Acta Psychologica最新文献

Multiple representation theories of lexical semantics assume meaning is retrieved through simulation. However, simulation mechanisms are not well understood. Mental state inferencing - the capacity to understand mental states - has been proposed as a simulation mechanism, particularly for cognitive concepts (concepts referring to cognitive events, states, and products) (Kiefer et al., 2022). In a pre-registered study, we tested this proposal using an individual differences approach. Adult participants (n = 297) completed three measures of mentalizing skills. They also completed two syntactic classification tasks (is this word a verb; is this word a noun?) to measure semantic processing and test for the cognition effect (more cognitive words processed more efficiently than less cognitive words). We replicated the cognition effect, with high-cognition words eliciting faster and more accurate responses than low-cognition words. Additionally, we found significant interactions between mentalizing and the cognition effect: participants with stronger mentalizing skills showed larger cognition effects. This relationship suggests that mentalizing may serve as a simulation mechanism when accessing word meaning.

This study investigates the psychological mechanisms driving consumer responsibility for sustainable consumption and its influence on sustainable purchasing decisions. Building on the premise that consumer responsibility predicts sustainable consumption behaviors, we propose a framework that examines how emotional intelligence and flourishing affect willingness to pay more for ecological products, with the mediating roles of personal norms, frugality, and pro-ecological behavior. Using structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), on data from 430 surveyed participants, the findings reveal that emotional intelligence positively influences flourishing, while personal norms and frugality mediate the relationship between flourishing and consumer responsibility for sustainable consumption. Additionally, pro-ecological behavior mediates the effect of consumer responsibility on willingness to pay more for ecological products. By uncovering the emotional and normative antecedents of sustainable consumption, this study refines existing theories and provides actionable insights for policies, educational programs, and marketing strategies that promote sustainability and address environmental challenges, offering valuable contributions towards a more sustainable future.

This research investigated whether students' AI-supported higher-order thinking (critical thinking, creativity, metacognition, synthesis) relates to EFL academic writing quality (AWQ) and through what mechanisms. Using blind-rated essays and survey measures from 492 undergraduates at urban Chinese universities, we estimated a comparative structural model with writing self-efficacy (L2WSE) as a mediator and trust in AI feedback as a moderator. The model explained 58% of the variance in AWQ. All four predictors showed statistically significant but modest direct effects (e.g., β_metacognition≈0.22; β_creativity≈0.12), and L2WSE was positively associated with AWQ. Indirect effects via L2WSE were small yet significant, consistent with a motivation-linked pathway. Interaction terms for trust were positive but small (β ≈ 0.06-0.09). Robustness checks compared a second-order specification of AI-supported higher-order thinking against the four first-order predictors and examined possible nonlinearity in trust. Findings should be interpreted cautiously: the design is cross-sectional, effects are modest, and most predictors are self-reported. Even so, the results suggest that when AI tools are used to support metacognitive planning/monitoring, critical evaluation, synthesis, and creative exploration, students' confidence and writing performance may improve. We discuss implications for instruction that emphasize metacognitive routines and calibrated trust in AI feedback, while outlining directions for longitudinal and experimental research.

Grounded in Social Cognitive Theory, this study explores how interpersonal interactions shape the belief formation of Chinese pre-service English teachers, with particular attention to the mediating role of self-efficacy. Situated within China's hierarchical and collectivist educational context, this study examines how two key forms of interaction-those with mentors and with students-influence the development of teaching beliefs among 368 senior-year pre-service teachers. Results from structural equation modeling revealed that both teacher-mentor and teacher-student interactions significantly and positively predicted teacher beliefs, with the latter exerting a stronger direct influence. Importantly, self-efficacy emerged as a significant mediator in both relationships, explaining a larger portion of the indirect effect in the mentor pathway. These findings suggest that while direct engagement with students powerfully shapes teachers' belief systems, the impact of mentors primarily operates through the enhancement of teaching confidence, reflecting the cultural salience of authoritative guidance in the Chinese context. The study highlights the importance of integrating efficacy-based mentoring and authentic teaching experiences in teacher education programs to foster the development of coherent and resilient teacher belief systems.

Social and legal changes in a once strictly patriarchal country, such as those envisioned by Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 programmatic plan launched in 2016, can notably impact university enrollment. One key issue is female enrollment in STEM majors (Computer Science and Engineering) that have been traditionally viewed as leading to male occupations. The present study asked whether enrollment in such STEM majors can be linked to changes in the way female undergraduate students (age range: 18-25) define themselves. During their first year of university enrollment, 327 female students rated the extent to which the traits of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) defined them. Students also reported their self-efficacy in academic matters. In this cross-sectional study, a 7-point Likert scale was used to respond to questionnaires administered in class. Stereotypically masculine traits (e.g., ambitious, self-reliant, etc.) received higher endorsement from STEM than non-STEM students. Stereotypically feminine traits (e.g., affectionate, gentle, etc.) received higher endorsement from non-STEM students. Although self-efficacy was higher in STEM students, it was only weakly linked to the endorsement of gender-stereotyped traits. These findings suggest that amid social change, academic major choices are associated with self-concept differences in gender-stereotyped definitions of oneself. One's confidence in the selected field, however, may be less gender-stereotyped than once thought.

As artificial intelligence (AI) systems increasingly permeate healthcare and daily life, understanding the factors that shape attitudes toward their use is crucial. This study examined how individuals' general attitudes toward AI and their willingness to use AI-based tools in specific situations vary, and how these relate to mood, pain-related affective traits, and perceived social support. A total of 302 participants completed self-report measures assessing willingness to use AI in three contexts (health without pain, health with pain, and non-health; measured by scales in a Situational Judgment Task), along with general attitudes toward AI, mood (depression, anxiety, stress), pain catastrophizing, fear of pain, and perceived social support from family, friends, and others. Results revealed that willingness to use AI is strongly context-dependent: participants were less inclined to use AI in health-related scenarios, especially those involving pain, than in non-health contexts. Positive general attitudes toward AI consistently associated with willingness to use AI in all contexts, whereas negative attitudes did not. Mood variables were unrelated to AI attitudes or use. In contrast, pain-related affective traits showed modest associations: higher pain catastrophizing and fear of pain were linked to greater willingness to use AI in pain-related contexts, while helplessness was associated with more negative general attitudes toward AI. Perceived social support showed limited and inconsistent associations with AI use. Overall, the findings suggest that situational context and pain-related affective traits, rather than general mood or social support, play central roles in shaping attitudes toward AI use, particularly in sensitive healthcare settings.

Drawing on ecological systems theory, we investigate how microsystem components (i.e., individual characteristics and the family, school, and peer environments) collectively relate to English as a foreign language (EFL) achievement. To this end, we administered a cross-sectional questionnaire to 1395 Chinese middle school students and conducted a network analysis to model these relationships. The results indicated that dimensions of study engagement (dedication and vigor), teacher support, and family socioeconomic status (SES) were directly and positively associated with EFL achievement, whereas student cohesiveness, classroom order, classmate support, and friend support exhibited weak negative associations. Dedication operated as a central node whose activation had widespread consequences across the entire network. Parental support emerged as a key bridge node linking dimensions of distinct microsystem components. Furthermore, the directional associations among task orientation, student cohesiveness, and EFL achievement differed significantly between junior and senior high school students. Overall, the findings suggest that microsystem associations with EFL achievement operate through multiple pathways, vary in magnitude across the dimensions of the four microsystem components, and differ by developmental stage, underscoring the need for integrative, system-level approaches to improving adolescents' foreign language learning.

Although research on creativity and dyslexia produced contrasting results, accumulated evidence suggests that the characteristics associated with dyslexia may underlie the creative advantage often reported in the literature. Rather than a general creative advantage in individuals with dyslexia, empirical findings pointed at strengths in specific sub-processes of creative thinking. While previous studies have attempted to identify the cognitive mechanisms that explain the dyslexic creative benefit, the role of age has been scarcely investigated, especially during school transitions. To explore the age-related patterns of creative abilities in typical and atypical conditions, 64 children and preadolescents (age: 8-14) with and without dyslexia completed the Figure Completion test of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT; Torrance, 1990), together with a battery of reading tests. Results revealed a significant interaction effect between group (typical vs. dyslexia) and school level (primary vs. junior high school). Whereas primary school children with dyslexia showed comparable levels of flexibility and originality to their typical peers, junior high school students with dyslexia obtained significantly higher flexibility scores in the creative task. Furthermore, unlike typical peers - whose originality declined with age - children with dyslexia showed a tendency to increased originality. These findings reveal a distinct development of creativity in dyslexia, suggesting that creative skills may rise gradually across school years and counteract the age-related creative decline typically observed in adolescent peers.

This study explores the effect of two different rhetorical tropes, metaphor and metonymy, on mental imagery, pleasure, and memory in Chinese advertising copy. It extends previous research on the effects of different rhetorical tropes on advertising efficacy. One hundred and eleven Chinese adults viewed a series of Chinese ads featuring either metaphor or metonymy in their copy. Participants rated the mental imagery and pleasure evoked by each ad and then completed both free and cued recall tasks to assess which rhetorical trope was more memorable. Results showed that advertisement copy featuring metaphor elicited significantly greater mental imagery, pleasure, and both cued and free recall than ad copy featuring metonymy. These findings provide evidence that different rhetorical figures elicit different psychological outcomes in Chinese advertising copy and extend our understanding of consumer responses to rhetorical devices.

The current study developed and validated the Creativity Nurturing Behavior Scale (CNBS) to assess sibling interactions that foster creativity. It is specifically designed to capture the unique relational behaviors within a sibling dyad. The scale was grounded in theories of social learning, attachment, and creative cognition. A rigorous psychometric analysis, including exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, demonstrated the scale's reliability and validity with a 32-item and eight-factor structure. Measurement variance across genders was established. Latent mean comparisons revealed significant gender differences in certain dimensions of sibling relationships. The scale's reliability and validity were established using a sample primarily consisting of multi-child, traditional family structures from India and Oman. The CNBS offers a tool for researchers to understand creativity development within this specific sibling dynamic of high family salience households. The scale showed a significant correlation with creativity performance. The CNBS provides a valuable tool for researchers and practitioners to understand and promote creativity development within the sibling dynamic of high family salience households. A key limitation of the CNBS is its current validated scope, which is not generalizable to single-child families, highly diverse family structures, or different macro-cultural contexts without further re-validation.