“Yes, (s)he is pretty, but...” An investigation of the simultaneous impact of endorser characteristics relevant to purchasing behaviour

Objectives. Research on advertising efficiency states, that both the attractiveness of a model endorsing a product (Halliwell & Dittmar, 2004) as well as the extent of identification with this endorser (Felser, 2001) are relevant parameters of advertising effectiveness. Surprisingly, no research has simultaneously investigated the significance of attractiveness and identification with the endorser in the field of non-celebrity endorsement (e.g., typical product users), so far. Method and Results. Using an experimental between-subjects design (N = 480) endorser’s attractiveness and gender were manipulated in print advertisements for four different products. Including pivotal determinants of purchasing behaviour (e.g., impression on product quality) multiple regression analysis showed that identification but not attractiveness had a small but significant incremental predictive value on purchasing behaviour. Conclusion. A (potentially less attractive) non-celebrity endorser with whom consumers can identify themselves might be preferred in favour of an attractive one with whom consumers cannot identify themselves

Does Being Attractive Always Help? Positive and Negative Effects of Attractiveness on Social Decision Making

Previous studies of organizational decision making demonstrate an abundance of positive biases directed toward highly attractive individuals. The current research, in contrast, suggests that when the person being evaluated is of the same sex as the evaluator, attractiveness hurts, rather than helps. Three experiments assessing evaluations of potential job candidates (Studies 1 and 3) and university applicants (Study 2) demonstrated positive biases toward highly attractive other-sex targets but negative biases toward highly attractive same-sex targets. This pattern was mediated by variability in participants’ desire to interact with versus avoid the target individual (Studies 1 and 2) and was moderated by participants’ level of self-esteem (Study 3); the derogation of attractive same-sex targets was not observed among people with high self-esteem. Findings demonstrate an important exception to the positive effects of attractiveness in organizational settings and suggest that negative responses to attractive same-sex targets stem from perceptions of self-threat

Success Attributions and More: Multidimensional Extensions of the Sexual Attribution Bias to Failure Attributions, Social Emotions, and the Desire for Social Interaction

According to the recently discovered sexual attribution bias (SAB), young adults attribute the success of same-aged, same-sex attractive stimulus persons in a more derogative way than the success of less attractive same-sex persons, whereas this pattern is reversed for members of the opposite sex. Because this bias has so far only been investigated with respect to attributions in success scenarios, two studies examined its potential transferability to other psychological variables and settings: Study 1 (N = 419)demonstrated analogous biases for emotions and the desire for social interaction, and Study 2 (N = 509) revealed that the SAB can also be extended to failure scenarios

Quantifying Uncertainty: Physicians' Estimates of Infection in Critically Ill Neonates and Children

To determine the diagnostic accuracy of physicians' prior probability estimates of serious infection in critically ill neonates and children, we conducted a prospective cohort study in 2 intensive care units. Using available clinical, laboratory, and radiographic information, 27 physicians provided 2567 probability estimates for 347 patients (follow-up rate, 92%). The median probability estimate of infection increased from 0% (i.e., no antibiotic treatment or diagnostic work-up for sepsis), to 2% on the day preceding initiation of antibiotic therapy, to 20% at initiation of antibiotic treatment (P < .001). At initiation of treatment, predictions discriminated well between episodes subsequently classified as proven infection and episodes ultimately judged unlikely to be infection (area under the curve, 0.88). Physicians also showed a good ability to predict blood culture-positive sepsis (area under the curve, 0.77). Treatment and testing thresholds were derived from the provided predictions and treatment rates. Physicians' prognoses regarding the presence of serious infection were remarkably precise. Studies investigating the value of new tests for diagnosis of sepsis should establish that they add incremental value to physicians' judgmen

Attraktivität ist nicht alles: Eine regressionsanalytische Untersuchung produkt- und testimonialbasierter Determinanten konsumrelevanten Verhaltens

Die Werbewirkungsforschung belegt, dass sowohl die Attraktivität der Person, die ein Produkt bewirbt (Testimonial) (vgl. Halliwell & Dittmar, 2004), als auch das Ausmaß an Identifikation des Konsumenten mit diesem Testimonial (vgl. Basil, 1996), relevante Determinanten der Werbewirksamkeit sind. Bislang nicht systematisch untersucht ist hingegen, in welchem Ausmaß beide Variablen im Bereich der Laien-Testimonials (d.h. typische Produktnutzer) bei gleichzeitiger Berücksichtigung jeweils bedeutsam sind. Unter Verwendung eines experimentellen between-subjects Designs (N =480), bei dem auf Printanzeigen neben der Produktkategorie auch die Attraktivität und das Geschlecht des Testimonials manipuliert wurden, belegt eine multiple Regressionsanalyse, dass nur Identifikation, nicht aber Attraktivität zusätzlich zu zentralen kaufrelevanten Einstellungskomponenten (z. B. Bewertung der Produktqualität) einen signifikanten inkrementellen Vorhersagewert hinsichtlich kaufrelevanten Verhaltens aufweist. Dies deutet somit darauf hin, dass einem attraktiven Laien-Testimonial gegebenenfalls eines vorzuziehen ist, welches möglicherweise sogar etwas weniger attraktiv ist, jedoch dem Betrachter Identifikationsmöglichkeiten bietet

Revised dose schema of sublingual buprenorphine in the treatment of the neonatal opioid abstinence syndrome.

AIMS: More than half of infants exposed to opioids in utero develop neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) of severity to require pharmacological therapy. Current treatments are associated with prolonged hospitalization. We sought to optimize the dose of sublingual buprenorphine in the treatment of NAS. DESIGN: Randomized, Phase 1, open-label, active-control clinical trial comparing sublingual buprenorphine to oral morphine. SETTING: Large, urban, tertiary care hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-four term infants requiring pharmacological treatment for NAS. MEASUREMENTS: Outcomes were neonatal safety, length of treatment and length of hospitalization. FINDINGS: Sublingual buprenorphine was safe and effective. Infants treated with buprenorphine had a 23-day length of treatment compared to 38 days for those treated with morphine (P = 0.01), representing a 40% reduction. Length of hospital stay in the buprenorphine group was reduced 24%, from 42 to 32 days (P = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Sublingual buprenorphine was safe in NAS, with a substantial efficacy advantage over standard of care therapy with oral morphine

Strategic Sexual Signals: Women's Display versus Avoidance of the Color Red Depends on the Attractiveness of an Anticipated Interaction Partner

The color red has special meaning in mating-relevant contexts. Wearing red can enhance perceptions of women's attractiveness and desirability as a potential romantic partner. Building on recent findings, the present study examined whether women's (N = 74) choice to display the color red is influenced by the attractiveness of an expected opposite-sex interaction partner. Results indicated that female participants who expected to interact with an attractive man displayed red (on clothing, accessories, and/or makeup) more often than a baseline consisting of women in a natural environment with no induced expectation. In contrast, when women expected to interact with an unattractive man, they eschewed red, displaying it less often than in the baseline condition. Findings are discussed with respect to evolutionary and cultural perspectives on mate evaluation and selection

Beilage zum Bericht über die Vorarbeiten für die systematische Entwässerung und Reinigung der Stadt Riga

Inhalt: Taf. 1. Zeichenerklärung ; Taf. 2-5. Höhenlage und Terrainschichtung der Grundwasserbohrlöcher ; Taf. 6. Curven der täglichen Grundwasserschwankungen ; Taf. 7-13. Graphische Tabellen der Wochenmittel der beobachteten Grundwasserstände vom Juli 1882 bis Juli 1883 ; Taf. 14-16. Darstellung der maximalen und mittleren Grundwasserstände im Verhältniss zur Terrainhöhe ; Taf. 17. Darstellung der Wassermengen, Durchflussprofile und mittleren Geschwindigkeiten von fünf Wasserläufen im Stadtgebiet vom 11. Februar 1884 bis zum 20. Januar 1885 ; Taf. 18-19. Dünaprofile ; Taf. 20. Niederschlags- und Temperaturlinie im Jahr 1882-83 ; Taf. 21. Monatsmittel und Temperaturen ; Taf. 22. Characterisirung der Frostzeiten ; Taf. 23. Mittlere Niederschlagshöhen in Millimetern. Monats- und Jahresmittel des Luftdruckes ; Taf. 24. Mittlere Windgeschwindigkeiten in Metern per Secunde ; Taf. 25. Monatsmittel der Wasserstände bei Riga und Dünamünde

Ursprung und Lage der Landarbeiter in Livland

Inhalt (Kapitel): A. Ursprung der Landarbeiter in Livland I. Ausbildung der Leibeigenschaft II. Bauernschutz und angebliche Bauernbefreiung B. Lage der Landarbeiter in Livland I. Allgemeine Lage II. Lage der einzelnen Arbeiterklasse