Acta Psychologica最新文献

Long-distance romantic relationships present unique challenges, necessitating couples to employ adaptive strategies to maintain intimacy and marital satisfaction. This study aimed to examine the validity of an adaptive model of sustaining behaviors in long-distance relationships and its capacity to predict marital intimacy and satisfaction. The model included mindfulness, sexual function, religious, and online social support domains. Data were collected online from 366 couples (aged 18 to 57; Mean = 34.82, SD = 7.34; 79.8 % female) engaged in long-distance relationships. A confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the acceptable fit of the four-factor model which was also invariant across gender groups. The results indicated significant associations between sustaining behaviors and marital intimacy and satisfaction, with varying predictive power among specific components. Notably, relationship/sexual mindfulness and marital sanction/religious communication within the religion domain emerged as robust predictors. Conversely, religious practice showed a significant negative association. Additionally, the realization component of the sexual function domain significantly predicted both marital satisfaction and intimacy, while its partnership component significantly predicted only marital intimacy. None of the social support components significantly predicted marital intimacy or satisfaction. These findings are important as they highlight the nuanced interplay between sustaining behaviors and relational well-being in long-distance relationships, emphasizing the need for tailored interventions to enhance relationship quality in this context.

United agency refers to a sense of ‘acting as one’ that sometimes occurs when people engage in joint actions such as group music-making, dancing, and team sports. First-hand accounts of united agency have been reported in a variety of settings, but there exists little systematic evidence regarding when and why the sense of united agency arises. The current study addressed this gap using an online survey in which participants reported general information about their experiences of united agency as well as detailed descriptions of a single memorable experience. Most participants reported experiencing united agency at least occasionally, and those scoring higher on extraversion, agreeableness, and cognitive empathy experienced it more frequently. Memorable experiences of united agency were reported more often in joint actions characterized by synchronous or highly rhythmic coordination, salient shared goals, close or long-term relationships among co-performers, and small to medium group sizes. United agency was often accompanied by positive affect, feelings of alignment and social connection with co-performers, a sense of empowerment, and heightened attention. Together, these findings elucidate the individual characteristics and joint action features that facilitate united agency, shed light on its positive social and emotional consequences, and suggest important avenues for further work investigating its underlying mechanisms.

Academic engagement was recognized as a crucial predictor to measure the effectiveness of online teaching of international students. Therefore, this study established a mediating model to explore the mechanism underlying of interaction and information technology accessibility on academic engagement of international students, as well as the impact of learning interest on these mechanisms with the context of online teaching. Using a stratified random sampling method, 1895 international students from 32 Chinese universities were selected. These international students had completed the academic engagement scale, interaction scale, information technology accessibility scale, and learning interest scale. The study variables were analyzed in sequence for reliability and validity, common method biases test, correlation analysis, structural equation model testing, and bias-corrected percentile Bootstrap testing. The results revealed that online interaction positively affected the academic engagement of international students in Chinese universities ($\beta$= 0.35, p < 0.001), and learning interest played a partial mediating role between online interaction and academic engagement (indirect effect = 0.10, 95 % Boot CI = [0.06, 0.13], p < 0.001). Information technology accessibility did not have a direct impact on academic engagement ($\beta$= 0.06, p > 0.05); but learning interest played a complete mediating role between information technology accessibility and academic engagement (indirect effect = 0.09, 95 % Boot CI = [0.05, 0.11], p < 0.001). The results of Bootstrap showed that the mediating effects within the model were significant. The findings of this study explored the potential mechanism underlying the online academic engagement of international students in Chinese universities, and provided empirical evidence for universities and educators to implement differentiated learning support, assist international students in adapting to online learning styles, and stimulate the endogenous motivation of students' learning.

The use of loot boxes has been compared to gambling due to its random nature, with the consequent risk of being conceived as an ordinary activity implemented in the daily routine. One of the factors contributing to these gambling behaviors is exposure to gambling advertisements. It is essential to protect children and adolescents from prejudicial advertising, since due to their psycho-evolutionary development, advertising makes them impressionable and suggestible. Currently, there is scarcely any research on the influence of advertising on underage buyers of loot boxes. Knowledge in this regard is important to adequately address efforts to protect minors from the potential impact of gambling and its advertising. Thus, this study aims to examine how understanding advertising intent in loot box advertising moderates the relationship between the recognition of loot box advertising and the problematic usage of loot boxes in a sample of adolescents. The present study used a cross-sectional design, and the sample is composed by 451 adolescents (85.8 % male) that played videogames and purchased loot boxes in the last 12 months. Results indicated that understanding advertising intent played a moderating role in the relationship between advertising recognition and Problematic Use of Loot Boxes, strengthening it positively. The findings showed that when there was a low degree of understanding advertising intent, the former relationship was not significant. However, with a high level of understanding advertising intent the relationship between advertising recognition and Problematic Use of Loot Boxes was significant and strengthened. This means that knowing how ads try persuading the player affects how adverts are linked to PULB. Specifically, if adolescents understand that ads are trying to sell them loot boxes, this knowledge makes the relationship between seeing ads and having PULB stronger. These results are of interest for advertising literacy strategies.

Immersive virtual reality (iVR), that is, digital stereoscopic 360° scenarios usually presented in head-mounted displays, has gained much popularity in medical, educational, and consumer contexts in the last years. Recently, psychological research started to utilize the theoretical and methodological advantages of iVR. Furthermore, understanding cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes in iVR similar to real-life is a genuinely psychological, currently understudied topic. This article briefly reviews the current application of iVR in psychological research and related disciplines. The review presents empirical evidence for opportunities and strengths (e.g., realism, experimental control, effectiveness of therapeutic and educational interventions) as well as challenges and weaknesses (e.g., differences in experiencing presence, interacting with VR content including avatars, i.e., graphical representation of a person). The main part discusses areas requiring additional basic research, such as cognitive processes, socio-emotional processes during social interactions in iVR, and possible societal implications (e.g., fraud, VR-addiction). For both research and application, iVR offers a contemporary extension of the psychological toolkit, offering new avenues to investigate and enhance core phenomena of psychology such as cognition, affect, motivation, and behavior. Still, it is crucial to exercise caution in its application as excessive and careless use of iVR can pose risks to individuals' mental and physical well-being.

The main characteristic of Moebius syndrome is a lack of facial expressions, which involves stigmatization in many social contexts. We examined whether an applicant with this syndrome would be rated lower in personnel selection despite having equal qualifications. In two experiments, participants rated two applicants. Ratings of an applicant with Moebius syndrome were significantly lower when videos of job interviews had been watched without giving information about the syndrome. However, ratings did not differ when still images had been presented accompanied by an audio track or when participants were informed about Moebius syndrome ahead of the video. Discriminatory decisions in personnel selection could be reduced by educating about stigma, here, a neurologically caused lack of facial expressions.

Many studies have explored the relationship between metacognition and academic achievement in mathematics, but the results vary. In this study, meta-analysis was used to explore this relationship between metacognition and academic achievement in mathematics and influencing factors. According to the literature search, a total of 147 studies (1986–2024) and 338 independent samples met the inclusion criteria (n = 698,096). The results revealed metacognition was significantly positively correlated with academic achievement in mathematics, r = 0.32, 95 % CI [0.30, 0.34], Z = 28.49. Moreover, the moderating effects of age, domain, and culture were significant (p < 0.01). In conclusion, Metacognition is closely associated with academic achievement in mathematics but also that age, domain, and culture have a considerable impact on their relationship. More specifically, the degree of correlation between metacognition and academic achievement in mathematics was on the rise from preschool to high school, while it was lower in college. Compared with general field metacognition, mathematical metacognition is more closely linked to mathematics academic achievement. Lastly, compared with British and American countries, Chinese metacognition was more closely related to academic achievement in mathematics.