Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The present investigation tested the extended parallel process model (EPPM) for state reactance following exposure to fear-appeal messages promoting HIV testing. Results from the structural model revealed that a perceived threat of not getting an HIV test was associated with a perceived threat to a personal freedom. As hypothesized, perceived efficacy was not associated with a perceived threat to freedom. Contrary to expectation, perceived efficacy was negatively associated with a classic boomerang effect and positively associated with source expertise. Following existing research, a perceived threat to a freedom was associated with state reactance, while state reactance was associated with a classic boomerang effect. State reactance was not associated with source evaluations (expertise, sociability, and trustworthiness) or related- or vicarious boomerang effects. Finally, regression analyses revealed that trait reactance, sensation seeking, and a trait reactance X sensation seeking interaction explained a significant amount of variance in the outcome variables alluded to above. The results have theoretical and practical implications for both the EPPM and HIV testing among young adults.

Publication Type: Extended Abstract
Abstract: Extant literature has documented parasocial interactions as a response to media. The present study tests the interpersonal nature of parasocial interactions, as they are predicated under the assumption of being mediated “seeming face-to-face relationships.” In an attempt to examine responses to others who share similar levels of PSIs, an experiment (N=150) measures levels of evoked jealousy and envy as a function of one’s perceived similarity of PSI between the self and another interactant. Findings are expected to elucidate the nature of PSIs as they are manifested in the context of interpersonal interactions and suggest implications for future research.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: As soon as BRCA1 and BRCA2, genes linked to inherited predisposition for breast and ovarian cancer, were discovered in the mid-1990s, scientists and clinicians across the world began to develop diagnostic testing services based on the new information. Meanwhile, patient advocacy groups, scientific and professional organizations, bioethicists, government advisory groups, and the media all looked to the development of this new genetic technology as a "test case," one that would lead the way for the future of genetic medicinein terms of how these new technologies would be provided, who would have access to them, how they would be regulated, the types of medical management options that would be available, and how genetic information would be used. In this paper, I too look at genetic testing for breast cancer as a "test case," in order to answer the following questions: How did genetic testing for breast cancer develop in the US and Britain? What kinds of implications did the new technology have for participants in health care in the two countries? Were the new testing technology and its consequences nationally specific or similar across the globe? What would the development of this new technology mean for the future of genetic medicine?


This paper addresses these questions by comparing the shape and consequences of genetic testing for breast cancer in the US and Britain. I demonstrate how BRCA testing services developed very differently in the two countries, not only in their clinical and organizational dimensions but also in their technical components. I also show how the differences in the shapes of the testing services had important implications for those participants who used them. In the US, for example, individuals were consumers who were free to demand testing (as long as they could pay for it) and could be potentially empowered by genomic information. In Britain, on the other hand, individuals had equal access to the testing system and genetic counseling but could not demand any specific service. Not only were the shapes of these technologies specific to national context, but each technology also prescribed a particular "moral order"specific rights, roles, responsibilities, and authorityfor the participants who came into contact with it, such as health care professionals and individuals interested in testing.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: We develop tests to evaluate if matching has identified control units that show what would have been observed for treated units in the absence of treatment. These tests promote honest analysis in that they do not involve outcomes for treated units.