Publications by authors named "Y-Lan Boureau"

Background: Health promotion and growth-based interventions can effectively improve individual well-being; however, significant gaps in access and utilization still exist.

Objective: This study aims to develop and test the effectiveness and implementation of a new, widely targeted conversational agent prevention program (Zenny) designed to enhance well-being.

Methods: A total of 1345 individuals in the United States were recruited online and randomly assigned to either (1) a self-help program intervention delivered via an automated conversational agent on WhatsApp or (2) an active control group that had access to evidence-based wellness resources available online.

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Article Synopsis
  • The text discusses how self-control involves competing decision-making routes, specifically between default behaviors and more deliberate, effortful choices.
  • It highlights the common dilemma of whether to use limited cognitive resources for immediate needs or to invest them for potentially better long-term outcomes.
  • The authors propose a framework that links various models and theories from different fields, suggesting that similar mechanisms affect decision-making across diverse situations.
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Affective valence lies on a spectrum ranging from punishment to reward. The coding of such spectra in the brain almost always involves opponency between pairs of systems or structures. There is ample evidence for the role of dopamine in the appetitive half of this spectrum, but little agreement about the existence, nature, or role of putative aversive opponents such as serotonin.

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