Pub Date : 2025-07-28DOI: 10.1038/s44159-025-00474-6
Mariek M. P. Vanden Abeele, Stephen L. Murphy, Laura Lemahieu, Ernst H. W. Koster
There is extensive debate about the effects of social media use on well-being. However, evidence central to this debate is lacking because of an inability to confirm a causal link through experimental research. The rise of social media intervention experiments to tackle this issue represents a positive change for the field. However, these studies are encumbered by methodological challenges that prevent a clear take-home message from this literature. In this Perspective, we discuss key methodological considerations for experimental intervention studies on social media use and provide recommendations for how researchers could design their research and interpret their results to mitigate or avoid these challenges in future. There is extensive debate about whether and how social media use affects well-being. In this Perspective, Vanden Abeele et al. outline key methodological issues in experimental intervention studies on social media use and how they could be addressed.
{"title":"Methodological considerations for social media intervention studies","authors":"Mariek M. P. Vanden Abeele, Stephen L. Murphy, Laura Lemahieu, Ernst H. W. Koster","doi":"10.1038/s44159-025-00474-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44159-025-00474-6","url":null,"abstract":"There is extensive debate about the effects of social media use on well-being. However, evidence central to this debate is lacking because of an inability to confirm a causal link through experimental research. The rise of social media intervention experiments to tackle this issue represents a positive change for the field. However, these studies are encumbered by methodological challenges that prevent a clear take-home message from this literature. In this Perspective, we discuss key methodological considerations for experimental intervention studies on social media use and provide recommendations for how researchers could design their research and interpret their results to mitigate or avoid these challenges in future. There is extensive debate about whether and how social media use affects well-being. In this Perspective, Vanden Abeele et al. outline key methodological issues in experimental intervention studies on social media use and how they could be addressed.","PeriodicalId":74249,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews psychology","volume":"4 9","pages":"603-614"},"PeriodicalIF":21.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145123717","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-24DOI: 10.1038/s44159-025-00476-4
Brett Q. Ford
Striving to feel good is natural. Although this pursuit can come with benefits, striving to feel good also comes with important costs for the self, others and even the broader community. In this Review, I summarize the literature on these costs. First, I consider the emotions people want to feel — that is, the emotions people believe are valuable. Valuing (or devaluing) an emotion does not mean someone is able to attain (or avoid) it, and the process of valuing can itself have costs for the self, others and community. Next, I consider the emotions people are able to achieve (or avoid) — that is, the emotions people cultivate within themselves through emotion regulation. Many different emotions help people achieve their valued goals, and people can hinder their goals by avoiding (or attaining) particular emotions, ultimately leading to negative consequences for the self and the broader community. Finally, I discuss future directions that span disciplines, highlighting the broad applicability and relevance of considering the costs of striving to feel good across domains in psychological science. Examining the trade-offs involved in striving to feel good can highlight more effective strategies to protect well-being for both individuals and the broader community. Striving for positive emotions and avoiding negative emotions are often associated with well-being benefits, but can come with costs for the self, others and the broader community. In this Review, Ford describes these costs in terms of the emotions people value (or devalue) and the emotions they seek to achieve (or avoid) via emotion regulation.
{"title":"The individual, relational and societal costs of striving to feel good","authors":"Brett Q. Ford","doi":"10.1038/s44159-025-00476-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44159-025-00476-4","url":null,"abstract":"Striving to feel good is natural. Although this pursuit can come with benefits, striving to feel good also comes with important costs for the self, others and even the broader community. In this Review, I summarize the literature on these costs. First, I consider the emotions people want to feel — that is, the emotions people believe are valuable. Valuing (or devaluing) an emotion does not mean someone is able to attain (or avoid) it, and the process of valuing can itself have costs for the self, others and community. Next, I consider the emotions people are able to achieve (or avoid) — that is, the emotions people cultivate within themselves through emotion regulation. Many different emotions help people achieve their valued goals, and people can hinder their goals by avoiding (or attaining) particular emotions, ultimately leading to negative consequences for the self and the broader community. Finally, I discuss future directions that span disciplines, highlighting the broad applicability and relevance of considering the costs of striving to feel good across domains in psychological science. Examining the trade-offs involved in striving to feel good can highlight more effective strategies to protect well-being for both individuals and the broader community. Striving for positive emotions and avoiding negative emotions are often associated with well-being benefits, but can come with costs for the self, others and the broader community. In this Review, Ford describes these costs in terms of the emotions people value (or devalue) and the emotions they seek to achieve (or avoid) via emotion regulation.","PeriodicalId":74249,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews psychology","volume":"4 9","pages":"591-602"},"PeriodicalIF":21.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145123723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-24DOI: 10.1038/s44159-025-00478-2
Helen Fischer, Markus Huff
People act not only on what they know, but also on how confident they are in that knowledge. Thus, metacognitive accuracy — the alignment between confidence in one’s knowledge and the accuracy of that knowledge — should be a key goal of science communication. People act not only on what they know, but on how confident they are in that knowledge. Thus, metacognitive accuracy — the alignment between confidence in one’s knowledge and the accuracy of that knowledge — should be a key goal of science communication.
{"title":"Metacognition as a target of science communication","authors":"Helen Fischer, Markus Huff","doi":"10.1038/s44159-025-00478-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44159-025-00478-2","url":null,"abstract":"People act not only on what they know, but also on how confident they are in that knowledge. Thus, metacognitive accuracy — the alignment between confidence in one’s knowledge and the accuracy of that knowledge — should be a key goal of science communication. People act not only on what they know, but on how confident they are in that knowledge. Thus, metacognitive accuracy — the alignment between confidence in one’s knowledge and the accuracy of that knowledge — should be a key goal of science communication.","PeriodicalId":74249,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews psychology","volume":"4 9","pages":"554-555"},"PeriodicalIF":21.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145123725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-24DOI: 10.1038/s44159-025-00479-1
Andrea Putica, James Agathos, Kim Felmingham
Functional neurological disorder (FND) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) show considerable psychological and neurobiological parallels despite distinct clinical presentations. In this Perspective, we synthesize emerging research on shared disruptions in emotion processing and regulation, interoceptive processing, self-appraisal and dissociation, physiological stress responses and fear-extinction learning. From these commonalities, we propose a transdiagnostic mechanism-focused approach to FND treatment, drawing on the evidence base for PTSD interventions. Specifically, we examine the potential of prolonged exposure therapy and the unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders to address FND symptoms, particularly in people with emotion-regulation difficulties and histories of histories. Although rigorous empirical validation is needed, bridging neuroscientific insights with clinical practice should open up avenues for research and intervention in complex neuropsychiatric features in people with FND. Despite the impact of functional neurological disorder on people’s lives, effective treatments remain elusive. In this Perspective, Putica et al. identify features shared between this condition and posttraumatic stress disorder to propose mechanistic targets for improved treatment outcomes.
{"title":"How insights from posttraumatic stress disorder can inform treatment of functional neurological disorder","authors":"Andrea Putica, James Agathos, Kim Felmingham","doi":"10.1038/s44159-025-00479-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44159-025-00479-1","url":null,"abstract":"Functional neurological disorder (FND) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) show considerable psychological and neurobiological parallels despite distinct clinical presentations. In this Perspective, we synthesize emerging research on shared disruptions in emotion processing and regulation, interoceptive processing, self-appraisal and dissociation, physiological stress responses and fear-extinction learning. From these commonalities, we propose a transdiagnostic mechanism-focused approach to FND treatment, drawing on the evidence base for PTSD interventions. Specifically, we examine the potential of prolonged exposure therapy and the unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders to address FND symptoms, particularly in people with emotion-regulation difficulties and histories of histories. Although rigorous empirical validation is needed, bridging neuroscientific insights with clinical practice should open up avenues for research and intervention in complex neuropsychiatric features in people with FND. Despite the impact of functional neurological disorder on people’s lives, effective treatments remain elusive. In this Perspective, Putica et al. identify features shared between this condition and posttraumatic stress disorder to propose mechanistic targets for improved treatment outcomes.","PeriodicalId":74249,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews psychology","volume":"4 10","pages":"654-668"},"PeriodicalIF":21.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145243211","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-24DOI: 10.1038/s44159-025-00472-8
Jenny Rosendahl, Rahel Klatte, Dominique Frenzl, Louis G. Castonguay, Zbyněk Vybíral, Bernhard Strauss
Clinical recommendations and informed decision-making require an evidence-based understanding of psychological treatment’s potential benefits and risks. Whereas psychotherapy outcome research has traditionally focused primarily on the positive effects of treatments, the number of publications on negative effects has rapidly increased over the past decade. In this Review, we shed light on the potential risks of psychotherapy and discuss the challenges associated with their contextualization. Based on an overview of the current core definitions of the negative effects of psychotherapy, we propose an initial conceptualization of the most frequently used terms with a particular focus on the distinction between the negative effects of a correctly applied treatment and the reactions to incorrectly applied psychotherapeutic interventions and malpractice. We further describe assessment methods that measure negative effects from different perspectives and sources (the patient, the therapist and the relatives) and current evidence on the frequency of negative effects of psychotherapy from different study designs (randomized controlled trials, naturalistic studies and retrospective survey research). We discuss recommendations for therapist training, research and clinical practice to better understand, detect and prevent negative effects of psychotherapy and contribute to improving patient safety. Psychotherapy is liable to negative effects, but the lack of a shared conceptualization of these effects has hindered research and practice. In this Review, Rosendahl et al. provide working definitions of negative psychotherapy outcomes and outline solutions to clinical, methodological and training gaps.
{"title":"Contextualizing the negative effects of psychotherapy","authors":"Jenny Rosendahl, Rahel Klatte, Dominique Frenzl, Louis G. Castonguay, Zbyněk Vybíral, Bernhard Strauss","doi":"10.1038/s44159-025-00472-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44159-025-00472-8","url":null,"abstract":"Clinical recommendations and informed decision-making require an evidence-based understanding of psychological treatment’s potential benefits and risks. Whereas psychotherapy outcome research has traditionally focused primarily on the positive effects of treatments, the number of publications on negative effects has rapidly increased over the past decade. In this Review, we shed light on the potential risks of psychotherapy and discuss the challenges associated with their contextualization. Based on an overview of the current core definitions of the negative effects of psychotherapy, we propose an initial conceptualization of the most frequently used terms with a particular focus on the distinction between the negative effects of a correctly applied treatment and the reactions to incorrectly applied psychotherapeutic interventions and malpractice. We further describe assessment methods that measure negative effects from different perspectives and sources (the patient, the therapist and the relatives) and current evidence on the frequency of negative effects of psychotherapy from different study designs (randomized controlled trials, naturalistic studies and retrospective survey research). We discuss recommendations for therapist training, research and clinical practice to better understand, detect and prevent negative effects of psychotherapy and contribute to improving patient safety. Psychotherapy is liable to negative effects, but the lack of a shared conceptualization of these effects has hindered research and practice. In this Review, Rosendahl et al. provide working definitions of negative psychotherapy outcomes and outline solutions to clinical, methodological and training gaps.","PeriodicalId":74249,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews psychology","volume":"4 9","pages":"559-575"},"PeriodicalIF":21.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145123720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-17DOI: 10.1038/s44159-025-00471-9
Barnabas Szaszi, Daniel G. Goldstein, Dilip Soman, Susan Michie
Although a given choice architecture intervention (a ‘nudge’) can be highly effective in some conditions, it can be ineffective or counterproductive in others. Critically, researchers and practitioners cannot reliably predict which of these outcomes will happen on the basis of current knowledge. In this Review, we present evidence that the average effectiveness of choice architecture interventions on behaviour is smaller than often reported and that there is substantial heterogeneity in their effects. We outline the obstacles to understanding the generalizability of these effects, such as the complex interaction of moderators and their changes over time. We then clarify dimensions of generalizability and research practices (including systematic exploration of the moderators and practices designed to enhance generalizability) that could enable evidence on generalizability to be gathered more efficiently. These practices are essential for advancing nuanced theories of behaviour change and for more accurately predicting the effectiveness of choice architecture interventions across diverse populations, settings, treatments, outputs and analytical approaches. Choice architecture interventions (or ‘nudges’) aim to guide behaviour by changing the proximal physical, social or psychological environment. In this Review, Szaszi and colleagues show that the average effectiveness of these interventions is small and variable and outline how researchers can gather evidence defining this generalizability more efficiently.
{"title":"Generalizability of choice architecture interventions","authors":"Barnabas Szaszi, Daniel G. Goldstein, Dilip Soman, Susan Michie","doi":"10.1038/s44159-025-00471-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44159-025-00471-9","url":null,"abstract":"Although a given choice architecture intervention (a ‘nudge’) can be highly effective in some conditions, it can be ineffective or counterproductive in others. Critically, researchers and practitioners cannot reliably predict which of these outcomes will happen on the basis of current knowledge. In this Review, we present evidence that the average effectiveness of choice architecture interventions on behaviour is smaller than often reported and that there is substantial heterogeneity in their effects. We outline the obstacles to understanding the generalizability of these effects, such as the complex interaction of moderators and their changes over time. We then clarify dimensions of generalizability and research practices (including systematic exploration of the moderators and practices designed to enhance generalizability) that could enable evidence on generalizability to be gathered more efficiently. These practices are essential for advancing nuanced theories of behaviour change and for more accurately predicting the effectiveness of choice architecture interventions across diverse populations, settings, treatments, outputs and analytical approaches. Choice architecture interventions (or ‘nudges’) aim to guide behaviour by changing the proximal physical, social or psychological environment. In this Review, Szaszi and colleagues show that the average effectiveness of these interventions is small and variable and outline how researchers can gather evidence defining this generalizability more efficiently.","PeriodicalId":74249,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews psychology","volume":"4 8","pages":"518-529"},"PeriodicalIF":21.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145123712","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-10DOI: 10.1038/s44159-025-00477-3
Madeleine Pownall
Open research in psychology has advanced transparency and accountability but remains dominated by quantitative, positivist frameworks. For open research to be truly transformative, it must embrace methodological pluralism, learn from qualitative traditions and accommodate all research approaches.
{"title":"Bridging qualitative methods and open research","authors":"Madeleine Pownall","doi":"10.1038/s44159-025-00477-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44159-025-00477-3","url":null,"abstract":"Open research in psychology has advanced transparency and accountability but remains dominated by quantitative, positivist frameworks. For open research to be truly transformative, it must embrace methodological pluralism, learn from qualitative traditions and accommodate all research approaches.","PeriodicalId":74249,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews psychology","volume":"4 9","pages":"556-557"},"PeriodicalIF":21.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s44159-025-00477-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145123722","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-26DOI: 10.1038/s44159-025-00473-7
Jonathan Han Loong Kuek
Although Western mental health research has started incorporating lived experience expertise, this approach has not been widely adopted in most Asian countries. Embracing the unique perspectives of Asian people with lived experience can provide a more nuanced understanding of mental health and recovery.
{"title":"More lived experience research is needed in Asia","authors":"Jonathan Han Loong Kuek","doi":"10.1038/s44159-025-00473-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44159-025-00473-7","url":null,"abstract":"Although Western mental health research has started incorporating lived experience expertise, this approach has not been widely adopted in most Asian countries. Embracing the unique perspectives of Asian people with lived experience can provide a more nuanced understanding of mental health and recovery.","PeriodicalId":74249,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews psychology","volume":"4 8","pages":"503-504"},"PeriodicalIF":21.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145123574","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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