I checked 15 psychology journals on Wednesday, July 01, 2026 using the Crossref API. For the period June 24 to June 30, I found 37 new paper(s) in 13 journal(s).

Behavior Research Methods

The performance of Bayesian fit measures in detecting misspecified multilevel structural equation modeling
Chunhua Cao, Xinya Liang
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Cognitive mechanism of creative thinking: Integrating the semantic network and spreading activation model
Jing Chen, Jialin Hou, Yifei Cao, Benjamin Katz, Lin Yang, Cheng Liu, Xueyang Wang, Li He, Ruizhi He, Qunlin Chen, Jiang Qiu
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Publisher Correction: Towards a quantifiable measure of orthographic congruence between two languages
Ding Yan, Paolo Mairano, SĂ©verine Casalis
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Low-cost, open-source, full-stack software and Arduino-based hardware for control of commercially available animal behavior systems
Scott Miller, Jacob C. Slack, Amol P. Yadav
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Behavioral neuroscience relies heavily on controlled environments, such as operant chambers or “Skinner boxes,” to characterize relationships between external stimuli and the resulting animal behavior. Increasingly, these methodologies are critical for the development of neural interfaces which seek to provide or restore sensations via electrical stimulation. To conduct behavioral experiments, researchers have commonly trusted commercial systems, like those from Med Associates, Inc. While offering reliability, high costs and limited customizability have motivated a push towards open-source alternatives, which often involve the use of inexpensive microcontrollers, custom printed circuit boards (PCBs), and freely available codebases. However, despite these developments, there is a lack of comprehensive software solutions that can integrate seamlessly with commercial or custom hardware for behavioral experiments. In this study, we developed a full-stack application utilizing Angular and Flask frameworks to conduct two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) tasks controlled by an Arduino which interfaces with Med Associates, Inc. operant chamber equipment via a custom PCB. The system was tested by conducting a simple operant conditioning procedure and a spinal cord stimulation (SCS) sensory detection experiment using a custom microstimulator in rodents. The analyzed data demonstrated appropriate behavioral learning and sensory detection thresholds, in alignment with previous SCS behavioral studies which utilized commercial or single-tier systems for control of operant chambers. This work demonstrates the effective integration of an open-source full-stack application with existing commercial hardware that can provide adaptable and scalable means for conducting behavioral experiments, crucial for advancing neural interface technologies.
Psychometric functions from multiple responses
Saul Sternberg, Ronald L. Knoll, Colin L. Mallows
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By using three or more ordered response categories and varying the stimulus feature being judged over a large range, it is possible to generate a family of psychometric functions (PMFs), each based on a different partition of the responses. An earlier paper showed how, when it is treated as a probability distribution, the traditional single PMF based on binary-choice data can be decomposed into sensory and decision components, expressed as two independent random variables that are summed to create the PMF. Here we extend this development to the multiple-response procedure, and use it to elucidate the relations among the spreads and shapes of the resulting family of PMFs, which can be described by their first four cumulants. For example, we determine conditions under which the PMFs can have the same spread and shape, differing only by translation on the stimulus axis. Whereas PMFs depend on both sensory and decision processes, differences among the PMFs in a family depend only on the decision processes. Application of this multiple-PMF method to several decision models, whose evaluations depend on the PMF cumulants, shows it to have greater power than the single-PMF method for understanding the perceptual process. Although this work was inspired by experiments on the perception of temporal order, it can be applied to experiments where features of stimuli other than their occurrence times are being compared, such as the pitch of tones or the brightness of lights.
Talking surveys: How photorealistic embodied conversational agents shape response quality, engagement, and satisfaction
Matus Krajcovic, Peter Demcak, Eduard Kuric
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Embodied conversational agents (ECAs) are increasingly more realistic and capable of dynamic conversations. In online surveys, anthropomorphic agents could help address issues like careless responding and satisficing, which originate from the lack of personal engagement and perceived accountability. However, there is a lack of understanding of how ECAs in user experience research may affect participant engagement, satisfaction, and the quality of responses. We introduce a method, Virtual Agent Interviewer, and validate it in a randomized study. Our proof-of-concept method enables the incorporation of conversations with a virtual avatar into surveys using AI-driven video generation, speech recognition, and Large Language Models. In our between-subjects study, 80 participants (UK, stratified random sample of the general population) either talked to a voice-based agent with an animated video avatar, or interacted with a chatbot. Our evaluation entails 2265 conversation responses obtained across surveys based on two self-reported psychometric tests. Statistical comparison of the results indicates that embodied agents can contribute significantly to more informative, detailed responses, as well as higher yet more time-efficient engagement. Furthermore, qualitative analysis provides valuable insights about the causes of no significant change to satisfaction, linked to personal preferences, turn-taking delays, and Uncanny Valley reactions. These findings support and inform the development of new AI-driven embodiment-based methods for the transformation of online surveys into more natural interactions resembling in-person interviews.
PyNeon: A Python package for the analysis of Neon multimodal mobile eye-tracking data
Qian Chu, Jan-Gabriel Hartel, Alex Lepauvre, Lucia Melloni
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Mobile eye-tracking has revolutionized the study of human behavior and cognition by enabling researchers to record eye movements in the real world. However, the dynamic and multimodal nature of mobile eye-tracking data also introduces significant analytical challenges, including the alignment, integration, and interpretation of complex data. To fill these gaps, we present PyNeon, a versatile, community-oriented Python package designed to streamline the analysis of mobile eye-tracking, motion, and video data from the Neon eye-tracking system (Pupil Labs GmbH). We describe how PyNeon provides accessible APIs for reading, preprocessing, epoching, and exporting Neon data. Furthermore, it supports advanced video processing such as mapping between eye movement data and real-world coordinates and dynamic scanpath estimation. PyNeon presents an open-source and extendable framework for analyzing mobile eye-tracking data and forms the foundation for higher-level applications.

Computers in Human Behavior

The Confounding Role of Gaming Behavior Calls for a Re-evaluation of Neurobiological Models of Gaming Disorder
Wen-tao Lai, Xia Liu, Zi-yun Xu, Zhi Kong, Ping Ren, Zhi-feng Zhou, Ji-hui Yang, Hai Li, Gang-qiang Hou, Wen-tao Jiang
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Enhancing human detection of real and hyperrealistic AI-generated faces
Tina Seabrooke, Mansi Pattni, Philip A. Higham
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Empathy in leadership communication: Experimental evidence from two vignette studies on AI's role in message improvement and observers' perceptions
Didem Sedefoglu-Ulucak, Sandra Ohly, Joachim Schmelz
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Understanding the loneliness paradox of the digital age: Offline social support mediates the relationship between addictive social media use and loneliness – A gender comparison in the German general population
Julia Brailovskaia, Lena-Marie Precht, Svenja Schaumburg, JĂĽrgen Margraf, Silvia Schneider
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Dark personality traits and online toxicity: Linking self-reports to Reddit activity
Aldo Cerulli, Benedetta Tessa, Giuseppe La Selva, Oronzo Mazzeo, Lorenzo Cima, Lucia Monacis, Stefano Cresci
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Neural emotional processing of personally recommended short-video content and depressive symptoms
Carole Leung, Stacie L. Warren, Lucie H. Nguyen, Christina Vlahakos, Carlos Busso, Alva Tang
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Online Consent Misread: A Mixed-Method Study on (Cyber)Rape Culture’s Influence on Sexual Consent Perceptions and Responses to Unsolicited Genital Images
Rocío Vizcaíno-Cuenca, Mónica Romero-Sánchez, Hugo Carretero-Dios
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Virtual proxemics “in the wild”: a cross-cultural comparison between Japanese and Italian adults recruited at public fairs
Matteo P. Lisi, Althea Frisanco, Anna Giometti, Giuseppe Perrone, Donato Ferri, Salvatore M. Aglioti
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Is problematic smartphone use an independent risk marker for adolescent suicidal-thought trajectories? A person-centered, depression-adjusted analysis
Changmin Yoo
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Group Processes & Intergroup Relations

You Can (Not) Play with Us: Conspiracy Theories, Media, and Ostracism
Ani Baghumyan, Tobias Rohrbach, Silke Adam
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This study examines the social impact of political conspiracy theories, focusing on how media exposure and individual predispositions lead to negative spillover effects on unrelated outgroups. Using an online survey experiment ( N = 1,973), we test how media coverage of a fictitious conspiracy theory alleging malicious actions by a foreign government affects participants’ willingness to ostracize a secondary outgroup: the uninvolved citizens of the same country. We also assess the role of conspiracy mentality. We first exposed participants to one-sided full debunking, two-sided partial debunking, or neutral coverage of the alleged conspiracy, and then measured their willingness to ostracize the secondary outgroup through self-reports, a list experiment, and a Cyberball game. We found that although media exposure type did not significantly affect ostracism overall, significant interaction emerged among participants high in conspiracy mentality. For this group, one-sided full debunking increased ostracism relative to other conditions. Conspiracy mentality also consistently predicted ostracism across all measures. Our findings highlight the potential backfire effects of certain debunking styles for specific audiences and underscore the importance of individual predispositions in shaping behavioral responses to conspiracy theory coverage.

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

People feel but don't tell: Dispositional honesty and emotional responses to others' (mis)fortunes
Zi Ye, Feiteng Long, Roujia Feng, Wilco van Dijk, Ranran Li
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Seeing oneself in the feed: Racialized targeting in food marketing and its impact on adolescents' visual interest and unhealthy food preferences
Emily Balcetis, Jordan Daley, Eunha Choi, Omni Cassidy, Marie A. Bragg
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Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Outgroup friendships and social influence in the development of adolescent attitudes toward secondary outgroups.
Tibor Zingora, Chloe Bracegirdle, Tobias H. Stark, Olivia Spiegler
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Multivariate Behavioral Research

Bayesian Machine Learning Tools for Alcohol Use Disorder Research: The bpaup R Package
James W. Baurley, Carolyn M. Ervin, Katie Witkiewitz, Eric Claus, Matt Levy, Christopher S. McMahan
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A Unified Framework for Jointly modelling Response Times and Item Position Effects in Computer-Based Learning Assessments
Silvia Bacci, Rosa Fabbricatore, Maria Iannario
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Organizational Research Methods

A Multimodal Item Response Modeling for Personality Assessment in Organizational Research
Dongbo Tu, Fumei Zhang, Siwei Peng, Daxun Wang, Yan Cai
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Recent advances in process data collection have made it possible to efficiently collect multimodal behavioral indicators, such as response times and eye-tracking measures. These multimodal data have been widely applied in cognitive and achievement assessments, where they have improved the accuracy of latent construct estimation. However, the use of informative multimodal process data in noncognitive assessments, such as personality measures widely used in organizational research, has received considerably less attention. To address this gap, we integrate response time and eye-tracking data into a conventional item response model to capture respondents’ response processes, thereby improving differentiation across trait levels and enhancing noncognitive assessment. Simulation studies were conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed model and compare it with a conventional IRT model. Results indicate that model parameters can be accurately recovered and that incorporating multimodal data significantly improves the accuracy of person latent trait estimates. Finally, an empirical analysis was conducted to demonstrate the applicability and advantages of the proposed model in personality assessment.

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

When and Why Beliefs About the Causes of a Policy Problem Predict Policy Support
James P. Reynolds, Tess Langfield, Charlotte R. Pennington
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The relationship between beliefs about the causes of a policy-relevant issue (causal beliefs) and attitudes towards that policy (policy support) is complicated, with contradictory empirical results. The current research offers an explanation for this: causal beliefs only predict policy support when they are specific and correspond with the policy. We test this across six studies ( N = 10,728; quota-representative samples of U.K. and US populations) within two policy domains (obesity and alcohol). In study 1, we test whether specific-corresponding beliefs are stronger correlates of policy support than other causal beliefs. In studies 2 and 4, we test whether communicating specific-corresponding causal evidence can increase policy support. In studies 3 and 4, we identify and confirm the psychological mechanism: perceived policy effectiveness. Study 5 involves a meta-analysis of the experimental studies. This provides support for our theory: specific-corresponding causal beliefs affect policy support, but general and non-corresponding causal beliefs do not.
Intergroup Contact and Belonging Among Ethiopian Jews in Ethiopia
Mastewal Bitew, Sonja DrobniÄŤ
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Drawing on intergroup contact theory, this study examines whether intergroup anxiety and perceived discrimination mediate the relationship between intergroup contact and a dual sense of belonging: to mainstream society and to one’s ethnic ingroup. Data were collected through a paper-based survey of 513 Ethiopian Jews in Ethiopia (mean age = 24; the sample consisted primarily of single men with secondary education). Moderated mediation analyses indicate that intergroup contact is positively associated with belonging to mainstream society but unrelated to ingroup belonging. Intergroup anxiety shows a divergent pattern: higher anxiety is associated with lower belonging to mainstream society and stronger ingroup belonging. Contrary to expectations, intergroup contact is positively associated with perceived discrimination. Mediation analyses show that intergroup anxiety significantly mediates the relationship between contact and belonging, whereas perceived discrimination does not. These findings suggest that intergroup contact may foster integration but also heighten awareness of discrimination in stratified social contexts.
Metacognitive and Interpersonal Intellectual Humility Are Asymmetrically Associated with Well-Being
Michael M. Prinzing, Shauna M. Bowes, Karen Melton, Perry Glanzer, Sarah Schnitker
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Intellectual humility, lauded as an important intellectual virtue, is theorized to encompass metacognitive tendencies (i.e., appreciation of the limits of one’s knowledge and intellectual abilities) and interpersonal ones (i.e., appreciation of others’ knowledge and intellectual abilities). Although prior research has investigated potential epistemic benefits, it remains unclear whether intellectual humility is personally beneficial—that is, conducive to individuals’ well-being. Two main studies and one supplemental study (total N = 4,049) tested for associations cross-sectionally, within and between persons, and in longitudinal changes over 2 years. Results indicated that, whereas interpersonal intellectual humility is associated with better well-being, metacognitive intellectual humility is generally associated with worse. These findings highlight the importance of the distinction between these two forms of intellectual humility, align with theoretical work on the determinants of well-being, and have implications for intellectual humility’s status as a virtue and for efforts to encourage people to cultivate intellectual humility.
A Taxonomy of Data Synthesis
Emorie D. Beck, Emily C. Willroth, Julia A. M. Delius, David A. Bennett, Lisa L. Barnes, Bryan D. James, Richard B. Lipton, Mindy Katz, Linda B. Hassing, Martijn Huisman, Daniel K. Mroczek, Eileen K. Graham
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As efforts to improve the credibility of psychological and other social sciences continue, researchers aim to conduct multi-study or multi-sample research and synthesize findings using different parameterizations of individual participant meta-analysis. No overarching organizational framework exists, and only a few simulation-based or empirical examples comparing these parameterizations. This article has two goals. First, we provide an overview of six common parameterizations of individual participant meta-analysis, organized into a taxonomy based on different features (e.g., sample-specific parameters, meta-analytic parameters, and number of models). Second, using empirical data from 26,205 participants across 11 longitudinal studies, we provide comparisons of each parameterization testing prospective associations between the personality traits and crystallized abilities. We found that openness was a robust predictor of crystallized abilities across samples. Across methods, we observed consistency in model estimates, with some exceptions. We conclude with recommendations for choosing an approach given a team’s goals, questions, data availability, and model features.

Psychological Methods

A stochastic block prior for clustering in graphical models.
Nikola Sekulovski, Giuseppe Arena, Jonas Haslbeck, Karoline Huth, Nial Friel, Maarten Marsman
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Bayesian evaluation for latent variable models: A tutorial on computing information criteria and bayes factors with the r package bleval.
Xiaohui Luo, Jieyuan Dong, Hongyun Liu, Yang Liu, Edgar C. Merkle
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Psychological Science

How Does the Mind Grow? Cross-Cultural Intuitive Theories of Mental Development
Xianwei Meng, Ryuji Oguni, Kuniyuki Nishina, Taro Murakami, Yuka Mizuno, Jinjing (Jenny) Wang
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How does the mind grow? Despite centuries of philosophical and psychological inquiry, little is known about how ordinary people intuitively conceptualize mental development. Across six countries (Australia, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States), adult participants reported their intuitions about mental development by indicating when they think various mental capacities first emerge. Across tasks and cultures, intuitions about mental development were consistently organized along two dimensions: an earlier-developing perceptual and experiential dimension (e.g., seeing, fear, hunger, pain) and a later-developing reflective and evaluative dimension (e.g., reasoning, beliefs, self-restraint, pride). Competing models were ruled out, showing that this structure is unique to lay beliefs about mental development. These dimensions also aligned with participants’ intuitions about the origins of mental capacities within a nature–nurture framework. Together, the findings reveal a consistent cross-cultural pattern for reasoning about mental development and illuminate the intuitive architecture of mind perception.

Psychology of Music

The role of social media feedback in performance preparation, self-esteem, and anxiety
Lina K Hejjawi, Charlene Ryan, Karin S Hendricks, Tawnya D Smith
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Online social networking is a common mode of communication; however, the research literature is divided as to its impact upon well-being. As musicians increasingly engage in online performances, we were interested in exploring responses and feelings stemming from social media (SM) feedback related to shared performance encounters. Six university students enrolled in music classes as novice musicians posted pre-performance clips on SM before an in-person public performance. Qualitative data sources included questionnaires, interviews, SM activities, and SM friend and follower responses. Using the PERMA model as a framework, we coded and analyzed data to provide insights into the SM networking experiences, music performance anxiety (MPA), and self-esteem (SE) of participants. Results indicated positive impacts of SM networking on participants’ well-being, SE, and MPA. Interactions with friends and followers on SM emerged as beneficial and were perceived to contribute to successful performance preparation. The findings indicate that using SM mindfully can be beneficial for novice music students, while intentional use of social platforms may effectively enhance their self-efficacy beliefs. Recommendations are made for educators in engaging SM as part of their students’ performance preparation.
Abstract Titles, Classical Music: The Impact of Music Training Experience on the Perception of Titles Across Musical Works From Different Time Periods
Xinqi Yu, Keying Zhu, Qianqian Wang, Wei Zhang
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Titles play a crucial role in shaping perception in visual art, but their influence in auditory art remains underexplored. This study used two experiments to investigate how music training and the presence of music influence the perception of music titles. Experiment 1 asked participants to judge titles without accompanying music clips. The results showed that music majors showed a strong preference for concrete titles, likely due to their psychological proximity to music concepts, while this effect was absent in the no musical training group. Experiment 2 introduced music clips (classical and modern) to explore how music types affect title perception. The results revealed that abstract titles were favored for classical music, which was perceived as temporally distant, whereas concrete titles were preferred for modern music, which was perceived as closer and more tangible. These findings provide preliminary evidence that psychological distance, as proposed by Construal Level Theory (CLT), interacts with musical expertise and music style to shape title perception, offering new insights into the interpretation of auditory art.
Age Against the Machine: How Artist Maturation Counters the Decline of Acousticness in Popular Music
Juho Leppänen, Alessandro Ansani, Santeri Salmirinne, Sara-Alexandra Uusitalo, Geoff Luck
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Music artists play a crucial role in shaping both regional and global sonic trends. While technological and cultural shifts are often credited with driving musical change, less is known about how an artist’s age influences stylistic evolution. Here, we examine how acousticness, that is, the extent to which a track features acoustic instrumentation, varies across an artist’s career. Using data from Spotify’s API, we analyse 45,478 tracks from 190 artists with a Generalised Additive Mixed Model (GAMM) to assess the relationship between acousticness and artist age, controlling for release year and genre. Results reveal a consistent positive association between artist age and acousticness, with artists tending to produce more acoustic music as they age, irrespective of their genre. However, the release year shows a strong negative effect, with newer music increasingly characterised by fewer acoustic features, likely reflecting broader industry trends such as digital production and evolving listener preferences. Our findings suggest a dynamic interplay between individual artistic development and external cultural forces, where ageing artists gravitate towards more organic sounds, even as popular music trends continue to favour synthetic production.

Psychology of Popular Media

Lost in the scroll: Emotional impacts of social media use among middle-aged adults.
Vasiliki Christodoulou, Pinelopi Konstantinou, Andrea Photiou, Kalypso Iordanou
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Technology, Mind, and Behavior

Heterogeneous associations between objectively measured screen time and sleep in early adolescence.
Sierra Clifford, Leah D. Doane, Kathryn Lemery-Chalfant
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(Mis)perceptions of other people’s social media use.
Cameron J. Bunker, Stephanie Torres-Pantoja, Elliot Panek, Joseph B. Bayer
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When sharing becomes the norm: How disclosure prevalence and relational similarity shape social norms on social media.
Philipp K. Masur, Douglas A. Parry
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