Africa has the largest antiretroviral therapy roll-out worldwide. However, conspiracy theories stemming from past AIDS denialism may impact HIV prevention and treatment efforts. Study participants were recruited through the Kganya Motsha Adolescent Health Centre and the Perinatal HIV Research Unit's Botsha Bophelo Adolescent Health Study (BBAHS). Adolescents were eligible to participate if aged 14-19 years and living in Soweto. We calculated the proportion of adolescents who correctly believed that HIV originated from non-human primates, and used contingency table analysis and logistic regression modeling to describe correlates associated with accurate knowledge and beliefs in conspiracy theories. Of 830 adolescents, 168 (20.2%) participants correctly identified HIV as originating from chimpanzees and one third (n = 71, 8.6%) believed in a conspiracy theory about the origins of HIV, including that it originated from the US government (2.3%), the pharmaceutical industry (2.2%), a vaccine (2.1%), space (1.5%), and a scientist (0.6%). Participants who were more likely to correctly identify the origin of HIV were older, men, and unemployed. Participants who were men, unemployed or students, and who had a parent or close relative who had died of HIV, were more likely to believe in a conspiracy theory regarding the origins of HIV. Adolescents living in Soweto did not have high levels of accurate knowledge regarding the origins of HIV/AIDS and conspiracy beliefs were present among a small minority of participants. Accurate knowledge of the origins of HIV and debunking myths are important for improving uptake of HIV prevention tools in this population.

Conspiracy beliefs and knowledge about HIV origins among adolescents in Soweto, South Africa.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Hogg

Full Text Available We examined adolescents' knowledge regarding the origin of HIV/AIDS and correlates of beliefs surrounding conspiracy theories in Soweto, South Africa. Now, a decade post-AIDS denialism, South Africa has the largest antiretroviral therapy roll-out worldwide. However, conspiracy theories stemming from past AIDS denialism may impact HIV prevention and treatment efforts.Study participants were recruited through the Kganya Motsha Adolescent Health Centre and the Perinatal HIV Research Unit's Botsha Bophelo Adolescent Health Study (BBAHS. Adolescents were eligible to participate if aged 14-19 years and living in Soweto. We calculated the proportion of adolescents who correctly believed that HIV originated from non-human primates, and used contingency table analysis and logistic regression modeling to describe correlates associated with accurate knowledge and beliefs in conspiracy theories.Of 830 adolescents, 168 (20.2% participants correctly identified HIV as originating from chimpanzees and one third (n = 71, 8.6% believed in a conspiracy theory about the origins of HIV, including that it originated from the US government (2.3%, the pharmaceutical industry (2.2%, a vaccine (2.1%, space (1.5%, and a scientist (0.6%. Participants who were more likely to correctly identify the origin of HIV were older, men, and unemployed. Participants who were men, unemployed or students, and who had a parent or close relative who had died of HIV, were more likely to believe in a conspiracy theory regarding the origins of HIV.Adolescents living in Soweto did not have high levels of accurate knowledge regarding the origins of HIV/AIDS and conspiracy beliefs were present among a small minority of participants. Accurate knowledge of the origins of HIV and debunking myths are important for improving uptake of HIV prevention tools in this population.

Implicit theories of writing and their impact on students' response to a SRSD intervention.

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Limpo, Teresa; Alves, Rui A

2014-12-01

In the field of intelligence research, it has been shown that some people conceive intelligence as a fixed trait that cannot be changed (entity beliefs), whereas others conceive it as a malleable trait that can be developed (incremental beliefs). What about writing? Do people hold similar implicit theories about the nature of their writing ability? Furthermore, are these beliefs likely to influence students' response to a writing intervention? We aimed to develop a scale to measure students' implicit theories of writing (pilot study) and to test whether these beliefs influence strategy-instruction effectiveness (intervention study). In the pilot and intervention studies participated, respectively, 128 and 192 students (Grades 5-6). Based on existing instruments that measure self-theories of intelligence, we developed the Implicit Theories of Writing (ITW) scale that was tested with the pilot sample. In the intervention study, 109 students received planning instruction based on the self-regulated strategy development model, whereas 83 students received standard writing instruction. Students were evaluated before, in the middle, and after instruction. ITW's validity was supported by piloting results and their successful cross-validation in the intervention study. In this, intervention students wrote longer and better texts than control students. Moreover, latent growth curve modelling showed that the more the intervention students conceived writing as a malleable skill, the more the quality of their texts improved. This research is of educational relevance because it provides a measure to evaluate students' implicit theories of writing and shows their impact on response to intervention. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

Goal conflict and goal facilitation in community-based cardiac rehabilitation: a theory-based interview study.

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Presseau, Justin; Boyd, Emily; Francis, Jill J; Sniehotta, Falko F

2015-01-01

Theories often consider behaviors in isolation of conflicting and facilitating personal goals. We conducted interviews with 13 people in cardiac rehabilitation, investigating whether eliciting physical activity (PA) control beliefs sufficiently captures goal conflict and goal facilitation. We assessed PA, intention, and control beliefs using standard elicitation methods and then assessed goal conflict and goal facilitation. Twelve participants described conflicting, and all described facilitating, personal goals. Most goal facilitation (94%) and conflict (82%) beliefs were identified beyond the control belief elicitation. Goal facilitation and conflict are not captured in a standard control belief elicitation and may supplement single-behavior models to understand PA.

Modeling the impact of normative beliefs in the context of online buying: Direct and moderating effects

OpenAIRE

Iconaru Claudia

2012-01-01

Normative beliefs tend to play a significant role in the context of online buying, having both direct and moderating effects. The results of the structural equation modeling indicate a direct effect of normative beliefs on the intention to buy online. Also, the magnitude of the relationship between online trust and perceived risk depends on the level of normative beliefs, showing that the effect of online trust on perceived risk varies as a function of the level of the moderator variable. Thi...

Using the theory of planned behavior to explore attitudes and beliefs about dietary supplements among HIV-positive Black women.

Science.gov (United States)

Lino, Stephanie; Marshak, Helen Hopp; Herring, R Patti; Belliard, Juan Carlos; Hilliard, Charles; Campbell, Danielle; Montgomery, Susanne

2014-04-01

This cross-sectional study investigated whether the theory of planned behavior (TPB) constructs: attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control were related to intention of dietary supplements use among African-American women living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus and/or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS). A closed-ended questionnaire based on the TPB was utilized to explore the use of dietary supplements among a cohort of 153 HIV-positive African-American women. Overall, 45% of the respondents used dietary supplements to manage/control their HIV. Combined, attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control were significant predictors of intention toward dietary supplement use (69% of the variance explained, pbehavioral control (β=0.45, pBehavioral intention and proximal TPB constructs (attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control), as well as their underlying beliefs about dietary supplements use, were all found to be significantly more positive in users of dietary supplements compared to non-users (pbehavioral control are important predictors in the intention to use dietary supplements for control of HIV among African-American women. Implications from this study suggest that the TPB can be used to better identify and understand salient beliefs that surround intentions to use alternative therapies for management of disease. These beliefs can be used to develop interventions surrounding HIV treatment and care. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

False Belief Attribution in Children with Williams Syndrome: The Answer Is in The Emotion

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Campos, R.; Martínez-Castilla, P.; Sotillo, M.

2017-01-01

Background: Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) show difficulties in attributing false beliefs, whereas they are better at attributing emotions. This study examines whether being asked about the emotion linked to a false belief, instead of explicitly about the belief, facilitates performance on theory of mind (ToM) tasks. Method: Thirty…

An inflated view of the facts? How preferences and predispositions shape conspiracy beliefs about the Deflategate scandal

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John M. Carey

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Beliefs in conspiracy theories about controversial issues are often strongly influenced by people’s existing beliefs and attitudes. We leverage a prominent football-related controversy – the US National Football League’s “Deflategate” scandal – to investigate how factual perceptions and conspiracy beliefs vary by fan loyalties to sports teams. Using an original survey sample, we explore two key drivers of conspiratorial beliefs about the scandal. First, we analyze how beliefs about Deflategate vary by respondents’ loyalties towards the New England Patriots. We find that beliefs are not only highly polarized by team loyalty but that the gaps are largest among more interested and knowledgeable fans, suggesting that individuals are processing the information they receive in a highly motivated fashion. Second, we find that individuals who endorse unrelated political conspiracy theories are also more likely to endorse two key conspiratorial claims about Deflategate. However, priming group solidarity and elite resentment – two possible motivations for the prevalence of conspiracy theories around controversial issues like Deflategate – does not have a significant effect.

Dissociation, Paranormal Belief, and Quality of Life in Older People

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Tungshan Chou

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The measurement of religiosity in current health-related literature is mostly based on the traditional Christian belief system. It has been argued that such a measurement approach may misrepresent the true degree of religiosity in Taiwanese people. In this study, religiosity was measured in two ways: self-reported religion type and a qualitatively derived index of religious piety based on principles as suggested by Gries, Su, and Schak to be used in the Taiwanese context. Their effects on dissociation, paranormal belief, and quality of life were juxtaposed for comparison. In addition, the beneficial effect of religious piety was examined in the framework of McClenon’s ritual healing theory. A total of 266 healthy older adults across Taiwan were interviewed by four trained assistants over a 4-month period. Factor scores were used to represent the dissociative tendencies (depersonalization/derealization, forgetfulness, amnesia, and psychological absorption and paranormal belief facets (precognition, psi power, other forms of life, traditional religious belief, superstition, and telepathy. The results showed that older people of high religious piety display better quality of life profiles than their counterparts in the low religious piety group. The effects of self-reported religion type were mainly seen with paranormal beliefs compatible with their religious beliefs, whereas the effects of religious piety were more pronounced in relation to quality of life than dissociation and paranormal belief. The beneficial advantage of dissociation hypothesized by ritual healing theory did not receive empirical support in the nonclinical sample of this study.

Social impact theory based modeling for security analysis in the nuclear fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woo, Tae Ho

2015-01-01

The nuclear fuel cycle is investigated for the perspective of the nuclear non-proliferation. The random number generation of the Monte-Carlo method is utilized for the analysis. Five cases are quantified by the random number generations. These values are summed by the described equations. The higher values are shown in 52 nd and 73 rd months. This way could be a useful obligation in the license of the plant construction. The security of the nuclear fuel cycle incorporated with nuclear power plants (NPPs) is investigated using social impact theory. The dynamic quantification of the theory shows the non-secured time for act of terrorism which is considered for the non-secured condition against the risk of theft in nuclear material. For a realistic consideration, the meta-theoretical framework for modeling is performed for situations where beliefs, attributes or behaviors of an individual are influenced by those of others.

Social impact theory based modeling for security analysis in the nuclear fuel cycle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Woo, Tae Ho [Systemix Global Co. Ltd., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2015-03-15

The nuclear fuel cycle is investigated for the perspective of the nuclear non-proliferation. The random number generation of the Monte-Carlo method is utilized for the analysis. Five cases are quantified by the random number generations. These values are summed by the described equations. The higher values are shown in 52{sup nd} and 73{sup rd} months. This way could be a useful obligation in the license of the plant construction. The security of the nuclear fuel cycle incorporated with nuclear power plants (NPPs) is investigated using social impact theory. The dynamic quantification of the theory shows the non-secured time for act of terrorism which is considered for the non-secured condition against the risk of theft in nuclear material. For a realistic consideration, the meta-theoretical framework for modeling is performed for situations where beliefs, attributes or behaviors of an individual are influenced by those of others.

Implicit false-belief processing in the human brain.

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Schneider, Dana; Slaughter, Virginia P; Becker, Stefanie I; Dux, Paul E

2014-11-01

Eye-movement patterns in 'Sally-Anne' tasks reflect humans' ability to implicitly process the mental states of others, particularly false-beliefs - a key theory of mind (ToM) operation. It has recently been proposed that an efficient ToM system, which operates in the absence of awareness (implicit ToM, iToM), subserves the analysis of belief-like states. This contrasts to consciously available belief processing, performed by the explicit ToM system (eToM). The frontal, temporal and parietal cortices are engaged when humans explicitly 'mentalize' about others' beliefs. However, the neural underpinnings of implicit false-belief processing and the extent to which they draw on networks involved in explicit general-belief processing are unknown. Here, participants watched 'Sally-Anne' movies while fMRI and eye-tracking measures were acquired simultaneously. Participants displayed eye-movements consistent with implicit false-belief processing. After independently localizing the brain areas involved in explicit general-belief processing, only the left anterior superior temporal sulcus and precuneus revealed greater blood-oxygen-level-dependent activity for false- relative to true-belief trials in our iToM paradigm. No such difference was found for the right temporal-parietal junction despite significant activity in this area. These findings fractionate brain regions that are associated with explicit general ToM reasoning and false-belief processing in the absence of awareness. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Belief in the immutability of attitudes both increases and decreases advocacy.

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Akhtar, Omair; Wheeler, S Christian

2016-10-01

People with an entity theory of attitudes (i.e., the belief that attitudes are relatively unchanging) are more certain of their attitudes than are people with an incremental theory (i.e., the belief that attitudes are relatively malleable), and people with greater attitude certainty are generally more willing to try to persuade others. Combined, these findings suggest that an entity theory should foster greater advocacy. Yet, people with entity theories may be less willing to advocate because they also perceive others' attitudes as unchanging. Across 5 studies, we show that both of these countervailing effects occur simultaneously and cancel each other out. However, by manipulating how advocacy is framed (as standing up for one's views or exchanging one's views with others), whom people focus on (themselves or others), or which implicit theory applies to oneself versus others, each implicit theory can either increase or decrease willingness to advocate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Loss Aversion, Adaptive Beliefs, and Asset Pricing Dynamics

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Kamal Samy Selim

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We study asset pricing dynamics in artificial financial markets model. The financial market is populated with agents following two heterogeneous trading beliefs, the technical and the fundamental prediction rules. Agents switch between trading rules with respect to their past performance. The agents are loss averse over asset price fluctuations. Loss aversion behaviour depends on the past performance of the trading strategies in terms of an evolutionary fitness measure. We propose a novel application of the prospect theory to agent-based modelling, and by simulation, the effect of evolutionary fitness measure on adaptive belief system is investigated. For comparison, we study pricing dynamics of a financial market populated with chartists perceive losses and gains symmetrically. One of our contributions is validating the agent-based models using real financial data of the Egyptian Stock Exchange. We find that our framework can explain important stylized facts in financial time series, such as random walk price behaviour, bubbles and crashes, fat-tailed return distributions, power-law tails in the distribution of returns, excess volatility, volatility clustering, the absence of autocorrelation in raw returns, and the power-law autocorrelations in absolute returns. In addition to this, we find that loss aversion improves market quality and market stability.

Children with Autism can Track Others' Beliefs in a Competitive Game

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Peterson, Candida C.; Slaughter, Virginia; Peterson, James; Premack, David

2013-01-01

Theory of mind (ToM) development, assessed via "litmus" false belief tests, is severely delayed in autism, but the standard testing procedure may underestimate these children's genuine understanding. To explore this, we developed a novel test involving competition to win a reward as the motive for tracking other players' beliefs (the…

Local computations in Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Jiroušek, Radim

2012-01-01

Roč. 53, č. 8 (2012), s. 1155-1167 ISSN 0888-613X Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GAP403/12/2175 Program:GA Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : Discrete belief functions * Dempster-Shafer theory * conditional independence * decomposable model Subject RIV: IN - Informatics, Computer Science Impact factor: 1.729, year: 2012 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2012/MTR/jirousek-local computations in dempster–shafer theory of evidence. pdf

Valence-Dependent Belief Updating: Computational Validation

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Bojana Kuzmanovic

2017-06-01

Full Text Available People tend to update beliefs about their future outcomes in a valence-dependent way: they are likely to incorporate good news and to neglect bad news. However, belief formation is a complex process which depends not only on motivational factors such as the desire for favorable conclusions, but also on multiple cognitive variables such as prior beliefs, knowledge about personal vulnerabilities and resources, and the size of the probabilities and estimation errors. Thus, we applied computational modeling in order to test for valence-induced biases in updating while formally controlling for relevant cognitive factors. We compared biased and unbiased Bayesian models of belief updating, and specified alternative models based on reinforcement learning. The experiment consisted of 80 trials with 80 different adverse future life events. In each trial, participants estimated the base rate of one of these events and estimated their own risk of experiencing the event before and after being confronted with the actual base rate. Belief updates corresponded to the difference between the two self-risk estimates. Valence-dependent updating was assessed by comparing trials with good news (better-than-expected base rates with trials with bad news (worse-than-expected base rates. After receiving bad relative to good news, participants' updates were smaller and deviated more strongly from rational Bayesian predictions, indicating a valence-induced bias. Model comparison revealed that the biased (i.e., optimistic Bayesian model of belief updating better accounted for data than the unbiased (i.e., rational Bayesian model, confirming that the valence of the new information influenced the amount of updating. Moreover, alternative computational modeling based on reinforcement learning demonstrated higher learning rates for good than for bad news, as well as a moderating role of personal knowledge. Finally, in this specific experimental context, the approach based on

Behavioral change theories can inform the prediction of young adults' adoption of a plant-based diet.

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Wyker, Brett A; Davison, Kirsten K

2010-01-01

Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Transtheoretical Model (TTM), this study (1) examines links between stages of change for following a plant-based diet (PBD) and consuming more fruits and vegetables (FV); (2) tests an integrated theoretical model predicting intention to follow a PBD; and (3) identifies associated salient beliefs. Cross-sectional. Large public university in the northeastern United States. 204 college students. TPB and TTM constructs were assessed using validated scales. Outcome, normative, and control beliefs were measured using open-ended questions. The overlap between stages of change for FV consumption and adopting a PBD was assessed using Spearman rank correlation analysis and cross-tab comparisons. The proposed model predicting adoption of a PBD was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). Salient beliefs were coded using automatic response coding software. No association was found between stages of change for FV consumption and following a PBD. Results from SEM analyses provided support for the proposed model predicting intention to follow a PBD. Gender differences in salient beliefs for following a PBD were found. Results demonstrate the potential for effective theory-driven and stage-tailored public health interventions to promote PBDs. Copyright 2010 Society for Nutrition Education. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neural Correlates of Belief- and Desire-Reasoning in 7- and 8-Year-Old Children: An Event-Related Potential Study

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Bowman, Lindsay C.; Liu, David; Meltzoff, Andrew N.; Wellman, Henry M.

2012-01-01

Theory of mind requires belief- "and" desire-understanding. Event-related brain potential (ERP) research on belief- and desire-reasoning in adults found mid-frontal activations for both desires and beliefs, and selective right-posterior activations "only" for beliefs. Developmentally, children understand desires before beliefs; thus, a critical…

Adopting the perspective of another in belief attribution: contribution of Relational Frame Theory to the understanding of impairments in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Villatte, Matthieu; Monestès, Jean-Louis; McHugh, Louise; Freixa i Baqué, Esteve; Loas, Gwenolé

2010-06-01

Impaired ability of identifying mental states is a characteristic of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. In particular, people suffering from this illness tend to fail at attributing a belief to another, which has been linked to difficulties in changing interpersonal perspective. Following the view of Relational Frame Theory on perspective-taking skills, the current study aimed at examining the involvement of social anhedonia, one of the frequent features of schizophrenia, in the development of deficits in reversing the I-YOU relation (i.e., adopting the perspective of another). A task consisting of attributing a belief to another or to the self was employed with 30 non-clinical participants with a high level of social anhedonia and with 15 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. In comparison to two control groups, both experimental groups showed significant poorer performance when adopting the perspective of another. These results constitute important indications to target specific relational repertoires when attempting to remediate impairments in mental states attribution linked to schizophrenia.

Science teachers' beliefs about teaching and reform: Case studies from a restructured high school

Science.gov (United States)

King, Elizabeth A.

A qualitative research study of the beliefs of three science teachers about teaching and educational reform was carried out at a restructured high school belonging to the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES), a nationally prominent restructuring movement. One problem of educational reform is to sustain change in the science classroom. A new wave of reform is shifting the focus away from curriculum changes and towards professionalism of teachers empowered to restructure schools. The beliefs of the teachers are key to decisions made in the classroom. The teachers and staff of Metro High School adopted the Ten Common Principles of CES as their guide to restructuring and sustaining change. Changes included increased authority for teachers in shared decision making, increased staff time for professional development, grouping students heterogeneously, grouping students and faculty in teams for extended time periods, and organizing instruction around small group and individual student study (student-centered). The theoretical framework centers on the constructivist theory of learning, particularly Vygotsky's socio-cultural model, and Bakhtin's dialogic function of language. Nespor's belief system model was used to describe the four characteristic features of beliefs: episodic memories, alternativity, existential presumption, and evaluative loading. My research questions were: What memories of teaching have influenced the teachers? What are the teachers' beliefs about the learning environment? What are the teachers' beliefs about their students? What are the teachers' beliefs about student activities? Interviews were the primary data source for the case studies of the three teachers, with additional data from lesson plans, photo-voice, and other artifacts. The teachers shared many common beliefs including that strong peer support is necessary for reform. The teachers' beliefs allied themselves to the majority of the common principles of CES, especially personalization and

Salient Beliefs in Majoring in Management Information Systems: An Elicitation Study

Science.gov (United States)

Chipidza, Wallace; Green, Gina; Riemenschneider, Cindy

2016-01-01

Research utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior to understand behavior should first elicit beliefs about the phenomenon from the target population. In order to understand the reasons why students choose to major or not major in Management Information Systems (MIS), we elicited beliefs from 136 students attending university in the United States…

False belief attribution in children with Williams syndrome: the answer is in the emotion.

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Campos, R; Martínez-Castilla, P; Sotillo, M

2017-11-01

Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) show difficulties in attributing false beliefs, whereas they are better at attributing emotions. This study examines whether being asked about the emotion linked to a false belief, instead of explicitly about the belief, facilitates performance on theory of mind (ToM) tasks. Thirty children with WS and 90 typically developing children, who were individually matched on mental age (50-112 months), were administered six explicit (i.e. questions on belief) and six implicit (i.e. questions on emotion) trials of false belief tasks. Theory of mind competences were related to cognitive development. Children with WS performed comparably to typically developing children on the emotion questions. Correct answers to questions on emotion reveal an implicit understanding of false belief. The Representational redescription process could be impaired in the domain of ToM in this population. This finding has relevant implications for the design of supports aiming to optimise the development of ToM competences in individuals with WS. © 2017 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The association between reality-based beliefs and indirectly experienced traumatization.

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Shiri, Shimon; Wexler, Isaiah D; Schwartz, Isabella; Kadari, Michal; Kreitler, Shulamith

2010-12-01

The purpose of the study was to examine the association between belief types and the magnitude of indirect traumatization. Specific types of beliefs were defined in terms of the cognitive orientation theory, which is a cognitive-motivational approach to the understanding, predicting, and changing of behaviors. Belief types that were analyzed included beliefs about self, general beliefs, beliefs about norms, and goal beliefs as they relate to personal growth. Study participants included 38 rescuers (body handlers), 37 nurses, and 31 rehabilitation workers who treated injured civilians that had been exposed to politically motivated violence. The Cognitive Orientation for Posttraumatic Growth Scale was used to assess beliefs about personal growth. The Revised Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Inventory was administered to evaluate indirect traumatization. The results indicate that three of the four belief types related to personal growth were associated with the level of indirect traumatization. Optimistic and positive beliefs about self and general beliefs were associated with a lower level of indirect traumatization symptomatology, suggesting that these types of beliefs may counteract indirect traumatization. On the other hand, stronger goal beliefs were associated with greater indirect traumatization. The negative association between positive goal beliefs and indirect trauma may be related to the gap the individual perceives between the hoped-for ideals and the trauma-stricken reality. These results indicate the importance of cognitive beliefs and their possible role in determining the response to indirect traumatization.

Processing of false belief passages during natural story comprehension: An fMRI study.

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Kandylaki, Katerina D; Nagels, Arne; Tune, Sarah; Wiese, Richard; Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, Ina; Kircher, Tilo

2015-11-01

The neural correlates of theory of mind (ToM) are typically studied using paradigms which require participants to draw explicit, task-related inferences (e.g., in the false belief task). In a natural setup, such as listening to stories, false belief mentalizing occurs incidentally as part of narrative processing. In our experiment, participants listened to auditorily presented stories with false belief passages (implicit false belief processing) and immediately after each story answered comprehension questions (explicit false belief processing), while neural responses were measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). All stories included (among other situations) one false belief condition and one closely matched control condition. For the implicit ToM processing, we modeled the hemodynamic response during the false belief passages in the story and compared it to the hemodynamic response during the closely matched control passages. For implicit mentalizing, we found activation in typical ToM processing regions, that is the angular gyrus (AG), superior medial frontal gyrus (SmFG), precuneus (PCUN), middle temporal gyrus (MTG) as well as in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) billaterally. For explicit ToM, we only found AG activation. The conjunction analysis highlighted the left AG and MTG as well as the bilateral IFG as overlapping ToM processing regions for both implicit and explicit modes. Implicit ToM processing during listening to false belief passages, recruits the left SmFG and billateral PCUN in addition to the "mentalizing network" known form explicit processing tasks. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Building intentions with the theory of planned behaviour: a qualitative assessment of salient beliefs about pharmacy value added services in Malaysia.

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Tan, Christine Liang Hoay; Hassali, Mohamed Azmi; Saleem, Fahad; Shafie, Asrul Akmal; Aljadhay, Hisham; Gan, Vincent B Y

2016-12-01

To improve pharmaceutical care delivery in Malaysia, the Ministry of Health (MOH) had introduced the concept of value added services (VAS). Despite its reported convenience and advantages, VAS utilization rate is low in the country. The study aims to explore patients' understanding, beliefs and expectations towards VAS in Malaysia using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) as the theoretical model. A qualitative methodology was used whereby face-to-face interviews were conducted with 12 patients who collected partial medicine supplies from government pharmacies. Participants were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling method in the state of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Interviews were audio-recorded. Verbatim transcription and thematic content analysis were performed on the data. Thematic content analysis yielded five major themes: (i) attitudes towards using VAS, (ii) subjective norms, (iii) perceived behavioural control, (iv) lack of knowledge and understanding of VAS and (v) expectations towards VAS. The interviews explored and informed new information about salient beliefs towards pharmacy VAS. The findings suggest that VAS is still in its infancy and a more robust and effective advertising and marketing campaign is needed to boost the adoption rate. Behavioural attitudes, subjective norms and perceived control elements were discussed and serve as important variables of interest in future study. Expectations towards VAS serve as an important guideline to further improve patient-oriented services. © 2015 The Authors. Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Seeing is Believing: Formalising False-Belief Tasks in Dynamic Epistemic Logic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bolander, Thomas

2014-01-01

In this paper we show how to formalise false-belief tasks like the Sally-Anne task and the second-order chocolate task in Dynamic Epistemic Logic (DEL). False-belief tasks are used to test the strength of the Theory of Mind (ToM) of humans, that is, a human’s ability to attribute mental states...

Protecting young children against skin cancer: Parental beliefs, roles, and regret.

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Hamilton, Kyra; Kirkpatrick, Aaron; Rebar, Amanda; White, Katherine M; Hagger, Martin S

2017-12-01

To examine the role of parental beliefs, roles, and anticipated regret toward performing childhood sun-protective behaviours. Parents (N = 230; 174 mothers, 56 fathers), recruited using a nonrandom convenience sample, of at least 1 child aged between 2 and 5 years completed an initial questionnaire assessing demographics and past behaviour as well as theory of planned behaviour global (attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control) and belief-based (behavioural, normative, and control beliefs) measures, role construction, and anticipated regret regarding their intention and behaviour to protect their child from the sun. Two weeks later, participants completed a follow-up questionnaire assessing their sun protection of their child during the previous 2 weeks. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis identified attitude, perceived behavioural control, role construction, anticipated regret, past behaviour, and a normative belief ("current partner/other family members") as significant predictors of parents' intention to participate in sun-protective behaviour for their child. Intention and past behaviour were significant predictors of parents' follow-up sun-protective behaviour. The regression models explained 64% and 36% of the variance in intention and behaviour, respectively. The findings of this study highlight the importance of anticipated regret and role-related beliefs alongside personal, normative, and control beliefs in determining parents' intentional sun-protective behaviour for their children. Findings may inform the development of parent- and community-based sun protection intervention programs to promote parents' sun-safety behaviours for their children to prevent future skin cancer incidence. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Beliefs in moral luck: When and why blame hinges on luck.

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Lench, Heather C; Domsky, Darren; Smallman, Rachel; Darbor, Kathleen E

2015-05-01

Belief in moral luck is represented in judgements that offenders should be held accountable for intent to cause harm as well as whether or not harm occurred. Scores on a measure of moral luck beliefs predicted judgements of offenders who varied in intent and the outcomes of their actions, although judgements overall were not consistent with abstract beliefs in moral luck. Prompting participants to consider alternative outcomes, particularly worse outcomes, reduced moral luck beliefs. Findings suggest that some people believe that offenders should be punished based on the outcome of their actions. Furthermore, prompting counterfactuals decreased judgements consistent with moral luck beliefs. The results have implications for theories of moral judgement as well as legal decision making. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

Connecting the dots : Illusory pattern perception predicts belief in conspiracies and the supernatural

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Prooijen, Jan Willem; Douglas, Karen M.; De Inocencio, Clara

A common assumption is that belief in conspiracy theories and supernatural phenomena are grounded in illusory pattern perception. In the present research we systematically tested this assumption. Study 1 revealed that such irrational beliefs are related to perceiving patterns in randomly generated

Algebraic Structures Related to the Combination of Belief Functions

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Daniel, Milan

2004-01-01

Roč. 60, č. 2 (2004), s. 245-255 ISSN 1346-0862 R&D Projects: GA MŠk OC 274.001 Grant - others:COST(XE) Action 274 TARSKI Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1030915 Keywords : belief functions * Dempster-Shafer theory * combination of belief functions * Dempster's semigroup * uncertainty processing * decision making * expert systems Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics http://www.jams.or.jp/ scm /contents/Vol-10-5/10-50.pdf

Development and Psychometrics of Health Belief Model Instrument about HIV/AIDS

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Mohammad Masod Vakili

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Background: With no effective vaccine for prevention or a definite cure for treatment, health education is considered the most effective intervention against HIV. Using a valid tool to evaluate the effect of health education interventions is an inevitable necessity. The aim of this study was to design a tool and to assess its validity and reliability based on native culture characterization in order to evaluate the health belief model constructs about AIDS. Materials and Methods: 480 women covered by health bases of the city of Zanjan, in the age group of 20-30 years, married, and with at least first middle school education participated in this cross-sectional study. After reviewing the literature, the tool was designed and its validity and reliability was approved based on psychometric processes and feedback from the target group and a panel of experts through calculating the content validity ratio, content validity index, exploratory factor analysis, and determining internal consistency.Results: The validity of 37 items were assessed and selected through calculating the index score of the item effect above 1.5, content validity index ratio greater than 0.49, and content validity index higher than 0.79 and by using exploratory factor analysis with a special value greater than 1; seven factors and 34 items were kept and classified into five categories based on literature review and content items. The reliability of the research tool was calculated with Cronbach’s alpha equal to 0.82.Conclusion: The results of this study provide appropriate evidence about the strength of structural factors and the reliability of the assessment tool for structures of health belief models about AIDS, and the creation of accessibility to a reliable tool for assessing the structures of health belief model.

Paranormal beliefs of Latvian college students: a Latvian version of the revised paranormal belief scale.

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Utinans, A; Ancane, G; Tobacyk, J J; Boyraz, G; Livingston, M M; Tobacyk, J S

2015-02-01

A Latvian version of the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS) was completed by 229 Latvian university students. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed six relatively independent factors labeled Magical Abilities, Psychokinesis, Traditional Religious Belief, Superstition, Spirit Travel, and Extraordinary Life Forms. Based on the motivational-control model, it was hypothesized that the societal stressors affecting Latvian society during the last 50 yr. have led to a reduced sense of personal control which, in turn, has resulted in increased endorsement of paranormal beliefs to re-establish a sense of control. The motivational-control hypothesis was not supported. Results indicated that (except for Traditional Religious Belief in women), the majority of these students were disbelievers in paranormal phenomena. As hypothesized, Latvian women reported significantly greater paranormal belief than men.

Effect of Education by Text Messaging Based on Health Belief Model on Food Handling Behaviors in Health Volunteers\\' Yazd City

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MA Morowatisharifabad

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The text message can be presented as a way to change patterns of behavior-based prevention programs, such as the theory of planned behavior and health belief model to be used., And as an alternative approach to the individual and group training programs should be considered. The present study examined the effectiveness of this new method in promoting food handling behavior of a team of health volunteers on health belief model was based. Methods: This study was an evaluation of an intervention in which 16 health centers, 200 health volunteers who were actively involved Yazd city who were randomly divided into two groups. After the initial test, chi-square test, t test were analyzed. The intervention group received an educational package on the SMS regarding  food handling behavior on health Belief Model was designed for codification; wantonly within a month and a half a day and after 8 weeks of the last SMS sent from any intervention and control groups was performed in a secondary assessment. Tool for data gathering questionnaire consisting of structures of health belief model including demographic variables, respectively. Data were using 18spss and employing applied, statistical tests of non-parametric Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis, Chi-square and correlation coefficient the analysis was. Results: The overall food handling behavior, after training significantly increased in the intervention group (p =0/01, while the control group was not significant (p=0/21. Cooling behavior after training in the experimental group and the control group was significantly increased (p =0/00. Cooking behavior, after training in the intervention group (p =0/11 and control group( p =0/17 was not significantly increased. Individual health behavior, after training in the intervention group (p =0/13 and control group (p =0/07 was not significantly increased. Separation behavior after training has not significantly increased in the

Indigenous Healers’ beliefs and practices concerning sexually transmitted diseases

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FM Mulaudzi

2006-09-01

Full Text Available A Grounded Theory study has been used, based on its Theory of Symbolic Interactionism, to explore indigenous healers’ beliefs and practices concerning sexually transmitted diseases amongst the Vhavenda. Initial data collection has been done, using purposive sampling and when categories started emerging, theoretical sampling was then used. Data were analysed by using three basic types of coding namely, open coding, axial coding and selective coding. The findings of the study revealed a variety of terms used to identify STDs. It then also became evident that there are similarities between gonorrhoea, syphilis and condylomata as shown in the orthodox Sexually transmitted diseases posters used in orthodox medicine with some of the STDs that the indigenous healers are familiar with. In accordance with the Grounded Theory, the description of types of diseases, disease patterns as well as signs and symptoms culminated in the emergence of the Dirt Theory. Based on the above findings, it was recommended that guidelines for designing a module for teaching health professionals be formulated to assist nurses in understanding the beliefs and practices of the people they serve.

The role of salient beliefs in graduates’ intention to apply

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Samantha Adams

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Orientation: Organisations compete fiercely to recruit the best graduates, because they consider them a rich source of future talent. In the recruitment literature, it has become increasingly important to understand the factors that influence graduate applicant intentions. Research purpose: Drawing on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB, we tested a model proposing that applicant intention is a function of their attitude towards applying, beliefs about referent other’s expectations (subjective norms and perceived behavioural control with respect to this behaviour. Motivation for the study: The study was motivated by the need to shed light on graduate applicants’ decisions to apply to an organisation of their choice. Research approach, design and method: The study used a quantitative design to test hypotheses that attitudes towards behaviour, norms and control beliefs would influence intention to apply. We surveyed prospective job seekers (N = 854 studying at a South African university about their beliefs regarding the job application process. Main findings: Structural equation modelling showed reasonable fit of the proposed model to the survey data. Latent variable analysis demonstrated that perceived behavioural control and subjective norm explained intention to apply. With the combination of all three variables, only attitude towards applying did not play a significant role in the prediction of intention to apply, which is contrary to previous research. Practical/managerial implications: The findings highlight the role of salient control beliefs in the application process. Efforts by universities and organisations to affect intentions to apply may potentially benefit from focusing on support services that could enhance feelings of control and minimise perceived obstacles. Recruiters could focus on control to increase potential recruitment pools. Contribution/value-add: The study contributes to the recruitment literature in three ways

Organizational Conspiracy Beliefs: Implications for Leadership Styles and Employee Outcomes.

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van Prooijen, Jan-Willem; de Vries, Reinout E

2016-01-01

Belief in conspiracy theories about societal events is widespread among citizens. The extent to which conspiracy beliefs about managers and supervisors matter in the micro-level setting of organizations has not yet been examined, however. We investigated if leadership styles predict conspiracy beliefs among employees in the context of organizations. Furthermore, we examined if such organizational conspiracy beliefs have implications for organizational commitment and turnover intentions. We conducted a survey among a random sample of the US working population ( N  = 193). Despotic, laissez-faire, and participative leadership styles predicted organizational conspiracy beliefs, and the relations of despotic and laissez-faire leadership with conspiracy beliefs were mediated by feelings of job insecurity. Furthermore, organizational conspiracy beliefs predicted, via decreased organizational commitment, increased turnover intentions. Organizational conspiracy beliefs matter for how employees perceive their leaders, how they feel about their organization, and whether or not they plan to quit their jobs. A practical implication, therefore, is that it would be a mistake for managers to dismiss organizational conspiracy beliefs as innocent rumors that are harmless to the organization. Three novel conclusions emerge from this study. First, organizational conspiracy beliefs occur frequently among employees. Second, participative leadership predicts decreased organizational conspiracy beliefs; despotic and laissez-faire leadership predict increased organizational conspiracy beliefs due to the contribution of these destructive leadership styles to an insecure work environment. Third, organizational conspiracy beliefs harm organizations by influencing employee commitment and, indirectly, turnover intentions.

Effects of education based on the health belief model on screening behavior in high risk women for breast cancer, Tehran, Iran.

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Hajian, Sepideh; Vakilian, Katayon; Najabadi, Khadijeh Mirzaii; Hosseini, Jalil; Mirzaei, Hamid Reza

2011-01-01

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. Early diagnosis allows efficient treatment and increases survival, but the efficacy of breast self examination (BSE) is not sufficiently well established. The American Cancer Society aims to give women the opportunity to recognize the utility, limitations and adverse effects of breast cancer screening through education models based on psychological theories. With the Health Belief Model, people's health perceptions and attitudes influence their practices, for example with screening. The purpose of this randomized controlled clinical trial was to determine the effect of education based on this model on breast cancer screening in high risk Iranian women. Participants were women with a family history of breast cancer (mother, sister, and daughter). After explanation of the study objectives to participants, they were recruited on obtaining oral consent and each filled out the study questionnaire based on the Health Belief Model. Allocation was into two groups by computerized randomization, control and intervention, receiving education on breast cancer screening. Perceived susceptibility to and seriousness of breast cancer, perceived usefulness of and barriers to BSE, clinical breast examination, and mammography, and self-efficacy in the ability to perform these, were assessed, with comparison of scores for BSE practice before and after education and doing mammography and clinical examination by a physician in intervention and control group. The mean age was 37.8 ± 11.7 (range 19-60). The mean rank in the intervention group significantly differed before and after the education, but except for " perceived threat" and "perceived usefulness of breast self examination", we did not find any significant differences from the control group. After educational sessions, breast self examination and clinical examination practice rates were elevated. Health education based on well known psychological theories for breast cancer

Effectiveness of Education Based on the Health Belief Model on Performing Preventive Measures for Breast Cancer Among Female Teachers in Zahedan

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Khadijeh Kalan-Farmanfarma

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Preventive behaviors such as screening tests have an important role in prevention and control of breast cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of educational programs on preventive behaviors of breast cancer based on the health belief model among female teachers of guidance schools in Zahedan city. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was performed on 240 female teachers from (120 participants in each of the control and intervention groups Zahedan guidance schools. The data-gathering tool was a multipart questionnaire containing demographic variables, knowledge and health belief model structures. An educational program was performed based on the health belief model in five sessions through lectures, training videos, question and answer session for participants in the intervention group. Questionnaires were filled before and two months after the intervention in the two groups. Data was analyzed by independent T-test, chi-square and multiple linear regressions using SPSS-15 software. Results: There was no meaningful difference in the mean scores of knowledge, health belief model constructs, and performance between the two groups before the educational intervention, but the mean scores of variables increased significantly after the intervention (P< 0.05. Conclusion: The health belief model was effective to promote preventive behaviors. Hence, educational interventions with an emphasis on raising awareness, change in beliefs and improving self-efficacy regarding breast cancer are recommended

The influence of uncertain map features on risk beliefs and perceived ambiguity for maps of modeled cancer risk from air pollution

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Myers, Jeffrey D.

2012-01-01

Maps are often used to convey information generated by models, for example, modeled cancer risk from air pollution. The concrete nature of images, such as maps, may convey more certainty than warranted for modeled information. Three map features were selected to communicate the uncertainty of modeled cancer risk: (a) map contours appeared in or out of focus, (b) one or three colors were used, and (c) a verbal-relative or numeric risk expression was used in the legend. Study aims were to assess how these features influenced risk beliefs and the ambiguity of risk beliefs at four assigned map locations that varied by risk level. We applied an integrated conceptual framework to conduct this full factorial experiment with 32 maps that varied by the three dichotomous features and four risk levels; 826 university students participated. Data was analyzed using structural equation modeling. Unfocused contours and the verbal-relative risk expression generated more ambiguity than their counterparts. Focused contours generated stronger risk beliefs for higher risk levels and weaker beliefs for lower risk levels. Number of colors had minimal influence. The magnitude of risk level, conveyed using incrementally darker shading, had a substantial dose-response influence on the strength of risk beliefs. Personal characteristics of prior beliefs and numeracy also had substantial influences. Bottom-up and top-down information processing suggest why iconic visual features of incremental shading and contour focus had the strongest visual influences on risk beliefs and ambiguity. Variations in contour focus and risk expression show promise for fostering appropriate levels of ambiguity. PMID:22985196

Belief update as social choice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Benthem, J.; Girard, P.; Roy, O.; Marion, M.

2011-01-01

Dynamic epistemic-doxastic logics describe the new knowledge or new beliefs indexBelief of agents after some informational event has happened. Technically, this requires an update rule that turns a doxastic-epistemic modelM(recording the current information state of the agents) and a dynamic ‘event

Beliefs and perceived norms concerning body image among African-American and Latino teenagers.

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Barroso, Cristina S; Peters, Ronald Joseph; Johnson, Regina Jones; Kelder, Steven H; Jefferson, Troy

2010-09-01

Focus groups, utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior, examined the beliefs and perceived norms regarding body image in a sample of urban African-American and Latino teenagers (N = 83, 18-19 years old) from Texas. Cultural eating (behavioral belief) explained the acceptance and tolerance of overweight. Popularity of hip-hop fashion and limited income explicated peer and familial normative beliefs, respectively. Thinness equated HIV infection in African-Americans (parental normative belief). Barriers to healthy eating and active living (control beliefs) included willpower, laziness, fast food, and excessive work. Findings can guide the development and implementation of culturally appropriate obesity interventions for African-American and Latino adolescents.

Influence of intention to adhere, beliefs and satisfaction about medicines on adherence in solid organ transplant recipients.

Science.gov (United States)

Hugon, Amélie; Roustit, Matthieu; Lehmann, Audrey; Saint-Raymond, Christel; Borrel, Elisabeth; Hilleret, Marie-Noëlle; Malvezzi, Paolo; Bedouch, Pierrick; Pansu, Pascal; Allenet, Benoît

2014-07-27

Nonadherence to immunosuppressive (IS) therapy is associated with poor outcomes. Identifying factors predicting poor adherence is therefore essential. The primary objective of this study was to test whether parameters of a model adapted from the theory of planned behavior, and more specifically attitudes that are influenced by beliefs and satisfaction with medication, could predict adherence in solid organ transplant patients. Adherence was assessed with a self-reported medication adherence scale and IS blood trough concentrations over 6 months, in four transplant units. Satisfaction and beliefs were assessed using the Treatment Satisfaction with Medicines Questionnaire (SATMED-Q) and Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ), respectively. Theory of planned behavior was assessed with a specific questionnaire exploring intentions, subjective norms, attitudes and perceived behavioral control. Treatment characteristics and socioeconomic data were also collected. One hundred and fifty-three solid organ transplant patients were enrolled, including lung (n=33), heart (n=43), liver (n=42), and kidney (n=44) patients. Satisfaction and positive beliefs about medication were higher in adherent than those in nonadherent patients. Factors independently associated with an increased risk of nonadherence were negative general beliefs about medications (odds ratio [OR]=0.89 [0.83-0.97]), living alone (OR=2.78 [1.09-7.09]), heart transplantation (OR=3.49 [1.34-9.09]), and being on everolimus (OR=5.02 [1.21-20.8]). Negative beliefs toward medications were shown to be an independent risk factor of poor adherence. Therefore, the BMQ could be an effective, easy to implement tool, for use in everyday practice, to identify patients needing interventions to improve adherence to IS.

Optimism as a Prior Belief about the Probability of Future Reward

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Kalra, Aditi; Seriès, Peggy

2014-01-01

Optimists hold positive a priori beliefs about the future. In Bayesian statistical theory, a priori beliefs can be overcome by experience. However, optimistic beliefs can at times appear surprisingly resistant to evidence, suggesting that optimism might also influence how new information is selected and learned. Here, we use a novel Pavlovian conditioning task, embedded in a normative framework, to directly assess how trait optimism, as classically measured using self-report questionnaires, influences choices between visual targets, by learning about their association with reward progresses. We find that trait optimism relates to an a priori belief about the likelihood of rewards, but not losses, in our task. Critically, this positive belief behaves like a probabilistic prior, i.e. its influence reduces with increasing experience. Contrary to findings in the literature related to unrealistic optimism and self-beliefs, it does not appear to influence the iterative learning process directly. PMID:24853098

Optimism as a prior belief about the probability of future reward.

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Aistis Stankevicius

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Optimists hold positive a priori beliefs about the future. In Bayesian statistical theory, a priori beliefs can be overcome by experience. However, optimistic beliefs can at times appear surprisingly resistant to evidence, suggesting that optimism might also influence how new information is selected and learned. Here, we use a novel Pavlovian conditioning task, embedded in a normative framework, to directly assess how trait optimism, as classically measured using self-report questionnaires, influences choices between visual targets, by learning about their association with reward progresses. We find that trait optimism relates to an a priori belief about the likelihood of rewards, but not losses, in our task. Critically, this positive belief behaves like a probabilistic prior, i.e. its influence reduces with increasing experience. Contrary to findings in the literature related to unrealistic optimism and self-beliefs, it does not appear to influence the iterative learning process directly.

Exploring the relationship between socioeconomic status, control beliefs and exercise behavior: a multiple mediator model.

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Murray, Terra C; Rodgers, Wendy M; Fraser, Shawn N

2012-02-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between control beliefs, socioeconomic status and exercise intentions and behavior. Specifically, we examined whether distal and proximal control beliefs mediated the association between socioeconomic status and exercise intentions and behavior. A one time, cross sectional mail out survey (N = 350) was conducted in a large urban Canadian city. Distal (i.e., personal constraints) and proximal (i.e., scheduling self-efficacy) control beliefs mediated the association between socioeconomic status and exercise, explaining approximately 30% of the variance. Proximal control beliefs (i.e., scheduling self-efficacy) partially mediated the association between socioeconomic status and intentions, with the models explaining approximately 50% of the variance. Compared to individuals with lower socioeconomic status, individuals with higher socioeconomic status reported more exercise and stronger intentions to exercise. This was at least partly because higher socioeconomic status respondents reported fewer barriers in their lives, and were more confident to cope with the scheduling demands of exercise.

Overdose beliefs and management practices among ethnic Vietnamese heroin users in Sydney, Australia

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Maher Lisa

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Ethnic Vietnamese injecting drug users (IDUs in Australia draw on a range of beliefs and etiologic models, sometimes simultaneously, in order to make sense of health and illness. These include understandings of illness as the result of internal imbalances and Western concepts of disease causation including germ/pollution theory. Methods Observational fieldwork and in-depth interviews were conducted between 2001 and 2006 in neighbourhoods characterised by high proportions of Asian background IDUs and street-based drug markets. Eligibility criteria for the study were: 1 ethnic Vietnamese cultural background; 2 aged 16 years and over and; 3 injected drugs in the last 6 months. Results Participants commonly attempted to treat heroin overdose by withdrawing blood (rút máu from the body. Central to this practice are cultural beliefs about the role and function of blood in the body and its relationship to illness and health. Participants' beliefs in blood were strongly influenced by understandings of blood expressed in traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicine. Many participants perceived Western drugs, particularly heroin, as "hot" and "strong". In overdose situations, it was commonly believed that an excessive amount of drugs (particularly heroin entered the bloodstream and traveled to the heart, making the heart work too hard. Withdrawing blood was understood to reduce the amount of drugs in the body which in turn reduced the effects of drugs on the blood and the heart. Conclusion The explanatory model of overdose employed by ethnic Vietnamese IDUs privileges traditional beliefs about the circulatory, rather than the respiratory, system. This paper explores participants' beliefs about blood, the effects of drugs on blood and the causes of heroin overdose in order to document the explanatory model of overdose used by ethnic Vietnamese IDUs. Implications for overdose prevention, treatment and management are identified and

Evaluating the performance of unhealthy junk food consumption based on health belief model in elementary school girls

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Azam Fathi

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background and objective: Nowadays, due to changes in eating patterns, the worthless junk foods are replaced useful food among children. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of unhealthy junk food consumption based on health belief model in elementary school girls Methods: Cross-sectional study Descriptive-analytic type of multi-stage sampling (208 samples was carried out in 2016. The survey instrument was a questionnaire valid and reliable based on the Health Belief Model (70 items. Data was analyzed by SPSS software according to statistical tests of significance level of 0.05. Results: Results showed that students of sensitivity (49% and relatively high efficacy (53/8%, perceived benefits (73/1% and better social protection (68/3% had. The results showed that among all the health belief model structures with yield (junk food intake significantly correlated. Also significant differences in parental education and sensitivity, perceived severity, self-efficacy, social support and yield (p<0/05. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that students from relatively favorable sensitivity and self-efficacy, perceived benefits and social protection in the field of unhealthy snacks were good. Also a significant relationship between structural and non-use study results showed unhealthy snacks but because of the importance of unhealthy snacks and unhealthy snack consumption among school children and the complications of the health belief model in predicting nutritional behaviors suggest that this model used as a framework for school feeding programs. Paper Type: Research Article.

Paranoid beliefs and realistic expectations of victimization: Data from the survey of police-public encounters.

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Jun, Hyun-Jin; Nam, Boyoung; Fedina, Lisa; Smith, Melissa Edmondson; Schiffman, Jason; Link, Bruce; DeVylder, Jordan E

2018-03-08

The anticipation of threat or victimization is a core feature of paranoia. Cognitive theories of paranoia suggest that paranoid thoughts may arise as a psychological response to trauma exposure, which likewise may lead to greater anticipation of subsequent victimization. Little is known, however, about the relation between paranoid beliefs and anticipated victimization when accounting for past victimization experience. The present study aimed to address whether the experiences of past victimization contribute to the link between paranoid beliefs and the anticipation of threat or victimization, with a particular focus on exposure to police violence. Data were collected through the Survey of Police-Public Encounters (N=1615), a cross-sectional, general population survey study conducted in four Eastern U.S. cities. Associations between paranoia and anticipated victimization were assessed using linear regression models, with and without adjustment for past victimization exposure. Paranoid beliefs were positively associated with police victimization expectations (β=0.19, ptheories of paranoia in which paranoid beliefs may be a severe but normative reaction to past victimization exposures in some cases. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Social psychological origins of conspiracy theories: The case of the Jewish conspiracy theory in Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Viren eSwami; Viren eSwami

2012-01-01

Two studies examined correlates of belief in a Jewish conspiracy theory among Malays in Malaysia, a culture in which state-directed conspiracism as a means of dealing with perceived external and internal threats is widespread. In Study 1, 368 participants from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, completed a novel measure of belief in a Jewish conspiracy theory, along with measures of general conspiracist ideation and anomie. Initial analysis showed that the novel scale factorially reduced to a single dim...

Social Psychological Origins of Conspiracy Theories: The Case of the Jewish Conspiracy Theory in Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Swami, Viren

2012-01-01

Two studies examined correlates of belief in a Jewish conspiracy theory among Malays in Malaysia, a culture in which state-directed conspiracism as a means of dealing with perceived external and internal threats is widespread. In Study 1, 368 participants from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, completed a novel measure of belief in a Jewish conspiracy theory, along with measures of general conspiracist ideation, and anomie. Initial analysis showed that the novel scale factorially reduced to a single di...

Essentialist beliefs, sexual identity uncertainty, internalized homonegativity and psychological wellbeing in gay men.

Science.gov (United States)

Morandini, James S; Blaszczynski, Alexander; Ross, Michael W; Costa, Daniel S J; Dar-Nimrod, Ilan

2015-07-01

The present study examined essentialist beliefs about sexual orientation and their implications for sexual identity uncertainty, internalized homonegativity and psychological wellbeing in a sample of gay men. A combination of targeted sampling and snowball strategies were used to recruit 639 gay identifying men for a cross-sectional online survey. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing sexual orientation beliefs, sexual identity uncertainty, internalized homonegativity, and psychological wellbeing outcomes. Structural equation modeling was used to test whether essentialist beliefs were associated with psychological wellbeing indirectly via their effect on sexual identity uncertainty and internalized homonegativity. A unique pattern of direct and indirect effects was observed in which facets of essentialism predicted sexual identity uncertainty, internalized homonegativity and psychological wellbeing. Of note, viewing sexual orientation as immutable/biologically based and as existing in discrete categories, were associated with less sexual identity uncertainty. On the other hand, these beliefs had divergent relationships with internalized homonegativity, with immutability/biological beliefs associated with lower, and discreteness beliefs associated with greater internalized homonegativity. Of interest, although sexual identity uncertainty was associated with poorer psychological wellbeing via its contribution to internalized homophobia, there was no direct relationship between identity uncertainty and psychological wellbeing. Findings indicate that essentializing sexual orientation has mixed implications for sexual identity uncertainty and internalized homonegativity and wellbeing in gay men. Those undertaking educational and clinical interventions with gay men should be aware of the benefits and of caveats of essentialist theories of homosexuality for this population. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

The Effect of Teacher Beliefs on Student Competence in Mathematical Modeling--An Intervention Study

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Mischo, Christoph; Maaß, Katja

2013-01-01

This paper presents an intervention study whose aim was to promote teacher beliefs about mathematics and learning mathematics and student competences in mathematical modeling. In the intervention, teachers received written curriculum materials about mathematical modeling. The concept underlying the materials was based on constructivist ideas and…

A theory of planned behaviour perspective on practitioners' beliefs toward the integration of the WIXX communication campaign messages and activities into daily practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Bélanger-Gravel, A; Lottinville, S; Beaurivage, D; Laferté, M; Therrien, F; Gauvin, L

2018-01-01

To favour the dissemination and the implementation of the WIXX multimedia communication campaign, the aim of this study was to examine practitioners' beliefs towards the integration of the WIXX campaign activities into daily practice. An exploratory qualitative study. Overall, 58 community-based practitioners completed an online questionnaire based on the theory of planned behaviour guidelines pertaining to perceived advantages/disadvantages and perceived barriers/facilitators toward the campaign. A content analysis was performed by two independent coders to extract modal beliefs. Results were validated by a third coder. Local partners had a positive attitude toward the WIXX campaign, but significant barriers remained and needed to be addressed to ensure full implementation of this campaign (e.g. lack of time or resources, additional workload, complexity of the registration process and so forth). Beliefs were fragmented and diversified, indicating that they were highly context dependent. To conclude, some remaining challenges regarding the full implementation of the WIXX communication campaign were identified, suggesting that additional efforts might be needed to ensure the full adoption of the campaign by local practitioners. Copyright © 2017 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hispanic-American Students' Attitudes toward Enrolling in High School Chemistry: A Study of Planned Behavior and Belief-Based Change.

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Crawley, Frank E.; Koballa, Thomas R., Jr.

The study sought to: (1) identify the determinants that motivate Hispanic-American students to enroll in high school chemistry; and (2) determine if providing belief-based information to students and their parents/guardians increases chemistry registration. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) guided the…

Causal compositional models in valuation-based systems with examples in specific theories

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Jiroušek, Radim; Shenoy, P. P.

2016-01-01

Roč. 72, č. 1 (2016), s. 95-112 ISSN 0888-613X Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GA15-00215S Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : operator of composition * causality * belief function Subject RIV: AH - Economics OBOR OECD: Economic Theory Impact factor: 2.845, year: 2016 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2017/MTR/jirousek-0481260.pdf

Self-deception in terminal patients: belief system at stake

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Luis E Echarte

2016-02-01

Full Text Available A substantial minority of patients with terminal illness hold unrealistically hopeful beliefs about the severity of their disease or the nature of its treatment, considering therapy as curative rather than palliative. We propose that this attitude may be understood as self-deception, following the current psychological theories about this topic. In this article we suggest that the reason these patients deceive themselves is to preserve their belief systems. According to some philosophical accounts, the human belief system (HBS is constituted as a web with a few stable central nodes –deep seated beliefs– intimately related with the self. We hypothesize that the mind may possess defensive mechanisms, mostly non-conscious, that reject certain sensory inputs (e.g., a fatal diagnosis that may undermine deep-seated beliefs. This interpretation is in line with the theory of cognitive dissonance. Following this reasoning, we also propose that HBS-related self-deception would entail a lower cognitive load than that associated with confronting the truth: whereas the latter would engage a myriad of high cognitive functions to re-configure crucial aspects of the self, including the setting of plans, goals, or even a behavioral output, the former would be mostly non-conscious. Overall, we believe that our research supports the hypothesis that in cases of terminal illness, (self-deceiving requires less effort than accepting the truth.

Inclusive education: a case of beliefs competing for implementation

African Journals Online (AJOL)

However, this exclusionary agenda positioned the school as inclusive on the grounds ... by Lewin's theory of planned change, the study identified four belief systems which ...... International Journal of Educational Development, 31:50-58.

Representing metarepresentations: is there theory of mind-specific cognition?

Science.gov (United States)

Egeth, Marc; Kurzban, Robert

2009-03-01

What cognitive mechanisms underlie Theory of Mind? Some infer domain-specific Theory of Mind cognition based the pattern of children diagnosed with autism failing the False Belief test but passing the False Photograph test. However, we argue that the False Belief test entails various task demands the False Photograph task does not, including the necessity to represent a higher-order representation (a metarepresentation), thus confounding the inference of domain-specificity. Instead, a general difficulty that affects representations of metarepresentations might account for the seeming domain-specific failure. Here we find that False-Belief failing False-Photograph passing children fail the Meta Photograph test, a new photograph-domain test that requires subjects to represent a metarepresentation. We conclude that people who fail the False Belief test but pass the False Photograph test do not necessarily have a content-specific Theory of Mind deficit. Instead, the general ability to represent representations and metarepresentations might underlie Theory of Mind.

Beliefs Underlying the Decision to Eat Breakfast: The Role of Theory-based Behavioral Analysis in the Development of Policy, Communication and Educational Interventions for Healthy Eating.

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Middlestadt, Susan E; Stevenson, Laurel D; Hung, Chia-Ling; Roditis, Maria Leia; Fly, Alyce D; Sheats, Jylana L

2011-01-01

Policy, communication, and education efforts to influence any social or health outcome are more effective if based on an understanding of the underlying behaviors and their determinants. This conceptual paper outlines how behavioral theory can help design interventions for one healthy eating behavior, eating breakfast. More specifically, the paper illustrates how a prominent health behavior theory, the Reasoned Action Approach, can be used to guide formative research to identify factors underlying people's decisions. Select findings are presented from three studies of beliefs underlying eating breakfast: online surveys with 1185 undergraduates from a large university in Indiana; in-depth interviews with 61 adults from four Indiana worksites; and 63 in-depth interviews with students from three middle schools in rural Indiana. Analyses of data from the undergraduates demonstrated the role of self-efficacy. Analyses of data from the working adults revealed the importance of normative beliefs about what employers believed. Analyses comparing consequences perceived by adults with those perceived by middle school students found that both groups believed that eating breakfast would provide energy but only middle school students believed that eating breakfast would improve alertness. For each finding, the theory is presented, the finding is described, implications for interventions are suggested, and the need for additional research is outlined. In sum, theory-based behavioral research can help develop interventions at intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental levels that are warranted to encourage healthy eating.

Psychodynamic psychotherapy, religious beliefs, and self-disclosure.

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Tillman, J G

1998-01-01

The intersection of psychodynamic psychotherapy and religious beliefs may present technical challenges for the psychotherapists; particularly if patients request to know more about the therapist's religious beliefs. Contrary to a recent technical recommendation for therapists to self-disclose personal religious beliefs when asked to do so, I suggest that such a request is complex and requires a thoughtful grounding in psychotherapeutic theory. Disclosing personal beliefs to patients runs the risk of being off-task as well as holding oneself out as an exemplar for the patient. Rather than adopt a formulaic response to requests for information, to deepen the understanding of the patient and the work of therapy, the therapist needs a complex understanding based on a careful diagnostic assessment of the patient, as well as an assessment of the current status of the psychotherapeutic venture. The workings of patients' particular transferences are often evident in requests for personal information and require careful evaluation and consideration. Likewise, countertransference elements may influence the type of response offered by the therapist. Using ethical principles as a guide is different from using them as a rule. The nexus of religious belief, psychosocial context, psychotherapy, and self-disclosure provides a potentially rich source of understanding when explored in the psychotherapeutic situation.

Developmental Readiness in the Understanding of Own and Other’s False Beliefs

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Anna Amadó

2014-01-01

Full Text Available One of the most important milestones in the development of theory of mind is the understanding of false beliefs. This study compares children’s understanding of representational change and others’ false beliefs and evaluates the effectiveness of an appearance-reality training for improving children’s false belief understanding. A total of 78 children ranging in age from 41 to 47 months were trained in three sessions and evaluated in a pretest and in a posttest. The results show that for children it is easier to understand representational change than false beliefs in others, and that the improvement after training was greater when starting from a higher score in the pretest. The implications of this for training in false belief understanding are discussed.

The influence of social niche on cultural niche construction: modelling changes in belief about marriage form in Taiwan

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Lipatov, Mikhail; Brown, Melissa J.; Feldman, Marcus W.

2011-01-01

With introduction of social niche effects into a model of cultural change, the frequency of a practice cannot predict the frequency of its underlying belief. The combination of a general model with empirical data from a specific case illustrates the importance of collaboration between modellers and field researchers, and identifies the type of quantitative data necessary for analysing case studies. Demographic data from colonial-period household registers in Taiwan document a shift in marriage form within 40 years, from a mixture of uxorilocal marriages and virilocal marriages to the latter's dominance. Ethnographic data indicate marriage-related beliefs, costs, ethnic effects and colonial policies as well as the importance of horizontal cultural transmission. We present a formal model for the effects of moral beliefs about marriage and a population economic index on the decline of uxorilocal marriage. We integrate empirical marriage rates and an estimated economic index to produce five projections of the historical frequencies of one belief. These projections demonstrate how economic development may affect a cultural niche. They also indicate the need for future research on the relationship between wealth and cultural variability, the motivational force of cultural versus social factors, and the process of cultural niche construction. PMID:21320903

A Comparison of Beliefs and Disbeliefs and Reference Category Characteristics as Directive Factors of Social Action in Five Cultures.

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Reeder, William W.; And Others

In order to illustrate the cross-culture applicability of Reeder's Theory of Beliefs, Disbeliefs, and Social Action and its usefulness in predicting and explaining social actions, studies conducted in communities in India, Sudan, Lebanon, northeastern United States, and western United States are examined. Using this theory, beliefs and disbeliefs…

Teachers' and Researchers' Beliefs of Learning and the use of Learning Progressions

Science.gov (United States)

Clapp, Francis Neely

In the last decade, science education reform in the United States has emphasized the exploration of cognitive learning pathways, which are theories on how a person learns a particular science subject matter. These theories are based, in part, by Piagetian developmental theory. One such model, called Learning Progressions (LP), has become prominent within science education reform. Science education researchers design LPs which in turn are used by science educators to sequence their curricula. The new national science standards released in April 2013 (Next Generation Science Standards) are, in part, grounded in the LP model. Understanding how teachers apply and use LPs, therefore, is valuable because professional development programs are likely to use this model, given the federal attention LP have received in science education reform. I sought to identify the beliefs and discourse that both LP developers and intended LP implementers have around student learning, teaching, and learning progressions. However, studies measuring beliefs or perspectives of LP-focused projects are absent in published works. A qualitative research is therefore warranted to explore this rather uncharted research area. Research questions were examined through the use of an instrumental case study. A case study approach was selected over other methodologies, as the research problem is, in part, bound within a clearly identifiable case (a professional development experience centering on a single LP model). One of the broadest definitions of a case study is noted by Becker (1968), who stated that goals of case studies are "to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the groups under study" and to develop "general theoretical statements about regularities in social structure and process." (p.233). Based on Merriam (1985) the general consensus in the case study literature is that the assumptions underlying this method are common to naturalistic inquiry with research conducted primarily in the

Belief in the paranormal and modern health worries

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Utinans A.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available It has been found, that despite the improvement of the objective health indicators, people's subjective perception of health is that health indicators are getting worse (Barsky A.J., 1988, which is one of the reasons why a new term “modern health worries” is coming into use in medical literature (Petrie K.J., Wessely S., 2002. People are worried and scared of the effect of new high tech innovations (effect of cell phone radiation, environmental pollution, ozone layer depletion, etc., changes in manufacturing of food products (genetically modified food, food concentrates etc.. Nowadays, many people, being worried about their health, turn to new eating habits (veganism, defend themselves against various innovations in the health system (vaccination, etc. It could be defined as fear of consequences of scientific progress. The reason of fear is not only the misunderstanding of scientific innovations. Quite often, it is a belief in pseudoscientific theories (for example, “conspiracy” or belief in the paranormal phenomena (karma violations, disruption of the cosmic plan. In a part of cases protesters against vaccines and genetically modified food belong to new religious movements which are based on belief in the paranormal and magical thinking. Magical thinking predisposes to the negative attitude towards scientific assumptions and innovations, like a genetically modified food (Saher, 2006. Aim of study. To study the correlation between pseudoscientific assumptions, belief in the paranormal and modern health worries. This condition of modern health worries is becoming important for health care system. It causes the increase in the number of symptoms (Koteles et al., 2011, which, in its turn, increases the doctors' visit rate on one hand (Rief W et al., 2012, but, on the other hand, increases evasion to attend traditional medical care activities. Part of supporters of pseudoscientific beliefs experiences anxiety as to the bad food toxins

The Effect of Education Based on the Health Belief Model on Osteoporosis Prevention Behaviors in Female High School Students

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Mousaviasl

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Background Osteoporosis is one of the most common metabolic bone diseases and is the silent epidemic of this era. Objectives This study evaluates the effect of education that is based on the health belief model on promoting osteoporosis prevention behaviors among female high school students. Methods In this two-group interventional study, 172 students age 11 to 14 years (experimental group = 86 subjects; control group = 86 subjects were randomly selected from Khorramshahr high schools using multistage sampling. Data were collected before the intervention and two months after its completion using a researcher-made questionnaire with four parts: demographic questions, knowledge questions, questions related to the health belief model constructs, and questions regarding preventive behaviors. Data was analyzed using SPSS 22 software and by applying the Mann-Whitney test, the analysis of covariance procedure, and the Wilcoxon statistical test. Results After the intervention, significant statistical differences were seen between the experimental and control groups in mean scores of knowledge, health belief model constructs, and preventive behaviors. Conclusions The education based on health belief model plays an important role in increasing knowledge and improving osteoporosis prevention behaviors in students.

Pediatric Nurses’ Beliefs and Pain Management Practices: An Intervention Pilot

OpenAIRE

Vincent, Catherine Van Hulle; Wilkie, Diana J.; Wang, Edward

2010-01-01

We evaluated feasibility of the Internet-based Relieve Children's Pain (RCP) protocol to improve nurses’ management of children's pain. RCP is an interactive, content-focused, and Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory-based intervention. Using a one-group, pre/posttest design, we evaluated feasibility of RCP and pre/post difference in scores for nurses’ beliefs, and simulated and actual pain management practices. Twenty-four RNs completed an Internet-based Pain Beliefs and Practices Questionnai...

Critical Beliefs Underlying Young Australian Males’ Intentions to Engage in Drinking and Swimming

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Kyra Hamilton

2013-11-01

Full Text Available This study examined key targets for interventions aimed at reducing drinking and swimming among young males, an at-risk group for drowning. Two-hundred and eleven Australian males aged 18 to 34 years completed a Theory of Planned Behavior belief-based questionnaire either online or paper based. Behavioral beliefs of “be more relaxed” and “having fun,” normative beliefs of “friends/mates” and “parents,” and the control belief of “presence of other people” were revealed as independent predictors of intentions to drink and swim. These identified beliefs can be used to inform interventions to challenge young males’ alcohol use in, on, and around water.

A Bayesian belief network approach for assessing uncertainty in conceptual site models at contaminated sites

Science.gov (United States)

Thomsen, Nanna I.; Binning, Philip J.; McKnight, Ursula S.; Tuxen, Nina; Bjerg, Poul L.; Troldborg, Mads

2016-05-01

A key component in risk assessment of contaminated sites is in the formulation of a conceptual site model (CSM). A CSM is a simplified representation of reality and forms the basis for the mathematical modeling of contaminant fate and transport at the site. The CSM should therefore identify the most important site-specific features and processes that may affect the contaminant transport behavior at the site. However, the development of a CSM will always be associated with uncertainties due to limited data and lack of understanding of the site conditions. CSM uncertainty is often found to be a major source of model error and it should therefore be accounted for when evaluating uncertainties in risk assessments. We present a Bayesian belief network (BBN) approach for constructing CSMs and assessing their uncertainty at contaminated sites. BBNs are graphical probabilistic models that are effective for integrating quantitative and qualitative information, and thus can strengthen decisions when empirical data are lacking. The proposed BBN approach facilitates a systematic construction of multiple CSMs, and then determines the belief in each CSM using a variety of data types and/or expert opinion at different knowledge levels. The developed BBNs combine data from desktop studies and initial site investigations with expert opinion to assess which of the CSMs are more likely to reflect the actual site conditions. The method is demonstrated on a Danish field site, contaminated with chlorinated ethenes. Four different CSMs are developed by combining two contaminant source zone interpretations (presence or absence of a separate phase contamination) and two geological interpretations (fractured or unfractured clay till). The beliefs in each of the CSMs are assessed sequentially based on data from three investigation stages (a screening investigation, a more detailed investigation, and an expert consultation) to demonstrate that the belief can be updated as more information

The Accidental Transgressor: Morally-Relevant Theory of Mind

Science.gov (United States)

Killen, Melanie; Mulvey, Kelly Lynn; Richardson, Cameron; Jampol, Noah; Woodward, Amanda

2011-01-01

To test young children's false belief theory of mind in a morally relevant context, two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, children (N=162) at 3.5, 5.5, and 7.5 years of age were administered three tasks: prototypic moral transgression task, false belief theory of mind task (ToM), and an "accidental transgressor" task, which measured a…

Beliefs of Pregnant Women in Qom City about Exclusive Breastfeeding until 6 Months of Age, Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahimi Tahereh

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background and Objectives: Exclusive breastfeeding is the most effective way of feeding infants until 6 months of age. The present study aimed to determine the beliefs of pregnant women in Qom city about exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months of age based on constructs of theory of planned behavior. : In this descriptive cross-sectional study, after designing a questionnaire to measure the constructs of theory of planned behavior, including behavioral, normative, and control beliefs, and also determining its validity and reliability, 240 pregnant women in Qom were selected using cluster sampling and completed the questionnaires. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: More emotional relationship with infants was the most important positive behavioral belief, and belief in breast malformation and fatigue was negative behavioral beliefs about exclusive breastfeeding among the pregnant women. The opinion of physicians and health care providers about exclusive breastfeeding was reported as the most important normative belief, and urging of relatives, especially mother or mother-in-law to use sweet water or powdered milk was the most important control beliefs among the mothers, which made exclusive breastfeeding difficult. Conclusion: Promoting positive beliefs and correcting wrong beliefs about exclusive breastfeeding, along with consideration of the role of health care providers and husband would help pregnant mothers to accept the choice of exclusive breastfeeding until the end of 6 months of age.

Lay theories of smoking and young adult nonsmokers' and smokers' smoking expectations.

Science.gov (United States)

Fitz, Caroline C; Kaufman, Annette; Moore, Philip J

2015-04-01

This study investigated the relationship between lay theories of cigarette smoking and expectations to smoke. An incremental lay theory of smoking entails the belief that smoking behavior can change; an entity theory entails the belief that smoking behavior cannot change. Undergraduate nonsmokers and smokers completed a survey that assessed lay theories of smoking and smoking expectations. Results demonstrated that lay theories of smoking were differentially associated with smoking expectations for nonsmokers and smokers: stronger incremental beliefs were associated with greater expectations of trying smoking for nonsmokers but lower expectations of becoming a regular smoker for smokers. Implications for interventions are discussed. © The Author(s) 2013.

The importance of coping, threat appraisal, and beliefs in understanding and responding to fear of victimization: applications to a male prisoner sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Ireland, Jane L

2011-08-01

The current study explores conceptualizations of victimization by men, focusing on threat appraisal, coping appraisal, and beliefs, and seeking to apply protection motivation theory, the applied fear response model, and social cognition. Five hundred and sixty-six male prisoners, comprising adults and adolescents, completed a measure of victimization and perpetration (DIPC-SCALED) and of fear, appraisal, and beliefs (TAB). It was predicted that increased threat appraisal and ineffective coping appraisal would predict increased fear of victimization, particularly among the mutual perpetrator/victim group. This group was expected to select strategies for managing the threat of victimization, which carried more risk to them (e.g., such as an aggressive reaction) and to present with beliefs supporting the use of aggression as a response to victimization. Fear of victimization was predicted by threat and coping appraisal although the deficit for victims appeared in coping appraisal only. Mutual perpetrator/victims presented with a specific difficulty in appraising their ability to cope with threat. Differences in beliefs supporting an aggressive response to threat were also noted across perpetrator and/or victimization groups. The article concludes by outlining the implications for theory and clinical practice.

Childhood trauma and the development of paranormal beliefs.

Science.gov (United States)

Berkowski, Monisha; MacDonald, Douglas A

2014-04-01

Belief in the paranormal is fairly prevalent in the general population. Previous research has shown a link between several personological characteristics and paranormal beliefs. The current study attempted to further investigate this link by replicating previous models that have shown a link between childhood trauma, fantasy proneness, and paranormal beliefs. In addition, the study attempted to expand on this model by including other variables such as stigma, resiliency, and coping style. The study used a sample of 198 undergraduate students. A significant correlation between trauma and paranormal beliefs was found. Partial correlations and path analyses revealed that fantasy proneness and avoidant coping style fully mediate the relationship between trauma and paranormal beliefs. The results imply that researchers need to take into account how a person responds to trauma via the development of coping strategies to accurately understand any observed relationship between trauma and paranormal beliefs.

Coping with examinations: exploring relationships between students' coping strategies, implicit theories of ability, and perceived control.

Science.gov (United States)

Doron, Julie; Stephan, Yannick; Boiché, Julie; Le Scanff, Christine

2009-09-01

Relatively little is known about the contribution of students' beliefs regarding the nature of academic ability (i.e. their implicit theories) on strategies used to deal with examinations. This study applied Dweck's socio-cognitive model of achievement motivation to better understand how students cope with examinations. It was expected that students' implicit theories of academic ability would be related to their use of particular coping strategies to deal with exam-related stress. Additionally, it was predicted that perceived control over exams acts as a mediator between implicit theories of ability and coping. Four hundred and ten undergraduate students (263 males, 147 females), aged from 17 to 26 years old (M=19.73, SD=1.46) were volunteers for the present study. Students completed measures of coping, implicit theories of academic ability, and perception of control over academic examinations during regular classes in the first term of the university year. Multiple regression analyses revealed that incremental beliefs of ability significantly and positively predicted active coping, planning, venting of emotions, seeking social support for emotional and instrumental reasons, whereas entity beliefs positively predicted behavioural disengagement and negatively predicted active coping and acceptance. In addition, analyses revealed that entity beliefs of ability were related to coping strategies through students' perception of control over academic examinations. These results confirm that exam-related coping varies as a function of students' beliefs about the nature of academic ability and their perceptions of control when approaching examinations.

Helmet Ownership and Use among Skateboarders: Utilisation of the Health Belief Model

Science.gov (United States)

Peachey, Andrew A.; Sutton, Debra L.; Cathorall, Michelle L.

2016-01-01

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine the proportion of skateboarders who owned and who wore a helmet and which constructs from the Health Belief Model predicted helmet ownership and helmet use among undergraduate skateboarders. Methods: From March 2013 through March 2014, 83 skateboarders completed a helmet attitude and use…

Model Theory in Algebra, Analysis and Arithmetic

CERN Document Server

Dries, Lou; Macpherson, H Dugald; Pillay, Anand; Toffalori, Carlo; Wilkie, Alex J

2014-01-01

Presenting recent developments and applications, the book focuses on four main topics in current model theory: 1) the model theory of valued fields; 2) undecidability in arithmetic; 3) NIP theories; and 4) the model theory of real and complex exponentiation. Young researchers in model theory will particularly benefit from the book, as will more senior researchers in other branches of mathematics.

Communication prompts donation: exploring the beliefs underlying registration and discussion of the organ donation decision.

Science.gov (United States)

Hyde, Melissa K; White, Katherine M

2009-09-01

To use a theory of planned behaviour (TPB) framework to explore the beliefs underlying communication of the donation decision for people who had not previously registered their consent on a donor register or discussed their decision with significant others. Initially, a focus group study elicited the common TPB (behavioural, normative, and control) beliefs about registering and discussing the organ donation decision. The main study assessed the important TPB belief predictors of intentions to register and discuss the donation decision. University students and community members from Queensland, Australia (N=123) completed items assessing their intentions and the TPB behavioural, normative, and control beliefs for registering and discussing their donation decision. Structural equation modelling (SEM) analyses revealed significant paths between people's intentions to register their donation decisions and underlying behavioural (e.g. enabling efficient donation procedures), normative (e.g. friends, doctors/medical professionals), and control (e.g. lack of motivation, knowing details about transplant recipients) beliefs (R2=.30). There were also significant paths between people's intentions to discuss their donation decision and underlying behavioural (e.g. feeling uncomfortable talking about death related topics) and normative (e.g. partner/spouse, family members) beliefs, but not control beliefs (R2=.33). There was a significant path between intentions to register and intentions to discuss one's donation decision. Results highlight the importance of focusing on behavioural and normative beliefs about communicating the donation decision, specifically for people who have not previously communicated their decision, and suggest potential targets for interventions designed to promote decision communication.

Growing Fixed With Age: Lay Theories of Malleability Are Target Age-Specific.

Science.gov (United States)

Neel, Rebecca; Lassetter, Bethany

2015-11-01

Beliefs about whether people can change ("lay theories" of malleability) are known to have wide-ranging effects on social motivation, cognition, and judgment. Yet rather than holding an overarching belief that people can or cannot change, perceivers may hold independent beliefs about whether different people are malleable-that is, lay theories may be target-specific. Seven studies demonstrate that lay theories are target-specific with respect to age: Perceivers hold distinct, uncorrelated lay theories of people at different ages, and younger targets are considered to be more malleable than older targets. Both forms of target-specificity are consequential, as target age-specific lay theories predict policy support for learning-based senior services and the rehabilitation of old and young drug users. The implications of target age-specific lay theories for a number of psychological processes, the social psychology of aging, and theoretical frameworks of malleability beliefs are discussed. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

[French validation of the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale].

Science.gov (United States)

Bouvet, R; Djeriouat, H; Goutaudier, N; Py, J; Chabrol, H

2014-09-01

For the last decades, many researchers have focused on paranormal beliefs. Beliefs in the existence of paranormal phenomena would be common and studies conducted in westernized countries have highlighted a high prevalence of individuals believing in the existence of such phenomena. Tobacyk and Milford (1984) developed the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS) for assessing beliefs in paranormal phenomena. This 26-item self-reported questionnaire, measuring beliefs in phenomena such as witchcraft or superstition, is one of the most widely used questionnaires to assess such beliefs. While studies focusing on paranormal beliefs tend to develop, there is no French self-report instrument to assess this construct. Researchers have tried to identify specific variables that might be linked to such beliefs, and some have focused on personalities of individuals who believe in the paranormal. Schizotypy has been reported to be significantly and positively correlated with paranormal beliefs. The aim of this study was a) to validate the French version of the RPBS and b) to explore the relationship between Schizotypal Personality Disorder traits and paranormal beliefs. After being recruited using the Internet and social networks (e.g. facebook), a sample of 313 participants (mean [SD] age=31.12 [11.62]; range 18-58years) completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ-B), assessing Schizotypal Personality Disorder traits and the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale assessing paranormal beliefs. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to test the proposed 7-factor structure of the RPB developed by Tobacyk. Several adjustment indices were used to evaluate the model. As the first model did not fit the original one, others models were tested. Our findings indicated that a seven-factor solution, excluding 2 items, best described the item structure: (1) spiritualism, (2) superstition, (3) witchcraft, (4) precognition, (5) traditional religious belief, (6) psi, (7) and

Agent Communication for Dynamic Belief Update

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, Mikito; Tojo, Satoshi

Thus far, various formalizations of rational / logical agent model have been proposed. In this paper, we include the notion of communication channel and belief modality into update logic, and introduce Belief Update Logic (BUL). First, we discuss that how we can reformalize the inform action of FIPA-ACL into communication channel, which represents a connection between agents. Thus, our agents can send a message only when they believe, and also there actually is, a channel between him / her and a receiver. Then, we present a static belief logic (BL) and show its soundness and completeness. Next, we develop the logic to BUL, which can update Kripke model by the inform action; in which we show that in the updated model the belief operator also satisfies K45. Thereafter, we show that every sentence in BUL can be translated into BL; thus, we can contend that BUL is also sound and complete. Furthermore, we discuss the features of CUL, including the case of inconsistent information, as well as channel transmission. Finally, we summarize our contribution and discuss some future issues.

Mediation and moderation of an efficacious theory-based abstinence-only intervention for African American adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jingwen; Jemmott, John B; Jemmott, Loretta Sweet

2015-12-01

This secondary data analysis sought to determine what mediated reductions in self-reported sexual initiation over the 24-month postintervention period in early adolescents who received "Promoting Health among Teens," a theory-based, abstinence-only intervention (Jemmott, Jemmott, & Fong, 2010). African American Grade 6 and 7 students at inner-city public middle schools were randomized to 1 of 5 interventions grounded in social-cognitive theory and the theory of reasoned action: 8-hr abstinence-only targeting reduced sexual intercourse; 8-hr safer-sex-only targeting increased condom use; 8-hr and 12-hr comprehensive interventions targeting sexual intercourse and condom use; 8-hr control intervention targeting physical activity and diet. Primary outcome was self-report of vaginal intercourse by 24 months postintervention. Potential mediators, assessed immediately postintervention, were theory-of-reasoned-action variables, including behavioral beliefs about positive consequences of abstinence and negative consequences of sex, intention to have sex, normative beliefs about sex, and HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) knowledge. We tested single and serial mediation models using the product-of-coefficients approach. Of 509 students reporting never having vaginal intercourse at baseline (324 girls and 185 boys; mean age = 11.8 years, SD = 0.8), 500 or 98.2% were included in serial mediation analyses. Consistent with the theory of reasoned action, the abstinence-only intervention increased positive behavioral beliefs about abstinence, which reduced intention to have sex, which in turn reduced sexual initiation. Negative behavioral beliefs about sex, normative beliefs about sex, and HIV/STI knowledge were not mediators. Abstinence-only interventions should stress the gains to be realized from abstinence rather than the deleterious consequences of sexual involvement. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Beliefs of Pre-Service Teachers toward Competitive Activities and the Effect on Implementation and Planning for Physical Education Classes

Science.gov (United States)

Bernstein, Eve; Herman, Ariela M.; Lysniak, Ulana

2013-01-01

The Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) is the framework for this study. TRA, or attitude theory, suggests that teachers' affect and cognition or knowledge may influence how an individual interprets an activity (Ajzen, 2005). Attitudes may affect teachers' perceptions and beliefs about PE, and these perceptions and beliefs may affect how teachers…

Guidelines for developing and updating Bayesian belief networks applied to ecological modeling and conservation.

Science.gov (United States)

B.G. Marcot; J.D. Steventon; G.D. Sutherland; R.K. McCann

2006-01-01

We provide practical guidelines for developing, testing, and revising Bayesian belief networks (BBNs). Primary steps in this process include creating influence diagrams of the hypothesized "causal web" of key factors affecting a species or ecological outcome of interest; developing a first, alpha-level BBN model from the influence diagram; revising the model...

Lucky Belief in Science Education - Gettier Cases and the Value of Reliable Belief-Forming Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Brock, Richard

2018-05-01

The conceptualisation of knowledge as justified true belief has been shown to be, at the very least, an incomplete account. One challenge to the justified true belief model arises from the proposition of situations in which a person possesses a belief that is both justified and true which some philosophers intuit should not be classified as knowledge. Though situations of this type have been imagined by a number of writers, they have come to be labelled Gettier cases. Gettier cases arise when a fallible justification happens to lead to a true belief in one context, a case of `lucky belief'. In this article, it is argued that students studying science may make claims that resemble Gettier cases. In some contexts, a student may make a claim that is both justified and true but which arises from an alternative conception of a scientific concept. A number of instances of lucky belief in topics in science education are considered leading to an examination of the criteria teachers use to assess students' claims in different contexts. The possibility of lucky belief leads to the proposal that, in addition to the acquisition of justified true beliefs, the development of reliable belief-forming processes is a significant goal of science education. The pedagogic value of various kinds of claims is considered and, it is argued, the criteria used to judge claims may be adjusted to suit the context of assessment. It is suggested that teachers should be alert to instances of lucky belief that mask alternative conceptions.

Normative Beliefs, Expectancies, and Alcohol-Related Problems among College Students; Implications for Theory and Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Fearnow-Kenny, Melodie D.; Wyrick, David L.; Hansen, William B.; Dyreg, Doug; Beau, Dan B.

2001-01-01

Investigation (1) examined interrelations among normative beliefs, alcohol expectancies, and alcohol-related problems, and (2) investigated whether alcohol-related expectancies mediate associations between normative beliefs and alcohol-related problems. Analyses revealed that alcohol expectancies mediate the relationship between normative beliefs…

Predicting and understanding undergraduate students' intentions to gamble in a casino using an extended model of the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hyung-Seok

2013-06-01

Given that current television programming contains numerous gambling portrayals, it is imperative to understand whether and to what extent these gambling behaviors in media influence individuals' beliefs, attitudes, and intentions. This study explores an extended model of the theory of reasoned action (TRA) by including gambling media exposure as a distal, mediating and mediated factor in predicting undergraduate students' intentions to gamble in a casino. Findings show that the extended model of TRA clearly indicates that the constructs of gambling media exposure, prior gambling experience, and level of gambling addiction contribute to the prediction of undergraduate students' casino gambling intentions. Theoretical implications of gambling media effects and practical implications for public policy are discussed, and future research directions are outlined.

Field theory and the Standard Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dudas, E [Orsay, LPT (France)

2014-07-01

This brief introduction to Quantum Field Theory and the Standard Model contains the basic building blocks of perturbation theory in quantum field theory, an elementary introduction to gauge theories and the basic classical and quantum features of the electroweak sector of the Standard Model. Some details are given for the theoretical bias concerning the Higgs mass limits, as well as on obscure features of the Standard Model which motivate new physics constructions.

Theory of mind in the Mod game : An agent-based model of strategic reasoning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Weerd, Hermanes; Verbrugge, Rineke; Verheij, Bart; Herzig, Andreas; Lorini, Emiliano

2014-01-01

When people engage in social interactions, they often rely on their theory of mind, their ability to reason about unobservable mental content of others such as beliefs, goals, and intentions. This ability allows them to both understand why others behave the way they do as well as predict future

Structural equation modeling assessing relationship between mathematics beliefs, teachers' attitudes and teaching practices among novice teachers in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Borhan, Noziati; Zakaria, Effandi

2017-05-01

This quantitative study was conducted to investigate the perception level of novice teachers about mathematics belief, teachers' attitude towards mathematics and teaching practices of mathematics in the classroom. In addition, it also aims to identify whether there is a correspondence model with the data obtained and to identify the relationship between the variables of beliefs, attitudes and practices among novice teachers in Malaysia. A total of 263 primary novice teachers throughout the country were involved in this study were selected randomly. Respondents are required to provide a response to the questionnaire of 66 items related to mathematics beliefs, attitudes and practices of the teaching mathematics. There are ten sub-factors which have been established in this instrument for three major constructs using a Likert scale rating of five points. The items of the constructs undergo the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) procedure involve of unidimensionality test, convergent validity, construct validity and discriminant validity. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the frequency, percentage, the mean and standard deviation for completing some research questions that have been expressed. As for inferential statistical analysis, the researchers used structural equation modeling (SEM) to answer the question of correspondents model and the relationship between these three variables. The results of the study were found that there exist a correspondence measurement and structural model with the data obtained. While the relationship between variable found that mathematics beliefs have a significant influence on teachers' attitudes towards mathematics as well as the relationship between the attitudes with teaching practices. Meanwhile, mathematics belief had no significant relationship with mathematics teaching practices among novice teachers in Malaysia.

Beliefs, stigma and discrimination associated with mental health problems in Uganda: implications for theory and practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Quinn, Neil; Knifton, Lee

2014-09-01

There are major gaps in knowledge about beliefs, stigma and discrimination in Uganda, including the relationship between different cultural beliefs and stigmatising responses, how stigma and beliefs result in discrimination and the impact of social factors such as gender, poverty and ethnic conflict. This exploratory study aims to understand beliefs, stigma and discrimination associated with mental health in Uganda in more depth from the perspectives of different stakeholders. Focus groups and interviews were undertaken with mental health activists, policymakers, practitioners, non-governmental and human rights organisations, journalists and academics. Stigma was reported by individuals, families, communities and institutions, including health services. The study also found stigmatising beliefs linked to traditional, religious and medical explanatory frameworks, high levels of 'associated stigma', common mental health problems rarely medicalised and discrimination linked to poverty, gender and conflict. The findings suggest the need to address stigma in their cultural and social context, alongside other human rights initiatives. © The Author(s) 2013.

Model theory

CERN Document Server

Hodges, Wilfrid

1993-01-01

An up-to-date and integrated introduction to model theory, designed to be used for graduate courses (for students who are familiar with first-order logic), and as a reference for more experienced logicians and mathematicians.

What motivates a conspiracy theory? Birther beliefs, partisanship, liberal-conservative ideology, and anti-Black attitudes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pasek, Josh; Stark, Tobias H.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/335996701; Krosnick, Jon A.; Tompson, Trevor

2015-01-01

Despite the release of his birth certificate, some Americans express continued skepticism over whether Barack Obama was born in the United States. This study examined two possible causes of birther beliefs: that Republicans and conservatives, whose ideological beliefs and policy preferences led to

The Structuring Principle: Political Socialization and Belief Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Searing, Donald D.; And Others

1973-01-01

Assesses the significance of data on childhood political learning to political theory by testing the structuring principle,'' considered one of the central assumptions of political socialization research. This principle asserts that basic orientations acquired during childhood structure the later learning of specific issue beliefs.'' The…

Lay theories of suicide among Austrian psychology undergraduates.

Science.gov (United States)

Voracek, Martin; Loibl, Lisa Mariella; Lester, David

2007-01-01

Lester and Bean's (1992) Attribution of Causes to Suicide Scale gauges lay theories of suicide including intrapsychic problems, interpersonal conflicts, and societal forces as causes. Results obtained with its German form (n=165 Austrian psychology undergraduates) showed no sex differences and no social-desirability effects. Intriguingly, all three subscales were moderately intercorrelated, thereby indicating respondents' general agreement (or disagreement) with all three theories. Thus, the critical dimension of lay theories of suicide appears to be the belief that suicide has definite causes (regardless of type) versus that it is without causes (unpredictable). In addition, religiosity was positively associated (and overall knowledge about suicide negatively associated) with belief in intrapsychic causes, whereas liberal political views were negatively associated with belief in interpersonal causes.

Epistemic beliefs' role in promoting misperceptions and conspiracist ideation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R Kelly Garrett

Full Text Available Widespread misperceptions undermine citizens' decision-making ability. Conclusions based on falsehoods and conspiracy theories are by definition flawed. This article demonstrates that individuals' epistemic beliefs-beliefs about the nature of knowledge and how one comes to know-have important implications for perception accuracy. The present study uses a series of large, nationally representative surveys of the U.S. population to produce valid and reliable measures of three aspects of epistemic beliefs: reliance on intuition for factual beliefs (Faith in Intuition for facts, importance of consistency between empirical evidence and beliefs (Need for evidence, and conviction that "facts" are politically constructed (Truth is political. Analyses confirm that these factors complement established predictors of misperception, substantively increasing our ability to explain both individuals' propensity to engage in conspiracist ideation, and their willingness to embrace falsehoods about high-profile scientific and political issues. Individuals who view reality as a political construct are significantly more likely to embrace falsehoods, whereas those who believe that their conclusions must hew to available evidence tend to hold more accurate beliefs. Confidence in the ability to intuitively recognize truth is a uniquely important predictor of conspiracist ideation. Results suggest that efforts to counter misperceptions may be helped by promoting epistemic beliefs emphasizing the importance of evidence, cautious use of feelings, and trust that rigorous assessment by knowledgeable specialists is an effective guard against political manipulation.

Physical activity and parents of very young children: The role of beliefs and social-cognitive factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Cowie, Eloise; White, Katherine; Hamilton, Kyra

2018-05-14

Despite the unequivocal benefits of regular physical activity, many parents engage in lower levels of physical activity (PA) following the birth of a child. Drawing on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and health action process approach (HAPA), an integrative model was developed to examine variables predicting PA in parents of very young children. In addition, key beliefs related to PA intentions and behaviour among parents of very young children were investigated. A prospective-correlational design with two waves of data collection, spaced one week apart, was adopted. Parents (N = 297) completed an online- or paper-based questionnaire assessing TPB global constructs and belief-based items as well as family social support and planning from the HAPA. One week later, parents self-reported their PA behaviour. Data were analysed using latent variable structural equation modelling. Findings revealed the model was a good fit to the data, accounting for 62% and 27% of the variance in PA intentions and behaviour, respectively. Attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control predicted intentions. Family social support failed to predict both planning and intentions. Physical activity was predicted by planning only, with an indirect effect occurring from intentions to behaviour through planning. A number of key beliefs on intentions and behaviour were also identified. This formative research provides further understanding of the factors that influence the PA behaviour of parents of very young children. Results provide targets for future interventions to increase PA for parents in a transition phase where PA levels decline. Statement of Contribution What is already known on this subject? Despite physical activity benefits, many parents are inactive following the birth of a child Social-cognitive models have demonstrated efficacy in predicting physical activity Weaknesses are inherent in the use of single theories to explain behaviour What does this study

Lattice models and conformal field theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saleur, H.

1988-01-01

Theoretical studies concerning the connection between critical physical systems and the conformal theories are reviewed. The conformal theory associated to a critical (integrable) lattice model is derived. The obtention of the central charge, critical exponents and torus partition function, using renormalization group arguments, is shown. The quantum group structure, in the integrable lattice models, and the theory of Visaro algebra representations are discussed. The relations between off-critical integrable models and conformal theories, in finite geometries, are studied

The eternal quest for optimal balance between maximizing pleasure and minimizing harm: the compensatory health beliefs model.

Science.gov (United States)

Rabia, Marjorie; Knäuper, Bärbel; Miquelon, Paule

2006-02-01

Particularly in the health domain, humans thrive to reach an equilibrium between maximizing pleasure and minimizing harm. We propose that a cognitive strategy people employ to reach this equilibrium is the activation of Compensatory Health Beliefs (CHBs). CHBs are beliefs that the negative effects of an unhealthy behaviour can be compensated for, or "neutralized," by engaging in another, healthy behaviour. "I can eat this piece of cake now because I will exercise this evening" is an example of such beliefs. Our theoretical framework aims at explaining why people create CHBs and how they employ CHBs to regulate their health behaviours. The model extends current health behaviour models by explicitly integrating the motivational conflict that emerges from the interplay between affective states (i.e., cravings or desires) and motivation (i.e., health goals). As predicted by the model, previous research has shown that holding CHBs hinder an individual's success at positive health behaviour change, and may explain why many people fail to adhere to behaviour change programs such as dieting or exercising. Moreover, future research using the model and implications for possible interventions are discussed.

Application of the Health Belief Model to customers' use of menu labels in restaurants.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Jin-Yi; Ham, Sunny

2018-04-01

Some countries require the provision of menu labels on restaurant menus to fight the increasing prevalence of obesity and related chronic diseases. This study views customers' use of menu labels as a preventive health behavior and applies the Health Belief Model (HBM) with the aim of determining the health belief factors that influence customers' use of menu labels. A self-administered survey was distributed for data collection. Responses were collected from 335 restaurant customers who experienced menu labels in restaurants within three months prior to the survey. The results of a structural equation model showed that all the HBM variables (perceived threats, perceived benefits, and perceived barriers of using menu labels) positively affected the customers' use of menu labels. Perceived threats were influenced by cues to action and cues to action had an indirect influence on menu label use through perceived threats. In conclusion, health beliefs were good predictors of menu label use on restaurant menus. This study validated the application of the HBM to menu labeling in restaurants, and its findings could offer guidelines for the industry and government in developing strategies to expand the use of menu labels among the public. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Association between patients' beliefs and oral antidiabetic medication adherence in a Chinese type 2 diabetic population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wu P

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Ping Wu,1 Naifeng Liu2 1Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Basic Medical Sciences and Clinical Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, 2Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, Southeast University Medical School, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China Purpose: The objective of this study was to identify, using the theory of planned behavior (TPB, patients’ beliefs about taking oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs as prescribed, and to measure the correlations between beliefs and medication adherence.Patients and methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of type 2 diabetic patients using structured questionnaires in a Chinese tertiary hospital. A total of 130 patients were enrolled to be interviewed about TPB variables (behavioral, normative, and control beliefs relevant to medication adherence. Medication adherence was assessed using the eight-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8. Spearman’s rank correlation was used to assess the association between TPB and MMAS-8. Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between different variables and MMAS-8, with statistical significance determined at P<0.05.Results: From 130 eligible Chinese patients with an average age of 60.6 years and a male proportion of 50.8%, a nonsignificant relationship between behavioral, normative, and the most facilitating control beliefs and OAD adherence was found in our study. Having the OADs on hand (P=0.037 was the only facilitating control belief associated with adherence behavior. Being away from home or eating out (P=0.000, not accepting the disease (P=0.000, ignorance of life-long drug adherence (P=0.038, being busy (P=0.001, or poor memory (P=0.008 were control belief barriers found to be correlated with poor adherence. TPB is the only important determinant influencing OAD adherence among all the factors (P=0.011.Conclusion: The results indicate that the TPB model could be used to examine adherence to OADs. One

Nutritional Preventive Behavior of Osteoporosis in Female Students: Applying Health Belief Model (HBM

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Zahra Hosseini

2017-01-01

Full Text Available BackgroundOsteoporosis is one of the most important health problems and it is of great importance to prevent this disease. This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional preventive behavior of osteoporosis using health belief model in female students in Qom city, Iran.Materials and MethodsThis cross-sectional descriptive analytical study was conducted on 265 tenth to twelfth grade female students in Qom city. The subjects were selected via multistage sampling method. To collect data, we used a standard questionnaire based on health belief model. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20.0 using independent t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and ANOVA. ResultsKnowledge and perceived self-efficacy had a positive and significant relationship with nutritional preventive behavior of osteoporosis (P=0.04, r=0.12 and P=0.004, r=0.18, respectively. However, perceived susceptibility and perceived barriers had a negative and significant relationship with nutritional preventive behavior of osteoporosis (P=0.02, r=-0.14 and P

Analyzing Mathematics Beliefs of Pre-Service Teachers Using Confirmatory Factor Analysis

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Mazlini Adnan

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Mathematics beliefs play an important role in enhancing the quality and the effectiveness of teaching and learning. This study analyzes the mathematics beliefs of 317 pre-service teachers from six Higher Education Institutions (HEIs (Government Public Universities who were randomly selected to participate in this study. Questionnaires consisting of twenty three items were given to the respondents during the data collection process. The validation of the items was done by using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA. In order to obtain a model fit for the measurement model of mathematics beliefs, several fit index tests such as CMINDF, GFI, AGFI, IFI, NFI, CFI, TLI and RMSEA were used. Constructivist beliefs and traditional beliefs were identified as the contributing factors in the model. The analysis also revealed that mathematics beliefs consist of structures of two hidden variables. The correlation between the two variables (constructivist beliefs and traditional beliefs is at a moderate level. Hence, pre-service teachers should be able to recognize their type of mathematics beliefs in order to become effective mathematics teachers.

Exploring the beliefs of Australian prefabricated house builders

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Dale A Steinhardt

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The housing sector accounts for a majority of newly constructed buildings. Prefabrication, defined as the factory construction of houses or significant components, is widely promoted as a means to improve efficiency. This paper focuses on the research questions: RQ1. What are the attitudes of builders towards prefabrication adoption? RQ2. What types of stakeholders do builders believe influence their adoption decisions? RQ3. What types of contextual influences do builders believe impact their adoption decisions? Current prefabrication research has focused on the advantages and disadvantages of prefabrication, without further unpacking the beliefs of stakeholders that underpin them. This paper addresses this gap and increases the understanding of beliefs that can frame interventions to increase the market penetration of prefabrication. Fourteen interviews with Australian prefabricators were undertaken as a Belief Elicitation Study. This qualitative methodology is framed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM. Results show that modern high-quality prefabricated housing has struggled to overcome historical stigma; improved construction speed has not and is not likely to translate to reduced totals costs for a majority of firms; and prefabrication adoption has been hindered by an almost completely unsupportive industry infrastructure. Recommendations are made to frame arguments in improving short-term outcomes for an industry driven by practical considerations. Future discourse must focus on cost impacts, financial security and risk reduction. Establishing networks of prefabricators that can build a strong, unified voice for the industry should be prioritised.

Beliefs underlying Women's intentions to consume alcohol.

Science.gov (United States)

Haydon, Helen M; Obst, Patricia L; Lewis, Ioni

2016-07-13

Changing trends demonstrate that women, in a number of economically-developed countries, are drinking at higher levels than ever before. Exploring key targets for intervention, this study examined the extent to which underlying beliefs in relation to alcohol consumption predicted intentions to drink in three different ways (i.e. low risk drinking, frequent drinking and binge drinking). Utilizing a prospective design survey, women (N = 1069), aged 18-87 years, completed a questionnaire measuring their beliefs and intentions regarding alcohol consumption. Then, two weeks later, 845 of the original sample, completed a follow-up questionnaire reporting their engagement in the drinking behaviors. A mixed design ANOVA was conducted to examine potential differences between women of different age groups (18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55 years and above) and their intentions to engage in the three different drinking behaviors. Based upon The Theory of Planned Behavior, critical beliefs analyses were carried out to identify key determinants underlying intentions to engage in the three different drinking behaviors. Significant effects of age were found in relation to frequent and binge drinking. The critical beliefs analyses revealed that a number of behavioral, control and normative beliefs were significant predictors of intentions. These beliefs varied according to age group and drinking behavior. Previously unidentified key factors that influence women's decisions to drink in certain ways have been established. Overall, future interventions and public policy may be better tailored so as to address specific age groups and drinking behaviors.

Episode-Centered Guidelines for Teacher Belief Change toward Technology Integration

Science.gov (United States)

Er, Erkan; Kim, ChanMin

2017-01-01

Teachers' episodic memories influence their beliefs. The investigation of episodic memories can help identify the teacher beliefs that limit technology-integration. We propose the Episode-Centered Belief Change (ECBC) model that utilizes teachers' episodic memories for changing beliefs impeding effective technology integration. We also propose…

Deafness, Thought Bubbles, and Theory-of-Mind Development

Science.gov (United States)

Wellman, Henry M.; Peterson, Candida C.

2013-01-01

The processes and mechanisms of theory-of-mind development were examined via a training study of false-belief conceptions in deaf children of hearing parents (N = 43). In comparison to 2 different control conditions, training based on thought-bubble instruction about beliefs was linked with improved false-belief understanding as well as progress…

Higher-order theory of mind in negotiations under incomplete information

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Weerd, Hermanes; Verbrugge, Rineke; Verheij, Bart; Boella, Guido; Elkind, Edith; Savarimuthu, Bastin Tony Roy; Dignum, Frank; Purvis, Martin

2013-01-01

Theory of mind refers to the ability to reason explicitly about unobservable mental content such as beliefs, desires, and intentions of others. People are known to make use of theory of mind, and even reason about what other people believe about their beliefs. Although it is unknown why such a

Theories of Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior as Models of Condom Use: A Meta-Analysis

OpenAIRE

Albarracín, Dolores; Johnson, Blair T.; Fishbein, Martin; Muellerleile, Paige A.

2001-01-01

To examine how well the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior predict condom use, the authors synthesized 96 data sets (N = 22,594) containing associations between the models’ key variables. Consistent with the theory of reasoned action’s predictions, (a) condom use was related to intentions (weighted mean r. = .45), (b) intentions were based on attitudes (r. = .58) and subjective norms (r. = .39), and (c) attitudes were associated with behavioral beliefs (r. = .56) and norms were ...

Gauge theories and integrable lattice models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Witten, E.

1989-01-01

Investigations of new knot polynomials discovered in the last few years have shown them to be intimately connected with soluble models of two dimensional lattice statistical mechanics. In this paper, these results, which in time may illuminate the whole question of why integrable lattice models exist, are reconsidered from the point of view of three dimensional gauge theory. Expectation values of Wilson lines in three dimensional Chern-Simons gauge theories can be computed by evaluating the partition functions of certain lattice models on finite graphs obtained by projecting the Wilson lines to the plane. The models in question - previously considered in both the knot theory and statistical mechanics literature - are IRF models in which the local Boltzmann weights are the matrix elements of braiding matrices in rational conformal field theories. These matrix elements, in turn, can be represented in three dimensional gauge theory in terms of the expectation value of a certain tetrahedral configuration of Wilson lines. This representation makes manifest a surprising symmetry of the braiding matrix elements in conformal field theory. (orig.)

Plantinga's Internal and External Approach toRationality of Belief in God

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Mahdi Farajipak

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Various views about the rationality/irrationality of believing in God have been suggested by western religious and secular thinners. The theory of "Basicalism" together with its similar views such as "Evidentialism", "Fideism" and"Pragmatism" is one of the epistemological views posed about the belief in God and seeks to prove its rationality. In general, based on this view, believing in God does not require any rational reasoning. Various versions of this view have been presented so far.One of its versions expressed by scholars like Swinburne, Alston and Plantinga is what is known as Experientialism. In his special exposition of Experientialism – which he refers to as "reformed epistemology" –Plantinga has had two different dictions in his works. In his early woks such as God and other Minds, "Is Belief in God Rational?", "Is Belief in God Properly Basic?" and"Reformed Epistemology and Christian Apologetics", he endeavored to prove the rationality and justificationof believing in God and tried to offer certain and compelling arguments to prove the existence of God. In these works, Plantinga has adopted an internal approach toward the rationality of believing in God and regards it as a basic belief. Criticizing classic foundationalism, he sought to expand a different version of foundationalism according to which God's existence is regarded as basic for a believer. Based on this approach, Palntinga, like other proponents of foundationalism, considers the knowledgea "True Justified Belief". His view is, however, different from other foundationalists in defining the nature of the third element of knowledge. According to Plantinga's early exposition of his theory, the criteria of rationality of believing in God include the principles of classic foundationalism(such as evident to senses, evident to reason and incorrigibility and other elements. He rejected the deductive-priori method concerning the criteria of determining basic belief and

Belief–logic conflict resolution in syllogistic reasoning: Inspection-time evidence for a parallel process model

OpenAIRE

Stupple, Edward J.N; Ball, Linden

2008-01-01

An experiment is reported examining dual-process models of belief bias in syllogistic reasoning using a problem complexity manipulation and an inspection-time method to monitor processing latencies for premises and conclusions. Endorsement rates indicated increased belief bias on complex problems, a finding that runs counter to the “belief-first” selective scrutiny model, but which is consistent with other theories, including “reasoning-first” and “parallel-process” models. Inspection-time da...

Conspiracy theories as part of history : The role of societal crisis situations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Prooijen, Jan Willem; Douglas, Karen M.

2017-01-01

In the present contribution, we examine the link between societal crisis situations and belief in conspiracy theories. Contrary to common assumptions, belief in conspiracy theories has been prevalent throughout human history. We first illustrate historical incidents suggesting that societal crisis

The Friction Theory for Viscosity Modeling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cisneros, Sergio; Zeberg-Mikkelsen, Claus Kjær; Stenby, Erling Halfdan

2001-01-01

, in the case when experimental information is available a more accurate modeling can be obtained by means of a simple tuning procedure. A tuned f-theory general model can deliver highly accurate viscosity modeling above the saturation pressure and good prediction of the liquid-phase viscosity at pressures......In this work the one-parameter friction theory (f-theory) general models have been extended to the viscosity prediction and modeling of characterized oils. It is demonstrated that these simple models, which take advantage of the repulsive and attractive pressure terms of cubic equations of state...... such as the SRK, PR and PRSV, can provide accurate viscosity prediction and modeling of characterized oils. In the case of light reservoir oils, whose properties are close to those of normal alkanes, the one-parameter f-theory general models can predict the viscosity of these fluids with good accuracy. Yet...

Decision theory with resource-bounded agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Halpern, Joseph Y; Pass, Rafael; Seeman, Lior

2014-04-01

There have been two major lines of research aimed at capturing resource-bounded players in game theory. The first, initiated by Rubinstein (), charges an agent for doing costly computation; the second, initiated by Neyman (), does not charge for computation, but limits the computation that agents can do, typically by modeling agents as finite automata. We review recent work on applying both approaches in the context of decision theory. For the first approach, we take the objects of choice in a decision problem to be Turing machines, and charge players for the "complexity" of the Turing machine chosen (e.g., its running time). This approach can be used to explain well-known phenomena like first-impression-matters biases (i.e., people tend to put more weight on evidence they hear early on) and belief polarization (two people with different prior beliefs, hearing the same evidence, can end up with diametrically opposed conclusions) as the outcomes of quite rational decisions. For the second approach, we model people as finite automata, and provide a simple algorithm that, on a problem that captures a number of settings of interest, provably performs optimally as the number of states in the automaton increases. Copyright © 2014 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Children Balance Theories and Evidence in Exploration, Explanation, and Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Bonawitz, Elizabeth Baraff; van Schijndel, Tessa J. P.; Friel, Daniel; Schulz, Laura

2012-01-01

We look at the effect of evidence and prior beliefs on exploration, explanation and learning. In Experiment 1, we tested children both with and without differential prior beliefs about balance relationships (Center Theorists, mean: 82 months; Mass Theorists, mean: 89 months; No Theory children, mean: 62 months). Center and Mass Theory children who…

Minimalism and Optimality Theory