Carlos A. Almenara | Masaryk University (original) (raw)
Papers by Carlos A. Almenara
Perspectiva de familia, Sep 2, 2020
The first chapter of this book introduces the role of digital technology in eating behaviors and ... more The first chapter of this book introduces the role of digital technology in eating behaviors and eating disorders. It provides information concerning the prevalence of digital technology usage within current society and depicts questions that have been asked with regard to the consequences of this behavior. Then it defines the key terms of the book: eating behaviors and eating disorders. With regard to eating behaviors, the chapter illustrates the book’s complex perspective upon the description of the theoretical model, which is comprised of factors on the levels of individuals, social environments, physical environments, and macrosystem. Eating disorders are presented as a specific form of unhealthy eating behaviors and are also described in relation to diverse factors contributing to their development. Then the concepts of eHealth and mHealth are defined and framed within the book’s perspective. Then, it is specified how the book focuses on a broad continuum of possible effects of digital technologies, from those enhancing healthy eating behaviors to those that encourage disordered eating. Finally, the introduction provides a short summary of all book chapters. It specifies what readers can expect from the book’s two main sections, the first of which is focused generally on the role of digital technology in eating behaviors, while the second specifically addresses the issue of this role in eating disorders development, as well as treatment. Specifically, it is described how the book provides deeper insight into issues such as the role of digital technology in health, the problematic nature of information accessible online, the impact of technology on body image, the social influence or social support found in online groups, and the use of mobile technology in eating management. In the second section, specific attention is given to the issue of eating disorders, which are discussed with regard to the experiences with digital technology of users with this disorder, recommendations for healthcare professionals, and a review of prevention and treatment programs using digital technologies.
Springer eBooks, 2018
The chapter provides an overview of the impact of technology use on human health. Nowadays, new c... more The chapter provides an overview of the impact of technology use on human health. Nowadays, new communication technologies are widely used to address health issues. These technologies provide opportunities both to gather information and to easily communicate with health specialists or others to maintain, monitor, or optimize individual health. This chapter describes specific technology-based environments that deal with matters of health. These include websites, discussion boards, social networking sites, blogs, online video-sharing platforms, and mobile/wearable devices. The chapter then presents the most prominent theoretical frameworks mentioned in the research to illustrate and explain the relationship between the digital technology and health. Theoretical models depicted in the chapter provide a framework for explaining why people chose certain health-related media over others, the likelihood that individuals will adopt a new technology for treating health issues, the impact of excessive time spent using technology on health, and also health behavior change. Moreover, the effects of technology use on specific components of health (mental, social, and physical well-being) are discussed. There is a variety of positive effects of technology on health, such as delivering cost-effective, tailored health promotion, enabling social contacts, and providing a large amount of health-related information. However, research has revealed several risks associated with technology use, such as higher risk of stress, Internet addiction, or specific unfavorable health conditions, such as overweight, obesity, or eating disorders.
Psychosomatic Medicine, 2021
European Journal of Social Psychology
Psychological research on the predictors of conspiracy theorizing—explaining important social and... more Psychological research on the predictors of conspiracy theorizing—explaining important social and political events or circumstances as secret plots by malevolent groups—has flourished in recent years. However, research has typically examined only a small number of predictors in one, or a small number of, national contexts. Such approaches make it difficult to examine the relative importance of predictors, and risk overlooking some potentially relevant variables altogether. To overcome this limitation, the present study used machine learning to rank‐order the importance of 115 individual‐ and country‐level variables in predicting conspiracy theorizing. Data were collected from 56,072 respondents across 28 countries during the early weeks of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Echoing previous findings, important predictors at the individual level included societal discontent, paranoia, and personal struggle. Contrary to prior research, important country‐level predictors included indicators of pol...
International Journal of Behavioral Development, Nov 1, 2020
The PsyCorona collaboration is a research project to examine processes involved in the COVID-19 p... more The PsyCorona collaboration is a research project to examine processes involved in the COVID-19 pandemic, such as behavior that curbs virus transmission, which may implicate social norms, cooperation, and self-regulation. The study also examines psychosocial consequences of physical distancing strategies and societal lockdown, such as frustration of psychological and social needs, economic stressors, relationship strains, prejudice, psychological stress, and deteriorating mental health (e.g., Brooks et al., 2020). Related consequences were observed in past epi- demics such as the 1918 flu pandemic (Dolan, 2020; Hon- igsbaum, 2019; Jeronimus, 2020). A global collaboration allows us to study the role of culture, and to make general- izable predictions on societal responses to virus infections. Culture may influence our living arrangements and how easily we adjust and cooperate at the societal level to miti- gate virus transmission. Moreover, because the evolving coronavirus pandemic has implications for ongoing psy- chological and social development, we continue to track people over time. The study was launched in March 2020, mere days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. We took a holistic approach to this global challenge. The study assesses virus-related and lockdown-related behavior, cognition, emotion, and moti- vation in tens of thousands of participants in dozens of countries around the world (for details, see Kreienkamp et al., 2020). The project provides the opportunity for examining individual-level processes across diverse con- texts as well as collective-level processes over time. Respondents who volunteered for the longitudinal study completed weekly follow-up assessments through mid- June, and then monthly assessments thereafter
According to health behavior theories, perceived vulnerability to a health threat and perceived e... more According to health behavior theories, perceived vulnerability to a health threat and perceived effectiveness of recommended health-protective behaviors determine motivation to follow these recommendations. Because the U.S. President Trump and U.S. conservative politicians downplayed the risk and seriousness of contracting COVID-19 and the effectiveness of recommended actions, we predicted that politically conservative Americans would be less likely than liberals to enact recommended health-protective behaviors. We further predicted that these effects would be mediated by perceived health risk, perceived infection severity and perceived action effectiveness. In two studies of U.S. residents, political conservatism was inversely associated with perceived health risk and enactment of health-protective behaviors. Furthermore, perceived risk of infection (both studies), perceived severity of infection (Study 2), and perceived effectiveness of behaviors (Study 2), mediated effects of political orientation on health-protective behaviors. These effects were stronger for participants living in the U.S. (N=10,923) than outside the U.S. (N=51,986)
Preventive Medicine Reports, 2022
Scientific Reports, 2022
The present paper examines longitudinally how subjective perceptions about COVID-19, one’s commun... more The present paper examines longitudinally how subjective perceptions about COVID-19, one’s community, and the government predict adherence to public health measures to reduce the spread of the virus. Using an international survey (N = 3040), we test how infection risk perception, trust in the governmental response and communications about COVID-19, conspiracy beliefs, social norms on distancing, tightness of culture, and community punishment predict various containment-related attitudes and behavior. Autoregressive analyses indicate that, at the personal level, personal hygiene behavior was predicted by personal infection risk perception. At social level, social distancing behaviors such as abstaining from face-to-face contact were predicted by perceived social norms. Support for behavioral mandates was predicted by confidence in the government and cultural tightness, whereas support for anti-lockdown protests was predicted by (lower) perceived clarity of communication about the vir...
Patterns, 2022
Before vaccines for COVID-19 became available, a set of infection prevention behaviors constitute... more Before vaccines for COVID-19 became available, a set of infection prevention behaviors constituted the primary means to mitigate the virus spread. Our study aimed to identify important predictors of this set of behaviors. Whereas social and health psychological theories suggest a limited set of predictors, machine learning analyses can identify correlates from a larger pool of candidate predictors. We used random forests to rank 115 candidate correlates of infection prevention behavior in 56,072 participants across 28 countries, administered in March-May 2020. The machine-learning model predicted 52% of the variance in infection prevention behavior in a separate test sample—exceeding the performance of psychological models of health behavior. Results indicated the two most important predictors related to individual-level injunctive norms. Illustrating how data-driven methods can complement theory, some of the most important predictors were not derived from theories of health behavior—and some theoretically-derived predictors were relatively unimportant.
APS observer, 2020
The purpose of this data visualization tool is twofold. First, it serves as a resource for resear... more The purpose of this data visualization tool is twofold. First, it serves as a resource for researchers, analysts, and practitioners to understand people’s thoughts, feelings, and responses to the coronavirus as well as the extraordinary societal measures taken against it. Such knowledge could provide pilot data for researchers, inform current policies to contain the pandemic, or help society prepare for similar events in the future. Second, it serves as a test case for how psychological scientists can use data visualization to engage the public and share results with respondents. Tens of thou-sands of respondents invested time and effort to share their experiences, and the app affords them access and agency over the data as well as an interactive experience of how data can be used
Introduction: Anti-fat attitudes reflect a type of discrimination on the basis of body weight and... more Introduction: Anti-fat attitudes reflect a type of discrimination on the basis of body weight and are one of the last accepted types of social stigma. Objective: To evaluate the effect of exposure to priming messages about the causes of obesity on attitudes toward fat people. Method: Participants (N = 580, M age = 22.19, 64.1% female) were randomly assigned to one of three possible conditions and then provided responses on three AFA subscales: Dislike, Fear of fat, and Willpower. Results: Priming participants with messages confirming/challenging the weight controllability belief was associated with higher/lower levels on Willpower respectively compared to the control group. Unexpectedly, participants in both confirming and challenging groups showed significantly higher scores on Fear of fat. No differences were found on scores indicating Dislike. Conclusion: The current findings emphasize the effect of exposure to information about the causes of obesity on weight controllability bel...
Digital Technology, Eating Behaviors, and Eating Disorders, 2018
The chapter provides an overview of the impact of technology use on human health. Nowadays, new c... more The chapter provides an overview of the impact of technology use on human health. Nowadays, new communication technologies are widely used to address health issues. These technologies provide opportunities both to gather information and to easily communicate with health specialists or others to maintain, monitor, or optimize individual health. This chapter describes specific technology-based environments that deal with matters of health. These include websites, discussion boards, social networking sites, blogs, online video-sharing platforms, and mobile/wearable devices. The chapter then presents the most prominent theoretical frameworks mentioned in the research to illustrate and explain the relationship between the digital technology and health. Theoretical models depicted in the chapter provide a framework for explaining why people chose certain health-related media over others, the likelihood that individuals will adopt a new technology for treating health issues, the impact of excessive time spent using technology on health, and also health behavior change. Moreover, the effects of technology use on specific components of health (mental, social, and physical well-being) are discussed. There is a variety of positive effects of technology on health, such as delivering cost-effective, tailored health promotion, enabling social contacts, and providing a large amount of health-related information. However, research has revealed several risks associated with technology use, such as higher risk of stress, Internet addiction, or specific unfavorable health conditions, such as overweight, obesity, or eating disorders.
Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 2021
This is a repository copy of 'We are all in the same boat' : how societal discontent affects inte... more This is a repository copy of 'We are all in the same boat' : how societal discontent affects intention to help during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Personality and Individual Differences, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic presents threats, such as severe disease and economic hardship, to people o... more The COVID-19 pandemic presents threats, such as severe disease and economic hardship, to people of different ages. These threats can also be experienced asymmetrically across age groups, which could lead to generational differences in behavioral responses to reduce the spread of the disease. We report a survey conducted across 56 societies (N = 58,641), and tested pre-registered hypotheses about how age relates to (a) perceived personal costs during the pandemic, (b) prosocial COVID-19 responses (e.g., social distancing), and (c) support for behavioral regulations (e.g., mandatory quarantine, vaccination). We further tested whether the relation between age and prosocial COVID-19 responses can be explained by perceived personal costs during the pandemic. Overall, we found that older people perceived more costs of contracting the virus, but less costs in daily life due to the pandemic. However, age displayed no clear, robust associations with prosocial COVID-19 responses and support for behavioral regulations. We discuss the implications of this work for understanding the potential intergenerational conflicts of interest that could occur during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A variety of public officials have expressed concern that policies mandating collective public he... more A variety of public officials have expressed concern that policies mandating collective public health behaviors (e.g., national/ regional “lockdown”) may result in behavioral fatigue that ultimately renders such policies ineffective. Boredom, specifically, has been singled out as one potential risk factor for non-compliance. We examined whether there was empirical evidence to support this concern during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large cross-national sample of 63,336 community respondents from 116 countries. Although boredom was higher in countries with more COVID-19 cases and countries that instituted more stringent lockdowns, such boredom did not predict longitudinal within-person decreases in social distancing behavior (or vice versa; n = 8031) in early spring and summer of 2020. Overall, we found little evidence that changes in boredom predict individual public health behaviors (handwashing, staying home, self-quarantining, avoiding crowds) over time, or that such behaviors had ...
Previous studies suggested that public trust in government is vital for implementations of social... more Previous studies suggested that public trust in government is vital for implementations of social policies that rely on public's behavioural responses. This study examined associations of trust in government regarding COVID-19 control with recommended health behaviours and prosocial behaviours. Data from an international survey with representative samples (N=23,733) of 23 countries were analysed. Specification curve analysis showed that higher trust in government was significantly associated with higher adoption of health and prosocial behaviours in all reasonable specifications of multilevel linear models (median standardised β=0.173 and 0.244, P<0.001). We further used structural equation modelling to explore potential determinants of trust in government regarding pandemic control. Governments perceived as well organised, disseminating clear messages and knowledge on COVID-19, and perceived fairness were positively associated with trust in government (standardised β=0.358, ...
2019 International Conference on Information Systems and Computer Science (INCISCOS), 2019
This work proposes the development of a sociometric sensor capable of detecting proximity, moveme... more This work proposes the development of a sociometric sensor capable of detecting proximity, movement and verbal interaction between people. The sensor will allow measuring the level of existing interrelations between the collaborators of an organization, in order to determine and to measure the organizational climate. The way to evaluate the current organizational climate is subjective, through surveys that are not accurate and that make the results are not adequate. The sensors developed until now focus on proximity or movement, but not on the 3 proposed variables: movement, proximity and speech. The proposed portable device consists of a proximity detector using RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) based on the NodeMCU WIFI ESP 8266 module. It also has a motion detector that uses an accelerometer and finally a voice detection algorithm, acquired via microphone, aimed at determining verbal interaction between people. The validation of the equipment was done by measuring the 3 variables in a sample of 50 people. The results show a percentage of proximity detection of 90% up to a distance of 3 meters between individuals, a percentage of success of 92.5% in the detection of posture and physical activity and a percentage of success of 87.5% in the detection of verbal interaction between people.
Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity
Background: Psychometric properties of the Teruel Orthorexia Scale (TOS) have been examined in se... more Background: Psychometric properties of the Teruel Orthorexia Scale (TOS) have been examined in several languages (Arabic, English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Turkish), but not in French. Purpose The objective was to examine the psychometric properties of the TOS among a French-Canadian adult sample. Methods: Participants were 296 French-speaking Canadian adults (M = 34.2 years, SD = 11.9, 85.1% women). They completed the TOS alongside with several other measures (e.g., alcoholic consumption, cigarette smoking, disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors, frequency of physical activities, intuitive eating, vegetarian diet, and negative affect). Results: The results supported the a priori two-factor representation (orthorexia nervosa and healthy orthorexia) of the French version of the TOS and provided further support for the superiority of an exploratory structural equation modeling approach, relative to a confirmatory factor analytic approach. Furthermore, the results supported no differential item functioning as a function of respondents' characteristics (age, body mass index, diagnosis of eating disorders, frequency of physical activities, gender, and vegetarian diet). Latent mean differences were found in healthy orthorexia and orthorexia nervosa factors as a function of respondents' characteristics. Finally, significant correlations were found between TOS factors and convergent measures (alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors, intuitive eating, and negative affect). Conclusion: The present study confirmed that the French version of the TOS has satisfactory psychometric properties (i.e., factor validity and reliability, no differential item functioning, and convergent validity). Level of evidence: V, cross-sectional study.
Perspectiva de familia, Sep 2, 2020
The first chapter of this book introduces the role of digital technology in eating behaviors and ... more The first chapter of this book introduces the role of digital technology in eating behaviors and eating disorders. It provides information concerning the prevalence of digital technology usage within current society and depicts questions that have been asked with regard to the consequences of this behavior. Then it defines the key terms of the book: eating behaviors and eating disorders. With regard to eating behaviors, the chapter illustrates the book’s complex perspective upon the description of the theoretical model, which is comprised of factors on the levels of individuals, social environments, physical environments, and macrosystem. Eating disorders are presented as a specific form of unhealthy eating behaviors and are also described in relation to diverse factors contributing to their development. Then the concepts of eHealth and mHealth are defined and framed within the book’s perspective. Then, it is specified how the book focuses on a broad continuum of possible effects of digital technologies, from those enhancing healthy eating behaviors to those that encourage disordered eating. Finally, the introduction provides a short summary of all book chapters. It specifies what readers can expect from the book’s two main sections, the first of which is focused generally on the role of digital technology in eating behaviors, while the second specifically addresses the issue of this role in eating disorders development, as well as treatment. Specifically, it is described how the book provides deeper insight into issues such as the role of digital technology in health, the problematic nature of information accessible online, the impact of technology on body image, the social influence or social support found in online groups, and the use of mobile technology in eating management. In the second section, specific attention is given to the issue of eating disorders, which are discussed with regard to the experiences with digital technology of users with this disorder, recommendations for healthcare professionals, and a review of prevention and treatment programs using digital technologies.
Springer eBooks, 2018
The chapter provides an overview of the impact of technology use on human health. Nowadays, new c... more The chapter provides an overview of the impact of technology use on human health. Nowadays, new communication technologies are widely used to address health issues. These technologies provide opportunities both to gather information and to easily communicate with health specialists or others to maintain, monitor, or optimize individual health. This chapter describes specific technology-based environments that deal with matters of health. These include websites, discussion boards, social networking sites, blogs, online video-sharing platforms, and mobile/wearable devices. The chapter then presents the most prominent theoretical frameworks mentioned in the research to illustrate and explain the relationship between the digital technology and health. Theoretical models depicted in the chapter provide a framework for explaining why people chose certain health-related media over others, the likelihood that individuals will adopt a new technology for treating health issues, the impact of excessive time spent using technology on health, and also health behavior change. Moreover, the effects of technology use on specific components of health (mental, social, and physical well-being) are discussed. There is a variety of positive effects of technology on health, such as delivering cost-effective, tailored health promotion, enabling social contacts, and providing a large amount of health-related information. However, research has revealed several risks associated with technology use, such as higher risk of stress, Internet addiction, or specific unfavorable health conditions, such as overweight, obesity, or eating disorders.
Psychosomatic Medicine, 2021
European Journal of Social Psychology
Psychological research on the predictors of conspiracy theorizing—explaining important social and... more Psychological research on the predictors of conspiracy theorizing—explaining important social and political events or circumstances as secret plots by malevolent groups—has flourished in recent years. However, research has typically examined only a small number of predictors in one, or a small number of, national contexts. Such approaches make it difficult to examine the relative importance of predictors, and risk overlooking some potentially relevant variables altogether. To overcome this limitation, the present study used machine learning to rank‐order the importance of 115 individual‐ and country‐level variables in predicting conspiracy theorizing. Data were collected from 56,072 respondents across 28 countries during the early weeks of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Echoing previous findings, important predictors at the individual level included societal discontent, paranoia, and personal struggle. Contrary to prior research, important country‐level predictors included indicators of pol...
International Journal of Behavioral Development, Nov 1, 2020
The PsyCorona collaboration is a research project to examine processes involved in the COVID-19 p... more The PsyCorona collaboration is a research project to examine processes involved in the COVID-19 pandemic, such as behavior that curbs virus transmission, which may implicate social norms, cooperation, and self-regulation. The study also examines psychosocial consequences of physical distancing strategies and societal lockdown, such as frustration of psychological and social needs, economic stressors, relationship strains, prejudice, psychological stress, and deteriorating mental health (e.g., Brooks et al., 2020). Related consequences were observed in past epi- demics such as the 1918 flu pandemic (Dolan, 2020; Hon- igsbaum, 2019; Jeronimus, 2020). A global collaboration allows us to study the role of culture, and to make general- izable predictions on societal responses to virus infections. Culture may influence our living arrangements and how easily we adjust and cooperate at the societal level to miti- gate virus transmission. Moreover, because the evolving coronavirus pandemic has implications for ongoing psy- chological and social development, we continue to track people over time. The study was launched in March 2020, mere days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. We took a holistic approach to this global challenge. The study assesses virus-related and lockdown-related behavior, cognition, emotion, and moti- vation in tens of thousands of participants in dozens of countries around the world (for details, see Kreienkamp et al., 2020). The project provides the opportunity for examining individual-level processes across diverse con- texts as well as collective-level processes over time. Respondents who volunteered for the longitudinal study completed weekly follow-up assessments through mid- June, and then monthly assessments thereafter
According to health behavior theories, perceived vulnerability to a health threat and perceived e... more According to health behavior theories, perceived vulnerability to a health threat and perceived effectiveness of recommended health-protective behaviors determine motivation to follow these recommendations. Because the U.S. President Trump and U.S. conservative politicians downplayed the risk and seriousness of contracting COVID-19 and the effectiveness of recommended actions, we predicted that politically conservative Americans would be less likely than liberals to enact recommended health-protective behaviors. We further predicted that these effects would be mediated by perceived health risk, perceived infection severity and perceived action effectiveness. In two studies of U.S. residents, political conservatism was inversely associated with perceived health risk and enactment of health-protective behaviors. Furthermore, perceived risk of infection (both studies), perceived severity of infection (Study 2), and perceived effectiveness of behaviors (Study 2), mediated effects of political orientation on health-protective behaviors. These effects were stronger for participants living in the U.S. (N=10,923) than outside the U.S. (N=51,986)
Preventive Medicine Reports, 2022
Scientific Reports, 2022
The present paper examines longitudinally how subjective perceptions about COVID-19, one’s commun... more The present paper examines longitudinally how subjective perceptions about COVID-19, one’s community, and the government predict adherence to public health measures to reduce the spread of the virus. Using an international survey (N = 3040), we test how infection risk perception, trust in the governmental response and communications about COVID-19, conspiracy beliefs, social norms on distancing, tightness of culture, and community punishment predict various containment-related attitudes and behavior. Autoregressive analyses indicate that, at the personal level, personal hygiene behavior was predicted by personal infection risk perception. At social level, social distancing behaviors such as abstaining from face-to-face contact were predicted by perceived social norms. Support for behavioral mandates was predicted by confidence in the government and cultural tightness, whereas support for anti-lockdown protests was predicted by (lower) perceived clarity of communication about the vir...
Patterns, 2022
Before vaccines for COVID-19 became available, a set of infection prevention behaviors constitute... more Before vaccines for COVID-19 became available, a set of infection prevention behaviors constituted the primary means to mitigate the virus spread. Our study aimed to identify important predictors of this set of behaviors. Whereas social and health psychological theories suggest a limited set of predictors, machine learning analyses can identify correlates from a larger pool of candidate predictors. We used random forests to rank 115 candidate correlates of infection prevention behavior in 56,072 participants across 28 countries, administered in March-May 2020. The machine-learning model predicted 52% of the variance in infection prevention behavior in a separate test sample—exceeding the performance of psychological models of health behavior. Results indicated the two most important predictors related to individual-level injunctive norms. Illustrating how data-driven methods can complement theory, some of the most important predictors were not derived from theories of health behavior—and some theoretically-derived predictors were relatively unimportant.
APS observer, 2020
The purpose of this data visualization tool is twofold. First, it serves as a resource for resear... more The purpose of this data visualization tool is twofold. First, it serves as a resource for researchers, analysts, and practitioners to understand people’s thoughts, feelings, and responses to the coronavirus as well as the extraordinary societal measures taken against it. Such knowledge could provide pilot data for researchers, inform current policies to contain the pandemic, or help society prepare for similar events in the future. Second, it serves as a test case for how psychological scientists can use data visualization to engage the public and share results with respondents. Tens of thou-sands of respondents invested time and effort to share their experiences, and the app affords them access and agency over the data as well as an interactive experience of how data can be used
Introduction: Anti-fat attitudes reflect a type of discrimination on the basis of body weight and... more Introduction: Anti-fat attitudes reflect a type of discrimination on the basis of body weight and are one of the last accepted types of social stigma. Objective: To evaluate the effect of exposure to priming messages about the causes of obesity on attitudes toward fat people. Method: Participants (N = 580, M age = 22.19, 64.1% female) were randomly assigned to one of three possible conditions and then provided responses on three AFA subscales: Dislike, Fear of fat, and Willpower. Results: Priming participants with messages confirming/challenging the weight controllability belief was associated with higher/lower levels on Willpower respectively compared to the control group. Unexpectedly, participants in both confirming and challenging groups showed significantly higher scores on Fear of fat. No differences were found on scores indicating Dislike. Conclusion: The current findings emphasize the effect of exposure to information about the causes of obesity on weight controllability bel...
Digital Technology, Eating Behaviors, and Eating Disorders, 2018
The chapter provides an overview of the impact of technology use on human health. Nowadays, new c... more The chapter provides an overview of the impact of technology use on human health. Nowadays, new communication technologies are widely used to address health issues. These technologies provide opportunities both to gather information and to easily communicate with health specialists or others to maintain, monitor, or optimize individual health. This chapter describes specific technology-based environments that deal with matters of health. These include websites, discussion boards, social networking sites, blogs, online video-sharing platforms, and mobile/wearable devices. The chapter then presents the most prominent theoretical frameworks mentioned in the research to illustrate and explain the relationship between the digital technology and health. Theoretical models depicted in the chapter provide a framework for explaining why people chose certain health-related media over others, the likelihood that individuals will adopt a new technology for treating health issues, the impact of excessive time spent using technology on health, and also health behavior change. Moreover, the effects of technology use on specific components of health (mental, social, and physical well-being) are discussed. There is a variety of positive effects of technology on health, such as delivering cost-effective, tailored health promotion, enabling social contacts, and providing a large amount of health-related information. However, research has revealed several risks associated with technology use, such as higher risk of stress, Internet addiction, or specific unfavorable health conditions, such as overweight, obesity, or eating disorders.
Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 2021
This is a repository copy of 'We are all in the same boat' : how societal discontent affects inte... more This is a repository copy of 'We are all in the same boat' : how societal discontent affects intention to help during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Personality and Individual Differences, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic presents threats, such as severe disease and economic hardship, to people o... more The COVID-19 pandemic presents threats, such as severe disease and economic hardship, to people of different ages. These threats can also be experienced asymmetrically across age groups, which could lead to generational differences in behavioral responses to reduce the spread of the disease. We report a survey conducted across 56 societies (N = 58,641), and tested pre-registered hypotheses about how age relates to (a) perceived personal costs during the pandemic, (b) prosocial COVID-19 responses (e.g., social distancing), and (c) support for behavioral regulations (e.g., mandatory quarantine, vaccination). We further tested whether the relation between age and prosocial COVID-19 responses can be explained by perceived personal costs during the pandemic. Overall, we found that older people perceived more costs of contracting the virus, but less costs in daily life due to the pandemic. However, age displayed no clear, robust associations with prosocial COVID-19 responses and support for behavioral regulations. We discuss the implications of this work for understanding the potential intergenerational conflicts of interest that could occur during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A variety of public officials have expressed concern that policies mandating collective public he... more A variety of public officials have expressed concern that policies mandating collective public health behaviors (e.g., national/ regional “lockdown”) may result in behavioral fatigue that ultimately renders such policies ineffective. Boredom, specifically, has been singled out as one potential risk factor for non-compliance. We examined whether there was empirical evidence to support this concern during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large cross-national sample of 63,336 community respondents from 116 countries. Although boredom was higher in countries with more COVID-19 cases and countries that instituted more stringent lockdowns, such boredom did not predict longitudinal within-person decreases in social distancing behavior (or vice versa; n = 8031) in early spring and summer of 2020. Overall, we found little evidence that changes in boredom predict individual public health behaviors (handwashing, staying home, self-quarantining, avoiding crowds) over time, or that such behaviors had ...
Previous studies suggested that public trust in government is vital for implementations of social... more Previous studies suggested that public trust in government is vital for implementations of social policies that rely on public's behavioural responses. This study examined associations of trust in government regarding COVID-19 control with recommended health behaviours and prosocial behaviours. Data from an international survey with representative samples (N=23,733) of 23 countries were analysed. Specification curve analysis showed that higher trust in government was significantly associated with higher adoption of health and prosocial behaviours in all reasonable specifications of multilevel linear models (median standardised β=0.173 and 0.244, P<0.001). We further used structural equation modelling to explore potential determinants of trust in government regarding pandemic control. Governments perceived as well organised, disseminating clear messages and knowledge on COVID-19, and perceived fairness were positively associated with trust in government (standardised β=0.358, ...
2019 International Conference on Information Systems and Computer Science (INCISCOS), 2019
This work proposes the development of a sociometric sensor capable of detecting proximity, moveme... more This work proposes the development of a sociometric sensor capable of detecting proximity, movement and verbal interaction between people. The sensor will allow measuring the level of existing interrelations between the collaborators of an organization, in order to determine and to measure the organizational climate. The way to evaluate the current organizational climate is subjective, through surveys that are not accurate and that make the results are not adequate. The sensors developed until now focus on proximity or movement, but not on the 3 proposed variables: movement, proximity and speech. The proposed portable device consists of a proximity detector using RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) based on the NodeMCU WIFI ESP 8266 module. It also has a motion detector that uses an accelerometer and finally a voice detection algorithm, acquired via microphone, aimed at determining verbal interaction between people. The validation of the equipment was done by measuring the 3 variables in a sample of 50 people. The results show a percentage of proximity detection of 90% up to a distance of 3 meters between individuals, a percentage of success of 92.5% in the detection of posture and physical activity and a percentage of success of 87.5% in the detection of verbal interaction between people.
Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity
Background: Psychometric properties of the Teruel Orthorexia Scale (TOS) have been examined in se... more Background: Psychometric properties of the Teruel Orthorexia Scale (TOS) have been examined in several languages (Arabic, English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Turkish), but not in French. Purpose The objective was to examine the psychometric properties of the TOS among a French-Canadian adult sample. Methods: Participants were 296 French-speaking Canadian adults (M = 34.2 years, SD = 11.9, 85.1% women). They completed the TOS alongside with several other measures (e.g., alcoholic consumption, cigarette smoking, disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors, frequency of physical activities, intuitive eating, vegetarian diet, and negative affect). Results: The results supported the a priori two-factor representation (orthorexia nervosa and healthy orthorexia) of the French version of the TOS and provided further support for the superiority of an exploratory structural equation modeling approach, relative to a confirmatory factor analytic approach. Furthermore, the results supported no differential item functioning as a function of respondents' characteristics (age, body mass index, diagnosis of eating disorders, frequency of physical activities, gender, and vegetarian diet). Latent mean differences were found in healthy orthorexia and orthorexia nervosa factors as a function of respondents' characteristics. Finally, significant correlations were found between TOS factors and convergent measures (alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors, intuitive eating, and negative affect). Conclusion: The present study confirmed that the French version of the TOS has satisfactory psychometric properties (i.e., factor validity and reliability, no differential item functioning, and convergent validity). Level of evidence: V, cross-sectional study.
Digital Technology, Eating Behaviors, and Eating Disorders, 2018
The present chapter is intended to provide a theoretical and empirical overview of the link betwe... more The present chapter is intended to provide a theoretical and empirical overview of the link between technologies, body image, and eating behavior, particularly disordered eating. In general terms, body image refers to an individual’s self-perception and cognitive appraisal of his or her own body. On the other hand, disordered eating refers to a wide spectrum of eating patterns characterized as being detrimental to health, such as self-induced vomiting. Both body image and disordered eating have been linked to mass media exposure. The majority of research to date has focused on the influence of mass media on body image attitudes, which, in turn, can shape eating patterns. Nevertheless, the influence of technology on body image and eating behavior goes far beyond mass media technologies. For instance, several decades ago, it was not possible to use the human body to communicate with machines, and now that can be done, using brain-computer interfaces. We have divided this chapter into two major sections. The first explores key concepts related to body image and develops three theoretically and empirically grounded major frameworks: a cognitive-behavioral model, a sociocultural model, and a cognitive neuroscience perspective. In the second section, we use those concepts to demonstrate the influence of both traditional media (e.g., television, magazines), and new media (e.g., the Internet) on body image and disordered eating. Moreover, we provide current evidence showing how immersive digital technologies, such as virtual reality, can be used for improving body image among individuals with eating- and weight-related pathologies. Finally, we provide some hypotheses on how emerging technologies (e.g., smart devices) could influence body image and eating behavior in the future.