This paper reexamines, in the light of social psychological research, the theoretical assumptions made by McKennell and Thomas in their study of smoking habits and attitudes in Britain. One assumption made by them is that antismoking messages which are very discrepant from the opinions held by smokers should be avoided since they may produce attitude change in the opposite direction to that intended. It is argued that there is little empirical basis for this assumption, and that the discrepancy of a communication from the initial attitudes of a target audience is not necessarily the most important determinant of its effectiveness. McKennell and Thomas also distinguish "consonant" from "dissonant" smokers--the latter being those who say that they would like to give up smoking if they could do so easily. It is argued that the term "dissonant" is a misnomer when applied to smokers who see themselves as unable to choose not to smoke. Practical and theoretical implications are discuseed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1977

Smoking as a subjectively rational choice.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1977

Towards a typology of relapse: a preliminary report.

This paper outlines an empirical investigation into alcoholic relapse. The model underlying this work hypothesized that relapse in alcoholics is an interaction between (1) situations seen as dangerous in precipitating relapse, (2) the behaviours available within the individuals' repertoire to cope with these situations, (3) the perceived effectiveness of these "coping" behaviours and (4) the degree of alcohol dependence. The results of a "principal components" analysis indicated that "dangerous situations" or relapse precipitants could be categorized as (1) an unpleasant affect, (2) external events and euphoric feelings, (3) social anxiety and (4) lessened cognitive vigilance. Except for "external events", these relapse precipitants seemed to be associated with certain styles of coping, with varying degrees of effectiveness. The therapeutic implications of these findings are discussed in the context of designing treatment regimes geared towards more effective coping behaviours given specific types of situations.

Alcoholism↗

PubMed1977

Smokers, non-smokers and the attribution of addiction.

Questionnaries concerned with attitudes towards cigarette smoking were completed by 368 respondents who were taking part in a survey of audience reactions to one week's television programmes. Cigarette smokers were asked how difficult it would be for them to give up cigarettes, whether they would like to do so, whether they felt they were addicted to cigarettes, and how often a cigarette gave them real pleasure. Non-smokers were asked parallel questions to determine their perceptions of the average cigarette smoker. In comparison to how smokers saw themselves, non smokers saw the average smoker as more addicted, and as deriving less pleasure from cigarettes. Smokers who saw themselves as more addicted felt it would be more difficult for them to give up, smoked more cigarettes per day, said they would like to give up more, and derived somewhat more pleasure from cigarettes. Among those who had never smoked cigarettes, the attribution of addiction to the average smoker was related only to perceived difficulty of giving up. Lesser self-attributed addiction was also relevant to the prediction of which smokers claimed to be trying to reduce or give up smoking. Implications of these data for attribution theory, and for health education, are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Children's knowledge of health and illness: implications for health education.

20 children at each of 4 age-levels (6, 8, 9 and 11 years) were interviewed about their knowledge of health and illness. Children were asked to define 'being healthy' and what they must do to remain healthy. Knowledge of diseases and their prevention was poor. Children assigned a central role to diet in maintaining good health. The results are discussed in relation to possible ways of improving health education to school-children.

Attitude to Health↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Health education needs of primigravidae.

Forty-eight primigravidae were interviewed when 3-4 months pregnant about their knowledge of fetal development, awareness of hazards to development and sources of information. Although there was reasonable knowledge about normal fetal development, the women were not generally aware of the repercussions of maternal rubella or rationale for many routine tests at antenatal clinics. Fourteen of the women were smoking and only four of these intended to change during pregnancy. The general practitioner was perceived as a vital source of information, in marked contrast to the midwife. Few women reported learning about child development or care at school, but most used pamphlets or books as a source of information.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Mothers' experiences on the postnatal ward.

Interviews were conducted with 60 primiparous women about their experiences of labour and delivery, and education about child care received on the postnatal ward. The results indicated that many had misgivings and unanswered questions about their labour and delivery. Teaching of child care was apparently unsystematic. It is concluded that many opportunities for educating women about child care are lost on the postnatal ward.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Developmental changes in analogies used to describe parts of the body: implications for communicating with sick children.

Subjects at four age-levels (7 years, 11 years, 14 years, adults) were asked to complete sentences of the type 'my heart is like . . .'. Seven examples were given (heart, lungs, brain, body, germs, blood and stomach). There was a decline with age in the number of subjects using shape and colour as the basis for these analogies, and an increase with age in subjects using analogies that describe functions. The data are discussed in terms of their implications for explaining illness to sick children. It is argued that explanations involving functional analogies may be less readily understood than previously supposed.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Scene schemata and scripts in children's understanding of hospital.

In a first study, 90 children (aged 3-5 years) were shown a photograph of a hospital scene, and then asked to identify which of 12 separate items were present in the original scene. Children made more plausible than implausible errors, suggesting that they had well-organized schemata for hospital scenes. In a second study, we investigated children's knowledge of hospital-related routines and activities. A total of 152 children (aged 3-5, 6-8 and 9-10 years) were shown five photographs of hospital and five photographs of school, and asked to arrange each set to 'tell a story'. Children in different age groups showed relatively high agreement in their orderings, and also in selecting the 'most important photograph'. The data suggest that children's knowledge of hospital is organized around rudimentary schemata and scripts, which enable them to make very plausible inferences about hospital scenes and activities.

Child↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Coping and confidence among parents of children with diabetes.

Sixty-two mothers and 45 fathers of children with diabetes completed questionnaires to assess their confidence to manage the disease and treatment. Implications of parental confidence for attitudes to (1) child-rearing, (2) coping and (3) perceived restrictions of the disease were considered. Mothers and fathers differed in reported child-rearing behaviours and strategies for coping. More confident fathers reported that information was helpful in coping with the disease, while more confident mothers reported that support from the family was more helpful. Predictors of children's locus of control scores differed between mothers and fathers. However, children expressed more external locus of control beliefs where parents believed their children to be more restricted.

Adaptation, Psychological↗