/ Peer Effects in Health Behaviors Introduction Health economists have long been interested in examining the determinants of, and potential policies for, reducing unhealthy behaviors in the population. Although a main focus in this area has historically been on issues of policy involving taxation, access restrictions, advertising, etc., a shift toward evaluating the basic social
For more than 100 years, researchers have noted how exercise enhances the subjective sense of mental and physical energy. Affect refers to the quality of a subjective mental state along the dimensions of valence (pleasant or positive vs. unpleasant or negative) and activation (alert or activated vs. sleepy or deactivated). This entry will summarize research
This article delves into the intricate realm of health psychology, specifically examining the profound psychological effects of chronic oral conditions on individuals’ mental well-being. Beginning with an overview of health psychology and emphasizing the integral role of oral health in overall wellness, the article systematically explores three key dimensions. The first section scrutinizes the impact
Exercise has been proposed as a potential treatment to help people quit smoking and, more recently, to treat addictions to alcohol and other drugs of abuse. This entry discusses the rationale and empirical support for the use of exercise as a treatment for addiction. Rationale Exercise has been proposed as a stand-alone or supplementary treatment
Contrast Effects Definition Most judgments in everyday life are evaluative in nature. People may want to know whether a particular grade is good or bad, whether a person is trustworthy, how well someone performed on a test, or what a person’s athletic abilities are like. Rarely can such questions be answered in absolute terms (e.g.
This article explores the cognitive effects of chronic alcoholism, a severe and persistent manifestation of alcohol use disorder with global implications. The introduction outlines the prevalence and significance of chronic alcoholism while emphasizing the importance of studying cognitive impairments in this context. The subsequent sections delve into specific cognitive domains affected, including memory deficits, executive
For as long as people have been able to draw and write, they have created pornography. Greek vases and Roman brothels contain ancient, sexually explicit images. Modern technologies for delivering sexually explicit images, such as the Internet, have made pornography ubiquitous. The affordability, accessibility, and anonymity of Internet pornography have also proved a boon to
Token Effects Definition A token is the only person of his or her category, or one of very few persons, in an otherwise homogeneous group. A sole female in a group of males is an example of a token individual, as is the only Latino in a group of Caucasians. Being numerically distinctive produces effects
Order Effects Definition Order effects refer to differences in research participants’ responses that result from the order (e.g., first, second, third) in which the experimental materials are presented to them. Order effects can occur in any kind of research. In survey research, for example, people may answer questions differently depending on the order in which
When scientists conduct experiments, influences and errors occur that affect the results of the experiments. Those influences and errors that occur because of some characteristics of the experimenter or because of something the experimenter did are called experimenter effects. Experimenter effects reduce the validity of the experiment, because the results do not really tell about