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Concerns about losing face moderate the effect of visual perspective on health-related intentions and behaviors

Uskul, Ayse K., Kikutani, Mariko (2014) Concerns about losing face moderate the effect of visual perspective on health-related intentions and behaviors. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 55 . pp. 201-209. ISSN 0022-1031. (doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2014.07.010) (KAR id:41874)

Abstract

Visualizing oneself engaging in future actions has been shown to increase the likelihood of actually engaging in the visualized action. In three studies, we examined the effect of perspective taken to visualize a future action (first-person vs. third-person) as a function of the degree to which individuals worry about others’ evaluation of themselves (face) and whether the visualized behavior is public or private. Across all studies, the effect of visual perspective was present only for participants with high level of face. In this group, the third-person visualization induced stronger intentions to engage in the behavior when the imagined behavior was public (Study 1), whereas the first-person visualization induced stronger intentions and greater likelihood to engage in that behavior when it was private (Study 2). The influence of the first-person perspective on flossing behavior was eliminated when people with high levels of face were encouraged to consider inter-personal consequences of the action (Study 3). Results are discussed in the light of recent theorizing on the cognitive consequences of taking a third-person versus a first-person perspective in visual imagery.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1016/j.jesp.2014.07.010
Uncontrolled keywords: face, visual imagery perspective, dental health behaviors, public vs. private actions
Subjects: H Social Sciences
H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Funders: Economic and Social Research Council (https://ror.org/03n0ht308)
Depositing User: Ayse Uskul
Date Deposited: 16 Jul 2014 12:17 UTC
Last Modified: 12 Jul 2022 10:40 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/41874 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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