LanguageTerm (authority = ISO 639-3:2007); (type = text)
English
PhysicalDescription
Form (authority = marcform)
electronic
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Extent
vi, 75 pages
Abstract (type = abstract)
Colon cancer is the third leading type of cancer, accounting for 10% of cancer deaths for both men and women (ACS, 2005). Because colon cancer is caused by behavioral factors as well as environmental ones, this hazard represents an important opportunity for psychological investigation. This dissertation examined the influence of risk perceptions (and risk perception biases) on intentions for preventive behaviors. Specifically, this dissertation compared group-level and individual-level optimistic biases and also examined risk attribution biases and their effects on future intentions. A study of undergraduates at Rutgers University (N = 342) found that although participants believed their risk to be significantly below average (i.e. a group-level optimistic bias), participants actually overestimated their objective risk (i.e. an individual-level pessimistic bias). While risk perceptions were associated with intentions, the degree of optimistic bias was generally unrelated to intentions. Finally, participants generally underweighted the impact of many of the actual risk factors for colon cancer (e.g., alcohol, red meat, etc.) while overweighting many irrelevant factors (e.g., affect). The types of attributions participants made were also related to their future intentions. These results suggest that people engage in a variety of biases when formulating their risk judgments and that some of these biases may have implications for future behavioral intentions.
Note (type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-74).
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Psychology
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Cancer
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Medicine and psychology
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
PhysicalLocation (authority = marcorg); (displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
NjNbRU
Genre (authority = ExL-Esploro)
ETD doctoral
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RightsDeclaration (AUTHORITY = GS); (ID = rulibRdec0006)
The author owns the copyright to this work.
Copyright
Status
Copyright protected
Availability
Status
Open
AssociatedEntity (AUTHORITY = rulib); (ID = 1)
Name
Marco DiBonaventura
Role
Copyright holder
Affiliation
Rutgers University. Graduate School-New Brunswick
RightsEvent (AUTHORITY = rulib); (ID = 1)
Type
Permission or license
Detail
Non-exclusive ETD license
AssociatedObject (AUTHORITY = rulib); (ID = 1)
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.