While dual-process theory has advanced our understanding of moral decision-making, traditional research has relied heavily on text-based scenarios. These paradigms fail to elicit genuine behavioural responses, thereby obscuring the underlying mechanisms of moral action. The present study employed two experiments to investigate the interactive effects of ego depletion and emotion on moral decision-making, as well as the underlying physiological mechanisms, within a Virtual Reality (VR) environment. Study 1 revealed that, compared to text-based conditions, VR elicited heightened physiological arousal-manifested as accelerated heart rate and respiratory rate-reflecting a state of high somatic engagement. Under low ego depletion, this immersion resulted in increased utilitarian tendencies. However, this facilitating effect of VR was nullified under high ego depletion conditions. Study 2 demonstrated that positive emotion effectively buffers the negative impact of ego depletion on moral decision-making, preserving utilitarian tendencies even under high depletion. These results suggest that moral decision-making in realistic contexts is not a purely cognitive exercise in abstract reasoning; rather, it is a resource-dependent process characterised by a dynamic interplay between cognition, emotion, and situational context. Beyond validating positive emotion as a buffer against cognitive depletion, this study underscores the critical importance of ecological validity.
This panel study examines changes in attitudes towards Ukrainian and Russian minorities in the Czech Republic and their links to disinformation beliefs and democratic commitment. The data were obtained from 490 respondents in a Czech quota sample (age 18-69; M = 46.09, SD = 13.40; 45.7% women). Between 2022 and 2025, mean favorability towards both groups declined: evaluations of Ukrainians shifted from slightly positive to slightly negative, while evaluations of Russians dropped from slightly to markedly negative. A repeated measures ANOVA showed that these changes were moderated by respondents' belief in disinformation and democratic orientation. Respondents resilient to disinformation and committed to democracy ('Rational Pro-Ukrainians') maintained positive attitudes towards Ukrainians and showed only a medium further decline in already negative attitudes towards Russians. In contrast, respondents vulnerable to disinformation and less democratically oriented ('Generally Disinformed' and 'Pro-Russians') displayed a sharp decline in attitudes towards Ukrainians-to strongly negative, polarising levels-while their views of Russians deteriorated only slightly. The results suggest that pro-democratic individuals remained guided by empathy, humanism and in-group solidarity (Social Identity Theory), whereas disinformed non-democrats adopted out-group, threat-based perceptions (Realistic Threat Theory). Overall, rationality and democratic commitment appear to buffer against disinformation and polarisation, sustaining solidarity with democratic allies.
This study examines how personality traits (Five-Factor Model) and personality metatraits (Circumplex of Personality Metatraits), together with political attitudes, relate to attitudes towards Ukrainian immigrants in Poland, providing the first empirical test of the CPM's predictive value in this context. A nationally representative sample of 983 Polish adults was analysed. Measures included personality traits and metatraits, attitudes towards immigrants and political parties, and sociodemographic variables. Results demonstrated that Agreeableness was a significant positive predictor of pro-immigrant attitudes, whereas Conscientiousness was associated with more negative attitudes. Within the Circumplex of Personality Metatraits, Beta-Plus/Plasticity positively predicted support for immigrants, while Alpha-Minus/Disinhibition was linked to anti-immigrant sentiments. Political attitudes emerged as strong predictors: positive attitudes towards the centre-left Civic Coalition were associated with favourable views of immigrants, whereas support for the far-right Confederation was related to anti-immigrant attitudes. The regression models explained up to 20% of the variance in immigration attitudes. These findings underscore the utility of the CPM in immigration research and suggest that both personality characteristics and political attitudes play a significant role in shaping public opinion on immigration.
Empirical research on maladaptive daydreaming (MD), a clinically impairing form of compulsive immersive fantasy associated with attention dysregulation, emotional dysregulation and digital behavioural addictions, has expanded substantially over the past decade. Despite this growth, the intellectual structure, thematic evolution and collaborative networks of the MD literature indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) remain unmapped. This bibliometric study aimed to characterise the intellectual landscape of WoSCC-indexed MD research between 2009 and 2025. A total of 141 publications were analysed using bibliometrix (R), VOSviewer and Python-based network analyses. The corpus accumulated 2187 citations with a mean of 15.5 citations per document and a field h-index of 26. Israel, the United States and Italy were the most productive countries. Four thematic clusters emerged: core MD phenomenology and dissociation; neurodevelopmental and attentional correlates; emotional dysregulation and pandemic-related psychopathology and digital behavioural addictions. Thematic evolution revealed a shift from phenomenological description toward multidimensional clinical investigation with increasing neurodevelopmental integration. Persistent gaps include longitudinal studies, randomized controlled trials and neurobiological investigations. These findings clarify the structure, thematic evolution and collaborative landscape of the Web of Science-indexed literature on MD and identify underdeveloped areas for future empirical work.
This study examines the intergenerational transfer of the genocidal trauma of the Holodomor (1932-33) and explores how marital status moderates its impact on moral injury and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the context of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Moral injury, distinct from PTSD, arises from the violation of moral beliefs, leading to emotional distress characterised by guilt, shame, anger, disgust and a sense of betrayal. While previous research predominantly focused on direct survivors of genocide, this study expands the understanding of moral injury to their descendants, particularly the third and fourth generations, highlighting the often-overlooked familial dynamics involved. Through a sample of 1857 participants, our findings reveal that married descendants of Holodomor survivors exhibit significantly higher levels of moral injury when familial genocidal trauma is present, contrasting with non-married individuals who show no significant difference. This suggests that marital status plays a vital role in shaping the emotional burden of inherited moral injury, as these individuals grapple with the dual responsibilities of familial protection and the distress of genocidal trauma. Our results indicate that the interaction of genocidal trauma and marital status does not extend to PTSD. These findings emphasise the need for targeted family-based interventions to address the complexities of intergenerational moral injury.
In this study, we systematically investigate the Methods sections of five journals covering core areas of Psychology: Social, health, clinical, developmental, and general psychological science. Journals were published by the British Psychology Society between January 2021 and December 2023 (Narticles = 661; Nsamples = 1293). As expected, we found an over-reliance on Western perspectives: Participants from Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa made up 8.7% of samples combined. However, we also found substantial variation in whether and where participants' gender, race, SES indicators, and education were reported across different areas of Psychology, as well as different norms in the use of students and crowd-sourcing platforms. Given the challenges of representation in Psychology and the importance of interdisciplinary perspectives, we make a case for a unified standard of reporting that allows readers to more readily access how findings generalise to populations beyond those sampled.
This study investigates secondary school students' perceptions of generative AI (GenAI) as virtual mental health therapists within educational settings. Leveraging data from the written reflections of 69 Hong Kong secondary school students engaged in an AI literacy programme, the study applied inductive thematic analysis to explore perceived potentials and limitations of GenAI therapy chatbots. Students valued the accessibility, anonymity and cost-effectiveness of AI-powered therapy. However, significant concerns arose regarding the technology's lack of genuine empathy, limited understanding of non-verbal cues and potential for inaccurate responses. Ethical issues, such as data privacy and trust, were highlighted, with students expressing warranted distrust regarding personal data handling. The findings emphasised the risk of over-reliance on AI and the therapeutic misconception that AI generates more suitable advice. While students acknowledged GenAI as a supplementary tool for initial support, they underscored the irreplaceable role of human therapists for deep, personalised care. This research calls for comprehensive AI literacy education to help students effectively navigate the strengths and boundaries of AI in mental health support.
Research has underscored the importance of parental responses to children's negative emotions (PRCNE) in adolescents' socioemotional development. However, many existing studies relying on regression or structural equation modelling tend to examine different types of PRCNE separately, rather than modelling their interrelations as parts of an interconnected system. To address this, this study utilised the network approach to examine the roles of various types of PRCNE in Chinese adolescents' socioemotional development with data from 477 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 13.62 years, 50.73% male). Analysis of PRNCE networks revealed that both maternal and paternal networks exhibited connections among different types of responses. In both maternal and paternal networks, punitive responses had the highest centrality. Analysis of bridge networks connecting PRCEN and adolescent emotional/social outcomes showed that parental responses related to adolescents' emotional and behavioural development differed based on the parent's gender. Bridge analysis showed both paternal and maternal person-minimisation were most central for emotional outcomes, while paternal problem-focussed and maternal emotion-focussed responses were key for adolescent social outcomes. In conclusion, this study revealed gender-specific patterns in how various parental responses are interconnected and associated with adolescents' emotional and social outcomes, underscoring the importance of culturally informed, parent-specific approaches in research and practice.
Sociocultural factors are known to influence the phenomenology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, less is known about how these factors could be related to the underlying mechanisms of OCD. This study aimed to explore the influence of sociocultural factors, namely, conformity, religiosity, and fear of losing out on obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms and their underlying cognitive processes. A total of 2364 young adults (18-29 years), comprising undergraduate students and recent graduates from a public university in Singapore, completed three online surveys over 1.5 years. Path analysis was used to model temporal relationships among OC symptoms and other variables in this longitudinal dataset, while controlling for previous levels of symptoms and their covariances, including with depressive and anxiety symptoms. The results showed that fear of losing out predicted perfection/certainty, which in turn predicted OC symptoms; however, this indirect effect was small. Conformity and religiosity did not show similar predictive associations. Our findings suggest that sociocultural factors may indirectly shape an individual's vulnerability through their attitudes and appraisals. Culturally driven norms and beliefs can reinforce maladaptive cognitive tendencies and increase one's susceptibility to OC symptoms, highlighting the importance of cultural competency practices that address the possible role of culturally driven beliefs in cognitive misappraisals.
A widely accepted model of first impressions posits that trait judgements of faces have two orthogonal underlying dimensions: 'valence' (trustworthiness) and 'dominance'. Studies have tested whether this model extends to body perception, but results were inconsistent. Given previous findings that stimulus viewpoints can significantly alter trait ratings of bodies, the present study aimed to determine whether this confound can explain the discrepancy between previous studies. Participants rated 100 bodies in either frontal or profile view on 14 personality traits. The resulting data were then analysed using principal components analysis (PCA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The PCA and EFA produced two factors regardless of viewpoint, replicating the valence-dominance model for frontal and profile stimuli. As stimulus viewpoint did not strongly affect the underlying factors, the discrepancy between past papers is likely due to other stimulus differences. The present study confirmed that the valence-dominance model applies to body perception, raising the possibility that this model may apply to person perception more generally. Future research should determine whether these dimensions arise in other modalities, such as movement perception (e.g., walking gait) or touch perception (e.g., handshakes).
The growing interest in non-pharmacological adjuncts to psychiatric treatment has brought creative therapies, such as art therapy and music therapy, to the forefront of mental health research. We hypothesized that structured sessions of art therapy, music therapy and their combination, integrated into standard inpatient psychiatric care, would lead to a more significant reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety, and improvement in patients' psycho-emotional state. This study, conducted in Beijing, China, spanning the years 2021-2023, involved the collaboration of two clinics and the participation of 500 patients. To investigate the effectiveness of art therapy and music therapy in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. The patient cohort was stratified into four groups: art therapy (n = 125), music therapy (n = 125) and combined therapy (n = 125). Analytical methodologies encompassed t-tests, ANOVA and correlational analysis. Findings indicated the efficacy of both creative therapies; however, art therapy demonstrated higher satisfaction levels (p < 0.05) among patients preferring a creative outlet. These findings suggest that creative therapies can serve as effective, individualised adjuncts to standard psychiatric care. The study underscores the importance of aligning therapeutic strategies with patient preferences and highlights the need for further research into the mechanisms underlying the benefits of creative modalities.
Although Body Positivity content (BoPo) has been criticised for emphasising physical appearance and promoting self-objectification, the specific features driving these effects remain unclear. The present study examined whether depictions of female bodies act as triggers for self-objectification in BoPo on Instagram. In a between-subjects online experiment involving 158 women aged 18-29 (M = 21.6, SD = 2.4), exposure to female bodies in BoPo posts did not heighten state self-objectification. Trait self-objectification and negative mood did not moderate these effects; however, women with negative attitudes towards BoPo reported higher levels of state self-objectification. These findings underscore the potential importance of subjective appraisals in shaping the impacts of BoPo content. Overall, the study contributes to the ongoing debate about the potentially negative effects of BoPo on Instagram, suggesting that body depictions alone may not reinforce self-objectification. Future research should examine the distinct influence of different types of body portrayals to further clarify the impact of BoPo content on body image. From a practical perspective, prevention efforts and social media campaigns should aim to raise awareness of BoPo features that continue to overemphasise appearance, helping women better protect their body image from potential adverse effects.
In China, the Three-Child Policy has increased the proportion of adolescents with more siblings, offering a context to test resource dilution theory where parental resources per child decline as sibling number grows, potentially affecting mental health. Existing studies link larger sibling counts to higher adolescent depressive symptoms, but rely on scale total scores, ignoring that symptoms vary in impact. This approach masks specific symptom dimensions, hindering identification of high-risk domains. To address this, we compared depressive symptom networks in 1179 Chinese adolescents (no siblings vs. ≥ 1 sibling) using the 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale through network analysis. Core findings showed unhappiness and sadness were central symptoms in both groups, but key differences emerged: adolescents with no siblings emphasised hopelessness and feeling disliked, while those with siblings prioritised depressed mood and perceived life failure. Despite similar network structures, sibship size influenced symptomatic profiles, suggesting interventions for clinical depression in Chinese adolescents may need tailoring based on the number of siblings to target unique high-risk symptoms.
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) frequently co-occurs with major depressive disorder (MDD). We examined the prevalence and clinical correlates of SAD across three heterogeneous MDD cohorts. Secondary analyses were conducted in adult (CO-MED: n = 482; GSRD: n = 1398) and late-life (IRL-GREY: n = 438) patients. SAD was assessed dimensionally (PDSQ) and categorically (MINI; SCID-1). Cohort-specific instruments were used to assess depressive severity (QIDS; MADRS), suicidality (CHRT; MADRS; SIS) and hypomanic symptoms (ASRM; YMRS). In late-life depression, neurocognitive tests were administered. Multivariate models were adjusted for depression and anxiety levels. SAD prevalence varied markedly by samples and diagnostic definitions (CO-MED: 46.7% with PDSQ≥6; 17.0% with PDSQ>12; GSRD: 3.0%; IRL-GREY: 8.7%). Across cohorts, SAD was associated with earlier MDD onset (CO-MED: p < 0.001 d = -0.36; GSRD: p = 0.014 d = -0.39; IRL-GREY: p = 0.002 d = -0.54) and greater anxiety comorbidity (CO-MED: GAD: p < 0.001 d = 1.24; panic: p < 0.001 d = 1.29; GSRD: GAD: p < 0.001; panic: p < 0.001; IRL-GREY: agoraphobia: p < 0.001). After controlling for depression and anxiety levels, SAD was linked to higher suicide risk in both adult cohorts (CO-MED: OR 1.04 (1.01-1.08); GSRD: OR 1.29 (1.04-1.64)) and to lower 6-week remission in CO-MED cohort (OR 0.51 (0.29-0.91)). In MDD, SAD has consistent associations with earlier illness onset and anxiety burden, modest associations with suicidality and antidepressant outcomes, and reduced impact in late life.
To explore the effects of organisational orientation in predicting employee unethical pro-organisational behaviour (UPB), this meta-analysis classified organisational orientation into organisational attraction orientation (OAO) and organisational stress orientation (OSO). The meta-analysis results of 410 studies with a total sample size of 140,808 indicate that OAO and OSO, respectively, have a significant positive effect on employee UPB. Structural equation modelling revealed that organisational identification significantly mediated the relationship between OAO and employee UPB, while moral disengagement significantly mediated the relationship between OSO and employee UPB. Organisational identification has stronger explanatory power for the relationship between OAO and UPB than moral disengagement, while moral disengagement has stronger explanatory power for the relationship between OSO and UPB than organisational identification. The moderating effects of indulgence culture and research design between OSO and UPB are significant. This paper contributes to the understanding of the complex mechanisms and boundary conditions of OAO and OSO on employee UPB.
This study is a replication and extension of previous research which demonstrated that individuals who identified as Vaxxers and Anti-vaxxers during the COVID-19 pandemic differ in several personality traits. We aimed to further explore personality trait differences between vaccine supporters and opponents. Our study recruited 219 individuals via mTurk who either strongly supported or strongly opposed being vaccinated for COVID-19. Participants completed measures of HEXACO traits honesty-humility and conscientiousness, locus of control, desirability of control, intolerance of uncertainty, generic conspiracy beliefs, and the Dark Triad. Significant differences were found between the groups on measures of generic conspiracy beliefs and intolerance of uncertainty, in the expected directions. These results suggest that vaccine supporters and opponents differ in key personality traits, highlighting the importance of psychological factors in shaping vaccination attitudes. Examining these factors can guide and inform public health interventions and contribute to greater success in vaccination efforts.
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is marked by emotional instability and intense negative affect. The Predictive Coding Model posits that impaired prediction of bodily signals may underlie such deficits, though empirical validation remains lacking. In this study, we compared a high BPD-trait group (score ≥ 6 on the Chinese Version of the McLean Screening Instrument for BPD, without a BPD diagnosis) with a low BPD-trait group (score ≤ 2). Participants were examined using the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness-2 (MAIA-2) for interoceptive sensitivity (IS), the Heartbeat Counting Task (HBCT) for interoceptive accuracy (IA) and heartbeat-evoked potentials (HEP) as the neural correlates of cardiac interoceptive processing. Results showed that the high BPD-trait group scored lower in the two subscales of the MAIA-2 (Not-Worrying and Trusting); however, no differences were observed for the HBCT. Furthermore, HEP amplitudes were significantly modulated by attention in the low BPD-trait group, with higher amplitudes during the heartbeat-focused condition, whereas the high BPD-trait group exhibited consistently high amplitudes across both conditions. Within the predictive coding framework, the observed pattern (intact IA, low interoceptive trust and altered HEP responses) may indicate a rigidity in precision weighting that impairs adaptive interoceptive modulation in individuals with BPD traits.
Gender differences in grief expression have been widely studied, yet findings remain inconsistent. Some research reports higher grief intensity in women, while others find no difference. Two possible explanations are: (a) the neglect of third variables interacting with gender, and (b) men and women follow distinct grief trajectories. This study employed an observational longitudinal design to examine both hypotheses using data from Canada, Belgium and Spain. A total of 1328 bereaved adults were assessed between two and five times at different post-loss intervals. Sociodemographic, loss-related, grief and psychopathological variables were collected. Linear mixed models identified predictors of grief symptomatology and compared trajectories by gender. Results revealed significant gender differences in grief intensity, even after adjusting for other variables. However, no significant interaction between gender and time was found, indicating that men and women differ in intensity but follow similar grief trajectories. These findings may reflect gendered emotional socialisation: women may be more socially conditioned toward introspection and verbalization, which are more readily detected by standard assessment tools. Conversely, men's grief expression may be underestimated by existing instruments. Methodologically, the underrepresentation of men in grief research and the reliance on tools built on narrow conceptualisations of grief limit generalizability.
Gig work has emerged as one of the fastest-growing employment trends, with its expansion accelerating during the COVID-19 pandemic. As this form of work continues to evolve, it has brought to light several characteristics-such as instability, isolation and lack of social support-that may adversely affect workers' mental health. Accordingly, it is essential to identify mechanisms and conditions that can protect gig workers from psychological deterioration. Grounded in Affective Events Theory, this study investigated (1) the mediating role of daily affect ratio in the relationship between daily human-animal interactions (HAI) and mental health, and (2) the moderating role of neuroticism in this indirect relationship. Using a daily diary design involving 205 freelance journalists (5 daily observations per participant, totalling 1025 observations), multilevel analyses yielded three key findings. First, daily HAI was positively associated with mental health through its enhancement of the daily affect ratio. Second, the positive effect of daily HAI on affect ratio was stronger among individuals with higher levels of neuroticism. Third, neuroticism amplified the indirect effect of daily HAI on mental health via affect ratio. Theoretical and practical implications for supporting gig workers' mental health are discussed.
Assertion perception is a critical cognitive process for how people evaluate misinformation. Although prior work has examined various textual contexts, less is known about how different types of responses shape assertion perception. To address this gap, we investigated whether threatening responses are more likely to be accepted than non-threatening ones. Drawing on research on assertion criteria and common weakly justified comments on social platforms, we conducted three experiments to test this effect. Across studies, behavioural and EEG (N400) evidence consistently showed that threatening responses were associated with higher acceptance. This study provides two contributions: (1) it identifies how response type influences assertion perception, and (2) it demonstrates the usefulness of EEG as a physiological indicator for studying assertion processing. Our findings illuminate the cognitive-neural mechanisms of assertion processing, provide novel measurement paradigms, and underscore responses' pivotal role in propagating misinformation, offering anti-rumour intervention insights. Nonetheless, the study has several limitations-restricted ecological validity, a single cultural context, and limited generalisability. Future research should address these issues through more naturalistic designs, cross-cultural samples, computational modelling, and preregistered protocols.