Frontiers in Psychology最新文献

The role of Emotional Intelligence (EI) in university English education has garnered increasing attention, particularly regarding its impact on students' psychological well-being and social competencies. This study explores how EI influences university students' psychological adaptability, interpersonal communication skills, and overall learning experience. Employing a mixed-methods approach, this research integrates quantitative surveys and qualitative in-depth interviews to assess the EI levels and their psychological and social efficacy among university English learners at Jiujiang Polytechnic University of Science and Technology. Data analysis reveals a significant correlation between higher EI levels and better mental health, enhanced social interaction skills, and a more positive learning attitude. Through the integration of EI training within university English courses, students exhibit improved self-regulation and teamwork abilities. Furthermore, this study underscores the necessity of incorporating EI into university English teaching and provides both theoretical foundations and practical recommendations for future curriculum design and pedagogical strategies. The findings offer valuable insights for English educators, mental health professionals, and educational policymakers.

Introduction: Emotion regulation (ER) plays a central role in shaping relationship quality and stability. However, little is known about how individuals' perceptions of their own ER success (as regulators), their partner's ER success (as targets), and the similarity of these perceptions relate to relationship quality across gender and age groups.

Methods: The study investigated these associations in a dyadic sample of 37 younger couples (M _age = 24.33) and 41 older couples (M _age = 70.27). Both partners reported their perceived ER success and relationship quality. Bayesian structural equation modeling (BSEM) was used to examine actor, partner, and similarity effects across gender and age.

Results: Higher perceived ER success was associated with greater relationship quality. This association was particularly evident among women and older ones. Among men, similarity between their perceived success as regulators and targets emerged as a unique predictor of their higher relationship quality.

Discussion: These findings advance the understanding of gender- and age-specific emotional processes in romantic relationships and suggest that fostering women's emotional self-awareness-especially in later life-and enhancing mutual emotional understanding among men can strengthen relationship quality.

Aim: This study investigated the relationship between class teacher communication style and adolescents' school adjustment, with a particular focus on the mediating role of basic psychological needs and the serial mediating and moderating effects of psychological suzhi.

Methods: A total of 2,578 adolescents from 51 classes across four schools participated in a questionnaire survey, yielding 2,418 valid responses. The sample included students from both rural and urban schools, ranging from grades 7 to 11. A moderated multilevel multiple mediation model was employed, in which basic psychological needs (autonomy, relatedness, and competence) and psychological suzhi formed a serial mediation pathway linking teacher communication style to school adjustment. Mediation and moderation effects were tested using the bias-corrected bootstrap method in Mplus.

Results: Results showed that (1) both dimensions of teacher communication style significantly and positively predicted adolescents' school adjustment at both the student and class levels; (2) each of the three basic psychological needs independently mediated this relationship, with hierarchical differences in the mediation effects; (3) psychological suzhi also served as an independent mediator at the student level; (4) the serial mediation pathway through basic psychological needs and psychological suzhi was largely supported; and (5) psychological suzhi stably moderated the second stage of the competence-related mediation pathway at the student level.

Conclusion: A communication style characterized by both communion and agency was more conducive to adolescents' school adjustment. Both basic psychological needs and psychological suzhi mediated the relationship between teacher communication style and school adjustment, with a serial mediation pathway also observed, albeit with differences across need types and analytical levels. Higher levels of psychological suzhi reduced adolescents' dependence on the satisfaction of competence needs, indicating a potential resource substitution effect.

Anxiety and emotions have been identified as fundamental determinants of psychological recovery. While positive emotions and self-confidence facilitate athletes' ability to regain balance and recover psychologically in the face of challenges, negative emotions together with cognitive and somatic anxiety may hinder this process. In this regard, it is important to examine psychological recovery in conjunction with anxiety and emotions to capture its dynamic nature. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of emotions and anxiety in athletes' psychological recovery and to evaluate their seasonal changes. The sample consisted of 20 female soccer players from Kastamonu Gücü Sports Club, competing in the Women's 2nd League Group C in the 2023-2024 season. Analyses were conducted using R (version 4.4.1; R Core Team, 2024) with linear mixed-effects models (LMM). The models included both fixed effects and random intercepts for athletes. Analyses were performed with the lme4 and lmerTest packages, while model fit indices and explained variance were calculated using the MuMIn and performance packages; model assumptions were tested and VIF values were reported. The findings revealed that psychological recovery was supported by self-confidence and positive emotions, whereas cognitive/somatic anxiety, anticipated match difficulty, and negative emotions weakened it. In addition, a decline in recovery was observed as the season progressed. The models explained a large proportion of the variance in psychological recovery (R²m ≈ 0.60-0.65). The contribution of individual differences was limited (ICC ≈ 0.11-0.14), suggesting that shared seasonal processes were more influential than individual-level factors. In conclusion, psychological recovery is a dynamic process shaped by both protective (self-confidence, positive emotions) and risk-related (anxiety, anticipated match difficulty, negative emotions) factors. The seasonal decline underscores the importance of systematically integrating practices to support psychological recovery to sustain performance throughout the season.

As the time spent on digital media usage (DMU) has increased in recent years, there has been growing concern about problematic usage. The overuse of digital media affects up to a quarter of adolescents, although excessive DMU is not always associated with problematic use, a defining feature of which may be a loss of self-control. This study aims to clarify how self-regulatory mechanisms, such as trait self-control, sense of control, and self-regulation of digital media use, are related to risky DMU (excessive internet use and impulsive DMU) as well as time spent on DMU. We draw on a representative sample of 2,697 adolescents aged 11-15 years (mean age = 12.9) attending grade 2 primary schools. Our results show that adolescents with higher levels of self-control as well as a greater sense of control exhibit lower levels of risk-taking (excessive internet use and impulsive digital media use and screen time). Furthermore, increased levels of self-control as well as a greater sense of control predict higher levels of self-regulation in digital media contexts. The findings of this study provide insights regarding the importance of strengthening self-control, especially for at-risk users, and offer a perspective on the role of self-regulatory mechanisms in managing digital behavior. These factors can significantly contribute to better self-regulation of adolescents' digital behavior.

Background: Academic viewpoints on the psychological impact of digital hoarding remain fragmented, and there is a lack of literature exploring the mechanism through which digital hoarding affects job performance in the workplace context.

Method: This research draws on three quantitative studies-a primary study (N = 211) and two robustness checks (N = 114; N = 259)-to examine the effects of digital hoarding in the workplace on employee work performance. Data were analyzed by structural equation modeling, bootstrap procedures, and simple slope analysis.

Conclusion: The findings show that digital hoarding in the workplace positively predicts job performance. Meanwhile, Job burnout exerts a negative mediating effect in this relationship, whereas thriving serves as a positive mediator. Besides, prevention focus significantly attenuates the positive association between digital hoarding and job performance, while the moderating role of promotion focus is not statistically significant.

Discussion: These results contribute meaningfully to both theory and practice by advancing our understanding of how digital hoarding interacts with individual emotional states and work outcomes. Furthermore, they offer actionable insights for promoting employee wellbeing through health-oriented media use practices and for enhancing organizational effectiveness via performance-driven media management strategies.

Dealing with global threats challenges individual wellbeing. This study tested a path model, predicting satisfaction with life by the joint factor of perceived epidemiological, ecological, and economic threats via the perceived stability of and belonging to one's country. Data were collected during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia in 2020 from 317 university students aged 18-48 years (M = 23.65, SD = 5.98, 73% females, 60% employed). The measurements included satisfaction with life; relational and spatiotemporal components of the sense of belonging to the country; perceived stability of the country; and perceived impact of epidemics, climate change, natural disasters, and economic crises. There were no direct effects of perceived threats on the variables, except for a positive association with relational belonging. Both components of belonging positively predicted satisfaction with life, and the relational component transferred a minimal positive indirect effect of perceived threats. The perceived stability of Latvia correlated with both components of belonging and did not affect satisfaction with life. Demographic covariates did not substantially alter the model. In summary, the macro-level sense of belonging showed the strongest association with satisfaction with life, aligning with previous findings on the activation of social ties under threatening conditions.

Background: Acute physical exercise elicits neuroendocrine responses that may transiently modulate cognitive performance. While moderate-intensity single-task exercise (e.g., running) has been shown to improve cognition, the acute cognitive and hormonal effects of dual-task exercise, which involves cognitive load, remain underexplored.

Objectives: This study aims to compare the effects of moderate-intensity single-task (5-km run) and dual-task (orienteering) exercise on salivary cortisol levels and cognitive performance in healthy young adults.

Methods: Twenty-one male college students (age: 20.57 ± 2.57 years) participated in a randomized crossover design. Each participant completed both exercise conditions. Salivary cortisol and cognitive performance (assessed via 2-Back, Mental Rotation, and Bells visual search tests) were measured before and after exercise. Exercise intensity was standardized using VO₂max, and heart rate was continuously monitored.

Results: Orienteering elicited a significant increase in salivary cortisol (p < 0.01), whereas 5-km run did not. Both exercises significantly improved reaction times (RTs) on the 2-Back and Mental Rotation tasks (p < 0.01), though no significant improvements in task accuracy were observed (p > 0.05). Performance on the Bells task improved post-exercise but showed no correlation with cortisol changes. Increases in cortisol were positively associated with RTs and accuracy improvements on working memory and spatial tasks, but not with visual search.

Conclusion: Dual-task exercise induced stronger neuroendocrine responses and broader cognitive benefits compared to single-task running. These findings suggest that integrating cognitive demands into exercise routines may enhance acute cortisol-driven facilitation of executive functions, highlighting the importance of such exercises in programs targeting cognitive and brain health.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1597239.].

Introduction: To prepare students for effective workplace-based learning and cooperation, it is necessary to have insight into students' basic psychological need satisfaction and interest development over time.

Methods: The framework of self-determination theory was used to conduct a field experiment, situated within a project-based cooperative learning setting, involving 169 students enrolled in higher secondary vocational education and training. These students were enrolled in a hands-on business administration and control specialist project, which required working in small learning groups. During this six-month project, students were repeatedly asked to complete the Quality of Working In Groups Instrument, an on-line measure of how strong the feeling-related need experiences of competence, autonomy, relatedness, and situational interest are fulfilled.

Results: The unconditional means model showed that within-students' variability in psychological needs and situational interest (varying from 51 till 84%) was huge over time. Furthermore, multi-level growth curve modelling showed that students' growth in situational interest was positively predicted by students' initial need fulfilment of autonomy and relatedness and by students' growth in competence and autonomy satisfaction over time.

Discussion: In line with self-determination theory, the findings underscore the importance of taking the basic psychological need satisfaction of students into account, tapping both between-students' and within-students' variability over time. To prepare vocational students for workplace-based learning, learning environments have to monitor, support, and fulfil students' psychological needs and situational interest over time.