The Effect of Anticipated Regret on Flu Vaccination Campaigns

The anticipation of regret is known to be a primary motivator of receiving a vaccination. Aim of this study is to evaluate whether the use of messages that leverage the anticipated emotion of regret can increase the intention to get the flu vaccination. The participants (N = 110) randomly received a leaflet containing a standard prevention message (control condition) or message modified to induce the anticipation of regret over not being vaccinated (experimental condition), along with a questionnaire. The experimental condition's participants reported significantly higher levels of regret and higher intention to vaccinate than the participants in the control condition. Anticipated regret resulted to be a significant mediator of the intention to get vaccinated. Manipulating the salience of regret appears to be a simple and inexpensive way of effectively promoting preventive behaviour. The implications of this result for reducing COVID-19 vaccine hesitation are discussed. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Europe's Journal of Psychology is the property of Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Random Regret Minimization Model of Carpool Travel Choice for Urban Residents Considering Perceived Heterogeneity and Psychological Distance.

Carpooling is a sustainable, economical, and environmentally friendly solution to reduce air pollution and ease traffic congestion in urban areas. However, existing regret theories lack consideration of the heterogeneity of attribute perception in different ways and the psychological factors that affect regret, so they cannot accurately portray urban residents' carpool travel decisions and cannot provide a correct explanation of the actual carpool choice behavior. In this paper, based on the analysis of classical random regret minimization models and random regret minimization models considering heterogeneity, the concept of psychological distance is introduced to address shortcomings of the existing models and construct an improved random regret minimization model considering heterogeneity and psychological distance. The results show that the fit and explanatory effect of the improved model proposed in this paper is better than that of the other two models. The psychological distance of travel residents during the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) affects the anticipated regret value and the willingness to carpool. The model can better describe the carpool travel choice mechanism of travelers and effectively explain the carpool travel choice behavior of travelers.

"I'm luckier than everybody else!": Optimistic bias, COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, vaccination status, and the link with the time spent online, anticipated regret, and the perceived threat.

The catastrophic wave in the fall of 2021 drove Romania to the top of the list of dangerous COVID-19 infections, with the highest mortality rate in Europe. At the same time, Romania had one of the lowest vaccination rates. In this context, the present research aimed to explore the link between vaccination intention/status, optimistic bias, COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, the time spent online, and vaccination (anticipated) regret. Our convenience sample was formed by 408 adults aged 18-63 years (M = 22.11, SD = 6.18, 69.9 % females), who were distributed into four groups: (1) non-vaccinated who definitely refused COVID-19 vaccination, (2) non-vaccinated who considered COVID-19 vaccination, (3) non-vaccinated who reported their absolute willingness to COVID-19 vaccination, and (4) people who were COVID-19 vaccinated. We conducted our analyses separately, depending on these groups (i.e., vaccination intentions/status). Data were collected using an online questionnaire between November 10, 2021, and January 03, 2022. In our cross-sectional approach, following correlation and ANOVA analyses, among the observed patterns were (1) the significant negative relation between optimism bias and the perceived COVID-19 threat; (2) the positive link between anticipated regret, post-vaccination regret, age, and conspiracy beliefs. We discuss our findings considering their contribution to health policies and practices.

Social media narratives can influence vaccine intentions: The impact of depicting regret and character death

Anticipated regret, the feeling that we might regret a decision in the future, has been identified as a strong predictor of vaccination behavior, and the proliferation of anticipated regret appeals underscores the need for the empirical study of messages that target regret. The current study evaluated the persuasiveness of narrative depictions of regret and character death on COVID-19 booster vaccine intention. Data were collected from 944 adults in a 2 (no depicted regret, depicted regret) × 2 (character survives, dies) between-participants online message experiment. Results demonstrated that depicting regret had a positive effect on booster vaccine intention, especially among Republicans. Moderated serial mediation analysis supported a model where depicted regret had a positive effect on booster vaccine intention via audience replotting of story events and anticipated regret. While this persuasive process occurred for both Republicans and Democrats, the pathway was stronger for Republicans. Additionally, messages depicting character death produced greater anticipated regret. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these results. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd

Beyond Health Belief: Modeling the Predictors of COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake among Social Media Users in Nigeria

There have been sustained global efforts to promote the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, yet studies suggest the upsurge of vaccine resistance around the world. Considering the wide adoption of social media as crucial sources of health information, thenature of popular online debates on vaccination initiatives can significantly sway people's vaccine-related decisions. This study develops a structural equation model for the predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake among Nigerian social mediausers. Using an online survey of 436 respondents, the study fundamentally extends the constructs of the Health Belief Model by examining the unique roles of social media exposure, fear, and anticipated regret in the prediction of individuals' vaccination decisions. We found that perceived susceptibility to and perceived severity of vaccination risk, perceived barriers to vaccination, exposure to vaccine-critical posts on social media, fear of vaccination risk, and anticipated regret for vaccine uptake significantly predicted COVID-19 vaccine uptake. However, the perceived benefits of COVID-19 vaccine uptake and anticipated regret for inaction related to vaccination did not predict COVID-19 vaccine-related decisions. The findings accentuate why stakeholders in the public health sector should pay adequate attention to social media-related trends on public health promotion schemes, and counter any detected falsehood with credible information. © 2022 the authors.

COVID-19 Vaccination Behavior Among Frontline Healthcare Workers in Pakistan: The Theory of Planned Behavior, Perceived Susceptibility, and Anticipated Regret.

Healthcare workers in Pakistan are still fighting at the frontline to control the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and have been identified as the earliest beneficiaries for COVID-19 vaccination by the health authorities of the country. Besides, the high vaccination rates of frontline healthcare workers (FHWs) are essential to overcome the ongoing pandemic and reduce the vaccines hesitancy among the general population. The current research employed the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to investigate the COVID-19 vaccination behavior among FHWs in Pakistan as well as the predictors of such behavior. Following the epidemic control and prevention policies, a sample of 680 FHWs were accessed to fill in the questionnaire evaluating the components of the TPB. Moreover, the potential role of anticipated regret (AR) and perceived susceptibility (PS) on COVID-19 vaccination behavior was also assessed. The partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) results revealed that the TPB components, as well as the AR, have positive associations with the COVID-19 vaccination behavior. The results further confirmed that PS positively affects the anticipated regret, attitude (ATT), and subjective norm (SN) to vaccinate against SARS-CoV-2. The perceived susceptibility also has a positive association with COVID-19 vaccination behavior through the mediation of anticipated regret, ATT, and SN. Our findings highlighted the importance of COVID-19 vaccination among healthcare workers, which can be applied to reduce vaccine hesitancy among the general public.

Social determinants of panic buying behaviour amidst COVID-19 pandemic: The role of perceived scarcity and anticipated regret

Panic buying behaviour is inherently undesirable due to its detrimental impact on community's resources and disruptions to supply chain systems. The prevailing COVID-19 pandemic has seen a resurgence of this phenomenon across the world, leaving supermarkets in stockout situations. While panic buying is largely reasoned as a psychological reaction to an extreme event, it is also a socially relevant behaviour as our perception of a crisis can be shaped by our observations and interactions within the society. The social determinants of panic buying behaviour, particularly on how these factors heighten one's perception of scarcity, and trigger panic buying behaviour, are studied. A theoretical model is developed to explain panic buying behaviour in a social context by synthesizing various social and behavioural theories, and the inter-relationship among the latent constructs is analysed using the structural equation modelling approach. Accordingly, an online survey was administered and analysis of the data confirmed that non-coercive social influence, social norm and observational learning directly influence one's perception of scarcity. Additionally, perceived scarcity can motivate panic buying behaviour directly or indirectly through feelings of anticipated regret. This study has contributed to the limited literature on panic buying. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of panic buying will aid policymakers and businesses in developing intervention or support strategies to cope with such behaviour.

Impact of Refutational Two-Sided Messages on Attitudes Toward Novel Vaccines Against Emerging Infectious Diseases During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Two-sided messages that include two perspectives (i.e., risks and benefits) are more effective than one-sided messages that convey only one perspective (usually only the benefits). Refutational two-sided messages are effective for communicating risks regarding vaccines. To examine the effectiveness of refutational two-sided messages in risk communication regarding novel vaccines against emerging infectious diseases, we conducted the randomized controlled study based on a 3 × 3 × 2 mixed design (Intervention 1: vaccines against subcutaneous influenza, "novel severe infectious disease," or intranasal influenza; intervention 2: one-sided, non-refutational two-sided, or refutational two-sided messages; two questionnaires) using a Japanese online panel. Participants completed questionnaires before and after receiving an attack message (negative information). We evaluated the impact of attack messages on the willingness to be vaccinated, and the anticipated regret of inaction (ARI). Among 1,184 participants, there was a significant difference in the willingness to be vaccinated among the message groups (p < 0.01). After receiving the attack message, willingness to be vaccinated decreased in the one-sided message group and increased in the non-refutational two-sided and refutational two-sided message groups. Additionally, ARI in the refutational two-sided message groups was significantly higher than in the one-sided groups (p = 0.03). In conclusion, two-sided messages are more effective than one-sided messages in terms of willingness to be vaccinated. Furthermore, the high ARI in the refutational two-sided message group indicated that refutational two-sided messages were more effective than one-sided messages for communicating the risks of vaccines, especially those against emerging infectious diseases.

COVID-19 Vaccination Intentions: The Theory of Planned Behavior, Optimistic Bias, and Anticipated Regret.

High vaccination rates within the general population are essential for overcoming the current COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the present study was to investigate intentions to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as well as the predictors of such intentions. A representative sample of the Norwegian population (N = 1,003, 49.5% females, Mage = 47.9, SD = 17.1) filled in an online questionnaire assessing the components of the Theory of planned behavior (attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control), as well as optimistic bias and anticipated regret. Results showed that a majority (61.6%) of participants intend to get vaccinated. Regression analysis revealed that intentions were predicted by positive attitudes toward vaccination (ß = 0.31, p < 0.001), subjective norms in favor of vaccination in one's family (ß = 0.23, p < 0.001), perceived behavioral control (ß = 0.09, p < 0.001), and by anticipated net regret (ß = 0.32, p < 0.001), explaining 69% (f 2 = 2.23) of the variance in intentions. Optimistic bias did not predict intentions.

The Determinants of Panic Buying during COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen an unmatched level of panic buying globally, a type of herd behavior whereby consumers buy an uncommonly huge amount of products because of a perception of scarcity. Drawing on the health belief model, perceived scarcity, and anticipated regret theories, this paper formulated a theoretical model that linked the determinants of panic buying and analyzed their interrelationships. Subsequently, data were collated from 508 consumers through an online survey questionnaire in Singapore that was conducted during the early stage of the pandemic, before the onset of the circuit breaker in April 2020. Next, an analysis of the results was done through structural equation modeling. It showed that the effect of the health belief model dimensions (i.e., perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, outcome expectation, cues to action, and self-efficacy) on panic buying is partially mediated by the consumers' perceived scarcity of products. Furthermore, the effect of perceived scarcity on panic buying is partially mediated by consumers' anticipation of regret. This paper expands on the current theoretical understanding of panic buying behavior, giving insights into the possible measures and solutions that policymakers and relevant stakeholders can uptake to manage panic buying in future a pandemic or health crisis.