Does Hearing About Cancer Influence Stimulus Control? An Exploratory Study of Verbal Modulation of Stimulus Generalization

Abstract

Participants first became familiar with an image showing moderate symptoms of the skin cancer melanoma. In a generalization test, they indicated whether images showing more and less pronounced symptoms were Blike the original.^Some groups (cancer context) were told that the images depicted melanoma and that the disease is deadly unless detected early. Control groups were not told what the images depicted. For control groups, generalization gradients were fairly typical of what is normally reported in the generalization literature, but for cancer context groups, gradients were shifted such that highly symptomatic moles were identified as Blike the original^more than normal and subtly symptomatic ones were endorsed less than normal. These results may have implications for melanoma education efforts and, more generally, illustrate the possible importance of studying interactions between verbal behavior and primary stimulus control.

Why We Are Not Acting to Save Ourselves: ACT, Health, and Culture

“…Covert stimulation may also influence an individual’s engagement in prevention-related behaviors. Critchfield and Reed ( 2016 ) suggested that people’s private psychological experience can actually interfere with such behaviors. These authors taught undergraduate participants to discriminate between melanoma and nonmelanoma images, and found that discriminations were disrupted when participants were given verbal information about the risks and mortality rates of skin cancer.…”

Come On Up for the Rising: A Review of Biglan's Rebooting Capitalism

“…For example, experimental studies have analyzed how language effects health-related behaviors. These include an examination of the effects of verbal rules on patients’ breast self-examinations (Meyerowitz & Chaiken, 1987 ), and the identification of cancerous skin lesions as a function of verbal information about melanoma (Critchfield & Reed, 2016 ).…”

“In” or “Out”? An Analysis of the Use of Augmentals in U.S. Presidential Speeches on the Paris Climate Agreement

“…tobacco marketing (Biglan et al, 2018), and affecting patients' self-examination behavior in health care settings (e.g., Critchfield & Reed, 2016;Meyerowitz & Chaiken, 1987).…”

“…By altering the value of such consequences, an augmental may thus indirectly increase or decrease behavior. Numerous experimental studies have analyzed the effects that rules, especially augmentals, have on dimensions of behavior, such as online consumer purchasing behavior (Fagerstrom et al, 2010), patients' breast self-examination (Meyerowitz & Chaiken, 1987), the identification of cancerous skin lesions (Critchfield & Reed, 2016), exercise intensity (Jackson et al, 2016), and large-scale marketing in media on tobacco consumption among youths (Biglan et al, 2018). Based on the findings from previous studies, it is not surprising that augmentals are frequently used in political speeches that aim to change public behavior involved in abstract and remote contingencies.…”