Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Psychol Health. 2023 Apr;38(4):409-428. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2021.1969021. Epub 2021 Aug 27.
To understand the mechanisms of action underlying behavioral interventions, researchers typically examine whether the treatment changes cognitions and whether changes in cognition predict behavior (). This current research explores an alternative mechanism whereby the intervention increases the impact of pre-existing cognitions on behavior (). We tested whether cognitive change or cognitive activation explains the impact of cigarette pack messages on smoking restraint.
The research comprised a validation experiment ( = 135) and a 4-week RCT ( = 719) with smokers.
At both baseline and follow-up of the RCT, smokers self-reported threat appraisals, coping appraisals, and smoking restraint.
Intervention messages heightened the accessibility of threat appraisals compared to control messages (validation experiment). In the RCT, smoking restraint increased among intervention participants but not controls. Trial arm showed no corresponding change in threat or coping appraisals. However, trial arm interacted with baseline health cognitions such that synergies between threat appraisal components, and between threat appraisals and coping appraisals, predicted smoking restraint for intervention participants but not for controls.
Our findings support a cognitive activation process whereby health messages on cigarette packs increase the impact of pre-existing threat appraisals on smoking restraint.
为了了解行为干预措施的作用机制，研究人员通常会检查治疗是否改变了认知，以及认知的变化是否能预测行为（）。本研究探索了一种替代机制，即干预措施增加了先前存在的认知对行为的影响（）。我们测试了认知改变或认知激活是否能解释香烟包装信息对吸烟抑制的影响。
该研究包括一项验证性实验（ = 135）和一项为期 4 周的 RCT（ = 719），参与者为吸烟者。
在 RCT 的基线和随访时，吸烟者自我报告了威胁评估、应对评估和吸烟抑制情况。
与对照组相比，干预组的信息提高了威胁评估的可及性（验证性实验）。在 RCT 中，干预组的吸烟抑制率有所增加，但对照组没有。试验组的威胁或应对评估没有相应变化。然而，试验组与基线健康认知相互作用，使得威胁评估成分之间以及威胁评估和应对评估之间的协同作用，能预测干预组的吸烟抑制率，但不能预测对照组的吸烟抑制率。
我们的发现支持一种认知激活过程，即香烟包装上的健康信息增加了先前存在的威胁评估对吸烟抑制的影响。
