Laura D. SELIGMAN1, Andrew L. GEERS2, Erin F. SWEDISH3,
Joseph D. HOVEY1, Gabriela HURTADO4
laura.seligman@utrgv.edu
Abstract
Despite the promise of research-based treatments, dissemination into community settings has been problematic. Attitudes toward these treatments may be partially responsible for the slow uptake. Building on the functional theory of attitudes, it was hypothesized that presenting emotion-focused rather than cognitively-focused information about a treatment would produce more positive attitudes toward the treatment in individuals interested in clinical practice. To test this hypothesis, 144 students (116 women; Mage = 22.46 years) completed a measure of vocational interest and evaluated a treatment after reading either an emotional or cognitive passage about the treatment. Consistent with the hypothesis, participants’ interests in clinical activities were related to more favorable reactions to the emotional passage but not the cognitive passage. This effect was partially mediated by message elaboration. Findings suggest that presenting clinicians with emotionally rich information on treatment options may help bridge the gap between research and practice.
Keywords: evidence-based practice, empirically supported treatments,
dissemination, persuasion, elaboration likelihood model
Doi: 10.24193/jebp.2018.2.15
Published online: 2018/09/01
Published print: 2018/09/01
References
Aarons, G. A. (2004). Mental health provider attitudes toward adoption of evidence-based practice: The Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS). Mental Health Services Research, 6, 61-74. doi:10.1023/B:MHSR.0000024351.12294.65
Aarons, G. A. (2005). Measuring Provider Attitudes Toward Evidence-Based Practice: Consideration of Organizational Context and Individual Differences. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 14, 255-271. doi:10.1016/j.chc.2004.04.008
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211. doi:10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-t
Anderson, N. H. (1971). Integration theory and attitude change. Psychological Review, 78, 171-206. doi:10.1037/h0030834
APA Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice. (2006). Evidence-based practice in psychology. American Psychologist, 61, 271-285.
Asch, S. E. (1946). Forming impressions of personality. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 41, 258-290.
Barlow, D. H., Levitt, J. T., & Bufka, L. F. (1999). The dissemination of empirically supported treatments: A view to the future. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 37, S147-S162. doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(99)00054-6
Borntrager, C. F., Chorpita, B. F., Higa-McMillan, C. K., Daleiden, E. L., & Starace, N. (2013). Usual care for trauma-exposed youth: Are clinician-reported therapy techniques evidence-based? Children and Youth Services Review, 35, 133-141. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.09.018
Chaiken, S., & Trope, Y. (1999). Dual-process theories in social psychology. New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
Chambless, D. L., & Hollon, S. D. (1998). Defining empirically supported therapies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 7-18.
Chambless, D. L., & Ollendick, T. H. (2001). Empirically supported psychological interventions: Controversies and evidence. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 685-doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.685
Chorpita, B. F., Daleiden, E. L., Ebesutani, C., Young, J., Becker, K. D., Nakamura, B. J., . . . Starace, N. (2011). Evidence‐based treatments for children and adolescents: An updated review of indicators of efficacy and effectiveness. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 18, 154-172. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2850.2011.01247.x
Chorpita, B. F., & Regan, J. (2009). Dissemination of effective mental health treatment procedures: Maximizing the return on a significant investment. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 47, 990-993. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2009.07.002
Cialdini, R. B., & Trost, M. R. (1998). Social influence: Social norms, conformity and compliance. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology, Vols. 1 and 2 (4th ed.). (pp. 151-192). New York, NY, US: McGraw-Hill. Clarkson, J. J., Tormala, Z. L., & Rucker, D. D. (2008). A new look at the consequences of attitude certainty: The amplification hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 810-825. doi:10.1037/a0013192
Clarkson, J. J., Tormala, Z. L., & Rucker, D. D. (2011). Cognitive and affective matching effects in persuasion: An amplification perspective. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 1415-1427. doi:10.1177/0146167211413394
de Vries, M., Witteman, C. L. M., Holland, R. W., & Dijksterhuis, A. (2010). The unconscious thought effect in clinical decision making: An example in diagnosis. Medical Decision Making, 30, 578-581. doi:10.1177/0272989X09360820
Deacon, B. J., Farrell, N. R., Kemp, J. J., Dixon, L. J., Sy, J. T., Zhang, A. R., & McGrath, P. B. (2013). Assessing therapist reservations about exposure therapy for anxiety disorders: The Therapist Beliefs about Exposure Scale. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 27, 772-780. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.04.006
Deacon, B. J., Lickel, J. J., Farrell, N. R., Kemp, J. J., & Hipol, L. J. (2013). Therapist perceptions and delivery of interoceptive exposure for panic disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 27, 259-264. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.02.004
DeRubeis, R. J., & Crits-Christoph, P. (1998). Empirically supported individual and group psychological treatments for adult mental disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 37-52. doi:10.1037/0022-006x.66.1.37
Dijksterhuis, A., & Nordgren, L. F. (2006). A theory of unconscious thought. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1, 95-109. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6916.2006.00007.x
Drolet, A., & Aaker, J. (2002). Off-target? Changing cognitive-based attitudes. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 12, 59-68. doi:10.1207/s15327663jcp1201_06
Dube, L., & Cantin, I. (2000). Promoting health or promoting pleasure? A contingency approach to the effect of informational and emotional appeals on food liking and consumption. Appetite, 35, 251-262. doi:10.1006/appe.2000.0361
Edwards, K. (1990). The interplay of affect and cognition in attitude formation and change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 202-216. doi:10.1037/0022- 3514.59.2.202
Edwards, K., & Vonhippel, W. (1995). Hearts and minds: The priority of affective versus cognitive factors in person perception. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 996-1011. doi:10.1177/01461672952110001
Evans, J. S. B. T. (2008). Dual-processing accounts of reasoning, judgment, and social cognition. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 255-278.
doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.59.103006.093629
Farrell, N. R., Deacon, B. J., Dixon, L. J., & Lickel, J. J. (2013). Theory-based training strategies for modifying practitioner concerns about exposure therapy. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 27, 781-787. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.09.003
Fazio, R. H., & Williams, C. J. (1986). Attitude accessibility as a moderator of the attitude– perception and attitude–behavior relations: An investigation of the 1984 presidential election. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 505-514. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.3.505
Gelso, C. J. (1979). Research in counseling: Methodological and professional issues. The Counseling Psychologist, 8, 7-35. Haddock, G., Maio, G. R., Arnold, K., & Huskinson, T. (2008). Should persuasion be affective or cognitive? The moderating effects of need for affect and need for cognition. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 769-778. doi:10.1177/0146167208314871
Herek, G. M. (1987). Can functions be measured? A new perspective on the functional approach to attitudes. Social Psychology Quarterly, 50, 285-303.
Higa-McMillan, C. K., Francis, S. E., Rith-Najarian, L., & Chorpita, B. F. (2016). Evidence base update: 50 years of research on treatment for child and adolescent anxiety. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 45, 91-113. doi:10.1080/15374416.2015.1046177
Huskinson, T. L. H., & Haddock, G. (2004). Individual differences in attitude structure: Variance in the chronic reliance on affective and cognitive information. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 40, 82-90. doi:10.1016/s0022-1031(03)00060-x
IBM Corp. (Released 2016). IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 24.0 Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.
Jensen-Doss, A., Cusack, K. J., & de Arellano, M. A. (2008). Workshop-based training in trauma-focused CBT: An in-depth analysis of impact on provider practices. Community Mental Health Journal, 44, 227-244. doi:10.1007/s10597-007-9121-8
Katz, D. (1960). The functional approach to the study of attitudes. Public Opinion Quarterly, 24, 163-204.
Keer, M., van den Putte, B., & Neijens, P. (2010). The role of affect and cognition in health decision making. British Journal of Social Psychology, 49, 143-153. doi:10.1348/014466609×425337
LeDoux, J. E. (1989). Cognitive€motional interactions in the brain. Cognition and Emotion, 3, 267-289. doi:10.1080/02699938908412709
Leong, F. T. L., & Zachar, P. (1991). Development and validation of the Scientist-Practitioner Inventory for psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 38, 331-341.
Leong, F. T. L., Zachar, P., Conant, L., & Tolliver, D. (2007). Career speciality preferences among psychology majors: Cognitive processing styles associated with scientist and practitioner interests. The Career Development Quarterly, 55, 328-338.
Locke, B., & Keiser-Clark, D. (2001). PsychData. State College, PA. Lopez, M. A., Osterberg, L. D., Jensen-Doss, A., & Rae, W. A. (2011). Effects of workshop training for providers under mandated use of an evidence-based practice.
Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 38, 301-312. doi:10.1007/s10488-010-0326-8
Mayer, N. D., & Tormala, Z. L. (2010). “Think” versus “Feel” framing effects in persuasion. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 443-454. doi:10.1177/0146167210362981
Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1981). Attitudes and persuasion: Classic and contemporary approaches. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986). The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 19, pp. 124- 205). New York: Academic Press. Petty, R. E., & Wegener, D. T. (1998). Matching versus mismatching attitude functions: Implications for scrutiny of persuasive messages. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 227-240. doi:10.1177/0146167298243001
Petty, R. E., & Wegener, D. T. (1999). The Elaboration Likelihood Model: Current status and controversies. In S. Chaiken & Y. Trope (Eds.), Dual-process theories in social psychology. (pp. 37-72). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assesing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40, 879-891.
Seligman, L. D., Hovey, J. D., Hurtado, G., Swedish, E. F., Roley, M. E., Geers, A. L., . . . Ollendick, T. H. (2016). Social cognitive correlates of attitudes toward empirically supported treatments. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 47, 215-223. doi:10.1037/pro0000068
Smith, J. R., & Louis, W. R. (2009). Group norms and the attitude-behaviour relationship. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 3, 19-35. doi:10.1111/j.1751- 9004.2008.00161.x
Stewart, R. E., & Chambless, D. L. (2007). Does psychotherapy research inform treatment decisions in private practice? Journal of Clinical Psychology, 63, 267-281. doi:10.1002/jclp.20347
Stewart, R. E., & Chambless, D. L. (2010). Interesting practitioners in training in empirically supported treatments: Research reviews versus case studies. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 66, 73-95.
Stewart, R. E., Chambless, D. L., & Baron, J. (2012). Theoretical and practical barriers to practitioners’ willingness to seek training in empirically supported treatments. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 68, 8-23.
Strack, F., & Deutsch, R. (2004). Reflective and Impulsive Determinants of Social Behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 8, 220-247.
doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr0803_1
Wheeler, S. C., Petty, R. E., & Bizer, G. Y. (2005). Self-schema matching and attitude change: Situational and dispositional determinants of message elaboration. Journal of Consumer Research, 31, 787-797. doi:10.1086/426613
Wilson, T. D., & Dunn, D. S. (1986). Effects of introspection on attitude-behavior consistency: Analyzing reasons versus focusing on feelings. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 22, 249-263.
Zajonc, R. B., & Markus, H. (1982). Affective and cognitive factors in preferences. Journal of Consumer Research, 9, 123-131.
