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The reasoned action approach has been used to identify the determinants of a behavior to be modified by social and behavioral interventions. Information on the specific beliefs underlying behavioral decisions is vital to intervention design. More attention is needed on the salient belief elicitation—a critical step in a theory-based formative research process. This article considers the methodological issues involved in conducting a salient belief elicitation with special attention to an elicitation that allows the comparison of results across several behaviors and priority groups. The author uses the behaviors underlying overweight and obesity as her central example. To support the development of interventions to improve cardiovascular health and to explore methods for a comparative analysis of salient belief elicitations, semistructured interviews were conducted with 243 adults from two rural and two urban worksites in Indiana and 344 students from three middle schools in rural Indiana. Content and frequency analyses identified the modal salient beliefs underlying several eating and physical activity behaviors. Illustrative results are presented, and recommendations for salient belief elicitation are discussed.

Are design arguments just a matter of taste, or does layout affect how readers understand news stories? The question applies broadly to all media. This experiment measured whether respondents found horizontal layout more tranquil and whether their responses depended on the content. Horizontal layouts did relate to measures of comfort and human interest. Presented with a horizontal layout, respondents rated an article more comforting, pleasant, light, and so forth. The effects depended on the content, interacting with form in complex ways. The results show that design decisions matter and should be taken with care. In the media, form is content.