Acta Psychologica最新文献

How individuals process and understand controversial scientific issues with social implications has been linked to their beliefs about epistemic justification, which concern how knowledge claims can be justified. In this study, we used cluster analysis to classify undergraduate and graduate students (n = 46) based on their beliefs about epistemic justification and eye tracking to investigate how profiles of epistemic justification differed when processing and representing information about a particular socio-scientific issue. It was found that one cluster predominantly relied on justification by multiple sources, whereas two other clusters combined reliance on justification by multiple sources with either reliance on personal justification or justification by authority. When these three clusters were compared while reading conflicting information about a controversial socio-scientific issue, multiple heat-map analysis and lag sequential analysis of eye movement data indicated that participants who predominantly relied on justification by multiple sources displayed a more balanced and integrative processing pattern than participants in the two other groups. Further, the cluster characterized by strong, unique beliefs in justification by multiple sources represented conflicting information in a more balanced way in written accounts of the issue. This study provides new insights into the role of beliefs about epistemic justification when learners encounter conflicting information about a controversial socio-scientific issue that have both theoretical and educational implications.

The present study explores the direct, mediating and moderating effects of perfectionism and psychological capital on the relationship between academic procrastination, test anxiety and suicidal ideation among pre medical students in Pakistan. Data was collected using a quantitative, cross-sectional research design from 920 participants attending entrance test centers in Lahore and Multan, recruited through convenience sampling. A structured self-administered questionnaire was completed by participants. Correlations, mediation and moderation effects were assessed using SPSS and the PROCESS macro. Results show a highly significant direct effect of academic procrastination and test anxiety on suicidal ideation, both of which increase students' suicidal thoughts. We found a mediating role of perfectionism whereby high perfectionistic tendencies amplified the relationship between academic procrastination and test anxiety leading to a higher likelihood of suicidal ideation. Furthermore, psychological capital was found to moderate the effect of test anxiety on suicidal ideation. These results suggest that there is a necessity of the development of interventions aiming at reduction of the indirect impact of academic procrastination on the students' psychological well-being by altering the psychological mediators. Educational institutions should begin to introduce programs revolving stress management and promotion of mental health to assist students to cope with stress, academic procrastination and perfectionism.

This study investigates the combined impact of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and Uncertain Motivation (UM) strategies on the argumentative writing performance of Saudi EFL learners, using the Toulmin Model. Sixty Saudi EFL students participated in four writing tasks, with results demonstrating significant improvements in essay quality, particularly in clarity, structure, and depth. AI tools provided real-time feedback, enhancing students' ability to refine claims, data, backing, and counterarguments. UM strategies, employing varied and unpredictable rewards, effectively sustained student motivation and engagement. However, a temporary decline was noted early in the study, attributed to the learning curve associated with both AI and the Toulmin model. Writing argumentative essays poses significant linguistic and cognitive challenges for EFL learners. By addressing these barriers, the study highlights the potential of AI to enhance EFL writing proficiency and underscores the motivational role of UM in maintaining student engagement. The findings emphasize the importance of integrating AI and UM thoughtfully into educational practices to maximize their effectiveness. Future research is encouraged to explore AI's long-term effects, address ethical considerations, and refine the integration of AI and UM strategies across diverse learning contexts.

Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) are episodic events that bear a resemblance to epileptic seizures (ES) in their outward manifestations, yet they lack pathological electroencephalographic (EEG) activity during the ictal phase. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th Edition (DSM-5), PNES is designated as "Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder with seizures". Individuals diagnosed with PNES commonly present with concurrent psychiatric disorders, notably depression, panic disorder, and chronic anxiety. This phenomenon renders PNES a shared affliction within the domains of neurology and psychiatry, thereby mandating the implementation of diverse therapeutic approaches in the management of the condition. Indeed, identifying the presence of concurrent psychiatric disorders in a patient with PNES during the early stages is crucial for devising an appropriate treatment plan. In this study, an assessment was conducted to examine the correlation between PNES semiology and psychiatric disorder comorbidity, to elucidate whether semiological characteristics serve as predictors for the presence of comorbid psychiatric disorders. The PNES patients enrolled were divided into two subgroups based on the presence or absence of accompanying psychiatric disorders (onlyPNES and PNES+). The study assessed disparities in semiological characteristics between the two subgroups of PNES and the results obtained indicate that individual variations in semiotic features are not influenced by the presence of psychiatric comorbidity.

Recognizing the factors that cause dysfunction within a team is crucial for many teams. Growing studies have investigated the factors that affect college students' performance. This study focuses on the association between dysfunctional teams and student team performance (TP), with the mediating effect of students' attitudes towards team assessment. The data was collected from 332 students enrolled in professional courses from major universities and colleges in India. The theoretical model was analyzed using mediation analysis, taking students' attitudes as mediators of the relationship between a dysfunctional team and student team performance. The findings revealed that Student Attitudes (SA) successfully mediates the relationship between a dysfunctional team and student team performance. This study's results have significant implications for educators, institutions, and researchers looking to enhance collaborative learning and optimize team effectiveness. It contributes to the growing knowledge surrounding team dynamics in educational settings. It provides valuable insights for developing strategies and interventions to foster productive team interactions and ultimately elevate student team performance.

The integration of gamification into educational institutions has recently attracted considerable interest, owing to the digital era and emerging learning contexts. This study examined how immersion, an essential feature of games, affects various dimensions of education, including satisfaction of basic psychological needs (BPNS), academic engagement, perceived learning effectiveness, and perceived academic performance. Based on Self-determination Theory and the Theory of Gamified Learning, this study investigated how immersion influences autonomy, competence, and relatedness among learners, which could directly affect their engagement and outcomes. Quantitative findings derived from 568 respondent datasheets collected from university and postgraduate students in Vietnam indicate that immersion significantly influences BPNS. However, among the BPNS, only autonomy and competence affected engagement and learning outcomes. Using empirical research within the context of the post-COVID-19 Vietnamese education system, this study intends to provide useful insights for policymakers and researchers seeking to improve teaching performance by applying gamification in schools.

Attentional bias to threat is an adaptive response to the presence of threat and danger in the environment (Haselton et al., 2009; Pollak, 2008). Attentional bias to threat is present in both human and nonhuman primates (e.g., Mandalaywala, Parker, & Maestripieri, 2014) and attentional bias to threat is exacerbated during periods of acute stress in rhesus macaque adults (Bethell et al., 2012a,b). Here, we build on this extant work to assess whether 5-month-old infant rhesus macaques, previously believed to be too young to express attentional bias to threat, might actually demonstrate attentional bias in response to an acute stressor. At approximately 5 months of age, free-ranging rhesus macaque infants on Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico (N = 44) were briefly separated from their social group and underwent a maternal separation test, a validated stressor shown to induce anxiety in infant monkeys (Sánchez et al., 2001). We assessed their behavioral (Temperament Task) and cognitive (Threat perception/Vigilance for Threat task) reactivity. Across these two reactivity tests, infants could be classified as "vigilant-fighters"-trying to escape and paying more attention to a threatening than a neutral stimulus-or as "avoidant-freezers"-staying still and quiet and avoiding looking at the threatening stimulus in favor of the neutral stimulus. This behavioral and cognitive phenotype was related to infants' early life experiences, including exposure to early life adversity, and suggests both that attention to threat can be present as young as 5 months of age, and that infants quickly learn behavioral and cognitive strategies for coping with their particular circumstances.

This study investigates the relationship between maladaptive digital technology use, which arises from nomophobia, and insomnia among young adults. It specifically focuses on problematic gaming (PG), problematic social media use (PSMU), and problematic YouTube use (PYTU) as significant forms of digital behavior contributing to this contemporary health concern. Adolescents and young adults, being the first generation raised in a highly digitized environment, encounter unique challenges, including the emergence of behavioral addictions. Our findings indicate a strong association between nomophobia and problematic digital behaviors, with PSMU identified as the most prevalent form of maladaptive use. Additionally, PG and PSMU are recognized as substantial contributors to the development of nomophobia. The interaction of cognitive overstimulation, emotional dysregulation, blue light exposure, time displacement, and reward-driven dependency on these digital platforms promotes compulsive behaviors, which subsequently lead to the onset of insomnia. Utilizing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the study illustrates that nomophobia precipitates problematic digital behavior, which in turn results in sleep disturbances, thereby elucidating a clear pathway from digital dependency to insomnia. The limitations of this study include its cross-sectional design and reliance on self-reported data, which may introduce potential biases. Despite these limitations, our findings underscore the critical role of nomophobia in triggering insomnia through various maladaptive digital behaviors. This highlights the urgent need for targeted prevention and intervention strategies aimed at fostering healthier digital habits and alleviating the adverse health effects of excessive technology use, ultimately enhancing well-being in an increasingly interconnected society.

The 2023 Turkey earthquake, one of the most devastating natural disasters in recent history, highlighted the need to understand factors driving public support. This study aimed to explore the determinants of donation and volunteer intentions for earthquake victims by integrating Protection Motivation Theory and the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior. Using a convenience sampling approach, an online questionnaire with 76 items was distributed to 509 voluntary respondents. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) revealed that past earthquake experience significantly enhanced understanding of the 2023 Turkey earthquake, which subsequently increased perceived vulnerability and severity. These perceptions influenced perceived behavioral control, which strongly predicted intentions to donate and volunteer. The media played a critical role in shaping attitudes, while religious influence and financial capacity impacted subjective norms, both of which further contributed to these intentions. Notably, people demonstrated a stronger inclination to donate than to engage in volunteer activities. As one of the first studies focusing on the 2023 Turkey earthquake, this research provides crucial insights into the factors motivating public engagement during natural disasters. The proposed framework offers valuable guidance for enhancing donation and volunteer participation in future disaster relief efforts, ultimately fostering more effective public support.

Objective: In recent years, numerous studies have highlighted the positive impact of student gratitude on individual development. However, a significant gap remains in the literature concerning how student gratitude influences teachers' family behavioral performance in their daily lives. This paper introduces Conservation of Resources (COR) Theory to examine the mediating effect of work-family enrichment on the relationship between student gratitude and teachers' family role performance, while also investigating whether intrinsic motivation moderates this relationship.

Methods: In this study, data were collected from a sample of 1, 068 teachers and their spouses involved in student management and teaching activities across 21 colleges and universities in northwestern and southeastern China, utilizing a two-wave time-lagged method. The assessment of college teachers was conducted using the gratitude scale, family role performance scale, work-family enrichment scale, and intrinsic motivation scale. To investigate the moderated mediation effects, SPSS 26. 0 and Amos 24. 0 statistical software were employed for data analysis and hypothesis testing.

Results: Perceived student gratitudesignificantly predicts teacher' s family role performance. Work-family enrichment serves as a mediator in the relationship between perceived student gratitude and teachers' family role performance. Addditionaly, intrinsic motivation moderates both the relationship between perceived student gratitude and work-family enrichment, as well as the indirect effect of perceived student gratitude on teachers' family role performance through the mediation of work-family enrichment.

Conclusion: This study enhances our understanding of how perceived student gratitude impacts teachers' family role performance, enriches our knowledge of the role of intrinsic motivation in this context, and broadens the antecedent research related to Conservation of Resources (COR) theory. The findings underscore the importance for administrators of higher education institutions to emphasize and promote the expression of perceived student gratitude. Furthermore, universities and colleges should also consider the family needs of teachers when facilitating the realization of their intrinsic motivation, thereby enabling teachers to achieve a better balance between their professional and family lives.