ASU Scholarship Showcase

Much of the richness of human thought is supported by people’s intuitive theories—mental frameworks capturing the perceived structure of the world. But intuitive theories can sometimes contain and reinforce misconceptions, such as misconceptions about vaccine safety that discourage vaccination. We argue that addressing misconceptions requires awareness of the broader conceptual contexts in which they are embedded. Here, we developed a cognitive model of the intuitive theory surrounding vaccination decisions. Using this model, we were able to make accurate predictions about how people’s beliefs would be revised in light of educational interventions, design an effective new intervention encouraging vaccination, and understand how these beliefs were affected by real-world events. This approach provides the foundation for richer understandings of intuitive theories and belief revision more broadly.

The current study examined heterogeneity in emerging adult children's routine and self-disclosure to parents using mixture modeling and explored predictors and outcomes associated with the patterns of disclosure. Participants consisted of 449 emerging adults (49% male, 68% European American, 65% college students, 33% single-parent families) who completed questionnaires every year across three waves (Mage at Time 1 = 18.4 years). Latent profile analyses suggested that large groups of emerging adults reported moderate levels of routine disclosure and low levels of self-disclosure to both mothers (79%) and fathers (36%), while other groups (20%) reported high levels of routine and self-disclosure to both parents. Profile membership was associated with predictors (parental autonomy granting, self-disclosure to friend, gender, family structure, college attendance) at Time 1 and outcomes (delinquency, depression, and prosocial behavior) at Time 3. Implications regarding the continued parent-child relationship and disclosure to parents in the third decade of life are discussed.