We compare the effects of two prominent organizational control mechanisms-social pressure and monetary incentive-on cognitive control. Cognitive control underlies the human ability to regulate thoughts and actions in the pursuit of behavioral goals. Previous studies show that monetary incentives can contribute to goal-oriented behavior by activating proactive control. There is, however, much le...

This study investigates the relationships among sociocultural pressures to be thin, internalisation of the thin ideal, social comparison, body mass index, and body dissatisfaction in young girls. One hundred and fifty-three 10-13 year old girls completed measures assessing sociocultural pressure to be thin, media exposure, body dissatisfaction, social comparison, and internalisation of the thin...

BACKGROUND Western societies often overemphasize the pursuit of happiness, and regard negative feelings such as sadness or anxiety as maladaptive and unwanted. Despite this emphasis on happiness, the amount of people suffering from depressive complaints is remarkably high. To explain this apparent paradox, we examined whether experiencing social pressure not to feel sad or anxious could in fact...

BACKGROUND Using the Internet may prove useful in providing nutrition counselling and social support for patients with chronic diseases. OBJECTIVE We evaluated the impact of Web-based nutrition counselling and social support on social support measures, anthropometry, blood pressure, and serum cholesterol in patients at increased cardiovascular risk. METHODS We conducted a randomized control...

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between social network variables and levels of and longitudinal changes in blood pressure in a middle-aged/older sample. The participants (50-75 years at baseline; n=1097) responded to questions concerning social relationships at baseline and their blood pressure (diastolic, systolic) was measured. Blood pressure levels were reassessed 5, 10...

This study of 72 undergraduate men examined the effects of two determinants of cardiovascular response-active coping and vigilance-on blood pressure and heart rate responses to social stressors. Observation of a future debate partner (i.e., vigilance) evoked larger increases in blood pressure than did observation of a less relevant person, apparently through the combination of increases in card...

Thisarticleattempts tobuildabridgebetweentheexistingfactorand impactresearchonsenior citizens’useofsocialmedia.Arandomsampleof392seniorcitizenswassurveyed,and109ofthem weresocialmediausers.Thisarticleaimedtounderstandthereasonsforandthepotentialeffectsof usingsocialmediaonone’sperceivedaffectionatesupport,socialcompensationandsocial...

The current study tested whether preschoolers' moral and social-conventional judgments change under social pressure using Asch's conformity paradigm. A sample of 132 preschoolers (Mage=3.83years, SD=0.85) rated the acceptability of moral and social-conventional events and also completed a visual judgment task (i.e., comparing line length) both independently and after having viewed two peers who...

Private politics social pressure in led by social activists that use confrontational and cooperative strategies to cause firms to provide social benefits. This paper presents theories of the supply of social pressure by activists and the demand for social pressure as represented by the attractiveness of firms as targets and partners. A confrontational activist can drive potential targets into c...