Alexander J Rothman
Biographic Data
| ID | 117183 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Alexander J Rothman |
| GIVEN NAMES | Alexander J |
| FAMILY NAME | Rothman |
| SIGNATURE | ROTHMAN A J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Minnesota |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3163-1895 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 60 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 340 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 60 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1993 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Testing the Extrinsic Convergent Validity of Relationship Quality Constructs
Relationship scientists have developed a rich array of constructs to describe the quality of relationships. Yet, questions have emerged regarding the validity of these constructs. Building on these questions, we examine the validity of a set of core constructs in relationship science. Specifically, we use extrinsic convergent validity testing to assess the extent to which the six components of the perceived relationship quality components measure…
Understanding how offering financial incentives to promote vaccination influences perceptions of and attitudes towards getting a Covid-19 booster vaccine
OBJECTIVE: Financial incentive programs for COVID-19 vaccination were widely implemented, with limited success. This study examines how the provision of a financial incentive affects people's perceptions of and attitudes towards COVID-19 booster vaccines and incentive programs. METHODS AND MEASURES: = 431). In each, participants were randomised to view a hypothetical incentive (posters with $100 incentive) or no-incentive (posters only) campaign …
What makes an intervention dyadic? Introducing the Dyadic meta-framework to Describe Your focAl Dyadic Intervention Components
Background Engaging in health behaviors often occurs within a social context. This recognition has led to a notable growth in intervention approaches designed explicitly to involve a “close other,” often referred to as dyadic interventions. Yet, there has been surprisingly little discussion of what makes an intervention dyadic. Methods To address this gap, we developed the DYADIC meta-framework (Describe Your focAl Dyadic Intervention Components)…
Effects of Exposure to Conflicting Health Information on Topic-Specific Information Sharing and Seeking Intentions
Despite considerable evidence that exposure to conflicting health information can have undesirable effects on outcomes including public understanding about and trust in health recommendations, comparatively little is known about whether such exposure influences intentions to engage in two communication behaviors central to public health promotion: information sharing and information seeking. The purpose of the current study is to test whether exp…
Addressing omission bias in the treatment of osteoporosis: Evidence from a cross-sectional study and a randomized experiment
Objective The use of bisphosphonates to manage osteoporosis has diminished as reports of rare, serious side effects have gained attention. Experts have warned of a ‘crisis in osteoporosis treatment’, calling for research on psychological processes underlying medication decisions. We observed that people’s tendency to judge the lower risk of action (i.e. side effects) as worse than the higher risk of inaction (i.e. osteoporotic fracture) may be co…
How multiple motives facilitate decisions to exercise in contexts with tempting alternatives: Evidence from two scenario studies
OBJECTIVE: Both affectively-charged and reflective motivation may be necessary to sustain recommended physical activity (PA) guidelines, especially in contexts with tempting alternatives. However, our understanding of how different sources of motivation facilitate PA across contexts is limited. This paper presents a novel value-based model that specifies how affectively-charged and reflective motivation interact to support PA decisions based on a…
Compendium of dyadic behavior change techniques v2.0: Results from a Delphi study
BACKGROUND: Dyadic interventions involving a close other (eg, romantic partner) have gained increased awareness and shown initial promise, but a shared language and systematic approach to describing their intervention content (ie, dyadic behavior change techniques [DBCTs]) is lacking. PURPOSE: This study aimed to further develop a comprehensive and expert-validated Compendium of DBCTs focused on health behavior change in romantic couples to suppo…
Why do people in the U.S. pay more for bouillabaisse than kaeng som? Experimental tests of how cuisine and authenticity affect the value of food
Racial Justice Intervention Research: Reflections, Challenges, and the Road Ahead
In this closing commentary, we consider the contents of this special issue in full and contemplate the lessons learned in the process of its composition. Ultimately, the goal of racial justice intervention research is to meaningfully and tangibly reduce real‐world discrimination and inequity. We offer guidance to researchers in three thematic domains that we hope will be in service of these efforts. In the first section, the second and the third …
A new measure of regulatory focus: Preventing measurement error by promoting best validation practices
OBJECTIVE AND BACKGROUND: The goals of this project were to improve our understanding of chronic regulatory focus constructs and to provide researchers with a measure that adequately assesses the constructs, can distinguish individual differences effectively across the range of the constructs, and is appropriate for use in diverse populations. METHOD: Employing best practices in construct validation, we developed the International Personality Ite…
Behavioral interventions—past, present, and future: Proceedings of the 5th International Behavioural Trials Network International Hybrid Meeting
Testing autonomous motivation as a mechanism of anticipated regret intervention techniques for seasonal flu vaccination
BACKGROUND: Anticipated regret is associated with vaccination. However, gaps in understanding mechanisms of anticipated regret and how to intervene using anticipated regret limit its use as an intervention to promote vaccination. PURPOSE: Address gaps in anticipated regret interventions to promote seasonal flu vaccination. In a randomized intervention, we tested the novel hypothesis that autonomous motivation is a target mechanism of anticipated …
Weight loss advice from a healthcare provider is motivating, but it is also stigmatizing: An Experimental, Scenario-Based Approach
BACKGROUND: It is standard practice for healthcare providers to give weight loss advice or counseling to higher-weight patients (ie, those with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2), but the immediate psychological consequences of this practice have rarely been examined. PURPOSE: We hypothesized that receiving weight loss advice from a healthcare provider might lead people to feel both motivated to engage in healthy behaviors and stigmatized for their weight. METHOD…
Prevalence and scholarly impact of observational versus experimental research in health psychology and behavioral medicine
OBJECTIVE: This study examines what kinds of evidence are used and valued in advancing the goals of health psychology and behavioral medicine. As no systematic analysis of the prevalence and scholarly impact of different research designs appears to be available, the present research addressed three questions: How often are observational and experimental designs used in psychological research on health? Has the prevalence of these designs changed …
Are we making progress? Testing whether interventions to promote key health behaviors improved over the past 30 years
Psychological network analysis of the relations between beliefs about smoking for smokers with and without a recent quit attempt
OBJECTIVE: Psychological network analysis was used to evaluate the relations between beliefs about cigarette smoking in current smokers with and without a recent quit attempt and determine if these networks differed in global strength (how strongly beliefs are related) or global structure (which beliefs are related). DESIGN: = 7855), we evaluated differences in global strength and global structure of the beliefs held by current smokers with and w…
Mapping the integration of adult friends into the study of close relationships and health
Close relationships are associated with many positive outcomes throughout life, including improved physical health and well‐being. Traditionally, theory and research on the health benefits of close relationships have focused on either the total amount of support perceived available within a person's entire social network or the support provided by romantic partners (Shankar et al. in Psychology and Health , 30(6), 686–698; 2015). Limited work has…
Consequences of receiving weight-related advice from a healthcare provider: Understanding the varied experiences of people with higher weight
Linking measures to mechanisms of action in behavior change: A qualitative analysis of expert views
Vulnerability to the Effects of Conflicting Health Information: Testing the Moderating Roles of Trust in News Media and Research Literacy
BACKGROUND: Exposure to conflicting health information can produce negative affective and cognitive responses, including confusion and backlash, and the effects of this exposure can even "carry over" and reduce people's receptivity to subsequent messages about health behaviors for which there is scientific consensus. What is not known is whether certain population subgroups are more vulnerable to such carryover effects. AIMS: This study investiga…
Effects of Exposure to Conflicting Information About Mammography on Cancer Information Overload, Perceived Scientists’ Credibility, and Perceived Journalists’ Credibility
Conflicting recommendations about mammography screening have received ample media coverage, emphasizing scientists’ debate over the value of breast cancer screening and differences in professional organizations’ guidelines about the appropriate starting age and frequency of routine mammograms. Whereas past research suggests that exposure to such media coverage of conflicting recommendations can have undesirable consequences, both on topic-specifi…
Contextual disruption and exercise: Mapping changes to exercise routines and engagement during the Covid-19 pandemic
OBJECTIVE: This study examines the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on exercise routines and engagement in moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). DESIGN: = 397) who reported meeting recommended guidelines for MVPA prior to COVID-19 completed an online questionnaire during the United States' COVID-19 lockdowns in April/May 2020. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants reported their MVPA currently and before COVID-19, and answered questions about …
Sustaining positive perceptions of science in the face of conflicting health information: An experimental test of messages about the process of scientific discovery
Appealing to motivation to change attitudes, intentions, and behavior: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 702 experimental tests of the effects of motivational message matching on persuasion
Effect of Integrating Access to a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Within the Electronic Health Record on the Frequency of Queries by Primary Care Clinicians: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04601506
Shaping perceptions to motivate healthy behavior: The role of message framing
Health-relevant communications can be framed in terms of the benefits (gains) or costs (losses) associated with a particular behavior, and the framing of such persuasive messages influences health decision making. Although to ask people to consider a health issue in terms of associated costs is considered an effective way to motivate behavior, empirical findings are inconsistent. In evaluating the effectiveness of framed health messages, investig…
Emotional states and physical health
Implicit stereotyping in person judgment
mined the use of previously primed stereotyped information, without Ss ' awareness of such influ-ence. After unscrambling sentences describing neutral or stereotyped behaviors about dependence or aggression, Ss evaluated a female or male target. Although ratings of female and male targets did not differ after exposure to neutral primes, Ss exposed to dependence primes rated a female target as more dependent than a male target who performed identi…
The Influence of Message Framing on Intentions to Perform Health Behaviors
Using attachment and relational perspectives to understand adaptation and resilience among immigrant and refugee youth
Migration is a critical issue for child development in the 21st century. We expand on García Coll et al.'s (1996) integrative model of minority child development by drawing from principles of attachment theory and interpersonal relationships research to offer new insights into how youth manage and respond to migration experiences. Immigrant and refugee youth should experience better outcomes to the extent that they (a) maintain strong relationshi…
The socioecological model of procommunity action: The benefits of residential stability
The authors conducted 3 studies to test a socioecological model of procommunity action. Study 1 showed that residents of stable communities purchased a "critical habitat" license plate to support preservation of the environment in their home state more often than did residents of mobile communities. Study 2 demonstrated that home game baseball attendance was less dependent on the team's record in stable cities than in mobile cities. Study 3, an e…
Consequences of receiving weight-related advice from a healthcare provider: Understanding the varied experiences of people with higher weight
The availability of community ties predicts likelihood of peer referral for mammography: Geographic constraints on viral marketing
Sustaining positive perceptions of science in the face of conflicting health information: An experimental test of messages about the process of scientific discovery
How do we optimize message matching interventions? Identifying matching thresholds, and simultaneously matching to multiple characteristics
Matching the content of persuasive messages to the characteristics (e.g., motives, personality) of people receiving them is a widely used technique to improve persuasion. However, little is known about how to optimize matching beyond simply using the technique. We propose that matching interventions can be strengthened by matching messages to multiple characteristics at a time, and introduce the concept of matching thresholds to improve the way i…
A new measure of regulatory focus: Preventing measurement error by promoting best validation practices
OBJECTIVE AND BACKGROUND: The goals of this project were to improve our understanding of chronic regulatory focus constructs and to provide researchers with a measure that adequately assesses the constructs, can distinguish individual differences effectively across the range of the constructs, and is appropriate for use in diverse populations. METHOD: Employing best practices in construct validation, we developed the International Personality Ite…
Weight loss advice from a healthcare provider is motivating, but it is also stigmatizing: An Experimental, Scenario-Based Approach
BACKGROUND: It is standard practice for healthcare providers to give weight loss advice or counseling to higher-weight patients (ie, those with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2), but the immediate psychological consequences of this practice have rarely been examined. PURPOSE: We hypothesized that receiving weight loss advice from a healthcare provider might lead people to feel both motivated to engage in healthy behaviors and stigmatized for their weight. METHOD…
Now is the time to assess the effects of open science practiceswith randomized control trials
We issue a call for the design and conduct of experimental trials to test the effects of researchers' adoption of Open Science (OS) research practices. OS emerged to address lapses in the transparency, quality, integrity, and reproducibility of research by proposing that investigators institute practices, such as preregistering study hypotheses, procedures, and statistical analyses, before launching their research. These practices have been greet…
Parents' use of intentional modeling and social control to influence their adolescent's health behavior: Findings from the FLASHE study
Using data from the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating (FLASHE) study, we examined how adolescents' age as well as parents' and their adolescent's gender are associated with the influence strategies parents use to promote healthy behaviors. Parents reported their use of intentional modeling and social control for four health behaviors: fruit and vegetable consumption, junk food consumption, physical activity, and screen time. We found…
Formalizing the Ban: My Experience in the Reagan Administration
The repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) is a success story. As of September 20, 2011, one of the most egregious cases of modern day government-sanctioned discrimination has been overturned. But my (Lawrence Korb) involvement with military policy toward gays and lesbians began early in our country's journey toward open service--18 years before the creation of DADT and 30 years before the Obama Administration successfully opened the armed forces…
The Influence of Message Framing on Intentions to Perform Health Behaviors
Implicit stereotyping in person judgment
mined the use of previously primed stereotyped information, without Ss ' awareness of such influ-ence. After unscrambling sentences describing neutral or stereotyped behaviors about dependence or aggression, Ss evaluated a female or male target. Although ratings of female and male targets did not differ after exposure to neutral primes, Ss exposed to dependence primes rated a female target as more dependent than a male target who performed identi…
Shaping perceptions to motivate healthy behavior: The role of message framing
Health-relevant communications can be framed in terms of the benefits (gains) or costs (losses) associated with a particular behavior, and the framing of such persuasive messages influences health decision making. Although to ask people to consider a health issue in terms of associated costs is considered an effective way to motivate behavior, empirical findings are inconsistent. In evaluating the effectiveness of framed health messages, investig…
Stage theories of health behavior: Conceptual and methodological issues.
Despite growing interest in stage theories of health behavior, there is considerable confusion in the literature concerning the essential characteristics of stage theories and the manner in which such theories should be tested. In this article, the 4 key characteristics of a stage theory-a category system, an ordering of categories, similar barriers to change within categories, and different barriers to change between categories--are discussed in…
The Systematic Influence of Gain-and Loss-Framed Messages on Interest in and Use of Different Types of Health Behavior
Framing health messages systematically in terms of either gains or losses influences the behaviors that people adopt. Rothman and Salovey proposed that the relative influence of gain-and loss-framed messages is contingent on people’s perception of the risk or uncertainty associated with adopting the recommended behavior. Specifically, loss-framed messages are more effective when promoting illness-detecting (screening) behaviors, but gain-framed m…
Message framing and sunscreen use: Gain-framed messages motivate beach-goers.
Toward a theory-based analysis of behavioral maintenance.
Intervention strategies that can produce successful rates of long-term behavior change have proven elusive and indicate the need for new approaches to this vexing problem. However, the development of new intervention strategies is constrained by our current conceptualization of behavioral maintenance. This article reviews how the dominant models of health behavior change have operationalized the psychological processes that guide the initiation a…
Emotional states and physical health
The Strategic Use of Gain- and Loss-Framed Messages to Promote Healthy Behavior: How Theory Can Inform Practice
Message framing provides a theoretically grounded approach to the development of effective health messages. In this study, we review the state of research and theory on message framing (Rothman & Salovey, 1997), and how it can inform efforts to enhance health practices throughout the cancer care continuum. Gain-framed appeals are more effective when targeting behaviors that prevent the onset of disease, whereas loss-framed appeals are more effect…
College students’ mental models for recognizing anorexia and bulimia nervosa
The socioecological model of procommunity action: The benefits of residential stability
The authors conducted 3 studies to test a socioecological model of procommunity action. Study 1 showed that residents of stable communities purchased a "critical habitat" license plate to support preservation of the environment in their home state more often than did residents of mobile communities. Study 2 demonstrated that home game baseball attendance was less dependent on the team's record in stable cities than in mobile cities. Study 3, an e…
Reflective and Automatic Processes in the Initiation and Maintenance of Dietary Change
PURPOSE AND METHODS: This paper examines the social cognitive processes that regulate people's eating behavior. Specifically, we examine how eating behavior can be regulated by reflective, deliberative processes as well as automatic and habitual processes. Moreover, we consider how these processes operate when people are not only initiating a change in behavior but also maintaining the behavior over time. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Decomposing actio…
Modeling Structural, Dyadic, and Individual Factors: The Inclusion and Exclusion Model of HIV Related Behavior
A Framework for Incorporating Dyads in Models of HIV-Prevention
The availability of community ties predicts likelihood of peer referral for mammography: Geographic constraints on viral marketing
Self-regulation, identity-regulation and health
As investigators have worked to understand the psychological processes that guide how people manage their health and cope with illness, they have frequently turned to theoretical and methodological
Using self- and identity-regulation to promote health: Promises and challenges
Self/identity-regulation can have important consequences for a wide variety of health outcomes. In this paper, we review how self/identity-regulation can both promote and undermine health. We also discuss ways in which research and theory on self/identity-regulation can engage traditional models of health behavior, prompting new research questions as well as promising approaches to daunting health problems. Finally, we consider several challenges…
Formalizing the Ban: My Experience in the Reagan Administration
The repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) is a success story. As of September 20, 2011, one of the most egregious cases of modern day government-sanctioned discrimination has been overturned. But my (Lawrence Korb) involvement with military policy toward gays and lesbians began early in our country's journey toward open service--18 years before the creation of DADT and 30 years before the Obama Administration successfully opened the armed forces…
Power and social influence in relationships.
As the philosopher Bertrand Russell observed, power plays a central role in everyday social interactions, and it serves as an organizing principle in the social and behavioral sciences (Reis, Collins, & Berscheid, 2000). Given its paramount importance, one might expect power would hold a privileged place in the field of social psychology and particularly in the study of relationships. Although there are major theoretical statements on what power …
The relationship power inventory: Development and validation
Power is a central concept in relationships, yet existing self‐report measures of relationship power are not well validated and do not assess all aspects of power. To address this, we developed the Relationship Power Inventory ( RPI ), a self‐report measure of power for romantic partners. In Study 1, we identified the most important decision‐making domains in romantic relationships. In Study 2, we generated an item pool assessing relationship pow…
Regulatory Focus, Proximity to Goal Weight, and Weight Loss Maintenance
Regulatory focus and proximity to goal weight moderated intervention effectiveness. Maintenance may be enhanced by tailoring treatments to regulatory focus and goal weight (eg, prevention-focused people far from their goals may need extra weight-loss support before focusing on maintenance)
The impact of changing attitudes, norms, and self-efficacy on health-related intentions and behavior: A meta-analysis.
Understanding the framing effect: Do affective responses to decision options mediate the influence of frame on choice
Little research has examined how gain- and loss-framed options influence participants’ affective states. In the current paper, we present two studies that measure affective responses to framed options to identify a potential mediator of the relation between frame and choice. We found that participants reported more positive responses after reading gain-framed options that presented a certain outcome compared to loss-framed options that presented …
Evaluations of the health benefits of eating more fruit depend on the amount of fruit previously eaten, variety, and timing
Health Behavior Change: Moving from Observation to Intervention
How can progress in research on health behavior change be accelerated? Experimental medicine (EM) offers an approach that can help investigators specify the research questions that need to be addressed and the evidence needed to test those questions. Whereas current research draws predominantly on multiple overlapping theories resting largely on correlational evidence, the EM approach emphasizes experimental tests of targets or mechanisms of chan…
Psychology (48 works) · Social Psychology (35 works) · Behavioral Health and Interventions (29 works) · Medicine (29 works) · Social Psychology (18 works) · Computer Science (17 works) · Psychological intervention (15 works) · Political science (12 works) · Clinical Psychology (11 works) · Public health (11 works)