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<td><span style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:20px;font-weight:bold;">PsyPost – Psychology News</span></td>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/giving-just-one-cent-a-day-may-help-ease-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;">Giving just one cent a day may help ease depression, study finds</a>
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<p><p>A new study published in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09567976251315679"><em>Psychological Science</em></a> suggests that making small, voluntary charitable donations each day—amounting to as little as one Chinese cent—can help reduce depressive symptoms and boost emotional well-being. Researchers found that individuals with depression who participated in a daily online micro-charitable giving program showed greater improvements in mood and reductions in depressive symptoms than those who did not participate. These effects were linked to increased positive emotions and were observed even when donation amounts were minimal.</p>
<p>The researchers were motivated by a growing body of evidence showing that spending money on others can improve well-being. However, many existing interventions that aim to increase happiness through prosocial behavior rely on social interactions, such as acts of kindness or volunteering.</p>
<p>For individuals experiencing depression, such interactions can be uncomfortable or emotionally taxing. People with depression often report feeling disconnected from others, and they may react negatively to social situations that are intended to promote positive emotions. As a result, socially based prosocial interventions have shown limited success in reducing depressive symptoms. The research team wanted to explore whether a simpler, non-social form of prosocial behavior—donating small amounts of money online—could have similar benefits, without the emotional demands of face-to-face interactions.</p>
<p>“The concept was initially proposed by the first author, Zhang Yuyang, who stated: During my undergraduate years, I was dedicated to public service, engaging in activities such as volunteering and utilizing my university’s agricultural resources to assist farmers with soil challenges. My advisor, Sun Junrong, aware of my enthusiasm for charity, invited me to participate in daily donations on Tencent Charity, contributing 1 yuan each time,” said senior author <a href="https://psy.szu.edu.cn/en/info/1019/1085.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jinting Liu</a>, an associate professor at Shenzhen University and head of the <a href="https://positive-cognition.feishu.cn/wiki/DrKVwm8aMiYra8kIhvWcBmJonne" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Positive Cognition Laboratory</a>.</p>
<p>“While preparing for my psychology graduate exams, a notably stressful period, I observed that donating uplifted my mood, potentially due to a ‘warm glow’ effect. This realization inspired my commitment to regular acts of kindness. Upon entering graduate school, I contemplated whether this mood enhancement could be replicated in others. I discussed this idea with my mentor, who deemed it promising and encouraged me to formulate a precise scientific inquiry and experimental design.</p>
<p>“Considering that donating 1 yuan daily for two months amounts to 60 yuan, which might strain students’ finances, I explored reducing the donation amount. I discovered that the minimum donation on Tencent Charity was 0.01 yuan, resulting in a total of only 0.60 yuan for a two-month intervention. This observation catalyzed the development of the research idea.”</p>
<p>The researchers developed a novel intervention: a daily microdonation program in which participants were invited to donate at least one Chinese cent (about $0.0014) per day through the Tencent philanthropy platform. This popular online platform allows users in China to support a wide range of charitable causes, such as healthcare, education, and environmental protection. Each evening, participants received a reminder message that encouraged them to record their donation, reinforcing the idea that “even one cent holds value.”</p>
<p>The researchers conducted three separate, preregistered randomized controlled trials to test the effectiveness of this intervention. In total, they recruited 883 individuals with elevated depressive symptoms, primarily female college students in China. Participants were assigned either to the intervention group, which received daily reminders and made donations for two months, or to a waitlist control group that received no treatment during the study period. Participants completed weekly or monthly surveys measuring depression and emotional positivity using validated psychological scales.</p>
<p>A key component of the study’s design was the use of multilevel modeling to track changes in depressive symptoms and emotional positivity over time. This statistical approach allowed the researchers to examine patterns across individuals and control for differences at the beginning of the study. In addition to these primary measures, they also looked at whether emotional positivity might explain any observed changes in depression. This type of analysis—known as a mediation analysis—can help identify possible pathways through which an intervention has its effects.</p>
<p>Across all three trials, participants in the donation group showed significantly greater improvements in both depressive symptoms and emotional positivity compared to those in the waitlist group. The size of these improvements was small to moderate, with effect sizes ranging from −0.19 to −0.46 for depression and 0.22 to 0.49 for emotional positivity. These differences emerged early in the study and were generally sustained over the two-month period. In many cases, participants in the intervention group were more likely to experience at least a 50% reduction in depressive symptoms or to score below the clinical threshold for depression.</p>
<p>Importantly, the researchers found that increases in emotional positivity appeared to account for much of the improvement in depressive symptoms. In all three trials, participants who reported feeling more positive emotions during the intervention period also tended to show greater reductions in depression scores. This pattern supports the idea that the emotional benefits of giving—sometimes called the “warm glow”—can play a key role in improving mental health. It also suggests that social interaction is not the only route through which prosocial behavior can influence well-being.</p>
<p>“Our findings indicate that, compared to the control group (no intervention), participants in the intervention group—those who engaged in daily micro-donations over eight weeks—experienced significant improvements in both depressive symptoms and emotional positivity,” Liu told PsyPost. “In summary, engaging in daily online micro-donations appears to benefit individuals struggling with depressive symptoms, which constitutes the central outcome of our study.”</p>
<p>“This finding may also offer a promising avenue for public charitable organizations: designing online donation platforms grounded in psychological principles. Such an approach could foster a mutually beneficial dynamic by simultaneously enhancing the reach of charitable initiatives and promoting the psychological well-being of donors.”</p>
<p>“The main results of our study were unsurprising,” Liu added. “The mental health benefits of prosocial behavior are well-documented in previous empirical research. Additionally, the first author’s personal experiences and observations align with these findings. As per his account: ‘I engaged in a lengthy period of micro donations and became the initial beneficiary of this intervention. Before formally conducting the study, I recommended this intervention to friends, who provided positive feedback on their experiences. Thus, we were confident as we embarked on the research.'”</p>
<p>The researchers also explored whether the size of the donations mattered. “An unexpected finding emerged during the intervention: while some participants adhered to donating 0.01 yuan, many voluntarily contributed more,” Liu noted.</p>
<p>In two of the trials, the researchers tracked how much money participants gave each day. They found that individuals who donated more than the minimum amount tended to show slightly greater improvements in mood and depression than those who donated the minimum. However, these differences were not statistically significant in all cases.</p>
<p>“We wish to emphasize that the act of donation itself, rather than the monetary amount, is the critical factor underlying our findings,” Liu explained. “We encourage individuals and charitable organizations alike to approach daily donations with a focus on goodwill and compassion—an expression of care and love—rather than viewing them as obligatory tasks or essential tools for improving mental health. Importantly, our intervention invited, rather than compelled, participants to donate, as the voluntary nature of prosocial behavior is a key prerequisite for its mental health benefits. Thus, donations should not be framed as mandatory actions.”</p>
<p>Despite its promising results, the study has some limitations. Most participants were young adults in China, and it is not yet clear whether the findings would generalize to other age groups or cultures. Additionally, while the researchers made efforts to reduce dropout, some participants did not complete the full study, particularly in the third and largest trial. The researchers also note that their design did not include a comparison group receiving a different type of intervention, such as traditional social volunteering or a mindfulness program. Without such comparisons, it is difficult to say how the donation-based intervention stacks up against other approaches.</p>
<p>“Previous research has indicated that traditional prosocial interventions, which involve engaging in and documenting prosocial behaviors, are generally ineffective in alleviating depressive symptoms,” Liu explained. “In this study, we hypothesized that this limited efficacy might stem from the difficulty depressed individuals experience in engaging in prosocial behaviors and deriving benefits from them. It is important to emphasize that this hypothesis is based solely on existing empirical evidence and does not serve to stigmatize individuals with depression regarding their ability to participate in prosocial activities.”</p>
<p>“As an alternative form of prosocial intervention, we developed an online charitable donation approach, leveraging its convenience and controlled cost (e.g., allowing participants to freely choose donation amounts). We then compared the effectiveness of this intervention in reducing depressive symptoms against a waitlist control group. However, it is important to note that our study did not directly compare the online micro-charity donation intervention with traditional prosocial interventions. Thus, we cannot conclude that online prosocial interventions are superior to conventional approaches in improving the psychological health of individuals with depression.”</p>
<p>“Furthermore, while we selected participants exhibiting depressive symptoms, we did not conduct clinical interviews to confirm their diagnostic status,” Liu said. “As a result, our intervention should not be regarded as a clinical treatment protocol. Individuals with clinically diagnosed depression who wish to try this intervention are strongly encouraged to consult with their mental health professionals before proceeding.”</p>
<p>The authors suggest future research should explore whether the benefits of microdonation fade over time, whether combining it with practices like loving-kindness meditation enhances its effects, and whether other non-social prosocial behaviors can similarly improve mental health.</p>
<p>“Based on the current research findings, there are numerous avenues for future exploration,” Liu explained. “Firstly, prosocial behaviors devoid of direct social interaction extend beyond online donations; for instance, pro-environmental actions have also been shown to enhance individual well-being. This could potentially inspire the development of new intervention strategies.”</p>
<p>“Secondly, after establishing the efficacy of an intervention, we are intrigued by the potential modifiers that may influence its effectiveness. For example, is the impact subject to hedonic adaptation? What is the dose-response mechanism regarding the amount donated and its effect on the intervention’s success? Additionally, to what extent do our intervention instructions contribute to the observed outcomes? Furthermore, could integrating mindfulness meditation, similar to loving-kindness meditation, amplify the effects?”</p>
<p>“Lastly, beyond the scope of this study, we are also curious about how these non-social interaction-based prosocial interventions compare to traditional prosocial interventions,” Liu said. “This inquiry not only pertains to the efficacy of the interventions but also to understanding the mechanisms by which different forms of social interaction in prosocial behavior impact depressive symptoms.”</p>
<p>At the end of the study, the researchers sought to understand not just the clinical outcomes of the intervention, but also how participants personally experienced the act of daily giving. Their reflections offered a deeper, more human perspective on how even the smallest acts of generosity can foster emotional connection, meaning, and a sense of shared humanity.</p>
<p>“Many participants reported experiencing happiness and fulfillment after donating, expressing empathy for the recipients and a renewed appreciation for their own lives,” Liu told PsyPost. “Interestingly, some participants began to view the value of one cent in more nuanced ways: ‘Although it’s just one cent, it feels as though there’s some kind of connection with the recipient,’ one participant noted. Another remarked, ‘Donating made me feel incredibly refreshed, knowing that even my small contribution helped someone in need.’ Perhaps most profoundly, this small act of kindness prompted reflections on the meaning of life: ‘Offering even a small amount of help to others makes me feel that life has purpose.’</p>
<p>“We deeply appreciate the positive feedback provided by these participants. Their genuine responses have been a source of inspiration and motivation for us to continue advancing this intervention. One of the core missions of psychology is to enhance human well-being, and this micro-donation, imbued with goodwill, has demonstrated its potential to connect people in meaningful ways. We believe that this interconnectedness of compassion is central to the concept of a fulfilling life.”</p>
<p>“We are also sincerely grateful to <em>Psychological Science</em> for accepting our manuscript and to the journalists who have interviewed us,” Liu added. “Their support allows our ideas to reach a broader audience, including both psychologists and the general public. It is our hope that all individuals, regardless of their background, can be united by the thread of kindness and work together to create a better future for humanity.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976251315679">Can One Donation a Day Keep Depression Away? Three Randomized Controlled Trials of an Online Micro-Charitable Giving Intervention</a>,” was authored by Yuyang Zhang, Qianyu Jiang, Yushen Luo, and Jinting Liu.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-psychology-research-reveals-the-paradoxical-benefits-of-viewing-tragic-art/" 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 psychology research reveals the paradoxical benefits of viewing tragic art</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Apr 13th 2025, 08:00</div>
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<p><p>New research published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2025.2481053" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Journal of Positive Psychology</a></em> suggests that looking at tragic art—specifically sculptures depicting the suffering of refugees—can produce positive emotional experiences and even increase empathy. Across two studies, people reported feeling both sadness and pleasure when viewing emotionally difficult art. These feelings were closely tied to a sense of being moved and finding the experience meaningful.</p>
<p>The researchers conducted a series to two studies to explore a puzzling question: why do we sometimes seek out tragic experiences in art, when we typically try to avoid such feelings in real life? From ancient tragedies to war memorials, many works of art focus on suffering and loss. The team was particularly interested in whether this paradoxical pleasure—feeling good from something sad—was linked to how moved or inspired people felt, how meaningful they found the experience, and whether the art could increase compassion toward others.</p>
<p>“Many of our greatest works of art depict pain and human suffering. Paradoxically, we are drawn to these tragic works of art even as we try to avoid tragedy in our personal lives. We examined why we are drawn to these works and if there are unanticipated benefits of viewing tragic art,” said study author <a href="https://www.jenniferedrake.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jennifer E. Drake</a>, an associate professor at Brooklyn College.</p>
<p>In the first study, 150 English-speaking adults from the United States were recruited online. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 77 and represented a variety of racial and educational backgrounds. They were told they would be randomly assigned to watch one of three types of art videos: sculptures of refugees in distress, sculptures of people walking down a street, or sculptures of joyful celebrations. In reality, all participants watched videos showing tragic sculptures of refugees fleeing their homeland.</p>
<p>Before viewing the videos, participants were asked to reflect on two painful life experiences—one they had chosen (like running a marathon or undergoing a difficult medical treatment) and one they had not chosen (like losing a loved one or experiencing a traumatic event). They rated how positive or negative these experiences had been for them emotionally.</p>
<p>Afterward, participants viewed two short videos featuring the work of sculptor Susan Clinard, who focuses on refugee and immigration themes. The first video provided background on her art, while the second highlighted a specific piece.</p>
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<p>After watching, participants rated how moved they felt, how meaningful the experience was, and how strongly they experienced both negative and positive emotions. They were also asked whether their attitudes toward refugees had changed after watching the videos. Lastly, they completed a questionnaire measuring their interest in and engagement with the arts.</p>
<p>The results showed that people rated their chosen painful life experiences as more positive than their unchosen ones. This suggests that when pain is self-selected, it may be more easily framed as meaningful or worthwhile. However, these ratings did not predict whether someone preferred to view the tragic videos.</p>
<p>While the majority of participants said they would have preferred to see joyful or neutral videos, those who did express a preference for the tragic art reported feeling slightly more positive afterward. Regardless of preference, participants who reported more positive and more negative affect after watching the videos were also more likely to say they felt moved and that the experience was meaningful. These findings support the idea that art can be emotionally complex and that mixed emotions can contribute to a powerful, reflective experience.</p>
<p>Attitudes toward refugees were harder to assess in this first study. Most participants already supported granting asylum to people fleeing hardship, leaving little room for change. As a result, the researchers could not determine whether viewing the videos shifted people’s perspectives in a more empathetic direction.</p>
<p>In the second study, the researchers aimed to overcome these limitations by recruiting a sample of 150 politically conservative adults from the United States. This group was selected because conservatives have previously been found to score lower on measures of cognitive empathy, making them a promising population in which to observe potential attitude change. As in the first study, participants were told they would be randomly assigned to view one of three types of videos but were all shown the same tragic ones.</p>
<p>This time, attitudes toward refugees were measured both before and after viewing the videos using a modified version of the Immigrant Attitudes Scale. This scale asked participants to rate their agreement with eight statements, half of which reflected sympathetic views and half of which reflected unsympathetic ones. The researchers then tracked changes in the overall scores.</p>
<p>Once again, participants rated their chosen painful life experiences as more positive than the ones they had not chosen. But as in Study 1, these ratings did not predict who would prefer to watch the tragic videos. Overall, participants experienced more negative than positive emotion while watching the videos, but both types of feelings were linked to feeling moved and finding the experience meaningful. In fact, the more strongly people felt either kind of emotion, the more likely they were to report that the videos had made them think and feel deeply.</p>
<p>Crucially, this second study did detect a shift in attitudes. After watching the videos, participants reported more sympathetic views toward undocumented refugees. This change was associated with how much positive and negative emotion they felt during the viewing. People who reported stronger emotional responses—whether pleasant or unpleasant—were more likely to become more empathetic. However, preference for viewing tragic art and general interest in art did not predict attitude change.</p>
<p>“When viewing tragic art we experience both positive and negative affect,” Drake told PsyPost. “Our experience of positive and negative affect is related to how moving and meaningful we find these works of art. Finally, we found empathy for refugees increased after viewing tragic art.”</p>
<p>The findings suggest that tragic art can evoke meaningful and moving experiences and has the potential to foster empathy for marginalized groups. But the authors note some limitations. Both studies were conducted online, which may limit how powerful the emotional responses were compared to experiencing art in person. The shift in attitudes was measured shortly after the videos ended, so it remains unclear whether the effects last over time. Additionally, only one format of art—videos of sculptures—was used, and participants were not actually given a real choice about what kind of art to view.</p>
<p>Future research could explore whether experiencing tragic art in a museum setting or through other media, such as film or literature, has a similar or even greater impact. Studies could also track attitude change over weeks or months to see whether the empathy induced by art can lead to longer-term shifts in perspective. Exploring how individual differences in personality or emotional processing influence these responses may also provide deeper insight into why some people are more drawn to sad art than others.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2025.2481053" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The paradoxical benefits of viewing tragic art</a>,” was authored by Gurveen Dhallua, Ellen Winner, and Jennifer E. Drake.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/neuroscience-ultra-processed-foods-linked-to-changes-in-brain-regions-that-control-eating-behavior-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;">Ultra-processed foods linked to changes in brain regions that control eating behavior, study finds</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Apr 13th 2025, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s44324-025-00056-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">npj Metabolic Health and Disease</a></em> suggests that eating more ultra-processed foods may not only increase the risk of obesity and poor metabolic health, but could also be associated with structural changes in brain regions involved in regulating food intake and reward. Researchers found that these changes in the brain were linked to both higher body fat and markers of inflammation, indicating that ultra-processed foods may influence the brain through multiple biological pathways—not just through increased calorie consumption.</p>
<p>Ultra-processed foods, or UPFs, are heavily manufactured products that typically contain additives, preservatives, and ingredients not found in traditional home cooking. While previous studies have shown that UPFs contribute to overeating and weight gain, much less is known about why they lead to increased food intake and whether they directly affect the brain. The researchers behind this new study aimed to fill that gap by examining whether UPF consumption is associated with differences in brain structure, and whether these differences are explained by factors such as body fat, inflammation, and cholesterol levels.</p>
<p>“We were interested in the topic because there is no convincing evidence of how ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption is associated with brain structure in humans,” explained study author <a href="https://filipmorys.github.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Filip Morys</a>, a research associate at the Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill University.</p>
<p>“We also don’t know what causes those hypothesized associations – a lot of researchers claim that UPF consumption increases obesity and that this is the only path that leads to brain damage, but there is a possibility that there are other pathways, e.g. additives in UPFs could cause inflammation and negatively affect the brain.”</p>
<p>The researchers analyzed data from the UK Biobank, a large health study that has followed more than 500,000 participants over many years. For this specific analysis, they focused on around 33,000 people who had completed dietary surveys and undergone brain scans. Participants reported what they ate in multiple 24-hour dietary recalls, and researchers calculated the percentage of total calories that came from ultra-processed foods. On average, nearly half of the calories consumed by participants came from UPFs.</p>
<p>The team also gathered detailed health information from these participants, including their body mass index (a measure of body fat), waist-to-hip ratio, and visceral fat. They looked at blood markers such as cholesterol levels, inflammation (measured by C-reactive protein), blood sugar (HbA1c), and blood pressure. Finally, they analyzed high-resolution brain scans, focusing on areas of the brain involved in eating behavior, including the hypothalamus, nucleus accumbens, amygdala, and several white matter tracts.</p>
<p>The study found that higher UPF consumption was associated with a range of negative health indicators. People who ate more UPFs tended to have higher levels of body fat, more inflammation, worse blood sugar control, and lower levels of healthy cholesterol. They also consumed more sugar, saturated fat, and sodium.</p>
<p>But most strikingly, UPF intake was linked to structural differences in specific brain regions. For example, people who consumed more UPFs had signs of increased cellular density in the hypothalamus, which may reflect inflammation in this brain region. The hypothalamus plays a key role in regulating hunger and metabolism.</p>
<p>At the same time, participants showed signs of reduced cellular integrity in the nucleus accumbens, putamen, and pallidum—areas involved in reward and motivation, including food cravings and pleasure from eating. These findings suggest that UPF consumption may be related to both inflammation and degradation in the brain’s appetite and reward systems.</p>
<p>“What surprised us was how specific our findings were – brain structures that were associated with higher UPF consumption were the ones that are related to appetite and food intake regulation as well as reward,” Morys told PsyPost. “Once again, that could mean that UPF affects those regions which then leads to a higher UPF consumption.”</p>
<p>The researchers also conducted mediation analyses to understand whether the effects of UPFs on the brain were indirect—that is, whether they were explained by other health factors like inflammation or obesity. They found that some of the associations between UPF intake and brain structure were partially explained by body mass index and markers of inflammation such as C-reactive protein. For instance, the link between UPF consumption and changes in the nucleus accumbens appeared to be mediated by higher inflammation levels. Other brain changes, such as differences in the hypothalamus, were mediated by increased body fat.</p>
<p>Interestingly, not all brain effects were explained by obesity or inflammation. Some associations remained even after accounting for these factors, suggesting that other components of UPFs—such as additives, emulsifiers, or the combination of fats and carbohydrates—might have a direct influence on brain health. This aligns with findings from animal studies, which have shown that ingredients commonly found in UPFs can lead to inflammation and damage in the brain, independent of weight gain.</p>
<p>The study adds to a growing body of research suggesting that diets high in ultra-processed foods may trigger a cycle that reinforces overeating. “I think for an average person it should be important to know that UPF consumption can reshape our brain’s reward and homeostatic systems in a way that could further increase our UPF consumption,” Morys told PsyPost.</p>
<p>“We already know that UPFs are designed to make us overeat them – here we are showing what the mechanisms for this could be. There might be a vicious cycle happening here (but see caveat). An interesting fact is that some of the effects of UPFs on the brain are indeed because it leads to increased body fat, but there are also different mechanisms that could involve additives, etc.”</p>
<p>However, the authors caution that their findings are based on cross-sectional data, meaning they took a snapshot of each participant’s brain and diet at one point in time. Because of this, they cannot determine whether UPF consumption causes brain changes or whether people with different brain structures are more likely to eat UPFs. It’s also possible that the relationship is bidirectional, where brain changes and dietary habits influence each other over time.</p>
<p>“The caveat is that this is a cross-sectional study,” Morys explained. “This means that we cannot solve the problem of which comes first – brain changes or UPF consumption. Or perhaps, as we think, both happen reciprocally. But with this study, we can only hypothesize about the specific mechanisms.”</p>
<p>Future research is needed to test these findings in controlled experimental studies, and to explore which specific features of UPFs—such as calorie density, specific additives, or the blend of nutrients—are most responsible for these brain changes. Understanding this could help in developing healthier food alternatives and more effective strategies to reduce UPF consumption.</p>
<p>“We would be very interested in investigating which parts of food processing lead to the brain changes that we found,” Morys said. “Is it the fact that UPFs are higher in calories? Are those special additives? Other substances? Combination of carbohydrates and fat? We do not know this and it could help create healthier alternatives.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s44324-025-00056-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ultra-processed food consumption affects structural integrity of feeding-related brain regions independent of and via adiposity</a>,” was authored by Filip Morys, Arsene Kanyamibwa, Daniel Fängström, Max Tweedale, Alexandre Pastor-Bernier, Houman Azizi, Lang Liu, Annette Horstmann, and Alain Dagher.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-scale-allows-researchers-to-study-consensual-sexual-sadism-without-pathologizing-it/" 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 scale allows researchers to study consensual sexual sadism without pathologizing it</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Apr 12th 2025, 16:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2025-73248-001?doi=1" target="_blank">Psychological Assessment</a></em> introduces the Index of Consensual Sexual Sadism (ICSS), a tool designed to measure sadistic sexual interests in the general population. Unlike existing measures that focus on nonconsensual or criminal behavior, the ICSS focuses on consensual acts and fantasies, allowing researchers to assess these tendencies without conflating them with pathology or risk. The findings suggest that consensual sexual sadism is psychologically distinct from everyday sadism and may not be inherently harmful or indicative of psychological problems.</p>
<p>The study was motivated by a gap in how sexual sadism is measured. Traditional assessments of sadism are largely based on forensic or clinical samples and often focus on nonconsensual acts. This creates two problems. First, it ignores individuals who may engage in sadistic behaviors or fantasies within consensual contexts. Second, it risks pathologizing people whose sexual preferences may not cause harm or distress. </p>
<p>In recent years, researchers have begun to view sexual sadism as a spectrum rather than a fixed disorder, and subclinical expressions of sadism—those that occur without distress or impairment—have been identified in nonclinical populations. However, there was no tool specifically designed to measure consensual sexual sadism in everyday contexts. The ICSS was developed to fill that need.</p>
<p>“Sexual sadism is often studied in clinical and forensic samples, and less empirical attention has been given to subclinical or consensual forms of sadism due to a lack of valid and reliable measurement. We wanted to develop a tool to allow researchers and clinicians to understand these behavioral tendencies while also distinguishing them from more problematic or harmful behaviors,” explained study author Charlotte Kinrade, an assistant professor of psychology at Kennesaw State University.</p>
<p>To test and validate the new scale, the researchers recruited two samples. One group included 1,087 undergraduate students from a university in the United States. The second group consisted of 429 adults recruited through an online platform called CloudResearch. After removing participants who failed attention checks, responded too quickly, or didn’t complete the study, the final sample included 1,391 participants, ranging in age from 18 to 85. Participants were racially diverse but predominantly White, and the majority were female.</p>
<p>Participants completed the newly developed ICSS along with a variety of psychological measures. The ICSS initially included 18 items, which asked participants to rate their agreement with statements about both direct engagement in sexually sadistic behaviors and vicarious engagement through fantasies or pornography. All items explicitly referred to consensual scenarios. Example items included “I fantasize about strangling or suffocating my partner and/or watch pornography involving strangulation or suffocation” and “I enjoy having rough or violent sex with my partner.” Participants rated each item on a seven-point scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.</p>
<p>Kinrade and her colleagues used statistical techniques to reduce the number of items while retaining the core content. The final version of the ICSS included nine items that reflected both direct and vicarious engagement with sadistic behaviors. Analyses showed that these items loaded onto a single factor, meaning they all measured the same underlying construct. The scale also showed strong internal consistency and worked similarly across different groups, including men and women, younger and older adults, and both student and community samples.</p>
<p>The ICSS was then evaluated for its relationships with various psychological traits to determine its validity. People who scored higher on the ICSS were more likely to report deriving pleasure from sadistic acts, especially in sexual contexts. They also tended to report more frequent sadistic sexual fantasies. These results supported the idea that the ICSS is tapping into a specific type of sexual interest rather than a broader or more pathological tendency.</p>
<p>When the ICSS was compared to measures of everyday sadism—such as enjoying cruelty or dominance in nonsexual settings—it showed some overlap but also clear differences. While both forms of sadism were related to lower levels of traits like honesty, humility, and agreeableness, everyday sadism was more strongly associated with antagonistic and pathological personality traits, such as psychopathy and chronic aggression. In contrast, consensual sexual sadism was less strongly tied to these negative traits and showed a slight positive association with openness to experience.</p>
<p>One important concern with self-report measures of socially sensitive behaviors is the possibility that people might give socially desirable responses. However, the ICSS was only weakly related to a standard measure of social desirability bias. This suggests that participants responded honestly and that the measure captures meaningful variation in sadistic interests, rather than simply reflecting discomfort with discussing taboo topics.</p>
<p>“Sexual sadism represents a spectrum of behavioral tendencies, and the ICSS assesses sexually sadistic behaviors that manifest in consensual contexts to allow researchers and clinicians to begin evaluating the full spectrum of sexual sadism,” Kinrade told PsyPost. “Additionally, our measure distinguishes consensual sexual sadism from everyday sadism and suggests that consensual sexual sadism is less pathological than everyday sadism. Our work offers a way to measure consensual sexually sadistic behaviors in a way that doesn’t pathologize them unnecessarily but still allows for meaningful research.”</p>
<p>Interestingly, consensual sexual sadism was weakly linked to dissatisfaction in romantic relationships. There was a small negative correlation between ICSS scores and relationship satisfaction, but this association was much smaller than the one observed for everyday sadism.</p>
<p>“One surprising finding was how consensual sexual sadism was related to marginally worse romantic relationship satisfaction,” Kinrade said. “This suggests that although these tendencies may be practiced consensually, they may nevertheless negatively impact satisfaction in romantic relationships or coincide with other behavioral tendencies that reduce romantic relationship satisfaction. It would be interesting for future work to explore these ideas and consider the preferences and perception of satisfaction of both partners in a romantic relationship.”</p>
<p>Despite these promising findings, the researchers acknowledged several limitations. Most notably, very few participants scored above the midpoint on the ICSS, suggesting that consensual sexual sadism occurs at relatively low levels in the general population. This limited the ability to detect stronger associations with other traits and may have caused the study to underestimate the strength of some relationships. </p>
<p>“Consensual sexual sadism appears to occur at low levels in the general population as it did in our samples, with only about 3.7% of participants scoring above the midpoint on our scale,” Kinrade noted. “Future research should oversample from communities where higher levels of consensual sexual sadism might be present, such as BDSM practitioners.”</p>
<p>The researchers also noted that the ICSS does not assess whether sexually sadistic behaviors cause distress or impairment in individuals’ lives. While the measure was designed to avoid pathologizing consensual sexual interests, some individuals may still experience negative consequences from their behaviors or fantasies. Future studies could incorporate clinical assessments or reports from partners to better understand when sadistic tendencies become problematic.</p>
<p>“We are interested in using the ICSS in future research to disentangle consensual sexual sadism and everyday sadism so that we can better understand how sadistic behaviors manifest in the general population and the implications these behaviors may have for others and broader social functioning,” Kinrade said.</p>
<p>The study, “The Index of Consensual Sexual Sadism (ICSS): Scale Development, Validation, Measurement Invariance, and Nomological Network Comparisons With Everyday Sadism<a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0001365" target="_blank"></a>,” was authored by Charlotte Kinrade, William Hart, Danielle E. Wahlers, Braden T. Hall, and Joshua T. Lambert.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/most-tiktok-fitspiration-content-promotes-misinformation-and-unrealistic-body-ideals/" 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;">Most TikTok fitspiration content promotes misinformation and unrealistic body ideals</a>
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<p><p>An analysis of videos from popular TikTok fitspiration hashtags revealed that most of these videos show fit and thin, idealized women bodies, and muscular, similarly idealized bodies of men. They also contained various other characteristics known to negatively impact body image of viewers. The research was published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2024.101769"><em>Body Image</em></a>.</p>
<p>Fitspiration is a social media trend that involves sharing images and content aimed at inspiring viewers to pursue an active and healthy lifestyle through exercise and nutrition. It showcases exercise routines, nutritious meals, and idealized body types. While intended to inspire, this content has sparked a complex dialogue about body image and self-perception.</p>
<p>Studies suggest that prolonged exposure to fitspiration images can lead to unhealthy comparisons, where individuals measure their self-worth against often unattainable physical standards portrayed by influencers and models. This, in turn, can exacerbate feelings of inadequacy and contribute to body dissatisfaction.</p>
<p>Moreover, the highly curated nature of social media content means that what viewers see is a selective representation, typically devoid of the effort, struggles, and failures that accompany regular fitness routines and dieting. This skewed reality can set unrealistic expectations, making everyday fitness goals seem less achievable.</p>
<p>Study author Samantha Pryde and her colleagues wanted to examine the themes and characteristics presented in fitspiration content posted to TikTok. They also wanted to look into the credibility of content creators who post videos using fitspiration hashtags on TikTok, and the accuracy of the information they share. These authors expected that fitness influencers would be the predominant posters of fitspiration videos, and that their videos would contain more misleading, incorrect, or harmful health information than videos posted by qualified professionals.</p>
<p>Study authors first looked for relevant hashtags of fitspiration videos on TikTok. To identify them, they searched for the fitspiration hashtags, and then looked into hashtags used in the first 10 videos collected in that way. This created an initial list of 52 possible hashtags, but study authors trimmed this list to 4 with the most views – #fitness, #gymtok, #fittok and #fitspo. For their analysis, study authors selected the first 50 videos for each hashtag, a total of 200 videos.</p>
<p>Study authors used a standardized codebook from a previous study to classify the content of the videos. They first categorized them into videos containing people, food, both, or other contents. Only videos containing food, people, or both were analyzed further.</p>
<p>Food-related videos were coded depending on whether they contained health or unhealthy food items, while those with people were classified in terms of gender and age of depicted individuals, their body shape and muscularity, actions performed, and the presence of any objectifying features (e.g., focus on specific body parts, absence of the individual’s face and/or head from view, posing in front of a mirror in a self-like fashion whilst recording).</p>
<p>Videos were also coded for a number of other characteristics such as the location where the video was recorded, the presence of harmful themes such as body shaming, excessive dieting or exercising, glorification of eating disorders, and others.</p>
<p>Results showed that 92% of videos were of people. 78% of videos contained women, 10% contained men, and 12% were both men and women. Videos of men were more likely to include two people, while videos of women mostly contained a single individual. Most of the videos were filmed in a gym.</p>
<p>Practically all of the women in the videos were between 15 and 34. 76% of the women in the videos were thin. In contrast, most of the men (60%) were of average build, but the share of thin men was also substantial (38%). 80% of men had visible muscle definition of different levels, but this was the case with only 41% of women.</p>
<p>77% of videos of women contained elements of objectification, most often focusing on their buttocks and legs. This was the case with only 50% of videos of men and these videos most often focused on their arms and chest. 76% of videos containing men, and 60% of videos containing women obscured their faces. Almost none of the creators posted their qualifications or credentials regarding health, fitness, or nutrition. Fitness influencers contributed 61% of the analyzed videos.</p>
<p>40% of the information posted in the videos was credible, 48% was misleading, and 12% was harmful. 67% of posts by qualified professionals were credible, while their other posts were misleading. In contrast, only, 38% of posts by individuals who did not disclose qualifications were credible. 59% of videos promoted engaging in exercise for appearance reasons and this was much more often the case with videos containing women.</p>
<p>“Fitspiration content on TikTok promotes gendered body image ideals that objectify both male and female bodies. Video captions persistently promote appearance-based reasons for exercise, along with several harmful themes known to negatively impact body image. Further, information presented was often not credible and was not posted by someone with a relevant health or fitness qualification.”, study authors concluded.</p>
<p>The study sheds light on the contents of fitspiration TikTok videos. However, it should be noted that this was just a “snapshot” of TikTok videos at the time of the study. Contents of platforms such as TikTok constantly change and an analysis done at a different time might yield very different results.</p>
<p>The paper, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2024.101769">““You started working out to get a flat stomach and a fat a$$”: A content analysis of fitspiration videos on TikTok,</a>” was authored by Samantha Pryde, Eva Kemps, and Ivanka Prichard.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/authoritarian-attitudes-are-linked-to-maga-support-except-among-women-of-color-researchers-find/" 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;">Authoritarian attitudes are linked to MAGA support—except among women of color, researchers find</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Apr 12th 2025, 12:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/rep.2025.21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics</a></em> challenges common assumptions about gender and racial group behavior in American politics. The researchers found that support for Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) agenda is strongly influenced by right-wing authoritarianism, but this influence varies depending on the race and gender of the voter. Notably, white women displayed levels of support for the MAGA agenda and authoritarian beliefs that closely resembled those of white men, while women of color were consistently the least supportive and least authoritarian.</p>
<p>The researchers set out to explore how race and gender together shape support for the MAGA agenda, rather than examining these factors in isolation. While political scientists have long recognized that white voters lean Republican and that women, particularly women of color, are more likely to vote for Democrats, the researchers wanted to investigate why certain groups—especially white women and men of color—still supported MAGA, despite its alignment with patriarchal and racially exclusionary values. They proposed that “positionality”—how a person is advantaged or disadvantaged in the social hierarchy of race and gender—might explain this pattern.</p>
<p>To test this theory, the authors used data from the 2022 Notre Dame Health of Democracy study, a national survey that included 1,580 participants across four race-gender groups: white men, white women, men of color, and women of color. The researchers measured participants’ support for the MAGA agenda using seven questions, including whether they believed Donald Trump was the “true voice” of America, whether they believed the 2020 election was stolen, and whether they supported or minimized the violence that took place on January 6th, 2021. These items were combined into a scale that reflected overall support for the MAGA movement.</p>
<p>To understand what might drive this support, the study also measured right-wing authoritarianism using statements about the need for a strong leader who would restore traditional values and punish those seen as disrupting the social order. Participants also completed other political psychology scales, including measures of social dominance orientation (a belief in group-based hierarchy), system justification (support for the status quo), and racial resentment.</p>
<p>The researchers found that support for the MAGA agenda differed significantly across race-gender lines. White men had the highest average support score, followed closely by men of color and white women, while women of color scored significantly lower. When looking at right-wing authoritarianism, white men and white women again had the highest levels, while women of color showed the lowest. Men of color showed mixed levels—high on some indicators of authoritarianism, but not others.</p>
<p>The most striking finding was that <a href="https://www.psypost.org/authoritarian-aggression-and-group-based-dominance-distinguished-trump-supporters-from-other-republicans-in-2016/">right-wing authoritarianism strongly predicted MAGA support</a> for white men and white women, but not for women of color. This pattern remained even after controlling for political party, education, income, religiosity, racial resentment, and other factors. For men of color, the relationship between authoritarianism and MAGA support was present, but weaker and more inconsistent. The data suggested that women of color were the only group largely unaffected by authoritarian beliefs when it came to supporting the MAGA movement.</p>
<p>The researchers also found that social dominance orientation predicted MAGA support among both white and nonwhite women, suggesting that belief in group-based hierarchies can also shape political preferences, even among those structurally disadvantaged by them. However, system justification did not significantly affect MAGA support across any group. This suggests that the MAGA movement, with its revolutionary rhetoric and willingness to undermine democratic norms, is not driven by a desire to preserve the existing system but by an urge to restore a perceived lost social order.</p>
<p>While the study sheds light on how race and gender intersect to influence support for authoritarian politics, it does have some limitations. The sample size, while respectable overall, was not large enough to break down subgroups within voters of color, such as distinguishing between Black, Latino, and Asian American men or women. The study also relied on self-reported measures of political attitudes, which can sometimes be influenced by social desirability or lack of awareness. Future research could benefit from more detailed subgroup analysis and from examining how these dynamics play out in different regional or cultural contexts.</p>
<p>The new findings from the 2024 election reinforce and build upon earlier research that also challenged assumptions about women as a unified voting bloc. A 2020 study published in <em>Politics & Gender</em> had already highlighted that <a href="https://www.psypost.org/white-womens-trump-support-tied-to-racial-resentment-study-finds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">women’s political preferences are deeply shaped by both race and gender attitudes</a>, with important distinctions emerging across racial groups.</p>
<p>In that study, researchers found that white women’s support for Trump was strongly predicted by racial resentment, while Latina and Asian American women who endorsed hostile sexist views were also more likely to vote for Trump. These findings directly anticipated the pattern observed in 2024, where right-wing authoritarianism—a belief system tied to support for hierarchy, conformity, and punishment—was similarly associated with MAGA support among white women and some men of color, but not women of color.</p>
<p>Both studies converge on a key insight: women of color, and particularly Black women, show consistent resistance to Trump and the MAGA agenda, regardless of which psychological attitudes are measured. In the 2020 study, Black women exhibited the lowest levels of racial resentment and consistently supported the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden. In the 2024 data, women of color again stood apart—not only in their low levels of support for MAGA, but also in the weak or nonexistent relationship between right-wing authoritarianism and their political preferences.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/rep.2025.21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Support for the MAGA Agenda: Race, Gender, and Authoritarianism</a>,” was authored by Kayla Wolf, Chaerim Kim, Laura Brisbane, and Jane Junn.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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