Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi / Faculty of Letters and Science

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11727/1396

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search.filters.applied.f.language: search.filters.language.engSubject: search.filters.subject.COVID-19

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    A Global Experiment On Motivating Social Distancing During The COVID-19 Pandemic
    (2022) Karaarslan, Cemre; 35622891
    Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one's core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people's existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges.
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    Cognitive Training Using A Mobile App As A Coping Tool Against COVID-19 Distress: A Crossover Randomized Controlled Trial
    (2022) Akin-Sari, Burcin; Inozu, Mujgan; Haciomeroglu, A. Bikem; Trak, Ezgi; Tufan, Damla; Doron, Guy; 35636516
    Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been suggested to constitute a broad base stressor with severe mental health consequences. mHealth applications are accessible self-help tools that can be used to reduce psychological distress during the pandemic. This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effects of mobile-based cognitive training exercises on COVID-19 related distress and maladaptive cognitions.Methods: Following initial screening (n = 924), participants scoring 1 standard deviations above the mean of the COVID-19 Distress Scale were randomized into two groups. Participants in the immediate-app group (iApp; n = 25) started using the application at baseline (T0) for 12 days (from T0 to T1). Participants in the delayed-app group (dApp; n = 22) started using the mobile application at T1 (crossover) and used it for the following 12 days (T1 to T2).Results: Intention to treat analyses indicated that the iApp group exhibited lower COVID-19 distress, lower depression, fewer intolerance of uncertainty and obsessive beliefs than the dApp group at T1. In addition, using the app for 12 consecutive days was associated with large effect-size reductions (Cohen's d ranging from 0.81 to 2.35) in COVID-19 distress and related maladaptive cognitions in the iApp group (from T0 to T1) and the dApp group (from T1 to T2). Moreover, these reductions were maintained at the follow-up. Limitations: This study was a crossover trial with a relatively limited sample size and mainly female participants. Conclusion: Our findings underscore the usefulness of brief, low-intensity, portable interventions in alleviating the negative effects of the pandemic on mental health.
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    Psychological correlates of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and preventive measures: Evidence from Turkey
    (2020) Alper, Sinan; Bayrak, Fatih; Yilmaz, Onurcan; 32837129
    COVID-19 pandemic has led to popular conspiracy theories regarding its origins and widespread concern over the level of compliance with preventive measures. In the current preregistered research, we recruited 1088 Turkish participants and investigated (a) individual differences associated with COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs; (2) whether such conspiracy beliefs are related to the level of preventive measures; and (3) other individual differences that might be related to the preventive measures. Higher faith in intuition, uncertainty avoidance, impulsivity, generic conspiracy beliefs, religiosity, and right-wing ideology, and a lower level of cognitive reflection were associated with a higher level of belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories. There was no association between COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and preventive measures while perceived risk was positively and impulsivity negatively correlated with preventive measures. We discuss the implications and directions for future research.