Ray Colter D, Floyd Kory, Mongeau Paul A, Randall Ashley K
School of Communication and Center for Communication, Health, and the Public Good, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA, 92182-4560, USA.
Department of Communication, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
J Cancer Educ. 2020 Oct;35(5):972-976. doi: 10.1007/s13187-019-01550-1.
This study investigates the potential for cancer patients' supporters to experience cognitive biases after communicating emotional support messages. A success bias was predicted, such that those who planned their messages would rate those messages as more effective in comparison with those who did not plan their messages (H1a-H1c). An inflation bias was also predicted, such that supporters would rate their messages as more effective than cancer patients who also rated the messages (H2a-H2c). One hundred laboratory participants were randomly assigned to a planning or distraction task before recording an emotional support message for a friend who had hypothetically been diagnosed with cancer. Laboratory participants rated their own messages in terms of relational assurances, problem-solving utility, and emotional awareness. Subsequently, cancer patients viewed and rated the laboratory participants' messages on the same characteristics. Participants who planned their messages rated their messages significantly higher than those who did not plan their messages in terms of relational assurance and problem-solving utility but not emotional awareness. Irrespective of planning or distraction condition, participants also rated their messages significantly higher on all three dependent variables than did cancer patients. Supporters should be aware of the propensity to overrate their supportive abilities and guard against the assumption that planning messages results in more effective support messages.
本研究调查了癌症患者的支持者在传达情感支持信息后出现认知偏差的可能性。预计会出现成功偏差，即与未规划信息的人相比，那些规划了信息的人会认为这些信息更有效（假设1a - 1c）。还预计会出现夸大偏差，即支持者会认为他们的信息比同样对这些信息进行评价的癌症患者所认为的更有效（假设2a - 2c）。一百名实验室参与者在为一位假设被诊断患有癌症的朋友录制情感支持信息之前，被随机分配到规划任务或分心任务中。实验室参与者根据关系保证、解决问题的效用和情感意识对自己的信息进行评分。随后，癌症患者就相同的特征查看并评价了实验室参与者的信息。在关系保证和解决问题的效用方面，规划了信息的参与者对自己信息的评分显著高于未规划信息的参与者，但在情感意识方面并非如此。无论处于规划还是分心条件下，参与者在所有三个因变量上对自己信息的评分也都显著高于癌症患者。支持者应该意识到高估自己支持能力的倾向，并防范认为规划信息会产生更有效支持信息的假设。
