BMC Psychology最新文献

The proposed inclusion of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) as a formal diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association is controversial. Whereas some argue that highly engaged gaming is a normal behaviour and can be healthy, others argue that such gaming can negatively impact key social cognitive functions, particularly empathy. However, existing research often conflates time spent gaming with problematic gaming, tends to focus on trait empathy, and often neglects to consider potential dissociable effects on distinct facets of empathy. The present study compared whether time spent gaming or symptoms of IGD best predicted differences in situational emotional and cognitive empathy. Behavioural data were collected remotely from 220 participants residing in Canada or the United States (mean age = 32.6, 68.6% male, 60.9% White) from 2022 through 2023. Linear regression analyses revealed that IGD symptoms, but not recent time spent gaming, predicted an increase in emotional empathy (both empathic concern and affective sharing), but a decrease in cognitive empathy accuracy. These dissociable associations are discussed with reference to the potential contribution of individual differences in emotion regulation. These findings challenge the notion that gaming frequency alone leads to social dysfunction, highlighting the importance of problematic behaviours and preoccupations associated with gaming addiction. Future interventions may benefit from targeting motivations for gaming rather than solely focusing on reducing time spent gaming.

To examine the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and moral hypocrisy among college students, and to elucidate the underlying psychological mechanisms, this study-guided by Ecological Systems Theory and Ego Depletion Theory-investigated the psychological processes through which ACEs may contribute to moral hypocrisy. A questionnaire survey was administered to 1,082 college students. Results indicated that: (1) ACEs positively predicted moral hypocrisy; (2) fear of failure independently mediated the ACEs-moral hypocrisy relationship; (3) ego depletion independently mediated this relationship; and (4) fear of failure and ego depletion sequentially mediated the association, such that ACEs increased fear of failure, which in turn exacerbated ego depletion and ultimately elevated moral hypocrisy. This study advances the literature by identifying a continuous psychological transmission pathway from early adversity to adult moral behavior: early environmental risk may be translated into moral maladjustment through a developmental cascade involving affective vulnerability (fear of failure) and chronic depletion of self-regulatory resources (ego depletion). Specifically, fear of failure functions as a persistent stressor that continuously consumes self-regulatory capacity. When combined with culturally specific "face" (mianzi) concerns, this process may motivate individuals to adopt a word-deed dissociation strategy-maintaining a desirable moral image while minimizing behavioral costs-thereby manifesting as moral hypocrisy. These findings not only deepen theoretical understanding of moral development mechanisms but also offer empirical support for targeted psychological interventions and moral education programs for college students with histories of childhood adversity. Interventions that promote cognitive reappraisal of failure-related beliefs and facilitate restoration of self-regulatory capacity may be particularly effective in reducing moral hypocrisy among individuals exposed to early adversity.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the association between gratitude and defending behavior in response to school bullying among Chinese early adolescents and to evaluate the effects of three types of interventions (i.e., gratitude curriculum, gratitude journal, and gratitude visits) on gratitude and defending behavior.

Methods: Two studies were conducted. Study 1 employed a cross-sectional survey involving 912 seventh- and eighth-grade students from two schools (52.41% girls, 53.62% seventh-grade students, 12-18-year-olds). Study 2 involved the development of a gratitude curriculum and employed a four-armed randomized controlled trial with 16 classes, in which adolescents were randomly assigned to a gratitude curriculum intervention, a gratitude journal intervention, a gratitude visit intervention, or a control condition.

Results: The results indicated that gratitude was positively associated with defending behavior in school bullying. In addition, both the gratitude curriculum and the gratitude journal significantly increased adolescents' gratitude from pre- to postintervention and resulted in higher postintervention levels than the control group, whereas gratitude visits did not significantly enhance gratitude. Similarly, the gratitude curriculum and the gratitude journal significantly improved defending behavior both from pre- to postintervention and relative to the control group, whereas gratitude visits led to significant improvements in defending behavior only from pre- to postintervention. Furthermore, no significant postintervention differences in gratitude or defending behavior were observed among the three intervention groups.

Conclusions: This study provides evidence that gratitude is associated with defending behavior in school bullying contexts, highlighting its potential relevance for school-based anti-bullying interventions.

Intergroup trust refers to a collective prediction and belief among members of one group regarding those of another in intergroup interactions. It plays an important role in avoiding intergroup conflicts, and thereby sustaining social development. This study was designed to investigate the effects of third-party punishment and compensation, as well as group regulatory focus, on intergroup trust. The findings revealed that, at both individual and group levels, prevention-focused groups exhibited higher levels of intergroup trust than promotion-focused groups under third-party compensation conditions. In contrast, under the third-party punishment conditions, promotion-focused groups displayed greater trust than prevention-focused groups, although this difference was not statistically significant. Overall, this study demonstrates that third-party punishment is more effective in enhancing intergroup trust for promotion-focused groups, whereas third-party compensation is more effective for prevention-focused groups.