I checked 4 preprints servers on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 using the Open Science Foundation API. For the period December 04 to December 10, I found 90 new paper(s).

MediArxiv

Journalists as Reluctant Political Prophets
Keren Tenenboim-Weinblatt; Tali Aharoni; Christian Baden
Full text
This article examines the journalistic production of mediated political projections, defined as media narratives about uncertain futures in the political arena, such as anticipated outcomes and implications of elections. Despite the significance of prospective coverage in political journalism and its impact on political decision-making, there is limited understanding of journalists’ perceptions and textual expressions of political forecasting across various discursive forms, media types, and cultures. Drawing on interviews with Israeli journalists and a computational text analysis of election coverage in France, Israel, and the U.S., this study explores how journalists perceive, negotiate, and textually navigate political forecasting in their work. The findings reveal journalists’ deep ambivalence toward political forecasting and the resulting textual practices. We show how journalists attribute their engagement in forecasting to external pressures, while their reluctance stems from the inherent risks and challenges associated with political forecasting and its conflict with their journalistic identity. Journalists navigate this tension by incorporating projections into conventional factual reporting or using non-committal language. Except in data journalism, assessing the likelihood of political scenarios is uncommon. Although these patterns are observed across countries and media types, prospective coverage is more prevalent in interventionist and accommodative journalistic cultures, with the rhetoric of facticity and certitude more common in broadcast news. We argue that journalists’ reluctance to fully engage with the uncertainty of political futures limits their ability to effectively contribute to public decision-making processes in societies' navigation toward the future.

MetaArxiv

Mapping the preprint review metadata transfer workflows
Tony Alves; Christopher Erdmann; Emily Esten; Martin Klein; Bianca Kramer; Maria Levchenko; Daisy Nip; Michael Parkin; Iratxe Puebla
Full text
Several preprint review communities have emerged in the life sciences in recent years. They have adopted different approaches to create and share preprint review information. New preprint review initiatives need to understand the benefits and challenges of the current technical solutions to store and transfer review metadata. This requires a clear overview of the various workflows that exist in this space. This publication maps out the preprint review metadata transfer ecosystem within the life sciences. Here we describe six illustrative workflows, as well as protocols, schemas and frameworks used for preprint review metadata transfer. For each workflow we highlight benefits and challenges faced by the preprint review services. Finally, we offer a summary of factors to consider when selecting a metadata workflow. This includes technical needs, costs, maintenance and sustainability, discoverability, and linking between preprints and reviews. We recommend that new preprint review groups adopt one of the existing workflows and encourage them to participate in community efforts to evolve and improve current standards. We believe this will support interoperability and bolster the development of new tools for preprint review.

PsyArxiv

On the Need to Accurately Track Disorder Rates: The Case of Anorexia Nervosa
Erin Sullivan; John Protzko
Full text
Objectives. This study aims to investigate historical trends in the incidence of anorexia nervosa in the U.S. and evaluate the alignment between actual rates and public and professional perceptions. Methods. We analyzed anorexia incidence rates using data from studies retrieved through scientific databases, including Google Scholar, PsycINFO, and Medline/PubMed. Incidence rates were calculated per 100,000 individuals. Additionally, we surveyed 264 U.S. adults and 23 mental health practitioners to capture their estimates of anorexia prevalence over time. Results. Historical data from 1942 to 2010 revealed a stable incidence rate of anorexia nervosa in one U.S. state until 1979, followed by an increase in nationally representative samples beginning in 1990. A slight decline in rates has been observed since then. Survey results indicated that both the general public and practitioners consistently overestimate anorexia prevalence, with the gap widening in more recent years. Notably, public estimates were less accurate compared to those of practitioners, though both groups significantly inflated prevalence rates. Conclusions. There is a persistent overestimation of anorexia nervosa prevalence among both the general public and mental health professionals, with professionals demonstrating slightly greater accuracy. These findings highlight the need for improved awareness and dissemination of accurate epidemiological data to mitigate misconceptions about the disorder's prevalence.
Depth Cue Integration is Cognitive Rather than Perceptual: Linton Un-Hollow Face Illusion and Linton Morphing Face Illusion
Paul Linton
Full text
We present two new versions of the Hollow Face Illusion that challenge our understanding of depth cue integration. Traditional accounts of depth cue integration operate at the level of visual experience. On this account, perspective or shading can cancel out (or even invert) perceived stereo depth. By contrast, Linton (2017), Ch.2, argues that depth cue integration is merely ‘cognitive’, leaving our visual experience of stereo depth intact. The strongest challenge to Linton’s account is the ‘Hollow Face Illusion’, where shape from shading appears to invert stereo depth. Here, we argue that perceived depth is not inverted in the ‘Hollow Face Illusion’. 1. Un-Hollow Face Illusion: The hollow of the ‘Hollow Face Illusion’ is space that physically exists (mask is concave), and yet is impossible so far as the illusion is concerned (illusion is convex). When we fill this concave hollow space with 3D objects (balls, rods, protruding nose) that are inconsistent with the illusion, we experience the illusory motion (which persists) as occurring on a concave surface behind the 3D objects. (Some experience this concavity without the additional objects). 2. Morphing Face Illusion: If we attach small balls to the tip of the nose, base of the nose, and cheek, and morph from a protruding face to a hollow face and back again, the ordinal depth between these three points is seen as switching veridically. Our explanation for the ‘Hollow Face Illusion’ is therefore ‘cognitive’: whilst we might be fooled by the ‘Hollow Face Illusion’, our visual system is not.
Visual Scale is Governed by Horizontal Disparities: Linton Scale Illusion
Paul Linton
Full text
We present a new illusion that challenges our understanding of visual scale. Since Helmholtz’s ‘telestereoscope’ (1857), we’ve known that stereo vision governs visual scale, turning a real-world scene into a miniature scene despite all other depth cues being present. This effect is attributed to vergence and/or vertical disparities (Howard & Rogers, 2012). By contrast, Linton (2018) BioRxiv, attributes the effect to horizontal disparities. To adjudicate between these two accounts, we build a virtual reality ‘telestereoscope’ that can decouple changes in vergence and vertical disparity from changes in horizontal disparity. First, when horizontal disparity is ramped-up, but vergence and vertical disparity are normal, the scene looks miniature. This is an astounding effect, given all other distance cues indicate a normal scene. Second, when vergence and vertical disparity are ramped-up, but horizontal disparity is normal, the scene looks normal, challenging the role that vergence and vertical disparity play in visual scale. Third, ramping-up horizontal disparity also changes the slope of the ground-plane. Fourth, keeping vergence and vertical disparity fixed whilst ramping-up horizontal disparity creates a startling illusion. We judge the scene as a whole to reduce in scale, even though all that changes in our visual experience is a distortion of 3D shape (of the scene and its objects). The illusion changes our concept of ‘visual scale’ from being something that we directly perceive (vision having a range-finder, like vergence or vertical disparity) to something we merely cognitively infer on the basis of an association between accentuated 3D shape and closer distances.
Cognitive Change 5+ Years Since the Onset of a Psychotic Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Joseph Ghanem; Andrew J. Watson; Samantha Aversa; Christy Au-Yeung; Olivier Percie du Sert; Marie Starzer; Melissa Weibell; Helene Gjervig Hansen; Katie M. Lavigne; Martin Lepage
Full text
Cognitive impairments are a core feature of psychotic disorders, but their long-term trajectory remains contentious. Previous meta-analyses were focused on the first 5 years following psychosis onset. Here, we evaluated the change in cognitive impairments in psychotic disorders through a meta-analysis of studies with follow-ups of 5+ years. Following pre-registration (PROSPERO, CRD42023447589), databases were searched for relevant articles until July 2024. Two authors screened the reports for studies reporting on the change in cognitive impairments in global cognition, verbal learning and memory, visual learning and memory, working memory, attention, speed of processing, reasoning and problem-solving, and verbal fluency in individuals with psychotic disorders and with a minimum follow-up of 5 years. Three authors extracted data, and the PRISMA guidelines were followed. Random-effects model meta-analyses and moderator analyses were conducted to examine the robustness of the results. Twenty-four studies comprising 2633 patients and 1019 controls were included in the study. Over an average of 8.46 years, cognitive impairments remained stable in patients in all 8 measures: global cognition (g = .09; 95% CI, .03-.20), verbal memory (g = .05; 95% CI, -.11, .21), visual memory (g =-.16; 95% CI, -.35, .04), working memory (g =.03; 95% CI, -.09, .14), attention (g =.22; 95% CI, -.36, .80), speed of processing (g =.10; 95% CI, -.14, .35), reasoning and problem-solving (g =.16; 95% CI, -.03, .35), and verbal fluency (g =.08; 95% CI, -.03, .20). We conclude that cognitive impairments remain stable over time, consistent with the neurodevelopmental view of psychotic disorders.
Intolerance of uncertainty, paranoia, and prodromal symptoms: Comparisons between a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder, anxiety disorder, and non-clinical sample
Jayne Morriss; Lyn Ellett
Full text
Background. Greater Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU: the tendency to find uncertainty negative) is associated with greater paranoia (mistrust of others) in clinical samples with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSDs). Questions remain on whether the relationship between IU and paranoia / prodromal symptoms is: (1) specific over other related negative affective traits and cognitive biases, and (2) specific to SSDs or is transdiagnostic. Method. To examine these research questions, we conducted a survey in those with SSDs (n = 103), anxiety disorders (n = 102) a non-clinical sample (n = 102). Questionnaires included: IU, paranoia, prodromal symptoms of schizophrenia, neuroticism, and jumping to conclusions bias. Results. IU, neuroticism, and jumping to conclusion bias was elevated in those with SSDs and anxiety disorders, compared to the non-clinical group. Both paranoia and prodromal symptoms were highest in those with SSDs, then anxiety disorders, and lowest in the non-clinical group. Greater IU was associated with greater paranoia and prodromal symptoms across SSDs, anxiety disorders, and a non-clinical sample. The majority of the relationships between IU and paranoia /prodromal symptoms remained significant when controlling for neuroticism and the jumping to conclusions bias. However, the relationship between IU and paranoia in the SSD group was not specific over the jumping to conclusions bias. Conclusions. These findings highlight the potentially transdiagnostic role of IU in paranoia / prodromal symptoms across SSDs and anxiety disorders, which has implications for the development of transdiagnostic treatment interventions for SSDs and anxiety disorders.
A Student's Guide to Open Science_Chapter 2_The Crisis_Author Accepted
Charlotte Rebecca Pennington
Full text
A Student’s Guide to Open Science explores the so-called “replication crisis” in psychology (the inherent difficulties in replicating or reproducing research results to test the robustness of findings) while delving into the ways that open science can address the crisis by transforming research practice. Students will develop a fundamental understanding of the origins and drivers of the crisis and learn how open science practices can enhance research transparency, replication, and reproducibility. With a handy, digestible guide for students and researchers alike on how to implement open science practices within their own workflow, as well as pedagogic teaching and learning activities that can be re-used by educators, Pennington’s new book is an essential guide to navigating the replication crisis. Key features of this book include: ‱ An overview of landmark events that will mark the history of the replication crisis. ‱ Case studies of classic psychological studies undergoing replication. ‱ Test yourself activities to reinforce learning of key concepts, including an open science crossword! ‱ Top tips for adopting open science practices, including study preregistration, Registered Reports, and open materials, code, and data. ‱ Useful illustrations to aid understanding and facilitate revision. New concepts and practices can often feel overwhelming, but this book aims to help students and educators pick what they want from the ‘open science buffet’ and return to the table to fill up their plates again and again. Remember, we are all students of open science and will be for many years to come!
Consensus-based Checklist for Assessing Scientific Objectivity
Michal Sikorski; Noah N'Djaye Nikolai van Dongen; Rene Bernard; Antonietta Curci; Ana Marusic; s. Clare Stanford; Andrew Stewart; Helene Richter; Tracey Lynn Weissgerber
Full text
Objectivity is widely regarded as crucial for scientific practice, yet it remains poorly understood in scientific methodology and, as a result, has limited impact on research practices. Building on recent developments in the philosophy of science, we have created a new methodological tool, an easy to use checklist, for assessing the objectivity of scientific practice reported in academic publications or grant proposals. Developed through an expert-consensus study, this checklist can be used both to retrospectively evaluate objectivity of completed research and to prospectively guide the design of future experiments.
Detaching from the Nine-to-Five: How Retirement and Genetics are related to Chronotype
Anne Landvreugd; Michel Guillaume Nivard; Meike Bartels
Full text
Introduction: Our sleep-wake rhythm is determined by the interaction of our work-life balance, i.e. the ‘social clock’, and our biological clock. After retirement, the social restrictions generally loosen up, possibly giving more room for our genetic predispositions to regulate the sleep-wake rhythm. In this study, we investigated shifts in wake-up times and chronotypes during employment and retirement. We hypothesized that the variance of chronotype explained by genetics is larger in retirees compared to employees. Method: We used data from 20.189 participants from the Netherlands Twin Register. First, we fitted a regression model to assess the association between chronotype and age. Second, we applied a mixed-effects model to test whether the type of day (working day or non-working day) is a predictor of wake-up time in early birds and late risers. Third, we separated the employed from the retirees and performed a regression to assess the prevalence of chronotypes in the two groups. Fourth, we tested whether the two groups differed in their wake-up times on working days and non-working days using quantile regression. Finally, we used polygenic scores for Morningness to predict the variance in Chronotype in the employed and retirees. Results: Chronotype was both linearly and quadratically related to age. Both early and late risers have later wake-up times on non-working days compared to working days. Employment status was not a predictor of chronotype, but rather of wake-up time on working days. The effect of the polygenic score for Morningness on Chronotype did not depend on employment status. Discussion: Our study showed that the social clock influences wake-up time on working days, but not chronotype, making chronotype a relatively stable trait. Additionally, the social clock does not suppress the genetic predisposition for chronotype. These analyses enhance our understanding of how both society and genetics influence our chronotype and sleep-wake rhythm.
The Role of Expectations and Tailored Feedback on the Open-Label Placebo Effect
Kirsten Barnes; Kate Faasse
Full text
Open label placebos (OLPs) refer to the non-deceptive administration of inert treatment. This pre-registered randomised trial (AsPrediced#139837) explored the role of expectations and tailored health feedback on the OLP effect using an automated online procedure. Healthy participants (N=293) were randomised to a 10-day course of OLP pills with veridical feedback (OLP-Feedback: N=92), without feedback (OLP-Standard: N=105), or to a no-treatment control (NTC: N=96). OLP pills were described as enhancing psychological and physical wellbeing. Wellbeing was assessed at baseline, day-5, and day-10. Feedback was delivered on day-5 and day-10 via interactive graphs and descriptive statistics. OLP-treatment significantly improved wellbeing (negative emotions and sleep quality), while feedback did not significantly enhance this effect. Expectations for improvement were significantly elevated among OLP-treated participants across the 10-day study. However, at the individual level, expectations only mediated OLP outcomes once treatment experience had been acquired. Results reconcile inconsistencies in the literature regarding mechanisms.
Multimodal Prediction of Future Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents
Linshanshan Wang; Ningxuan Zhou; Nigel M Jaffe; Kristina Pidvirny; Anna O'Brien Tierney; Hadar B Fisher; Erika E. Forbes; Diego A. Pizzagalli; Tianxi Cai; Christian A. Webb
Full text
Depression rates surge during adolescence. Early identification of youth at increased risk for depression is crucial for timely intervention and, ideally, prevention. This study aims to improve the prediction of future depressive symptoms in adolescents by using a multimodal approach that integrates relevant clinical, demographic, behavioral, and neural characteristics. 103 adolescents (ages 12-18; 72.8% female) underwent a baseline assessment including self-report questionnaires, ecological momentary assessment, a clinical interview, and behavioral and neural measures of reward responsiveness. We used nested cross-validation to compare machine learning approaches as well as conventional linear regression in predicting depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale [CES-D] and the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire [MFQ]) at a 3-month follow-up. For the prediction of CES-D depression scores, the best performing model was a multivariable linear regression using as predictors five principal component scores from a principal component analysis of baseline variables (RMSE = 5.951, R2 = 0.739). For the MFQ, the best performing model was a simple univariable linear regression with baseline MFQ scores as the sole predictor (RMSE=8.054, R2=0.671). A factors analysis revealed that items assessing melancholic features were most predictive of future depressive symptoms. More complex machine learning approaches did not outperform regression in predicting future depression. The integration of relevant multimodal predictors reveals which adolescent characteristics (e.g., melancholic features and physical anxiety) might have a larger contribution to predicting short-term future depression. Future studies are needed with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods to provide a more comprehensive test of such models.
Self-Efficacy is Key: Examining the Role of Motivation to Engage in Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors for Dementia Prevention in Midlife
Stephanie Simone; Marina Kaplan; Tania Giovannetti
Full text
Modifiable risk factors account for nearly half of dementia cases, with the greatest impact on dementia prevention in midlife (ages 45-64). Little is known about what motivates middle-aged adults to engage in healthy behaviors for dementia risk reduction. This study examined associations between motivation to make lifestyle changes for dementia risk reduction and engagement in health behaviors associated with dementia risk in 347 middle-aged adults. Multivariate linear regressions examined associations between motivation and engagement in health behaviors. Greater self-efficacy and higher education significantly predicted greater physical and cognitive activity and better sleep quality. Greater perceived barriers and general health motivation, lower self-efficacy, and younger age significantly predicted greater perceived loneliness. Self-efficacy consistently predicted engagement in healthy behaviors associated with dementia risk reduction in midlife. Thus, incorporating empirically supported strategies to increase self-efficacy in lifestyle interventions for dementia prevention may increase long-term adherence and overall success of dementia prevention efforts.
Normative Extended High Frequency Audiometry in Young, Middle, and Older Populations
Claire Dorey
Full text
Objectives: Elevated thresholds in the extended high frequency hearing range have been associated with functional hearing deficits, such as speech-in-noise performance. However, unlike the standard frequency range, there are a lack of recommendations from organizations such as the International Standards Organization (ISO) and World Health Organization (WHO) regarding normative data in the extended high frequencies limiting clinical implications of this data. In the present study, we report proposed normative data in the extended high frequency region in over 726 participants evaluated on typical clinical equipment using methodology from both the ISO and WHO. We hypothesize that extended high frequency will worsen with age and show excellent test-retest reliability. Design: Audiometric thresholds were collected from 726 adult participants at all measurable frequencies between .25 and 16 kHz. Data were analyzed using the equations reported by the 2017 ISO 7029 report and by calculating a 4-frequency extended high frequency pure tone average in alignment with the WHO. Results: Males had worse hearing than females when analyzed using a 4-frequency PTA, but there was no significant difference in the age-related rate of decline. Extended high frequency thresholds (N = 129) showed excellent test-retest reliability (ICC > 0.9, p < 0.001). Extended high frequency 4-frequency PTAs in participants with normal hearing in the standard frequency range had a range of -11.25 to 92.5 dB. Conclusions: Adaptation of norms in the extended high frequency range is feasible due to agreement among the literature and stability of test-retest measurements. Male extended high frequency thresholds are worse than women, but the rate at which hearing declines does not differ between sexes. Future research in this area should take into account normative data and functional hearing performance.
Evidence-Based Medicine is inadequate to develop evidence-based psychedelic therapies.
Eduardo Ekman Schenberg
Full text
Between April and October 2024, expert bodies in two countries reached strikingly opposite conclusions about the therapeutic use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). On the one hand, the Food and Drug Administration in the USA rejected a formal New Drug Application from a specific drug sponsor, Lykos Therapeutics, for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The decision was surprising to many, given the FDA granting it “breakthrough therapy status” a few years before. Across the Atlantic, the Dutch State Commission on MDMA recommended the same treatment to be made available as soon as possible for PTSD and also investigated for other conditions. Apart from important differences regarding the legal mandate of these two expert bodies, some important epistemic differences are notable in these two distinct approaches to assess the evidence. These cases serve as examples of the current challenges to develop and implement evidence-based psychedelic therapies given the limitations of the prevailing influential framework of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM), which seems to have particularly influenced the FDA’s decision. On the other hand, the Dutch approach more closely resembles the recent EBM+ approach. Drawing from historically tragic fatal examples, as well as recent advances in evidence assessment, such as masking and mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is argued that a shift to EBM+ is paramount to allow reliable assessments towards evidence-based implementation of psychedelics as therapeutic tools.
Psychiatric conditions in today’s Russian leaders and ideologists: hypothesis
Sergei V. Jargin
Full text
Psychopathological approach to politics is successful if it identifies politicians or ideologists with a limited mental competence. An attempt is made here to analyze mental conditions of Vladimir Putin and the influential ideologist Aleksandr Dugin. Dmitry Medvedev and Ramzan Kadyrov are briefly discussed as well. Physical maltreatment was described in Putin’s biographies. It was hypothesized that he is re-enacting traumas in conditions of intergenerational traumatic chain. Child abuse is associated with various psychiatric and related conditions including paranoia. A paranoid call may sanction destruction of supposed enemies. Putin formulated the aims of his military operation: to protect Russian-speakers from “genocide”, to disarm and denazify Ukraine. Apparently, this idea is delusional. Certain war instigators are paranoid in their tendency to present themselves as prophets or world saviors. Some of them are aggressive against delusional goals. Mentally healthy people can be susceptible to psychotic appeals, a predisposing condition being fear of strangers and projection of hatred upon them. Some individuals, maltreated during their childhood, respond by acting out fight or flight responses, attacking weaker persons and submitting to dominant ones. This seems to be reflected by Putin’s relationships with Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechen Republic, who appears as a dominant personality. Certain ethnically non-Russian subjects of the Federation may be interested in a continuation of the Ukraine war; and there are concerns that Putin has come under their influence. An important topic in this connection is the inter-ethnic difference in the birth rate and migrations, which is avoided by Russian media and officials these days. In conclusion, mental derangements in politicians are dangerous and must be diagnosed by psychiatrists on the basis of speech, writings, and behavior. More expert opinions are needed.
Exploring fNIRS-guided neurofeedback to alleviate motor symptoms: A proof-of-concept study in Parkinson‘s disease and healthy older adults
Franziska Klein; Michael LĂŒhrs; Stefanie Topp; Stefan Debener; Karsten Witt; Cornelia Kranczioch
Full text
Parkinson's disease (PD) is commonly treated with pharmacological or physical therapies, which are often associated with side effects. Combining motor imagery (MI) with neurofeedback (NFB) offers a potential complementary non-pharmacological therapy. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)-guided NFB protocol that integrates MI of whole-body movements with changes in deoxygenated hemoglobin concentration (d[HbR]) to alleviate motor symptoms of PD. Three groups (N = 19 each) completed four training sessions. The NFB group, consisting of healthy older adults, and the PD-NFB group performed MI tasks with NFB based on supplementary motor area (SMA) activity, while the noNFB group of healthy older adults performed MI without NFB. Participants in the NFB groups generally reported positive perceptions of NFB controllability. The NFB group showed a significant increase in SMA activation compared to the noNFB group and, in part, for baseline MI compared to NFB MI. No significant differences were found between the NFB and PD-NFB groups. There was no significant difference between NFB training and baseline MI in the PD group. This study is the first to investigate fNIRS-guided NFB combining MI with d[HbR] to enhance SMA activation. The results suggest potential of the studied protocol for motor neurorehabilitation, but simultaneously highlight the need for further refinement and research.
Diversity and Representation in Developmental EEG: Participant Recruitment and Reporting
Santiago Morales; Lauren Oh; Kylie Cox; Ramiro Rodriguez-Sanchez; Gina Nadaya; George Buzzell; Sonya V. Troller-Renfree
Full text
Electroencephalography (EEG) is one of the main neuroscientific measures used with infants and children to identify potential biomarkers of cognitive and social developmental processes. Given the implications of developmental EEG research within policy, clinical, and educational domains, it is important to ensure that reported results are generalizable and reproducible. In this review, to provide an initial assessment of previous and current practices regarding participant recruitment and demographic reporting, we carried out a systematic review of the six journals publishing the most pediatric EEG studies between 2011-2023. We identified 700 articles reporting on pediatric EEG (N > 80,000). We find that most studies did not provide complete reporting of basic demographic information (e.g., race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographical location). This trend persisted across years of publication, suggesting continued underreporting. However, the reporting of demographic information differed between journals, suggesting solutions for improving reporting practices. Our review also indicated that samples consisted of mostly White participants (78%) from North America and Western Europe (85%). Moreover, the median total sample size was 51 participants. Our discussion emphasizes the need for larger, more diverse samples and greater transparency in developmental EEG studies, while providing recommendations to address barriers to representation and reproducibility.
Appealing, disgusting and threatening visual features determined using an evolutionary algorithm
Matthew L. Patten; Joshua Brunker; Raghba Latifi; Tamara Watson
Full text
Individuals make automatic aesthetic judgements potentially supporting an approach or avoidance posture towards everyday objects. The current study uses a novel evolutionary approach to explore which features of a complex flower-like stimulus reliably emerge as appealing, easy to view, disgusting and threatening. Across three experiments the procedure used approximately 20 parameters that became more or less likely to appear within the stimuli as participants selected the most and least appealing, easy to view, disgusting or threatening flowers from a selection of six flowers per trial. Most important to appeal was a high number of outer petals (ray florets) and symmetrical arrangement of outer petals. This was also found to be important to ease of viewing, consistent with the fluency processing theory of aesthetic appeal. The presence of binarized fractals was found to be important to the perception threat and disgust. This was unexpected but potentially mimics patterning on animals such as a saturated red against a black body. The novel evolutionary method developed for establishing the features important to a perceptual judgment shows potential for use with complex and high feature space stimuli.
Profile and interplay of mental health as well as physical health symptoms in post-COVID patients
Lukasz Stasielowicz
Full text
Currently, no clinically relevant physiological markers of post-COVID exist, which stymies treatment development and rehabilitation efforts. Therefore, a monocentric cross-sectional study was conducted to characterize the long-term mental and physical health consequences of infection with SARS-COV-2. 156 participants were recruited as part of the voluntary post-COVID consultation hours at the BG Hospital Hamburg, Germany, after the insured persons were invited by the relevant statutory accident insurance providers. Overall, 34% of participants were unable to work. Based on German census data, poststratification was used to provide a profile of mental health and physical symptoms recorded in the long-COVID consultations. Although many characteristics were within the normal range, BMI values, limitations in physical role functioning, vitality issues, somatization, phobic anxiety, and psychoticism were borderline or slightly elevated. Furthermore, long-COVID patients with high BMI values, high medication counts, multiple ICD diagnoses, and secondary diagnoses tended to report poorer physical and mental health conditions. We also used a multivariate network approach to provide a comprehensive perspective of relationships between physical and mental health symptoms and identify the most influential symptoms to develop potential intervention routes. Notably, the number of months since the COVID-19 diagnosis was one of the most central elements of the multivariate network. Although people with a less recent COVID diagnosis tended to have more secondary diagnoses, they tended to report fewer sleep-related problems, less stress sensitivity, better physical functioning, and better overall quality of life, indicating that some symptoms may decrease with time. In addition to the number of months since the COVID diagnosis, other central elements of the multivariate network included physical functioning, social role functioning, phobic anxiety, interpersonal sensitivity, and decreased sleep, highlighting potential intervention routes. Overall, our results might be used to design future diagnostic, preventive, and rehabilitation long-COVID measures.
The dual continua in mental health policy and practice: Screening and intervention for low mental wellbeing to achieve targeted prevention
Lachlan Kent; Suzanne Dick; Maja Havrilova; Stephen Carbone
Full text
We are currently seeing a dramatic decline in the mental health of children and young people. To successfully reverse this trend, we greater emphasis on promoting the wellbeing of children and young people. Low mental wellbeing is a significant predictor of future mental ill-health and it is also a distressing and disabling state that requires intervention in its own right. For these reasons we need large scale screening for low mental wellbeing, using validated measures. Encouraging young people to access interventions to boost their mental wellbeing may in fact be easier than encouraging children and young people to access interventions to treat subthreshold mental ill-health. Then we need to link young people into evidence-based interventions that promote mental wellbeing through their school, university, local community or online. This is how we can achieve an effective, low-stigma, approach to targeted prevention (i.e., selective or indicated). At a systems level, we also need to adopt a dual systems approach to mental health that aligns with the dual continua model of mental health. This requires building and then integrating a new mental health promotion system that complements our existing mental healthcare system. The dire state of youth mental health in Australia and globally is an urgent call-to-action for everyone in government, health, community, and family settings to do more to protect those in their care. Making full use of the available evidence and the tools at-hand is a logical first step.
Leer es raro (y puede volverse mĂĄs raro aĂșn)
Antonio BenĂ­tez-Burraco
Full text
En este ensayo, de carĂĄcter netamente divulgativo, se reflexiona acerca de la naturaleza de la lectoescritura, sus trastornos y su lugar pasado, presente y futuro, dentro de la cultura humana
Investigating the Effect of Mental Imagery Future Based Episodic Simulation on Subsequent Behavioural Engagement in Depressed, Dysphoric and Non-Depressed Individuals
Jennifer Shevchenko; Julie Ji; Scott Cole; Fritz Renner; David Hallford
Full text
Previous work has suggested that mental imagery may represent a useful strategy for improving prospection and may also help to motivate goal-directed behaviours. Given depressed individuals have difficultly engaging with pleasurable activities, this study aimed to explore the effect of motivational mental imagery on behavioural engagement in non-depressed, dysphoric, and depressed individuals. Participants selected four activities they wished to engage in and rated expected outcomes and anticipated emotions relating to activity completion before and after mental elaboration of each activity using either motivational mental imagery or verbal reasoning. Over the following week, utilising ecological momentary assessment (EMA), participants recorded the frequency with which they engaged in their chosen activities. Results showed both conditions led to similar levels of behavioural engagement, however exploratory analysis found differences in the potential underlying mechanisms, suggesting that whilst both tasks may influence behavioural engagement, the underlying mechanism/s by which behavioural engagement is occurring are different.
Adults show selective responses to unreliability based on the strength of counterevidence
Kirsten H Blakey; Giacomo Melis; ZsĂłfia VirĂĄnyi; Eva Rafetseder
Full text
Adults can reflectively revise their beliefs and selectively respond to unreliable informants, despite often forming and revising beliefs unreflectively without assessing their reasons. This study investigates how the strength of counterevidence coming from an informant affects adults’ ability to infer that the informant is unreliable through acquiring and responding to undermining defeaters (i.e., evidence suggesting that something was wrong with how the belief was formed). Participants (N = 120) watched videos of two informants acting on two locations: one whose actions reliably indicated the reward location, and one whose actions did not. The strength of feedback participants received after making a choice was manipulated across two conditions. In the Strong feedback condition, participants received positive feedback when they found the reward and explicit negative feedback when they did not, along with information about the reward's true location. In the Weak feedback condition, they received positive feedback, but incorrect choices simply resulted in no reward appearing. Participants responded selectively to unreliability, following the Unreliable informant’s evidence less often than that of the Reliable informant. This effect was observed after only two to three misleading trials, but only in the Strong feedback condition. In subsequent trials where informants were pitted against each other, participants in the Strong feedback condition, but not in the Weak feedback condition, consistently preferred the Reliable informant. These findings suggest that adults’ ability to infer informants’ reliability depends on the strength of counterevidence. Additionally, exploratory analyses reveal a key distinction between acquiring and responding to undermining defeaters.
The Case for a Common Currency of Value as a Basis for Decision-Making and Intersystem Competition
Chandra Sripada
Full text
Inspired by economic theory, neuroeconomics contends that value serves as a common currency for decision. This valuational view has amassed impressive support over the last two decades, but critics have recently raised serious concerns. They argue that there are important pathways to action that bypass value, highly dissimilar psychological systems do not share a common value currency, and the view cannot accommodate well documented kinds of “irrationality”, such as context effects. This essay offers a systematic response. Key refinements are made to the valuational view allowing for multiple formats for value information and two levels of valuation (options-level and systems-level). These refinements help address the criticisms and yield a more nuanced understanding of the role of value in human decision-making.
Developmental Timing of Adversity and Neural Network organization: An fNIRS Study of the Impact of Refugee Displacement
Hassan Abdulrasul; Henry Brice; Kaja Kinga JasiƄska
Full text
This study investigated the neurodevelopmental impacts of displacement on resettled Syrian refugee children in Canada, focusing on how the timing and duration of adversity experienced during displacement influence neural network organization. Using graph theoretical approaches within a network neuroscience framework, we examined how the developmental timing of displacement (age of displacement, duration of displacement) related to functional integration, segregation, and small-worldness. Syrian refugee children (n=59, MAge=14 Range = 8-18), completed a resting state scan using functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) neuroimaging. Data were analyzed to assess the link between neural network properties and developmental timing of adversity. Results indicate that prolonged displacement experienced earlier in life was significantly linked with neural network organization, impacting the balance between the brain's functional integration and segregation as quantified by the overall reduced small worldness in comparison to experiencing displacement at an older age. This study leverages the experiences of refugee children to advance our understanding of how the timing of adversity affects development, providing valuable insights into the broader impacts of early adversity on neurodevelopment.
Adverse Childhood Experiences and Loneliness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Aisling Curtis; Martina Luchetti; Cian Prendergast; Elayne Ahern; Ann-Marie Creaven; Emma Kirwan; Eileen Kranz Graham; PĂĄraic S O'SĂșilleabhĂĄin
Full text
Adverse childhood experiences are considered a powerful determinant of emotional health. One indicator of emotional health is loneliness, which refers to a distressing experience that one’s social relationships are less in quality and quantity than those desired. This preregistered review aimed to examine the association between adverse childhood experiences (e.g., physical abuse/neglect, emotional abuse/neglect, sexual abuse, parental separation/divorce, family conflict, domestic violence) and loneliness in adulthood. A database search (Embase, Ovid, Cochrane Library, APA PsychINFO, Medline, Pubmed, Scopus) was conducted. After removal of duplicates, 3,689 papers were reviewed and 20 met inclusion criteria. When feasible, results were pooled using a random-effects meta-analysis and inverse variance modelling and reported narratively. Meta-analyses revealed a statistically significant association between cumulative adverse childhood experiences and loneliness (r = 0.30, 95% CI [0.22-0.37]; prediction interval = 0.04-0.52) and between specific adversity types and loneliness, namely sexual abuse, physical abuse, physical neglect, emotional abuse, and emotional neglect. Some heterogeneity was observed across studies. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses revealed no differences in age, gender, age group, continent, or measures of adversity/loneliness. This research indicates that adversities in childhood may have some long-term influences on loneliness, both cumulatively and within adversity subtypes.
Designing Clinical Psychological AI that Reduces Suffering: Challenges and Technical Considerations
Elizabeth Cameron Stade; Shannon Wiltsey Stirman; Philip Held; H. Andrew Schwartz; johannes Christopher Eichstaedt
Full text
Artificial intelligence (AI), particularly large language models (LLMs), has garnered significant attention for their potential to augment and possibly even replace current forms of psychological assessment or treatment. However, current AI technologies have yet to demonstrate the capacity to effect lasting psychological change. This paper outlines five key criteria for developing effective AI clinical psychology interventions, grounded in clinical science principles and emerging evidence from the AI mental health field: 1) attending to mechanisms of patient change, 2) conducting meaningful evaluation, 3) attending to time and dose, 4) modeling key characteristics of therapists and patients; and 5) attending to engagement and sustainability. Despite their potential, LLMs face notable technical and therapeutic limitations, including memory constraints, failure to guide users through a coherent set of interventions, the tendency to engage in advice-giving over inquiry, and a proclivity to demonstrate rather than teach skills. We provide key technical considerations relevant to each criterion, including using multi-agentic models, using multi-step language programming, and finding more suitable objectives for reinforcement learning. Lastly, we discuss open questions in the field of clinical psychology AI, including whether humans will interact with AI the same way they interact with other humans, how scalability can be balanced with human monitoring, given safety concerns, and how large language models might radically disrupt how psychological interventions are delivered. Only by combining insights from clinical science with a clear understanding of the technical affordances and limitations of large language models will it be possible for AI to make a meaningful impact on human psychological suffering.
ESTIMAT: A Theoretical Framework for Cognitive Optimization Through Hierarchical Decomposition
Gabriel de Siqueira Brito
Full text
Cognitive optimization remains an open challenge in understanding how individuals can align their goals, routines, and values with their potential for growth and adaptation. The ESTIMAT framework introduces a theoretical model inspired by Fermi estimation to analyze and enhance human decision-making and self-regulation. Grounded in the principles of hierarchical decomposition, information theory, and behavioral adaptation, ESTIMAT aims to bridge abstract concepts of motivation, identity, and cognitive states with measurable, actionable metrics. The central premise of ESTIMAT is to quantify "Moments of Peak Motivation" (MPMs)—states of heightened engagement and alignment—using a States Metric (SM). This metric, rooted in information entropy, evaluates the adaptive potential of individuals across physical, emotional, social, and intellectual dimensions. By breaking complex cognitive states into manageable components, ESTIMAT offers a structured method for designing tasks, routines, and long-term goals that maximize both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. This paper outlines the conceptual foundations of ESTIMAT, presents its parallels with Fermi estimation, and discusses potential applications in self-improvement, behavioral sciences, and cognitive engineering. While empirical validation is forthcoming, the framework provides a robust starting point for interdisciplinary exploration and practical application.
Do different types of potentially traumatic events hold different relationships with substance use in adolescence?
Isabel R. Aks; Fiona Ralston; Emily C. Kemp; Herry Patel; William E. Pelham
Full text
Most prior literature tends to examine potentially traumatic event (PTE) exposure as a cumulative risk, whereby all PTEs are assumed to have equal impact on substance use (SU) or be equally impacted by SU. However, this dubious assumption could be obscuring important differences in the PTE-SU relationship. We operationalize McLaughlin & Sheridan’s (2016) dimensional model of trauma exposure to examine the impact of PTEs types on SU and SU on PTE types concurrently and prospectively. We leverage data from 11,800 community youth (ages 9-15 years old) enrolled in the nationwide, longitudinal Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. We analyze concurrent and prospective (one year later) associations between PTE types (physical abuse, domestic violence, community violence, emotional neglect, poverty, and institutionalization/deprivation) and substance use (pooling alcohol, cannabis, or nicotine) whereby exposure to different PTE types predicts SU (self-medication), and SU predicts different PTE types (susceptibility). Concurrently, we find emotional neglect was significantly positively related to SU. Prospectively, institutionalization/deprivation, emotional neglect, and physical abuse significantly positively predicted SU and were predicted by SU. A majority of associations between PTE types and SU were accounted for by other PTE types and time-varying covariates (e.g., age, internalizing/externalizing symptoms). Emotional neglect is more likely to lead to SU and be predicted by SU than other PTE types. Findings suggest that surveillance for SU is especially warranted in youth with emotional neglect, relative to other PTEs. Future research should examine more types of PTEs along a wider age span to replicate findings.
BLUP: Neither Best nor Unbiased
Joseph Bronski
Full text
BLUP is algebraically analyzed in the case of IID errors and orthogonal data. BLUP is biased for any finite N and does not consistently score lower MSE than OLS. BLUP also underestimates the variance of the parameter vector for any finite N. Arguments are verified with simulation.
Maltreatment impairs executive functioning in childhood and adolescence – a multilevel meta-analysis
Anastasiia Perevoznikova; Philipp Berger; Charlotte Grosse Wiesmann; Lars White; Jan Keil
Full text
Child maltreatment (CM) represents a key risk factor for a wide range of maladaptive developmental outcomes. In particular, child abuse and neglect are thought to exert detrimental effects on neurocognitive development, including impairments in executive functions (EF) during childhood. We conducted a preregistered multilevel meta-analysis to examine differential associations between CM dimensions and core EF domains: working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. Based on 59 studies with 13,022 participants, our results indicate a medium-sized association (g = 0.43) between overall CM and EF, although high levels of heterogeneity were observed both within and between studies. While differential outcomes as a function of EF domains may partly explain this heterogeneity, maltreatment dimensions (i.e., abuse vs. neglect) did not account for it. These findings suggest a non-specific association between CM dimensions and EF domains, potentially driven by shared attachment-related characteristics of CM.
Simulation-based inference with deep learning shows speed climbers combine innovation and copying to improve performance
Mason Youngblood; Sam Passmore
Full text
In the Olympic sport of speed climbing, athletes compete to reach the top of a 15-meter wall as quickly as possible. Since the standardization of the speed climbing route in 2007, improvement has been driven by a process of cumulative cultural evolution—new route sequences innovated by some are copied and improved upon by others. In this study, we use simulation-based inference to fit an agent-based model of speed climbing to 12 years of competitive speed climbing times (2007-2019). By analyzing the dynamics of the fitted model, we are able to gain some insight into the processes that may be driving cumulative improvement in speed climbing. Innovation and copying are used roughly equally by climbers, with copying having only a slight advantage. Slower agents in the model are more likely to innovate, likely in pursuit of strategies that give them a competitive advantage. Population size negatively predicts innovation, presumably because innovation is not as useful when there are plenty of existing solutions to choose from. Finally, the model suggests that climbers may not be using innovation and copying optimally—continued improvement may require more emphasis on innovation and less reliance on copying.
Validation of the Inventory of Climate Emotions (ICE) in a German sample
Dorothea Metzen; Paula Blumenschein; Felix Peter; Myriam Bechtoldt; Alexandra Frisch; Mira Tschorn; Stephan Heinzel
Full text
The confrontation with the catastrophic consequences of the climate crisis can elicit strong emotions in individuals. These so-called climate emotions are an important driver behind pro-environmental behavior. However, they have also been associated with impaired mental health. In the light of the huge challenges we face, understanding the complex mechanisms behind emotions, behavior and mental health is crucial. The Inventory of Climate Emotions (ICE) presents the first validated scale to assess a multitude of different emotional responses (anger, contempt, enthusiasm, powerlessness, guilt, isolation, anxiety and sorrow) to the climate crisis. This pre-registered study aimed to translate and validate the ICE in a representative German sample (N = 966). We replicated the 8-factor structure and all subscales showed acceptable to good internal consistency. Furthermore, we replicate a positive association between multiple climate emotions (powerlessness, guilt, isolation, anxiety, sorrow) with general depressive and anxiety symptoms. We also show that climate emotions are generally positively associated with pro-environmental behavior, the only exception being climate contempt, which was negatively associated with pro-environmental behavior. In conclusion, we present a validated German translation of the ICE and provide evidence for a negative association of climate emotions and mental health as well as a positive association of climate emotions and pro-environmental behavior.
Neuroscience Methods for Investigating Brain Plasticity (Chapter to appear in The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Enhancement and Brain Plasticity)
Luianta Verra; Fabian Renz; Nicolas W Schuck
Full text
The brain's ability to change – its plasticity – in response to new environments, experiences or damage, is the foundation of cognition. Unravelling the mechanisms of plasticity in humans is a central goal for neuroscience. This chapter provides an overview of common methods used to study structural and functional brain plasticity in humans. The main structural methods we discuss are T1-weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), which is widely used to track anatomical changes in the brain, and Positron Emission Tomography (PET), which allows investigation of neurochemical processes, such as receptor density changes. The section on functional plasticity evolves around (T2*-weighted) functional MRI (fMRI) and attempts to provide an overview of analysis methods and MRI sequences that can be used to study functional changes in the brain, including resting state analysis, univariate and multivariate analyses. We further provide a short summary of non-invasive brain stimulation methods that, combined with other structural or functional methods, have proven to be useful tools for inducing and measuring plasticity. We also address limitations of these methods, in particular for tracking fast or microscopic changes and discuss the importance of a good study design that ensures measurements match the research question. This emphasises the benefits of combining non-invasive brain imaging with longitudinal designs to reveal the nature of plasticity in humans.
A Comparison of Linking Methods for Longitudinal Designs with the 2PL Model Under Item Parameter Drift
Oskar Engels; Oliver LĂŒdtke; Alexander Robitzsch
Full text
This study investigates the longitudinal linking of dichotomous item responses at three time points, focusing on the performance of Haberman linking, Haebara linking, Stocking-Lord linking, and concurrent calibration in the presence of item parameter drift (IPD). Two general linking approaches, joint and chain linking, are examined. Three simulation studies were conducted to compare these methods under different conditions of IPD and linking designs. The first simulation study compared linking methods under conditions of sampling error and uniform IPD, with results indicating that the Haberman joint linking method performed best regarding bias and root mean square error (RMSE), especially at larger sample sizes, while the concurrent calibration method was most accurate when no IPD was present. The second simulation study expanded the analysis by introducing two additional linking designs: one relying solely on anchor items across all three time points, and the other using only adjacent items between consecutive time points. Both designs were examined under the same conditions as the first study, revealing that under no IPD conditions, the concurrent calibration method remained the most precise across both designs, while under uniform IPD conditions, the Haberman linking methods outperformed other methods, offering the best balance of bias and precision. The third study examined nonuniform IPD, where the Haberman chain linking method delivered the best overall performance in terms of both bias and RMSE. Overall, chain linking methods generally outperformed joint linking when IPD was present. Implications for the analysis of longitudinal linking designs are discussed.
A Two-step estimator for growth mixture models with covariates in the presence of direct effects
YUQI LIU; Zsuzsa Bakk; Ethan Michael McCormick; M.J. de Rooij
Full text
Growth mixture models (GMMs) are popular approaches for modeling unobserved population heterogeneity over time. GMMs can be extended with covariates, predicting latent class (LC) membership, the within-class growth trajectories, or both. However current estimators are sensitive to misspecifications in complex models. We propose extending the two-step estimator for LC models to GMMs, which provides robust estimation against model misspecifications for simpler LC models. We conducted several simulation studies, comparing the performance of the proposed two-step estimator to the commonly-used one- and three-step estimators. Three different population models were considered, including covariates that predicted only the LC membership (I), adding direct effects to the latent intercept (II), or to both growth factors (III). Results show that when predicting LC membership alone, all three estimators are unbiased when the measurement model is strong, with weak measurement model results being more nuanced. Alternatively, when including covariate effects on the growth factors, the two-step, and three-step estimators show consistent robustness against misspecifications with unbiased estimates across simulation conditions while tending to underestimate the standard error estimates while the one-step estimator is most sensitive to misspecifications.
Self-report measures of subjective time: An overview of existing measures and their semantic similarities
Thiago Augusto Souza BonifĂĄcio; Rodrigo Cabral-Carvalho; Andre Mascioli Cravo
Full text
The proliferation of self-report measures for psychological constructs, often developed without systematic evidence, raises concerns about construct redundancy and the validity of research findings. This study provides a comprehensive review of scales designed to assess subjective time, employing literature analysis and transformer-based natural language processing (NLP) methods to explore semantic relationships among these measures. Thirty scales meeting inclusion criteria were identified, revealing two primary clusters: temporal experience and time perspective. Temporal experience encompasses diverse dimensions of how individuals perceive and conceptualize time, while time perspective focuses on orientations toward past, present, and future. Hierarchical clustering and semantic analysis highlighted overlaps and distinctions. Our findings underscore recurring challenges in differentiating between theoretically distinct constructs, such as temporal orientation and time perspective, due to significant overlap in operationalizations. Furthermore, discrepancies between theoretical definitions and scale content emphasize the importance of scrutinizing alignment to ensure validity. Automated semantic analysis offers a valuable tool for identifying redundancy and improving measurement clarity, particularly given the proliferation of self-report measures in psychology. However, methodological variations and domain expertise are crucial to interpreting results meaningfully. This study demonstrates the utility of NLP in advancing the conceptual and empirical understanding of subjective time while highlighting the need for more robust and distinct measurement approaches.
Intergenerational Transmission of Problem Behavior: Genetic and Environmental Pathways
Miranda Sentse; Marthe de Roo; Tina Kretschmer
Full text
Despite the growing body of research on the intergenerational transmission of problem behavior, there is a need for more integrative approaches that consider the interplay between genetic and environmental factors. This study uses unique longitudinal data from TRAILS (analytic sample n = 2201), a prospective multiple-generation cohort study in the Netherlands to examine whether parents’ problem behavior (parents’ self-reported lifetime antisocial behavior and substance use, reported at mean age 40 years) predicts offspring problem behavior nearly two decades later (offspring self-reported aggression and delinquency at mean ages 29 and 32 years). In path analyses, independent and relative contributions of genetic (polygenic scores of parents and offspring) and environmental (harsh parenting) pathways were tested. Results confirm intergenerational transmission and consistently point to genetic nurture whereby genetic predisposition predicts parental problem behavior, which in turn predicts harsh parenting, which in turn predicts offspring problem behavior, all while accounting for offspring genetic predisposition, sex and family socioeconomic position. Though these findings are surprising in light of genetic contributions to behavior, they allow for tentative considerations regarding implication for practice to break intergenerational chains of problem behavior.
Achieving Scale-Invariant Reinforcement Learning Performance with Reward Range Normalization
Maëva L'HÎtellier; Jérémy Perez; Stefano Palminteri
Full text
The performance of standard reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms depends on the scale of the rewards they aim to maximize. Various strategies have been proposed to tackle this issue, but these usually restrict the algorithms' ability to adapt to varying task conditions and evolve in open-ended environments. Inspired by human cognitive processes, we propose leveraging a well-known cognitive bias to develop scale-invariant RL algorithms: reward range normalization. We compare a classical RL algorithm to one leveraging reward range-adaptation, finding that while the standard model’s accuracy is limited to certain reward magnitudes, the range-adapted model maintains consistent performance across all magnitudes. We next show that range-adaptation acts as autonomously adjusting the exploration rate, keeping it close to optimal for any given reward scale. Further, we show that the range-adapted model extends effectively to more complex, noisy, dynamic, and multi-step tasks.
Family interventions for children and adolescents with psychotic disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Valentina KieseppÀ; Jenni Leppanen; Colm Healy; Ulla LÄng; Juha Veijola; Ian Kelleher
Full text
Introduction: Current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines recommend family interventions for children and adolescents with psychosis. However, the evidence to support this has not been fully synthesised to date. This meta-analytic review aimed to investigate whether family interventions are effective in reducing psychosis symptoms and improving general functioning among children and adolescents with psychosis. Methods: Multiple databases were searched per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, supplemented by grey literature searches. Studies employing controlled designs to compare family interventions with other interventions or standard care were included. Study quality was assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tools. Bayesian meta-analyses were conducted to examine changes in psychosis symptoms and functioning. Results: Four studies (n = 111) met inclusion criteria. All studies assessed the effectiveness of different psychoeducation-based family interventions with varying duration and intensity. The quality of the studies ranged from a moderate to a critical risk of bias. The meta-analyses showed no significant effect of family interventions on psychosis symptoms or functioning and indicated anecdotal evidence in favour of the null hypotheses. Discussion: We did not find evidence of a significant benefit of family interventions on psychosis symptoms or functioning in children and adolescents with psychosis. All included studies had significant methodological issues, which may have introduced bias. These results highlight a lack of evidence of the effectiveness of family interventions in children and adolescents with psychosis, and a need for high-quality research into psychosocial treatments for early-onset psychosis.
Comparison of prospective and retrospective motion correction for Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the brain - Master's Thesis in Physics
Hannah Eichhorn
Full text
Head motion is one of the most common sources of artefacts for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the brain. Especially children, being intimidated by the dimensions and the noise of the scanner, tend to move considerably during image acquisition. Thus, the use of general anaesthesia or sedation is common practice in clinical routines to avoid motion artefacts. However, general anaesthesia requires additional equipment and personnel and concerns about potential drug-related risks are increasing. With this thesis, I aim to compare different methods for motion correction of MRI as alternative strategies for avoiding motion artefacts during clinical MRI examinations. I evaluate the performance of prospective and retrospective motion correction on a set of six 2D- and 3D-encoded sequences from a clinical pediatric MR protocol. For each sequence, we acquired scans with and without a predefined motion pattern in 22 healthy volunteers. I analyse and statistically compare a set of image quality measures as well as observer quality scores. Furthermore, I quantify the influence of motion correction on motion-related changes in cortical thickness estimates using a general linear model. In this work, I show that for the 3D-encoded sequences, image quality considerably increases from scans without motion correction, over retrospectively to prospectively corrected scans. Selectively reacquiring slices with the highest level of motion additionally improved image quality. Furthermore, cortical thickness estimates from motion corrected scans do not correlate with motion to the same extent as observed for uncorrected scans. For three of the 2D-encoded sequences I observe higher image quality due motion correction and reacquisition compared to the clinical standard, even though the effect size varies between the different sequences. I did not observe an improvement due to motion correction in the T2* sequence, which is known to be highly sensitive to field inhomogeneities. owever, this sequence can be substituted by an accelerated, easily repeatable sequence. My findings confirm that the use of prospective motion correction is feasible for a full clinical children's protocol, reducing motion artefacts and ensuring diagnostic image quality. As a next step in establishing motion correction in clinical routines, the developed and validated set up will be tested on a clinical pediatric population.
Reflection of the mathematical dimension of gambling in iGaming online content - A qualitative analysis: Factors influencing the content policies - Technical report no. 7
Catalin Barboianu
Full text
With the previous technical reports, we presented the main insights from the qualitative analysis of the reflection of the mathematical dimension of gambling in gambling-related sites, in its structural, linguistic, epistemic, and informative aspects. In this report we will focus on the factors responsible for the patterns that the content of the gambling-related sites exhibit and the way that the mathematical dimension of gambling is reflected in this content, namely the factors that influence the content policies of these sites. The report will also point to further directions of research-for both this project and for other investigators-for finding the appropriate balance and relation between the commercial policies on the one hand, and the adequacy and ethics of the content on the other hand.
Agency personalizes episodic memories
Xian Li; Nicole Kim Ni; Savannah Born; Ria Jacqueline Gualano; Iris Lee; Buddhika Bellana; janice chen
Full text
Humans are agents: our choices actively shape the trajectory of events in our lives. These choices rely on personal knowledge and preferences, but what are the consequences for later memory? We studied how people’s memory for a naturalistic sequence of events is altered when their choices control the future. Participants read “choose-your-own-adventure” stories with full, partial, or no control over future events. In all conditions, events which were causally or semantically central to the story were better recalled. However, even when all participants read the exact same events, those with full control recalled more idiosyncratic combinations of events. Moreover, their memories were less well predicted by generic sentence embeddings, suggesting a shift away from normative semantic space. Agency also increased the likelihood of jointly remembering or forgetting consecutive events. These results reveal that agency fundamentally reshapes memory organization, increasing the influence of idiosyncratic personal factors and strengthening local temporal integration.
The Influence of Fine Motor Skills and Executive Functions on Automatized Handwriting
Gaelle Alhaddad; Jérémy Danna; Mariama Dione; Marieke Longcamp
Full text
The study aimed to explore the understudied area of typical adult handwriting performance, focusing on the potential predictive roles of fine motor skills and executive functions. While the initial stages of handwriting acquisition are assumed to rely upon executive functions and fine motor skills, both components are no longer viewed as needed in automatized, expert handwriting. We tested this assumption by assessing the contributions of these components to handwriting performance in a group of 33 adult participants. Linear regressions were used to examine whether dexterity, manual praxis, working memory, inhibition and flexibility predict handwriting speed, legibility, and fluency. Results revealed that fine motor skills were a significant contributor to all aspects of handwriting performance. Executive functions also predicted handwriting performance, with a significant effect of flexibility on writing speed and of working memory on legibility. These findings highlight that, even at a high level of expertise and automatization, handwriting remains a motor skill whose performance depends on executive and fine motor control capacities. They suggest a predictive coding account of graphomotor control, whereby internal forward and inverse models would support the execution and monitoring of handwriting movements. This raises important questions about the extent to which disorders in motor and executive processes can affect handwriting performance and highlights the need for further research into this complex motor behavior.
Umgang mit kultureller DiversitÀt im Klassenzimmer: Möglichkeiten und Erfahrungen aus der Lehramtsausbildung
Francesca Ialuna; Sauro Civitillo; Philipp Jugert
Full text
Dieses Kapitel zielt darauf ab, zentrale Aspekte angemessenen Handelns von LehrkrĂ€ften in Bezug auf kulturelle DiversitĂ€t in der Schule zu beschreiben und Beispiele aufzuzeigen, wie dieses im Rahmen des Lehramtsstudiums umgesetzt werden kann. Im Mittelpunkt steht der pĂ€dagogische Ansatz des kulturresponsiven Unterrichtens (Culturally Responsive Teaching, Gay, 2018), der mehrere Aspekte umfasst. In diesem Kapitel werden wir uns hauptsĂ€chlich darauf fokussieren, wie (angehende) LehrkrĂ€fte kulturresponsive Lehrpraktiken umsetzen können, indem sie ein kulturelles DiversitĂ€tsklima, die BeziehungsqualitĂ€t zwischen LehrkrĂ€ften und SchĂŒlerinnen und SchĂŒlern mit unterschiedlichen Flucht- und Migrationserfahrungen sowie ein kritisches Bewusstsein ĂŒber soziale Ungleichheiten und Mikroaggressionen im Bildungssystem fördern. Zu diesen Themen werden sowohl theoretische Grundlagen als auch empirische Befunde aus Deutschland und dem internationalen Kontext vorgestellt. Zudem werden praktische VorschlĂ€ge unterbreitet, wie diese Themen im Rahmen der Lehramtsausbildung adressiert werden können. Abschließend wird ein Ausblick gegeben, welche weiteren Themen, die mit dem kulturresponsiven Unterrichten verbunden sind, im Lehramtsstudium zukĂŒnftig stĂ€rker berĂŒcksichtigt werden sollten.
IL NARCISISMO MALIGNO IN FAMIGLIA: quando il conflitto coinvolge un figlio e come riconoscerlo
Tiziano Costanzo
Full text
Il narcisismo maligno Ăš un tema frequentemente discusso in ambito relazionale, ma raramente viene considerato all'interno delle dinamiche familiari. Questo articolo si propone di colmare tale lacuna, approfondendo l'impatto devastante che il narcisismo maligno puĂČ avere sui genitori vittime di un figlio narcisista. Attraverso una combinazione di prospettive teoriche, neuroscientifiche e pratiche, il testo esplora come riconoscere i segnali distintivi del narcisismo maligno, le modalitĂ  subdole di manipolazione utilizzate dai figli narcisisti e le implicazioni psicologiche per i genitori, tra cui la dipendenza emotiva, la riduzione dell'autostima e l'isolamento sociale. Viene inoltre presentata una distinzione fondamentale tra narcisismo sano e patologico, sottolineando il valore evolutivo di una sana autostima e fiducia in sĂ© stessi, in contrasto con i comportamenti distruttivi che caratterizzano il narcisismo maligno. Sono analizzati i meccanismi neurali, come il sistema dopaminergico e la corteccia prefrontale, coinvolti nelle dinamiche di manipolazione e condizionamento operante, evidenziando l'impatto sul benessere psicologico e relazionale. Infine, l'articolo propone strategie per interrompere il ciclo di tossicitĂ , con un focus sulla prevenzione precoce e l'intervento tempestivo, promuovendo relazioni familiari piĂč equilibrate e responsabili. Attraverso una trattazione chiara e scientifica, l’obiettivo Ăš fornire strumenti utili non solo per il genitore vittima, ma anche per prevenire che il figlio perpetui schemi comportamentali distruttivi in altre relazioni future.
A Recursive Partitioning Approach for Detecting Nonstationarity of Levels and Trends in Time Series Data.
Fred Hasselman; Merlijn Olthof; Jingmeng Cui; Anna Lichtwarck-Aschoff
Full text
In this study a method for detecting level stationarity in time series data based on recursive partitioning (regression trees) is examined. Recursive partitioning iteratively splits the time series into two segments with the goal of finding the most optimal difference between segment means, given certain criteria related to the length of the segments and the magnitude of the level differences. The performance of the method to recover the true transition points and the true stationary levels in simulated time series data is evaluated in terms of sensitivity analyses for different parameter settings. The performance is compared to a change point detection algorithm based on Binary Segmentation. The results show the recursive partitioning method, with an additional post-analysis adjustment which removes likely false positives, performs equally well as the change point analysis in detecting the true transition time. The recursive partitioning method appears to perform better when the estimation of the true stationary level is concerned.
A p-curve analysis of changes in emotion recognition across the menstrual cycle
Yasaman Rafiee; Victor Shiramizu; Benedict C Jones
Full text
Previous research suggests that emotion recognition ability varies within and between individuals, potentially influenced by person-related factors such as levels of sex hormones. Studies have examined links between the menstrual cycle, ovarian hormone levels, and emotion recognition, but findings are inconsistent. Some report changes across the menstrual cycle or with hormone fluctuations, while others find no significant effects. To evaluate the evidentiary value of these studies, we conducted a p-curve analysis on eight studies reporting significant associations. Two analyses were performed: one on the menstrual cycle's effects and another on combined menstrual cycle and ovarian hormone effects. Neither analysis provided clear evidence for a genuine effect, and both revealed very low statistical power (maximum 12%) in the underlying studies. Recent, more rigorous studies with larger sample sizes have also failed to detect this effect, further questioning its existence. If present, the effect is likely very small or non-existent. We recommend that future research employ high statistical power and rigorous methodologies to reliably detect any true effects.
Subjective well-being of students and teachers in Uruguay: life satisfaction, affective profiles and academic emotions.
Nigel Manchini; Daniel Trias; Óliver JimĂ©nez; Natalia Ramos DĂ­az
Full text
Although affect and well-being occupy a central place in educational discourse, resources and evidence are still scarce. This study sought to analyse the psychometric properties of brief instruments, identify affective profiles and explore the emotions that students associate with their institution. The participants were teachers (n = 350), middle school students (n = 357) and high school students (n = 375) from Uruguay, who completed subjective well-being scales (SWLS and PANAS) and an open-ended question, processed through automated text analysis. Factor, reliability and correlation analyses suggest the validity of both scales; cluster analysis suggests the existence of four affective profiles similar to Norlander et al.'s (2002) model: self-fulfilling, self-destructive, high-affective and low-affective. Although the educational institution is predominantly associated with unpleasant experiences (such as stress, tiredness, sadness and anxiety), it is also associated with joy and happiness; differences were identified depending on the affective profile: for example, associations with interest, motivation and curiosity are distinctive of the self-fulfilling profile, while disappointment, displeasure and loneliness are distinctive of the self-destructive profile. The results suggest that the conjunction of scales and text analysis allows for insights into well-being in educational contexts.
ChatGPT Decreases Idea Diversity in Brainstorming
Gideon Nave; Lennart Meincke; Christian Terwiesch
Full text
Lee and Chung explore how ChatGPT augments human creativity in brainstorming. In a series of experiments, they randomized participants to complete a range of creative challenges, either with or without the help of ChatGPT. These challenges included tasks such as coming up with gift ideas, designing toys from various everyday objects, and repurposing household items. Each participant submitted one idea, which external evaluators rated on multiple creativity dimensions, including innovativeness and usefulness. Across tasks, instructing participants to use ChatGPT enhanced the average creativity of ideas, outperforming web searches and unaided human intuition, with creativity measured as the average of aggregated scores of originality (original, innovative, creative) and appropriateness (practical, effective, useful). These results strengthen the empirical evidence for the effectiveness of LLMs in idea generation, contributing to a rapidly growing literature. However, as we further demonstrate analytically, reliance on ChatGPT for idea generation comes with a significant tradeoff: while enhancing individual ideas' creativity, it reduces the diversity of ideas in a pool of ideas—a critical element for effective brainstorming.
Mindshaping, Coordination, and Intuitive Alignment
Daniel Ivan Perez-Zapata
Full text
In this chapter, we will summarize recent empirical results highlighting how different groups of people solve pure coordination games. Such games are traditionally studied in behavioural economics, where two people need to coordinate without communicating with each other. Our results suggest that coordination choices vary across groups of people, and that people can adapt flexibly to these differences in order to coordinate between groups. We propose that pure coordination games are a useful empirical platform for studying aspects of mindshaping. Drawing on existing psychological literature on alignment during interactions, we suggest that experience of successful interaction leads people to develop aligned intuitions about what is relevant and appropriate that support coordination when interaction and communication is not possible. Consistent with arguments made in the literature on mindshaping we believe that such alignment is more important for coordination than mindreading inferences about mental states, and indeed that mindreading is instead a form of coordination behaviour that is dependent upon intuitive alignment.
Experiential3D: Four Illusions Challenge Our 3D Visual Experience
Paul Linton
Full text
Four illusions suggest that many 3D visual processes are cognitive rather than perceptual: 1. LINTON STEREO ILLUSION: A back circle (at 50cm) and a front circle (at 40cm) appear to move rigidly together in depth (whilst their angular size is fixed) when their separation is kept constant in retinal disparity (moving to 40cm and 33cm) rather than physically constant (40cm and 30cm). This suggests that perceived stereo depth reflects retinal disparities, and depth constancy is cognitive rather than perceptual. 2. LINTON SCALE ILLUSION: Increasing interpupillary distance using a telestereoscope makes scenes seem miniature. We develop a VR telestereoscope that decouples increases of vergence and vertical disparities from increases in horizontal disparities. When horizontal disparities are increased, but vergence and vertical disparity are normal, the scene looks miniature. When vergence and vertical disparity are increased, but horizontal disparities are normal, the scene looks normal. This suggests that visual scale relies on a cognitive association between accentuated stereo shape and closer distances. 3. LINTON UN-HOLLOW FACE and LINTON MORPHING FACE ILLUSIONS: Using VR, we argue perceived depth is not inverted in the Hollow-Face illusion: First, objects placed in the hollow of the Hollow-Face illusion can be seen veridically in depth against the Hollow-Face illusion. Second, if we put points on the tip and base of the nose, and gradually switch the position of the two eyes (morphing from hollow to protruding), the change in relative depth between these points is seen veridically. This suggests that depth cue integration is cognitive rather than perceptual. 4. LINTON SIZE CONSTANCY and LINTON SHAPE CONSTANCY ILLUSIONS: Placing a solid rectangular frame around instances of pictorial size constancy, stereo size constancy, and stereo shape constancy all demonstrate that these constancies can be experienced without affecting perceived angular size, suggesting that these constancies are cognitive rather than perceptual.
Experiential3D: Four Illusions Challenge Our 3D Visual Experience
Paul Linton
Full text
Four illusions suggest that many 3D visual processes are cognitive rather than perceptual: 1. LINTON STEREO ILLUSION: A back circle (at 50cm) and a front circle (at 40cm) appear to move rigidly together in depth (whilst their angular size is fixed) when their separation is kept constant in retinal disparity (moving to 40cm and 33cm) rather than physically constant (40cm and 30cm). This suggests that perceived stereo depth reflects retinal disparities, and depth constancy is cognitive rather than perceptual. 2. LINTON SCALE ILLUSION: Increasing interpupillary distance using a telestereoscope makes scenes seem miniature. We develop a VR telestereoscope that decouples increases of vergence and vertical disparities from increases in horizontal disparities. When horizontal disparities are increased, but vergence and vertical disparity are normal, the scene looks miniature. When vergence and vertical disparity are increased, but horizontal disparities are normal, the scene looks normal. This suggests that visual scale relies on a cognitive association between accentuated stereo shape and closer distances. 3. LINTON UN-HOLLOW FACE and LINTON MORPHING FACE ILLUSIONS: Using VR, we argue perceived depth is not inverted in the Hollow-Face illusion: First, objects placed in the hollow of the Hollow-Face illusion can be seen veridically in depth against the Hollow-Face illusion. Second, if we put points on the tip and base of the nose, and gradually switch the position of the two eyes (morphing from hollow to protruding), the change in relative depth between these points is seen veridically. This suggests that depth cue integration is cognitive rather than perceptual. 4. LINTON SIZE CONSTANCY and LINTON SHAPE CONSTANCY ILLUSIONS: Placing a solid rectangular frame around instances of pictorial size constancy, stereo size constancy, and stereo shape constancy all demonstrate that these constancies can be experienced without affecting perceived angular size, suggesting that these constancies are cognitive rather than perceptual.
Sexual partner number and distribution over time affect long-term partner evaluation: Evidence from 11 countries across 5 continents.
Andrew G. Thomas; William Costello; Mons Bendixen; Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair; Menelaos Apostolou; KlĂĄra BĂĄrtovĂĄ; Ondƙej BurĂœĆĄek; Rob Lowe; Peter Jonason; Marta Kowal
Full text
A prospective partner’s sexual history provides important information that can be used to minimise mating-related risks. Such information includes the number of past sexual partners, which has an inverse relationship with positive suitor evaluation. However, sexual encounters with new partners vary in frequency over time, providing an additional dimension of context not previously considered. Across three studies (N = 5,331) with 15 samples, we demonstrate that the impact of past partner number on a suitor’s desirability varies as a function of distribution over time. Using graphical representations of a suitor’s sexual history, we found that past partner number effects were smaller when the frequency of new sexual encounters decreased over time. This moderation effect was stronger, and often curvilinear, when past partner numbers were higher. We replicated these findings in 11 countries from five world regions. Sex differences were minimal and inconsistent pointing to a lack of a sexual double standards. Sociosexuality (openness to casual sex) was a consistent moderator and tended to mute the sexual history effects. These findings suggest that people not only attend to a potential mate’s quantity of sexual partners, but also the context surrounding these encounters such as pattern and timing. Together, the findings raise the possibility of an evolved mechanism for managing mating risks present in both sexes and across populations and adds nuance to a contentious topic of public interest.
Conspiracy theories and violent extremism
Kinga Bierwiaczonek; Jan-Willem van Prooijen; Sander van der Linden; Bettina Rottweiler
Full text
Historical records and recent events suggest that conspiracy theories and violent extremism are closely associated. However, empirical research examining this link has only recently gained momentum. The present chapter provides an overview of this fast-growing research field. We first discuss theoretical explanations of the link between conspiracy theories and violent extremism, as well as the hypothetical mechanisms underpinning it. Next, we summarize the empirical evidence so far along three main research lines: (a) evidence from radicalized groups and individuals; (b) evidence from general population studies focusing on support for, and intentions to engage in, violent extremism; (c) evidence from the general population focusing on extreme political attitudes. We conclude by formulating recommendations for policy and practice.
Affect and Words: An Instrument for the Quantitative Analysis of Emotional Vocabulary in Open-ended Responses.
Nigel Manchini; Óliver JimĂ©nez; Natalia Ramos DĂ­az; Daniel Trias
Full text
In a context where emotions play a central role in discussions on psychology and education, the availability of various techniques and resources to assess emotional experience becomes essential. Quantitative language analysis provides a window to emotional experiences, rarely used in Spanish-speaking contexts. This study develops and cross-culturally validates an annotated dictionary of explicit emotional vocabulary, a tool for analyzing affective variables from texts and open-ended responses. A systematic protocol and expert judgment were used to select and annotate 1,041 lexical families (3,051 lemmas and 18,934 words), and pre-recorded hypotheses about the validity of the instrument were tested. Participants, adolescents from Uruguay (n = 1,208, 59% female, age M = 14.4) and Spain (n = 596, 41% female, age M = 15.7), completed Subjective Well-Being (SWB) scales and wrote about their emotional experiences in an open-ended response. The dictionary showed convergence with other instruments and acceptable inter-rater reliability. When applied to open-ended responses, it captured a substantial proportion of the words written by participants and showed significant correlations with SWB in both the Uruguayan and Spanish samples. These results suggest that quantitative analysis of open-ended responses allows the exploration of well-being, and that this freely available instrument is a valid resource for doing so, serving as a complement to quantitative and qualitative approaches for research or intervention purposes.
Towards a Clearer Understanding of Causal Estimands: The Importance of Joint Effects in Longitudinal Designs with Time-Varying Treatments
Lukas Junker; Ramona Schoedel; Florian Pargent
Full text
Longitudinal study designs present unique challenges for causal reasoning. In this article, we address the precise definition of a causal estimand as one of these challenges. Using examples from psychological research, we provide a non-technical introduction to estimands and illustrate three broader classes of estimands—total, direct, and joint effects—using the potential outcomes framework and directed acyclic graphs. In longitudinal research, joint effects play a central role because they extend average treatment effects to repeated treatments and thus provide a practical measure of cumulative intervention effects over time. Besides explaining the concept of joint effects and how they relate to mediation, we discuss their applicability to psychological research. We focus on their interpretation and whether they can realistically be identified in longitudinal observational studies in psychology. In this context, addressing unmeasured confounding is a crucial aspect of causal inference and mediation analyses, yet it is insufficiently discussed in the psychological literature. To bridge this gap, we propose a class of research designs for psychological studies where treatment assignment is driven by observable covariates so that joint effects can be identified under more reasonable assumptions.
Framing Vaccination as a Collective Responsibility Increases Intentions to Vaccinate
Sebastian BjĂžrkheim; BjĂžrn SĂŠtrevik; Tony Leino
Full text
The decision to vaccinate may be motivated by self-protection or community protection, and people may perceive vaccination as mostly a personal responsibility or a collective obligation. We conducted two preregistered survey experiments using a 2-by-2 design with the factors benefit (personal vs. collective) and responsibility (personal vs. collective). The experiments were conducted on large, overlapping representative samples of Norwegian adults: one before (N = 5,474) and one after (N = 1,789) COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Norway. In both experiment the data showed that framing vaccination choice as a collective responsibility (vs. personal responsibility) increased vaccine intentions. Emphasizing personal benefit (vs. collective benefit) increased vaccine intentions in the second experiment, but this effect was not observed in the first experiment. There was no interaction between the factors in either experiment. These findings indicate that highlighting collective responsibility may boost vaccine uptake, but the influence of emphasizing personal versus collective benefits remains inconclusive.
Between the Biological and Social clock: Exploring the Association between Social Jetlag and Wellbeing
Anne Landvreugd; Michel Guillaume Nivard; Meike Bartels
Full text
Introduction: The introduction of artificial lighting and the 24-hour society provoked a form of circadian misalignment called social jetlag: the misalignment between the biological clock and the social clock. The literature has mainly focused on the association between social jetlag and negative mental health in students, while knowledge on the association with wellbeing in adults is limited. Methods: The total sample included 20.143 Dutch participants from the Netherlands Twin Register (NTR). The Munich Chronotype Questionnaire was used to compute sleep-corrected social jetlag. Subjective happiness, Satisfaction with life, and Quality of life were used to create a wellbeing factor score. Linear regression models were applied to assess the association between social jetlag and wellbeing, and the interaction effects of age and day of the week. Additionally, a within-family analysis was performed to correct for the effect of the family environment. Results: We found a weak but significant negative correlation between social jetlag and the wellbeing scales (r = -0.05). The effect of social jetlag on the wellbeing factor score was marginal (ÎČ = -0.05, R2 = 0.22%, p < 0.001, N = 7456) and did not depend on age or day of the week. The within-family design showed that the association was not confounded by effects shared within family such as rearing effects and heritable confounders. Discussion: The negative association between social jetlag and wellbeing is marginal, and does not depend on age or day of the week. The association does not seem to be confounded by the effects shared by family members. Our results indicate that social jetlag should not be a primary concern for wellbeing. Future studies should focus on using objective measures for social jetlag and use longitudinal data to disentangle short term and long term results.
Greatness recognizes greatness: When only Experts make Accurate Expertise Judgments of Others
Fritz Becker; JĂŒrgen Buder; Markus Huff
Full text
Knowing what someone else knows is important in shared environments. However, the knowledge of others is not immediately perceptible. Luckily, an agent’s behavior within a task leaves clues for an observer to estimate their expertise. A task expert will make the best decisions to reach their goal, while a novice will make decisions seemingly at random. An expert observer should be able to evaluate the decisions of an agent by comparing the agent’s decision to the ideal one. On the other hand, a novice observer does not know the ideal decision and, thus, cannot compare the agent’s decision to it. We test the hypothesis that with increasing expertise, people can more accurately assess the expertise of others. The results of the two studies we present are consistent with this hypothesis. The first experimental study showed the expected interaction of agent and judge expertise in a task with limited external validity. In the second study, the results of the first study were replicated in a more generally applicable task. We discuss possible moderators of this effect, such as conflicting expertise cues and additional metacognitive information communicated by the agent. Moreover, we outline the consequences of expertise imbalance for identifying imposters in expert fields.
Do Facial Masks Impact Infants’ Joint Attention? A Within-Participant Laboratory Study
Stephanie Wermelinger; Lea Mörsdorf; Moritz M. Daum; Charlotte Baldenweg
Full text
During the COVID-19 pandemic, children were repeatedly confronted with people wearing facial masks. Little is known, however, about how this affected young children’s interactions with their caregivers. This preregistered experimental within-participants study explored whether facial masks influence young children’s initiation and response to joint attention. Using two structured tasks and one free-play task, we measured joint attention episodes in interactions of 12- to 15-month-old Swiss infants with one of their caregivers during the pandemic. In one experimental condition, the caregivers wore a facial mask; in the other, they did not. The results show no significant differences in infants’ joint attention between the two conditions. Infants may have interacted with their caregivers wearing facial masks enough previously not to be influenced by masks; alternatively, even with a partially covered face, a person provides enough information via eyes and other body parts that help infants to guide their attention.
Co-designing AI-generated vaping awareness materials with adolescents and young adults: A qualitative study.
Tianze Sun; Gary; Daniel Stjepanovic; Tesfa Yimer; Giang Vu; Carmen Lim; Caitlin McClure-Thomas; Jason Connor; Wayne Hall; Leanne Hides
Full text
Background and aims: Social media vaping awareness campaigns can potentially decrease youth vaping prevalence. Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers capabilities for rapidly producing campaign materials at scale, however, there is limited research on youth perceptions of AI-generated materials combining images and text. Methods: We conducted a two-phase mixed-methods study in Queensland, Australia. Phase 1 involved two focus groups (n=10 total; mean age: 16.3) to evaluate AI-generated materials created using a basic approach of zero-shot prompting (ZSP; AI performs tasks without examples), single-prompt usage (outputs used without refinement) and automatic text-image integration. Phase 2 involved semi-structured interviews (n=9, mean age: 23) to evaluate new materials developed using a refined approach based on Phase 1 feedback, including, few-shot prompting (FSP; AI performs task with examples), multi-prompt usage (outputs used after refinement), and manual text-image integration. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Analysis of phase 1 focus groups identified several technical limitations in materials developed using the basic approach, including poor alignment between images and text, awkward language, artificial imagery, and outdated images of vaping devices. When these technical limitations were addressed through the refined approach in Phase 2, thematic analysis of interview data revealed that participants focused on broader aspects of effective messaging. Six key characteristics emerged: (1) capture attention through visual appeal, (2) focus on immediate consequences, (3) make messages relevant to youth, (4) include clear calls to action, (5) avoid ambiguous and fear-mongering statements, and (6) tailor messages to diverse youth. Conclusions: AI can generate individual text and image components for health promotion campaigns, but automated AI multimedia material development is unlikely to succeed. Effective implementation will require co-designing with young people to guide material refinement and design integration, alongside FSP approaches to ensure that materials resonate with diverse youth.
Object substitution pretense reflects a general capacity to interpret objects as symbols
Barbu Revencu
Full text
Nonlinguistic external representations, such as diagrams, animations, or puppet shows, involve local relations between a perceptually available object (a symbol) and an entity that is relevant in the current communicative context (a discourse referent). By analyzing the empirical evidence on early pretend play, I argue that object substitution pretense can be fully accounted for if it is conceived of as a subspecies of external representation. This implies that the capacity to interpret objects as symbols emerges early and reliably in human ontogeny. I discuss several accounts of pretend play and related phenomena and argue that the current proposal provides a better and more general account of early symbolic understanding than alternative views.
Judging object weights using familiar and newly learned cues: cue combination and individual differences
Olaf Kristiansen; Meike Scheller; Annisha Attanayake; Emily A. Bambrough; Marko Nardini
Full text
Human perception is often characterised by efficient combination of sensory signals (cues). In recent studies, people could also improve precision via newly learned cues, with applications to enhance perception in healthy and clinical groups. However, it is unclear whether new cues can enhance manual object interactions. To study how new cues are used for object weight perception, people compared weights of containers. With haptic information plus the familiar visual cue of volume, participants showed precision improvements indicating cue combination. By contrast, a group of participants briefly trained with a novel visual cue to weight (line orientation) did not show improvements expected from combination. We then asked whether prolonged training (12 hours) with the novel cue would promote combination, testing for significant precision gains individually in six participants. Half of participants showed combination benefits, but these were not clearly related to training, as some combined cues before training. Using an illusion analogous to the size-weight illusion, we also asked whether the novel cue would become an automatic predictor of weight: two participants were susceptible to the illusion. We conclude that weight perception is susceptible to some enhancement, but subject to training effects and individual differences that are not yet understood.
Emotional Contagion: The Role of Interoceptive Inference in Affective Empathy and Co-Regulation
Felix Schoeller; Leonardo Christov-Moore; Nicco Reggente
Full text
Affective empathy, the ability to share and understand others’ emotional states, is a fundamental aspect of social cognition. Recent evidence suggests that interoceptive inference, the brain’s prediction and processing of internal bodily signals, plays a key role in affective empathy. Building on the active inference framework, we propose that emotional contagion arises from shared interoceptive priors between individuals, shaped by physiological synchrony during social interaction. We hypothesize that precision-weighted interoceptive prediction errors update shared priors, enabling the dynamic alignment of affective states and flexible switching between defensive and affiliative modes of co-regulation. We discuss the putative neurobiological implementation of this model, focusing on the insula, amygdala, and brainstem nuclei involved in interoception and allostatic control. This theoretical account bridges neurobiology and phenomenology through computational modeling, generating precise hypotheses for future research on the mechanisms of emotional contagion
Characterizing Emotion Dynamics in Remitted Depression: A Network Approach Using Ecological Momentary Assessment
Emma Holly Palermo; Hadar Fisher; Jacob Blank; Claire Anderson; Mario Bogdanov; David Steinberger; Yinru Long; Genevieve Nowicki; Grace Smith; Christian A. Webb
Full text
Background: Abnormalities in emotion dynamics and processes, such as emotional inflexibility and dominance of negative emotions, are characteristic of depression. The extent to which these abnormalities persist following depressive episodes, and represent a vulnerability factor for recurrent depressive episodes, remains unknown. The current study investigated emotion dynamics and their predictive validity in a sample of individuals with remitted depression (rMDD) and healthy controls (HC). Methods: Adults (HC: n=50; rMDD: n=48) completed a three-week ecological momentary assessment protocol, in which they responded to two items probing positive emotions and three items probing negative emotions six times daily. Contemporaneous and temporal networks were constructed using multilevel vector autoregressive models. Density was calculated as a measure of emotional inflexibility and In- and Out-Expected Influence were calculated as measures of centrality. Linear regression models were used to examine if density predicted clinical outcomes at the 6-month follow-up assessment. Results: Individuals with rMDD had significantly denser temporal emotional networks than HC participants. Groups also showed differential patterns of the most influential nodes in temporal and contemporaneous networks. Greater temporal density and contemporaneous density was significantly associated with increased depressive symptoms at the 6-month follow-up, assessed through both clinician-rated and self-report measures. Conclusions: Abnormalities in emotion dynamics persist following remission from depression and can be used to predict future depressive symptoms, suggesting these may represent a vulnerability factor for depression. Future research should study if interventions based on emotion networks targeting maladaptive emotional processes are able to prevent future depression.
Exploring the barriers and facilitators of school success for autistic adolescents in mainstream schools using qualitative methods
Jessica Hirst; Deborah M Riby; Charlotte South; Elizabeth Mulholland; Helen Sellars; Mary Hanley
Full text
In the UK, most autistic pupils are educated in mainstream schools. However, evidence shows that autistic pupils are more likely to experience lower quality of school life, and an academic attainment gap exists between autistic pupils and their peers. To reduce current educational inequalities for autistic pupils, it is critical to take a holistic approach and understand potential barriers and facilitators to their school success. Amplifying the autistic voice and utilising insights from autistic pupils currently attending mainstream secondary schools alongside their parents, is fundamentally important. This mixed-method, multi-informant study utilised accessible approaches (accessible interviewing, pot-sorting task, parent questionnaire) to explore the views of autistic adolescents (n=14; 12-17 years) and parents. Reflexive Thematic Analysis identified core themes around facilitators and barriers to school success. The young people and parents highlighted core roles of relationships with others, the school environment, individual experiences, and (lack of) understanding. At a time when the UK is experiencing a school and attendance crisis, when school resources are limited, and when so many young people express that they are not happy at school, these insights provide potential areas for the prioritisation of evidence-informed actions, with the ultimate goal of improving school success for autistic pupils.
“He 99% has a diet”: Negotiating the authenticity of Mukbang videos through a Diet Culture discourse
Corinne Finetti; Rahul Sambaraju
Full text
The popularity of food-media has grown exponentially in the last decades, leading to the proliferation of dietary and nutritional advice online where weight loss is the key to good health. This paper offers a discursive psychology evaluation of how YouTube users attend to the viral Mukbang phenomenon, popular for showcasing extreme consumption performed by fit and lean creators. The analysis revealed comments oriented to these videos as performances in need of authentication, which depended on the lifestyle the creators followed off-camera. Authenticity was interactively negotiated, challenged and co-constructed revealing an underlying diet culture discourse. The comments equated thinness to wellness, achievable through healthy eating, a restricted diet and physical exercise. These findings have important implications for how online content and engagement with this content can inform broader justifications for specific diet and (un)healthy eating practices.
Robust mediation analysis: What we talk about when we talk about robustness
Andreas Alfons; Dan Schley
Full text
Mediation analysis allows empirical researchers to study how an exposure variable affects an outcome variable through one or more intervening variables. Over the years, mediation analysis has become one of the most widely used statistical techniques in the social, behavioral, and medical sciences. Yet the most popular techniques for mediation analysis rely strongly on normality assumptions and are therefore susceptible to the influence of outliers or nonnormal distributions. We review common mediation models and discuss various approaches for estimation and inference, including their implementation in software packages. Moreover, we present robust alternatives, thereby clarifying different notions of robustness. Finally, we consider a setting where the mediation model holds in a latent space but where measurement issues create deviations from normality assumptions in the observed variable space, which is a setting not commonly considered in the literature on robust mediation analysis, and we obtain preliminary results via a simulation study.
Evolution of the Concept of Sensitivity and its Measurement: The Highly Sensitive Person Scale-Revised
Michael Pluess; Elaine N. Aron; Jenni Elise KÀhkönen; Francesca Lionetti; Huang Yuanyuan; Teresa Tillman; Corina Greven; Arthur Aron
Full text
Sensitivity to environmental influences varies among individuals, with some more responsive to both negative and positive experiences. Individual differences in sensitivity are linked to psychological, physiological, and genetic factors and can be measured using the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) scale. Over three decades, the conceptualization of sensitivity has shifted from a unidimensional to a multidimensional trait, necessitating a revision of the original scale. This study introduces and validates the revised HSP scale (HSP-R) using a UK and USA sample of 1,000 adults. Exploratory factor analysis on a calibration subsample (n = 600) yielded a 6-factor, 18-item structure, which was confirmed in a validation subsample (n = 400). The HSP-R measures six dimensions of sensitivity: Sensitivity to Details, Depth of Processing, Social Sensitivity, Sensitivity to Positive Experiences, Emotional Reactivity, and Overstimulation. It demonstrates robust psychometric properties, aligns with theoretical frameworks, and provides incremental validity beyond the Big Five traits.
Conceptualization and measurement of mental health literacy in the general adult population: A scoping review of community surveys
Taylor G. Hill
Full text
Mental health literacy (MHL) is defined as knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid in their recognition, management, or prevention. This scoping review mapped the peer-reviewed literature to understand how MHL is defined, conceptualized, and measured in adult community surveys. Studies (N = 77) conceptualization of MHL was largely driven by the definition and measures developed by Jorm et al. (1997). All studies used closed-ended scales and/or vignettes to measure MHL. Identifying the conceptualizations of MHL in the literature that is guiding community mental health surveys provided conceptual clarity ultimately advancing knowledge of MHL efforts.
A cultural evolutionary model for the law of abbreviation
Olivier Morin; Alexey Koshevoy
Full text
Efficiency principles are increasingly called upon to study features of human language and communication. Zipf’s law of abbreviation is widely seen as a classic instance of a linguistic pattern brought about by language users’ search for efficient communication. The “law”—a recurrent correlation between the frequency of words and their brevity—is a near-universal principle of communication, having been found in all of the hundreds of human languages where it has been tested, and a few non-human communication systems as well. The standard explanation for the law of abbreviation derives it from pressures for efficiency: speakers minimize their cumulative effort by using shorter words for frequent occurrences. This explanation, we argue here, fails to explain why long words exist at all. It also fails to explain why the law of abbreviation, despite being robust, is systematically weakened by many short and rare words. We propose an alternative account of the law of abbreviation, based on a simple cultural evolutionary model. Our model does not require any pressure for efficiency. Instead, it derives the law of abbreviation from a general pressure for brevity applying to all words regardless of their frequency. This model makes two accurate predictions that the standard model misses: the correlation between frequency and brevity is consistently weak, and it is characterized by heteroskedasticity, with many short and rare words. We argue on this basis that efficiency considerations are neither necessary nor sufficient to explain the law.
Evidence accumulation modelling offers new insights into the cognitive mechanisms that underlie linguistic and action-based training
Samantha Parker; Emily S. Cross; Richard Ramsey
Full text
Evidence accumulation modelling has been shown to uncover new insights into the cognitive mechanisms that underlie decision making from behavioural data. By jointly modelling reaction time and accuracy data, such decision models estimate latent variables that represent distinct computaitonal processes, such as stimulus encoding, response caution and the quality of information processing. In this study we use an evidence accumulation model, the Linear Ballistic Accumulator (LBA), to shed new light into the mechanisms that underlie learning based on linguistic and action-based training. The LBA model is applied to behavioural data from a previously published training study where participants learn to name, tie or name and tie a set of knots. Our results show that training is multifaceted and associated with an increase in stimulus-encoding time, a reduction in response caution, as well as an increase in the speed of information accumulation. Furthermore, the results showed that there was an added benefit to the rate of evidence accumulation when naming and tying experience were combined. This latter finding suggests that performance benefits from multi-modal training may be instantiated in computational processes that are associated with the quantity and quality of information accumulation during decision making. Overall, in applying this computational approach to accuracy and reaction time data, we uncover new insights into the mechanisms that govern experience-dependent plasticity.
Color-Coded Forest Plots in Data Dashboards: A Source of Misinterpretation and Suboptimal Decision-Making
Zachary Horne; Joni Rustulka; Robert Neal
Full text
Color-coded forest plots are a common feature in experimentation dashboards in industry, designed to facilitate quick interpretation of complex datasets. These visualizations are intended to provide companies the ability to make rigorous, data-driven decisions. This paper presents a series of studies that explore how users—ranging from university students with formal statistics training to experienced industry professionals—interpret and make decisions based on these visualizations. Our findings reveal that despite their intended purpose, color-coded forest plots can lead to systematic misinterpretation, with users frequently ignoring the precision of estimates and making decisions based primarily on the presence of statistical significance. Through a combination of empirical studies and simulation, we demonstrate that this approach to decision-making influenced by these visualizations not only introduces biases but also results in suboptimal outcomes compared to more rigorous statistical strategies. These insights highlight the need for re-evaluating the design and use of such visualizations in professional settings.
Divergent patterns of engagement with partisan and low-quality news across seven social media platforms
Mohsen Mosleh; Jennifer Nancy Lee Allen; David Gertler Rand
Full text
In recent years, social media has become increasingly fragmented, as platforms evolve and new alternatives emerge. Yet most research studies a single platform—typically Twitter/X, or occasionally Facebook—leaving little known about the broader social media landscape. Here we shed new light on patterns of cross-platform variation in the high-stakes context of news sharing. We examine the relationship between user engagement and news domains’ political orientation and quality across seven platforms: Twitter/X, BlueSky, TruthSocial, Gab, GETTR, Mastodon, and LinkedIn. Using an exhaustive sampling strategy, we analyze all (over 10 million) posts containing links to news domains shared on these platforms during January 2024. We find that the news shared on platforms with more conservative user bases is significantly lower quality on average. Turning to patterns of engagement, we find—contrary to hypotheses of a consistent “right wing advantage” on social media—that the relationship between political lean and engagement is strongly heterogeneous across platforms. Conservative new posts receive more engagement on platforms where most content is conservative, and vice versa for liberal news posts, consistent with an “echo platform” perspective. In contrast, the relationship between news quality and engagement is strikingly consistent: across all platforms examined, lower-quality news posts received higher average engagement even though higher quality news is substantially more prevalent and garners far more total engagement across posts. This pattern holds despite accounting for poster-level variation, and is observed even in the absence of ranking algorithms, suggesting user preferences – not algorithmic – bias may underlie the underperformance of higher-quality news.
A jsPsych Plugin for Continuous Real-Time Valence, Arousal, and Dominance Reporting Using a Three-Handle Controller
CaluĂŁ de Lacerda Pataca; Russell Lee
Full text
We present a jsPsych plugin that enables continuous, three-dimensional affective reporting in web-based experiments using a three-handle controller. By capturing real-time valence, arousal, and dominance responses, this tool facilitates richer, dynamic assessments of emotional states beyond static post-hoc measures.
Interaction Partners and Empathy in the Selection of Communication Channels During Meaningful Social Interactions
Mahnaz Roshanaei; sumer vaid; jamil zaki; Gabriella M. Harari
Full text
In today’s media landscape, there are an ever-expanding number of communication channels that people can use to communicate within their interpersonal relationships. What social and psychological factors are associated with the selection of communication channels in everyday life? Here we report on findings from an intensive longitudinal field study of undergraduate students (N = 1,423 participants; ecological momentary assessments = 27,644) that examined: (1) the role of interaction partners in the selection of communication channels and (2) the associations between channel selection and perceptions of empathy during meaningful social interactions. Our findings indicated a preference for media-rich channels, such as face-to-face and video communication, particularly when engaging with weak social ties, compared to strong social ties. In addition, the use of media-rich channels was linked to greater momentary perceptions of empathy. Specifically, face-to-face interactions (compared to computer-mediated), as well as video calls and phone calls (compared to direct messaging) were associated with greater perceptions of empathy. These findings support and extend Media Multiplexity Theory, Media Richness Theory, and Media Synchronicity Theory by examining them in the context of interpersonal communication. The findings also show that channel selection is associated with empathy perceptions, which has implications for how people navigate social connections in an increasingly digital environment.
Tones, Dots and Attentional Biases: A historical reconstruction of the development, first implementation, subsequent developments, and future applications of the attentional probe paradigm.
Christos Halkiopoulos
Full text
The attentional probe paradigm involves presenting participants with different messages simultaneously through two distinct information channels within the same modality. By measuring reaction times to modality-specific probes that can appear in either channel, this paradigm enables the assessment of attention allocation between these channels. Since the 1980s this paradigm has become prominent for investigating attentional biases in the processing of emotional information. The best-known version of it, the dot-probe technique introduced by MacLeod, Mathews, and Tata (1986), uses the visual modality. What is less well-known is that I had previously introduced the attentional probe paradigm in 1981 in the auditory modality in a modified dichotic listening experiment with pure tones as auditory probes. Using this tone-probe technique this study investigated the contrasting ways in which repressors and sensitisers (Byrne,1961) handle threatening information. Criticisms from a contemporary perspective notwithstanding of the rather limited initial study, it was concluded that sensitisers displayed an attentional bias favouring the processing of threatening stimuli, whereas repressors appeared to avoid the optimal processing of such stimuli. This paper presents a historical reconstruction of how I developed the attentional probe paradigm, how I first applied it in the auditory modality, and how it was subsequently used in the visual modality. It also introduces a multimodal version to be used in further research and offers a critique of extant research relying exclusively on decontextualized stimuli.
Constructing a Cross-race Triad Identity Matching test
Geraldine Jeckeln
Full text
Face identification is especially prone to error when people recognize faces of a race other than their own (Malpass & Kravitz, 1969). Current publicly available tests of face-identification proficiency do not test accuracy for cross-race identification. Here, we introduce and make publicly available a cross-race test of face identification. This test consists of African American/Black and Caucasian/White stimuli, pre-screened to be sufficiently challenging to test people of varying abilities, including super-recognizers and professional forensic face examiners. Additionally, test items were selected to assure equally accurate human performance for African American/Black and Caucasian/White faces. This test addresses a long-standing need in the literature for cross-race face-identification tests that tap skills for more than a single race of faces.
How to approach open science practices for clinical psychology research
Jan Christopher Cwik; Barbara Cludius; Dorothée Bentz; Marcel Riehle; Johannes C. Ehrenthal; Anke Haberkamp; Annika Clamor; Simon Edward Blackwell; Maike Salazar KÀmpf; Edgar Nazarenus
Full text
Open science practices are gaining increasing importance. However, applying open science practices in one's research can be challenging. And yet, it is becoming increasingly necessary to take a stance on this. To support our colleagues in clinical psychology to take a stance on open science practices and to motivate them to apply these practices in their research, we describe here how the use of open science practices benefits or can benefit clinical psychology science and practice and provide some perspective on why we believe that the increasing use of open science practices is consistent with good scientific practice and the ethical standards of our profession. In addition, we discuss how calls for increased implementation of open science practices in psychological research can be reconciled with some of the challenges, concerns, and conflicts that can arise around open science practices, especially in clinical psychology. Finally, we extend open science's inclusive and collaborative stance to include "experts by experience" in the research process. Including our research topics in the research process is a specific facet of the open science approach in clinical psychology that has been overlooked.
Reducing The Low Prevalence Effect: Does similarity search translate to binary decisions?
Greer Gillies; Anna Kosovicheva
Full text
In visual search, observers often miss rare targets. This low prevalence effect (LPE) is resistant to many cognitive interventions. However, a recent study showed that having participants identify the item that was most similar to the target (similarity search) eliminated the LPE. As real-world searches often require binary decisions (e.g., is there a threat in this bag?) we tested whether the benefits of similarity search generalize to binary decisions and to more naturalistic stimuli. Participants searched for T shapes amongst near T-distractors and the prevalence of True-T’s was manipulated. In the similarity search only condition, participants clicked on the “most T-like object”. In the similarity search & binary decision condition, participants additionally reported whether the chosen item was a true T (yes/no). We found that in some circumstances, similarity search can be used to attenuate the LPE. However, there was an LPE for the binary decision task. Participants were less likely to classify the target as a true-T during low prevalence compared to high. We replicated this result in an additional experiment using more naturalistic stimuli. Participants watched clips of road videos and clicked on the “most hazardous location” in the video, followed by a binary decision (“would you need to respond to that hazard? yes/no”). Though participants located the hazards regardless of prevalence, there was an LPE for the binary decision task. Together, these results indicate potential limitations in applying similarity search outside the laboratory; the LPE is still seen in these searches if a binary decision is involved.
Reduced Community-Level Social Cohesion is Associated with Higher Risk for Financial Exploitation
Tia Tropea; Yi Yang; Rita M. Ludwig; Dominic S. Fareri; Jeremy Mennis; David Victor Smith
Full text
Understanding the psychosocial and community risk factors associated with financial exploitation is essential in developing prevention strategies. Although previous work has identified factors related to increased risk such as poor financial literacy, cognitive decline, and worse mental health, less is known about social factors, particularly those tied to our community and how they interact with our ability to form meaningful relationships. To investigate this issue, we used a previously published national sample of U.S. adults aged 20 to 94 (N = 886). We used self-reported zip code data coupled with the US Census data to reconstruct community-level indicators of social cohesion (i.e., neighborhood disorder, neighborhood disadvantage, residential instability). We found that reduced community-level social cohesion was associated with increased risk for financial exploitation. In addition, our exploratory analyses indicated that community-level indicators of social cohesion also moderated the association between subjective cognitive decline and risk of financial exploitation. Specifically, individuals with higher levels of subjective cognitive decline residing in areas with low residential instability appeared to have lower risk of financial exploitation. These results highlight how community-level factors contribute to risk for financial exploitation, which may provide a foundation for future work aimed at improving prevention strategies and public policy.
Towards the study of perceptual decision-making in peripheral vision with virtual reality
DoYeon Lee; Tianyu Zhou; Jing Du; Brian Odegaard
Full text
Military personnel are often required to make perceptual decisions based on noisy and uncertain information. Over the last decade, work from experiments using simple stimuli in visual psychophysical paradigms has provided evidence that in the visual periphery, observers are often prone to false alarms and variable confidence judgments in detection tasks. To better understand whether these characteristics extend to more naturalistic paradigms, our research group has developed visual detection experiments in virtual reality, where on each trial, observers are required to first fixate on specific objects, and then make judgments about whether a target (i.e., a green soldier in uniform) is present, and rate confidence in this decision. Inevitably, extending the study of peripheral vision to virtual reality involves trade-offs, with tension between the degree of experimental control that is employed and the ecological validity of the task. In this piece, we focus on the challenges that emerged and the lessons we have learned in pursuit of designs that strike a balance between these factors. In our first experiment, we required participants to ride in an automatically-controlled vehicle, fixate on each red stop sign, and determine whether targets were present in the periphery while looking at the stop sign. Results indicated that observers (1) did not successfully fulfill fixation requirements in the task in all trials, and (2) requiring targets to appear and disappear based on whether a fixation requirement was met resulted in flickering that served as an unintentional, salient cue. In our second experiment, we allowed participants to navigate the vehicle themselves, while again requiring the same fixation requirement and perceptual judgments at each intersection. Initial tests of this design found that variability in how participants navigated in the vehicles sometimes resulted in stopping at locations that did not allow for viewing the stop sign and soldier at the same moment. Finally, in our third experiment, we manipulated the presence of the targets on each trial, and expanded our confidence questions to include both target-present and target-absent trials. Results revealed that confidence was similar in both target-present and target-absent conditions. Based on these preliminary findings, we outline design-related recommendations for studies of the periphery, and explain the tradeoffs that extend across several military-relevant tasks, including both target detection and visual search. Finally, we also share our code to facilitate eye tracking in the HTC Vive Pro, as well as our target detection tasks.
Towards the study of perceptual decision-making in peripheral vision with virtual reality
DoYeon Lee; Tianyu Zhou; Jing Du; Brian Odegaard
Full text
Military personnel are often required to make perceptual decisions based on noisy and uncertain information. Over the last decade, work from experiments using simple stimuli in visual psychophysical paradigms has provided evidence that in the visual periphery, observers are often prone to false alarms and variable confidence judgments in detection tasks. To better understand whether these characteristics extend to more naturalistic paradigms, our research group has developed visual detection experiments in virtual reality, where on each trial, observers are required to first fixate on specific objects, and then make judgments about whether a target (i.e., a green soldier in uniform) is present, and rate confidence in this decision. Inevitably, extending the study of peripheral vision to virtual reality involves trade-offs, with tension between the degree of experimental control that is employed and the ecological validity of the task. In this piece, we focus on the challenges that emerged and the lessons we have learned in pursuit of designs that strike a balance between these factors. In our first experiment, we required participants to ride in an automatically-controlled vehicle, fixate on each red stop sign, and determine whether targets were present in the periphery while looking at the stop sign. Results indicated that observers (1) did not successfully fulfill fixation requirements in the task in all trials, and (2) requiring targets to appear and disappear based on whether a fixation requirement was met resulted in flickering that served as an unintentional, salient cue. In our second experiment, we allowed participants to navigate the vehicle themselves, while again requiring the same fixation requirement and perceptual judgments at each intersection. Initial tests of this design found that variability in how participants navigated in the vehicles sometimes resulted in stopping at locations that did not allow for viewing the stop sign and soldier at the same moment. Finally, in our third experiment, we manipulated the presence of the targets on each trial, and expanded our confidence questions to include both target-present and target-absent trials. Results revealed that confidence was similar in both target-present and target-absent conditions. Based on these preliminary findings, we outline design-related recommendations for studies of the periphery, and explain the tradeoffs that extend across several military-relevant tasks, including both target detection and visual search. Finally, we also share our code to facilitate eye tracking in the HTC Vive Pro, as well as our target detection tasks.
The Typability Index: A tool for measuring and controlling for typing difficulty in text stimuli
Emily A. Williams; Matthew Warburton; Martin Krzywinski; Faisal Mushtaq
Full text
In typing proficiency tests, like those used in job recruitment or research studies, individuals are evaluated based on their speed and accuracy. However, the difficulty of the typed text — its ‘typability’ — can impact typing performance, introducing variability that is unrelated to skill. To ensure valid comparisons across individuals, time, and conditions, it is crucial to control for this variation in text difficulty. To address this issue, we develop the Typability Index, a model that predicts the relative typing speed of text. Building on earlier attempts to quantify typing difficulty from the 1940s, we create a more advanced typability model using the 136M Keystrokes dataset (Dhakal et al., 2018) where over 168,000 participants each typed 15 sentences from a pool of 1,525 items. Through random forest regression, we identify 10 key predictors from 33 candidate variables, including the proportion of lowercase letters, word frequency, and finger movement mechanics. Trained on 80% of the dataset and validated on the remaining 20% and a novel dataset, the Typability Index explained 72-87% of the variance in typability, compared to the 34% explained by an earlier leading model (Bell, 1949). To promote higher control in typing research and assessments, we introduce a web-based tool to facilitate accurate measurement and fair comparisons of text typability.
A Double-Edged Sword? Unpacking the Effects of Rumination on Emotional Clarity
Cameron Pugach; Blair Elizabeth Wisco; Vera Vine
Full text
Rumination, or thinking passively and repetitively about one’s distress, and low emotional clarity, or not understanding one’s emotions, are risk factors for psychopathology. It has been suggested that people attempt to increase emotional clarity by ruminating, but whether ruminating works to help or harm emotional clarity in the moment is unknown. In N=74 adults, following an idiographic negative mood induction, we experimentally manipulated rumination and two comparison conditions – distraction and mindfulness – to assess their effects on negative emotion, subjective and implicit indices of emotional clarity, and self-insight. Manipulation checks showed that conditions produced a pattern of distinct experiences theoretically consistent with each response style. Compared to comparison conditions, rumination was less effective in alleviating negative emotion. However, all conditions produced similar effects on emotional clarity and self-insight. Whereas each condition failed to influence subjective emotional clarity, they increased implicit clarity and perceived self-insight. Results underscore the importance of incorporating multiple measures of emotional clarity and suggest that, compared to other cognitive emotion response styles, rumination may function as a double-edged sword that keeps one entrenched in negative emotion but without impairing implicit emotional clarity and self-insight. Findings may have implications for why people ruminate despite its negative impact on well-being.
Objective Major-Specific Fit Forecasts Regarding Interests, Skills, and Expectations Predict Motivation, Choice and Success in a Major
Belinda Viola Marijana Merkle; Oliver DickhÀuser
Full text
Choosing an educational path is a difficult life decision that can lead to unfavorable outcomes when it goes wrong. However, little research has examined how to support successful study major choice processes. To address this gap, we draw on person-environment fit and (affective) forecasting bias theories, assuming that higher objective major-specific fit forecasts (interests, skills, expectations) predict success (motivation, satisfaction, dropout intention, achievement) beyond subjective forecasts. Additionally relying on expectancy-value theory and cognitive dissonance theory, we assume that higher objective major-specific fit forecasts, when displayed in feedback, predict higher motivation to choose a major and higher likelihood of enrollment beyond subjective forecasts. Finally, we propose that prospective students receiving feedback before enrollment experience more success than those receiving no feedback. We tested these hypotheses in a longitudinal field study. Over three years, more than 4000 prospective students received feedback on their objective major-specific fit forecasts in an online-self-assessment and reported their motivation for the major before and after feedback. Subsequently, over 500 of these prospective students entered their respective major and reported their success. Additionally, we surveyed over 200 students who did not receive feedback. As hypothesized, objective major-specific fit forecasts predicted success beyond subjective forecasts. Higher objective forecasts related to higher motivation to choose the major and higher likelihood of enrollment beyond subjective forecasts. Finally, prospective students who received feedback on their objective forecasts before enrollment experienced more success compared to no feedback. We discuss theoretical implications for study choice and success theories and practical implications for study guidance.
Reading Between the Blinks: The Timing of Spontaneous Eye Blinks in Text Reading Suggests Cognitive Role
Xander Cornelis; Nicolas Dirix; Louisa Bogaerts
Full text
A growing body of research suggests that spontaneous eye blinks have a cognitive role in addition to their biological functions. Blinking has been associated with cognitive effort and processes related to the dynamic nature of incoming sensory information such as the release of attention. However, there is limited evidence supporting the cognitive role of spontaneous blinks, specifically during reading. This study provides the first systematic investigation of blinking patterns in eye-tracking data of naturalistic silent text reading. We hypothesized that blinks would be more likely to occur (1) around punctuation marks signaling a breakpoint in the text and (2) following fixations on lower-frequency words. To test these hypotheses, we utilized data from the large Ghent Eye Tracking Corpus (GECO), which includes eye movement data from 15 participants who read an entire novel in silence. The results indicate higher blinking proportions at punctuation marks compared to other positions in the text. Additionally, blink rates were modulated by word frequency, with higher word frequencies significantly reducing the probability of blinking. Extending previous research, our findings suggest substantial top-down regulation of blinking during reading.
Inner speech as a mechanism of naming improvement after lexical-semantic therapy in chronic aphasia
Brielle C Stark; Julianne M Alexander; Emma Stockrahm; Reagan Taylor; Peyton Nielsen; Bailey Barron; Prit Kaur
Full text
Purpose: This study investigates whether inner speech—the mental rehearsal of words without articulation—facilitates naming recovery in individuals with aphasia. We hypothesized that items with preserved inner speech but impaired overt naming at baseline would improve more after speech therapy than items without inner speech. Method: Nineteen participants with chronic, expressive aphasia participated in three pre-treatment naming sessions, nine treatment sessions (semantic feature analysis), and three post-treatment naming sessions. For each pre- and post-treatment naming session, participants named ~300 items (pictures of nouns) aloud and also indicated whether they had inner speech for each item. Based on pre-treatment naming sessions, 30 individualized items (“Treated30”) were trained using semantic feature analysis. Mixed-effects models analyzed the effect of treatment, inner speech, psycholinguistic properties, and aphasia severity on naming outcomes immediately post-treatment. Results: There was an average of 60.8% proportional improvement on overt naming and 41% improvement on inner speech for the Treated30 from baseline to follow-up. In a series of hierarchical mixed models, baseline inner speech, inner speech across the study, aphasia severity, and interactions of inner speech variables with treatment were significant in predicting correct naming post-therapy. Conclusions: Findings suggest a bidirectional relationship between inner and overt speech: baseline inner speech and, importantly, improvements in inner speech significantly influence therapy-related gains in naming. These results suggest that inner speech-focused interventions may improve outcomes by providing a cognitive scaffold for speech production.
Can Chatbots Offer What Therapists Do? A mixed methods comparison between responses from therapists and LLM-based chatbots
Till Scholich; Maya Michiko Barr; Shannon Wiltsey Stirman; Shriti Raj
Full text
Background: Consumers are increasingly using LLM-based chatbots to seek mental health advice or intervention due to ease of access and limited availability of mental health professionals. However, their suitability and safety for mental health applications remain underexplored, particularly in comparison to professional therapeutic practices. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate how general-purpose chatbots respond to mental health scenarios and compare their responses to those provided by licensed therapists. Specifically, we sought to identify chatbots’ strengths, limitations, and the ethical and practical considerations necessary for their use in mental health care. Methods: We conducted a mixed methods study to compare responses from chatbots and licensed therapists to scripted mental health scenarios. We created two fictional scenarios and prompted 3 chatbots to create six interaction logs. We recruited 17 therapists and conducted study sessions that consisted of three activities. First, therapists responded to the two scenarios using a Qualtrics form. Second, therapists went through the six interaction logs using a think aloud procedure to highlight their thoughts about the chatbots’ responses. Lastly, we conducted a semi-structured interview to explore subjective opinions on the use of chatbots for supporting mental health. The study sessions were analyzed using thematic analysis. The interaction logs from chatbot and therapist responses were coded using the Multitheoretical List of Therapeutic Interventions codes and then compared to each other. Results: We identified seven themes describing the strengths and limitations of the chatbots as compared to therapists. These include elements of good therapy in chatbot’s responses, conversational style of chatbots, insufficient inquiry and feedback seeking by chatbots, chatbot interventions, client engagement, chatbots’ responses to crisis situations, and considerations for chatbot-based therapy. In the use of MULTI codes, we found that therapists evoked more elaboration (t = 4.50, p = 0.001) and employed more self-disclosure (t = 1.05, p = 0.31) as compared to the chatbots. The chatbots used affirming (t = 1.71, p = 0.10) and reassuring (t = 2.29, p = 0.03) language more often than the therapists. The chatbots also employed psychoeducation (t = 2.69, p = 0.01) and suggestions (t = 4.23, p = 0.001) more often than the therapists did. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates the unsuitability of general purpose chatbots to safely engage in mental health conversations, particularly in crisis situations. While chatbots display elements of good therapy, such as validation and reassurance, overuse of directive advice without sufficient inquiry, and use of generic interventions makes them unsuitable as therapeutic agents. Careful research and evaluation will be necessary to determine the impact of chatbot interactions and to identify the most appropriate use cases related to mental health.
Frequency Over Semantic Richness: word recognition in non-native English speakers
Agata Dymarska
Full text
Recognition of a word and its meaning benefits from the sensorimotor information about concepts. However, this phenomenon has been underexplored in second language (L2) speakers who may rely on more “shallow” representations. Using a megastudy dataset, we investigate how sensorimotor strength affects L1 and L2 word recognition performance. Bayesian hierarchical regressions revealed that variables associated with physical sensations (interoceptive strength, motor action) and communication experience (head or mouth movement, auditory strength) produced strong effects in both groups. On the other hand, variables associated with concrete objects (visual, haptic experience) and with taste/smell (olfactory, gustatory experience) influenced L1 word recognition performance to a larger extent than in L2. In L2, reliance on semantic information during word recognition is reduced, with stronger effects of lexical variables compared to L1. The findings provide implications for understanding second language processing mechanisms and demonstrate the usefulness of megastudy datasets in investigating L2 conceptual representations.
Multilingual Language Acquisition in Arabic-English Speaking Families: The Role of Parent Sex and Parent
Samantha Ghali; John Colombo
Full text
Introduction. The robust linguistic and clinical research literature focusing on English language acquisition is generally based on a model that presumes that the oral language a child acquires at home without formal instruction is the same language that is used for reading and writing. Arabic presents a qualitatively different scenario, in that children learning Arabic must acquire at least two different language systems: (1) a dialectal form that is largely used for informal interactions and which is not formally codified, and (2) a standard form, which is typically used in formal contexts and is almost exclusively reserved for reading and writing. Multilingual Arabic speakers are among the fastest growing language communities in the United States (US), yet very little is known about language development in Arabic-English speaking children, leading to critical knowledge gaps in language acquisition theory, assessment, and intervention. This project was designed to provide an initial overview of the Arabic-English language learning environment by addressing the following research questions: RQ 1: Do demographic characteristics such as parent sex and parent education influence caregiver reported parent-child use of language outside of the home in the standard form and spoken/home language form? RQ 2: Do demographic characteristics such as parent sex and parent education influence caregiver reported child grammatical outcomes, such as verb use, tense, and agreement? Method. A community-based participatory approach was utilized for participant recruitment. The author partnered with community stakeholders to recruit a pilot sample of 42 families to the study. This study received institutional review board approval and followed all ethical guidelines. Questionnaires assessing caregiver ratings of their children’s language skills and the language richness of the home environment was administered in person within participants’ homes or in locations selected by participants (e.g., community centers). Families who consented were audio recorded for fidelity.
Foreign Language Effect on the Judgment of Bullshit: Interplay of Language, Emotions and Meaning
Lea Goriơek; Duơica Filipović Đurđević; Kaja Damnjanović
Full text
Abstract Foreign language effect (FLE) refers to the observed differences in responding to judgment and decision-making problems presented in native (L1) or foreign language (L2). The present research aimed to investigate whether L2 use could impact the judgment of bullshit, and, provided that the impact is observed, if the mechanisms behind the FLE could rely on emotionality. Bullshit is a form of meaningless material that is grammatically and syntactically correct, and has been studied in empirical psychology. We conducted two studies with participants differing in L2 proficiency. The participants were instructed to evaluate the profoundness of positive, negative, and neutral bullshit and mundane statements in their L1 and L2. The results suggest that people are more prone to accept the profundity of emotionally charged bullshit, whereas L2 use mostly impacts the judgment of less proficient speakers – it could diminish their ability to detect neutral nonsense and refute the profundity of negative mundane statements. This implies the dependence of FLE on valence, meaning, and their interaction. We discuss findings within Dual Process accounts of reasoning, noting that both emotional involvement and using a L2 lead to quick, intuitive processing. Therefore, to sound profound, use emotional words or a foreign language!
Suicidal Behaviour in Adolescents with Affective Disorders: A Study in a Crisis Intervention Unit (CIU)
Alejandro Valdevila Figueira; Jose A. Rodas; Rocio Valdevila Santiestevan; Andrés Alexis Ramírez Coronel; Indira Dayana Carvajal Parra
Full text
Background: Suicidal behaviour is a critical mental health issue in the adolescent population, often linked to serious emotional problems that leave survivors vulnerable to future risk. Psychological crises in adolescence are primarily associated with relational conflicts, with emotional crises involving depression or anxiety significantly increasing suicidal risk. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the rates of suicidal behaviour in adolescents undergoing emotional crises and explore their association with psychiatric diagnoses and demographic factors in Ecuador. Methods: An observational, correlational study using a quantitative approach was conducted. Data from 252 adolescents admitted to the Crisis Intervention Unit at the Institute of Neurosciences in Guayaquil, Ecuador, between 2011 and 2023 were analysed. Hospitalisation frequencies by year, gender, and associated psychiatric diagnoses were assessed. Data were obtained from each patient's unified clinical history. Results: Seventy-five percent of the patients were female, with 48% aged 17–18 years. Most adolescents were single (98%), and 86% had a secondary education level. The most frequent diagnosis was a depressive episode (73.4%), with 156 patients presenting suicidal ideation. Cutting and ingestion of psychotropic drugs were the most common suicide methods, predominantly among females. Logistic regression showed that a combination of an eating disorder and a depressive episode was associated with a lower likelihood of suicidal ideation or attempts. Conclusions: The high frequency of suicidal behaviour in adolescent females aged 16–18 years underscores the need for targeted prevention programs addressing emotional crises and stress management in this high-risk group.
Parents’ experiences of home–school collaboration via the digital platform Wilma
Riikka Sirkko; Ninnu Kotilainen; Riikka Mononen
Full text
This study investigated parents’ experiences of home–school collaboration in Grades 1–9 via the digital platform Wilma, comparing the experiences between primary and lower secondary education. Parents (N = 558; 32.6% of whom were parents of pupils receiving special educational support) answered an online questionnaire. Wilma markings and messages were used more frequently for pupils receiving special educational support. Parents, regardless of support and school level, found the markings rather beneficial. Wilma was perceived as a good technical tool, but as an ambiguous pedagogical tool that lacked common practices. The need for common guidelines for using Wilma is discussed.
Sociocognitive Approach to the Validity of Teaching Assessment Instruments.
Roberto Daniel CĂĄceres-Bauer; Mario Luzardo; Pilar Cecilia Rodriguez Morales
Full text
This study analyzes the construct validity of Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) questionnaires applied in a university context. Using a sample of 3,243 students who evaluate 98 teachers in medical courses, multi-faceted Rasch models (MFRM) were applied to control for variability introduced by rater severity and item difficulty. The SET questionnaires, designed to assess nine dimensions of teaching quality, were analyzed for their effectiveness to capture differential teaching perceptions. The analysis incorporated socio-cognitive factors, based on the Central Model of Student Perception (CSP model), which studies how the perception and facilitative effect of teaching influences student response. Results indicate that students can distinguish between specific dimensions of teaching, which supports the validity of the questionnaire, although challenges related to possible perceptual biases and item interpretation persist. These findings suggest that, despite their usefulness, SET questionnaires require rigorous control of external factors to improve their accuracy and reliability as a teaching assessment tool in higher education.
Reasoning to justify eating animals varies with age
Luke McGuire; Tina Bagus; Alexander George Carter; Nadira Sophie Faber
Full text
The present study examined the justifications used by children, adolescents, and adults to justify eating animals. Children (n = 100, Mage = 9.82, SD = .77, female n = 49), as compared to adolescents (n = 76, Mage = 14.0, SD = 1.62, female n = 36) and adults (n = 113, Mage = 44.1, SD = 14.4, female n = 54) were more ambivalent or opposed to eating animals, and they showed a distinct reasoning pattern. Children relied less on arguments about meat eating being natural or with reference to humane slaughter practices. These findings align with recent theoretical perspectives that reasoning may be used to counter cognitive dissonance arising from knowledge of food production systems.
Engagement and outcomes of patients selecting providers in a technology-enabled treatment platform
Valerie L Forman-Hoffman; Edward Hsyeh; Manoj Kanagaraj; Kristina McPherson; Alex Gille; Cynthia Grant
Full text
Importance Preliminary evidence is lacking for the engagement and efficacy levels of mental health platforms that enable patients to self-select certain characteristics of their providers. Objective To determine the characteristics, engagement, and clinical outcomes of adult patients who used a technology-enabled platform to access outpatient mental health services and explore associations between type of provider selection and outcomes. Design, Setting, and Participants This real world retrospective study of 304,251 patients 18 or older with a first visit to a provider in 2022-2023 using data routinely collected in the Grow Therapy platform. Main Outcomes and Measures Engagement was defined by the total number of visits with a Grow Therapy provider. Clinical outcomes were derived from changes in repeated self-reported scores on the standardized Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment-7 (GAD-7) surveys administered before the first and most recent treatment visits. Adjusted logistic and linear regression was used for the analyses examining type of provider characteristic selected, engagement, and changes in each clinical outcome. Results This study included Grow Therapy patients (mean age 34.0 years; 69.8% identifying as female). Over a quarter of patients selected a provider specialty (27.1%) and 4.4% selected a provider identity. Patients met with their provider a mean of 9.6 times (67.4% had 3 or more visits) and, among complete case patients with at least 2 PHQ-9 and 2 GAD-7 assessments (n=67,105), a large proportion showed significantly improved symptoms of depression (PHQ-9 improvement=3.5, 60.0% with a minimal clinically important difference [MCID]) and anxiety (GAD-7 improvement=3.5, 66.1% MCID). Patients selecting a provider specialty had fewer visits but had greater declines in depression symptoms, and those selecting a provider identity engaged longer in care than patients not selecting each of these characteristics, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance This real world study demonstrates that a technology-enabled mental health platform that allows patients to self-select their provider is engaging and preliminarily efficacious. Patients may maximize benefits of these platforms by selecting preferred characteristics of their providers.
Fostering help-seeking in early childhood: The role of teachers’ familiarity and response quality
Yilun Zhao; YUAN SHEN; Tianxin Song; Wenshuo Li; Ke Shen; anonymous; Jinliang Qin
Full text
Young children mostly seek help from teachers in early care and education settings, yet little is known about the factors influencing their help-seeking expectations within teacher-child interactions. This study examined the help-seeking expectations of Han Chinese children aged 5–6 years (N = 90, 45 boys) from Hangzhou, East China, focusing on teachers’ familiarity and response quality. The results indicated that young children were more likely to expect to seek help from familiar teachers, particularly those who previously responded positively. In contrast, young children were hesitant to expect to seek help from unfamiliar teachers, regardless of their response quality. These results suggest that preschool children flexibly form help-seeking expectations based on teachers’ familiarity and response quality, prioritizing familiarity over response quality. The implications of these findings emphasize the importance of fostering positive and trusting relationships in early childhood education to promote adaptive help-seeking strategies.
Putting Emotional Memories in Context: The Constructionist Model of Emotional Memory
John Thomas West; Neil Mulligan; Kristen A Lindquist
Full text
Given that the emotions associated with a stimulus affect its memorability, cognitive psychologists have long been interested in the intersection of emotion and memory. The bulk of such research has investigated the role of emotion in memory by examining the mnemonic effects of affective dimensions such as valence and arousal. However, in addition to studying such dimensions, the consideration of well-established theories of emotion from affective science represents a fruitful source of ideas whose implications for episodic memory have not yet been thoroughly investigated. In the current paper, we propose a model of emotional memory inspired by psychological constructionist theories of emotion, which conceive of emotions as emergent phenomena constructed when perceivers use conceptual knowledge to make sense of affective sensations in context. The constructionist model of emotional memory (CMEM) generates several novel directions for future research, such as investigating the mnemonic consequences of conceptual emotion knowledge, and considering the effects of variability in emotion construction at the situational, individual, and cultural levels.
Biased Bots: An Empirical Demonstration of How AI Bias Could Compromise Mental Healthcare
Adela Timmons; Kexin Feng; jduong@utexas.edu; Kayla Carta; Sierra Walters; Grace Jumonville; Alyssa Carrasco; Gabrielle Freitag; Daniela Romero; Gayla Margolin
Full text
Background: The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) applications for mental health has advanced in recent years and shows promise to increase the reach, scope, and impact of mental healthcare. However, biases in algorithms designed to assess and treat mental health problems pose risk for equitable mental health. This cross-sectional study investigates the existence of bias in algorithms for detecting stress from mobile devices and its implications for mental health equity. Methods: A diverse sample of young adults (N = 212) carried smartphones, wore physiological sensors, and completed hourly surveys assessing their subjective stress for 24 hours. We then developed a Twin Neural Network machine learning (ML) model to detect hourly stress from smartphone and wearable data and evaluated model performance across gender and ethnic/racial status. Findings: The model performed moderately well overall yet showed significant variation in performance ranging from poor to good across gender and ethnic/racial groups. In particular, the model evidenced lower performance in women compared to men and overestimated the frequency of stress episodes for Hispanic/Latina women. Interpretation: Findings highlight the presence of bias in AI applications for mental health and underscore the need for cautious interpretation of ML outcomes in historically underrepresented groups. Discussion focuses on the implications of AI bias for mental health and the importance of developing methods that combine AI and social justice perspectives to ensure the implementation of equitable mental healthcare. Funding: This project is based on work supported by NIMH Grant No. R42MH123368 (Timmons, Comer, Ahle, Co-PIs), NSF GRFP Grant No. 1930019 (Timmons, PI), NSF Grant No. BCS-1627272 (Margolin, PI), SC CTSI (NIH/NCATS) Grant No. UL1TR000130 (Margolin, PI), NIH-NICHD Grant No. R21HD072170-A1 (Margolin, PI), NSF GRFP Grant No. DGE-0937362 (Timmons, PI), an APA Dissertation Award (Timmons, PI), NSF GRFP Grant No. DGE-0937362 (Han, PI), and NSF Grant No. 2046118 (Chaspari, PI). Keywords: Artificial intelligence; bias; equitable mental health; multimodal stress sensing
Developing Personalized Algorithms for Sensing Mental Health Symptoms in Daily Life
Adela Timmons; Abdullah Aman Tutul; Kleanthis Avramidis; jduong@utexas.edu; Kayla Carta; Sierra Walters; Grace Jumonville; Alyssa Carrasco; Gabrielle Freitag; Daniela Romero
Full text
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and pervasive computing offers new ways to sense mental health symptoms and deliver real-time interventions via mobile devices. This study explores personalized versus generalized machine learning models for detecting individual and family mental health symptoms using data from smartphones and smartwatches collected on the Colliga app. Over 60 days, data from 35 families resulted in approximately 14 million data points from 52 data streams. Findings showed that the personalized models outperformed the generalized models. Model performance varied significantly based on individual factors and symptom profiles, highlighting the need for tailored approaches. These results suggest that successful implementation of passive sensing AI technologies for mental health interventions requires considering each user’s unique characteristics. Further research is needed to refine the models, address data stream heterogeneity, and develop scalable systems for effective personalized mental health interventions.
Early Maladaptive Schemas Shape Personality and Affect in Non-Clinical Adults
Joshua Gerber; Theo Tobel; Mordechai Walder; Ninette Simonian; Leo Christov-Moore; Nicco Reggente; Felix Schoeller
Full text
Background Early maladaptive schemas (EMS) significantly impact psychological functioning, yet their prevalence and influence within non-clinical populations are under-researched. This study explores distinct EMS clusters in a non-clinical adult sample and examines their associations with personality traits and emotional experiences. Methods Ninety-one adults (mean age 42.5) completed the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ-S3), Big Five Inventory (BFI), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and Dispositional Positive Emotion Scales (DPES). K-means clustering identified EMS patterns, and relationships between EMS clusters, personality traits, and affective states were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis tests, t-tests, and Spearman’s rank correlations. Results Three EMS clusters—Low, Medium, and High intensity—were found. Neuroticism varied significantly across all clusters (p < .001), showing a strong positive correlation with most EMS. Entitlement/Grandiosity was uniquely uncorrelated with Neuroticism but negatively associated with Agreeableness. Within the Medium cluster, two personality types emerged, distinguished by Neuroticism and Extraversion. The High EMS cluster had significantly greater Negative Affect than the Low cluster (p = .002). Love and Pride dispositions differed across clusters (p ≀ .001), showing negative correlations with specific EMS. Conclusions This study identifies distinct EMS patterns in non-clinical adults, highlighting Neuroticism as a major factor in EMS intensity and Entitlement/Grandiosity as a unique schema with atypical personality links. The findings reveal a “Schema Continuum” in the general population, challenging the clinical/non-clinical divide. Interventions targeting Neuroticism and enhancing positive emotions like Love and Pride may reduce maladaptive schemas, suggesting a path for preventative mental health strategies.
Limited effectiveness of psychological inoculation against misinformation in a social media feed
Sze Yuh Nina Wang; Samantha Cavanaugh Phillips; Kathleen M. Carley; Hause Lin; Gordon Pennycook
Full text
Psychological inoculation is a promising and potentially scalable approach to counter misinformation. The goal of inoculation is to teach people to recognize manipulation techniques, such as emotional language, commonly found in misinformation online. While there is substantial evidence that inoculation increases technique recognition when directly assessed, it is not clear if this effect transfers to spontaneous detection of techniques and disengagement with the associated content in real-life contexts. In particular, emotional appeals are abundant on social media and known drivers of attention and engagement. Therefore, we examined the effects of emotional language and emotional manipulation inoculation on attention and engagement in a simulated social media feed environment. Through five pre-registered studies, we found that inoculation only decreased engagement with emotionally presented content when we solely presented synthetic content relevant to the task of identifying emotional manipulation. Any addition of real tweets or even synthetic tweets containing other manipulation techniques (e.g., ad hominem attacks) into the feed appeared to nullify the effect. Our results highlight the importance of assessing misinformation interventions in ecologically-valid contexts to estimate real-world effects.
Comparing Phonological Processing Contributions to Reading Across Orthographic Depth: Urdu-English Biscriptal Bilinguals
Insiya Bhalloo; Xi Chen; Monika Molnar
Full text
Purpose: Current reading research remains Latin script-centric in a monoliterate context, and may not be generalizable to the significant percentage of school-aged children growing up as biscriptal bilinguals globally. To address this, we examined the early stages of reading development in bilingual readers of an under-studied language combination that differs across orthographic depth and script. Specifically, our longitudinal study compared within-language contributions of three phonological processing skills to reading outcomes in Urdu-English bilingual children. Method: We assessed 154 Urdu-English readers in Pakistan and Canada on their phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid automatized naming (RAN) skills at Timepoint 1 (Senior Kindergarten) and word/non-word reading accuracy and fluency outcomes at Timepoint 2 (Grade 1) in Urdu (orthographically-transparent language with Perso-Arabic script) and English (orthographically-opaque language with Latin script). Results: Our multivariate multiple linear regression analyses demonstrate the importance of phonological awareness and RAN for reading, across orthographic depth/script and type of reading outcome measure. Predictive strength differences were also evident. Phonological awareness accounted for greater variance in the reading accuracy measure across both languages and particularly in Urdu, with RAN contributing greater variance to Urdu reading fluency. Phonological memory was not a significant predictor in either language. Conclusions: Our study contributes to the generalizability of dominant reading models, such as the Psycholinguistic Grain Size Theory (PGST), Orthographic Depth Hypothesis (ODH), and Speed-of-Processing theoretical account of RAN-reading fluency relationship, beyond monoliterate readers of Latin scripts. Particularly, we demonstrate the importance of phonological awareness and RAN for reading outcomes in biliterate readers of a transparent orthography with a Perso-Arabic script.
An Incentive-Based Mobile Health Program for Smoking Cessation in Low-Resource Populations with a Pilot Micro-Randomized Trial
Devin Tomlinson; Erin Bonar; Lauren Zimmermann; Anne Fernandez; Golfo Tzilos Wernette; Inbal Nahum-Shani; Lara Coughlin
Full text
Introduction: Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. We evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a digital incentive-based intervention for tobacco cessation among Medicaid beneficiaries with a pilot micro-randomized trial. Methods: Participants (N=37; 63.9% annual income <$15,000), self-enrolled across community-based health centers, were incentivized monetarily to submit breath samples twice daily for four weeks, with additional incentives for negative samples (≀6 parts per million carbon monoxide). Participants were randomized twice daily with fixed probability (0.48) to be sent motivational messages or not via an app. We evaluate acceptability and feasibility of the program. Using a generalization of regression suitable for a binary outcome, we examine the average effect of delivering a message (vs. no message) on proximal sample submissions and smoking status. Results: Thirty-three participants who completed a post-test assessment (97.1%) reported would recommend the program to others. Participants submitted samples during 69.5% of submission windows and 61.3% of participants were smoke free at post-test. After adjusting for previous sample submission, participants were 7% more likely (risk ratio (RR) 1.073; 95% confidence interval [CI]: [1.010,1.140]) to submit a sample after a motivational message was delivered (vs. not delivered). Participants were 7% less likely (RR 0.931; 95%CI: [0.827,1.048]) to submit a positive sample (vs. negative), although not statistically significant. Conclusions: The results support the incorporation of motivational messages into research involving incentive-based treatments for tobacco cessation.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis with Word Embeddings: Measurement Models for Textual Big Data
Artur Pokropek
Full text
The digital revolution has exponentially increased the availability of unstructured text data, including social media content, online forums, blogs, e-commerce reviews, news articles, and digitized publications. This wealth of textual data offers social scientists a unique opportunity to study human beliefs, values, attitudes, and interactions. However, this emerging field lacks standardized methods for managing its methodological and statistical challenges. To this end, this work introduces a statistical approach that provides tools to implement an informed measurement process on unstructured textual data. The proposed approach is grounded in the longstanding tradition of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), now enhanced by the integration of word embeddings. This machine-learning technique represents words in a continuous vector space based on their semantic relationships. By merging classical CFA with machine learning models, the approach opens up new possibilities for applying tools developed by the CFA community for researchers interested in big textual datasets.
Morningness-Eveningness Scale for Children: are reference intervals for adolescents advisable?
Jeanny Santana; Sabine Pompeia; Jefferson Souza Santos; Fernando Mazzilli Louzada
Full text
As they age, adolescents tend to prefer sleeping and waking later due to biological maturation, social and environmental factors. Higher eveningness preferences relate to risks of developing physical and mental ill-health and/or academic underachievement. To identify individuals who are more vulnerable to these negative outcomes, prior studies have mostly established percentile cutoffs scores in questionnaires of moningness-eveningness (M-E) preferences, a method that is inefficient and leads to biased estimates, and/or used linear methods, which do not consider that M-E can fit other types of distribution. We reanalyzed cross-sectional data of 1815 10-18-year-old Brazilians who filled in the most popular circadian preference scale, the M-E Scale for Children (MESC). Age/sex differences in MESC scores were analyzed using correlations, general linear models and 44 different curve fittings based on fractional polynomials and exponential data transformation. We found a very slight correlation and general linear increase in eveningness with age, but none of the 44 tested curve fit patterns reliably explained score changes across development, which were highly variable at all ages. We conclude that MESC age reference scores are of little practical value. We discuss conditions which must be combined with MESC scores to identify adolescents at risk of circadian-related problem.
A Controlled Trial of a Virtual Reality Experience to support wellbeing in Healthcare Students
Aileen O'Brien; Jared Smith; Nadia Mantovani; Sarah White; Simon Riches; Darren Bell; Michael Abbott; Alexandra Collisson; Trudi Edginton
Full text
University students' mental health is a growing concern, with increasing rates of distress, particularly among healthcare students. Virtual Reality (VR) shows promise in promoting relaxation and reducing stress in young people. This randomised controlled trial evaluated a novel VR intervention for healthcare students' wellbeing. 131 healthcare students at St George's, University of London were randomised to either VR (n=67) or video control (n=64) groups. The intervention consisted of five daily sessions of clinically-informed hypnotherapy-based experiences. Outcomes included perceived stress (PSS), wellbeing (WEMWBS), depression (PHQ-2), and momentary affective states. Assessments occurred at baseline, post-session, and at two-week follow-up. VR participants showed significantly greater improvements in post-session mood states compared to the video group. At two-week follow-up, the VR group demonstrated significant reductions in perceived stress (within-group effect size g=0.57) compared to video controls (g=0.21). VR participants reported significantly higher immersion levels and intervention satisfaction. No significant between-group differences were found for wellbeing or depression measures. Qualitative data indicated stronger therapeutic benefits in the VR group, with 42/47 VR participants reporting positive effects compared to 17/50 in the video group. The VR intervention effectively reduced stress levels in healthcare students, with effects sustained at two-week follow-up. The immersive nature of VR appeared to enhance therapeutic benefits compared to non-immersive delivery. This suggests VR could be a valuable tool for supporting student wellbeing in higher education settings.
The bigger the better? – The role of pupil size in predicting threat-detection
Joshua Olma; Shulamit Shalgy; Shai Gabay
Full text
Studies show that cognitive activities are reflected by certain pupillary responses, where increased arousal and cognitive effort are typically accompanied by greater pupil dilation. This pupillary response is usually amplified upon presentation of negative or threatening stimuli. Yet, there is a lack of literature describing the opposite relationship, i.e., pupil size being a predictor of efficient threat-detection abilities rather than a criterion. In a lab experiment, we investigated whether pupil size predicted response time and decision in a computer-based visual search task. Subjects were presented with real-life images of different people holding various objects and were asked to indicate the presence or absence of a black handgun in the stimulus material. The analyses showed that larger pupil sizes during the fixation period were a valid predictor of shorter response times after stimulus onset as was the number of trials completed and experience with guns. Pupil size was not associated with the subjects’ decisions. We believe that the link between pupil dilation and increased cognitive effort and engagement accounts for the results and discuss the implications for successful threat-detection.
Value-based decision-making in daily tobacco smokers following experimental manipulation of mood
Amber Copeland; Jonas Dora; Kevin Michael King; Tom Stafford; Matt Field
Full text
Background: Induction of negative mood increases tobacco choice in dependent smokers; however, less is known about the mechanisms behind this. This study addressed this gap by applying a computational model of value-based decision-making to tobacco and tobacco-unrelated choices following mood manipulation. Method: Using a pre-registered, within-subject design, 49 daily tobacco smokers (â€ș10 daily cigarettes) watched two different videos which primed them to experience negative and positive mood (tobacco valuation and devaluation, respectively). Participants completed self-report measures of mood and craving to smoke before and after priming, followed by a two-alternative forced-choice task with (separate) blocks of tobacco-related and unrelated (animal) images. On each block, participants selected the image that they previously rated higher. A drift-diffusion model was fitted to the reaction time and error data to estimate evidence accumulation (EA) processes and response thresholds during the different blocks. Results: After watching videos intended to induce negative mood, happiness scores were lower (p â€č .001, d = 1.16), while sadness and craving to smoke scores were higher (both ps â€č .001, ds â€ș .60), compared to after watching videos intended to induce positive mood. However, contrary to hypotheses, the experimental manipulation did not robustly affect EA rates (F = 1.15, p = .29, ηp2 = .02) or response thresholds (F = .07, p = .79, ηp2 = .00) for either tobacco or tobacco-unrelated decisions. Conclusions: Manipulation of mood in daily smokers did not lead to alterations in the internal processes that precede value-based decisions made about tobacco and tobacco-unrelated cues.
A cross-cultural examination of bi-directional mentalising in autistic and non-autistic adults
Bianca Schuster; Yuko Okamoto; Toru Takahashi; Yuto Kurihara; Connor Tom Keating; Jennifer Cook; Hirotaka Kosaka; Masakazu Ide; Hiroaki Naruse; Carmen Kraaijkamp
Full text
So-called ‘mismatch accounts’ propose that, rather than arising from a socio-cognitive deficit present in autistic people, mentalising difficulties are the product of a mismatch in neurotype between interaction partners. Although this idea has grown in popularity over the recent years, there is currently only limited empirical evidence to support mismatch theories. Moreover, the social model of disability such theories are grounded in demands a culturally situated view of social interaction, yet research on mentalising and/or autism is largely biased towards western countries, with little knowledge on how successful mentalising is defined differently, and how tools to assess socio-cognitive ability compare, across cultures. Using a widely employed mentalising task, the current study investigated and compared the bi-directional mentalising performance of British and Japanese autistic and non-autistic adults and assessed observer-agent kinematic similarity as a potential dimension along which mismatches may occur between neurotypes. Participants were asked to depict various mental state- and action-based interactions by moving two triangles across a touch-screen device, before viewing and interpreting stimuli generated by other participants. In the UK sample, our results replicate a seminal prior study in showing poorer mentalising abilities in non-autistic adults for animations generated by the autistic group. Crucially, the same pattern did not emerge in the Japanese sample, where there were no mentalising differences between the two groups. Limitations of the current study include that efforts to match all samples within and across cultures in terms of IQ, gender and age were not successful for all comparisons, but control analyses suggest this did not affect our results. Furthermore, any performance differences were found for both the mental state- and action-based conditions, mirroring prior work and raising questions about the domain-specificity of the employed task. Our results add support for a paradigm shift in the autism literature, moving beyond deficit-based models and towards acknowledging the inherently relational nature of social interaction. We further discuss how our findings suggest limited cultural transferability of common socio-cognitive measures rather than superior mentalising abilities in Japanese autistic adults, underscoring the need for more cross-cultural research and the development of culturally sensitive scientific and diagnostic tools.
Older adults show reduced high frequency oscillatory patterns in both recent and remote spatial memory retrieval compared to younger adults
Conor Thornberry; Sean Commins
Full text
The concept of healthy ageing and its impact on spatial navigation and memory ability is well-established in the literature. However, the neural basis of these age-related changes is not well understood. In particular, there is limited research that examines the impact of healthy ageing on the neural mechanisms underlying spatial memory retrieval for memories encoded recently (24-hours ago) compared to those encoded remotely (1-month ago). This study attempted to explore the neural basis of recent and remote spatial memory retrieval during navigation in older adults (n = 21) compared to younger adults (n = 31) using EEG and a virtual maze task. Our results suggest that although both recent and remote memories were poorer in older compared to younger adults, older adults’ remote memories were relatively well preserved. In parallel, we showed reduced high-frequency oscillations in older adults for both recent and remote conditions compared to younger adults. Specifically, older adults showed decreased activation at 15 – 30 Hz (beta) as well as a failure to increase activation at 30 – 40 Hz (gamma) frequencies when compared to younger adults. While remote memory evoked increases in delta and theta (2 - 7 Hz) frequencies compared to recent memories in both age groups, older adults showed significantly less increase. We suggest that these differences could relate to the storage of the memories and the regions required for retrieval. The results are discussed in terms of age-related compensation for spatial navigation skills in healthy ageing.
Student Well-Being: An Integral Definition and Conceptual Framework
Ghislaine van Bommel
Full text
Well-being is a widely used concept to characterize differences in how well students are feeling and doing. Yet, numerous conceptualizations of well-being exist, which hampers conceptual and empirical research on student well-being, and the development of measurement instruments of and interventions on well-being. To advance research and practice, we propose a definition and conceptual framework of student well-being that may serve as a basis for measuring, understanding, and promoting students’ well-being. We formulated four guiding postulates based on philosophical underpinnings of established perspectives on well-being that guided the development of our definition and framework, which was further shaped by existing literature and the input from meetings with experts. We define student well-being as a multi-facetted concept that reflects a students' degree of positive or negative cognitive appraisal about and affective experience with the self. Student well-being comprises seven interrelated facets (i.e., meaning in life, self-esteem, autonomy, relatedness, sense of belonging, subjective health, body acceptance) grouped into three domains: psychological, social, and physical. The conceptual framework outlines predictors and outcomes of student well-being. We discuss implications of our definition and framework for science and practice, as well as outline several key avenues for future research on student well-being.
Healing through the Body: The Potential Role of Daoist Meditation in Psychedelic Therapy
Kenneth Shinozuka; Ben Cox; Leor Roseman
Full text
Psychedelics are hallucinogenic drugs that have the potential to treat depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other psychiatric conditions. The dominant paradigm in contemporary psychedelic-assisted therapy is non-directive; that is, participants undergo the psychedelic treatment with minimal external guidance from therapists. However, the clinical outcomes of psychedelic therapy could be improved by explicitly guiding participants to attend to and resolve specific symptoms of their condition. Here, we propose a variant of Daoist meditation – the outer dissolving technique in the water method – as one such framework for guiding participants in psychedelic therapy. This technique can aid participants in noticing and letting go of bodily tensions or “blockages” that are associated with repressed emotions. Practicing this technique during the preparatory and integration phases of psychedelic therapy, as well as during the acute effects of the drug, could foster deeper insights into the somatic manifestations of psychiatric conditions, while also empowering participants to release the emotions that underlie those conditions. Overall, Daoist meditation is a promising technique to facilitate psychological healing, and we encourage future researchers to consider implementing it as an adjunct to psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Intellectual Humility Links to Metacognitive Ability
Helen Fischer; Astrid Kause; Markus Huff
Full text
Intellectual humility is increasingly recognized as an epistemic virtue that helps foster truth-seeking, encourage compromise, and mitigate polarization. Yet, the current body of evidence grapples with a striking contradiction: The prevailing theoretical account suggests that intellectual humility hinges on metacognitive ability—the capacity to introspect on one’s own accuracy which manifests in assigning due confidence to the varying accuracy of one’s accuracy. However, empirical research testing this metacognitive ability account of intellectual humility has yielded inconsistent results. Here, we introduce a cognitive science approach informed by Signal Detection Theory, allowing for a more nuanced separation of metacognitive ability from correlated but distinct concepts (i.e., confidence and accuracy). We conduct a survey study among a national US sample (N = 999) involving the interpretation of one of the most heavily contested domains—climate change—lending itself for an investigation into how intellectual humility relates to cognitive processes in domains where it is most needed. We presented participants with summaries of fictitious studies on renewable energy, followed by 2-alternative forced choice questions to assess their accuracy and confidence. Results showed that firstly, more intellectually humble citizens were more accurate at discerning correct from incorrect interpretations of the presented evidence. Secondly, more intellectually humble citizens exhibited a heightened capacity to adjust their confidence levels to the varying accuracy of their evidence interpretations–indicating higher metacognitive ability—and this association was robust to accounting for their superior accuracy, and other preregistered covariates. And thirdly, in contrast to intuitive notions, more intellectually humble citizens did not exhibit lower metacognitive bias, the inclination to report lower (vs. higher) overall confidence. By highlighting the role of metacognitive ability in intellectual humility, the current study delivers empirical evidence for the ancient notion that epistemic virtues are linked to metacognitive ability.
Perceptual Asymmetries in the Development of Lexical Tone Perception in Thai-learning Children
Antonia Götz; Suparuthai It-Ngam; Benjawan Kasisopa; Ratree Wayland; Sudaporn Luksaneeyanawin; Denis Burnham
Full text
This study examined how Thai children (aged 4, 6, and 8 years) and adults discriminate Thai lexical tones with a focus on the development of perceptual asymmetries. Four Thai tones, two static (low, high) and two dynamic (rising, falling) were presented in AX pairs in two orders: static-dynamic – low-rising, low-falling, high-rising, high-falling, and dynamic-static – rising-low, falling-low, rising-high, falling-high. A significant age effect was found; tone discrimination developed monotonically over age. Independent of this age effect it was found that discrimination was significantly better for dynamic-static than for static-dynamic tone pairs. Thus, there is a definite directional asymmetry in the perception of Thai lexical tones by Thai listeners, and given the consistency of this effect across age, it appears that this directional asymmetry may be formed in early childhood, even perhaps in early infancy, or is even rooted in a general auditory bias in speech perception.
Developmental changes in the speed of social attention in early word learning
Daniel Yurovsky; Michael C. Frank
Full text
How do children learn words so rapidly? A powerful source of information about a new word’s meaning is the set of social cues provided by its speaker (e.g. eye-gaze). Studies of children’s use of social cues have tended to focus on the emergence of this ability in early infancy. We show, however, that this early-emerging ability has a long developmental trajectory: Slow, continuous improvements in speed of social information processing occur over the course of the first five years of life. This developing ability to allocate social attention is a significant bottleneck on early word learning—continuous changes in social information processing predict continuous changes in children’s ability to learn new words. Further, we show that this bottleneck generalizes to children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, whose social information processing is atypical. These results describe a route by which increases in social expertise can lead to changes in language learning ability, and more generally highlight the dependence of developmental outcomes not on just the existence of particular competencies, but on their proficient use in complex contexts.
Computational models of early language acquisition
Michael C. Frank
Full text
How do children acquire the sounds, words, and structures of their native language? A wealth of recent evidence suggests that probabilistic learning mechanisms play a role in language acquisition. Nevertheless, the structure of these mechanisms is controversial and it is still unknown how broadly they apply to the tasks faced by language learners. Computational models can serve as formal theories of probabilistic learning by instantiating proposals about the learning mechanisms available in early language acquisition. However, fulfilling this promise requires that models be evaluated on two grounds: their suïŹƒciency—whether they are able to learn aspects of language given appropriate input—and their fidelity—whether they fit the patterns of success and failure shown by human learners. I review experimental and computational evidence for the application of probabilistic learning across a range of acquisition tasks and argue that models of probabilistic learning succeed when they use expressive representations to capture complex regularities in the input and when they implement a parsimony bias.

SocArxiv

Five Decades of Marital Sorting in France and the United States – The Role of Educational Expansion and the Changing Gender Imbalance in Education
Julia Leesch; Jan Skopek
Full text
Over the past half-century, higher education expansion and changing gender imbalances in education have reshaped the educational composition of the partner market. Nonetheless, the impact of these concurrent trends on educational sorting in unions and marriages remains unclear. Using data from France (1962–2011) and US (1960–2015), we examine how (a) educational expansion and (b) the changing gender-education association contributed to changing sorting outcomes in marital and non-marital different-sex unions. Counterfactual decomposition techniques revealed two main trends. First, the changing gender-education association – apart from educational upgrading – has promoted rising hypogamy (she is more educated than he) and declining hypergamy (he is more educated than she). Second, educational expansion is associated with rising proportions of homogamous, hypogamous, and hypergamous unions involving more educated individuals and declines in these union types with less educated women and men. However, the impact of these changes on overall homogamy and heterogamy trends differs across countries. For example, while the increasing supply of highly educated individuals has promoted hypogamy in France it has offset hypogamy in the United States. Our findings contribute to ongoing debates about the structural effects of educational expansion and the reversing gender imbalance in education on the formation of different-sex unions.
Enforcing Colonial Rule: Blood Tax and Head Tax in French West Africa
Denis Cogneau; Zhexun Mo; Carolyn Fisher
Full text
We examine the enforcement of two pillars of colonial rule in French West Africa, military conscription and head tax collection, using novel district-level data from 1919 to 1949. Colonial states are often characterized as either omnipotent Leviathans or administration on the cheap. Our findings reveal their notable coerciveness in achieving key objectives. Military recruitment targets were consistently met, even amid individual avoidance and poor health conditions, by drawing on a pool of eligible fit young men. Tax compliance was similarly high, with approximately 80% of the liable population meeting obligations. Spikes in head tax rates significantly increased tax-related protests, likely prompting caution among colonial administrators. The tax burden was adjusted according to perceived district affluence, and tax moderation was applied in times of crisis. However, local shocks such as droughts or cash crop price collapses were largely ignored. These results underscore the capacity of colonial states to enforce their authority despite limited policy responsiveness, offering new insights into the political economy of colonial governance. (Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality Working Paper)
More Alike in Rags or Riches? Cohort Change in the Influence of Family Background Across the Earnings Distribution
Arne Mastekaasa; Nicolai T. Borgen; Are Skeie Hermansen; Gunn Elisabeth Birkelund
Full text
Rising economic inequality across rich countries has raised questions about whether family background increasingly determines children’s economic success. However, prior research has not addressed whether family background is of differential importance for children who end up in the top, middle, or bottom of the earnings spectrum and whether this has changed across birth cohorts. Using administrative data from Norway, we study cohort trends in sibling correlations across children’s earnings distribution for men and women born from the early 1950s up to 1980. By decomposing sibling correlations, we assess the extent to which these trends are accounted for by observed parental socioeconomic characteristics relative to unobserved family background factors. Our results reveal a modest rise in the influence of family background on average earnings and in the middle of the earnings distribution for both genders, but this trend hides important variation across the distribution. For men, we find a strong increase in the influence of family background on children’s risk of falling to the bottom of the earnings distribution, while sibling correlations for attainment of top earnings have declined over time. Moreover, unobserved family background factors are increasingly important for predicting men’s adult economic disadvantage. For women, sibling correlations have risen across cohorts except at the top of the earnings distribution, and the relative role of observed parental socioeconomic characteristics has increased. These results underscore the complexity of intergenerational trends in the influence of family background, indicating that rising economic inequality does not uniformly lead to reduced mobility but varies significantly across different earnings levels and between genders
Even In Ancient Roman Egypt, Urban Women had Lower Fertility than Rural Women
Mathew Hauer; Karin Brewster; Matthew M Brooks
Full text
Historical estimates of the total fertility rate (TFR) are relatively uncommon, owing to the onerous data requirements for direct calculation and the lack of digitized records. Recent advancements in indirect fertility estimation 1 allow for estimation of TFR using data as minimal as a population pyramid – relatively common data in historical contexts through census records and population registers. Here we use published data on the age structure of Roman Egypt circa AD 12 to AD 259 2 to estimate TFR and 90%ile credible interval in an ancient time period and place using a Bayesian approach. Furthermore, the population data is separated by urban and rural areas, allowing for an unprecedented glimpse into ancient fertility levels. We find that ancient Roman Egyptian women in urban areas had considerably lower fertility than women in rural areas -- urban TFR: 3.37 [2.26 – 4.55], and rural TFR: 8.57 [6.01 – 11.25]. Our findings suggest that the modern day urban/rural fertility differential dates back nearly 2000 years. As demonstrated here, the advancements in indirect estimation could be deployed to better understand historical and ancient fertility regimes, shedding light on societies far before the existence of modern vital statistics systems.
The Birth Cohorts Most Responsible for Carbon Emissions
Mathew Hauer; Dean Hardy; Emilio Zagheni; Andrew Jorgenson
Full text
Rarely are those most impacted by climate change the same as those most responsible for global carbon emissions. Assignment of responsibility for carbon emissions typically differentiates emissions across space and time but not birth cohort. Including young birth cohorts complicates assessments as they have yet to emit as much as older cohorts. Using formal demographic methods, we develop an approach to estimate carbon emissions across space, across time, and across the life course, creating a unified carbon emissions identity, comparable to other well-known carbon identities. We estimate the birth cohorts born between 1850 and 2020 with the highest lifetime carbon emissions. We show that globally, cohorts born between 1970 and 1990 have the highest lifetime emissions under a moderate carbon emissions pathway and those born since 2000 under a high emissions pathway. Our results suggest that carbon emissions pathways play the strongest role in determining which cohorts will be associated with the highest lifetime carbon emissions, with lower pathways suggesting earlier cohorts and higher pathways suggesting later cohorts.
Mapping the Participation of Venture Capital in Education: An Investment Network Perspective
Sophia Deng; Jasmine Siswandjo; Klint Kanopka
Full text
Over the past two decades, venture capital (VC) has played a critical role in shaping the educational technology (edtech) market. This study employs social network analysis (SNA) to examine investment data, offering a novel perspective on the relational structure and dynamics of edtech investment. We construct bipartite networks of investors and edtech companies before and after the introduction of the Chromebook to the US market and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigate differences in the structure of these bipartite networks using exponential random graph models, distributions of network statistics, and comparisons between the collapsed single-mode actor and event networks. Using these tools, we make estimates of influence and structural features that predict the probability of edge formation, highlighting patterns that contribute to the understanding of the structural dynamics of the edtech market, the key players driving its evolution, and the way each respond to exogenous shocks in the educational space.
The Sources of Technological Complexity in Regions
Anthony Frigon
Full text
This study investigates the origins and evolution of technological complexity in Canadian regions using patent records linked to firm-level ownership and geograph- ical data. Since 2000, larger Canadian cities have experienced a notable increase in levels of technological complexity. The analysis examines the determinants of this complexity, with a particular focus on the role of intra- and inter-firm collaborations across different geographical scales. The findings reveal the significant contributions of multilocational firms and intra-organizational collaborations to the development of more complex technologies in regions. Further analysis shows that the introduc- tion of complex technologies does not stem from novel recombinations of components but rather from combinations developed internationally by firms, often coupled with combinations originating within the host region.
Organizing Organizational Theory: Current Foundations, Future Directions
Jose Eos Trinidad
Full text
This review synthesizes various organizational perspectives into seven clusters with the acronym SCRIPTS: structure, culture, relations, institutions, professions, transformation, and social conflict. These contemporary theories highlight how various organizational factors affect individual and organizational performance, change, innovation, wellbeing, and inequality. In organizational theory, structure focuses on formal elements like rules, roles, routines, and rewards while culture refers to informal elements like climate, identity, and sensemaking. Relations refer to effects of interpersonal and interorganizational networks while institutions refer to norms that influence isomorphism and dynamism. Professions feature psychological factors affecting performance and sociological factors shaping work and occupations. Transformation refers to episodic and continuous changes while social conflict foregrounds power, inequalities, and competition over resources. I map how these perspectives are connected with each other and also suggest future directions in the field by intersecting organizational theory with studies of new technologies, historic organizations, global interconnections, marginalized populations, political institutions, and larger societal consequences.
«Dass man das wiederherstellt, das Gleichgewicht». Zum SelbstverstÀndnis der Heilpraktik
Lehrstuhl Sozialstrukturanalyse; Robert SchĂ€fer; Lucas GĂŒetli; Martin Jann
Full text
Das vorliegende Working Paper untersucht das SelbstverstĂ€ndnis von Heilpraktiker:innen sowie die Rolle der Heilpraktik innerhalb des modernen Gesundheitssystems. Es wird ein kurzer Überblick ĂŒber die institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen in Schweiz gegeben. Auf der empirischen Grundlage von 15 semi-standardisierten Interviews werden anschliessend drei zentrale Themenfelder identifiziert: (1) Heilpraktik als eine Berufung im Kontrast zur Lohnarbeit in anderen Pflegeberufen, (2) Exotismus und Nostalgie als Kritik an der modernen westlichen Medizin sowie (3) die Vorstellung, dass jede Person die Verantwortung fĂŒr die eigene Gesundheit trĂ€gt. Entlang dieser drei Themenfelder wird in der Heilpraktik eine Kritik an der westlichen Moderne formuliert, welche sich als radikal Anderes zu dieser prĂ€sentiert, letztlich aber auf denselben Prinzipien beruht.
Organisation du Travail et Performance des Chefs de Projet Informatique: Une Analyse des Pratiques Managériales
Nicholas Dacre
Full text
Cette étude examine les relations entre les caractéristiques du métier de chef de projet et la réussite des projets, en privilégiant l'identification des facteurs déterminants de l'efficience, de l'efficacité et de la performance. Cette recherche mobilise des entretiens semi-directifs menés auprÚs de chefs de projet informatique. Les résultats mettent en évidence le rÎle prépondérant de la diversité des compétences, de l'identité des tùches, de l'autonomie et du retour d'expérience dans la réussite des projets, tandis que la portée des tùches apparaßt comme un facteur secondaire dans le contexte informatique orienté résultats. L'autonomie constitue un levier essentiel pour favoriser l'innovation et l'adaptabilité, tandis que le retour d'expérience structuré s'avÚre indispensable pour aligner les efforts sur les objectifs organisationnels. La diversité des compétences est corrélée à un engagement accru, une prise de décision stratégique plus pertinente et une gestion des risques optimisée. Cette étude apporte une nouvelle perspective sur l'organisation du travail dans l'environnement dynamique et complexe de la gestion de projet informatique, tout en proposant des préconisations concrÚtes pour la conception des postes de chef de projet, permettant ainsi d'optimiser la performance et la motivation des équipes. Cette recherche propose également aux décideurs des axes d'amélioration concrets pour valoriser l'organisation du travail dans le secteur informatique. Il conviendrait, dans le cadre de futures recherches, d'étendre le périmÚtre d'étude à différents secteurs d'activité et territoires, ainsi que de mener des études longitudinales, permettant ainsi d'approfondir notre compréhension des liens entre l'organisation des postes et la performance des projets dans des contextes diversifiés.
Partner's Education and Mortality in Finland: A Study of Married and Cohabiting Unions among Cohorts Born Between 1932 and 1970
INVEST Flagship; Cecilia Potente; Lydia Palumbo; Marika Jalovaara
Full text
The increasing share of women achieving higher education in the second half of the twentieth century in Western countries has led to changes in the educational distribution of couples in the population. The consequences of the educational expansion for health, and especially mortality, have not received enough attention. We use Finnish full population register data and focus on married and cohabiting couples in 1987–2020, born up to 1970, to examine how the partner’s education is associated with individual-level mortality risk. Accelerated failure time models show that the individual and the partner’s educational level significantly relate to individuals' death risk. Overall, the higher the education level of both an individual and their partner, the lower the individual's mortality rate (p<0.05), with men presenting stronger associations than those of women. Additionally, the type of couple to which individuals belong has a distinct association with their mortality. Homogamous highly-educated couples have the highest survival advantage, while low-educated couples have the greatest disadvantage. Heterogamous couples, where one partner is low-educated and another highly educated, are in between. These results are similar for marriage and cohabitation, and across cohorts. The latter finding highlights the importance of both men’s and women’s education for mortality outcomes. While both men and women show these trends, women present much lower differences in mortality than men. These results indicate that there is a clear resource multiplication mechanism influencing the relationship between partners' education and mortality for men, while for women, the mechanisms seem to fall between resource multiplication and substitution. Consequently, low-educated men partnered with low-educated women emerge as the most vulnerable group in terms of mortality risk.
Decomposing Recruitment Elasticity in Job Matching
Ryo Kambayashi; Kohei Kawaguchi; Suguru Otani
Full text
The wage elasticity of recruitment is a key indicator of employer market power in the labor market. This study estimates and decomposes this elasticity using data from Japan’s largest private job-matching intermediary. On average, our findings reveal that recruitment elasticity is not significantly different from zero. However, this average masks important heterogeneity: workers earning above the median wage exhibit positive elasticity, while those earning below the median show an insignificant but negative elasticity. Further analysis suggests that the negative elasticity among lower-wage workers stems from their reluctance to inquire about higher-wage vacancies. Additionally, we uncover several notable patterns: there are minimal systematic differences in elasticity between on-the-job and off-the-job searches; workers tend to choose similar job types and locations during the inquiry and application stages; and the matched wage is largely determined by the lower bound of the posted wage range.
Student perspectives on quality education at their school: Toward a valid and reliable questionnaire to monitor quality education for sustainability teaching (QUEST-Q)
Wanda Sass; Jelle Boeve-de Pauw; Daniel Olsson; Linde van der Werf; Niklas Gericke
Full text
In an era when the problematic human-nature relationship has led to complex sustainability problems, quality education should equip students so they are prepared to face the challenges ahead. In order to do so, educational practitioners, policy makers, and researchers need tools to monitor efforts made. We posit that a comprehensive approach to teaching for sustainability adds quality to education for sustainability. The current study builds on earlier theoretic work on quality education for sustainability teaching (QUEST), aiming to 1) initiate the development of an assessment instrument for monitoring the quality of sustainability teaching based on the perspective of those who the education aims to empower, i.e., the students and 2) contribute to further theory development. To this end, the QUEST-framework was developed into a set of five scales that tap into students’ perspective on the content (or what, i.e., relevant holistic knowledge and sustainability competencies), educational approach (or how, i.e., a pluralistic and action-oriented teaching approach), partners and locations (where and with whom) of teaching and learning. The five scales together build a questionnaire instrument to monitor quality education for sustainability teaching (QUEST-Q). Think aloud protocols and interviews with students and teachers support the cognitive and content validity of the scales. Reliability and construct validity were verified, with all scales showing acceptable model fit. Results are discussed in light of advancing theory and providing avenues for future research. We offer practitioners, policy makers, and researchers the QUEST-Q to monitor students’ experiences of quality education to support a sustainable future.
Tackling Traditional: Tamil Gender Ideologies and their Socioeconomic Correlates
Keera Allendorf; Susan Short; Nancy Luke; Hongwei Xu
Full text
Modernization theory posed gender ideology as a unidimensional continuum ranging from “traditional” to egalitarian with egalitarianism increasing as societies progress. Recent research replaces a unidimensional view with multidimensionality, but other modernization remnants remain. We tackle such remnants by examining gender ideologies and their socioeconomic correlates in Tamil Nadu, an Indian context often labeled “traditional.” Using latent class analysis of 10 gender attitudes from the South Indian Community Health Study (SICHS), we identify six gender ideologies. Two ideologies are consistently egalitarian or essentialist, two are mixed, and two are characterized by ambivalent agreement. Attitudes toward mobility are a crucial divider; moderate support for equal mobility distinguishes “consistent egalitarians” from “seclusionist egalitarians” and “agreeable seclusionists” from the “highly agreeable.” These agreeable ideologies likely reflect acquiescence bias, but may also signal polite resistance to feminist scripts. The gender ideologies are correlated with gender, religion, and education, but have little to no association with caste, age, and class. These findings extend the multidimensionality of gender ideology to an Indian context and hint at the power of global and local cultural scripts. More broadly, they demonstrate the value – and challenges – of building a more global understanding of gender ideology freer of modernization remnants.
The Green Six: Towards a Parsimonious Measure of Green Workplace Behavior
Adrian Dominik Wojcik; Aldona GliƄska-Neweƛ; Dominika Jurgiel; Taciano L Milfont; PaweƂ Brzustewicz; Beta Glinka; Alicja Ɓuka; Dawid Szostek
Full text
The advancement of research on employee pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) is hindered by inconsistent terminology, fragmented behavior taxonomies, and incoherent measurement methods. Our research focuses on the concept of employee green behaviors (EGB) and seeks to empirically validate a set of EGB items derived from the Green Five Taxonomy. Through three surveys of full-time office workers in Poland (Ntotal = 2,985), the study identifies six distinct categories of EGB: reducing, recycling, reusing, prioritizing environmental concerns, counterproductive green behavior, and other behaviors beyond the 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) framework. These findings refine the initial taxonomy and offer a consolidated measurement tool.
Colorblind Ethnocentrism: How Ancestry and Race Continue to Define Western National Identities
Mireia Triguero Roura
Full text
Research on national identity in Western Europe and the United States has found that people in these countries de-emphasize the ethnic components of national membership, such as having ancestry in the country, and favor civic components such as political participation. However, sociologists whose research center immigrants' experiences in these countries find that they are never fully perceived as "national" because of their ancestry. Using a pre-registered, nationally representative, novel conjoint experiment fielded in 5 different countries, I find that natives' understanding of who belongs in the nation might be understood as "colorblind ethnocentrism": while people espouse civic normative understandings of the nation, they draw symbolic boundaries of national belonging based on ancestry. Moreover, when respondents do express a normative preference for ancestry in survey measures, it translates to a revealed preference for white and Christian members of the nation. Finally, in Europe (outside the UK), people imagine the nation as White, while this is not the case in the US and the UK overall. These findings help us understand why nativist discourse can easily take hold in liberal democracies, despite people's explicit disavowal of such discourse.
Sensing, drawing and making sense. Enlivening ethnographic fieldnotes.
Carla Besora Barti
Full text
Written ethnographic field notes may fall short of describing the complexity and subtlety of human interaction and experience when exploring intimacy and pleasure. In the frame of a feminist research project that investigates women's 'unruly' intimacy as they age, I used drawings as part of my field notes to enrich and diversify the material collected. This essay focuses on a selection of drawings to explore the potential of this medium as a living practice that can ‘look along’ instead of just ‘looking at’.
Online Violence Against Women in Politics: Canada in a Comparative Perspective
Gabrielle Bardall; Chris Tenove
Full text
This chapter explores how Canada fits key global patterns of gender-based violence in politics (GBV-P) using digital technologies. We present research on the causes, forms, and consequences of online violence against women in politics, drawing primarily on Bardall’s findings from ten country case studies and Tenove et al’s research on the Canadian context. This comparative research enables us to consider key questions: How might online GBV-P be conceptualized and studied across diverse contexts, and what are the challenges in doing so? Are some global patterns more or less prevalent in Canada? What are the implications of these findings for action in Canada and globally in addressing the role of digital technologies in gender-based violence in politics?
Hundred years of French Film Policy (1925-2025). Power, Policy, and Aesthetic Values within State Intervention for film production in France.
Frédéric Gimello-Mesplomb
Full text
This paper explores the evolution of French film policy from early cinema to the present, examining the complex interactions between state intervention, cultural production, and artistic creativity. Through a comprehensive historical analysis, the study traces the development of a unique French model of cinema support, characterized by robust state involvement, selective funding mechanisms, and a commitment to cultural diversity. The research demonstrates how the French state has progressively transformed its approach to cinema, from initial regulatory and taxation strategies to sophisticated support systems like the ‘Avance sur Recettes’ (Advance on Receipts). Key turning points include the Blum-Byrnes agreements of 1948, Jack Lang's cultural policies in the 1980s, and the ongoing challenges posed by digital technologies and global streaming platforms in the 2000s. The analysis reveals the tension between commercial imperatives and artistic quality, highlighting how state interventions have sought to preserve a distinctive French cinematic identity. By examining policy documents, parliamentary reports, and critical debates, the paper illuminates the complex negotiations between economic sustainability, cultural expression, and national prestige in French film policy. Ultimately, regarding the recent France 2030 Plan, the study argues that French cinema policy represents a unique model of cultural intervention, balancing economic pragmatism with a profound commitment to artistic innovation and cultural sovereignty.
Assessing the Effect of Evidence-Based Mental Health TikTok Videos on Youth Emotional Support Competencies: A “Creator-Engaged” Approach
Matt Motta; Yuning Liu; Kenzie Brenna; Shahem McLaurin; Katharine Speer; Elissa Scherer; Amanda Yarnell
Full text
Previous research raises the possibility that exposing young people to videos from social media content creators that promote evidence-based mental health information may improve mental health outcomes. While previous field experimental research has increased the supply of evidence-based information on a platform like TikTok, less work considers how exposure to that information might influence mental health outcomes. In a large (N = 1,000) and demographically representative survey of young people in the US aged 14-22, we report the results of a pre-registered survey experiment that assesses the effects of evidence-based messaging on perceived and objective emotional support competencies. Our “creator-engaged” approach partnered with a TikTok influencer to create realistic control (pre-evidence-based content training) and treatment (post-training) videos that hold many design elements constant. We find that treatment exposure significantly increases both perceived and objective abilities to provide emotional support. Our results suggest that creator partnership programs can promote positive mental health outcomes on platforms like TikTok.
Unintended Consequences of Transnational Repressions: How Exile Organizations Gain Support in Response to Criminalization by Autocratic Homelands
Emil Kamalov; Ivetta Sergeeva
Full text
Autocrats often use legal repression to criminalize opposition organizations, targeting both domestic and exile groups to suppress dissent. While such measures may weaken cooperation with these organizations domestically, these organizations can simultaneously gain increased support from migrant communities. This study explores whether autocrats achieve their intended outcomes by legally repressing exile organizations through criminalization. Utilizing a conjoint experiment with 5,996 Russian emigrants residing in 89 countries who left their homeland following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, we investigate how attributes such as criminalization, anonymity of donations, and transparency influence their cooperation with exile organizations in a geopolitically shaped environment. Our findings show that criminalization can backfire: Russian exiles perceive it as a marker of political authenticity and effectiveness, providing crucial cues in an environment with limited information and fostering solidarity. Consequently, criminalization can facilitate collective action and the coordination of extraterritorial opposition, signaling which organizations are genuinely committed to opposing the regime. However, geopolitical alliances matter, as cooperation is hindered where perceived risks are high, particularly in host countries allied with the autocrat. Technological solutions, such as anonymous donations, significantly mitigate these risks and boost support, while transparency is key to engaging the most politically active donors. This study contributes to understanding the limits of autocratic transnational control and demonstrates how exile organizations can leverage low-cost measures to foster diaspora’s resilience and address problems of collective action and coordination.
AI Governance in the Spotlight: An Empirical Analysis of Dutch Political Parties' Strategies for the 2023 Elections
Sophie Morosoli; Kimon Kieslich; Valeria Resendez; Max van Drunen
Full text
AI-based technologies are having an increasing impact on society, which naturally raises the question of how this technology will be addressed politically. Thereby, political actors have a dual role to play: They can provide investment to enhance the efficiency and usage of these systems in different societal areas while also bearing the responsibility of safeguarding citizens from potential harm. Hereby, the degree of politicization of the topic, i.e. if a topic is part of the public and political debate, has an immense influence on the political approach to tackle the issue. The more a topic is politicized, the more urgency political parties experience to develop concrete governance approaches. Yet, existing research has not analysed party programs in terms of both discourse around artificial intelligence and policy recommendations within an election context. This study focuses on the Netherlands and considers and provides an empirical analysis to answer the following question: How do parties discuss AI in their political programs for the 2023 election in the Netherlands? We conducted a manual content analysis of all party manifestos for the 2023 elections in the Netherlands. Our analysis shows that most parties are not laying a big emphasis on AI. And if so, most of the policy proposals are rather reactive to issues that happened in the past rather than taking a prospective governance approach. We critically discuss the low level of politicisation of AI with a focus on practical governance issues that emerge as a result.
Exploring the Intersection of Indigenous Knowledge and AI: A Systematic Review and Future Directions
Maneesha Perera; Rajith Vidanaarachchi; Sangeetha Chandrashekeran; Melissa Kennedy; Brendan Kennedy; Saman Halgamuge
Full text
This systematic literature review addresses the intersection of two rapidly evolving areas of knowledge and practice: Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). There is growing scholarly recognition of the rich and diverse nature of IKS, which are unique intergenerational understandings of worldly relations from an Indigenous standpoint. There is now a vast literature on the promise and pitfalls of AI. However, there is a lack of systematic reviews showing how these two dynamic literatures are intersecting, and what the major themes are. AI has the potential to assist the promotion of IKS; however, there are also potential risks arising from AI for Indigenous peoples, such as the erosion of cultural knowledge, and data-grabbing that fails to respect principles of Indigenous Data Sovereignty. These risks can exacerbate existing knowledge hierarchies and socio-economic inequalities. In this paper, we conducted a systematic review of articles published between 2012 and 2023 (January) on Indigenous peoples and AI. We shed light upon four unique overlapping categories into which existing literature can be classified and comprehensively discuss literature under each category. The first two categories discuss AI’s role in assisting the promotion of IKS and the third focuses on the pitfalls of using AI for Indigenous peoples. The final category discusses how IKS itself can enrich the development of AI. We further identify several gaps in the literature and highlight avenues requiring attention on AI’s role with Indigenous peoples and their knowledge systems.
A Meta-Analysis of Environmental Communication Research: Exploring Sustainable Development, Public Involvement, and the Critique of Technological Triumphalism
Shailendra Boora; Meljo Thomas Karakunnel
Full text
In the context of environmental challenges and overreliance on technology, the current study explores how environmental communication (EC) research tackles sustainable development, public engagement, and critiques infinite economic growth and technological dependence. Accordingly, this study is guided by the question: How has EC research evolved in engaging with sustainable development, public involvement and critiquing infinite economic growth and technological triumphalism? Guided by the question of how EC research has developed over time, this analysis particularly focuses on three distinct time periods—1967-2000, 2001-2015, and 2016-2021—to accurately trace the progression and shifts in the field. A comprehensive bibliometric analysis, utilizing Python scripting for keyword co-occurrence network diagrams was used to ensure a rigorous examination of the literature. The study's findings highlight the crucial roles of sustainable development, public education, and engagement in EC research, emphasizing the need for an interdisciplinary approach that recognizes the intricate interplay between environmental, social, technological, and political factors. This research contributes to advancing EC by advocating for more comprehensive, inclusive, and action-oriented approaches, paving the way for more effective communication strategies and better environmental outcomes.
AI as a New Public Intellectual?
Branislav RADELJIC
Full text
In a dialogue with ChatGPT, I asked if it could be considered a public intellectual.
A case study of establishing a foundation year engineering and physical science journal club as a means for developing confidence in academic skills and socialisation to academia
Lewis A. Baker
Full text
An implementation of the journal club model to develop confidence in academic skills across speaking, writing and integrity domains, as well as socialising journal club members to academia, is reported. A journal club was established in a Foundation Year (Pre-undergraduate) context for ten physical scientists. A mixed-methods approach was used to measure self-reported confidence upon entering the university, which was contrasted after attending three, one-hour, journal club meetings, where contemporary literature across diverse subjects was discussed through the lens of ‘academic themes’ to scaffold discussions and support specific skill development. The self-reported confidence was captured through questionnaires and unpacked through semi-structured interviews, the themes of which were generated through qualitative reflexive analysis. Increased confidence in academic speaking was a notable result; journal club members valued the opportunity to present in small, regular, and informal meetings where discussions were appreciated between members. Exposure to subject domains outside of physical sciences where members were confronted with topics for which there is no clear answer, was uncovered as the impetus to disrupt members’ thinking, facilitated by the conversational medium of the journal club. The implementation reported here likely represents the scenario many professionals will find themselves in when considering establishing a journal club.
Lived experience participation and influence in homelessness and housing policy, service design and practice
Robyn Martin; Jessica Stubbings; Cassandra Corrone; Morgan Cataldo; Christina David; Kathy Edwards; Linda Fisk; Michele Jarldorn; Aunty Doreen Lovett; Amber Maihi
Full text
Over the last two decades, governments and service providers have come to expect that people with lived experience of homelessness should participate in and influence homelessness policy design and practice. This research examined the evidence for, and experiences of, people with lived experience participating in and influencing housing and homelessness policy, service design and practice. People with lived experience felt their participation and influence was often far from meaningful. They spoke of being unheard and of their concerns not being taken seriously. The research identified a number of principles organisations can implement so that people with lived experience can participate meaningfully.
More than Justifications. An analysis of information needs in explanations and motivations to disable personalization.
Valeria Resendez; Kimon Kieslich; Natali Helberger; Claes de Vreese
Full text
There is consensus that algorithmic news recommenders should be explainable to inform news readers of potential risks. However, debates continue over which information users need and which stakeholders should access this information. As the debate continues, researchers also call for more control over algorithmic news recommenders' systems, for example by turning off personalized recommendations. Despite this call, it is unclear the extent to which news readers will use this feature. To add nuance to the discussion, we analyzed 586 responses to two open-ended questions: I) what information needs to contribute to trustworthiness perceptions of new recommendations, and ii) whether people want the ability to turn off personalization. Our results indicate that most participants found knowing the sources of news items important for trusting a recommendation system. Additionally, more than half of the participants were inclined to disable personalization. The most common reasons to turn off personalization included concerns about bias or filter bubbles and a preference to consume generalized news. These findings suggest that news readers have different information needs for explanations when interacting with an algorithmic news recommender and that many news readers prefer to disable the usage of personalized news recommendations.
Explaining Discrimination
Billie Martiniello; Daniel Auer; Didier Ruedin
Full text
Experiments on ethnic or racial discrimination often use names to signal origin in market situations under the assumption that non-ethnic name signals do not systematically affect the outcome. Using survey data, we demonstrate significant variation in perceived trustworthiness and professionalism of names within origins. Linking this to a large-scale name-matched field experiment, we show that the variation in name perception predicts discriminatory behavior: Prospective tenants in Switzerland with names exogenously rated as less trustworthy or less professional receive fewer invitations to an apartment viewing. These marketrelevant characteristics explain, to a large extent, group differences in measured discrimination. Ethnic minority names that score high on either trustworthiness or professionalism are not discriminated against, while names scoring low on these are discriminated against (relative to the majority name). In line with intergroup contact theory, we also show that, regardless of their origin, more common names face less discrimination. Our results reveal that discriminatory behavior is much more nuanced than a simple in-group/out-group dichotomy would suggest.
Online Violence Against Women in Politics: Canada in a Comparative Perspective
Gabrielle Bardall; Chris Tenove
Full text
This chapter explores how Canada fits key global patterns of gender-based violence in politics (GBV-P) using digital technologies. We present research on the causes, forms, and consequences of online violence against women in politics, drawing primarily on Bardall’s findings from ten country case studies and Tenove et al’s research on the Canadian context. This comparative research enables us to consider key questions: How might online GBV-P be conceptualized and studied across diverse contexts, and what are the challenges in doing so? Are some global patterns more or less prevalent in Canada? What are the implications of these findings for action in Canada and globally in addressing the role of digital technologies in gender-based violence in politics?