Browsing by keyword "Public Opinion"
Now showing items 1-4 of 4
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Changing health care opinions in Regionville, 1946-1973This study is a partial replication study of a community with the fictious name of Regionville which was first studied by E. L. Koos in the period 1946-50. In the present paper, we are concerned principally with that part having to do with the changing health care beliefs in this community. The indications are that: 1) there has been considerably liberalization of opinion, particularly among upper class respondents, in terms of issues relating to national health insurance and the role of ancillary medical personnel such as social workers; and 2) social classes are much more similar in their perceptions of many medical care issues now than they were a generation ago. Finally, we suggest that the changing pattern of response of the questions asked in the late 1940s and again in the 1973 is reflective of profound changes in American life.
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Media messages about cancer: what do people understandHealth messages on television and other mass media have the potential to significantly influence the public's health-related knowledge and behaviors, but little is known about people's ability to comprehend such messages. To investigate whether people understood the spoken information in media messages about cancer prevention and screening, we recruited 44 adults from 3 sites to view 6 messages aired on television and the internet. Participants were asked to paraphrase main points and selected phrases. Qualitative analysis methods were used to identify what content was correctly and accurately recalled and paraphrased, and to describe misunderstandings and misconceptions. While most participants accurately recalled and paraphrased the gist of the messages used here, overgeneralization (e.g., believing preventative behaviors to be more protective than stated), loss of details (e.g., misremembering the recommended age for screening), and confusion or misunderstandings around specific concepts (e.g., interpreting "early stage" as the stage in one's life rather than cancer stage) were common. Variability in the public's ability to understand spoken media messages may limit the effectiveness of both pubic health campaigns and provider-patient communication. Additional research is needed to identify message characteristics that enhance understandability and improve comprehension of spoken media messages about cancer.
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No sympathy for the devil: attributing psychopathic traits to capital murderers also predicts support for executing themMental health evidence concerning antisocial and psychopathic traits appears to be introduced frequently in capital murder trials in the United States to argue that defendants are a "continuing threat" to society and thus worthy of execution. Using a simulation design, the present research examined how layperson perceptions of the psychopathic traits exhibited by a capital defendant would impact their attitudes about whether he should receive a death sentence. Across three studies (total N = 362), ratings of a defendant's perceived level of psychopathy strongly predicted support for executing him. The vast majority of the predictive utility was attributable to interpersonal and affective traits historically associated with psychopathy rather than traits associated with a criminal and socially deviant lifestyle. A defendant's perceived lack of remorse in particular was influential, although perceptions of grandiose self-worth and a manipulative interpersonal style also contributed incrementally to support for a death sentence. These results highlight how attributions regarding socially undesirable personality traits can have a pronounced negative impact on layperson attitudes toward persons who are perceived to exhibit these characteristics.
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The impact of broadened civil commitment standards on admissions to state mental hospitalsIn 1979, the state of Washington broadened its criteria governing the involuntary commitment of the mentally ill. This study examined the impact of the revised law on involuntary and voluntary admissions and on the type of patient admitted to state hospitals in Washington. The short-term effect of the law was an abrupt increase in involuntary commitments, with a concomitant but not offsetting decline in voluntary admissions. Although the law resulted in a substantial change in admissions policy, it does not appear to have altered the type of patient admitted to state mental hospitals in Washington.