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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/loneliness-skews-partner-perceptions-harming-relationships-and-reinforcing-isolation/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Loneliness skews partner perceptions, harming relationships and reinforcing isolation</a>
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<p><p>Lonely people underestimate how much their loved ones care about them, which damages relationships and reinforces their loneliness, according to research published in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000451"><em>Journal of Personality & Social Psychology</em></a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.psypost.org/massive-meta-analysis-finds-loneliness-has-increased-in-emerging-adults-in-the-last-43-years/">Loneliness</a>, defined as the distress arising from a perceived lack of quality in one’s social connections, has been shown to have profound psychological, <a href="https://www.psypost.org/depressed-and-lonely-students-gain-fewer-emotional-and-physiological-benefits-from-social-interactions/">emotional</a>, and physical <a href="https://www.psypost.org/loneliness-linked-to-cognitive-decline-in-older-adults-study-finds/">health impacts</a>. Previous research suggests that loneliness fosters heightened sensitivity to social threats and negative biases in social perception.</p>
<p>Edward P. Lemay Jr. and colleagues set out to investigate how these biases influence perceptions within close relationships—romantic partnerships, friendships, and family relationships—and how such misperceptions might explain the cyclical and persistent nature of loneliness.</p>
<p>The authors hypothesized that lonely individuals harbor negative biases about their partners’ regard, care, and responsiveness. These biases could reduce relationship satisfaction, intimacy, and support behaviors, exacerbating loneliness over time.</p>
<p>In Study 1, 255 undergraduate students identified three close relationship partners, including family members, friends, and romantic partners. These partners were invited to provide evaluations of their regard and care for the participant. Meanwhile, the participants themselves completed a series of self-report measures, including the UCLA Loneliness Scale to assess their levels of loneliness, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and questionnaires designed to measure their perceptions of each partner’s regard, responsiveness, and communal motivation.</p>
<p>Study 2 expanded on this by recruiting 236 romantic couples who completed similar self-report measures. In addition to their evaluations, each partner nominated two friends who were familiar with their relationship to provide independent assessments of each participant’s regard and care for their partner. This study also incorporated a two-week daily diary component, where participants recorded their feelings of loneliness, perceptions of their partner’s regard and care, and daily relationship dynamics.</p>
<p>Study 3 tracked 211 romantic couples over two weeks using daily surveys, partner reports, and behavioral observations. Participants reported their loneliness and perceptions of their partner’s care, while partners provided their own assessments. Trained observers analyzed recorded interactions to measure actual partner responsiveness.</p>
<p>The findings across all three studies consistently demonstrated that loneliness was linked to a significant and pervasive negative bias in how individuals perceived their close relationship partners’ regard and care.</p>
<p>In Study 1, loneliness was associated with perceiving family members, friends, and romantic partners as less admiring and caring. These perceptions were negatively biased, as they were not supported by partner-reported regard and care. Lonely individuals underestimated how much their close others valued them, and this bias was linked to lower relationship satisfaction, commitment, and willingness to provide support. The effect of loneliness on these outcomes was mediated by perceived regard and care rather than actual partner behavior.</p>
<p>In Study 2, loneliness predicted lower perceptions of partner regard and care in romantic relationships, even when controlling for partner self-reports and friend informant reports. Daily diary data showed that loneliness on a given day predicted a more negative perception of partner regard the following day, and lower perceived regard predicted increased loneliness the next day. This bidirectional effect suggests that loneliness and biased perceptions reinforce each other over time.</p>
<p>Study 3 found that loneliness predicted changes in perceived partner regard over time, independent of partners’ self-reports and objective observer assessments. Lonely individuals underestimated their partners’ responsiveness, even when observers rated the partners as supportive. These biases explained lower relationship satisfaction, commitment, and support behaviors, contributing to the persistence of loneliness.</p>
<p>These findings have implications for interventions aimed at breaking cycles of loneliness by addressing biased perceptions and fostering healthier relationship dynamics.The researchers noted that the reliance on self-reported data and observational measures may not capture the full complexity of interpersonal dynamics in diverse cultural or socioeconomic contexts.</p>
<p>The research, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000451">How loneliness undermines close relationships and persists over time: The role of perceived regard and care</a>,” was authored by Edward P. Lemay Jr., Jennifer Cutri, and Nadya Teneva.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/women-with-heightened-interoceptive-awareness-have-more-frequent-and-satisfying-orgasms-study-finds/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Women with heightened interoceptive awareness have more frequent and satisfying orgasms, study finds</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Feb 1st 2025, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>New research published in <em><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/14/12/1236" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brain Sciences</a></em> suggests that women who are more attuned to their bodily sensations may experience more frequent and satisfying orgasms. The study found that different aspects of interoceptive awareness—the ability to perceive internal bodily signals—are linked to orgasm frequency and satisfaction, both during solitary and partnered sexual activities. Women who reported a heightened ability to notice internal sensations were more likely to experience orgasms frequently, while those who could regulate their attention to bodily cues experienced more satisfying orgasms when alone.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.psypost.org/the-female-may-have-evolved-as-a-mate-selection-tool/">female orgasm</a> remains an underexplored area of research, despite its well-documented links to overall well-being and <a href="https://www.psypost.org/wives-orgasm-frequency-has-a-unique-positive-association-on-the-sexual-satisfaction-of-newlywed-couples/">relationship satisfaction</a>. Much of the existing research focuses on dysfunction, with relatively little attention given to the factors that contribute to normal or optimal orgasmic experiences. Interoception, the perception of internal bodily states such as heartbeat, hunger, or breathing, has been proposed as a key factor in sexual function. However, few studies have directly examined the relationship between interoception and orgasm.</p>
<p>Previous research has shown that interoception plays a role in sexual arousal, but whether it also influences orgasm frequency and satisfaction has remained unclear. The new study sought to fill that gap by exploring how different dimensions of interoceptive awareness predict orgasm experiences in women.</p>
<p>“I am an expert and researcher on interoception; however, I typically study interoception in children and how it develops within their brains and contributes to their mental health,” said study author <a href="https://www.essex.ac.uk/people/klabu03204/megan-klabunde" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Megan Klabunde</a>, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Essex.</p>
<p>“I have been familiar with the prior literature, which suggests from a neuroanatomical perspective that orgasm is an aspect of interoception. Still, there was a significant gap in the literature, as it had not been directly studied before our research. I was talking about the understudied link between interoception and orgasm with a colleague who is also interested in interoception (collaborator Giulia Poerio), and we thought that this would be a fun and meaningful project that could be jointly executed by our students (who need to do research projects).”</p>
<p>“Therefore, we reached out to Gerulf Rieger, a sex researcher within our department, and he also felt that the topic would be interesting and meaningful to look at jointly. Therefore, the three of us started collaborating on orgasm and interoception projects by supervising students who were interested in researching this topic. My excellent undergraduate student, Emily Dixon, wanted to specifically study women since orgasm research in women is so sparse. Therefore, our collaborative team carefully guided and supervised Emily as she did a fantastic job collecting data for her dissertation project. ”</p>
<p>The study included 360 women who were primarily recruited through social media, particularly feminist groups. Participants completed an online questionnaire that assessed both their interoceptive awareness and their orgasm experiences. The researchers used the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA), a widely used measure that captures different aspects of body awareness, such as noticing internal sensations, regulating attention to bodily signals, and trusting one’s body. Orgasm frequency and satisfaction were measured using an adapted version of the Female Orgasm Scale, which asked participants to report how often they experienced orgasm and how satisfied they were with their orgasms in both solitary and partnered settings.</p>
<p>The researchers analyzed the data to determine which aspects of interoceptive awareness were most strongly related to orgasm frequency and satisfaction. They also compared differences between solitary and partnered sexual experiences to understand whether interoception played a similar role in both contexts.</p>
<p>The findings showed that different aspects of interoceptive awareness were linked to distinct aspects of orgasm frequency and satisfaction. The ability to notice internal bodily sensations was a significant predictor of orgasm frequency across both solitary and partnered contexts. This suggests that women who are more aware of subtle bodily cues—such as physiological changes during sexual arousal—may be better able to reach orgasm consistently.</p>
<p>“These findings may be helpful for a substantial portion of the population — women and their sexual partners,” Klabunde told PsyPost. “That is what makes this research so significant. It could potentially facilitate better orgasms for so many people, potentially greatly benefiting their overall well-being and the well-being of their relationships.”</p>
<p>The ability to regulate attention to bodily sensations was particularly important for solitary orgasms. Women who reported a strong capacity to focus on their bodily experiences during masturbation had both higher orgasm frequency and greater satisfaction with their orgasms. However, this ability was not significantly related to orgasm frequency or satisfaction in partnered contexts. The researchers speculate that this may be because maintaining attention on bodily sensations is more challenging during sex with a partner, where cognitive distractions or concerns about performance may interfere.</p>
<p>A sense of trust in one’s body was a key predictor of orgasm satisfaction in both solitary and partnered settings. Women who reported feeling safe and comfortable in their bodies were more likely to describe their orgasms as satisfying. This finding suggests that a positive relationship with one’s body may enhance overall sexual enjoyment and pleasure.</p>
<p>“Interoception – the sense of the internal condition of the body – plays a critical role in orgasm frequency and satisfaction for women,” Klabunde said. “For more frequent orgasms, women need to notice and focus their attention on their internal sensations. For satisfaction, trusting one’s body and internal sensations is essential for satisfying orgasms in women, especially for partnered sexual interactions.”</p>
<p>Interestingly, the study also found that women reported higher orgasm frequency and satisfaction <a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-study-shows-how-female-masturbation-impacts-partnered-sex/">during solitary sexual activity</a> compared to partnered sex. “We were surprised that women have much higher frequency and satisfaction for solo vs partnered sexual encounters,” Klabunde said.</p>
<p>This aligns with previous <a href="https://www.psypost.org/men-are-viewed-as-being-more-entitled-to-an-orgasm-than-women-according-to-new-psychology-research/">research on the “orgasm gap,”</a> which has found that women generally experience orgasms more consistently during masturbation than during sex with male partners. The researchers suggest that this discrepancy may be due in part to differences in attention and focus during solitary versus partnered sexual experiences.</p>
<p>As with any study, there are some limitations to consider. The sample was primarily recruited from feminist social media groups, which may not fully represent the broader population of women. Women in these groups may have different attitudes toward sexuality and body awareness that could influence their responses. Future research could include a more diverse sample to ensure the findings apply more broadly.</p>
<p>Additionally, the study relied on self-reported measures of interoception and orgasm experiences, which may be subject to biases or inaccuracies. Future research could incorporate objective measures of interoception, such as heart rate monitoring or neuroimaging techniques, to better understand the physiological mechanisms underlying the observed relationships.</p>
<p>“It would be great to continue to look at the connection between orgasm and interoception,” Klabunde said. “In addition to looking at self-reported interoception, it would be great to use objective measures of interoception in the future.”</p>
<p>Another important area for future research is the role of social and relational factors in orgasm experiences. While this study focused on individual differences in body awareness, external factors such as partner communication, relationship dynamics, and sexual scripts may also play a role in orgasm frequency and satisfaction. Understanding how these factors interact with interoceptive awareness could provide a more comprehensive picture of what contributes to fulfilling sexual experiences for women.</p>
<p>“Our study suggests the importance of trust and safety for facilitating satisfactory orgasms in women,” Klabunde explained. “Thus, the sexual partners of women should be mindful of promoting an environment of safety, trust and respect during their sexual encounters with women to foster a sexual environment for women where they can feel comfortable trusting their bodies, their own internal sensations and experiences.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14121236" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Interoceptive Awareness and Female Orgasm Frequency and Satisfaction</a>” was authored by by Emily Dixon, Giulia L. Poerio, Gerulf Rieger, and Megan Klabunde.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/ai-reaches-human-level-performance-on-general-intelligence-test-what-does-it-mean/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">AI reaches human-level performance on general intelligence test—what does it mean?</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 31st 2025, 16:00</div>
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<p><p>A new artificial intelligence (AI) model has just <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/12/openai-announces-o3-and-o3-mini-its-next-simulated-reasoning-models/">achieved human-level results</a> on a test designed to measure “general intelligence”.</p>
<p>On December 20, OpenAI’s o3 system scored 85% on the <a href="https://arcprize.org/arc">ARC-AGI benchmark</a>, well above the previous AI best score of 55% and on par with the average human score. It also scored well on a very difficult mathematics test.</p>
<p>Creating artificial general intelligence, or AGI, is the stated goal of all the major AI research labs. At first glance, OpenAI appears to have at least made a significant step towards this goal.</p>
<p>While scepticism remains, many AI researchers and developers feel something just changed. For many, the prospect of AGI now seems more real, urgent and closer than anticipated. Are they right?</p>
<h2>Generalisation and intelligence</h2>
<p>To understand what the o3 result means, you need to understand what the ARC-AGI test is all about. In technical terms, it’s a test of an AI system’s “sample efficiency” in adapting to something new – how many examples of a novel situation the system needs to see to figure out how it works.</p>
<p>An AI system like ChatGPT (GPT-4) is not very sample efficient. It was “trained” on millions of examples of human text, constructing probabilistic “rules” about which combinations of words are most likely.</p>
<p>The result is pretty good at common tasks. It is bad at uncommon tasks, because it has less data (fewer samples) about those tasks.</p>
<p>Until AI systems can learn from small numbers of examples and adapt with more sample efficiency, they will only be used for very repetitive jobs and ones where the occasional failure is tolerable.</p>
<p>The ability to accurately solve previously unknown or novel problems from limited samples of data is known as the capacity to generalise. It is widely considered a necessary, even fundamental, element of intelligence.</p>
<h2>Grids and patterns</h2>
<p>The ARC-AGI benchmark tests for sample efficient adaptation using little grid square problems like the one below. The AI needs to figure out the pattern that turns the grid on the left into the grid on the right.</p>
<p>Each question gives three examples to learn from. The AI system then needs to figure out the rules that “generalise” from the three examples to the fourth.</p>
<p>These are a lot like the IQ tests sometimes you might remember from school.</p>
<h2>Weak rules and adaptation</h2>
<p>We don’t know exactly how OpenAI has done it, but the results suggest the o3 model is highly adaptable. From just a few examples, it finds rules that can be generalised.</p>
<p>To figure out a pattern, we shouldn’t make any unnecessary assumptions, or be more specific than we really have to be. In <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-33469-6_5">theory</a>, if you can identify the “weakest” rules that do what you want, then you have maximised your ability to adapt to new situations.</p>
<p>What do we mean by the weakest rules? The technical definition is complicated, but weaker rules are usually ones that can be <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-65572-2_2">described in simpler statements</a>.</p>
<p>In the example above, a plain English expression of the rule might be something like: “Any shape with a protruding line will move to the end of that line and ‘cover up’ any other shapes it overlaps with.”</p>
<h2>Searching chains of thought?</h2>
<p>While we don’t know how OpenAI achieved this result just yet, it seems unlikely they deliberately optimised the o3 system to find weak rules. However, to succeed at the ARC-AGI tasks it must be finding them.</p>
<p>We do know that OpenAI started with a general-purpose version of the o3 model (which differs from most other models, because it can spend more time “thinking” about difficult questions) and then trained it specifically for the ARC-AGI test.</p>
<p>French AI researcher Francois Chollet, who designed the benchmark, <a href="https://arcprize.org/blog/oai-o3-pub-breakthrough">believes</a> o3 searches through different “chains of thought” describing steps to solve the task. It would then choose the “best” according to some loosely defined rule, or “heuristic”.</p>
<p>This would be “not dissimilar” to how Google’s AlphaGo system searched through different possible sequences of moves to beat the world Go champion.</p>
<p>You can think of these chains of thought like programs that fit the examples. Of course, if it is like the Go-playing AI, then it needs a heuristic, or loose rule, to decide which program is best.</p>
<p>There could be thousands of different seemingly equally valid programs generated. That heuristic could be “choose the weakest” or “choose the simplest”.</p>
<p>However, if it is like AlphaGo then they simply had an AI create a heuristic. This was the process for AlphaGo. Google trained a model to rate different sequences of moves as better or worse than others.</p>
<h2>What we still don’t know</h2>
<p>The question then is, is this really closer to AGI? If that is how o3 works, then the underlying model might not be much better than previous models.</p>
<p>The concepts the model learns from language might not be any more suitable for generalisation than before. Instead, we may just be seeing a more generalisable “chain of thought” found through the extra steps of training a heuristic specialised to this test. The proof, as always, will be in the pudding.</p>
<p>Almost everything about o3 remains unknown. OpenAI has limited disclosure to a few media presentations and early testing to a handful of researchers, laboratories and AI safety institutions.</p>
<p>Truly understanding the potential of o3 will require extensive work, including evaluations, an understanding of the distribution of its capacities, how often it fails and how often it succeeds.</p>
<p>When o3 is finally released, we’ll have a much better idea of whether it is approximately as adaptable as an average human.</p>
<p>If so, it could have a huge, revolutionary, economic impact, ushering in a new era of self-improving accelerated intelligence. We will require new benchmarks for AGI itself and serious consideration of how it ought to be governed.</p>
<p>If not, then this will still be an impressive result. However, everyday life will remain much the same.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/246529/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1"><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p>
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<p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-ai-system-has-reached-human-level-on-a-test-for-general-intelligence-heres-what-that-means-246529">original article</a>.</em></p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/support-dynamics-in-incel-forums-reveal-contrasts-between-problem-solving-and-empathy/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Support dynamics in incel forums reveal contrasts between problem-solving and empathy</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 31st 2025, 14:00</div>
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<p><p>A recent study published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/cjhs-2024-0007"><em>The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality</em></a> documented the exchange of social support within incel forums.</p>
<p>Incel forums, online spaces for men experiencing <a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-study-delves-into-the-mating-psychology-of-involuntarily-celibate-men/">involuntary celibacy</a>, are often examined through the lens of <a href="https://www.psypost.org/incel-forums-reveal-persistent-widespread-misogyny-regardless-of-user-engagement/">misogyny</a> and radicalization. However, these forums also function as sources of social support, where members seek advice, validation, and emotional reassurance.</p>
<p>This study explores how support is exchanged within two distinct <a href="https://www.psypost.org/struggles-with-masculinity-drive-men-into-incel-communities/">incel communities</a>: r/IncelExit, where users aim to leave the incelosphere, and Incels.is, a forum for those who remain embedded in incel ideology.</p>
<p>Researchers Sabrina Leite-Mendonca and Marie-Aude Boislard analyzed 37 discussion threads, 29 from r/IncelExit and 8 from Incels.is, collected over one month (August-September 2022). Threads were included if they contained requests or exchanges of social support. Using a mixed thematic analysis approach, they categorized the content based on five types of social support: informational, emotional, esteem, network, and tangible. The data were independently coded by two researchers, with discrepancies resolved through discussion. The analysis also considered the presence of antisocial support, defined as exchanges encouraging self-destructive behaviors.</p>
<p>The findings revealed notable differences in the types of social support exchanged on the two forums, reflecting their distinct cultures and user objectives.</p>
<p>On r/IncelExit, informational support was the most prevalent, accounting for 74.7% of interactions. Users frequently provided advice, shared knowledge, and reframed situations to offer actionable solutions. This emphasis aligns with the forum’s overarching goal of helping members transition out of inceldom. Emotional support, while less common (17.6%), included expressions of empathy and encouragement. Esteem support, such as validation and reassurance, was observed in 5.6% of cases, while instances of network and tangible support were rare. Antisocial support, where users provided unhelpful or harmful responses, was minimal, comprising only 0.4% of interactions.</p>
<p>In contrast, Incels.is was dominated by emotional support, which accounted for 55.8% of the interactions. Here, expressions of empathy and shared frustration were common, but these exchanges often reinforced feelings of victimization and hopelessness. Informational support constituted 32.7% of the interactions, though the advice given often reflected the forum’s ideologies. Notably, antisocial support was significantly more prevalent on Incels.is, comprising 11.5% of interactions. Examples included users encouraging self-destructive behaviors or trivializing others’ emotional struggles. There was no evidence of esteem, network, or tangible support on Incels.is.</p>
<p>Together, these findings underscore the contrasting roles of these forums, with r/IncelExit providing a more supportive and solution-oriented space, while Incels.is amplifies and perpetuates negative sentiments.</p>
<p>This study focused only on r/IncelExit and Incels.is, excluding other incel and femcel forums, which limits the generalizability of the findings.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/cjhs-2024-0007">Help me please, I need practical advice: A qualitative exploration of social support dynamics among incels on online forums</a>,” was authored by Sabrina Leite-Mendonca and Marie-Aude Boislard.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-research-highlights-the-role-of-maths-interest-in-shaping-stem-career-choices/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">New research highlights the role of maths interest in shaping STEM career choices</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 31st 2025, 12:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41539-024-00275-1" target="_blank">npj Science of Learning</a></em> sheds light on the psychological factors influencing students’ decisions to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The research found that an individual’s interest in mathematics is a stronger predictor of STEM career choices than either their confidence in their mathematical abilities or their anxiety about the subject.</p>
<p>The study was motivated by the ongoing shortage of STEM professionals in the United Kingdom. Estimates suggest a shortfall of over 173,000 workers in the sector, which poses a challenge to economic growth and technological innovation. This issue is compounded by the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields, with only 27% of STEM workers being female, compared to 52% of the wider workforce.</p>
<p>While previous research has shown that maths achievement in adolescence predicts later participation in STEM, socio-cognitive and emotional factors, such as maths anxiety, self-efficacy, and interest, have also been linked to STEM engagement. However, few studies have examined how these factors interact to influence actual career choices, rather than just intentions to pursue STEM education. The researchers aimed to fill this gap by analyzing data from a large, longitudinal cohort.</p>
<p>“We were interested in this topic as we know the maths motivational attitudes and maths anxiety have an important but complex role in maths learning and achievement and we wanted to explore whether the same was true for STEM career and learning choices beyond compulsory education settings. This is particularly interesting in the context of their being and global and national (in the UK) STEM skills shortage,” said study author <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaferdinand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rebecca Ferdinand</a>, a PhD student at Royal Holloway, University of London.</p>
<p>The researchers used data from the Twins Early Development Study, a large-scale longitudinal study in England and Wales. The sample included 7,908 participants who provided self-reported data at multiple points: at age 16 (maths self-efficacy and interest), age 18 (maths anxiety), and age 21 (STEM career choice). STEM career choice was defined based on whether participants pursued a degree or apprenticeship in a STEM-related field. The study also accounted for prior maths achievement and socioeconomic status to examine whether these psychological factors independently influenced career decisions.</p>
<p>Participants completed standardized questionnaires assessing their confidence in solving mathematical problems (maths self-efficacy), their enjoyment of and engagement with maths (maths interest), and their feelings of nervousness and discomfort when engaging with maths-related tasks (maths anxiety). General anxiety levels were also measured to ensure that maths anxiety was assessed independently. Maths achievement was determined using General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exam scores, a standardized test taken at age 16 in the United Kingdom. Socioeconomic status was assessed based on parental education, occupation, and other demographic factors.</p>
<p>The results revealed that maths interest was the strongest predictor of STEM career choice. Participants with higher interest in maths were significantly more likely to choose a STEM career, even after accounting for maths achievement and socioeconomic status. Maths anxiety, on the other hand, was initially associated with lower odds of choosing a STEM career, but this relationship became non-significant when maths achievement was considered. This suggests that the negative impact of maths anxiety on STEM participation may be largely explained by its effect on students’ performance in mathematics, rather than a direct aversion to STEM fields.</p>
<p>Maths self-efficacy did not independently predict STEM career choice when analysed alongside maths interest and anxiety. While confidence in one’s maths abilities is often thought to play a role in academic and career decisions, this study suggests that interest may be a more decisive factor. This finding challenges assumptions from Social Cognitive Career Theory, which emphasizes self-efficacy as a key driver of career-related actions.</p>
<p>“We were surprised that maths self-efficacy didn’t predict STEM career choices alongside maths interest and anxiety,” Ferdinand told PsyPost.</p>
<p>However, given the strong correlation between self-efficacy and interest, it is possible that self-efficacy influences career choices indirectly by fostering greater engagement and enthusiasm for maths-related subjects.</p>
<p>Sex differences emerged in the patterns of influence for these psychological factors. Maths interest predicted STEM career choice for both males and females, reinforcing its importance across genders. However, maths anxiety was only a significant predictor for males, suggesting that male students who experience high levels of anxiety about maths may be particularly deterred from pursuing STEM careers.</p>
<p>One possible explanation is that males, who are often socialized to identify more strongly with maths, may experience a greater conflict between their anxiety and their self-concept, leading them to disengage from STEM paths. In contrast, while females reported higher levels of maths anxiety on average, this anxiety did not significantly influence their career choices.</p>
<p>Maths self-efficacy showed an interesting pattern: it was a significant predictor of STEM career choice for females in the unadjusted model, but this effect disappeared once maths achievement was taken into account. This suggests that, for females, confidence in mathematical ability may be tied more closely to actual performance in maths, whereas for males, interest in the subject may be a more dominant factor in career decisions. These findings align with previous research showing that self-perceptions of ability play a larger role in shaping academic choices for females, while interest is a stronger motivator for males.</p>
<p>“Our findings highlight that maths interest might play a more central role in STEM career choice than maths anxiety or self-efficacy,” Ferdinand said. “It also suggests that the gender gap in STEM could be at least partially due to a discrepancy in adolescent maths interest, rather than in maths anxiety or self-efficacy.”</p>
<p>While the study identifies associations between maths interest, anxiety, and career choices, it does not establish causation. Other factors, such as parental influence, teacher encouragement, or exposure to STEM role models, may also play a role in shaping students’ career trajectories. Further research is needed to explore how these external influences interact with psychological factors to determine STEM participation.</p>
<p>“We only looked at these factors in late adolescence (self-efficacy and interest at 16, maths anxiety at 18),” Ferdinand noted. “But early childhood experiences of maths anxiety could affect maths interest and self-efficacy levels in adolescence, creating more complex domino effect on STEM career choices. Other social, emotional, and motivational factors may also play a role, like parental or teacher support or financial goals.”</p>
<p>The long-term goal is to understand individual differences in education choices and learning, as this could be an important area of research for improving access, social mobility, and the economic climate.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41539-024-00275-1" target="_blank">Mathematics interest, self-efficacy, and anxiety predict STEM career choice in emerging adulthood</a>,” was authored by Rebecca Ferdinand, Margherita Malanchini, and Kaili Rimfeld.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/diversity-initiatives-heighten-perceptions-of-anti-white-bias/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Diversity initiatives heighten perceptions of anti-White bias</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 31st 2025, 11:00</div>
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<p><p>Donald Trump’s political rise has been closely tied to the grievances of White Americans who feel left behind by societal changes. A 2021 study published in the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01461672211030391"><em>Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin</em></a> provides insight into one source of this discontent: the perception that workplace diversity initiatives disadvantage White employees. Through seven experiments, researchers found that the presence of diversity programs led White participants to feel that their racial group was less valued, increasing their perception of anti-White bias. These findings shed light on why Trump’s rhetoric against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies resonates with his supporters.</p>
<p>The researchers conducted the study in 2021 in response to a growing cultural and political movement in the United States in which many White Americans increasingly perceived their racial group as being disadvantaged. Despite data consistently showing that White Americans remained objectively advantaged across economic, educational, and employment metrics, surveys and legal cases were reflecting a rising belief that diversity policies were unfair to Whites.</p>
<p>The timing of the study was significant because, in the years leading up to 2021, debates over race and equity had intensified. The Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, following the killing of George Floyd, led many corporations and institutions to strengthen their diversity initiatives. At the same time, conservative commentators and political figures—including Trump—argued that these efforts unfairly prioritized minorities at the expense of Whites. The researchers sought to examine whether diversity initiatives could, in some cases, unintentionally reinforce a sense of racial grievance among White Americans, even in situations where no actual disadvantage existed.</p>
<p>Now, in 2025, the study’s findings have taken on renewed importance as Donald Trump, having returned to the presidency, has begun systematically dismantling DEI programs through executive orders. His administration is aggressively targeting federal and private-sector diversity policies, framing them as illegal forms of racial preference.</p>
<p>To test this hypothesis, the researchers conducted seven experiments with over 3,000 self-identified White participants. In each experiment, participants were presented with a fictional organization and were randomly assigned to conditions in which the organization either had or did not have diversity initiatives. These initiatives included statements about valuing diversity, training programs focused on fostering minority success, and awards recognizing diversity efforts. Participants then read an employee testimonial about a promotion decision in which a White employee lost out to a Black colleague. The researchers measured participants’ perceptions of respect and value for White employees compared to minority employees, as well as their perceptions of anti-White bias in the organization.</p>
<p>The results consistently showed that the presence of diversity initiatives led White participants to perceive that their group was less respected and valued than racial minorities. This effect persisted even when the researchers provided evidence that White employees were objectively advantaged in the organization or when the Black candidate was clearly more qualified for the promotion.</p>
<p>In one experiment, participants were shown company data demonstrating that Whites and minorities were promoted at equal rates, or that Whites were promoted more frequently than minorities. Despite this information, the presence of diversity initiatives still increased perceptions of anti-White bias. In another experiment, participants were told that promotion opportunities were abundant rather than scarce, a condition that should have reduced concerns about competition between racial groups. However, the abundance of opportunities did not mitigate the effect of diversity initiatives on perceptions of anti-White bias.</p>
<p>Additional analyses explored whether individual differences—such as support for racial hierarchy or strong identification with Whiteness—moderated these effects. The researchers found little evidence that personal beliefs about race or social status significantly changed the way participants responded to diversity initiatives. This suggests that even White individuals who do not strongly identify with their racial group or endorse hierarchical views of society still perceived diversity initiatives as signaling lower respect for White employees.</p>
<p>One explanation for these findings is that diversity initiatives may create an impression that organizations prioritize minority groups, leading White employees to feel that their own status is being diminished. The researchers argue that this reaction is rooted in a psychological framework called the “group-value model” of procedural justice, which suggests that individuals gauge their social standing by how much they believe their group is respected and valued within an institution. When organizations emphasize diversity, White employees may interpret this as a sign that their group is being overlooked or de-emphasized, even if there is no tangible evidence of disadvantage.</p>
<p>The study has implications for how organizations implement diversity programs. While diversity initiatives are designed to create more inclusive workplaces, these findings suggest that they may also trigger unintended concerns among White employees. This could lead to resistance against such initiatives and contribute to broader societal debates about race and equity. The researchers suggest that organizations might need to address these perceptions by emphasizing that diversity initiatives benefit all employees or by framing them in ways that do not implicitly suggest a loss of status for White employees.</p>
<p>However, the study has some limitations. The experiments were conducted in controlled settings with fictional organizations, so the findings may not fully capture how these dynamics play out in real workplaces. Additionally, while the study examined perceptions of bias, it did not measure actual workplace behavior, such as hiring and promotion decisions. Future research could explore how these perceptions influence workplace interactions, policy support, and broader attitudes toward racial equity efforts.</p>
<p>“Discrimination perceptions represent a powerful lens through which people perceive and act upon the social world,” the researchers concluded. “Discrimination perceptions catalyze action, and they are at the heart of significant societal events including lawsuits, political movements, and the state of contemporary race relations. To realize the promise of diversity initiatives, organizations would be wise to turn toward the burgeoning scholarship on diversity science, as this literature points to obstacles, including Whites’ perceptions of anti-White bias, that have the potential to hamper well-intended approaches to increasing diversity and creating a more equitable workforce. Efforts to address Whites’ perceptions of victimhood might help organizations deliver on their efforts to create diverse and inclusive workplace environments.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672211030391" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Diversity Initiatives and White Americans’ Perceptions of Racial Victimhood</a>,” was authored by Cheryl R. Kaiser, Tessa L. Dover, Payton Small, Gary Xia, Laura M. Brady, and Brenda Major.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/rising-temperatures-linked-to-increased-risk-of-depression-study-finds/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Rising temperatures linked to increased risk of depression, study finds</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 31st 2025, 10:00</div>
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<p><p>New research from South Korea has found that for every 1°C increase in average annual atmospheric temperature (from the average temperature in the 1961–1990 period, due to climate change), the odds of having at least moderate depressive symptoms increased by 13%. These increases were 14% for adults between 19 and 40 years of age and 15% for participants who had lived in the same metropolitan area for 20 years or more. The paper was published in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.08.187"><em>Journal of Affective Disorders</em></a>.</p>
<p>Climate change is an ongoing global phenomenon characterized by rising temperatures, shifting weather patterns, and more frequent extreme weather events. Many believe that human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation—leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions—are the primary drivers of this change. These emissions trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing global warming and disruptions in natural systems.</p>
<p>Estimates indicate that the mean global atmospheric temperature in 2023 was 1.45°C above preindustrial levels. These temperature increases lead to more frequent exposure to high heat conditions, which can have adverse consequences for both physical and mental health. For example, short-term exposure to high temperatures or heat waves leads to heat stress. However, much less is known about how heat waves impact mental health.</p>
<p>Study author Horim A. Hwang and his colleagues sought to examine the association between the increase in yearly average temperatures and the prevalence of depression among people living in South Korea. They analyzed data from the Korea Community Health Survey, an annual nationwide survey that collects data from Koreans aged 19 years or older. Data collection starts on July 1 each year and includes participants from all districts of the country.</p>
<p>The data used in this analysis came from 219,187 individuals living on the mainland of the Korean Peninsula (islands were excluded). The study authors divided participants into rural and urban groups and determined whether they had at least moderate depressive symptoms (a score of 10 or higher on the PHQ-9 assessment). They used Google Earth Engine (GEE) ERA5-Land Daily Aggregated data and data from the Korea Meteorological Administration’s database to calculate how much the temperature of each district in Korea had changed from the 1961–1990 average.</p>
<p>Results showed that in urban districts, the average annual temperature in 2021 was 1.2°C higher than the 1961–1990 average (12.4°C now vs. 11.2°C in the reference period). There was no difference in rural districts—the average annual air temperature in these areas was 11.9°C in the reference period and remained 11.9°C in 2021.</p>
<p>However, these numbers were not the same across all districts. In some districts, changes in temperature were higher, while in others, they were lower. Overall, in districts where the average annual temperature was higher, the odds of having moderate or more severe depressive symptoms were slightly lower (6% lower for each 1°C increase) than in districts with a lower average annual temperature.</p>
<p>However, the greater the temperature increase in a district since the reference period (1961–1990), the higher the odds that individuals living there would have at least moderate depressive symptoms (13% higher for every 1°C increase). These increased odds were 14% for adults between 19 and 40 years of age and 15% for participants who had lived in the same metropolitan area for 20 years or more. The association was particularly pronounced in urban districts, where the increase in odds was 22% for every 1°C rise.</p>
<p>“This study demonstrated that increases in average temperature difference are associated with increased likelihood of moderate depressive symptoms among adults 40 years old or younger living in urban districts. This study also showed that the increase in average temperature difference is associated with increased likelihood of depressive mood among all adults regardless of age group,” the study authors concluded.</p>
<p>The study brings to light an interesting correlation between weather conditions and depression. However, it should be noted that the design of this study does not allow for causal inferences to be drawn from the results. While it is possible that weather conditions might affect mental health, the reported increase in average temperatures was slight and observed only in urban districts. It is likely that other factors contribute to both the increase in depressive symptoms and the change in temperature in urban areas.</p>
<p>The paper “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.08.187">Association between increase in temperature due to climate change and depressive symptoms in Korea</a>” was authored by Horim A. Hwang, Ayoung Kim, Whanhee Lee, Hyeon Woo Yim, and Sanghyuk Bae.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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