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(https://www.psypost.org/new-study-sheds-light-on-how-narcissistic-and-borderline-traits-affect-reactions-to-infidelity/) New study sheds light on how narcissistic and borderline traits affect reactions to infidelity
Oct 1st 2024, 10:00

New research published in the (https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/10/1272) International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health offers a nuanced view of how narcissistic and borderline personality traits shape emotional responses to romantic infidelity. The findings highlight the complexity of personality traits in romantic relationships and suggest that certain traits may amplify emotional distress, particularly in situations where relational ambiguities exist.
Infidelity is a significant issue in romantic relationships, with estimates suggesting that up to 70% of relationships may experience some form of it at some point. The emotional fallout from infidelity can be devastating, affecting not just the individuals involved but also their relationship dynamics. While much research has examined why people engage in infidelity, less is known about how personality traits shape responses to being cheated on.
Narcissism, for instance, is a personality trait marked by self-centeredness and a need for admiration. Different types of narcissism, such as antagonistic narcissism (hostility and defensiveness) and neurotic narcissism (sensitivity and emotional distress), may lead to different reactions when people perceive that their partner is being unfaithful.
Borderline personality traits, which are associated with emotional instability and a fear of abandonment, may also intensify reactions to perceived infidelity. Given these traits’ propensity for emotional volatility, the researchers wanted to understand how people with elevated levels of narcissism and borderline traits might respond emotionally and how they would evaluate their relationship in the face of such betrayal.
“We were interested in exploring how narcissistic and borderline personality traits influence reactions to potential infidelity because these traits significantly impact interpersonal relationships. Understanding these dynamics can provide insights into emotional resilience and psychological vulnerability in the context of romantic betrayals, which is crucial for developing targeted therapeutic interventions,” said study author Avi Besser, a professor and chair of the Department of Communication Disorders at Hadassah Academic College and author of the (https://amzn.to/3XNzaxT) Handbook of the Psychology of Narcissism.
To investigate the role of personality traits in responses to infidelity, the researchers recruited 997 participants, ranging in age from 20 to 60, through social media and community postings. Participants completed questionnaires assessing their levels of narcissistic traits—extraverted, antagonistic, neurotic, and communal narcissism—and borderline personality traits. They were then presented with one of two hypothetical scenarios involving infidelity.
In the high-threat scenario, participants imagined catching their partner in the act of being physically intimate with someone else, coupled with their partner expressing love for this person. In the low-threat scenario, participants imagined hearing laughter from a television showing a couple engaged in sexual activity while their partner was setting the table in another room.
After reading the scenarios, participants were asked about their expected emotional reactions—such as anger or sadness—and how they would evaluate their relationship if the hypothetical event occurred. These reactions and evaluations helped the researchers determine how personality traits influenced the emotional impact of perceived infidelity.
The study revealed distinct patterns in how different narcissistic and borderline traits influence reactions to romantic infidelity.
People with high levels of neurotic narcissism, a form of narcissism characterized by emotional distress and a strong need for approval, exhibited the most pronounced negative emotional reactions, particularly in high-threat scenarios where infidelity was explicit. These individuals tend to feel deeply threatened by potential betrayal, which aligns with their sensitivity to personal injury and feelings of insecurity. This emotional volatility led to more negative evaluations of their relationships when imagining infidelity, suggesting that neurotic narcissism significantly undermines relationship satisfaction in the face of perceived betrayal.
Antagonistic narcissism, defined by traits such as defensiveness and hostility, had a different pattern. Individuals with high levels of antagonistic narcissism showed negative reactions primarily in low-threat situations, where the perceived threat of infidelity was ambiguous. In these cases, even minor relational threats triggered defensive responses, worsening their overall view of the relationship. However, in high-threat scenarios, where the infidelity was explicit, their reactions were similar to others, indicating that personality traits play a more significant role in situations where the threat is less clear.
“We found that individuals with antagonistic narcissism perceived minor relational threats as significant, exacerbating relationship dissatisfaction, but not in highly threatening situations,” Besser told PsyPost. “This suggests personality traits might have different impacts depending on the level of perceived threat, indicating the complex nature of personality dynamics.”
Communal narcissism, which involves seeking admiration for perceived selflessness and altruism, was linked to negative emotional reactions primarily in low-threat situations. This suggests that communal narcissists might struggle with internal emotional distress, despite outwardly projecting an image of supportiveness and altruism. When relational threats are less clear, they may feel conflicted, leading to negative feelings about their partner and the relationship.
Interestingly, extraverted narcissism, characterized by a need for admiration and social validation, showed no significant connection to emotional responses or relationship evaluations in either high- or low-threat conditions. This suggests that individuals with high levels of extraverted narcissism may be less emotionally affected by relational threats, possibly due to their focus on external validation rather than internal emotional processes.
Individuals with borderline personality traits, marked by emotional instability and fear of abandonment, had intense emotional reactions in both high- and low-threat scenarios. However, their responses were particularly strong in low-threat conditions, where minor relational ambiguities triggered significant emotional distress. These individuals often perceive even small signs of potential infidelity as major threats, which can lead to negative evaluations of their relationships and contribute to emotional volatility.
“The main takeaway is that certain personality traits, like neurotic narcissism and borderline traits, can significantly heighten emotional reactions to perceived infidelity threats,” Besser said. “Individuals with these traits might benefit from tailored therapeutic approaches to enhance their relationship satisfaction and emotional well-being.”
But as with all research, there are some caveats to consider. “While our study sheds light on important aspects of personality traits and infidelity reactions, it relied on hypothetical scenarios, which might not fully capture the intensity of real-life situations,” Besser noted. “Additionally, our sample was predominantly Israeli, which might limit the generalizability of the findings across different cultural contexts.”
“We aim to expand our research to include diverse cultural contexts and real-life instances of infidelity to enhance the applicability of our findings. Additionally, we wish to develop and test therapeutic interventions that address the unique needs of individuals with narcissistic and borderline personality traits in romantic relationships.”
“Our study highlights the importance of understanding personality dynamics in relationships and suggests that even suspicions of infidelity can have serious emotional impacts, especially for those with certain personality traits,” Besser explained.
The study, “(https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21101272) Fragile Egos and Broken Hearts: Narcissistic and Borderline Personality Traits Predict Reactions to Potential Infidelity,” was authored by by Avi Besser and Virgil Zeigler-Hill.

(https://www.psypost.org/responding-to-after-hours-work-emails-fuels-burnout-and-workplace-tension/) Responding to after-hours work emails fuels burnout and workplace tension
Oct 1st 2024, 08:00

Imagine it’s Friday evening. You’re about to watch a new Netflix drama, trying to unwind after a long week. Suddenly, your phone pings with a work email marked “urgent.” Your heart sinks; your stress levels rise. Even if you choose not to respond immediately, the damage is done. Work has again encroached on your personal life.
The intrusion of work into home life, helped along by smartphones and other technologies, might seem like a triumph of efficiency. But this constant connectivity comes at a cost to employees and employers alike, research suggests.
As (https://cla.auburn.edu/directory/myoung-gi-chon/) a professor of communications, I wanted to understand what happens when people feel compelled to dash off work emails after dinner and before breakfast. So a colleague and I conducted a study investigating the effects of after-hours work communication.
We found (https://doi.org/10.1108/JCOM-06-2022-0073) a disturbing link between work-related communication outside of regular hours and increased employee burnout. Answering emails after hours was linked to worse productivity, employees badmouthing their employers and other negative behaviors.
The research, conducted through a survey of 315 full-time U.S. employees across various industries, draws upon the “(https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513) conservation of resources theory” to explain how after-hours communication depletes employees’ mental and emotional reserves.
The data is unequivocal: Engaging in work-related communication after regular business hours leads to emotional exhaustion, which in turn can spill over into counterproductive work behavior.
Why it matters
This scenario is increasingly common: More than half of American employees reported checking work-related messages at least once over the weekend, according to a (https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2013/09/connected-work#:~:text=More%20than%20half%20of%20employed%20adults%20said%20they%20check%20work,the%20same%20while%20on%20vacation.) 2013 survey conducted by the American Psychological Association. The numbers have doubtless only risen since then.
Our findings show the consequences of this shift in the modern workplace. When the boundaries between home and work are eroded, it doesn’t just hurt people’s job and life satisfaction — it affects organizational performance, too.
We have seen firsthand the long-term impact of blurred lines between work and personal time through communication technology. In my opinion, this study is a critical wake-up call, highlighting the need for clear boundaries that protect employees’ personal time from becoming just another extension of their workday.
What’s next
The blurring of work and life boundaries remains a major issue in organizational communication, and the impact of artificial intelligence has emerged as a significant research topic since ChatGPT was launched in November 2022. That’s why my team is currently exploring how AI influences skills and well-being within organizational communication.

 
This article is republished from (https://theconversation.com) The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the (https://theconversation.com/responding-to-work-emails-after-hours-contributes-to-burnout-hostility-229461) original article.

(https://www.psypost.org/political-ideology-linked-to-subtle-differences-in-brain-structure-study-finds/) Political ideology linked to subtle differences in brain structure, study finds
Oct 1st 2024, 06:00

A recent replication study published in (https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(24)01757-7) iScience has confirmed previous findings that political ideology is associated with differences in brain structure, though with some nuanced updates. The study showed that conservative voters tend to have a slightly larger amygdala than progressive voters—by approximately the size of a sesame seed. However, the researchers found no consistent link between political views and the size of the anterior cingulate cortex, which is involved in tasks like conflict monitoring and emotional regulation.
The idea that people with different political ideologies may have structural differences in their brains has been an intriguing hypothesis in political psychology for over a decade. Early studies, (https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(11)00289-2) such as one conducted in 2011, suggested that conservatives have a larger amygdala, which might make them more responsive to fear and threat-related stimuli. In contrast, liberals were thought to have a larger anterior cingulate cortex, potentially making them better at managing uncertainty and adapting to new information.
However, these initial studies had limitations. They often relied on small, homogeneous samples—typically university students—which made it difficult to generalize the results to broader, more diverse populations. Moreover, political ideology is a complex and multifaceted concept, encompassing economic, social, and cultural dimensions that are not always captured by a simple left-right political spectrum. Recognizing these gaps, the authors of the new study sought to replicate and extend the earlier findings using a much larger and more diverse sample.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the interplay between biology and behavior, especially in the context of social and political issues,” said study author Diamantis Petropoulos Petalas, an assistant professor of psychology at The American College of Greece and member of the (https://www.hotpolitics.eu/) Hot Politics Lab at the University of Amsterdam.
“Political ideology is such a fundamental aspect of human identity, yet we know surprisingly little about its underlying mechanisms. Replicating previous findings advocating for biological correlates—like differences in brain structure—that contribute to our political beliefs is important for science, while it offers a unique perspective on why people hold different ideologies and what factors might influence these beliefs beyond upbringing or culture.”
The replication study aimed to address the limitations of earlier research by using a more robust methodology. The researchers used structural MRI scans from a large public dataset known as the Amsterdam Open MRI Collection, which includes brain imaging data from 928 healthy volunteers. This is about ten times the sample size of earlier studies, making the findings more statistically reliable. Participants were, on average, 22.86 years old, with a relatively balanced gender distribution (52% female).
Participants were asked to self-identify their political views on a seven-point Likert scale for each dimension. For social ideology, they indicated whether they saw themselves as progressive or conservative. For economic ideology, they were asked to place themselves on a left-right spectrum in terms of their beliefs about government intervention in the economy.
In addition to these self-identification measures, the researchers asked participants specific policy questions to capture their issue-based ideologies. Economic ideology was measured using four questions that asked participants about their views on income inequality, profit-sharing, and the government’s role in reducing disparities in ownership and wealth. Social ideology was assessed with questions about gender roles and attitudes toward homosexuality. .
The primary brain regions of interest in this study were the amygdala and the anterior cingulate cortex. These areas were chosen because of their involvement in emotional regulation and cognitive control, processes that are theoretically linked to political orientation. The researchers used voxel-based morphometry, a technique that allows for the measurement of gray matter volume in specific brain areas, to assess the size of the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex in each participant.
The study successfully replicated a key finding from earlier research: on average, conservative participants had larger amygdalas compared to their more progressive counterparts. Although the size difference was small, it was statistically significant, suggesting that conservatives may be more sensitive to fear or threat-related stimuli—a role the amygdala is known to play in emotional processing.
Interestingly, the relationship between amygdala size and conservatism was specific to social conservatism and did not extend to economic conservatism. For example, individuals who supported the Socialist Party, which advocates for radically left-wing economic policies but holds more conservative social values, had larger amygdalas on average compared to those aligned with other progressive parties.
“What surprised us most was the consistency of the amygdala-conservatism link, even in a multiparty political system like the Netherlands,” Petropoulos told PsyPost.
However, the researchers did not find consistent evidence that liberals had a larger anterior cingulate cortex, which contradicts some earlier studies. While this region was hypothesized to be larger in progressives due to its role in conflict monitoring and adaptability, the current study did not find a reliable link between its size and political ideology.
The researchers also conducted whole-brain analyses to see if other brain regions, beyond the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex, were related to political ideology. They found a positive relationship between social conservatism and gray matter volume in the right fusiform gyrus, a brain region involved in visual processing and social perception. This suggests that other brain areas, beyond the traditional focus on the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex, may also be involved in shaping political views.
“We did not expect to find an association between conservatism and the fusiform gyrus, which adds a new dimension to our understanding of how ideology may relate to social information processing,” Petropoulos said.
The fusiform gyrus has been linked to processes like face recognition and the perception of social categories, such as race and gender. The researchers speculate that structural differences in this area may reflect how individuals process social information, which could be related to their political ideology.
“The main takeaway is that our political beliefs may be shaped not only by our environment and experiences but also by our biology,” Petropoulos explained. “We found that certain brain structures, like the amygdala and fusiform gyrus, are associated with political ideology. While this doesn’t mean our brains ‘determine’ our political views, it suggests that biology plays a role in how we perceive and react to the world, influencing our political preferences.”
Although the researchers found that political ideology is associated with differences in brain structure, they cannot say whether these brain differences cause people to hold certain political views, or if holding certain views over time might influence brain development. Longitudinal studies that track brain changes and political beliefs over time would be needed to clarify this relationship.
In addition, while the sample was larger and more diverse than in previous studies, it was still primarily drawn from the Netherlands, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to other political systems. For example, in a country like the United States with a more polarized two-party system, the relationships between brain structure and political ideology might differ.
“While our study used a large and representative sample, it is still only one piece of the puzzle,” Petropoulos told PsyPost. “In the long term, I hope to explore how these brain-ideology associations change over time and whether environmental factors, such as political events or life experiences, or certain genotype can alter brain structures or functions related to ideology. I am also interested in examining functional brain connectivity to understand how different regions interact when processing political information.”
“I think it’s important for people to understand that our findings should not be used to reinforce stereotypes or suggest that political beliefs are fixed. The brain is incredibly adaptable, and political beliefs are shaped by many factors. Instead, understanding the biological influences on ideology may help us appreciate the diversity of perspectives and improve our ability to communicate across ideological divides.”
The study, “(https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.110532) Is political ideology correlated with brain structure? A preregistered replication,” was authored by Diamantis Petropoulos Petalas, Gijs Schumacher, and Steven H. Scholte.

(https://www.psypost.org/non-news-website-expose-people-to-more-political-content-than-news-websites/) Non-news website expose people to more political content than news websites
Sep 30th 2024, 16:00

A study conducted across the Netherlands, the United States, and Poland found that approximately 66% of the political content people are exposed to comes from non-news websites. People rarely visit news websites, and they search for political topics on these sites even less frequently. However, non-news websites also feature political topics, and the relationship between exposure to these topics and participants’ political views and behaviors is at least as strong as that of exposure to political news. The paper was published in (https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2023.2238641) Political Communication.
The media plays a crucial role in the political life of every society by serving as a bridge between the government and the general public. It informs citizens about political events, decisions, and policies, enabling them to make informed choices. Through investigative journalism, the media holds politicians and institutions accountable, exposing corruption and misconduct. In a democracy, a free and independent media ensures that diverse viewpoints are represented, promoting open debate and dialogue. It also encourages political participation by fostering public involvement in discussions about policies and governance.
However, biased or manipulated media can distort facts and influence public opinion, thereby undermining democratic processes. Studies also show that a significant portion of the American population views news as complex or boring. This group, generally uninterested in partisan politics, tends to avoid political news altogether. However, not all political information comes from news media.
Study author Magdalena Wojcieszak and her colleagues sought to explore how much political content people encounter outside of news domains. They also aimed to compare the amount of political content people encounter within news and non-news sources and to examine the effects of this exposure. The study involved participants from three countries: Poland, the U.S., and the Netherlands.
A total of 7,266 participants from these three countries took part in the study. Every three months (over a total of three waves), participants completed a 20-minute survey and provided browsing data to the researchers. By analyzing the browsing data, the researchers gathered information about participants’ online news exposure and political content exposure (including political content encountered outside of news sites). The survey also included questions that allowed the researchers to assess various factors related to participants’ political behavior and attitudes, such as political participation, support for compromise (between politicians and political parties), attitude polarization, affective polarization, endorsement of misinformation, attribution of malevolence (towards opposing parties), and perceived polarization (between political factions).
The results showed that only 3.4% of participants’ website visits were to news sites. The percentage was highest in the Netherlands (4.2%) and lowest in the U.S. (2.4%). Of these visits, only around 26% were to political content within news websites, representing less than 1% of overall visits to all websites. Interestingly, the Dutch, who visited news websites most frequently, visited political news the least (14% of visits to news websites), while Americans, who visited news websites the least, visited political news more than participants from the other two countries (36% of visits to news websites).
Meanwhile, 1.6% of non-news website visits were to content related to politics. This percentage was highest in the U.S. (2% of all visits) and lowest in the Netherlands (1.2% of all visits). This suggests that participants were exposed to more political content through non-news websites than through news websites. In fact, approximately 66% of the political content participants encountered came from non-news websites.
Further analysis revealed that participants exposed to more political content outside of news websites were more likely to express intentions to participate in politics (e.g., by protesting or signing a petition), but this effect was observed only in the U.S. and Poland. In the Netherlands, exposure to political content outside of news sites was linked to increased extremity of political attitudes, while in the U.S., this exposure was associated with increased hostility towards supporters of other parties and those with opposing views. In contrast, in the Netherlands, exposure to political content outside of news websites was linked to a decrease in affective polarization towards supporters of other parties.
In all three countries, participants who were exposed to more news and political content outside of news websites tended to endorse less misinformation, meaning they were generally better informed.
“We find that citizens prefer online entertainment, shopping sites, and celebrity gossip over news and public affairs. That may be nothing new. Yet, our data also show that citizens’ visits to non-news sites are the dominant source of political information. Even though politics in these kinds of sites comprised only 1.6% of all visits, the aggregate popularity of webmail, entertainment, shopping sites, or celebrity gossip means that an average citizen encounters most political content outside news. People, especially Americans and especially those with low political interest, encounter politics more frequently outside news outlets than within,” the study authors concluded.
This study contributes to the scientific understanding of how individuals obtain political information from online sources. However, it should be noted that the design of the study does not allow for causal conclusions. As a result, it remains unclear whether exposure to political content shapes political behaviors and attitudes, or whether people with specific political attitudes and behaviors seek out certain types of political content.
The paper, “(https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2023.2238641) Non-News Websites Expose People to More Political Content Than News Websites: Evidence from Browsing Data in Three Countries,” was authored by Magdalena Wojcieszak, Ericka Menchen-Trevino, Bernhard Clemm von Hohenberg, Sjifra de Leeuw, João Gonçalves, Sam Davidson, and Alexandre Gonçalves.

(https://www.psypost.org/new-study-reveals-how-photo-filters-influence-likability-on-dating-apps/) New study reveals how photo filters influence likability on dating apps
Sep 30th 2024, 14:00

A recent study published in the (https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2025-11380-001) Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science has shed light on how people judge unfamiliar faces on dating apps, particularly when these faces are enhanced with photo filters. Subtle photo filters—those that make small, barely noticeable changes to appearance—tended to increase how much people “liked” a face. In contrast, exaggerated filters, which make faces look more artificial, had the opposite effect, reducing the level of “liking.”
Online dating apps like Tinder rely heavily on first impressions, with users making split-second decisions based on profile pictures. In recent years, the use of photo filters—tools that allow people to alter their appearance—has skyrocketed, particularly on social media platforms and dating apps. Filters range from playful (such as turning someone into an animal) to more subtle adjustments that make a face look smoother, younger, or more symmetrical.
Given the importance of visual cues in attraction, researchers wondered how these filters might influence judgments of trustworthiness and likability, particularly in the context of dating apps where such judgments can have real-world consequences. For example, if people use heavily filtered images that alter their appearance drastically, they might create a false sense of trust, which could later lead to feelings of betrayal when meeting in person.
“I like to investigate aspects of social perception that are relevant in everyday life,” said study author Antonio Olivera-La Rosa, a full professor at Luis Amigó Catholic University in Medellín, Colombia. “The use of facial filters on social networks/dating apps is ubiquitous, people often use filters as ‘virtual makeup’ to increase attractiveness and to receive more positive responses (e.g., liking). However, the effects of facial filters on social perception is surprisingly understudied. When we talked about it with Gordon Ingram and Erick Chuquichambi, it seemed like a logical step, since we had previously investigated facial perception of masks during the pandemic.”
For their study, the researchers recruited 218 participants from a Colombian university, representing a diverse range of ages, sexual orientations, and educational backgrounds. The study was designed to simulate a mobile dating app environment, allowing participants to make rapid judgments about unfamiliar faces, as they would in a real-world dating app like Tinder.
The study used 72 different faces, including 36 male and 36 female faces, each presented in three versions: unfiltered, subtly filtered, and exaggeratedly filtered. The subtle filters made small, difficult-to-detect changes to the face, such as smoothing the skin or enhancing features slightly, while the exaggerated filters made the face look more artificial, such as enlarging the eyes or altering facial symmetry in a noticeable way.
The participants were shown each face in its different versions and asked to rate the faces based on two criteria: how much they liked the face and how trustworthy they found it. These two tasks were designed to mimic the “swiping” action in dating apps, where users make quick judgments about whether they want to connect with someone.
In addition to rating the faces, participants completed a questionnaire that measured their sociosexuality, which refers to their openness to casual sexual relationships. This measure allowed the researchers to see whether participants with more unrestricted sociosexuality—those who are more inclined to engage in short-term, uncommitted sexual encounters—were more likely to trust or like certain types of faces, particularly those that were filtered.
The researchers found that individuals with more unrestricted sociosexuality were more likely to trust faces, especially those with subtle filters. This suggests that people who are more open to casual relationships might be more willing to trust the faces they encounter on dating apps, even when those faces are altered with filters. This could be because these individuals are more accustomed to making quick decisions about potential romantic or sexual partners based on appearance alone, making them more receptive to slight enhancements in how people present themselves online.
“We found that sociosexuality (one’s propensity for uncommitted sexual behaviour) predicted higher trustworthiness judgments when evaluating faces in an app-like interface,” Olivera-La Rosa told PsyPost. “Therefore, our results suggest that sociosexuality is a psychological predisposition towards trust that may constitute a risk factor in online contexts. As we mention in the paper, ‘if someone you have matched with is more sociosexual than you, their ‘like’ may not mean that they find you as attractive as you find them; while if they are less sociosexual than you, they may not trust you as much as you trust them.'”
As expected, attractive faces were rated as more trustworthy and were liked more than unattractive faces. Neutral faces fell in between. The findings support the “beautiful-is-good” stereotype, where attractive people are often perceived more positively across various traits, including trustworthiness. Interestingly, the bias against unattractive faces was stronger than the positive bias for attractive faces. This means unattractive faces were not only liked less but were also judged more harshly in terms of trust.
Another significant finding was that subtle photo filters generally increased how much participants liked a face, while exaggerated filters reduced this likability. Faces with no filter fell in between. This suggests that small adjustments to a person’s appearance can enhance how positively they are perceived, but when those alterations become too obvious or artificial, they begin to detract from the face’s appeal. Surprisingly, however, the level of filtering did not significantly affect trustworthiness judgments.
“We expected that exaggerated photo filters (e.g., with extremely enlarged eyes), would decrease trustworthiness judgements and liking responses,” Olivera-La Rosa said. “However, this was not the case. In general, our findings suggest that the effects of the ‘strength’ of photo filters on social perception may be limited to attractiveness judgments, with no effect on perceived trustworthiness.”
The researchers also uncovered a bias against unattractive faces, which was amplified when filters were applied. In particular, male faces that were considered unattractive were judged more harshly than female faces with similar characteristics. This finding aligns with other studies suggesting that men who are perceived as unattractive may face greater social penalties, particularly when they are judged as less trustworthy or more threatening.
As with any scientific study, this research had its limitations. The sample was relatively narrow, consisting mainly of young Colombian university students. While this group represents a relevant population for dating apps, it may not reflect how people in other age groups, countries, or cultural backgrounds perceive filtered faces.
In addition, the study focused specifically on a dating app-like context, which may not reflect how people make social judgments in other online environments, such as professional networking or social media platforms that emphasize different kinds of interactions. The researchers suggest that future studies could explore how filters and sociosexuality impact trust in non-dating contexts, like Facebook or LinkedIn.
“With AI, people are going to be using filters even more, and even whole artificial video avatars, so it’s going to be very important to see what factors influence how much people trust these new online visual representations with which they are interacting,” Olivera-La Rosa said.
The study, “(https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/cbs0000423) An Experimental Study on the Role of Sociosexuality in Judgements of Perceived Trustworthiness in a Mobile Dating-Like Interface,” was authored by Antonio Olivera-La Rosa, Erick G. Chuquichambi, and Gordon P. D. Ingram.

(https://www.psypost.org/choir-singing-associated-with-improved-brain-structure-especially-in-older-adults/) Choir singing associated with improved brain structure, especially in older adults
Sep 30th 2024, 12:00

A new study published in (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hbm.26705) Human Brain Mapping suggests that regular participation in choir singing can improve brain health by enhancing the structure of white matter, the part of the brain responsible for communication between different regions. The study indicates that choir singing might support brain health from young adulthood through old age.
Previous research has shown that musical activities benefit brain health by improving both the structure and function of the brain. These improvements are believed to help counteract age-related cognitive decline and reduce the risk of dementia. Music engages multiple areas of the brain and has been found to enhance memory, processing speed, and executive function. Given these findings, scientists have been eager to explore how musical activities might be used as tools to maintain cognitive health, especially in older populations.
With the global population aging at a rapid pace, finding cost-effective, enjoyable, and accessible ways to maintain brain health is increasingly important. Choir singing, which combines musical engagement with social interaction, has garnered attention as a promising activity that could enhance cognitive health. Not only is it an accessible hobby that doesn’t require expensive equipment or prior training, but group singing has also been shown to improve quality of life, mood, and social connections, particularly among older adults.
To investigate the potential brain benefits of choir singing, a research team led by Nella Moisseinen from the University of Helsinki in Finland conducted a study to explore whether amateur-level choir singing could support brain health and cognitive function across different age groups. Unlike previous research that often focused on instrumental music or professional musicians, this study examined the effects of non-professional choir singing.
The study recruited 95 healthy adults ranging in age from 21 to 88 years, ensuring a broad representation of the adult lifespan. Advanced neuroimaging techniques were used to measure the participants’ brain structures, focusing on white matter and gray matter. White matter consists of bundles of nerve fibers that connect different regions of the brain, facilitating communication. Gray matter, on the other hand, is involved in functions such as muscle control, sensory perception, and decision-making.
The participants were divided into three age groups: young adults (20–39 years), middle-aged adults (40–59 years), and older adults (60 years and above). Each participant’s choir singing experience was recorded in terms of both the number of years they had participated and the frequency of their involvement. The researchers then analyzed how the duration of choir singing was associated with the structural integrity of white matter and gray matter across the different age groups.
Choir singing was linked to significant improvements in white matter connectivity, particularly in the corpus callosum, a crucial structure that connects the brain’s two hemispheres. This region plays a vital role in ensuring smooth communication between the brain’s left and right sides, which is important for cognitive functions such as language processing, motor coordination, and memory.
The improvements in the corpus callosum were seen across all age groups, but they were most pronounced in older adults. This finding is important because white matter often declines with age, and strengthening this brain structure could help protect against cognitive decline in later life.
In addition to the corpus callosum, enhancements in the white matter of the fornix were also observed. The fornix is a bundle of nerve fibers that is critical for memory function, as it connects the hippocampus, a key memory center, with other brain regions. Interestingly, this effect was only found in the older adults, suggesting that choir singing might have a particularly protective effect on memory-related brain structures as people age.
One notable aspect of the study was its finding that choir singing did not have a significant impact on gray matter volume. This null result might be explained by the fact that white matter and gray matter age differently and respond to environmental factors like music in distinct ways. Gray matter, which handles sensory perception and higher-order functions like decision-making, might not be as sensitive to the kind of musical engagement provided by choir singing, or the measurement techniques used in this study may not have been sensitive enough to detect subtle changes in gray matter.
It should be noted that the study has some limitations. For instance, the cross-sectional design limits the ability to infer causality, meaning it cannot definitively say that choir singing causes the observed brain changes. For instance, it’s possible that people with healthier brains might be more inclined to engage in musical activities like choir singing, rather than choir singing directly causing improvements in brain health.
Despite the caveats, Moisseinen and her team emphasized that their findings still provide important evidence that choir singing could be a valuable tool for maintaining brain health as people age. “The present study provides the first evidence of an association between choir singing and enhanced white matter microstructure at the whole-brain level across a large age range,” they wrote. The study supports the growing body of research suggesting that engaging in musical activities can offer a range of cognitive and emotional benefits, particularly in older adulthood.
The researchers also pointed out that choir singing is an accessible and low-cost activity that could easily be adopted by individuals or communities as a way to promote brain health. Given its dual benefits of musical engagement and social interaction, choir singing may be an especially effective way to preserve cognitive function and enhance quality of life in aging populations. Further research will be needed to explore the full range of benefits that musical activities like choir singing can offer, but this study provides a promising starting point for understanding how such activities can help maintain brain health well into old age.
The study, “(https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fhbm.26705) Choir singing is associated with enhanced structural connectivity across the adult lifespan,” was authored by Nella Moisseinen, Lotta Ahveninen, Noelia Martínez-Molina, Viljami Sairanen, Susanna Melkas, Boris Kleber, Aleksi J. Sihvonen, and Teppo Särkämö.

(https://www.psypost.org/people-who-desire-to-avoid-negative-emotions-are-less-likely-to-acknowledge-of-systemic-racism/) People who desire to avoid negative emotions are less likely to acknowledge systemic racism
Sep 30th 2024, 10:00

A new study published in the journal (https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2024-70752-001?doi=1) Emotion has found that the more people try to avoid feeling negative emotions, the less likely they are to acknowledge the existence of systemic racism. The research suggests that interventions designed to reduce this tendency must be implemented thoughtfully, taking into account cultural norms that often discourage confronting discomfort. This study sheds light on how emotional avoidance might serve as an obstacle to recognizing and addressing racial injustice.
The murder of George Floyd and other tragic events in recent years have brought widespread attention to issues of racial injustice in the United States. Acknowledging systemic racism is considered an important step toward addressing it, yet many individuals often avoid these conversations. The researchers were interested in understanding whether this desire to avoid negative feelings might act as a barrier to acknowledging racism.
“My students and I have been studying how people’s desire to want to (https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/spc3.70000) avoid feeling negative shapes how much people notice other people’s suffering,” said study author (https://www.scu.edu/cas/psychology/faculty-and-staff/birgit-koopmann-holm/) Birgit Koopmann-Holm, an associate professor of psychology at Santa Clara University.
“Acknowledging systemic racism is one specific instance of perceiving that people are suffering, so we wanted to examine whether wanting to avoid feeling negative also shapes how much people acknowledge systemic racism. Understanding why some people are more likely to acknowledge systemic racism is important because this understanding could guide interventions to help people acknowledge racism as a first step to becoming anti-racist.”
In the first study, the researchers wanted to explore whether there was a link between people’s desire to avoid negative emotions and their willingness to acknowledge systemic racism. To do this, they surveyed 104 undergraduate students from Santa Clara University. The participants were asked to complete a series of questionnaires that measured how much they wanted to avoid negative emotions and were asked to rate their perceptions of racism in various scenarios. These scenarios included both isolated incidents of racism (such as an individual being denied service due to their race) and examples of systemic racism (like racial disparities in areas such as housing and employment).
To make sure their findings were accurate, the researchers controlled for several other factors that are known to influence people’s beliefs about racism. These included political ideology (how liberal or conservative someone is), ethnicity, and moral foundations, which are the basic ethical principles that guide decision-making.
The findings of the first study revealed a clear link between the desire to avoid negative emotions and the acknowledgment of systemic racism. Participants who reported a stronger desire to avoid negative emotions were less likely to acknowledge the existence of systemic racism, even after controlling for factors like political beliefs and ethnicity.
Interestingly, the desire to avoid negative feelings did not affect participants’ acknowledgment of isolated acts of racism. This suggests that while people might be willing to recognize individual instances of discrimination, they are less likely to confront broader, more uncomfortable issues like systemic racism if they are highly motivated to avoid negative emotions.
“We found that wanting to avoid feeling negative is a barrier to acknowledging systemic racism, that is, the more people want to avoid feeling negative, the less they acknowledge that systemic racism exists,” Koopmann-Holm told PsyPost. “This finding held even after taking political beliefs, ethnicity, and moral values into account, factors that have been shown to be associated with systemic racism beliefs.”
For the second study, the researchers set out to test whether people’s motivation to avoid negative emotions could directly influence their acknowledgment of systemic racism. To do this, they designed an experiment in which they manipulated participants’ desire to avoid negative feelings. The 116 participants, who again were undergraduate students, were randomly assigned to one of three groups.
In one group, participants were instructed to avoid negative emotions while completing the survey, while another group was encouraged to accept and embrace negative emotions. The third group served as a control, receiving no specific instructions about how to handle their emotions. Participants were asked how much they wanted to avoid negative emotions in the present moment, serving as a test of the manipulation.
The goal of this experiment was to see if participants who were told to avoid negative feelings would be less likely to acknowledge systemic racism, compared to those in the other two groups. The results confirmed this hypothesis: participants who were instructed to avoid negative emotions reported a higher desire to avoid negative emotions and acknowledged systemic racism less than those in the control group. However, the group encouraged to accept negative emotions did not differ significantly from the control group, suggesting that the manipulation was not successful.
“While we were able to increase people’s desire to want to avoid feeling negative, which caused people to acknowledge systemic racism less, we were not able to decrease people’s desire to want to avoid feeling negative,” Koopmann-Holm explained. “Our other research suggests that people in the U.S. want to avoid feeling negative more than people in other cultural contexts, so people in the U.S. might need very specific instructions on how to accept feeling negative.”
“Because we were not able to decrease how much people want to avoid feeling negative, we do not yet know whether this would cause people to acknowledge systemic racism more. This is what we are examining in our current research.”
As with all studies, there were limitations that need to be considered when interpreting the findings. For instance, the study’s sample consisted entirely of undergraduate students from a liberal college in the San Francisco Bay Area. This group may not represent the broader U.S. population, especially in terms of racial attitudes or experiences.
One important area for future research is to examine how cultural norms influence the avoidance of negative feelings. The researchers note that in the United States, there is a strong cultural emphasis on avoiding negative emotions, which may make it especially difficult for Americans to confront issues like systemic racism. Comparing these findings to other cultures with different emotional norms, such as Germany or China, could provide valuable insights into how emotional avoidance is shaped by society.
Another important direction is developing more effective interventions to reduce people’s desire to avoid negative emotions. The researchers suggest that longer and more immersive interventions may be needed to help individuals become more comfortable with negative feelings. These interventions might include exposure to uncomfortable emotions in controlled environments, which could help people realize that negative emotions are not as overwhelming as they might seem. Over time, this could lower their motivation to avoid discomfort, potentially leading to greater acknowledgment of systemic racism.
“We are currently investigating whether we can decrease people’s desire to want to avoid feeling negative with a stronger manipulation to examine whether this would cause people to acknowledge systemic racism more as a first step to becoming anti-racist,” Koopmann-Holm said.
The study, “(https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/emo0001364) Facing Discomfort: Avoided Negative Affect Shapes the Acknowledgment of Systemic Racism,” was authored by Kara Murray and Birgit Koopmann-Holm.

Forwarded by:
Michael Reeder LCPC
Baltimore, MD

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