Humans are a fundamentally social species whose well-being depends on how we connect with and relate to one another. As such, scientific understanding of factors that promote health and well-being requires insight into causal factors present at multiple levels of analysis, ranging from brain networks that dynamically reconfigure across situations to social networks that allow behaviors to spread from person to person. The Social Health Impacts of Network Effects (SHINE) study takes a multilevel approach to investigate how interactions between the mind, brain, and community give rise to well-being. The SHINE protocol assesses multiple health and psychological variables, with particular emphasis on alcohol use, how alcohol-related behavior can be modified via self-regulation, and how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors unfold in the context of social networks. An overarching aim is to derive generalizable principles about relationships that promote well-being by applying multilayer mathematical models and explanatory approaches such as network control theory. The SHINE study includes data from 711 college students recruited from social groups at two universities in the northeastern United States of America, prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants completed at least one of the following study components: baseline self-reported questionnaires and social network characterization, self-regulation intervention assignment (mindful attention or perspective taking), functional and structural neuroimaging, ecological momentary assessment, and longitudinal follow-ups including questionnaires and social network characterization. The SHINE dataset enables integration across modalities, levels of analysis, and timescales to understand young adults’ well-being and health-related decision making. Our goal is to further our understanding of how individuals can change their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and of how these changes unfold in the context of social networks.
BackgroundCigarette smoking continues to be a leading cause of preventable deaths in the U.S., in part because the U.S. has not adopted the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the tobacco industry continues to counteract tobacco control policies the U.S. has in place. One way the tobacco industry in the U.S. counteracts effective tobacco control policies is by heavily advertising cigarettes at the point-of-sale in retailers (e.g., marketing outside of stores, at the cash register, etc.), and by offering discounts on cigarettes.MethodsThe current study used a within-subject experimental design to investigate if point-of-sale cigarette promotions increase smokers’ cigarette craving in a way that is comparable to other visual smoking cues, and if exposure to point-of-sale cigarette promotions with a discount (vs. without) increases cigarette craving. The study also examined how individual smokers’ subjective social status (i.e., their belief about how they compare to others in the U.S.) relates to cigarette craving after exposure to point-of-sale cigarette promotions with and without a discount. ResultsThe results indicated that exposure to smoking cues, including point-of-sale cigarette promotions, elicited increased levels of craving relative to non-smoking cues. Further, point-of-sale cigarette promotions with a discount elicited higher levels of craving compared to point-of-sale cigarette promotions without a discount. Finally, we observed an interaction between subjective social status and response to promotions. Participants with a lower (vs. higher) subjective social status craved cigarettes more overall and there was no difference in their craving between promotions with and without a discount, while craving was higher for promotions with a discount than without for higher subjective social status participants. ConclusionTogether these results highlight the causal effects of point-of-sale tobacco marketing on smokers’ cravings and suggest that the effects may differ according to price discounts and smokers’ subjective social status. More restrictions on point-of-sale tobacco marketing could help reduce cigarette smoking and address status-related health inequities in the U.S.
Information transmission within social networks is crucial for widespread attitudinal and behavioral change. We propose that the value of sharing information increases when people perceive messages as more relevant to themselves and to people they know, resulting in stronger intentions to share. Six online studies (N participants = 3,727; messages = 362; message ratings = 30,954) showed robust evidence that perceived message self and social relevance are positively related to sharing intentions. Correlationally, self and social relevance were uniquely related to sharing intentions, both within- and between-person. Specification curve analysis revealed that the direction of these relationships were consistent across message content, medium, and sharing audience. A preregistered experiment showed that manipulating the self and social relevance of messages causally increased sharing intentions compared to a control condition. These findings highlight self and social relevance as psychological mechanisms that motivate information sharing that can be targeted to promote sharing across contexts.
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