International Journal of Psychology最新文献

Previous research has found an increase in healthcare costs before psychotherapy, followed by a decrease thereafter—a pattern also observed in our sample. However, research on the patterns of change is still lacking. Healthcare quarterly cost patterns of change were examined in a field study of 1508 patients before and during outpatient psychotherapy. Several models assess the patterns of change of the entire sample and in subgroups of those undergoing prolonged psychiatric treatment versus the rest. An exponential pattern (increasing rate of change) had the best fit during the waiting period for the prolonged psychiatric treatment group. A linear pattern was selected for the rest. A logarithmic pattern (decreasing rate of change) best fits the prolonged pharmacotherapy group during therapy. A linear pattern was selected for the rest. The economic implication of the findings is that the prolonged psychiatric treatment group is expected to have the highest return on investment when the waiting period for treatment is shortened. This unique pattern of change may also be a marker of increasing distress in this group while waiting for treatment and the rapid effect that the start of psychotherapy has on this. Therefore this group should be the focus of attention.

This study examines the mathematics self-efficacy of 833 high school students from four Brazilian public schools. Using an exploratory cross-sectional design with a mixed-methods approach, students completed online instruments including a sociodemographic questionnaire, scales measuring various self-efficacy domains (mathematics, self-regulated learning, social and emotional) and open-ended questions about their perceived attributes in learning mathematics. Multiple regression analysis revealed that student characteristics and self-efficacy domains collectively explained 47.4% of the variance in mathematics self-efficacy. Qualitative analysis revealed the complex nature of mathematics self-efficacy, emphasising students' perceptions of their strengths and weaknesses in learning. The study underscores the significant influence of student characteristics and self-efficacy domains, highlighting the importance of mixed-methods approaches for deeper insights and guiding future educational interventions.

Previous studies have shown that anticipation induces stronger emotions than retrospection, a phenomenon known as temporal emotion asymmetry. However, prior research has been limited to Western contexts. Since Eastern populations often emphasise the past more than their Western counterparts, temporal emotion asymmetry may manifest differently. Therefore, we examined the temporal asymmetry of admiration and malicious envy among Chinese adolescents. We conducted five experiments: Actual events from a self-perspective (Experiment 1; N = 76), hypothetical events from a self-perspective (Experiment 2; N = 74), time travel from a self-perspective (Experiment 3; N = 96), forced-choice from a self-perspective (Experiment 4; N = 94) and forced-choice from an other-perspective (Experiment 5; N = 164). The results showed that admiration exhibited a past bias, with retrospection eliciting stronger admiration than anticipation. In contrast, malicious envy exhibited different patterns of temporal asymmetry. When the threat of future negative events was high, malicious envy exhibited a future bias; however, as this threat weakened, it shifted toward a past bias. These findings provide insights into the boundary effects of temporal emotion asymmetry. We recommend that, when fostering admiration in Chinese adolescents, greater emphasis should be placed on guiding them to recall others' accomplishments.

Albert Bandura, one of the most influential psychologists, passed away on 26 July 2021. His scientific merits have been acknowledged across various domains of inquiry, thereby attesting to his relevance for understanding people's agentic role in shaping and improving their life. The purpose of this special issue was to honour Bandura's contribution to psychological science through a collection of articles from several researchers around the globe whose scientific interests are rooted in Bandura's theoretical conceptualisations, ranging from self-efficacy beliefs to moral disengagement.

Repeated execution of a prospective memory (PM) task that has already been completed is known as a commission error of the PM. Due to defects in attentional impulsiveness and motor impulsiveness, impulsive individuals may differ from non-impulsive individuals when making PM commission errors. This study explored the effect of impulsivity traits on PM commission errors under different ongoing task difficulties (Experiment 1) and different response conveniences (Experiment 2). The results of Experiment 1 showed that the impulsive group had more PM commission errors than the non-impulsive group under both the low-difficulty condition and the high-difficulty condition, indicating that the effect of impulsivity traits on PM commission errors is not affected by the difficulty of ongoing tasks. However, the results of Experiment 2 showed that the impulsive group only had more PM commission errors than the non-impulsive group under the convenient response condition, indicating that the effect of impulsivity traits on PM commission errors is affected by the response convenience.

In this study, the associations between positivity and positive affect were examined at five time points between January 2020 and September 2021, a period of turmoil associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from 1401 students (73.45% women) attending an online university in Spain, commencing at the outbreak of the pandemic and then at four different time points up to the time it was considered to have been controlled. The results of a cross-lagged panel model revealed that participants who maintained higher general positivity were also those who reported more intense overall positive affect. At the same time, above-average positive affect predicted higher-than-usual levels of positivity. By pointing to the reciprocal relationships between positivity and positive affect, the results corroborate and go beyond previous findings by highlighting a virtuous cycle in which positivity and positive affect reciprocally influence each other over time. These data are in accordance with a dynamic view of how self-focused, positive evaluative dispositions and chronic positive affective states operate in concert to enhance adaptation and well-being. The practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Appreciative joy is one of four immeasurables emphasised in Buddhism. There are similarities and differences between appreciative joy and gratitude, but their combined roles in improving subjective well-being (SWB) are still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between appreciative joy and gratitude and their contribution to SWB. Study 1 utilised a cross-sectional survey to evaluate the relationships among appreciative joy, gratitude, and SWB. Study 2 used a randomised controlled trial to explore the effects of a four-week appreciative joy meditation (AJM) training and the underlying mechanisms. The results of Study 1 indicated a moderate positive correlation between appreciative joy and gratitude, and gratitude partially mediated the appreciative joy–SWB relationship. Study 2 further supported the idea that AJM training could increase appreciative joy and gratitude at the one-month follow-up. Furthermore, changes in gratitude caused by the intervention were mediated by appreciative joy. However, since SWB significantly improved at post-measures, we cannot conclude that appreciative joy and gratitude mediated the intervention effect on SWB. Our findings expand the underlying mechanisms of appreciative joy beyond interpersonal domains and highlight the importance of gratitude in understanding the effects of the Buddhist four immeasurable meditations.

As students progress through university, they are simultaneously preparing for their professional lives alongside their academic learning. The transition from university studies to the labour market is a process that begins in education and continues after graduation until graduates have adapted to their working roles. Preparing to work requires that students conclude their studies and face several challenges posed by job searching and adaptation to the role of a worker. Previous research indicates that self-efficacy may contribute to success in academic performance and positive work-related outcomes after graduation. Using a three-wave longitudinal design, this study explores the academic and transition-to-work self-efficacy developmental trajectories of university students. Multivariate latent growth analysis was conducted on two cohorts of 204 and 261 undergraduates, respectively. The results indicate that academic and transition-to-work self-efficacy increased over time in both cohorts. Additionally, initial academic self-efficacy and its change positively predicted the initial transition-to-work self-efficacy and its change, respectively. This study contributes to the understanding of the interconnectedness between academic and transition-to-work self-efficacy trajectories. Implications for practice, limitations and future research are also discussed.