Explore the vast range of titles available.

Various efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates have been employed in the United States. We sought to rapidly investigate public reactions to these efforts to increase vaccination, including self-reported responses to widespread reduced masking behavior, monetary incentive programs to get vaccinated, and work vaccination requirements. Using a unique method for data collection (Random Domain Intercept Technology), we captured a large ( N = 14,152), broad-based sample of the United States Web-using population (data collected from June 30 –July 26, 2021). About 3/4 of respondents reported being vaccinated. The likelihood of vaccination and vaccination intention differed across various demographic indicators (e.g., gender, age, income, political leaning). We observed mixed reactions to efforts aimed at increasing vaccination rates among unvaccinated respondents. While some reported that specific efforts would increase their likelihood of getting vaccinated (between 16% and 32%), others reported that efforts would decrease their likelihood of getting vaccinated (between 17% and 42%). Reactions differed by general vaccination intention, as well as other demographic indicators (e.g., race, education). Our results highlight the need to fully understand reactions to policy changes, programs, and mandates before they are communicated to the public and employed. Moreover, the results emphasize the importance of understanding how reactions differ across groups, as this information can assist in targeting intervention efforts and minimizing potentially differential negative impact.

Background In response to reports of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) post-vaccination, the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine was paused and then restarted in April 2021. Our objective was to assess whether this pause adversely impacted vaccine confidence. Methods Two large internet-based surveys were conducted in the US among adults to measure knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of the J&J vaccine pause and rates of vaccine hesitancy among unvaccinated persons before, during and after the pause. Results Among 66% of respondents aware of the pause, 44% identified blood clots as the reason for the pause without prompting. The impact of the pause on vaccine behavior among unvaccinated persons and perception of the vaccine safety system was mixed and modified by trust in the public health authorities. Those who were less willing to get vaccinated because of the pause were less inclined for all vaccines, not only the J&J product. Moreover, a notable proportion (22.1%) of the small number of persons (n = 30) vaccinated with the J&J vaccine after the pause reported not receiving information about the risk of TTS. The proportion of unvaccinated persons who were hesitant was increasing before and during the pause and then leveled off after the pause. Conclusions The J&J vaccine pause is unlikely to be a major barrier to vaccine uptake. Public attitudes about vaccines may be more resilient than appreciated, especially when safety issues are investigated with transparent communication. This paper has important implications for messaging and program administration with future vaccine-specific adverse events. Efforts may be warranted to ensure all persons being offered the J&J vaccine are made aware of the risk of TTS.

Background: Accurate and timely COVID-19 vaccination coverage data are vital for informing targeted, effective messaging and outreach and identifying barriers to equitable health service access. However, gathering vaccination rate data is challenging, and efforts often result in information that is either limited in scope (eg, limited to administrative data) or delayed (impeding the ability to rapidly respond). The evaluation of innovative technologies and approaches that can assist in addressing these limitations globally are needed. Objective: The objective of this survey study was to assess the validity of Random Domain Intercept Technology (RDIT; RIWI Corp) for tracking self-reported vaccination rates in real time at the US national and state levels. RDIT—a form of online intercept sampling—has the potential to address the limitations of current vaccination tracking systems by allowing for the measurement of additional data (eg, attitudinal data) and real-time, rapid data collection anywhere there is web access. Methods: We used RDIT from June 30 to July 26, 2021, to reach a broad sample of US adult (aged ≥18 years) web users and asked questions related to COVID-19 vaccination. Self-reported vaccination status was used as the focus of this validation exercise. National- and state-level RDIT-based vaccination rates were compared to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)–reported national and state vaccination rates. Johns Hopkins University’s and Emory University’s institutional review boards designated this project as public health practice to inform message development (not human subjects research). Results: By using RDIT, 63,853 adult web users reported their vaccination status (6.2% of the entire 1,026,850 American web-using population that was exposed to the survey). At the national level, the RDIT-based estimate of adult COVID-19 vaccine coverage was slightly higher (44,524/63,853, 69.7%; 95% CI 69.4%-70.1%) than the CDC-reported estimate (67.9%) on July 15, 2021 (ie, midway through data collection; t63,852=10.06; P<.001). The RDIT-based and CDC-reported state-level estimates were strongly and positively correlated (r=0.90; P<.001). RDIT-based estimates were within 5 percentage points of the CDC’s estimates for 29 states. Conclusions: This broad-reaching, real-time data stream may provide unique advantages for tracking the use of a range of vaccines and for the timely evaluation of vaccination interventions. Moreover, RDIT could be harnessed to rapidly assess demographic, attitudinal, and behavioral constructs that are not available in administrative data, which could allow for deeper insights into the real-time predictors of vaccine uptake–enabling targeted and timely interventions.

In response to reports of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) post-vaccination, the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine was paused and then restarted in April 2021. Our objective was to assess whether this pause adversely impacted vaccine confidence. Two large internet-based surveys were conducted in the US among adults to measure knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of the J&J vaccine pause and rates of vaccine hesitancy among unvaccinated persons before, during and after the pause. Among 66% of respondents aware of the pause, 44% identified blood clots as the reason for the pause without prompting. The impact of the pause on vaccine behavior among unvaccinated persons and perception of the vaccine safety system was mixed and modified by trust in the public health authorities. Those who were less willing to get vaccinated because of the pause were less inclined for all vaccines, not only the J&J product. Moreover, a notable proportion (22.1%) of the small number of persons (n = 30) vaccinated with the J&J vaccine after the pause reported not receiving information about the risk of TTS. The proportion of unvaccinated persons who were hesitant was increasing before and during the pause and then leveled off after the pause. The J&J vaccine pause is unlikely to be a major barrier to vaccine uptake. Public attitudes about vaccines may be more resilient than appreciated, especially when safety issues are investigated with transparent communication. This paper has important implications for messaging and program administration with future vaccine-specific adverse events. Efforts may be warranted to ensure all persons being offered the J&J vaccine are made aware of the risk of TTS.

BackgroundIn response to reports of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) post-vaccination, the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine was paused and then restarted in April 2021. Our objective was to assess whether this pause adversely impacted vaccine confidence.MethodsTwo large internet-based surveys were conducted in the US among adults to measure knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of the J&J vaccine pause and rates of vaccine hesitancy among unvaccinated persons before, during and after the pause.ResultsAmong 66% of respondents aware of the pause, 44% identified blood clots as the reason for the pause without prompting. The impact of the pause on vaccine behavior among unvaccinated persons and perception of the vaccine safety system was mixed and modified by trust in the public health authorities. Those who were less willing to get vaccinated because of the pause were less inclined for all vaccines, not only the J&J product. Moreover, a notable proportion (22.1%) of the small number of persons (n = 30) vaccinated with the J&J vaccine after the pause reported not receiving information about the risk of TTS. The proportion of unvaccinated persons who were hesitant was increasing before and during the pause and then leveled off after the pause.ConclusionsThe J&J vaccine pause is unlikely to be a major barrier to vaccine uptake. Public attitudes about vaccines may be more resilient than appreciated, especially when safety issues are investigated with transparent communication. This paper has important implications for messaging and program administration with future vaccine-specific adverse events. Efforts may be warranted to ensure all persons being offered the J&J vaccine are made aware of the risk of TTS.

Previous experiences with police can influence civilian perceptions of police, and in turn their expectations for future encounters. According to theories on intergroup contact, positive contact predicts positive attitudes toward the outgroup and unpleasant contact predicts negative attitudes. In the case of police-civilian encounters, pleasant interactions with the police are associated with favorable police attitudes among civilians, whereas unpleasant encounters are associated with negative attitudes. In four studies (N = 826) we assessed contact among police and civilians as related to civilian general perceptions of police and (novel to this research area) anticipated officer behavior in an imagined roadside encounter. Across studies and contact type, general perceptions mediated relationships between contact and anticipated behavior. These studies provide preliminary evidence of a process by which contact shapes general perceptions, in turn impacting anticipated police behavior.

This research investigated civilian implicit attitudes toward police. Previous research has solely used explicit measures (or examined police officers’ implicit reactions to civilians). Two studies assessed the implicit activation of safety and fear when participants were primed with police using a Word Fragment Completion Task (e.g., Johnson and Lord 2010 ). In a college sample, police primes led to increased safety and decreased fear construct activation, whereas in an online sample, both safety and fear became more accessible. Overall, results indicated that a wide range of individual differences in implicit attitudes toward police exist, that implicit reactions to police officers might be distinct from explicit global evaluations, and that, despite the existence of negative police-civilian interactions, the appearance of police officers might still tend to activate safety-related thoughts. The findings prompt the need to further assess the underlying cognitive components of civilian attitudes toward police officers.

Doubly distinctive events or stimuli (those that stand out from the surround for more than one reason) are particularly memorable and can lead to the development of illusory correlations (i.e., the perception of an association between two variables that are objectively uncorrelated). Stroessner and Plaks (2001) hypothesized that social stereotypes based on illusory correlations are most likely to form as a result of moderate levels of information processing. The current study tests that hypothesis by examining the role of attributional complexity (AC), a personality variable corresponding to motivation to think deeply about human behavior. As predicted, illusory correlations were most apparent for participants with moderate AC. A second goal was to test the hypothesis that illusory correlations linking a group to undesirable behavior would be especially likely to emerge when the group consisted of people with mental illness. This hypothesis was not supported.

Students underutilize mental health services on college campuses in the United States. More research is needed to fully understand barriers to service use among this at-risk population and interventions should be created to address these barriers. Current research and interventions do not address group-level social comparison processes that elevate lack of service use. Particularly, pluralistic ignorance has not been assessed—that is, the systematic misperception of others’ cognitions and behaviors within a social group. It is possible that pluralistic ignorance contributes to the underutilization of services on college campuses. I began this assessment in three studies. In Study 1 (N = 198) college students misperceived other students as being less willing to use mental health services and as harboring more service use stigma compared to the average self-reported attitudes of the sample. In Study 2 (NT1 = 260, NT2 = 145) these group-level misperceptions were replicated. Furthermore, individual-level indicators of pluralistic ignorance (i.e., personal attitudes, perceptions of others’ attitudes, and their interaction) predicted later pluralistic ignorance-related behavioral and attitudinal implications (e.g., changes in alcohol use and perceptions of academic success). In Study 3 (N = 378) I experimentally assessed the chief components of a pluralistic ignorance intervention. I found evidence for the effectiveness of an intervention that incorporates both a norm misperception correction and a lesson about pluralistic ignorance in addressing misperceptions and increasing service use interest. In this research I utilize cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental methods to expose and assess pluralistic ignorance in a new context, I highlight the usefulness of using individual-level indicators of pluralistic ignorance to predict pluralistic ignorance-related implications, and I begin the necessary process of developing a pluralistic ignorance intervention.

Various efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates have been employed in the United States. We sought to rapidly investigate public reactions to these efforts to increase vaccination, including self-reported responses to widespread reduced masking behavior, monetary incentive programs to get vaccinated, and work vaccination requirements. Using a unique method for data collection (Random Domain Intercept Technology), we captured a large (N = 14,152), broad-based sample of the United States Web-using population (data collected from June 30 -July 26, 2021). About 3/4 of respondents reported being vaccinated. The likelihood of vaccination and vaccination intention differed across various demographic indicators (e.g., gender, age, income, political leaning). We observed mixed reactions to efforts aimed at increasing vaccination rates among unvaccinated respondents. While some reported that specific efforts would increase their likelihood of getting vaccinated (between 16% and 32%), others reported that efforts would decrease their likelihood of getting vaccinated (between 17% and 42%). Reactions differed by general vaccination intention, as well as other demographic indicators (e.g., race, education). Our results highlight the need to fully understand reactions to policy changes, programs, and mandates before they are communicated to the public and employed. Moreover, the results emphasize the importance of understanding how reactions differ across groups, as this information can assist in targeting intervention efforts and minimizing potentially differential negative impact.