Behavioral Sciences最新文献

Individuals are increasingly using artificial intelligence chatbots, such as ChatGPT, to seek conversational support for their personal mental health difficulties. Heightened concerns about mental health stigma may make anonymous, on-demand chatbot interactions more appealing for some than traditional face-to-face support. This study examined if using ChatGPT-4 for personal mental health difficulties is associated with two distinct forms of stigma, anticipated stigma and self-stigma. Our main aim was to investigate if the perceived effectiveness of ChatGPT use for mental health issues mediates the relationship between ChatGPT usage and anticipated stigma and self-stigma. The sample comprised 73 participants, mostly undergraduate psychology students. Participants completed online self-report measures to assess ChatGPT usage for mental health purposes, perceived effectiveness of ChatGPT for mental health issues, and anticipated stigma and self-stigma. Perceived effectiveness of ChatGPT was significantly and positively correlated with ChatGPT usage, and significantly negatively correlated with reduced anticipated stigma. Cross-sectional analyses found that perceived effectiveness significantly mediated the relationship between ChatGPT use and anticipated stigma, but not for self-stigma. The results indicate that ChatGPT use, when perceived as effective, is associated with a reduction in anticipated stigma concerning mental health issues. More research is now needed in this emerging area to inform best practice on the use of AI aids for mental health issues.

Doctoral student agency is increasingly regarded as a key construct in doctoral education. Yet, existing research on this topic focuses on qualitative approaches, and there remains a lack of psychometrically validated instruments, particularly in the Chinese context, where supervisory authority and institutional structures strongly shape student experiences. This study aimed to develop and validate the Doctoral Student Agency Scale (DSAS) to provide a comprehensive measure of doctoral students' agency during the process of professional socialization. A sequential mixed-methods design was adopted. First, a conceptual model was inductively constructed from semi-structured interviews with 27 doctoral students, followed by three-level qualitative coding to generate an initial pool of items. These were refined through expert review, and 436 valid responses were subjected to exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The final DSAS consists of 27 items organized into 7 first-order factors, which load onto 3 second-order dimensions: self-agency, academic agency, and resource agency. Moreover, DSAS scores significantly correlated with academic ability and research role identity, two critical outcomes of doctoral student professional socialization, thus confirming the criterion validity. These findings indicate that the DSAS is a valid and reliable instrument. Theoretically, it contributes to refining the multidimensional conceptualization of doctoral agency, while practically, it provides supervisors and institutions with a diagnostic tool to design targeted interventions and foster doctoral development in context-sensitive ways.

Faces are central to human interaction, serving as primary sources of identity, emotional cues, and social judgments. Facial attractiveness is strongly linked to perceptions of trustworthiness and moral goodness, leading to preferential treatment across education, employment, and legal contexts. Deviations from facial norms-such as asymmetry or visible differences-are, by contrast, often associated with negative traits, social avoidance, and dehumanisation. Across cultures and centuries, deliberate facial disfiguration has been used as a form of punishment for perceived moral or legal transgressions. Evidence from ancient Egypt, Mediaeval Europe, and early modern legislation, as well as modern acid attacks, indicates that intentional facial disfiguration has long served as a means of ongoing punishment through humiliation and identity disruption. Motivations for targeting the face may be rooted in its central role in identity, beauty, symmetry, and symbolic purity. Despite contemporary legal efforts to curb acid attacks and related violence, legislation specifically addressing intentional facial disfiguration remains limited. Modern psychological research confirms that acquiring a facial difference can severely impact quality of life, social functioning, and identity. This paper synthesises historical, cultural, and psychological perspectives on punitive facial disfiguration, highlighting its enduring role as a mechanism of social control. Future research should examine perpetrators' decision-making, possible differences between different types of facial disfiguration, and the perceptual and emotional consequences of different facial injuries to inform prevention strategies and improve support for victims.

Parental play support is crucial to children's playfulness. Using a person-centered approach, we identified profiles of parental play support based on self-assessed roles. In total, 447 mothers and fathers reported their roles-co-player, playleader, director, uninvolved, or onlooker-during their child's play. These roles were assessed at two time points, spaced two years apart. Latent profile analysis revealed three distinct profiles: (1) engaged play support, (2) versatile play support, and (3) non-interfering play support. Parental affiliation to one of the three profiles was very stable over time, with only 14% of parents transitioning between profiles. Our longitudinal analysis indicated that the engaged play support profile, in which parents are closely involved in their child's play either by playing with the child or observing children's play, was significantly related to children's playfulness two years later. Notably, 28.4% of parents fell into this profile. These findings underscore the importance of active parental engagement in fostering children's playfulness.

Objectives: This study aims to provide conceptual clarity on self-direction support in the care of vulnerable older adults, particularly those with dementia. It focuses on how self-direction is supported in meaningful daily activities and social participation. The goal is to define and operationalize the concept by identifying its key attributes, antecedents, and consequences across care contexts.

Methods: A two-phase approach will be used. First, an integrative review will synthesize empirical evidence from gerontology, occupational therapy, psychology, nursing, and health ethics to examine current conceptualizations and practices. Second, a concept analysis will explore the theoretical structure of self-direction support. Findings will be synthesized into a conceptual framework.

Expected outcomes: This study is expected to provide a clearer conceptual framework outlining the core components of self-direction as described in existing literature. This framework will define key attributes, identify influencing factors, and propose measurable indicators. The framework aims to guide professionals in balancing autonomy, safety, and care needs.

Conclusions: As this is a study protocol, no results are presented; findings will be reported in the forthcoming review. The anticipated outcomes are expected to contribute to theory and practice by framing self-direction within social health. The framework may inform future research, policy, and intervention development to strengthen self-direction in meaningful activities and participation among vulnerable older adults. Further validation across settings and cultural contexts will be required.

Spatial cognition refers to how people transform physical spatial information into mental representations and manipulate it to perform further spatial computation and reasoning. Previous research has demonstrated that the frame of reference (FOR) in physical space could distort spatial representations to influence the memory of spatial relations. However, it remains unclear whether FORs could also influence attentional allocation among the spatial representations. To address this issue, we examined the attentional shifting within or between different spatial regions, which were affected by the same versus different FORs. In Experiment 1, a modified double-rectangle cuing paradigm was adopted. Two human figures in complementary colors were presented to establish two object-centered spatial FORs, which divided the external space around the objects into a central region (influenced by two FORs) and two outer-side regions (primarily influenced by a single FOR). Cues and targets were presented in the same region or different regions. Results showed faster attentional shifting within the same region than between different regions. In Experiment 2, one human figure was replaced as a cross, and the within-region advantage was replicated. Overall, these findings suggest that object-centered FORs could be employed to collectively organize space and guide attentional allocation in the external space surrounding objects.

Drawing on social comparison and attribution theories, this study examines how employees' attitudinal dissimilarity within work groups shapes their willingness to speak up or remain silent. We conceptualize dissimilarity in psychological ownership and job stress as individual-level differences that trigger internal attributions, leading employees to direct attention inward and reduce their likelihood of speaking up. In contrast, dissimilarity in perceived status conflict, an individual-level perception of a structural feature of the group, induces external attributions toward the social system, motivating employees to express voice aimed at preserving or challenging the status quo. Using multi-source data from 202 employees nested in 39 work groups in South Korea, hierarchical regression analyses support all proposed hypotheses: individual-level dissimilarities are negatively related and structural-level dissimilarity is positively related to voice. These findings reveal that the behavioral consequences of difference depend on where attribution is directed-toward the self or the system. The study contributes to the voice literature by integrating attributional reasoning into social comparison processes and by identifying two forms of attitudinal minorities: invisible minorities who remain silent, and boisterous minorities who speak up for change.

This study investigates interrelations among social media addiction (SMA), Fear of Missing Out (FoMO), cyberloafing (CL), work engagement (WE), and organizational commitment (OC) using network analysis. An online survey in Germany/Switzerland (n = 452; OC assessed in the employed subsample, n = 173) measured the five constructs. Unregularized and EBICglasso partial-correlation networks were estimated, and centrality and bridge indices were computed. Two robust edges emerged: a strong SMA-FoMO association and a strong positive WE-OC link; the regularized network additionally indicated a triangular SMA-FoMO-CL pattern. FoMO and OC acted as bridge nodes between problematic social media behaviors and work attitudes, whereas direct SMA links to WE/OC were weak or absent. Findings position FoMO as a pivotal mechanism connecting social media use to organizational attitudes and support, distinguishing functional micro-breaks from disruptive CL. Limitations include the cross-sectional design, student-skewed sample, self-report measures, smaller OC subsample, and a German/Swiss context.

The study delves into the experiences of Arab-Israeli academic leaders during the Iron Swords War, revealing their emotional responses, coping mechanisms, and reflections on leadership amidst the conflict. The study highlights a range of intense negative emotions experienced by the leaders, including fear, anxiety, helplessness, and despair, reflecting a state of secondary traumatic stress. Despite facing significant challenges, some leaders demonstrated proactivity through their work duties and support from Jewish friends. However, a prevailing sense of pessimism about the future and feelings of isolation and silencing were also prominent themes in their narratives. The results underscore the complex interplay between personal experiences and the broader socio-political context, emphasizing the need for resilience-building initiatives in academia during times of crisis. The study provides valuable insights into the unique challenges faced by minority Arab academic leaders in higher education during prolonged conflict, shedding light on the importance of support systems and leadership development to navigate the complexities of wartime environments.

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into organizational workflows is re-shaping traditional patterns of interaction between leaders and employees. Grounded in power dependence theory, this study investigates how employees' voluntary dependence on AI influences leader-subordinate power relations and, consequently, influences employees' voice behavior. We propose that employees' dependence on AI can increase their perceived power when interacting with leaders, which subsequently enhances their willingness to offer constructive suggestions or question established practices. Furthermore, we propose that the extent to which leadership tasks can be substituted by AI plays a moderating role in this process. Coaching leadership, characterized by its emphasis on guiding task performance and developing employee skills, may be particularly sensitive to such substitution. Using two experimental studies and two survey investigations, we provide evidence that employees' AI dependence is positively associated with voice behavior through heightened perceptions of personal power, and that this relationship is strengthened under high levels of coaching leadership. These findings advance leadership theory by explicating how AI adoption alters foundational power structures in the workplace and by identifying a novel, power-based pathway linking AI use to proactive employee behaviors. The study contributes to emerging discussions on effective leadership in technologically augmented organizations and offers empirical insights into how leaders can adapt their roles and behaviors in the new era of AI-driven work.