ORCID Profile
0000-0001-8328-3998
Current Organisation
UNSW Sydney
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Health psychology | Learning motivation and emotion
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 10-04-2023
DOI: 10.1093/ABM/KAAC081
Abstract: Social learning can be highly adaptive—for ex le, avoiding a hotplate your friend just burnt themselves on—but it has also been implicated in symptom transmission. Social learning is particularly pertinent given the rapid increase in the use of online mediums for social interaction. Yet, little is known about the social transmission of symptoms online or social chains extending further than a single model–observer interaction. To explore whether socially induced symptoms could be propagated through a three-generation social transmission chain in an online setting. We explored the social transmission of cybersickness following a virtual reality (VR) experience through online webcam interactions. One hundred and seventy-seven adults viewed a VR video in one of four links along a social transmission chain, after: viewing an actor model cybersickness to the VR video (First-Generation) viewing the First-Generation participant undergo VR (Second-Generation) viewing the Second-Generation participant undergo VR (Third-Generation) or naïve (Control). Cybersickness was strongest in First-Generation participants, indicating social transmission from the model. This was mediated by expectancy and anxiety. Whether or not subsequent generations experienced cybersickness depended on what the observed participant verbally reported, which is consistent with social transmission. Results demonstrate that symptoms can be readily transmitted online, and that expectancy and anxiety are involved. Although it is inconclusive as to whether symptoms can propagate along a social transmission chain, there is some evidence of protection from symptoms when a model who does not report any symptoms is observed. As such, this research highlights the role of social transmission in the modulation of symptoms through virtual mediums.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 17-10-2022
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-10-2023
DOI: 10.1111/APHW.12497
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2023
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 14-06-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2019
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-03-2023
DOI: 10.1111/APHW.12444
Abstract: Open label placebos (OLPs) appear generally efficacious among clinical s les, but the empirical evidence regarding their use in non‐clinical and sub‐clinical s les, as well as when administered independent of a convincing rationale, is mixed. Healthy participants ( N = 102) were randomised to either a 6‐day course of OLP pills with information provision (OLP‐plus: N = 35), without information provision (OLP‐only: N = 35), or no‐treatment control group ( N = 32). OLP pills were described as enhancing physical (symptoms and sleep) and psychological (positive and negative emotional) well‐being. Well‐being was assessed at baseline and on Day 6. Expectancies and adherence were measured. OLP administration interacted with baseline well‐being. The OLP‐plus group demonstrated increased well‐being on all outcomes other than positive emotions, but only when they reported decreased baseline well‐being. OLP‐only and control groups did not differ. The OLP‐plus group demonstrated elevated expectancies, that mediated the OLP effect on physical symptoms relative to control, but only when well‐being was lower than average at baseline (i.e. moderated‐mediation). Results demonstrate the importance of information provided with OLPs. The moderating effect of baseline outcomes may reconcile inconsistent results regarding clinical and non‐clinical s les. Accounting for baseline symptoms in non‐clinical and sub‐clinical s les is likely to enhance our understanding of when OLPs are effective.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 26-09-2022
Abstract: While social media exposure is known to influence vaccine hesitancy, its impact on postvaccination experience remains relatively unknown. This retrospective cross-sectional study explored whether various psychosocial and in idual factors moderate the association between social media exposure to personal recounts of COVID-19 vaccine side effects and the viewer’s subsequent postvaccination side effect experience. Adults residing in Australia, who were fully vaccinated with two COVID-19 vaccine doses (n = 280) completed an online survey. The more severe the personal recounts of post-COVID-19 vaccination side effects participants were exposed to on social media, the more severe their own postvaccination side effects were following both their first (β = 0.261, p 0.001) and second dose (β = 0.299, p 0.001). This association was stronger among those with greater vaccine side effect worry, elevated negative emotional states such as anxiety and stress, and a stronger proclivity for using social media over mainstream media for COVID-19 vaccine side effect information. As such, not only does social influence appear to exacerbate or trigger postvaccination side effects, but a range of psychosocial and situational factors moderate this association. Health organisations and government bodies could minimise the negative effects of social media exposure in future health outbreaks by countering treatment misperceptions on social media platforms as they arise.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2021
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 06-03-2019
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 27-09-2023
DOI: 10.1093/ABM/KAAD056
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 12-04-2023
DOI: 10.1093/ASJ/SJAD098
Abstract: Breast Implant Illness (BII) describes a variety of symptoms reported by patients with breast implants. Biospecimens data revealed minimal statistical differences between BII and non-BII cohorts. Baseline analysis of PROMIS data demonstrated significant differences between the BII cohort and the 2 control cohorts. This study was designed to determine if patients in the BII cohort obtained any symptom improvement after explantation, whether symptom improvement was related to the type of capsulectomy, and which symptoms improved. A prospective blinded study enrolled 150 consecutive patients ided equally into 3 cohorts. Baseline demographic data and a systemic symptoms survey, including PROMIS validated questionnaires, were obtained at baseline, 3 to 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year. A total of 150 patients were enrolled between 2019 and 2021. Follow-up at 1 year included 94% of the BII cohort and 77% of non-BII and mastopexy cohorts. At 1 year, 88% of patients showed at least partial symptom improvement, with a reduction of 2 to 20 symptoms. The PROMIS score in the BII cohort decreased at 1 year for anxiety, sleep disturbances, and fatigue. Systemic symptom improvement was noted out to 1 year in the BII cohort regardless of the type of capsulectomy performed. Parts 1–3 in this series concluded that there were no consistent differences in biospecimen results between the cohorts. Unlike the data observed in the biospecimen analysis, BII patients had heightened symptoms and poorer PROMIS scores at baseline compared to the control cohorts. The reduction of negative expectations and a potential nocebo effect could contribute to this improvement.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 03-2021
DOI: 10.1093/ABM/KAAA115
Abstract: Side effect warnings can contribute directly to their occurrence via the nocebo effect. This creates a challenge for clinicians and researchers, because warnings are necessary for informed consent, but can cause harm. Positive framing has been proposed as a method for reducing nocebo side effects whilst maintaining the principles of informed consent, but the limited available empirical data are mixed. To test whether positive attribute framing reduces nocebo side effects relative to negative framing, general warning, and no warning. Ninety-nine healthy volunteers were recruited under the guise of a study on virtual reality (VR) and spatial awareness. Participants were randomized to receive positively framed (“7 out of 10 people will not experience nausea”), negatively framed (“3 out of 10 people will experience nausea”), general (“a proportion of people will experience nausea”), or no side effect warnings prior to VR exposure. Receiving a side effect warning increased VR cybersickness relative to no warning overall, confirming that warnings can induce nocebo side effects. Importantly, however, positive framing reduced cybersickness relative to both negative framing and the general warning, with no difference between the latter two. Further, there was no difference in side effects between positive framing and no warning. These findings suggest that positive framing not only reduces nocebo side effects relative to negative framing and general warnings, but actually prevents nocebo side effects from occurring at all. As such, positive attribute framing may be a cheap and ethical way to reduce nocebo side effects.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 24-01-2022
DOI: 10.1017/S0954579421001590
Abstract: Children with conduct problems and high callous-unemotional (CP+CU) traits are characterized by d ened emotional responding, limiting their ability for affective empathy and impacting the development of prosocial behaviors. However, research documenting this d ening in young children is sparse and findings vary, with attachment-related stimuli hypothesized to ameliorate deficits in emotional responding. Here we test emotional responsiveness across various emotion-eliciting stimuli using multiple measures of emotional responsiveness (behavioral, physiological, self-reported) and attention, in young children aged 2–8 years ( M age = 5.37), with CP+CU traits (CP+CU n = 36), CPs and low CU traits (CP−CU n = 82) and a community control s le (CC n = 27). We found no evidence that attachment-related stimulus ameliorated deficits in emotional responding. Rather, at a group level we found a consistent pattern of reduced responding across all independent measures of responsiveness for children with CP+CU compared to the CC group. Few differences were found between CP+CU and CP−CU groups. When independent measures were standardized and included in a regression model predicting to CU trait score, higher CU traits were associated with reduced emotional responding, demonstrating the importance of multimodal measurement of emotional responsiveness when investigating the impact of CU traits in young children.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 2013
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2021
DOI: 10.1016/J.JPAIN.2021.02.008
Abstract: Nocebo hyperalgesia is a pervasive problem that significantly adds to the burden of pain. Conditioning is a key mechanism of nocebo hyperalgesia and recent evidence indicates that, once established, nocebo hyperalgesia is resistant to extinction. This means that preventive strategies are critical. We therefore tested whether two novel strategies - overshadowing (Experiment 1) and pre-exposure (Experiment 2) - could inhibit conditioned nocebo hyperalgesia. Overshadowing involves introducing additional cues during conditioning that should compete with and overshadow learning about the target nocebo cue. Pre-exposure involves pre-exposing the target nocebo cue in the absence of pain, which should diminish its ability to become associated with pain later. In both studies, healthy volunteers (N = 141) received exposure to a series of electrocutaneous pain stimuli with and without a sham electrode 'activated', which they were led to believe was a genuine hyperalgesic treatment. Nocebo conditioning was achieved by pairing sham activation with high pain prior to testing at equivalent pain intensity. In both studies, standard nocebo conditioning led to clear nocebo hyperalgesia relative to natural history controls. In Experiment 1, there was no evidence that overshadowing attenuated nocebo hyperalgesia. Importantly, however, Experiment 2 found that pre-exposure successfully attenuated nocebo hyperalgesia with post hoc analysis suggesting that this effect was dose-dependent. These findings provide novel evidence that pre-exposure, but not overshadowing, could be a cheap and effective way for mitigating the substantial harm caused by conditioned nocebo hyperalgesia in clinical settings. PERSPECTIVE: Nocebo hyperalgesia causes substantial patient burden with few preventive options available. Our study found novel evidence that pre-exposing treatment cues without pain, but not overshadowing them with other cues, has the capacity to inhibit conditioned nocebo hyperalgesia. Pre-exposure may therefore be an effective preventive strategy to combat nocebo hyperalgesia.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 16-06-2022
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 02-05-2022
Abstract: The use of online mediums for social communication and interaction has rapidly increased. Yet, little is known about the social transmission of symptoms online. We explored the social transmission of cybersickness following a Virtual Reality (VR) experience through online webcam interactions. 177 adults viewed a VR video in one of four links along a social transmission chain, after: viewing an actor model cybersickness to the VR video (First-Generation) viewing the First-Generation participant undergo VR (Second-Generation) viewing the Second-Generation participant undergo VR (Third-Generation) or naïve (Control). Cybersickness was strongest in First-Generation participants, indicating social transmission from the model. This was mediated by expectancy and anxiety. Whether or not subsequent generations experienced cybersickness depended on what the observed participant verbally reported, which is consistent with social transmission. This suggests that symptoms are readily transmitted online and that their propagation along a social transmission chain depends on the experience of the person prior.
Start Date: 10-2023
End Date: 09-2026
Amount: $510,087.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded Activity