Frontiers in Psychology最新文献

Developing literacy is a fundamental goal of public education. In pursuit of inclusive and equitable quality education (SDG 4), a deeper understanding of literacy development in pupils with special educational needs (SEN) is essential. Guided by the Direct and Indirect Effects Model of Reading (DIER), this longitudinal study investigated the development of listening comprehension (LC) and its role in reading fluency among a heterogeneous sample of SEN pupils (N = 103) identified by teachers in Chinese inclusive primary schools. Standardized assessments showed that pupils with SEN had lower LC than their typically developing peers in the same grades, and this gap widened over 1 year. Robust regression analysis revealed that vocabulary exerted a substantial positive effect on LC, while gender and grade were not. Both LC and orthographic knowledge significantly predicted reading fluency. These findings highlight the potential benefits of (1) targeted interventions to strengthen vocabulary, LC, and orthographic knowledge in pupils with SEN, and (2) refining teacher-based SEN identification procedures, which may contribute to enhancing inclusive education quality and promoting educational equity.

Intensifying global competition in high technology and generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) urgently calls for support to foster scientific imagination, which is essential for achieving breakthroughs in original innovation. As children enter primary school, their scientific imagination undergoes a rapid surge in development; however, few suitable tools are available to track and assess this growth. The Scientific Imagination Inventory (SII) demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties in samples of Korean students; however, its validity in other cultural contexts has remained unexplored. The present study was designed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the SII, thereby addressing a critical gap in the availability of developmentally appropriate assessment instruments for primary school students in China. A total of 837 students in grades 2 to 6 were recruited from three private and public primary schools in Suzhou, China. Item analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and criterion validity analysis were conducted. The results showed significant correlations between items and their respective dimension scores. EFA identified six factors that explained a cumulative variance of 55.99%. CFA supported a three-dimensional, six-factor structure (χ²/df = 1.553, RMSEA = 0.049, CFI = 0.906). Criterion validity was established through a significant correlation with the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ). Both internal consistency (α = 0.86) and split-half reliability (0.82) were satisfactory. The Chinese version of the SII showed adequate reliability and validity and is suitable for assessing the development of scientific imagination among primary school students in the sampled context. However, tests of measurement invariance indicated a lack of scalar invariance across gender and grade levels. Therefore, although the SII's factor structure is generalizable to the Chinese context, our results underscore the critical importance of considering cultural and developmental response patterns when interpreting scores. Caution is advised against making direct mean comparisons across demographic groups.

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into language learning environments is reshaping translation pedagogy while raising important ethical and behavioral considerations. This research examines the structural relationship between students' ethical perceptions of AI-assisted translation and their engagement in language learning activities. Data were gathered from 525 undergraduate English learners through a structured questionnaire addressing AI usage patterns, ethical perceptions (ethical awareness, academic integrity concern, algorithmic bias perception), and engagement behaviors. The dataset was analyzed using SPSS, applying descriptive statistics, ANOVA, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and cluster analysis. The results indicate that: (1) Ethical perceptions drive engagement: Ethical awareness and algorithmic bias perception are significant positive predictors of critical engagement, suggesting that recognizing system limitations stimulates deeper cognitive participation and "informed trust" rather than disengagement; (2) Integrity regulates reliance: Academic integrity concern is significantly and negatively associated with AI reliance, acting as a regulatory mechanism against over-dependence; and (3) Distinct learner profiles: Cluster analysis identified three distinct learner profiles: "Integrated Adopters" (High-Engagement/High-Trust), "Passive Dependents" (Low-Engagement/High-Reliance), and "Cautious Skeptics" (Low-Engagement/Low-Reliance). This research concludes that ethical literacy is a critical cognitive determinant of learning behavior. It offers empirical guidelines for shifting from prohibitive ethics to competency-based instruction that fosters responsible and engaged AI use in translation education.

Introduction: The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in educational settings has raised important questions about their impact on student outcomes, particularly in developing countries like Pakistan. This study examines the relationships between AI adoption, peer support, academic motivation, and psychological well-being among university students in Pakistan.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 482 undergraduate and graduate students across five major universities in Pakistan. Structural equation modeling was employed to test hypothesized relationships between variables.

Results: Results indicate that AI adoption is significantly associated with academic motivation (β = 0.42, p < 0.001) and is positively associated with student well-being (β = 0.28, p < 0.01). Peer support emerged as a significant moderator, strengthening the relationship between AI adoption and well-being (β = 0.35, p < 0.001). Additionally, academic motivation partially mediated the relationship between AI adoption and student success outcomes (indirect effect = 0.31, 95% CI [0.24, 0.39]). These cross-sectional findings suggest that AI tools are associated with enhanced learning experiences and student outcomes, and this association appears stronger when combined with strong peer support networks.

Discussion: The study contributes to the growing literature on educational technology in non-Western contexts and provides practical implications for educators and policymakers seeking to implement AI-enhanced learning environments in Pakistan and similar developing nations.

Introduction: As AI rapidly permeates diverse social domains, technology related anxiety among older adults during adaptation, particularly in the context of AIGC, has become a major barrier to digital inclusion. This study aims to systematically uncover the generative mechanism and hierarchical transmission pathway of older adults' AI technology anxiety and to derive intervention implications.

Methods: A mixed methods design was adopted. First, in depth interviews were conducted with 36 older AIGC users, and 14 core categories were derived using grounded theory. Second, an integrated analysis using Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and Cross Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification (MICMAC) was performed to identify the hierarchical structure of influencing factors and their driving and dependence relationships.

Results: ISM revealed a clear hierarchical transmission pathway. Technology anxiety is directly triggered by surface factors including insufficient AI literacy, physiological functional limitations, and technological complexity. It is transmitted through intermediate factors and ultimately driven by the deep rooted factor of social ageism. MICMAC further identified cognitive decline, social ageism, and basic resource barriers as high driving and low dependence independent factors. Insufficient AI literacy and technological complexity were categorized as high dependence surface factors whose improvement relies on systemic interventions.

Discussion and conclusion: The findings demonstrate a multi level mechanism in which deep structural forces shape surface level anxiety experiences, suggesting that training or interface optimization alone may be insufficient. Coordinated interventions across policy guidance, inclusive technology design, and community support network development are proposed to help reduce the older adult digital divide.

Reasoning about others' thoughts, emotions, or intentions is a sophisticated human ability. Modelling such a complex phenomenon with limited available resources is a challenging pursuit. This work proposes the hypothesis of demand-driven and reactive ToM in humans as an additional strategy to establish sufficient mental inferences in complex social spaces. The authors consider a perspective of bounded rationality and cognitive costs in conceptualising ToM and understanding how humans form, maintain, and reason with models of others efficiently and effectively. This study presents qualitative data exploring what patterns in human ToM may allow humans to quickly and seemingly effortlessly perform the complex task of inferring other people's mental states. The results consist of several themes, which point to various heuristics that may be employed in shaping tractable ToM mechanisms. In conclusion, this qualitative approach to understanding ToM efficiency shaped the hypothesis of reactive ToM mechanisms human cognition, which needs to be tested in confirmatory quantitative studies. Study limitations, implications for modelling, and directions for future research are discussed.

Children's decision-making is a socio-cognitive skill embedded within a broader system that promotes understanding of others and effective management of interpersonal contexts, making it closely linked to Theory of Mind (ToM) and empathy. The present study examined how these abilities, together with personality traits and cognitive skills, relate to decision-making in middle childhood, specifically regarding fairness, altruism, and delay of gratification. A sample of 94 children aged 6-10 years completed tasks assessing fairness (Ultimatum Game), altruism (Dictator Game), and delay of gratification (Marshmallow Task), together with measures of ToM, empathy, personality traits, and cognitive ability. Results revealed that fairness was predicted by ToM and situational empathy, suggesting that acting fairly involves integrating mental-state reasoning with context-dependent emotional responsiveness. Altruism, in contrast, was specifically associated with affective empathy, indicating that children's tendency to help others is primarily driven by their emotional sensitivity. Delay of gratification was unrelated to ToM or empathy. Instead, it was predicted by the personality trait of Openness to Experience, reflecting the role of trait-like motivational tendencies in delay of gratification. Age and general cognitive ability did not predict any of the decision-making outcomes. Path analyses confirmed that fairness and altruism are driven by social-cognitive mechanisms, whereas delay of gratification depends primarily on individual dispositions rather than interpersonal processing. These findings clarify the specific contributions of ToM, empathy, and personality to children's decision-making and carry important implications for developmental and educational practices.

Objective: This study aims to explore the executive function advantages of Chinese youth ice hockey players and provide a theoretical basis for the selection and training of ice hockey players.

Methods: A total of 132 youth ice hockey players were recruited and divided into an expert group (65 players, mean age 15.8 years, mean training duration 6.7 years) and a novice group (67 players, mean age 16.2 years, mean training duration 3.2 years). The Flanker task, 2-back task, and More-odd shifting task were used to measure inhibition, updating, and shifting functions, respectively. Statistical analyses were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test, independent-samples t-test and Pearson correlation analysis.

Results: Athletes exhibit a speed-accuracy trade-off. The expert group showed significantly shorter response times than the novice group in the congruent condition (Z = -2.681, p = 0.007) and incongruent condition (Z = -1.998, p = 0.046) of the Flanker task, the 2-back task (Z = -2.378, p = 0.017), and the size-parity shifting condition of the More-odd shifting task (Z = -2.548, p = 0.011). However, there were no significant differences in accuracy between the two groups across all tasks. In addition, training duration was significantly negatively correlated with response times in executive function tasks (inhibition congruent condition: r = -0.450; inhibition incongruent condition: r = -0.267; updating task: r = -0.257; shifting task: r = -0.185; all p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Youth ice hockey players in the expert group demonstrate more superior executive functions, and there is a significant negative correlation between training duration and response time in executive function tasks.

Introduction: Non-pharmacologically induced altered states of consciousness that promote mental health and wellbeing are a growing focus of clinical and basic research. Previous work has revealed the mood-augmenting, belief-altering, and self-transcendent effects of aesthetic-chills-inducing audiovisual stimulation. The current study investigated how a guided loving kindness meditation (LKM) combined with uplifting, chills-inducing music (henceforth: chills-augmented) affected participants' mood, self-transcendence (ST), psychological insight, and emotional breakthrough.

Methods: We conducted a randomized, controlled online study (n = 398) using a 2 × 2 design comparing a validated loving kindness meditation (LKM) to mindfulness-based control (MC), each with chills augmentation (+) and without (-).

Results: As hypothesized, LKM, compared to MC, increased connectedness to others, while chills augmentation to either stimulus (LKM+/MC+) enhanced ST, mood, emotional breakthrough, and psychological insight. Mediation analyses confirmed that the occurrence of aesthetic chills during meditation predicted these downstream effects. They also found trait measures that independently (of main effects) contributed to distinct outcomes: absorption predicted feelings of ego-dissolution, connectedness to the world and self, and moral elevation; interoceptive awareness predicted ego-dissolution and connectedness to self; and vividness of internal imagery predicted connectedness to the world and others.

Discussion: Chills augmentation appears a viable method for enhancing the immersiveness, salience, and downstream positive impact of guided contemplative interventions, without interfering with the intended outcome. This work can further our understanding of and access to non-ordinary experiences that beget salutogenic, prosocial outcomes.

With the widespread use of digital technologies, cyberbullying has emerged as a significant social problem across all age groups, including middle-aged adults. While most prior research has focused on adolescents and young adults, this study investigates the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and perpetration among middle-aged individuals (ages 40-64), and examines the mediating role of attitudes toward cyberbullying. Using nationally representative data from the 2022 Cyberbullying Survey conducted by the Korea Information Society Agency, responses from 4,105 participants were analyzed. The findings revealed that experiences of cyberbullying victimization were significantly associated with a higher likelihood of perpetration, and this relationship was partially mediated by the respondent's attitude toward cyberbullying. Specifically, those with more frequent victimization experiences tended to adopt more permissive attitudes toward cyberbullying, which in turn increased the probability of engaging in perpetration. These results highlight the cyclical nature of cyberbullying and underscore the importance of attitude transformation as a preventive intervention strategy, particularly for digital-vulnerable middle-aged populations.