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(https://www.psypost.org/gamified-digital-mental-health-interventions-show-modest-effects-in-treating-youth-with-adhd-and-depression/) Gamified digital mental health interventions show modest effects in treating youth with ADHD and depression
Oct 16th 2024, 10:00

A recent meta-analysis of experimental studies examining the effectiveness of gamified digital mental health interventions found that these treatments showed modest effects in reducing symptoms of ADHD and depression. However, they were not effective in addressing anxiety disorders. The study revealed that ADHD treatments delivered on a computer and those tested on groups with a higher percentage of boys produced stronger effects. These findings were published in (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2823863) JAMA Pediatrics.
Anxiety, depression, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are the most common mental health disorders affecting children. It is estimated that up to 20% of children experience these conditions, and many display symptoms of more than one disorder. Common symptoms include low mood, excessive worry, difficulty focusing, hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior. Each of these symptoms can significantly impair a child’s ability to function in school, at home, and in social settings.
If left untreated, these disorders can persist into adulthood, increasing the risk of developing more severe mental health issues. While treatments such as psychotherapy and medications are available, they can be burdensome. Medication often requires continuous administration, and psychotherapy involves regular sessions with trained professionals, which can be costly and time-consuming for families. Moreover, accessing these treatments is often difficult due to the limited availability of mental health professionals, particularly for children.
“We found literature that suggests that even doubling the number of pediatric mental health providers still wouldn’t meet the need,” said Barry Bryant, a resident in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and first author of the new study.
Digital mental health interventions have emerged as a promising solution to these challenges. These interventions use technology platforms—such as computers, tablets, video game consoles, and smartphones—to deliver therapeutic activities aimed at improving mental health. Although research has shown some effectiveness for these treatments, engagement remains a significant challenge. Children and adolescents may download these apps or games but often struggle to consistently engage with the therapeutic content, especially if they lack motivation or have issues with attention.
To better understand the potential of digital mental health interventions, Bryant and his colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of studies exploring the effects of these interventions on symptoms of depression, anxiety, and ADHD in children. The researchers conducted a meta-analysis to consolidate the findings of various studies to provide a clearer picture of how effective these interventions are in treating the most common mental health disorders in childhood.
The researchers conducted a systematic search of scientific databases, using terms like “ADHD,” “depression,” “anxiety,” “youth,” “children,” and “adolescents,” while focusing on interventions described as “videogame,” “computer game,” or “game-based.” This search identified 27 studies that met the criteria for inclusion. Of these, 11 studies focused on ADHD, 9 on depression, and 12 on anxiety. Collectively, these studies involved 2,911 participants, with ages ranging from 8 to 17 years old.
The analysis revealed that gamified digital mental health interventions showed modest positive effects in treating both ADHD and depression, but they did not demonstrate significant benefits for anxiety disorders. Importantly, the effectiveness of these interventions varied based on several factors.
ADHD treatments were more effective when delivered via computer rather than other devices, such as tablets. One possible explanation is that computers are often used in more controlled, less distracting environments (e.g., at a desk), while tablets may be used in a variety of settings with more distractions.
Sex differences also emerged, with treatments for ADHD being more effective in groups that included a larger proportion of boys. This could be due to the types of gamified interventions used, which may have been more appealing to boys, such as action or driving games.
For depression, treatments that imposed preset time limits were associated with better outcomes. Structured time limits may help keep children engaged with the therapeutic content, allowing them to focus and derive more benefit from the intervention.
“While the benefits are still modest, our research shows that we have some novel tools to help improve children’s mental health — particularly for ADHD and depression — that can be relatively accessible to families,” said Joseph McGuire, an author of the study and an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences in the school of medicine. “So if you are a pediatrician and you’re having trouble getting your pediatric patient into individual mental health care, there could be some gamified mental health interventions that could be nice first steps for children while waiting to start individual therapy.”
The study sheds light on the effects of gamified digital mental health interventions on symptoms of common mental health disorders in childhood. However, it should be noted that the examined treatments were very diverse. It can be expected that the effectiveness of an intervention largely depends on the characteristics of the intervention, not so much on the fact that it is delivered through a technology platform. If the examined set of interventions was different, results would likely be different as well.
The paper, “(https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.3139?utm_campaign=articlePDF%26utm_medium=articlePDFlink%26utm_source=articlePDF%26utm_content=jamapediatrics.2024.3139) Efficacy of Gamified Digital Mental Health Interventions for Pediatric Mental Health Conditions A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” was authored by Barry R. Bryant, Morgan R. Sisk, and Joseph F. McGuire.

(https://www.psypost.org/autistic-traits-linked-to-specific-pattern-of-social-learning-study-finds/) Autistic traits linked to specific pattern of social learning, study finds
Oct 16th 2024, 08:00

According to a new study published in (https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-024-00287-1) Nature Mental Health, people with autistic traits tend to favor imitation over inferring the motives behind others’ actions when learning through observation. These findings could lead to a deeper understanding of the cognitive processes associated with autistic traits and may contribute to future research on autism spectrum disorder.
Autism, formally known as autism spectrum disorder, is a developmental condition that affects social communication, behavior, and interaction. Individuals with autism often experience challenges in understanding social cues, interpreting other people’s emotions or intentions, and adapting to dynamic social situations. These characteristics can vary significantly in severity, which is why it is referred to as a spectrum.
Beyond those diagnosed with autism, there are also autism-like traits, which are subclinical characteristics seen in the general population. Previous research has shown that people with autism or more autistic traits have difficulties with social learning, which includes understanding others’ intentions and adjusting their own behavior accordingly. However, the exact processes behind this difficulty have not been clearly explained. The researchers aimed to explore the cognitive mechanics of these challenges.
“My main research interest is to study social behaviors in autism. Social behavior itself is very complicated and involves a lot of psychological processes, such as attention, perception, learning, decision making, and so on,” said study author Qianying Wu, a PhD candidate at California Institute of Technology and member of the (https://www.olab.caltech.edu/index.html) Human Reward and Decision Making Lab.
“Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that features atypical social interactions and communications. I want to figure out what exact step is different between autistic and non-autistic people, which ultimately affects the social outcomes. Understanding such differences would bring us insights about the diagnosis and intervention of autism.”
“This project focused on observational learning, it is very common in our everyday life, and there’s plenty of evidence showing that autistic people perform differently,” Wu explained. “While many studies focused on comparing the performance (i.e., successful vs. unsuccessful observational learning), our study applied computational models to explain the underlying learning processes affected by autistic traits.”
“Therefore, in our model, we try to explain people’s behaviors with several possibilities, maybe they learn by imitating the others, maybe they learn by making inferences about another’s goals (i.e., emulation), or maybe they are not learning anything. I’m interested in knowing how the heterogeneity of learning style leads to the heterogeneity of performance.”
The researchers conducted two separate studies involving large online participant samples. In the first study, 943 participants were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk and Prolific, while the second study (the replication sample) included 352 participants, all recruited from Prolific.
Participants took part in an observational learning task where they observed the actions of a simulated partner and then made decisions based on those observations. The goal was to maximize rewards by selecting one of three slot machines, each of which could produce one of three colored tokens. However, only one color was valuable at any given time, and the valuable color could change throughout the task.
The participants had to infer which token was valuable by watching the partner’s slot machine choices, as the partner was aware of the correct token. A key challenge was that participants did not receive direct feedback about whether the partner’s choices were successful, requiring them to deduce the valuable token based solely on the partner’s actions, without seeing the actual rewards.
The researchers used computational models to analyze how participants made decisions during the task, focusing on two key learning strategies: imitation and emulation. Imitation refers to copying another person’s actions exactly as observed, while emulation involves understanding the underlying goal of the action and finding one’s own way to achieve that goal.
The results showed that people with higher levels of autistic traits were less likely to engage in emulation. Furthermore, the researchers found that the reduced emulation in individuals with autistic traits was specific to autism-related social difficulties and not explained by general social anxiety or other psychiatric symptoms.
Interestingly, participants higher in autistic traits were just as capable of simple imitation as their peers, indicating that their social learning difficulties were specific to the more complex cognitive process of emulation.
“While learning from others to perform a task, individuals with higher levels of autistic traits are less likely to make active inferences about the other people – they may not think about ‘why’ the others act in that way (which is a more efficient way of learning), but more likely to copy the others’ actions, or insist on their own way of performing,” Wu told PsyPost. “This may be part of the reason why these individuals experience more challenges in social interactions.”
These findings align with the known social challenges faced by individuals on the autism spectrum. People with autism often struggle with understanding others’ intentions and interpreting social cues, which can lead to difficulties in adapting their own behavior in social contexts.
However, the researchers noted that despite their findings, caution is needed in assuming participants with reduced emulation only use imitation, as some may have employed alternative strategies.
“Initially we aimed to identify which type of learning our participants adopted between two candidates: imitation and emulation,” Wu explained. “However, after analyzing the data, we realized another group of people might utilize other strategies that’s neither imitation nor emulation. They may have some fixed behavioral patterns, such as always choosing the red option, or sticking to their previous actions, regardless of the information from the observation phase. This type of behavioral tendency is also associated with autistic traits.”
There are some other caveats to consider as well. For instance, the participants were not formally diagnosed with autism. “Our sample is a large-scale online sample drawn from the general population, which means there’s no clearly diagnosed autistic participant that we confirmed (even though some of them might be),” Wu noted. “So we don’t want to overclaim that our findings apply to clinically diagnosed autistic individuals, at this moment the findings apply to ‘autistic trait’ as a personality trait dimension. Whether it generalizes to the autistic population needs further investigation.”
Despite these caveats, the study provides a strong foundation for understanding the cognitive mechanisms underlying social learning in individuals with autistic traits. The use of computational models allowed the researchers to capture subtle differences in learning strategies, and their findings offer a promising direction for future research on autism spectrum disorder and other psychiatric conditions.
“An immediate next step for us is to test whether the existing findings do apply to the clinically diagnosed autistic population,” Wu said. “If so, our observational learning task could be a candidate for future use of autism diagnosis or assessment. Another direction is to continue understanding other aspects of learning and decision making in autism. Now that we found some evidence in observational learning, we want to use a richer set of behavioral tests and see whether autistic traits are associated with social learning alone, or also to a broader range of other non-social learnings or decision-makings.”
Finally, Wu highlighted the importance of their method: “Our approach is described with the term ‘computational psychiatry.’ It’s a method that has become popular over the past decade. Compared to traditional ways of studying, this approach highlights the computational basis of behaviors and helps us understand ‘why’ and ‘how’ individuals act in different ways.”
The study, “(https://www.nature.com/articles/s44220-024-00287-1) Individual differences in autism-like traits are associated with reduced goal emulation in a computational model of observational learning,” was authored by Qianying Wu, Sarah Oh, Reza Tadayonnejad, Jamie D. Feusner, Jeffrey Cockburn, John P. O’Doherty, and Caroline J. Charpentier.

(https://www.psypost.org/neuroscientists-uncover-brain-mechanisms-underlying-political-myside-bias/) Neuroscientists uncover brain mechanisms underlying political myside bias
Oct 16th 2024, 06:00

A recent study published in (https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/19/1/nsae056/7738142) Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience found that people on both sides of the immigration debate tend to endorse factual statements that align with their own beliefs and favor messages from people within their group. Importantly, the study showed that this behavior is reflected in brain activity. By analyzing participants’ brain responses, researchers identified neural patterns that predicted when people would overendorse messages that aligned with their views and downplay those that didn’t.
In today’s highly polarized political environment, people are often quick to embrace information that supports their existing beliefs while dismissing opposing views. This phenomenon, known as motivated reasoning, has far-reaching consequences, from shaping public opinion to fueling misinformation. Understanding the underlying brain processes that drive this behavior could help researchers and policymakers develop strategies to reduce bias and misinformation.
Previous research has proposed different models to explain why people exhibit biased reasoning in political contexts. Some suggest that individuals derive psychological rewards from holding beliefs that align with their social group or ideology. Others propose that the brain’s error detection system, which alerts us when new information contradicts prior beliefs, could play a key role. However, the exact neural mechanisms remain unclear.
“The spread of misinformation and the growing belief polarization often reflect people’s motivation to process information in ways that protect their valuable political identities and affirm their political attitudes even at the defiance of facts,” said study author Giannis Lois, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of Crete.
“For the development of evidence-based policy interventions to curb this problem, a better scientific understanding of the underlying neurocognitive processes of politically motivated reasoning is of paramount importance. However, existing work has not systematically examined the neural basis of politically motivated reasoning as most neuroimaging studies on this topic have failed to distinguish motivated reasoning from rational Bayesian reasoning with biased prior beliefs. More specifically, these studies did not control for essential components of the belief updating process such as participants’ prior beliefs on the topic of interest and their confidence in the different sources of information.”
The study focused on the contentious issue of immigration, specifically how people perceive foreign criminality. After screening 628 potential German participants, the researchers recruited 41 individuals in total, 26 who supported a welcoming migration policy and 15 who favored stricter immigration controls. These two groups represented opposite ends of the immigration debate: one group believed that immigrants do not increase crime rates, while the other believed they do.
Participants were asked to estimate the percentage of crimes committed by foreigners in various German cities and then read factual messages that either confirmed or contradicted their estimates. Importantly, the messages came from members of either their own group (pro- or anti-immigration) or the opposing group. For example, a participant who believed that foreigners are not responsible for high crime rates might see a message from an anti-immigration supporter stating that foreign criminality is higher than they estimated. Participants were then asked to rate how likely it was that the message was correct.
While participants completed this task, researchers used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to measure their brain activity. The goal was to observe which brain regions were involved in the decision-making process when participants endorsed or rejected the messages. By comparing participants’ responses to different types of messages (in-group vs. out-group, desirable vs. undesirable), the researchers were able to identify the neural mechanisms driving their biases.
The researchers found that participants were more likely to believe messages that confirmed their views and messages from in-group members. In contrast, they tended to underendorse or reject messages that contradicted their beliefs or came from out-group members. Interestingly, the study found no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the magnitude of these biases, indicating that both sides were equally prone to motivated reasoning.
“We demonstrate that people engage in two distinct forms of motivated reasoning: desirability bias, which reflects a tendency to accept messages aligned with their ideology while rejecting those that are not, and identity bias, which reflects a preference for messages from ingroup members and a discounting of messages from outgroup members,” Lois told PsyPost.
The brain imaging data provided further insight into these biases. The researchers identified several brain regions that were activated when participants processed messages in a biased way. Key areas included the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the ventral striatum, which are known to be involved in evaluating the value of information and making decisions based on rewards. When participants endorsed messages that aligned with their beliefs, these regions showed increased activity, suggesting that the brain treats belief-confirming information as rewarding.
In addition, regions associated with error detection, such as the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the anterior insula, were also activated. These areas help the brain detect and process discrepancies between new information and prior beliefs. The study found that these regions were more active when participants processed messages that contradicted their views, possibly reflecting the brain’s effort to reconcile conflicting information.
Finally, the researchers observed activity in the temporoparietal junction, a region involved in understanding others’ perspectives and social reasoning. This area was particularly active when participants processed messages from in-group members, suggesting that people may engage in more mental effort to understand and accept information from their own social group.
“We show that these biases are supported by different neural mechanisms,” Lois explained. “Brain areas associated with value encoding, error detection, and mentalizing were linked to desirability bias, whereas identity bias involved less extensive activation in the mentalizing network. The similar brain activation patterns observed in two rival political groups suggest that belief polarization occurs because opposing ideological groups rely on shared neurocognitive processes that drive motivated reasoning.”
But as with all research, there are some limitations to consider.
“As with most neuroimaging studies, the relatively small sample size and the focus on a single issue (in this case, immigration) may limit the generalizability of our findings to other populations or socio-political contexts,” Lois noted. “However, it is worth noting that we replicated the behavioral effects observed by (https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/mic.20220146) Thaler (2024), who used a similar experimental design but addressed a range of political topics. This suggests that people engage in motivated reasoning across various contexts, not just when discussing immigration.”
Looking forward, the researchers plan to further explore the causal role of specific brain regions.
“Our next step in this line of research is to use non-invasive brain stimulation techniques to clarify the causal role of specific cortical regions in politically motivated reasoning,” Lois said. “These studies can offer valuable new insights into the precise neural and cognitive mechanisms that drive motivated thinking in political contexts. Such insights can then enhance existing cognitive models and contribute to the development of strategies to reduce belief polarization and limit the spread of misinformation.”
The study, “(https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/19/1/nsae056/7738142) Tracking politically motivated reasoning in the brain: the role of mentalizing, value-encoding, and error detection networks,” was authored by Giannis Lois, Elias Tsakas, Kenneth Yuen, and Arno Riedl.

(https://www.psypost.org/high-skilled-immigration-fuels-regional-entrepreneurship-study-suggests/) High-skilled immigration fuels regional entrepreneurship, study suggests
Oct 15th 2024, 18:00

A new study published in the (https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2402001121) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences highlights a significant relationship between high-skilled immigration and regional entrepreneurship in the United States. By analyzing newly awarded H-1B visas, the researchers found that when the number of high-skilled immigrants in a metropolitan area doubles, entrepreneurship in that region increases by 6% within three years. These findings suggest that policies promoting high-skilled immigration could boost regional economic growth by fostering new business creation.
While previous research has shown that immigrants are often overrepresented among startup founders, there is limited evidence on whether the presence of high-skilled immigrants, particularly those on H-1B visas, leads to increased entrepreneurship at the regional level. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. companies to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations, such as those in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The program grants 85,000 new visas annually and is designed to fill skill gaps in the U.S. labor market by bringing in highly educated professionals from abroad.
However, a key challenge in studying the H-1B program is that these visas are tied to a specific employer, limiting the ability of recipients to start their own businesses while working under the visa. The visa holders are typically bound to their sponsoring employer, and although it is possible for an immigrant to start a business and sponsor their own visa, this is rare due to the legal and logistical complexities involved.
Moreover, even though some high-skilled immigrants eventually start businesses, concerns have been raised that they might displace firms founded by native entrepreneurs, creating competition in the local economy. The research team aimed to investigate whether high-skilled immigrants contribute to regional entrepreneurship in ways beyond directly starting businesses themselves, such as by sharing knowledge, fostering innovation, and driving growth within existing local industries. This study seeks to understand if the presence of high-skilled immigrants enhances the overall entrepreneurial ecosystem of a region, benefiting the local economy in broader, less direct ways.
To explore this issue, the researchers used a variety of data sources, including information on H-1B visa approvals from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), labor condition applications from the Department of Labor, and regional entrepreneurship data from the Startup Cartography Project. Their study focused on Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) across the United States, which are urban regions with populations of at least 50,000 people.
The primary analysis examined the relationship between the number of new H-1B visa recipients in these MSAs and local entrepreneurship over a three-year period. The researchers also accounted for the quality of entrepreneurship, using measures that predicted the likelihood of startup success based on factors such as business registration and intellectual property filings. In addition, the team employed a shift-share instrument to isolate the effects of high-skilled immigration from other factors that might influence both immigration and entrepreneurship, such as local economic conditions.
The results showed a clear positive relationship between the arrival of high-skilled immigrants and regional entrepreneurship. The researchers found that a doubling of H-1B immigrants in an MSA led to a 6% increase in the number of new businesses within three years. This effect was observed even after accounting for the quality of entrepreneurship, indicating that high-skilled immigrants not only contribute to the quantity of startups but also help increase the number of high-potential ventures.
One of the study’s key findings was that this positive effect on entrepreneurship was only observed for new high-skilled immigrants. Continuing H-1B visa holders, who were already living and working in the United States, did not have a significant impact on regional entrepreneurship.
Similarly, the arrival of unskilled immigrants on H-2B visas, who typically work in temporary non-agricultural jobs, did not contribute to increases in entrepreneurship. These results highlight the specific role that new high-skilled immigrants play in driving regional economic dynamism, rather than the broader immigrant population.
The researchers also explored the mechanisms behind these effects and found evidence supporting the idea that high-skilled immigrants enhance regional entrepreneurship through knowledge transfer. In particular, the effect was stronger in regions with a higher concentration of immigrants from the same country, known as immigrant enclaves. This suggests that social networks and cultural ties among immigrants help facilitate the exchange of ideas and resources, further contributing to entrepreneurship in those regions.
Additionally, the study found that high-skilled immigrants working at large, established firms were more likely to contribute to regional entrepreneurship than those at smaller companies, suggesting that knowledge transfer within large organizations plays an important role in promoting new business creation.
But as with all research, the study has some limitations. For example, the researchers did not directly measure knowledge transfer, making it difficult to determine the exact ways in which high-skilled immigrants contribute to local entrepreneurship. Future research could benefit from more detailed data on the specific types of knowledge and skills that immigrants share with local workers and firms.
Additionally, the study focused primarily on the short-term effects of high-skilled immigration on entrepreneurship, examining changes over a three-year period. It is possible that the long-term effects of immigration on regional entrepreneurship could be even more significant, as immigrants gain more experience and legal status, enabling them to start businesses of their own.
Further research could also explore the potential role of other factors, such as access to capital or regional policies, in shaping the relationship between high-skilled immigration and entrepreneurship. The researchers noted that high-skilled immigrants may have a larger impact on entrepreneurship in regions with greater access to financial resources, such as venture capital, or in areas with policies that support business creation. Future studies could investigate how these factors interact with high-skilled immigration to further drive regional economic growth.
The study, “(https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2402001121) High-skilled immigration enhances regional entrepreneurship,” was authored by Inara S. Tareque, Jorge Guzman, and Dan Wang.

(https://www.psypost.org/new-gelotophobia-research-national-narcissism-linked-to-fear-of-being-laughed-at/) New gelotophobia research: National narcissism linked to fear of being laughed at
Oct 15th 2024, 16:00

How people respond to jokes about their nation may depend on their level of national narcissism, according to a new study published in (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886924000035) Personality and Individual Differences. Researchers found that individuals with inflated views of their country are more prone to fearing ridicule from others while simultaneously enjoying laughing at other nations. The research sheds light on how individuals with a defensive and inflated sense of national pride process humor that involves their country.
Laughter, a universal human experience, can be a double-edged sword—fostering social connections or becoming a tool for ridicule. The researchers wanted to understand how people relate to laughter when it involves national groups rather than individuals. While previous studies have examined how individuals react to laughter directed at themselves or others, this study is the first to explore how people respond to jokes involving their nation.
The researchers were particularly interested in the psychological dimensions of national narcissism and national identification. National narcissism refers to an inflated belief in one’s nation’s superiority. In contrast, national identification reflects a more general connection to one’s nation.
The researchers conducted two separate studies, both using online surveys with large groups of adult participants from Poland. The first study involved 633 people, and the second included 1,504 participants. All respondents were Polish citizens, and the samples were balanced for gender, age, and other demographic factors to ensure they represented the broader population.
Participants completed questionnaires measuring several psychological traits, including national narcissism, national identification, and their attitudes toward national jokes. To measure national narcissism, the researchers used a modified version of the Collective Narcissism Scale, asking participants to rate statements like “Polish people deserve special treatment.” National identification was assessed using the Social Identification Scale, which includes items such as “I have a lot in common with other Polish people.”
The researchers adapted an existing psychological tool, the PhoPhiKat-9 scale, which typically assesses individual attitudes toward laughter and ridicule, to focus on nations instead. The revised scale measured three dispositions: national gelotophobia (fear of others laughing at one’s nation), national gelotophilia (enjoying being laughed at as a nation), and national katagelasticism (enjoying laughing at other nations). Participants rated how much they agreed with statements like “I avoid talking about Polish people because I fear others might laugh at them” (national gelotophobia) or “I enjoy making fun of foreigners and I am happy when they get laughed at” (national katagelasticism).
The results confirmed that people with higher levels of national narcissism were more likely to fear that others were laughing at their nation. This relationship can be understood in the context of national narcissism’s heightened sensitivity to perceived threats. Just as people with narcissistic traits tend to be hypersensitive to personal criticism, those with national narcissism may perceive jokes about their country as attacks on its status and reputation.
National narcissism was also positively linked to the enjoyment of laughing at other nations. This suggests that people who hold a defensive and inflated view of their own nation are more likely to find pleasure in belittling other nations through humor. This tendency may serve as a way to reinforce their nation’s superiority by diminishing others.
In contrast to national narcissism, national identification was not associated with either national gelotophobia or national katagelasticism. This finding suggests that people who have a strong but secure connection to their nation do not necessarily feel threatened by jokes about their country, nor do they take pleasure in ridiculing other nations.
Interestingly, the researchers did not find a clear relationship between national narcissism and the enjoyment of being laughed at (national gelotophilia). In fact, while the first study found no significant link, the second study revealed a positive relationship between national narcissism and gelotophilia. This unexpected finding suggests that individuals high in national narcissism may not only fear jokes about their nation but also paradoxically enjoy being the center of attention—even in a humorous or ridiculed context.
The researchers also explored the concept of metadehumanization, the perception that others view one’s national group as less than fully human. They found that katagelasticism—the enjoyment of laughing at other nations—was linked to feelings of being dehumanized by other groups. This suggests that people who take pleasure in mocking other nations may project their own hostile attitudes onto others, assuming that outsiders view their nation with similar disdain.
While this study provides insights into the psychological dynamics of national humor, there are some limitations to consider. First, the research was conducted exclusively in Poland, so it is unclear whether the findings would apply to individuals from other countries with different cultural attitudes toward nationalism and humor. Additionally, the study relied on self-reported data, which can be subject to biases such as social desirability, where participants might answer in ways that they believe are more socially acceptable.
The study, “(https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2024.112543) The joke is on us? National narcissism and dispositions towards laughter,” was authored by Dagmara Szczepańska, Marta Marchlewska, Radosław Rogoza, Wojciech Podsiadłowski, Zuzanna Molenda, Oliwia Maciantowicz, Marta Rogoza, and Dominika Klusek.

(https://www.psypost.org/climate-anxiety-and-generalized-anxiety-are-distinct-new-research-shows/) Climate anxiety and generalized anxiety are distinct, new research shows
Oct 15th 2024, 14:00

A recent study published in the (https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12746) British Journal of Health Psychology has provided new insights into how climate anxiety relates to generalized anxiety and common health behaviors. Contrary to what might be expected, the study found that fluctuations in an individual’s climate anxiety did not correspond with changes in generalized anxiety or most health behaviors such as sleep quality, diet, or physical activity. The study highlights that climate anxiety is distinct from generalized anxiety, providing a clearer understanding of how people experience worry about climate change.
As awareness of climate change grows, so does concern about its psychological impacts, particularly climate anxiety, which refers to the fear and worry individuals may feel about the future of the environment. Past studies have primarily focused on the association between climate anxiety and mental health issues, such as generalized anxiety. However, there has been little research examining how climate anxiety interacts with health behaviors like sleep, diet, and physical activity, which are critical for overall well-being.
Generalized anxiety, a common mental health condition, has been linked to various negative health behaviors, such as poor sleep, lower physical activity, and higher alcohol consumption. Given this, researchers hypothesized that climate anxiety might similarly affect health behaviors, either directly or indirectly through its association with generalized anxiety.
“Climate anxiety seems to be a motivator of at least some kinds of sustainable behavior, but we don’t know much about its associations with impairing levels of anxiety or physical health. This paper helps us to answer these questions,” said study author (https://profiles.cardiff.ac.uk/staff/williamsm93) Marc Williams, a clinical psychologist and lecturer at Cardiff University.
The researchers used a longitudinal design to gather data over a year. A group of 204 participants from northern Spain, all of whom were part of a larger study on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, participated. Participants ranged in age from 44 to 70 years, with an average age of 55.
Most participants completed at least 20 assessments over the course of the study. These assessments were conducted every two weeks via a smartphone app and covered a variety of topics, including climate anxiety, generalized anxiety, and several health behaviors such as sleep quality, physical activity, alcohol consumption, diet, and screen time.
Climate anxiety was measured with a single question asking how anxious participants felt about climate change on a scale from 0 to 10, while generalized anxiety was measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2-item scale, which assessed how often participants felt anxious or worried over the past two weeks. Health behaviors were measured with simple, validated questions. For example, sleep quality was rated on a scale from 0 to 10, and physical activity was assessed by asking participants how many days per week they engaged in at least 30 minutes of activity that increased their breathing rate.
The study used a network analysis approach, which allowed researchers to examine both between-person and within-person variations in the relationships between climate anxiety, generalized anxiety, and health behaviors. By analyzing data at both levels, the researchers could see how individual fluctuations in anxiety and health behaviors related to one another over time.
The researchers found no significant relationship between climate anxiety and generalized anxiety, suggesting that these are distinct emotional experiences. While it might seem intuitive that people who are more anxious about climate change would also exhibit higher levels of generalized anxiety, this was not the case in the study’s sample.
Second, climate anxiety did not appear to have a significant impact on most health behaviors. There was no consistent association between climate anxiety and behaviors like physical activity, sleep quality, diet, or screen time. This suggests that feeling anxious about climate change does not necessarily lead to changes in how people engage with these behaviors.
“The tendency to experience anxiety in relation to climate change, as well as an individual’s fluctuations in this experience, don’t relate to a general tendency to worry, or to a range of health behaviors such as sleeping well and eating a healthy diet,” Williams told PsyPost.
However, the study did find a notable exception: at the within-person level, individuals reported higher alcohol consumption during periods when they also reported higher levels of climate anxiety. This suggests that, at times, individuals may use alcohol as a coping mechanism in response to climate-related worries, though this finding was not robust across all analyses. Notably, the link between climate anxiety and alcohol consumption was strongest among younger participants and those with higher levels of generalized anxiety.
Generalized anxiety, on the other hand, was associated with several health behaviors. Participants with higher levels of generalized anxiety reported poorer sleep quality and less healthy diets, which aligns with previous research linking anxiety to negative health outcomes. There was also a relationship between generalized anxiety and lower physical activity, particularly among older participants.
“We were surprised to find the lack of association between climate anxiety and generalized anxiety, as other papers have tended to find this,” Williams said. “However, our measure of climate anxiety focuses very specifically on anxiety about climate change, and doesn’t measure whether this gets in the way of someone’s functioning.”
“Our measure of generalized anxiety did measure the effects of anxiety on functioning, in particular, whether someone feels they worry uncontrollably. Interestingly, papers that have found a positive association between climate anxiety and generalized anxiety use a measure of climate anxiety that includes an element of impaired functioning, so this might explain why these studies find an association between climate anxiety and generalized anxiety, whereas we do not.”
The use of single-item measures for climate anxiety and health behaviors may not have captured the full complexity of these experiences. Future research could use more comprehensive measures to assess the broader impact of climate anxiety.
“We used very brief, sometimes single-item questionnaires in our study — this was to make it feasible for respondents to complete multiple times over several weeks, but it makes it harder to verify the reliability/validity of some of these measures,” Williams explained.
The long-term goals for this line of research are “to understand how climate anxiety is associated with a range of behaviors that are good for both people and the planet, and to understand how climate anxiety can be mobilized to encourage these behaviors in a way that doesn’t cause harm,” Williams said.
The study, “(https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjhp.12746) Climate anxiety and its association with health behaviours and generalized anxiety: An intensive longitudinal study,” was authored by Marc O. Williams, Joren Buekers, Gemma Castaño-Vinyals, Rafael de Cid, Laura Delgado-Ortiz, Ana Espinosa, Judith Garcia-Aymerich, Sarah Koch, Manolis Kogevinas, Marco Viola, Lorraine Whitmarsh, and Guillaume Chevance.

(https://www.psypost.org/heightened-sexual-desire-for-others-can-increase-attraction-to-your-partner/) Heightened sexual desire for others can increase attraction to your partner
Oct 15th 2024, 12:00

Sexual desire for a long-term romantic partner may be linked to increased desire for alternative partners, according to a study published in (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-024-09478-2) Human Nature.
Traditional relationship science posits that sexual desire enhances relationship maintenance, reducing interest in alternative partners. However, evolutionary perspectives suggest sexual desire might not be partner-specific. Instead, desire for one partner may increase overall sexual motivation, leading to heightened interest in both the romantic partner and potential alternatives.
Traditional theories suggest sexual desire for a long-term partner helps maintain romantic bonds and diminishes interest in alternatives, enhancing relationship stability. In contrast, evolutionary perspectives argue that sexual desire evolved to seek out reproductive partners, making it non-exclusive. Sierra D. Peters and colleagues examined how sexual desire operates in long-term relationships.
The researchers employed two different methodological approaches: a daily-diary study and an experimental study, both designed to explore the relationship between sexual desire for a romantic partner and interest in alternative partners. In the first study, 196 individuals from 98 newlywed couples (predominantly heterosexual) participated in a longitudinal daily-diary survey. The couples, who had been married for less than four months, were recruited through Facebook advertisements and community flyers.
Each participant completed daily surveys for 14 days, assessing their sexual desire for their partner and their interest in alternative partners. This process was repeated annually for two years, creating three waves of data collection. Participants reported their level of desire for their partner using a single-item measure, rating their daily desire on a 7-point scale.
Similarly, interest in alternatives was measured using four items assessing fantasies, conversations, and flirtation with other people of the opposite sex. The researchers also collected information on sociosexual orientation, relationship length, and biological sex to account for individual differences that could influence sexual desire.
The second study, an experimental design, recruited 405 participants in long-term relationships through Amazon’s Cloud Research. The participants were randomly assigned to one of three priming conditions: they were either primed to experience sexual desire for their partner, primed to experience sexual desire for an alternative partner, or placed in a control condition in which they recalled non-sexual positive experiences.
The sexual desire primes asked participants to write detailed descriptions of situations that made them feel strong sexual desire for either their partner or another person they found attractive. Participants in the control group wrote about experiences that made them feel happy but not sexually aroused. After the priming task, participants reported their current sexual desire for their romantic partner and their desire for alternative partners on a 7-point scale. This experimental design allowed the researchers to assess whether activating sexual desire for one target (either the partner or an alternative) influenced desire for the other.
The results from the daily-diary study revealed a notable finding: on days when participants reported heightened sexual desire for their partner, they also reported greater interest in alternative partners. Conversely, on days when participants experienced stronger interest in alternatives, they expressed higher levels of sexual desire for their partner. This positive association persisted even after controlling for factors such as sociosexuality and relationship length, suggesting that sexual desire is not partner-specific.
In the experimental study, participants primed to feel sexual desire for an alternative partner reported significantly higher sexual desire for their romantic partner compared to those in the control condition. Interestingly, those primed with sexual desire for their romantic partner did not report a statistically significant increase in desire for alternative partners, though the results trended in that direction. The findings from both the daily-diary and experimental studies provided converging evidence that sexual desire is not exclusive to one’s romantic partner.
One limitation of the study was its reliance on self-reported measures of sexual desire, which could be influenced by social desirability bias. Future studies may benefit from using implicit measures to reduce potential biases in self-reporting.
The research, “(https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-024-09478-2) Sexual Desire is not Partner-Specific”, was authored by Sierra D. Peters, Jon K. Maner, and Andrea L. Meltzer.

(https://www.psypost.org/study-of-3-4-million-individual-cells-suggests-alzheimers-damages-brain-in-two-distinct-phases/) Study of 3.4 million individual cells suggests Alzheimer’s damages brain in two distinct phases
Oct 15th 2024, 11:00

Alzheimer’s disease may harm the brain in two distinct phases, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-024-01774-5) Nature Neuroscience. Using advanced brain mapping techniques, researchers discovered that in the first phase, which occurs before any symptoms appear, certain types of brain cells are gradually damaged. In the second phase, the disease accelerates, causing widespread brain damage that coincides with memory loss and other noticeable symptoms. These findings could change the way scientists understand Alzheimer’s and open up new possibilities for developing targeted treatments.
The motivation behind this research stems from the difficulty in diagnosing Alzheimer’s early, as much of the brain damage occurs before symptoms become apparent. Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by a gradual loss of brain function due to the buildup of plaques and tangles—protein clumps that interfere with communication between brain cells. Researchers wanted to understand these early, silent changes in the brain in greater detail. By identifying the first signs of damage at the cellular level, they hoped to create opportunities for early intervention, potentially halting or slowing the progression of the disease before significant memory loss and cognitive decline occur.
“One of the challenges to diagnosing and treating Alzheimer’s is that much of the damage to the brain happens well before symptoms occur. The ability to detect these early changes means that, for the first time, we can see what is happening to a person’s brain during the earliest periods of the disease,” said Richard J. Hodes, the director of the NIH National Institute on Aging. “The results fundamentally alter scientists’ understanding of how Alzheimer’s harms the brain and will guide the development of new treatments for this devastating disorder.”
To carry out the study, scientists analyzed brain tissue from 84 donors who had died at various stages of Alzheimer’s disease. These tissue samples were obtained from long-term studies, such as the Adult Changes in Thought study and the University of Washington Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.
The focus was on a brain region called the middle temporal gyrus, which is critical for memory, language, and vision and is especially vulnerable to Alzheimer’s-related damage. Using advanced genetic analysis and brain mapping tools developed as part of the NIH’s Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative, the researchers studied over 3.4 million individual brain cells. This allowed the research team to create a detailed timeline of cellular changes in the brain.
The researchers discovered that Alzheimer’s impacts the brain in two distinct phases. In the first phase, which can begin years before any symptoms show, certain brain cells, particularly inhibitory neurons, start to die. Inhibitory neurons play a key role in regulating brain activity, and their loss may disrupt neural circuits, potentially setting the stage for further brain damage. Interestingly, these cells, known as somatostatin inhibitory neurons, were found to be among the first to be affected in the early stages of the disease. This was a surprising finding, as previous studies suggested that Alzheimer’s primarily damages excitatory neurons, which are responsible for stimulating brain activity.
In contrast, the second phase of Alzheimer’s, which aligns with the appearance of symptoms like memory loss, involves a rapid spread of damage. This phase is characterized by widespread inflammation, increased cell death, and the accumulation of plaques and tangles in the brain. By the time symptoms become noticeable, the brain is already experiencing significant structural damage. The researchers emphasized that this second phase is when most of the traditionally studied Alzheimer’s markers, such as plaques and tangles, appear rapidly.
One of the most important findings of the study was that the early phase of Alzheimer’s is relatively “quiet,” meaning that the damage happens gradually and without noticeable symptoms. During this period, plaques begin to form slowly, and the brain’s immune system becomes activated, but the damage to the brain’s structure is minimal. The insulation around neurons, which helps transmit signals efficiently, also starts to degrade. However, it is the death of the inhibitory neurons that appears to trigger the more extensive changes that come later.
This discovery challenges the traditional view that excitatory neurons are the primary victims of Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers proposed that the loss of inhibitory neurons may lead to an imbalance in brain signaling, which could contribute to the breakdown of neural circuits and the eventual onset of symptoms. Additionally, the study confirmed previous findings about how Alzheimer’s affects the brain, while also identifying new cellular changes that occur during the disease’s progression.
Further supporting this idea, (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39048816/) a separate NIH-funded study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that certain genes, including one called REELIN, may influence how vulnerable neurons are to Alzheimer’s. This gene, along with the involvement of star-shaped brain cells known as astrocytes, could provide new insights into why some brain cells are more resistant to damage. These findings align with the current research, which also pointed to astrocytes as potentially playing a protective role in the brain.
While this study represents a significant step forward in understanding the early stages of Alzheimer’s, there are some limitations. The research focused primarily on a single brain region, the middle temporal gyrus, which is known to be heavily affected by Alzheimer’s. However, Alzheimer’s impacts multiple brain regions, so future research could expand this approach to other areas to build a more comprehensive map of the disease’s progression across the entire brain. Additionally, the study relied on postmortem brain samples, which provide a snapshot of the disease at various stages, but cannot capture the dynamic process of Alzheimer’s development over time in a living brain.
Another limitation is the challenge of translating these findings into treatments. While the discovery of early cellular changes offers hope for new interventions, it remains difficult to detect Alzheimer’s at these early stages in living patients. Developing tools to monitor these early changes in real time will be critical for creating treatments that can target the disease before symptoms appear.
In the future, researchers aim to build on this work by exploring how these early changes might be detected through brain scans or blood tests. They are also interested in studying how these cellular changes interact with genetic risk factors, such as the presence of the APOE4 gene, which is known to increase the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s. By understanding how genetic factors influence the brain’s vulnerability to damage, scientists may be able to identify individuals who are at risk and intervene even earlier.
“This research demonstrates how powerful new technologies provided by the NIH’s BRAIN Initiative are changing the way we understand diseases like Alzheimer’s. With these tools, scientists were able to detect the earliest cellular changes to the brain to create a more complete picture of what happens over the entire course of the disease,” said John Ngai,the director of The BRAIN Initiative®. “The new knowledge provided by this study may help scientists and drug developers around the world develop diagnostics and treatments targeted to specific stages of Alzheimer’s and other dementias.”
The study, “(https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-024-01774-5) Integrated multimodal cell atlas of Alzheimer’s disease,” was authored by Mariano I. Gabitto, Kyle J. Travaglini, Victoria M. Rachleff, Eitan S. Kaplan, Brian Long, Jeanelle Ariza, Yi Ding, Joseph T. Mahoney, Nick Dee, Jeff Goldy, Erica J. Melief, Anamika Agrawal, Omar Kana, Xingjian Zhen, Samuel T. Barlow, Krissy Brouner, Jazmin Campos, John Campos, Ambrose J. Carr, Tamara Casper, Rushil Chakrabarty, Michael Clark, Jonah Cool, Rachel Dalley, Martin Darvas, Song-Lin Ding, Tim Dolbeare, Tom Egdorf, Luke Esposito, Rebecca Ferrer, Lynn E. Fleckenstein, Rohan Gala, Amanda Gary, Emily Gelfand, Jessica Gloe, Nathan Guilford, Junitta Guzman, Daniel Hirschstein, Windy Ho, Madison Hupp, Tim Jarsky, Nelson Johansen, Brian E. Kalmbach, Lisa M. Keene, Sarah Khawand, Mitchell D. Kilgore, Amanda Kirkland, Michael Kunst, Brian R. Lee, Mckaila Leytze, Christine L. Mac Donald, Jocelin Malone, Zoe Maltzer, Naomi Martin, Rachel McCue, Delissa McMillen, Gonzalo Mena, Emma Meyerdierks, Kelly P. Meyers, Tyler Mollenkopf, Mark Montine, Amber L. Nolan, Julie K. Nyhus, Paul A. Olsen, Maiya Pacleb, Chelsea M. Pagan, Nicholas Peña, Trangthanh Pham, Christina Alice Pom, Nadia Postupna, Christine Rimorin, Augustin Ruiz, Giuseppe A. Saldi, Aimee M. Schantz, Nadiya V. Shapovalova, Staci A. Sorensen, Brian Staats, Matt Sullivan, Susan M. Sunkin, Carol Thompson, Michael Tieu, Jonathan T. Ting, Amy Torkelson, Tracy Tran, Nasmil J. Valera Cuevas, Sarah Walling-Bell, Ming-Qiang Wang, Jack Waters, Angela M. Wilson, Ming Xiao, David Haynor, Nicole M. Gatto, Suman Jayadev, Shoaib Mufti, Lydia Ng, Shubhabrata Mukherjee, Paul K. Crane, Caitlin S. Latimer, Boaz P. Levi, Kimberly A. Smith, Jennie L. Close, Jeremy A. Miller, Rebecca D. Hodge, Eric B. Larson, Thomas J. Grabowski, Michael Hawrylycz, C. Dirk Keene, and Ed S. Lein.

Forwarded by:
Michael Reeder LCPC
Baltimore, MD

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