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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/psychedelic-experiences-linked-to-long-term-improvements-in-psychological-flexibility-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;">Psychedelic experiences linked to long-term improvements in psychological flexibility, study finds</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">May 15th 2025, 10:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2025.2495937" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Journal of Psychoactive Drugs</a></em> suggests that psychedelic experiences—particularly those involving intense mystical elements—may lead to sustained improvements in psychological flexibility. People who reported such experiences, especially those using substances like ayahuasca or psilocybin with therapeutic or self-exploratory intent, tended to show greater increases in their ability to adapt to challenging thoughts and emotions over time.</p>
<p>Psychological flexibility refers to the ability to remain open to internal experiences, such as distressing thoughts or feelings, while acting in ways that align with personal values. It’s a central concept in acceptance-based therapies like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and is increasingly seen as a key pathway to mental well-being. Researchers have long theorized that psychedelics might help shift rigid thinking patterns, and psychological flexibility is one lens through which to understand how these changes might happen.</p>
<p>“This research topic was inspired by our previous results in participants who smoke tobacco, use cannabis, or consume alcohol,” said study author Bruno Romeo of Paul Brousse Hospital and the Université Paris-Saclay. “In those earlier studies, we found a link between psychological flexibility and a reduction in various types of substance use. Therefore, we wanted to explore which factors could influence psychological flexibility in our participants, which led us to conduct the present study.”</p>
<p>The researchers conducted a retrospective online survey involving 403 French adults who had undergone a personally significant psychedelic experience more than six months prior to participation. The study drew on data from three earlier surveys targeting different user groups—smokers, alcohol users, and cannabis users. Participants were asked to evaluate their psychological flexibility using the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II) at three points in time: before the psychedelic experience, one month afterward, and during the six months leading up to the survey. They also completed the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ-30), which measured the intensity of the altered states they experienced.</p>
<p>Participants in the study used a range of substances, with LSD (57.1%) and psilocybin (30%) being the most common. Smaller numbers had used ayahuasca, DMT, or mescaline. Their motivations for taking psychedelics varied: 40% reported recreational reasons, while others cited psychological self-exploration (24.3%), curiosity (16.6%), therapeutic reasons (7.4%), or spiritual pursuits (5%).</p>
<p>On average, participants’ psychological flexibility scores improved after their psychedelic experience. Baseline scores averaged 44.2 on the AAQ-II, rising to 48.3 one month afterward and 49.5 over the prior six months—indicating a significant and lasting increase. Statistical analysis confirmed that these changes were unlikely due to chance.</p>
<p>The most consistent predictor of improvement was the intensity of the mystical experience during the trip. Participants who scored above the threshold for a “full mystical experience” on the MEQ-30 showed significantly greater increases in flexibility than those who did not. For example, one month after the experience, people who had a full mystical experience scored about four points higher on the AAQ-II than those who had less intense experiences. This association held even six months later.</p>
<p>The researchers also found that the starting level of psychological flexibility mattered. People who had lower flexibility before the psychedelic experience were more likely to show large improvements afterward. This may reflect a greater room for growth or a higher potential for change in those who begin with more rigid psychological patterns.</p>
<p>The type of psychedelic substance also played a role. Ayahuasca users experienced greater increases in psychological flexibility one month after the experience compared to LSD users. Frequent users—those who had used psychedelics dozens of times—also tended to score higher on psychological flexibility, but the direction of this relationship is unclear. It could reflect ongoing self-development efforts, or it might indicate that people with more flexible mindsets are more likely to continue using psychedelics.</p>
<p>Intent also influenced outcomes. People who took psychedelics with a recreational intent showed smaller improvements in psychological flexibility compared to those who used them for self-exploration or therapeutic reasons. This finding highlights the importance of mindset and context, sometimes referred to as “set and setting,” in shaping the psychological impact of psychedelics.</p>
<p>Interestingly, subjective dose did not significantly affect changes in flexibility. Participants were asked to categorize their dosage as very low, low, standard, high, or very high. These estimates, while useful, may not accurately reflect the pharmacological potency of the experience, especially given the uncontrolled and retrospective nature of the study.</p>
<p>To understand which factors best predicted long-term changes in psychological flexibility, the researchers ran multiple linear regression models. The two strongest predictors were the intensity of the mystical experience and the person’s initial level of psychological flexibility. Specific substances like psilocybin, mescaline, and ayahuasca, as well as higher frequency of use, were also linked to greater improvements.</p>
<p>“The mains key takeaways are: 1.) Intensity of mystical experience is associated with improvements in psychological flexibility, 2.) Lower baseline psychological flexibility is associated with subsequent improvements, and 3.) Frequents psychedelic use is correlates with improvements in psychological flexibility,” Romeo told PsyPost.</p>
<p>The findings add to a growing body of research suggesting that psychedelics may help shift mental habits and increase openness to experience. One explanation centers on the brain’s serotonin system, particularly the 5-HT2A receptor. Activation of this receptor is believed to play a key role in generating the altered states of consciousness associated with psychedelics. This same mechanism may also enhance neural plasticity—the brain’s ability to form new connections—which could underlie the changes in psychological flexibility.</p>
<p>Another possibility is that the mystical or meaningful quality of the experience itself leads to shifts in perspective. This might help people let go of avoidant or rigid ways of thinking, especially when those patterns are linked to mental health difficulties like depression or anxiety. But the authors caution that the relationship between mystical experiences and therapeutic outcomes may be more complex than it appears and might involve multiple interacting mechanisms.</p>
<p>There are several important limitations to keep in mind. This was a retrospective study, relying on participants’ memories of their experiences and their mental states at different points in time. This introduces the possibility of recall bias and makes it difficult to establish causal relationships. The self-selected sample, recruited online from psychedelic advocacy networks, may not be representative of the broader population. In addition, the use of self-reported dosing and the lack of control over substance purity and composition reduce the precision of the findings.</p>
<p>Despite these limitations, the study provides important new insights into the potential of psychedelics to support psychological change. It suggests that people who undergo intense, meaningful psychedelic experiences—especially with a self-reflective or therapeutic mindset—may gain lasting benefits in their ability to adapt and respond to life’s challenges.</p>
<p>“The next step in our research is to conduct a prospective study to confirm our initial results,” Romeo said. “Following that, we aim to explore correlations with biological variables that could help explain the mechanisms of action of these molecules.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2025.2495937" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Exploring Factors Affecting Psychological Flexibility After Psychedelic Experiences</a>,” was authored by B. Romeo, E. Kervadec, B. Fauvel, L. Strika-Bruneau, A. Amirouche, V. Verroust, P. Piolino, and A. Benyamina.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/adhd-symptoms-appear-to-influence-womens-orgasms/" 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;">ADHD symptoms appear to influence women’s orgasms</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">May 15th 2025, 08:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2025.2489771" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Journal of Sex Research</a></em> suggests that women with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)—especially the inattentive type—may experience less consistent orgasms during partnered sex. The researchers found that women with inattentive ADHD symptoms reported lower orgasmic consistency than those without ADHD symptoms or with other subtypes. These findings provide new insight into the challenges women with ADHD may face in their sexual experiences.</p>
<p>ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects about 2–6% of adults. It is typically characterized by patterns of inattention, impulsivity, and/or hyperactivity. While ADHD has traditionally been studied more in men, there is growing recognition that women often experience different symptoms. Women are more likely to show signs of inattention, which are internal and less disruptive than hyperactivity, making them more prone to being overlooked or misdiagnosed. This difference in presentation can have far-reaching consequences, including in areas not often discussed—such as sexual functioning.</p>
<p>Past research has consistently shown that women experience lower rates of orgasm during partnered sex than men, a phenomenon often referred to as the “orgasm gap.” Although orgasm is not required for sexual satisfaction, persistent difficulty achieving orgasm—sometimes called anorgasmia—can lead to emotional distress and reduced relationship satisfaction. Some studies have linked problems with orgasm to cognitive distraction, such as intrusive thoughts or difficulty focusing during sex. Since inattention is a hallmark of one form of ADHD, the researchers wanted to know whether this might explain why some women experience less consistent orgasms.</p>
<p>“We believe that furthering research and education on women’s sexual health and well-being is essential in the pursuit of equality and to support their overall health,” explained study author Tina Jensen-Fogt of Kwantlen Polytechnic University.</p>
<p>“Discovering that the research on sexual pleasure for women with ADHD is very limited, we were inspired to expand on this topic to better understand how ADHD symptoms may affect women’s sexual experiences during partnered sex. Our primary goals were to explore how orgasmic consistency rates vary across the three subtypes of ADHD symptomatology, and to confirm whether women with inattentive ADHD subtype symptoms reported the lowest rate of orgasmic consistency.”</p>
<p>To explore this question, researchers conducted a large online survey involving 815 cisgender women who were sexually active with at least one partner in the past six months. The participants ranged in age from 18 to 84 and represented a wide range of backgrounds. They were recruited through social media, online forums, and a university research platform. Importantly, participants did not need a formal ADHD diagnosis to be included in the study. Instead, they completed a widely used ADHD self-report scale that allowed the researchers to categorize them based on their symptoms.</p>
<p>Participants also completed validated questionnaires that measured their orgasmic consistency during partnered sex, their level of sexual assertiveness, and their overall attitudes toward sex. This allowed the researchers to account for variables that are known to influence sexual experiences, such as the ability to communicate sexual needs or personal comfort with sexual activity.</p>
<p>The results showed that ADHD symptomatology in general was associated with slightly lower orgasmic consistency. However, this effect was small on its own. When researchers examined the data by ADHD subtype, the picture became clearer. Women with predominantly inattentive symptoms—those who reported frequent difficulty sustaining attention or being easily distracted—had the lowest rates of orgasmic consistency.</p>
<p>“Women who experience predominantly inattentive symptoms of ADHD experienced lower rates of orgasmic consistency compared to controls and women who experienced predominantly hyperactive-impulsive or combined subtype symptoms,” Jensen-Fogt told PsyPost. “This puts women with inattentive ADHD at greater risk for the negative outcomes associated with difficulties in achieving orgasm, such as reduced sexual satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and self-esteem, as well as to increased rates of emotional distress.”</p>
<p>In contrast, women with predominantly hyperactive-impulsive symptoms actually reported higher orgasmic consistency compared to both women with predominantly inattentive symptoms and those without ADHD symptoms.</p>
<p>“One somewhat surprising finding was that participants who met the study’s criteria for the hyperactive-impulsive subtype of ADHD had greater orgasmic consistency rates than those in the control group, who did not meet the criteria for ADHD,” Jensen-Fogt said. “This suggests that the hyperactive-impulsive features of ADHD may provide some benefit to achieving orgasm, though additional research is necessary to confirm this finding and explore why this might be the case.”</p>
<p>The researchers also looked at how medication use influenced orgasmic consistency. Interestingly, women who did not currently meet the threshold for ADHD symptoms—but who reported taking medication typically prescribed for ADHD—had higher orgasm consistency than non-medicated women without ADHD symptoms. This suggests that medication may help manage symptoms that interfere with sexual functioning, although more research is needed to understand the role of specific medications and doses.</p>
<p>Another factor the researchers explored was sexual orientation. Among women without ADHD symptoms, those who identified as sexual minorities—such as lesbian, bisexual, or pansexual—reported higher orgasmic consistency than heterosexual women. However, this difference was not found among women with ADHD symptoms. This raises interesting questions about how sexual behavior, partner dynamics, and neurodiversity intersect to shape sexual experiences.</p>
<p>The study has several strengths, including a large and diverse sample, with participants from a range of ethnic backgrounds, education levels, and sexual orientations. The study was also pre-registered, meaning the researchers made their analysis plan public before collecting data. This improves the credibility of the findings by reducing the risk of biased or post-hoc interpretations.</p>
<p>But as with all research, there are limitations. ADHD was identified through self-reported symptoms, not clinical diagnoses, and medication details were not collected. The study focused only on partnered sex involving clitoral stimulation, excluding solo sexual activity. Importantly, the findings are correlational, meaning they show associations but cannot establish cause-and-effect relationships.</p>
<p>“Our finding of increased orgasmic functioning among women who report using medication for ADHD symptom management need to be interpreted cautiously,” Jensen-Fogt said. “The types of medications participants used were not recorded; so while there may be some indication that medication for ADHD symptom management potentially ameliorates orgasmic difficulties, much further research is needed to examine the effects of specific types of medications.”</p>
<p>“The long-term goals for this research include informing educational interventions for women with ADHD and for those struggling with anorgasmia. Further, we hope to engage in further research examining potential differences across other sexual functioning domains based on ADHD subtype. Our hope is to better understand what sexual difficulties are more commonly experienced by women with ADHD so that we may better support them in living sexually healthy and fulfilling lives.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2025.2489771" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Exploring Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Symptomatology in Relation to Women’s Orgasmic Consistency</a>,” was authored by Tina Jensen-Fogt and <a href="https://www.orgasmresearchlab.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cory L. Pedersen</a>.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/biographical-details-influence-how-attractive-we-find-faces-and-change-how-our-brains-respond-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;">Biographical details influence how attractive we find faces and change how our brains respond, study finds</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">May 14th 2025, 16:00</div>
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<p><p>How attractive we find a person’s face might depend on more than just their looks. A new study published in <em><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11682-025-01005-w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brain Imaging and Behavior</a></em> found that learning biographical details—such as someone’s job, mental health history, or political views—can significantly change how their face is rated in terms of attractiveness. The research also revealed that these shifts in perception are reflected in distinct patterns of brain activity.</p>
<p>The researchers behind the study wanted to better understand how non-visual cues affect how we perceive faces. While people often think of attractiveness as something based purely on visual features, past studies have shown that judgments about a person’s character, mood, or even profession can influence perceptions of beauty. This study asked whether learning personal information about someone — even a fictional someone — could alter how attractive their face seems, and whether these changes are reflected in brain activity.</p>
<p>To explore this, the researchers conducted two experiments. The first was a behavioral study in which 132 participants rated the attractiveness of 108 AI-generated faces. Each face was shown twice — once on its own and once with a short piece of biographical information. The information varied by face and included occupational status (such as street sweeper or university professor), political alignment (left-wing or right-wing), or a mention of psychiatric illness. Each participant saw a randomized set of faces and information pairings.</p>
<p>The researchers wanted to ensure a diverse sample of faces, so they selected an equal number of male and female faces, representing different racial backgrounds and age groups, with most of the images showing people smiling. The faces were created using StyleGAN technology, which produces realistic human portraits that do not belong to real individuals. The participants rated each face on a scale from 1 to 10.</p>
<p>In this first study, biographical information led to significantly different attractiveness ratings in 34 out of 108 faces — roughly 31 percent. In some cases, the information caused participants to rate faces as more attractive, while in others, the ratings decreased. For example, faces described as having a psychiatric history tended to be rated as less attractive, although a few were rated more positively. Occupational information also had an impact, with faces associated with lower-status jobs generally receiving lower scores. Political information had less of an effect, with smaller and more mixed changes in ratings.</p>
<p>Interestingly, the researchers found that whether the face was smiling or neutral made a difference — particularly in the psychiatric history category. Faces with smiling expressions were less likely to be rated lower even when the biographical information mentioned mental illness. This suggests that positive facial expressions might reduce some of the negative impact that stigmatized biographical information can have on attractiveness judgments.</p>
<p>In the second part of the study, 20 participants completed a similar task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). During the scan, participants viewed and rated 20 AI-generated faces, each shown twice: once alone and once with added biographical information. This allowed the researchers to track how the brain responded during evaluations influenced by personal details.</p>
<p>The brain imaging results showed increased activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus and the left middle temporal gyrus when participants evaluated faces with biographical information. These areas are known to play roles in language processing and extracting meaning, suggesting that participants were integrating the new information to make more nuanced judgments about the faces they were seeing. This shift in neural activation was especially strong when the biographical details involved occupation or psychiatric history, but not politics.</p>
<p>While the researchers also looked at brain regions known to be involved in visual face processing — such as the fusiform gyrus and the amygdala — these areas did not show significant changes based on the presence or absence of biographical information. This suggests that the core face-processing mechanisms remained stable, while higher-level cognitive areas responded to the added context.</p>
<p>Importantly, the study found that the type of biographical information did not consistently lead to better or worse attractiveness scores. Whether the added detail was positive, neutral, or potentially stigmatizing, just the act of providing more information seemed to shift perception in many cases. This suggests that facial beauty judgments are not only based on appearance but are also shaped by what we think we know about a person.</p>
<p>These findings carry potential implications for understanding how social biases and stereotypes operate. For example, stigma related to mental illness might affect how people are perceived — even when their appearance remains unchanged. The study also hints at the brain’s capacity to incorporate abstract social meaning into rapid visual judgments.</p>
<p>The researchers caution that the results should be interpreted with care. One limitation is that the faces used were AI-generated rather than real. While none of the participants suspected this during the study, and the images activated standard face-processing areas in the brain, it’s unclear if responses to real faces would be the same. Also, the sample for the brain imaging study consisted of young adults, so the findings may not apply to older populations.</p>
<p>Another potential limitation is that the biographical information presented to participants varied in length, especially for political details, which had higher word counts than occupational or psychiatric information. Although this difference did not appear to affect attractiveness ratings significantly, it could have influenced the amount of language processing required, possibly affecting brain activity in related regions.</p>
<p>The study did not assess participants’ own political views, education levels, or mental health backgrounds — all factors that might influence how they interpret biographical information. Future research could explore whether people’s personal beliefs or experiences shape their responses to this kind of contextual detail.</p>
<p>Even with these limitations, the study opens up new questions about how our brains integrate social information and how subtle cues can influence our perceptions of others. The involvement of brain regions related to language and meaning suggests that attractiveness judgments are not just visual or instinctive but also shaped by knowledge, assumptions, and values.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-025-01005-w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biographical information influences on facial attractiveness judgment</a>,” was authored by Sajina Rodríguez, Estefanía Hernández‑Martín, and Julio Plata‑Bello.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/neuroscientists-discover-musics-hidden-power-to-reshape-memory/" 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;">Neuroscientists discover music’s hidden power to reshape memory</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">May 14th 2025, 14:00</div>
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<p><p>A neuroimaging study examining episodic memory found that individuals exposed to music during memory recollection were more likely to incorporate emotions associated with the music into their memories. One day later, these memories exhibited a stronger emotional tone than the original recollections. The study was published in <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13415-024-01200-0"><em>Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience</em></a>.</p>
<p>Music is a powerful tool for emotional expression, allowing individuals to convey feelings that may be difficult to articulate through words. It is used therapeutically in hospitals and mental health clinics to reduce anxiety and promote relaxation. In educational settings, music can aid memory retention and learning, especially when used to teach language, mathematics, or historical concepts.</p>
<p>Socially, music fosters a sense of community, bringing people together through shared cultural experiences such as concerts, religious ceremonies, and national anthems. Athletes and exercisers often use music to enhance performance and maintain motivation, as certain tempos can regulate heart rate and energy levels. In marketing, music is strategically employed to evoke specific emotions, influencing consumer behavior and brand perception. Music is also integral to rituals and traditions, marking significant life events such as weddings, funerals, and holidays, thereby reinforcing cultural identity and continuity.</p>
<p>Study author Yiren Ren and her colleagues sought to explore whether music played during memory recall could introduce false emotional elements into previously neutral memories. In other words, they wanted to examine whether listening to music while recalling memories could alter the emotional tone of those memories.</p>
<p>Participants were 44 healthy young adults recruited from the Georgia Tech School of Psychology subject pool. The average age was approximately 20 years, and the sample included 20 men.</p>
<p>Participants completed an experimental task in which they memorized and recalled several short fictional stories written to resemble autobiographical episodic memories. Episodic memories refer to personal recollections of specific events, including contextual details like time, place, and emotion. The stories were written to be as emotionally neutral as possible so that any emotional changes during recall could be attributed to the experimental manipulation. In total, 15 neutral stories were used in the main task. An additional five stories were written to be emotionally positive or negative and were included to disguise the study’s primary focus.</p>
<p>The experiment was conducted over three consecutive days. On Day 1, participants read and listened to recordings of the 20 stories (15 neutral, 5 emotional). Each story was presented twice. Participants then typed out the stories as they imagined them, using as much detail as possible. They also completed standardized assessments of mental imagery ability (Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire) and mood (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule).</p>
<p>On Day 2, participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while completing a word selection task designed to prompt recall of the previously studied stories. Each trial displayed 10 words on the screen. Four were key words taken directly from one of the original stories, and six were emotionally valenced lure words—three positive and three negative—that were semantically related to the story but did not appear in the original version. Participants were asked to recall the story associated with the keywords and to select the words that best fit their recollection. Each story was randomly assigned to one of three within-subject conditions: background music with positive emotional valence, background music with negative emotional valence, or silence.</p>
<p>On Day 3, participants completed two memory tests focused on the neutral stories. In one test, participants were presented with words and asked whether each one had appeared in the original story. The word list included both the original keywords and the emotional lures from Day 2. The goal was to assess whether music-induced emotional context during Day 2 recollection would bias participants to falsely remember emotional lures as part of the original story.</p>
<p>The results showed that participants exposed to music during Day 2 recollection were more likely to incorporate emotionally congruent lures into their memories. On Day 3, when recalling the stories, they were more likely to report emotional content that matched the valence of the music they had heard during Day 2. In other words, positive music increased the likelihood of recalling stories with added positive elements, and negative music increased the likelihood of negative elaborations.</p>
<p>In addition to these behavioral findings, the fMRI results revealed that recalling stories with music led to altered patterns of brain activity compared to recalling stories in silence. Specifically, music was associated with increased activity and functional connectivity in regions including the amygdala, frontal cortex, and visual areas. These brain regions are known to be involved in emotion processing, memory, and imagery.</p>
<p>“Our data suggest that these effects manifest through reconsolidation mechanisms and neurally may be intimately linked to amygdala and medial temporal lobe function, as well as diffuse differences in engagement of networks associated with imagery, perspective taking, attention, and control,” the study authors concluded</p>
<p>The study sheds light on the effects of music on memories. However, study authors report that participants were generally highly accurate in their recognitions of words. This may have produced a ceiling effect, limiting the magnitude of the observed effects.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-024-01200-0">Affective music during episodic memory recollection modulates subsequent false emotional memory traces: an fMRI study,</a>” was authored by Yiren Ren, Sophia Kaltsouni Mehdizadeh, Grace Leslie, and Thackery Brown.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/political-diversity-in-your-social-circle-might-come-with-a-surprising-trade-off/" 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;">Political diversity in your social circle might come with a surprising trade-off</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">May 14th 2025, 12:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10659129251328247" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Political Research Quarterly<</a>/em> shows that Americans who report more political diversity in their social networks tend to trust political information on social media more than others. But this heightened trust applies to both true and false content, raising concerns about the unintended consequences of network diversity in the digital age.</em></p>
<p>Social media has transformed how people access political news, but the shift from traditional media has come with new challenges. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter often present a mix of verified facts and misinformation, and many users struggle to tell the difference. Against this backdrop, researcher <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulplatzman/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paul B. Platzman</a> set out to explore how the political diversity of a person’s social network shapes their trust in political content they encounter online.</p>
<p>Platzman’s interest stemmed from previous work suggesting that people’s social environments—especially exposure to differing opinions—can shape political knowledge, tolerance, and behavior. While past research has examined echo chambers and polarization, little was known about whether having politically diverse friends and acquaintances affects how people judge the truth of what they see on social media.</p>
<p>“Prior to this study, I had been interested in how the composition of Americans’ social networks influences their political attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors,” explained Platzman, who earned a PhD from Columbia University. “Although scholars had already demonstrated an array of important relationships between individuals’ network attributes and measurable political characteristics, no one had yet explored the relationship between an individual’s political network diversity (i.e., how evenly both parties or political ideologies are represented within an individual’s personal network) and the likelihood that an individual accepts at face value the political content they encounter online.”</p>
<p>“It seemed to me that existing theories often cited in the social networking literature, as well as broader and related disciplines within sociology and social psychology, suggested a number of causal mechanisms that might relate the two phenomena. So, I set out to determine whether a relationship between political network diversity and belief in the accuracy of online political content exists, and this paper is the result of that effort.”</p>
<p>Platzman conducted a multi-phase investigation. First, he analyzed nationally representative data from the 2020 American National Election Studies (ANES) Social Media Study. More than 3,000 participants were asked about the political makeup of their personal and Facebook friend networks, and how much they trusted political content they saw on Facebook and Twitter. Based on their answers, Platzman calculated a “network diversity” score, ranging from zero (no diversity) to one (equal mix of Democrats and Republicans).</p>
<p>He then examined whether higher diversity scores were associated with greater trust in social media content. The results showed that people with more politically diverse networks expressed more trust in political information they saw on Facebook and Twitter. This association held even when controlling for other factors like partisanship, ideology, and demographics. Importantly, the relationship was evident both across different individuals and within individuals over time.</p>
<p>However, these findings left an important question unanswered: Is this increased trust justified? To investigate further, Platzman designed a follow-up survey experiment. He recruited 550 U.S. adults to participate in a study where they were shown mock Facebook posts that included political headlines—some true, some false—along with images and layout features mimicking the look of real social media. Participants were asked to rate the accuracy of each headline and indicate whether they would share it.</p>
<p>Before seeing the headlines, participants answered questions about their political discussion networks—specifically, how often they talked about politics and how much disagreement or diversity they perceived in those conversations. Once again, people who reported more political diversity in their networks were more likely to believe the headlines were accurate, regardless of whether the information was true or false. They were also more likely to say they would share the content.</p>
<p>While those in politically diverse networks were better at recognizing accurate headlines, they were equally likely to believe and share false ones. In other words, their increased trust did not come with increased discernment. Rather than helping them spot the truth, network diversity appeared to make people more credulous in general.</p>
<p>“Americans whose social networks contain political diversity are more likely to believe the political content they encounter online, whether the information is true or false,” Platzman told PsyPost.</p>
<p>To explore whether people with diverse networks might respond differently to interventions aimed at improving accuracy, Platzman conducted a larger follow-up study with over 2,000 participants. In this experiment, respondents again rated the accuracy and shareability of mock Facebook headlines, but this time, some headlines were accompanied by fact-checking labels, and some participants saw a warning message reminding them that false information exists online.</p>
<p>This setup allowed Platzman to test whether accuracy nudges had different effects depending on a person’s level of network diversity. Surprisingly, he found no evidence of such differences. Fact-checking labels and warnings did influence how participants judged content, but they worked the same way for people with low and high network diversity. In other words, network diversity raised baseline trust levels, but it didn’t change how people responded to interventions meant to improve judgment.</p>
<p>“Americans in politically diverse networks are just as willing as others to change their beliefs about political content following exposure to fact-checking labels that authoritatively declare content to be true or false,” Platzman said. “These findings expand our knowledge of the types of individuals prone to believing both factual and fictional content online and suggest conditions under which fact-checking labels are more or less likely to produce anticipated and second order effects.”</p>
<p>Platzman notes that this trade-off complicates efforts to fight misinformation. Trust in news is generally seen as a good thing, especially in an era of declining confidence in journalism and democratic institutions. But when trust increases across the board, including for content that is false, it can backfire. Efforts to build public resilience to misinformation must take these nuances into account.</p>
<p>“Because possessing a political diverse network is neither inherently helpful nor harmful in ascertaining fact from fiction in online content, media outlets and technology platforms intent on deploying fact-checking labels and other accuracy nudging interventions would be wise to optimize their delivery of these interventions to users who are likeliest to reduce belief in false information without also reducing belief in factual content or generating unwarranted trust in factually dubious content,” Platzman said. “Harnessing the benefits of network diversity requires careful management, and accuracy nudging interventions should be deployed selectively and in creative ways.”</p>
<p>Like any study, the research has some limitations. All measures of network diversity were based on self-reports, which might not accurately reflect the true makeup of people’s social environments. Additionally, while the survey experiments used mock social media content, they can’t fully capture how people behave in real-world online settings.</p>
<p>“Virtually all research analyzing survey responses about social networking features rely on self reports of individuals’ network characteristics, which may not represent their true natures,” Platzman explained. “This study is no exception. Future research would benefit from highly tailored data collection efforts that directly measure attributes of Americans’ social networks.”</p>
<p>Even so, the study sheds new light on a largely overlooked factor in how people interact with information online. Political diversity in one’s social circle is often seen as a remedy to polarization and bias, but it may also come with unintended risks. When it comes to online content, being surrounded by a range of opinions may not make people more discerning—it may simply make them more trusting.</p>
<p>“The size of the relationship between reported political network diversity and belief in the accuracy of online political content actually exceeded the effect sizes of fact-checking labels on Americans’ beliefs about the accuracy of online content,” Platzman noted. “This suggests that a relatively obscure and underappreciated aspect of social identity has more influence over individuals’ beliefs about online content accuracy than overt technical interventions specifically designed to influence these beliefs.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10659129251328247" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Political Network Diversity and Trust in Online Political Content</a>,” was published April 23, 2025.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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