Jennifer L Howell
Biographic Data
| ID | 763446 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jennifer L Howell |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jennifer L |
| FAMILY NAME | Howell |
| SIGNATURE | HOWELL J L |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of California, Merced |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5418-3736 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 35 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 70 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 35 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2013 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Information-management behavior during stressful waiting periods
In three longitudinal studies, we examined the relationship between worry about an outcome and information-management behavior-specifically seeking and avoiding information about that outcome-in the context of awaiting uncertain news. Study 1 examined a group of U.S. voters across the 4 weeks preceding the 2020 presidential election. Study 2 examined law graduates who completed the California bar exam during the 17 weeks between when they took th…
Comparing White and Black athlete racial activism: Examining NFL and NBA players’ choice of social justice uniform messages
Black racial justice activists often report that White activists engage in more tepid activism that fails to directly point out systemic racism. We examined whether this trend manifested in professional athletes’ decisions regarding social justice messages they display on their uniforms. We tested whether the helmet decal (NFL) and jersey slogan (NBA) choices made by athletes as they participated in league-wide uniform modifications to promote so…
Examining the causal role of physicians' communication goals in patient outcomes
Past research finds that physicians' communication goals are correlated with patient outcomes. The present work experimentally investigates the effect of five physician communication goals-providing information, encouraging hope, promoting adherence, reducing distress, and increasing satisfaction-on patient outcomes following a hypothetical visit. In an online study, 991 adults watched a video of a physician and imagined they were in an office vi…
Why do people avoid health risk information? A qualitative analysis
Despite the potential benefit of receiving personalized health risk information, when given the opportunity to learn their risk, some people avoid that information. An extensive body of research has revealed various reasons for such information avoidance. Most of this existing work has used quantitative methods, with less focus on self-reported reasons for avoiding health risk information. We used a content analysis approach across four datasets …
Vivre: Le compte à rebours
Self-administered mindfulness interventions reduce stress in a large, randomized controlled multi-site study
Mindfulness witnessed a substantial popularity surge in the past decade, especially as digitally self-administered interventions became available at relatively low costs. Yet, it is uncertain whether they effectively help reduce stress. In a preregistered (OSF https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/UF4JZ; retrospective registration at ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06308744) multi-site study (nsites = 37, nparticipants = 2,239, 70.4% women, Mage = 22.4, s.d.age …
Author Correction: Self-administered mindfulness interventions reduce stress in a large, randomized controlled multi-site study
Information avoidance: An interchangeable strategy of self-protection
Across two studies, using five samples (N = 1,850), we examined whether health information avoidance-the deliberate decision to remain ignorant of available but unwanted personal health information-serves a defensive purpose and is interchangeable with other defensive strategies. We tested this idea by examining the relationship between health information avoidance-both as a dispositional tendency and deliberate decision-and feedback derogation. …
Comparing Foodie Calls in Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States: A Registered Replication Report
Collisson et al. (2020) found Dark Triad traits and gender role beliefs predicted "foodie calls," a phenomenon where people go on a date with others, to whom they are not attracted, for a free meal. Because gender roles and dating norms differ across cultures, we conducted a registered replication across different cultures by surveying 1838 heterosexual women from Poland, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US). Relying on the structu…
Associations Between Primary Residence and Mental Health in Global Marginalized Populations
Associations between perceived everyday discrimination and health among college students at a Hispanic-serving institution
Despite efforts by universities to promote racial/ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic diversity, college students continue to report discrimination. In two studies, we examined the frequency, predictors, and health consequences of experiencing everyday discrimination at a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Findings show the majority of students reported experiencing discrimination at the university, with most experiences attributed to their gender and a…
Strategy Specific Support During Uncertain Waiting Periods
Uncertainty over what the future holds can be a source of anxiety and worry, and people use a variety of coping strategies in response to this distress. However, limited research has examined whether and how interpersonal factors might influence how exactly people choose to cope with uncertainty. In the current studies, we explore how perceptions of a romantic partner's strategy-specific support behaviors (e.g., support for bracing for the worst,…
The role of uncertainty, worry, and control in well-being: Evidence from the Covid-19 outbreak and pandemic in U.S. and China
Uncertainty about the future often leads to worries about what the future will bring, which can have negative consequences for health and well-being. However, if worry can act as a motivator to promote efforts to prevent undesirable future outcomes, those negative consequences of worry may be mitigated. In this article, we apply a novel model of uncertainty, worry, and perceived control to predict psychological and physical well-being among four …
Understanding parental vaccine refusal: Implicit and explicit associations about vaccines as potential building blocks of vaccine beliefs and behavior
Coping self-efficacy influences health information avoidance
Avoiding information about one's health can have long-term implications for health and well-being. Two studies examined the relationship between health information avoidance and coping self-efficacy, or a sense that one can effectively cope. In Study 1, coping self-efficacy, but not general self-efficacy, was associated with information avoidance. In Study 2, participants who reflected on their positive coping strategies were less likely to avoid…
Outcomes of Physicians’ Communication Goals During Patient Interactions
During healthcare visits, physicians may set communication goals such as providing their patient with information about treatment; however, no recommendations exist regarding which goals physicians should prioritize during their often-brief interactions with patients. Two studies examined five communication goals (providing information, reducing distress, increasing patient satisfaction, increasing patient adherence, and encouraging hope) in the …
Avoiding information about one's romantic partner
Research links open communication and self-disclosure to a host of beneficial outcomes in romantic relationships, including better relationship quality, relationship satisfaction, feelings of closeness and commitment, and relationship longevity. However, learning some information about a partner may evoke negative consequences. In two studies, we examined the types of information people may wish to avoid learning about their past or current roman…
Meddling friends and family: Dark Tetrad traits predict interference in disliked couples' romantic relationships
Certain disapproving friends and family may interfere in others' romantic relationships by undermining commitment processes. In the current study, we assessed whether friends and family members' scores on the Dark Tetrad, a constellation of socially aversive personality traits including narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism, predict relationship interference. In Study 1, 206 people selected a friend who was currently in a romantic…
Health behavior during periods of stressful uncertainty: Associations with emotions, cognitions, and expectation management
Objective: The present study examined how cognitions and emotions characteristic of awaiting uncertain news influenced healthy (diet/exercise) and unhealthy (alcohol use) behaviors in three samples of people awaiting important news.Design: Study 1 examined voting-eligible citizens during the month prior to learning the results of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Study 2 examined the experience of law graduates across four months while they aw…
Foodie Calls: When Women Date Men for a Free Meal (Rather Than a Relationship)
A foodie call occurs when a person, despite a lack of romantic attraction to a suitor, chooses to go on a date to receive a free meal. The present study examines predictors of a deceptive form of the foodie call in the context of male–female dates: when a woman purposefully misrepresents her romantic interest in a man to dine at his expense. In two studies, we surveyed women regarding their foodie call behavior, dark triad personality traits, tra…
Nostalgia and temporal self-appraisal: Divergent evaluations of past and present selves
The present research examined how nostalgia influences temporal self-appraisals and whether those appraisals relate to current mood. Across two studies, participants recalled either an ordinary or nostalgic memory and provided appraisals of their present and past selves. Participants who recalled nostalgic memories evaluated their past selves more positively than their present selves, whereas the reverse occurred for those who recalled ordinary m…
Political behavior, perceived similarity to the candidates, and defensiveness: The curious case of a group of first-time voters in a bellwether-swing-state in 2016
Using a sample of 258 first-time voters in a bellwether swing state during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, we examined the extent to which people assumed that the major presidential candidates shared their values and defensiveness about these assumptions. Participants estimated their agreement with the two major-party candidates, completed an online quiz about their beliefs, and then received feedback about their actual agreement with the ca…
Perceptions of romantic partners’ responsiveness during a period of stressful uncertainty
Whether awaiting biopsy results, a grade on a midterm, or a decision from a journal editor, people feel distressed as they wait for uncertain news. In the present study, we investigated how people's perceptions of their romantic partner, specifically their partner's responsiveness to their support needs, corresponds with key aspects of the waiting experience. In a longitudinal study of 184 law students awaiting their result on the California bar …
Spontaneous self-affirmation is associated with psychological well-being: Evidence from a US national adult survey sample
Emerging evidence suggests that individuals spontaneously self-affirm, by reflecting on values and strengths, in response to daily threats. We examined the prevalence and demographic and well-being correlates of spontaneous self-affirmation in the general population. Participants ( n = 3185) completed the cross-sectional, nationally representative 2013 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 4, Cycle 3), and answered questions about spon…
Assessing the consequences of unrealistic optimism: Challenges and recommendations
Avoiding cancer risk information
Spontaneous self-affirmation is associated with psychological well-being: Evidence from a US national adult survey sample
Emerging evidence suggests that individuals spontaneously self-affirm, by reflecting on values and strengths, in response to daily threats. We examined the prevalence and demographic and well-being correlates of spontaneous self-affirmation in the general population. Participants ( n = 3185) completed the cross-sectional, nationally representative 2013 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 4, Cycle 3), and answered questions about spon…
Date someone your own size: Prejudice and discrimination toward mixed-weight relationships
We assessed whether people express more prejudice and discrimination toward mixed-weight couples (i.e., romantic partners with dissimilar body mass indexes [BMIs]) than matched-weight couples. In Study 1, people rated mixed-weight couples less favorably than matched-weight couples. In Study 2, people acted as matchmakers; they chose to pair potential relationship partners on the basis of similar BMI and body size. Mixed-weight couples were percei…
Social exclusion, self-affirmation, and health information avoidance
Does lacking threat-management resources increase information avoidance? A multi-sample, multi-method investigation
Happy but unhealthy: The relationship between social ties and health in an emerging network
Social connections are essential to health and well‐being. However, when pursing social acceptance, people may sometimes engage in behavior that is detrimental to their health. Using a multi‐time‐point design, we examined whether the structure of an emerging network of students in an academic summer school program correlated with their physical health and mental well‐being. Participants who were more central in the network typically experienced g…
Avoiding information about one's romantic partner
Research links open communication and self-disclosure to a host of beneficial outcomes in romantic relationships, including better relationship quality, relationship satisfaction, feelings of closeness and commitment, and relationship longevity. However, learning some information about a partner may evoke negative consequences. In two studies, we examined the types of information people may wish to avoid learning about their past or current roman…
Perceptions of romantic partners’ responsiveness during a period of stressful uncertainty
Whether awaiting biopsy results, a grade on a midterm, or a decision from a journal editor, people feel distressed as they wait for uncertain news. In the present study, we investigated how people's perceptions of their romantic partner, specifically their partner's responsiveness to their support needs, corresponds with key aspects of the waiting experience. In a longitudinal study of 184 law students awaiting their result on the California bar …
Information avoidance: An interchangeable strategy of self-protection
Across two studies, using five samples (N = 1,850), we examined whether health information avoidance-the deliberate decision to remain ignorant of available but unwanted personal health information-serves a defensive purpose and is interchangeable with other defensive strategies. We tested this idea by examining the relationship between health information avoidance-both as a dispositional tendency and deliberate decision-and feedback derogation. …
Associations between perceived everyday discrimination and health among college students at a Hispanic-serving institution
Despite efforts by universities to promote racial/ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic diversity, college students continue to report discrimination. In two studies, we examined the frequency, predictors, and health consequences of experiencing everyday discrimination at a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Findings show the majority of students reported experiencing discrimination at the university, with most experiences attributed to their gender and a…
Understanding parental vaccine refusal: Implicit and explicit associations about vaccines as potential building blocks of vaccine beliefs and behavior
Implicit and explicit evaluations of feminist prototypes predict feminist identity and behavior
Many people who endorse gender equality do not personally identify as feminists. The present research offers a novel explanation for this disconnect by examining people’s attitudes toward feminist prototypes—the central, representative feminist that comes to mind when they think of feminists as a group. Results from two samples support the hypothesis that both implicit and explicit attitudes toward feminist prototypes predict unique variance in f…
Associations Between Primary Residence and Mental Health in Global Marginalized Populations
Strategy Specific Support During Uncertain Waiting Periods
Uncertainty over what the future holds can be a source of anxiety and worry, and people use a variety of coping strategies in response to this distress. However, limited research has examined whether and how interpersonal factors might influence how exactly people choose to cope with uncertainty. In the current studies, we explore how perceptions of a romantic partner's strategy-specific support behaviors (e.g., support for bracing for the worst,…
Coping self-efficacy influences health information avoidance
Avoiding information about one's health can have long-term implications for health and well-being. Two studies examined the relationship between health information avoidance and coping self-efficacy, or a sense that one can effectively cope. In Study 1, coping self-efficacy, but not general self-efficacy, was associated with information avoidance. In Study 2, participants who reflected on their positive coping strategies were less likely to avoid…
Meddling friends and family: Dark Tetrad traits predict interference in disliked couples' romantic relationships
Certain disapproving friends and family may interfere in others' romantic relationships by undermining commitment processes. In the current study, we assessed whether friends and family members' scores on the Dark Tetrad, a constellation of socially aversive personality traits including narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism, predict relationship interference. In Study 1, 206 people selected a friend who was currently in a romantic…
Managing the Threat of Impending Implicit Attitude Feedback
People facing potentially threatening feedback sometimes opt to avoid it in an attempt to preserve a cherished self-view. In three studies, we examined whether people would adopt such a strategy in the context of the Black–White Implicit Association Test (IAT), which has the potential to reveal implicit prejudice. Study 1 demonstrated that people expect their IAT results to indicate less implicit prejudice than the results actually do, and percei…
The Decision to Counsel Adolescents about HPV
Parent /public approval were primary barriers to HPV-counseling
Does lacking threat-management resources increase information avoidance? A multi-sample, multi-method investigation
Happy but unhealthy: The relationship between social ties and health in an emerging network
Social connections are essential to health and well‐being. However, when pursing social acceptance, people may sometimes engage in behavior that is detrimental to their health. Using a multi‐time‐point design, we examined whether the structure of an emerging network of students in an academic summer school program correlated with their physical health and mental well‐being. Participants who were more central in the network typically experienced g…
Caught in the Middle: Defensive Responses to IAT Feedback Among Whites, Blacks, and Biracial Black/Whites
This study used archival data to examine how White, Black, and biracial Black/White people respond to implicit attitude feedback suggesting that they harbor racial bias that does not align with their self-reported attitudes. The results suggested that people are generally defensive in response to feedback indicating that their implicit attitudes differ from their explicit attitudes. Among monoracial White and Black individuals, this effect was pa…
Avoiding cancer risk information
Implicit and explicit evaluations of feminist prototypes predict feminist identity and behavior
Many people who endorse gender equality do not personally identify as feminists. The present research offers a novel explanation for this disconnect by examining people’s attitudes toward feminist prototypes—the central, representative feminist that comes to mind when they think of feminists as a group. Results from two samples support the hypothesis that both implicit and explicit attitudes toward feminist prototypes predict unique variance in f…
Social exclusion, self-affirmation, and health information avoidance
Assessing the consequences of unrealistic optimism: Challenges and recommendations
Hot or not? How self-view threat influences avoidance of attractiveness feedback
In two studies, we examined whether people’s decision to receive evaluations of their own attractiveness depended on whether the evaluations came from sources that might threaten their self-views. Participants believed that evaluators rated their attractiveness based on a photograph taken earlier and ostensibly uploaded to a website. Participants then received the opportunity to view the attractiveness ratings from the evaluators. In both studies…
Date someone your own size: Prejudice and discrimination toward mixed-weight relationships
We assessed whether people express more prejudice and discrimination toward mixed-weight couples (i.e., romantic partners with dissimilar body mass indexes [BMIs]) than matched-weight couples. In Study 1, people rated mixed-weight couples less favorably than matched-weight couples. In Study 2, people acted as matchmakers; they chose to pair potential relationship partners on the basis of similar BMI and body size. Mixed-weight couples were percei…
Political behavior, perceived similarity to the candidates, and defensiveness: The curious case of a group of first-time voters in a bellwether-swing-state in 2016
Using a sample of 258 first-time voters in a bellwether swing state during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, we examined the extent to which people assumed that the major presidential candidates shared their values and defensiveness about these assumptions. Participants estimated their agreement with the two major-party candidates, completed an online quiz about their beliefs, and then received feedback about their actual agreement with the ca…
Perceptions of romantic partners’ responsiveness during a period of stressful uncertainty
Whether awaiting biopsy results, a grade on a midterm, or a decision from a journal editor, people feel distressed as they wait for uncertain news. In the present study, we investigated how people's perceptions of their romantic partner, specifically their partner's responsiveness to their support needs, corresponds with key aspects of the waiting experience. In a longitudinal study of 184 law students awaiting their result on the California bar …
Spontaneous self-affirmation is associated with psychological well-being: Evidence from a US national adult survey sample
Emerging evidence suggests that individuals spontaneously self-affirm, by reflecting on values and strengths, in response to daily threats. We examined the prevalence and demographic and well-being correlates of spontaneous self-affirmation in the general population. Participants ( n = 3185) completed the cross-sectional, nationally representative 2013 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 4, Cycle 3), and answered questions about spon…
Health behavior during periods of stressful uncertainty: Associations with emotions, cognitions, and expectation management
Objective: The present study examined how cognitions and emotions characteristic of awaiting uncertain news influenced healthy (diet/exercise) and unhealthy (alcohol use) behaviors in three samples of people awaiting important news.Design: Study 1 examined voting-eligible citizens during the month prior to learning the results of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Study 2 examined the experience of law graduates across four months while they aw…
Foodie Calls: When Women Date Men for a Free Meal (Rather Than a Relationship)
A foodie call occurs when a person, despite a lack of romantic attraction to a suitor, chooses to go on a date to receive a free meal. The present study examines predictors of a deceptive form of the foodie call in the context of male–female dates: when a woman purposefully misrepresents her romantic interest in a man to dine at his expense. In two studies, we surveyed women regarding their foodie call behavior, dark triad personality traits, tra…
Nostalgia and temporal self-appraisal: Divergent evaluations of past and present selves
The present research examined how nostalgia influences temporal self-appraisals and whether those appraisals relate to current mood. Across two studies, participants recalled either an ordinary or nostalgic memory and provided appraisals of their present and past selves. Participants who recalled nostalgic memories evaluated their past selves more positively than their present selves, whereas the reverse occurred for those who recalled ordinary m…
Outcomes of Physicians’ Communication Goals During Patient Interactions
During healthcare visits, physicians may set communication goals such as providing their patient with information about treatment; however, no recommendations exist regarding which goals physicians should prioritize during their often-brief interactions with patients. Two studies examined five communication goals (providing information, reducing distress, increasing patient satisfaction, increasing patient adherence, and encouraging hope) in the …
Avoiding information about one's romantic partner
Research links open communication and self-disclosure to a host of beneficial outcomes in romantic relationships, including better relationship quality, relationship satisfaction, feelings of closeness and commitment, and relationship longevity. However, learning some information about a partner may evoke negative consequences. In two studies, we examined the types of information people may wish to avoid learning about their past or current roman…
Meddling friends and family: Dark Tetrad traits predict interference in disliked couples' romantic relationships
Certain disapproving friends and family may interfere in others' romantic relationships by undermining commitment processes. In the current study, we assessed whether friends and family members' scores on the Dark Tetrad, a constellation of socially aversive personality traits including narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism, predict relationship interference. In Study 1, 206 people selected a friend who was currently in a romantic…
The role of uncertainty, worry, and control in well-being: Evidence from the Covid-19 outbreak and pandemic in U.S. and China
Uncertainty about the future often leads to worries about what the future will bring, which can have negative consequences for health and well-being. However, if worry can act as a motivator to promote efforts to prevent undesirable future outcomes, those negative consequences of worry may be mitigated. In this article, we apply a novel model of uncertainty, worry, and perceived control to predict psychological and physical well-being among four …
Understanding parental vaccine refusal: Implicit and explicit associations about vaccines as potential building blocks of vaccine beliefs and behavior
Coping self-efficacy influences health information avoidance
Avoiding information about one's health can have long-term implications for health and well-being. Two studies examined the relationship between health information avoidance and coping self-efficacy, or a sense that one can effectively cope. In Study 1, coping self-efficacy, but not general self-efficacy, was associated with information avoidance. In Study 2, participants who reflected on their positive coping strategies were less likely to avoid…
Comparing Foodie Calls in Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States: A Registered Replication Report
Collisson et al. (2020) found Dark Triad traits and gender role beliefs predicted "foodie calls," a phenomenon where people go on a date with others, to whom they are not attracted, for a free meal. Because gender roles and dating norms differ across cultures, we conducted a registered replication across different cultures by surveying 1838 heterosexual women from Poland, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US). Relying on the structu…
Associations Between Primary Residence and Mental Health in Global Marginalized Populations
Psychology (31 works) · Social Psychology (24 works) · Social Psychology (18 works) · Medicine (15 works) · Developmental psychology (10 works) · Behavioral Health and Interventions (8 works) · Clinical Psychology (8 works) · Social and Intergroup Psychology (8 works) · Clinical Psychology (7 works) · Psychiatry (6 works)