title: The instability of health cognitions: visceral states influence self-efficacy and related health beliefs.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine how visceral impulses, such as hunger and drug craving, influence health beliefs.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors assessed smokers' self-efficacy and intentions to quit while in a randomly assigned state of cigarette craving or noncraving (Study 1), and assessed dieters weight-loss beliefs while hungry or satiated (Study 2).
  
  
  METHODS
  Self-efficacy, smoking cessation, weight-loss goals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The authors found, in both the context of smoking and weight-loss, that participants in a cold (e.g., satiated) state had different health beliefs than participants in a hot state (e.g., hungry). Specifically, in Study 1, the authors found that smokers who experienced cigarette craving had lower self-efficacy than did satiated smokers. Consequently, smokers who craved a cigarette had less intention to quit smoking in the future compared with satiated smokers. In Study 2, the authors found that hungry dieters had less self-efficacy than did satiated dieters. This difference led hungry dieters to form less ambitious future weight-loss goals and view prior weight-loss attempts with more satisfaction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings contribute to our understanding of the nature of health beliefs and reveal that health beliefs are more dynamic than previously assumed.
authors.affiliation: Social Psychology Department, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 1-nordgren@kellogg.northwestern.edu
authors.forename: Loran F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Nordgren
authors.forename: Joop
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van der Pligt
authors.forename: Frenk
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: van Harreveld
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003071:Cognition; D003469:Culture; D007174:Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015431:Weight Loss