a Department of Psychology 0109 , University of California, San Diego , La Jolla , CA , USA.
b Psychology Department , California State University San Marcos , San Marcos , CA , USA.
Psychol Health. 2018 Feb;33(2):235-257. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2017.1310860. Epub 2017 Apr 11.
This experiment examined the cognitive and emotional impact of two social comparison-based sun protection interventions in a sample of Southern California college students (N = 223). One of the interventions employed comparison UV photos of peers who had either much more (downward social comparison) or much less (upward social comparison) skin damage than did participants themselves. The second intervention consisted of descriptive norms information suggesting that a large majority of the participants' peer group regularly protect their skin from the sun.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of eight conditions in a 4 (Social Comparison Information: no photo vs. no comparison photos vs. upward comparison photos vs. downward comparison photos) × 2 (Descriptive Norms Information: Received vs. not received) design.
Emotional reactions (e.g. worry, embarrassment, relief) and sun-related cognitive reactions (perceived susceptibility, sun protection intentions) were assessed immediately. Sun protection behaviours were assessed in a surprise telephone follow-up five weeks following the intervention.
The results demonstrated that the combination of seeing photos of peers who had very little sun damage and learning that a majority of one's peers engage in regular sun protection resulted in reliably greater subsequent sun protection than all other conditions. Further, there was relatively direct evidence that both negative emotional reactions and sun protection intentions mediated this effect.
These findings add to the growing literature suggesting the importance of thoroughly examining the role of emotions in health behaviour decisions. Both theory and intervention efficacy would benefit from a better understanding of the relative role of cognitions and emotions in behaviour change.
本实验在加利福尼亚南部的大学生样本中检验了两种基于社会比较的防晒干预措施对认知和情绪的影响（N=223）。其中一种干预措施采用了比较参与者和同龄人紫外线照片的方式，这些照片展示了比参与者自身皮肤损伤更多（向下社会比较）或更少（向上社会比较）的同龄人皮肤。第二种干预措施包括描述性规范信息，表明大多数参与者的同龄人经常保护他们的皮肤免受阳光伤害。
参与者被随机分配到 4（社会比较信息：无照片与无比较照片与向上比较照片与向下比较照片）×2（描述性规范信息：收到与未收到）设计的 8 种条件之一。
立即评估情绪反应（如担忧、尴尬、宽慰）和与阳光有关的认知反应（感知易感性、防晒意图）。在干预后五周进行了意外的电话随访，评估了防晒行为。
结果表明，看到皮肤损伤很少的同龄人的照片，并了解到大多数同龄人经常进行定期防晒，这一组合导致了可靠的更大的后续防晒行为，比其他所有条件都要好。此外，有相对直接的证据表明，负面情绪反应和防晒意图都介导了这种影响。
这些发现增加了越来越多的文献，表明在健康行为决策中彻底研究情绪作用的重要性。理论和干预效果都将受益于更好地理解认知和情绪在行为改变中的相对作用。
