Wilding, S., O'Connor, D.B. orcid.org/0000-0003-4117-4093 and Conner, M. (2023) Social norms in cervical cancer screening. Psychological Reports. ISSN 0033-2941
Abstract
Cancer screening aims to check the body for cancer before symptoms develop. Social norms theory suggests people falsely perceive the attitudes and/or behaviours of similar others to be different from their own and correcting these perceptions can lead to behaviour change. Across two studies, we tested if women underestimate peer levels of cervical screening behaviour and whether a social norms manipulation increases intention to attend cervical cancer screening. In study 1, participants completed a survey on cervical cancer screening norms. In study 2, participants were randomised to receive no norm information, norm information, or norm information plus statement on value of norms in decision making. In study 1, participant estimates of peer level of cervical screening behaviour were significantly lower than nationally reported levels. In study 2, a social norm plus value statement intervention led to stronger intentions to attend screening. This effect was consistent across demographic factors and screening status. Participants significantly underestimate rates of cervical screening behaviour in their peers. A brief, online social norms plus values manipulation increased intentions to attend cervical cancer screening across all groups.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2023. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). |
Keywords: | Cervical cancer screening; social norms; behaviour change |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Psychology (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Yorkshire Cancer Research Account Ref: 2UOLEEDS L415 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 27 Nov 2023 11:43 |
Last Modified: | 19 Dec 2023 17:10 |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | SAGE |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/00332941231219943 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:205952 |
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