Tag: German

Moralization of Smoking in Germany and the U.S.

Presenter: Jessica Montgomery

Mentor: Sara Hodges 

Oral Presentation

Major: Psychology/German

Cigarette smoking has become increasingly moralized over the last half-century. Moralization is the process by which moral value is attached to objects and activities that were previously morally irrelevant. Moralization of smoking is an individual-level phenomenon (reflected in an individual’s attitudes towards smoking) as well as a cultural-level phenomenon (reflected in anti-smoking policies). We studied moralization of smoking in two cultural contexts (Eugene, Oregon and Tübingen, Germany). We chose Germany because smoking is more prevalent there than in the U.S. (World Health Organization, 2011) and although culture and laws are changing in Germany toward greater prohibition of smoking, it seems that new antismoking laws are weakly or sporadically enforced (Wiesel, 2009). Participants were asked by research assistants on and around university campuses to complete a questionnaire in their native language while the research assistant waited. The questionnaire included questions about moralization of cigarette smoking and related constructs, beliefs about smokers’ volitional control over smoking, prejudice against smokers, and support for anti-smoking policy. In this way we measured the attitudes that lead to relevant real-world outcomes such as differential treatment of cigarette smokers. We will compare their responses cross culturally as well as divide them into smokers and nonsmokers, in order to establish which factors affect their perceptions. We predict that Germans will moralize smoking less than Americans, which we expect to find after analyzing the results from the questionnaires.

Global Perspectives on Wide Scale Outbreaks

Presenter(s): Kira Veselka—Business Administration, International Studies, German

Co-Presenter(s): Meama Scott

Faculty Mentor(s): Matthias Vogel

Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation

With many modern viruses and bacteria becoming increasingly more deadly, how countries react to disease outbreaks becomes more crucial than ever . With the recent Coronavirus epidemic beginning in Wuhan, China, spreading across the globe, we are able to watch first-hand how modern industrialized societies react to massive viral outbreaks . In this research project, we examine how countries such as China, the United States of America, Germany, and Sweden react to a massive viral outbreak and how what they do to protect their citizens from these deadly diseases interacts with existing narratives of prejudice against certain countries or segments of their population . Examining and evaluating public news media in China, Germany, Sweden and the USA we find that large-scale outbreaks can affect the public’s perspective on the perceived ‘Other’ and push narratives of fear promoting confusion and misunderstanding . A country can take a number of precautions from only warning the public and suggesting enhanced hygiene practices to quarantining large segments of its population in an effort to prevent a more significant outbreak . Which measures are taken affects public opinion and could save or stifle the efforts to contain diseases . Our research ultimately promotes ongoing efforts of overcoming narratives of prejudice and fear which and contributes to progress in the prevention of disease .