I checked 15 psychology journals on Friday, April 10, 2026 using the Crossref API. For the period April 03 to April 09, I found 29 new paper(s) in 12 journal(s).

Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science

Evaluating Cognitive Models With Permutation Testing: A Case Study of Prototype and Exemplar Categorization
Dagmar Zeithamova, Troy M. Houser, Caitlin R. Bowman
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Computational cognitive models offer powerful means for testing competing theoretical frameworks. A central challenge is determining which model best explains observed data, balancing goodness of fit with parsimony. Several fruitful approaches to model comparison have been used in the areas of cognitive and mathematical psychology, but the most popular in practice remain Akaike information criterion (AIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC), which penalize model complexity as measured by the number of free parameters. Here, we revisit these conventional approaches to model selection on a sample case of the prototype and exemplar models of categorization. We highlight the limitations of parameter count-based complexity measures, showing that they may fail to capture a model’s true flexibility. We then introduce a Monte Carlo permutation-testing approach as an alternative that has a rich tradition in many areas but whose use for model selection is still trailing that of AIC/BIC. We demonstrate that permutation testing offers at least three advantages: more robust comparison of models with chance, more robust comparison between models with equal or differing numbers of parameters, and quantification of uncertainty in model selection. After demonstrating how permutation testing offers a more nuanced and principled framework for evaluating cognitive models, we conclude with practical considerations for implementing permutation-based model selection in cognitive-modeling research.

Behavior Research Methods

Penalized eigenvalue block averaging: Extension to nested model comparison and Monte Carlo evaluations
Njål Foldnes, Steffen Grønneberg, Jonas Moss
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Testing goodness-of-fit and multi-group nested models in confirmatory factor analysis under non-normality is foundational in psychometrics and related fields. Recently, a penalized eigenvalue block averaging (pEBA) procedure was proposed for testing goodness-of-fit, showing promise in a restricted type I error control simulation study. In this study, we extend the simulation conditions to higher dimensions for latent and observed vectors and evaluate type I error control and power for many pEBA variants and traditional test statistics. All statistics are evaluated in four versions, by crossing the base statistic (ML or Browne’s RLS), and whether the asymptotic covariance matrix estimator was bias-corrected or not. We develop pEBA methods in the new setting of nested model comparison, accompanied by extensive Monte Carlo evaluation of their performance in weak invariance testing, including type I error control and power. The best-performing procedure for goodness-of-fit testing was pEBA with four blocks, based on the RLS statistic, using the asymptotic covariance matrix estimator without bias correction. For measurement invariance, pEBA with singleton blocks, using the standard ML statistic and the unbiased estimator for the asymptotic covariance matrix, performed best. The pEBA procedures are available in the newly developed R package .
Delivering tactile stimuli via mobile browsers: A method for remote multisensory research
Rebecca J. Hirst, Kalvin Roberts, Martina Seveso, Alan O’Dowd, Jonathan W. Peirce, Fiona N. Newell
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Online methods are becoming an essential part of the behavioral scientist’s toolkit. While the remote presentation of visual and auditory stimuli has been shown to be reasonably accurate (Bridges et al., 2020), less is known about the feasibility of delivering tactile stimuli via the browser. In this study, we extend remote experimentation to the tactile domain by replicating a well-established multisensory phenomenon – the redundant target effect (RTE) – using Android smartphones. The RTE, wherein response times are faster to multisensory (bimodal or trimodal) than unimodal stimuli, was robustly replicated in an online sample using a browser-based task. In addition to the behavioral replication, we evaluated the timing accuracy and precision of visual, auditory, and tactile (vibration) stimuli presented via mobile browsers. Visual and auditory stimuli exhibited small, consistent lags, while vibration stimuli showed a greater delay. Further analysis indicated that much of this delay was attributable to the gradual ramp-up of smartphone vibration motors, rather than limitations of the browser itself. These results support the feasibility of using consumer mobile devices to study tactile and multisensory processing in uncontrolled environments. The significance of the current manuscript is twofold: first, we demonstrate that scalable, at-home user studies can incorporate haptics without bespoke apps; second, we provide benchmark timing data to inform the feasibility of future research implementing tactile perception measures in remote behavioral research.
Same emotion, different stimuli: A context-sensitive method to evoke nostalgia
Hetvi S. Doshi, Adam K. Anderson, Marlen Z. Gonzalez
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Lived experience and current context are critical antecedents of emotions. However, practical methodologies for incorporating these factors into experimental emotion research remain scarce. We developed and tested an idiographic-nomothetic method to evoke a prototypically situated emotion: nostalgia. We describe the iterative qualitative and quantitative method, which involved (1) choosing cross-cultural target populations to manipulate present versus developmental context, (2) creating a conceptually and visually standardized food image set, (3) testing the nomothetic and idiographic factors in nostalgia, (4) measuring the outcomes’ replicability, and (5) testing the relation of state to global trait nostalgia. The method was examined on US university students who share the same current environment but originate from two distinct developmental contexts (USA vs. India). Across the two cohorts, nostalgic value exhibited an idiographically nomothetic pattern: vast variances between individuals coexisted alongside a cross-cultural pattern of high nostalgia for developmentally consistent foods within a person, which was greater for the culture further displaced from home. Nostalgia for food was consistent across time; high test–retest reliability was on par with food familiarity. Global trait nostalgia contributed to the propensity and intensity of evoked state nostalgia. We discuss this method’s usefulness for bridging phenomenological and positivist accounts of emotions while providing a practical way to systematically probe the impact of lived experience and context on their expression.
Moderated mediation with composites: The composite moderated structural equations approach
Tamara Schamberger, Florian Schuberth, Jörg Henseler
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Moderated mediation models are crucial in many disciplines, particularly the social sciences. Researchers use them to analyze the conditions under which different variables are related. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is an eminently suitable framework for this endeavor. In fact, several approaches have been proposed and extended to model moderated mediation effects involving reflectively measured latent variables. However, approaches to modeling moderated mediation involving unknown-weight composites (i.e., weighted linear combinations of variables whose weights are estimated freely) are limited in either model specification or model assessment. Unknown-weight composites are used, for example, to model formative constructs or collections of heterogeneous causes. In this study, we propose composite moderated structural equations (CMS), a new approach that combines latent moderated structural equations (LMS), the standard SEM approach for estimating moderation effects among latent variables, with the H–O specification, a recently introduced specification for flexibly modeling composites. A Monte Carlo simulation demonstrates the performance of CMS and confirms that CMS enables researchers to flexibly model and estimate moderated mediation effects involving unknown-weight composites.

Computers in Human Behavior

Beyond Composer Labels: Aesthetic Awe in Music Composed by Humans and AI
Xu Ke, Bihai Xu, Zhongju Xie
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Humans incorrectly reject confident accusatory AI judgments
Riccardo Loconte, Merylin Monaro, Pietro Pietrini, Bruno Verschuere, Bennett Kleinberg
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The Hidden Cost of Digital Aggression: How Engaging in Cyberbullying Facilitates Moral Disengagement Among Children Through Changes in Normative Beliefs About Aggression
Xintong Zhang, Xiang Li
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Tracing Need for Cognition in Digital Learning
Aki Schumacher, Luise von Keyserlingk, Hannah Deininger, Renzhe Yu, Nia Nixon, Lisa Bardach
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Group Processes & Intergroup Relations

The tragedies that bind us: Shared memories, identity fusion, and moral concern among Balinese Hindus following the 2002 Bali bombings
Daniel Revach, Christopher Kavanagh, Barbara Muzzulini, Idhamsyah Eka Putra, Fajar Erikha, Ni Luh Indah Desira Swandi, Rohan Kapitany, Harvey Whitehouse
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Identity fusion is a powerful form of social cohesion capable of motivating extreme pro-group action that can result from the sharing of personally transformative memories of a dysphoric event with other group members. However, it is not known whether such experiences need to be shared directly or if indirect sharing via eye-witness accounts would be equally effective. In this study, we examine the impact of the 2002 Bali bombings, a powerful dysphoric event, on group cohesion and morality among Balinese Hindus. We hypothesized that being copresent would predict stronger fusion with ingroup members compared with vicariously shared experiences, and that fusion scores would be more strongly associated with select moral domains compared with social identification. Using a questionnaire, data were collected in person from 340 Hindus in Bali. Our findings confirmed that directly experiencing this dysphoric event was associated with higher levels of fusion—especially with others who were copresent—which were mediated by the experience’s transformative impact and its recall for those present. Nevertheless, indirect experiences also proved to be powerful drivers of group bonding through similar processes. The study provides new insight into the long-term psychological impacts of terrorist atrocities and their wider consequences for societal cohesion.
A consistent but highly varied androcentric bias in the visual representation of “typical” faces
Daniel N. Albohn, Alexander Todorov
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Decades of research have shown that androcentric bias (i.e., assuming that men represent the default) is prevalent across text, images, and social interactions. Despite this evidence, recent research on the mental imagery of faces shows an opposite of the expected androcentric bias: Mental representations of “typical” faces appear more like women than men. In the present research, we first aim to reconcile this apparent discrepancy by examining the mental imagery associated with typical persons using generative reverse correlation—a data-driven method that leverages artificial intelligence to construct photo-realistic imagery of visual stereotypes for both groups and individuals. Second, we explore potential reasons for the observed reversal in mental imagery by examining individual differences in typicality judgments. Across two studies, our results show (1) individuals tend to equate “typical persons” with “men” in their mental representations at the group-level; but (2) there is large individual-level variability in both “typical person” mental imagery and explicit “typicality” judgments that complicates conclusions drawn from aggregate-level data.

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

Tracking connections, not content: How working memory shapes content and social learning in online networks
Esther Kang, Arun Lakshmanan
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Minority report: How minorities' awareness of power asymmetry drives strategic preparation in opinion debates
Alain Quiamzade, Fanny Lalot, Dominic Abrams
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Unequal participation: How low socioeconomic status hinders political engagement
Rodrigo Furst, Yan Vieites, Bernardo Andretti
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Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

How watching sports shapes zero-sum thinking: Correlational, experimental, and longitudinal evidence.
Jinseok S. Chun, Hemant Kakkar, Aaron C. Kay
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Exploring the socioeconomic pattern of humans’ future orientation: A multimethod multistudy approach.
Alejandro Díaz-Guerra, Mirko Antino, Rafael Caballero, Alfredo Rodríguez-Muñoz, Alejandro Vásquez-Echeverría
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Multivariate Behavioral Research

A State Space Model of Daily Dynamics with Moderation Effects from Qualitative Text Data
Samuel D. Aragones, Emorie D. Beck, Emilio Ferrer
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A Comparison of Regularization, Alignment, and a Traditional Method for Estimating Structural Relationships Across Two Groups
Emma Somer, Carl F. Falk, Milica Miočević
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Organizational Research Methods

Modeling Unfolding Response Data Within the Structural Equation Modeling Framework
Ringo Moon-ho Ho, Jie Xin Lim, Olexander Chernyshenko
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Dominance and unfolding response processes describe two ways in which individuals may respond to rating scale items. The dominance process assumes a monotonic relationship between a latent trait and the probability of endorsement and is typically modeled using a linear factor model within structural equation modeling (SEM). In contrast, the unfolding process assumes single-peaked response functions, with endorsement most likely when item and person locations are close on the latent continuum. Fitting unfolding models usually requires specialized software, which limits their integration with SEM. In this article, we proposed the ordered categorical response unfolding model (OCRUM), which can be estimated in Mplus. We illustrated its use with two empirical datasets and found that item and person locations were comparable to those obtained from the generalized graded unfolding model (GGUM). We also conducted Monte Carlo simulations to examine parameter recovery under varying sample sizes, test lengths, and response formats. Finally, we demonstrated that OCRUM can serve as the measurement component of a general structural equation model, enabling dominance and unfolding response processes to be represented within a single SEM framework.
“How Many Interviews Do I Need?” An Examination of Interview Numbers and Sampling Moves in Qualitative Research
Kasper Trolle Elmholdt, Michael Gill, Jeppe Agger Nielsen
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Qualitative researchers face an enduring question: How many interviews do I need? While a variety of guidelines exist, there is limited consensus over which specific factors should determine the number of interviews required. We examined the determination of interview sample sizes in 562 qualitative studies across six high-impact management and organizational journals over a decade. Our findings reveal considerable variance in interview numbers, yet limited information is often provided on the criteria used to determine them. To promote clearer alignment between sample sizes and methodology, we examined studies with detailed descriptions of their interview sampling. We identified specific “sampling moves” used to determine the number of interviews, categorized into three types—opening, focusing, and closing sampling moves—that researchers use to establish confidence in the sample and support theoretical insights. By implication, our study refutes the notion of a “magic” interview number. Instead, sampling moves are heuristic tools that qualitative researchers can thoughtfully adapt to their analytical aims when determining appropriate sample sizes.

Psychological Methods

Modeling cyclic patterns using a two-stage hybrid Bayesian approach.
Han Du, Brian Keller, Lijuan Wang, Robert E. Weiss, Lauren Lesko, Martie Haselton
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Causal mediation analysis with one or multiple mediators: A comparative study.
Judith Abécassis, Houssam Zenati, Sami Boumaïza, Julie Josse, Bertrand Thirion
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You cannot just count: A statistical rethinking of semantic richness in free-generation tasks and semantic norms.
Rodrigo Lagos, Sergio E. Chaigneau, Enrique Canessa, Felipe Toro-Hernández, Anny Bontempo, Maria T. Carthery-Goulart, Felipe A. Medina Marín
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A theory-construction methodology for network theories in psychology.
Adam Finnemann, Lourens Waldorp, Denny Borsboom, Maarten Marsman, Han L. J. van der Maas
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Psychological Science

The Rise, Impact, and Imbalances of Big-Team Psychology
Nicholas A. Coles, JoĂŁo Francisco Goes Braga Takayanagi, Gabrielle L. Grant, Dana M. Basnight-Brown
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The present work evaluates the rise, impact, and imbalances of big-team psychology via an analysis of 3,023,895 articles published in the 21st century. Results indicate that big teams—ranging from 10 to more than 100 authors—are relatively unusual ( n = 49,695) but increasing in popularity. More notably, such collaborations generate unusually high impact in terms of yearly mentions in scholarly articles ( n = 39,788,158), the news ( n = 1,018,639), social media ( n = 5,971,965), and policy documents ( n = 69,959). An examination of country-level sociocultural indicators revealed that first authors, in general, tend to be in regions that are relatively WEIRD: Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. However, this imbalance is slightly more pronounced among larger teams. In summary, results suggest that big-team science is an emerging trend in psychology—one that is unevenly deployed across world regions to generate high-impact scientific insights.
Conscious Detection of Spoken Words Depends on Their Valence
Gal R. Chen, Zaheera Maswadeh, Leon Deouell, Ran R. Hassin
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Conscious experiences appear to play a central role in human behavior, yet most neural processing occurs outside of consciousness. Understanding how the mind prioritizes information for consciousness is, therefore, crucial for theories of cognition. Prior research has largely focused on vision, but generalization is tenuous given the vastly different characteristics of the senses—particularly for audition, which lacks foveation and cannot be intentionally stopped. We examine the affective domain, for which prioritization is not well understood. In three experiments (two preregistered), 101 Hebrew-speaking adults completed a visual task with a stream of auditory pseudowords in the background. Occasionally a meaningful word appeared, and participants were asked about its presence. Using objective and subjective awareness measures, we found that neutral words were prioritized over negative words, regardless of task difficulty, intelligibility, and low-level features. These findings challenge theorizing and modal intuitions, and we discuss ways in which those can be reconciled.

Psychology of Music

Music as a distraction during reading: Music listening habits of university students
Lindsey Cooke, Craig Speelman, Ross Hollett
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Recent research indicates high proportions of individuals report they have music playing while they read. This behaviour has implications for effective comprehension, as some scholars suggest the presence of music depletes cognitive resources, resulting in a greater chance of becoming distracted. By contrast, some have claimed that listening to music can improve cognitive performance by increasing physiological arousal and improving mood. This study captured self-reported behaviours of university students regarding whether they chose to listen to music while reading for study purposes. Reasons for listening varied, with reports of increased motivation, enhanced focus, or masking external noise. The most listened to music genres while reading were Classical and Rock, and individuals preferred to listen to non-lyrical, slow music while reading. Similar proportions of respondents claimed they often listen to music while reading for study purposes (54%) and avoided it (46%), suggesting that individual differences may determine whether music is distracting or helpful to readers. Working Memory Capacity was not found to be associated with distraction from music while reading, nor was trait Mind Wandering. However, a Music Engagement rating was related to how helpful individuals perceived background music to be while reading and their decision to listen to it.

Psychology of Popular Media

A narrative inquiry into characters in the manic depression memescape.
Aayushi Deshpande, Colette Daiute
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A healthy dose of skepticism: The relationship between young adolescents’ sexual media exposure and sexual intentions, and the moderating role of media skepticism.
Christina V. Dodson, Reina Evans-Paulson, Tracy M. Scull
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