The social representation and social action effect of critical issues: autonomic system and self-report measures

By combining words and images that impact emotions and generate empathetic storytelling, advertising (ADV) has evolved into a form of communication for promoting consumer awareness, positive social change, and ADV-related decisional processes, even on topics of high-social relevance such as crisis communication. This study explored consumers' emotional and cognitive responses to crisis-related ADVs using implicit (autonomic) and explicit (self-report) measurements. Nineteen participants watched twelve high-impact social communications about Covid-19, personal health, safety, and prosociality, while autonomic and self-report data were collected. Personal health, safety, and prosociality had higher skin conductance than Covid-19 stimuli, indicating higher arousal and engagement. Personal health reported lower heart rate variability values than Covid-19, suggesting greater emotional reactions for personal health topics, but also lesser mental load for Covid-19 stimuli. Self-report results confirmed autonomic findings. In conclusion, communications about personal health, safety, and prosociality generate higher emotional impact and allow for effective storytelling that facilitates viewer identification, developing a high level of empathy.

Neuropsychology and Covid-19. The role of the psychologist in care and assistance to patients with cognitive functions impairment

Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, psychologists played a crucial role in managing the consequences of the spread of the epidemic. Now that, in some respects, the emergency for the protection of human lives is on the decline, another critical area of intervention is emerging: neuropsychological care. In fact, the most recent empirical evidence suggests that COVID-19 infection can lead to important sequelae on the central nervous system as a consequence of the tropism of the virus for the central nervous system and of prolonged periods of severe desaturation hypoxia. These consequences cause impairments in cognitive, emotional and behavioural functions, a clinical picture known by the name of neuroCOVID. This work aims at outlining practical suggestions for the neuropsychological assessment and rehabilitation of patients with COVID-19 and cognitive-affective-behavioural impairment, as well as to outline the role of the neuropsychologist in the assistance and care process for such clinical population. Copyright © FrancoAngeli