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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/psychologists-explore-how-mismatched-desires-for-physical-contact-affect-romantic-partners/" 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;">Psychologists explore how mismatched desires for physical contact affect romantic partners</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Dec 28th 2025, 08:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.70041" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Personal Relationships</a></em> suggests that romantic partners experience greater relationship well-being when they share high levels of comfort with physical affection. While the overall amount of comfort with touch is the strongest predictor of satisfaction, the findings indicate that perceived similarity between partners also plays a role. These associations appear to hold true for both mixed-sex and same-sex couples, despite the unique challenges same-sex partners face regarding public displays of affection.</p>
<p>Physical affection, such as holding hands, hugging, or kissing, is often viewed as a fundamental component of romantic connection. Previous scientific work has linked affectionate touch to a variety of benefits, including reduced stress, improved immune function, and increased feelings of security. However, individuals vary significantly in their desire for touch and their comfort with receiving it. Some people crave constant physical contact, while others may find it overwhelming or unnecessary.</p>
<p>When partners differ in their preferences, it can create friction. One partner might feel rejected if their advances are spurned, while the other might feel pressured to engage in behaviors that make them uncomfortable. Sabrina Sgambati and Diane Holmberg of Acadia University, along with Karen L. Blair of Trent University, conducted this research to better understand these dynamics. They sought to determine if being “in sync” regarding comfort levels predicts relationship quality over and above simply being comfortable with touch in general.</p>
<p>The researchers also aimed to investigate the role of context. For mixed-sex couples, holding hands in public is generally a safe and socially accepted behavior. For same-sex couples, public displays of affection can attract unwanted attention, judgment, or hostility. This reality forces many same-sex partners to maintain a state of vigilance when out in public. The research team wanted to see if this discrepancy in social safety altered the way comfort with public affection relates to relationship well-being.</p>
<p>To explore these questions, the research team analyzed data from two separate samples collected in 2019. The first dataset focused on individuals and their perceptions of their relationships. This group consisted of 1,832 participants who were currently in a romantic relationship. The average age of these participants was approximately 29 years old.</p>
<p>The second dataset focused on dyads, or pairs of partners. This group included 86 couples, totaling 172 individuals, where both members of the relationship completed the survey. This dyadic data allowed the researchers to compare one partner’s actual self-reported comfort against the other’s, rather than relying solely on one person’s perception of the other.</p>
<p>Participants in both groups completed the Perceived Relationship Quality Components Inventory. This measure assesses six key areas of relationship health: satisfaction, commitment, intimacy, trust, passion, and love. An average score across these items provided a snapshot of overall relationship well-being.</p>
<p>To measure comfort with affection, participants rated their agreement with five statements regarding private scenarios and five statements regarding public scenarios. Private was defined as situations where only the couple was present, while public was defined as situations where others were present. Participants rated items such as “I like it when my partner shares physical affection with me” on a 7-point scale.</p>
<p>The researchers then calculated two types of scores. The “mean comfort” score represented the average comfort level of the couple. The “difference score” represented the gap between the partners’ comfort levels. A difference score of zero meant the partners were perfectly aligned, while a higher score indicated a mismatch.</p>
<p>The analysis of the larger individual dataset revealed that higher average levels of comfort with affection were strongly associated with better relationship well-being. This was true for both private and public contexts. However, the connection was stronger for private affection. Being comfortable with touch when alone with a partner appeared to be a more substantial driver of relationship health than being comfortable with touch in front of others.</p>
<p>The study also found evidence that similarity matters. In the individual dataset, participants who perceived a larger gap between their own comfort level and their partner’s comfort level reported lower relationship well-being. This suggests that feeling out of sync with a partner can be detrimental. However, when the researchers accounted for the overall level of comfort, the negative impact of dissimilarity became less consistent. This implies that having high comfort levels overall is likely more important than having perfectly matching comfort levels.</p>
<p>In the smaller dyadic dataset, the researchers examined actual similarity rather than perceived similarity. The results showed that actual mismatches in comfort were not as strongly linked to relationship well-being as perceived mismatches. It appears that believing one is similar to one’s partner may be more psychologically impactful than actually being similar. It is also possible that partners who are less comfortable with touch may accommodate their partner’s needs, masking the actual discrepancy.</p>
<p>When comparing relationship types, the study highlighted clear differences in how couples experience public spaces. Individuals in same-sex relationships reported lower comfort with public affection compared to those in mixed-sex relationships. They also perceived greater differences between themselves and their partners regarding public touch. This aligns with theories suggesting that marginalized couples must constantly navigate the risks of visibility.</p>
<p>Despite these differences in average comfort levels, the statistical patterns predicting well-being were largely the same for both groups. The link between private comfort and relationship quality was positive and significant for everyone. There were minor variations, such as the finding that private comfort was a slightly stronger predictor for mixed-sex couples. However, the researchers emphasized that the similarities between the groups far outweighed the differences.</p>
<p>The researchers noted that for same-sex couples, a lower comfort with public affection does not necessarily signal a relationship problem. Instead, it likely reflects a rational response to an external environment that is not always safe. These couples may place a higher premium on private affection as a space where they can be their authentic selves without scrutiny.</p>
<p>The study has some limitations. The data was cross-sectional, meaning it was collected at a single point in time. It is not possible to determine if comfort with affection causes better relationships or if satisfying relationships make people more comfortable with affection. The two factors likely reinforce each other over time.</p>
<p>Additionally, the sample size for the couple-based analysis was relatively small. This reduced the statistical power needed to detect small effects regarding actual similarity. Future research utilizing larger samples of couples would help clarify the role of actual versus perceived similarity. The researchers also had to exclude gender-diverse relationships that did not fit the binary categories of same-sex or mixed-sex due to low numbers. Investigating how gender-fluid or non-binary individuals navigate these dynamics remains an important gap in the literature.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.70041" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In Sync? Assessing Partners’ Similarities in Comfort With Physical Affection–Sharing as a Predictor of Relationship Well-Being</a>,” was authored by Sabrina Sgambati, Diane Holmberg, and Karen L. Blair.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-research-reveals-the-powerful-psychological-impact-of-song-lyrics/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">New research reveals the powerful psychological impact of song lyrics</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Dec 28th 2025, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>A new comprehensive analysis suggests that the words embedded in songs do far more than simply provide a narrative for a melody; they actively shape the thoughts, feelings, and actions of listeners. The findings indicate that exposure to specific lyrical content can have measurable effects on everything from charitable giving and empathy to aggression and sexual attitudes. These results were published in the scientific journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/03057356251387705" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Psychology of Music</a></em>.</p>
<p>Music consumption has become a dominant activity in modern daily life. Recent estimates suggest that the average person listens to music for approximately three hours every day. The most popular genres frequently feature lyrics that explore intense themes, including romantic relationships, substance use, social protest, and violence. Educators and psychologists have grown increasingly concerned about how these messages might influence listeners, particularly adolescents and young adults who are in the process of forming their identities.</p>
<p>Despite the prevalence of music in society, many listeners believe that the lyrics they hear have no impact on them. This belief often stems from a sense of personal autonomy or a strong identification with specific artists.</p>
<p>The authors of the current study aimed to test this assumption objectively. They sought to determine if song lyrics act as a psychological stimulus that can alter behavior, emotional states, and attitudes in a predictable manner. The researchers were particularly interested in informing the field of critical music education, which strives to teach students how to analyze the media they consume rather than absorbing it passively.</p>
<p>“One of the aims of critical music education is to enable students to critically examine the relationships between music and society. One particularly fruitful way of addressing this aim is by encouraging students to engage in critical analysis and problematization of the narratives conveyed in the songs they habitually listen to,” explained study author <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Pablo-Marin-Liebana" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pablo Marín Liébana</a>, a professor at the University of Valencia.</p>
<p>“However, students’ musical preferences are often regarded as aesthetically inferior and educationally inappropriate, which leads many teachers to resist incorporating them into their teaching practice. In addition, a widespread belief among some educators holds that song lyrics do not influence listeners, on the assumption that they are rarely attended to or are of secondary importance, with listeners focusing primarily on melody and rhythm.”</p>
<p>To investigate this, the researchers conducted a systematic review and a meta-analysis. They followed the PRISMA protocol, a rigorous standard for reporting evidence-based reviews. They searched major scientific databases for empirical studies that specifically examined the impact or effect of song lyrics.</p>
<p>This initial search yielded over one thousand potential articles. After applying strict inclusion criteria, such as requiring the studies to be published in peer-reviewed journals and to rely on empirical data, the researchers selected 82 studies for the systematic review.</p>
<p>From this pool, the researchers identified a subset of studies suitable for a meta-analysis. A meta-analysis is a statistical method that combines data from multiple independent studies to determine the overall strength and direction of an effect.</p>
<p>They selected 34 experimental studies that included both experimental and control groups. These studies provided the necessary statistical data to calculate effect sizes. The researchers categorized the dependent variables into three distinct areas: cognitive-behavioral effects, emotional effects, and attitudinal effects.</p>
<p>The analysis revealed that song lyrics have a medium-sized effect on cognitive and behavioral outcomes. The content of the lyrics generally aligned with the subsequent behavior of the listeners. For example, individuals who listened to songs with prosocial lyrics, which express themes of helping and kindness, were more likely to engage in helping behaviors. Specific studies included in the review showed that these listeners donated more money to charity, tipped restaurant servers more generously, and were more willing to help pick up dropped items.</p>
<p>In contrast, the researchers found that exposure to aggressive or violent lyrics was associated with increased hostility. In laboratory settings, participants who listened to violent songs were more likely to administer hot sauce to another person or engage in aggressive driving behaviors during a simulation.</p>
<p>Similarly, lyrics containing sexual content were linked to distinct behavioral changes. The findings suggest that exposure to such themes is associated with earlier initiation of sexual activities in adolescents and a higher likelihood of engaging in risky sexual practices.</p>
<p>The researchers also examined how the presence of lyrics affects cognitive performance. The results suggest that songs with lyrics tend to be more distracting than instrumental music. Listeners often displayed lower performance on tasks requiring verbal memory, reading comprehension, and attention when lyrics were present. This indicates that the brain may automatically process the linguistic information in songs, which draws resources away from other cognitive tasks.</p>
<p>The strongest impact observed in the meta-analysis was on emotions. The researchers found a high effect size in this category, indicating that lyrics are particularly potent at inducing emotional states. Prosocial lyrics were consistently linked to increased empathy and reduced feelings of hostility. Sad lyrics tended to lower the listener’s mood, while aggressive lyrics often led to increased agitation and negative affect.</p>
<p>Regarding attitudes, the meta-analysis found a medium effect size. The data suggests that the messages in songs can shape how listeners view the world and others. Exposure to lyrics promoting equality was associated with more positive attitudes toward women and reduced prejudice. On the other hand, lyrics that objectified the body or presented sexualized narratives were linked to a greater tolerance for objectification and negative views on relationships.</p>
<p>The researchers also noted that sexualized lyrics appeared to influence how listeners perceived others. In several studies, exposure to such content correlated with a tendency to view others primarily through a sexual lens.</p>
<p>Aggressive lyrics were found to correlate with hostile attitudes, while prosocial lyrics were associated with a decrease in support for interpersonal violence. These findings support the idea that media consumption plays a role in observational learning, where individuals acquire criteria for judging events and people based on the models they observe.</p>
<p>“Song lyrics, independently of other musical elements such as rhythm or melody, influence the ways in which individuals behave, their attitudes towards others, and the emotions they experience,” Marín Liébana told PsyPost. “It was striking that all 42 independent variables analyzed in the meta-analyses indicated psychological effects aligned with the narratives conveyed by the song lyrics, and that none of them showed effects in the opposite direction. I initially expected to find greater variability in the results; however, I was surprised that all findings consistently pointed in the same direction.”</p>
<p>But it is also important to note that these effects are not absolute. “The findings do not imply that listening to a particular type of song lyrics necessarily leads all individuals to behave in accordance with those lyrics,” Marín Liébana explained. “Rather, the results indicate a moderate influence on behaviours and attitudes, and a stronger influence on emotional responses. However, this influence interacts with other personal and contextual variables, meaning that the effects of song lyrics may vary across individuals and situations.”</p>
<p>While the findings provide evidence for the influence of lyrics, there are some limitations to consider. The majority of the studies included in the review were conducted in laboratory settings where listeners were exposed to music selected by researchers. This artificial environment differs from real-world scenarios where individuals choose music based on their personal preferences.</p>
<p>Additionally, most studies measured effects immediately after listening. “The studies reviewed examined short-term effects; therefore, although this may appear to be a logical assumption, it is not possible to infer long-term changes in personality or an increased likelihood of specific behaviours or attitudes in the absence of prior exposure to music,” Marín Liébana said.</p>
<p>Future research is needed to explore the long-term effects of lyrical exposure. The authors suggest that studies should investigate how repeated listening in natural environments influences behavior over time. They also recommend that future inquiries look at a more diverse range of music genres and listener demographics to ensure the findings are broadly applicable. Understanding whether specific musical elements, such as rhythm or tempo, interact with lyrics to amplify or mitigate these effects is another area ripe for investigation.</p>
<p>The authors argue that these findings highlight the necessity of critical music education. Since music is a pervasive part of socialization, they suggest that students should be equipped with the tools to critically analyze the narratives they consume.</p>
<p>“Based on my experience, particularly in initial teacher education, individuals tend to believe that the lyrics of the songs they listen to do not influence their behaviours or attitudes,” Marín Liébana said. “This belief may stem, on the one hand, from the sense of autonomy and personal freedom it provides, and, on the other, from the fact that people often identify strongly with the music they listen to and with the artists themselves, which makes it difficult to acknowledge that such music may have negative effects on them.”</p>
<p>Looking forward, “I would like to examine the beliefs held by primary and secondary school students regarding how the songs they listen to affect them, and to develop an educational methodology that enables teachers to incorporate students’ musical preferences into the classroom while guiding them in the critical analysis of the lyrics of those songs,” Marín Liébana added.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/03057356251387705" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Systematic review and meta-analysis on the psychological effects of song lyrics: A perspective from critical music education</a>,” was authored by Pablo Marín-Liébana and Javier Ibias.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/a-specific-neural-pathway-links-the-insula-to-the-creation-of-new-memories/" 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;">A specific neural pathway links the insula to the creation of new memories</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Dec 27th 2025, 16:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study has identified a specific neural pathway that connects the brain’s processing of internal states to the formation of new memories. Researchers discovered that distinct populations of neurons within the insula, a region deep in the brain associated with emotion and bodily awareness, communicate directly with the hippocampus to help lock in memories of emotionally charged words. These findings, published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-025-02005-1" target="_blank">Nature Neuroscience</a></em>, suggest that the insula is not a uniform structure but rather a mosaic of functional clusters that perform separate tasks.</p>
<p>The human brain is often discussed in terms of large regions with singular functions, such as the hippocampus for memory or the amygdala for fear. However, this view oversimplifies the complex reality of how different areas interact to produce the human experience. Neuroscientists understand that emotionally charged events are easier to remember than neutral ones. The mechanisms behind this phenomenon have remained somewhat opaque.</p>
<p>While the hippocampus is recognized as the central engine for episodic memory, it does not work in isolation. It relies on inputs from cortical regions to determine which information is worth saving. The insula has been a primary suspect in this process due to its role in processing affect and salient stimuli. Despite this, the precise timing and direction of the conversation between the insula and the hippocampus during the moment a memory is born have been difficult to capture.</p>
<p>To address this gap, a team of researchers led by Weichen Huang and Josef Parvizi at Stanford University School of Medicine undertook a detailed investigation using high-precision recording methods. The study aimed to map the functional architecture of the insula at a microscopic scale. The investigators sought to understand if the entire insula engages during memory formation or if specific sub-regions are responsible. They also wanted to determine if these potential memory-related sites were distinct from those that process the emotional tone, or valence, of a word.</p>
<p>The researchers recruited 16 participants who were already undergoing intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) for the evaluation of focal epilepsy. This clinical procedure involves implanting electrodes directly into the brain to locate the source of seizures. The placement of these electrodes provided the scientists with a rare opportunity to record electrical activity from the insula and hippocampus with millisecond precision. This method offers much higher temporal resolution than non-invasive scans like fMRI.</p>
<p>During the experiment, participants viewed a series of words with positive or negative emotional associations, such as “successful” or “loser.” They were asked to rate the emotional intensity and valence of each word. After a brief distraction task involving counting backward, the participants attempted to recall as many of the words as possible. This design allowed the researchers to separate the brain activity associated with simply viewing a word from the activity associated with successfully remembering it.</p>
<p>The analysis of the electrical signals revealed a complex landscape within the insula. The researchers found that the insula is not functionally homogeneous. Instead, it contains interspersed populations of neurons with distinct behaviors.</p>
<p>One specific subset of recording sites in the insula showed a particular pattern of activity that predicted whether a participant would later recall a word. In these locations, the researchers observed a decrease in the “aperiodic exponent” of the electrical signal. This technical metric reflects a shift in the broadband background activity of the brain rather than a specific rhythmic oscillation. When this shift occurred, the participant was more likely to remember the word.</p>
<p>The researchers termed these locations “INSDE” sites, standing for sites with decreased exponent. The activity in these memory-predicting sites appeared to be tightly synchronized with the hippocampus. Specifically, the electrical shift in the insula happened just before the hippocampus generated a “ripple.” A sharp-wave ripple is a high-frequency burst of brain activity that is known to be essential for consolidating memories.</p>
<p>The timing suggests a directional influence. The insula appears to signal the hippocampus to pay attention and store the information. This supports the idea that the insula helps tag salient information for long-term storage.</p>
<p>Simultaneously, the researchers identified a second, separate group of sites within the insula. These locations showed an increase in the aperiodic exponent, a pattern opposite to the memory sites. These sites, labeled “INSIE,” tracked the emotional valence of the words. The activity here changed depending on whether a word was positive or negative.</p>
<p>Despite their proximity to the memory sites, these valence-tracking sites did not predict memory performance. Their activity did not correlate with whether the participant successfully recalled the word later. This finding indicates a clear division of labor within the insula. One set of neurons processes the emotional content, while a neighboring set facilitates the storage of the memory.</p>
<p>To confirm the direction of the communication between these brain regions, the researchers used direct electrical stimulation. They delivered small electrical pulses to the different sites in the insula while recording the response in the hippocampus. This technique allows scientists to move beyond correlation and establish causal connections.</p>
<p>When the researchers stimulated the memory-related INSDE sites, they observed an immediate and sharp electrical response in the hippocampus. This evoked potential confirms a direct functional connection. The signal travels from this specific population of insular neurons to the memory center.</p>
<p>In contrast, stimulating the valence-related INSIE sites produced no such response in the hippocampus. Even though these neurons are located in the same anatomical structure, they do not possess the same hard-wired line to the memory system. This physical evidence reinforces the idea of the insula as a mosaic of functionally selective populations.</p>
<p>The team also tested the reverse connection by stimulating the hippocampus. They found that pulses originating in the hippocampus evoked slow responses across all sites in the insula. This suggests an asymmetric relationship. The hippocampus broadcasts information broadly to the insula, but only specific insular sites send rapid, direct signals back to the hippocampus to initiate memory encoding.</p>
<p>These results paint a picture of the insula as a highly specialized structure. It does not process experience as a single block. Instead, it utilizes intermingled clusters of neurons to handle different aspects of cognition. Some clusters process the “good” or “bad” of an experience, while others signal the importance of that experience to the memory systems.</p>
<p>The study does have limitations inherent to human intracranial research. The participants were patients with epilepsy, and their brain physiology might differ slightly from the general population. The number of participants was relatively small due to the invasive nature of the recording method. Additionally, the study focused on single words, so it remains to be seen if these same pathways apply to complex visual scenes or autobiographical events.</p>
<p>Future research will need to explore how these distinct insular populations interact with other brain networks. It is also unclear whether the memory-related sites are responding to a different dimension of emotion, such as arousal or intensity, which was not fully isolated in this experiment. Understanding these precise pathways could eventually inform treatments for disorders where memory and emotion are dysregulated, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-025-02005-1" target="_blank">Direct interactions between the human insula and hippocampus during memory encoding</a>,” was authored by Weichen Huang, Dian Lyu, James R. Stieger, Ian H. Gotlib, Vivek Buch, Anthony D. Wagner, and Josef Parvizi.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/difficulty-maintaining-relationships-is-a-major-driver-of-modern-singlehood-study-suggests/" 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;">Difficulty maintaining relationships is a major driver of modern singlehood, study suggests</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Dec 27th 2025, 14:00</div>
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<p><p>People who report greater difficulties maintaining intimate relationships are more likely to be single, especially between relationships or voluntarily single, according to a new study published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14747049251377388"><em>Evolutionary Psychology</em></a>.</p>
<p>A growing number of adults are living without intimate partners, prompting researchers to explore why singlehood is becoming increasingly common. While prior work has examined barriers to <a href="https://www.psypost.org/women-prefer-partners-with-strong-personal-growth-motivation-for-long-term-relationships/">attracting a partner</a>, less is known about the challenges people face after a relationship begins.</p>
<p>Menelaos Apostolou and colleagues addressed this gap by investigating whether difficulties in maintaining romantic relationships themselves might be a major contributor to remaining <a href="https://www.psypost.org/study-finds-people-in-relationships-tend-to-be-happier-than-singles/">single</a>. Their work builds on evolutionary perspectives suggesting that modern environments differ sharply from ancestral ones, creating mismatches that may hinder relationship functioning.</p>
<p>The authors note that in ancestral societies, relationships were often arranged or heavily constrained by social structures, meaning many skills needed for today’s freely chosen partnerships, such as conflict resolution, sustained investment, or emotional attunement, may not have been strongly selected for.</p>
<p>Modern independence, alternative sources of support, and strong protections for individual autonomy further reduce the incentives to stay in an unsatisfying relationship. These shifts may leave some people with relationship-maintenance challenges that contribute not just to breakups, but ultimately to different forms of singlehood.</p>
<p>The study analyzed an existing dataset collected by Apostolou and Wang (2020), comprising 1,099 Greek-speaking adults recruited by four research assistants in Greece and Cyprus. Volunteers completed anonymous paper-and-pencil surveys placed in sealed envelopes. Participants ranged widely in age, with mean ages of approximately 32-33 for women and men, and included people who were married, partnered, parents, or single.</p>
<p>Participants completed a questionnaire containing 78 items designed to capture a wide range of difficulties people may have when trying to maintain an intimate relationship. These items covered challenges such as paying insufficient attention to a partner’s needs, sexual dissatisfaction, recurrent conflict, or becoming aggressive during disagreements.</p>
<p>Respondents indicated how strongly each difficulty applied to them on a five-point scale. The researchers then created a single overall score for each person by averaging their responses across all 78 items, which served as an indicator of how many obstacles they typically face in sustaining a romantic partnership.</p>
<p>Participants also described their relationship status in detail. Those who were single specified whether they were involuntarily single (wanting a relationship but struggling to attract partners), voluntarily single (not interested in being in a relationship at the moment), or between relationships (having recently ended a relationship and not yet formed a new one). Individuals who were in a relationship or married were grouped together for comparison against the singlehood categories.</p>
<p>Analyses revealed clear patterns linking higher levels of relationship-maintenance difficulty to greater odds of being single. For women, the association followed an inverted U-shape: as perceived difficulties increased from low to moderate levels, the likelihood of being between relationships, voluntarily single, or involuntarily single sharply increased. However, this effect reached a plateau or weakened at the highest difficulty levels.</p>
<p>For example, the probability of being between relationships peaked when women scored approximately 3.16 on the five-point scale. Similar patterns were observed for voluntary singlehood (peaking at 2.88) and involuntary singlehood (peaking at 2.83). This indicates that while relationship-maintenance challenges predict singlehood for women, those with moderate difficulties are often at the highest risk of being single, whereas further increases in difficulty have a diminishing impact on their relationship status.</p>
<p>For men, the association was strictly linear. Each one-unit increase in perceived difficulty was linked to a 2.36-fold increase in the likelihood of being between relationships and a roughly 1.8-fold increase in the likelihood of being voluntarily single. Unlike women, men showed no significant association between relationship-maintenance difficulties and involuntary singlehood, suggesting that for men, “maintenance” issues primarily lead to breakups or a choice to remain alone, rather than an inability to find a partner at all.</p>
<p>Overall, the findings suggest that for men, the greater the difficulty in maintaining relationships, the more consistently likely they are to be single, while for women the effect is strong but nonlinear.</p>
<p>This study relied on self-report data, which may introduce bias. As well, the cross-sectional design cannot establish causality. Further, Greek cultural context limits generalizability of findings.</p>
<p>This research highlights that maintaining intimate relationships, not just challenges in attracting partners, play a substantial role in who becomes and remains single, pointing to important psychological and societal factors that shape modern relationship patterns.</p>
<p>The research, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14747049251377388">Difficulties in Keeping an Intimate Relationship and Singlehood</a>,” was authored by Menelaos Apostolou and Timo Juhani Lajunen.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/adverse-childhood-experiences-linked-to-increased-adhd-symptoms-in-college-students/" 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;">Adverse childhood experiences linked to increased ADHD symptoms in college students</a>
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<p><p>A recent study published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10870547251370427" target="_blank">Journal of Attention Disorders</a></em> provides new evidence that difficult childhood experiences may contribute to symptoms of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in young adults. The findings suggest that these adverse events disrupt an individual’s ability to regulate emotions and practice self-compassion, which in turn exacerbates attention and hyperactivity issues. This research highlights the potential for psychological interventions focusing on self-kindness to help mitigate ADHD symptoms stemming from early life adversity.</p>
<p>ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Individuals with the inattentive presentation often struggle to sustain focus, stay organized, and remember daily tasks. Those with the hyperactive-impulsive presentation may experience inner restlessness, excessive physical movement, and difficulty waiting their turn.</p>
<p>While ADHD is often viewed as a biological or genetic condition, environmental factors also play a significant role in its development and severity. Previous scientific literature has established that adverse childhood experiences, often referred to as ACEs, are linked to a variety of negative mental health outcomes. ACEs include events such as emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, as well as household dysfunctions like domestic violence, parental divorce, or family incarceration.</p>
<p>Despite the known link between early trauma and general psychological distress, fewer studies have specifically examined how these events influence ADHD symptoms in college students. There is also a lack of research regarding the internal protective factors that might buffer these effects. The authors of the current study aimed to fill this gap by investigating the psychological mechanisms connecting early adversity to adult ADHD symptoms.</p>
<p>The researchers specifically sought to understand the role of emotion regulation and self-compassion. Emotion regulation refers to the processes by which individuals influence which emotions they have and how they experience and express them. Self-compassion involves treating oneself with warmth and understanding during difficult times rather than reacting with harsh self-judgment.</p>
<p>The study was conducted in Türkiye, a cultural context where traditional child-rearing practices and family structures may influence how adverse experiences are processed. The research team recruited a sample of 442 young adults from a public university. The participants ranged in age from 18 to 29 years, with an average age of approximately 20.</p>
<p>The sample was predominantly female, making up 67.4% of the group, while males accounted for 32.6%. The researchers collected data using a web-based survey tool. Participants were informed of their rights and provided consent before completing a battery of validated psychological measures.</p>
<p>To assess early life difficulties, the researchers used the Adverse Childhood Experiences Checklist. This 10-item measure asks participants to indicate whether they experienced specific types of abuse or household dysfunction before the age of 18. Responses were recorded using a simple yes or no format.</p>
<p>Current ADHD symptoms were measured using the Adult ADHD Self Report Scale (ASRS-v1.1). This 18-item questionnaire screens for symptoms experienced over the past six months. It includes two subscales: one for inattention and one for hyperactivity-impulsivity.</p>
<p>The researchers assessed emotion regulation using the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire-Short Form. This scale measures how frequently individuals use strategies like cognitive reappraisal or expressive suppression to manage their emotions. For this study, the authors focused on the general ability to manage emotional experiences effectively.</p>
<p>Self-compassion was measured using the Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form. This 12-item instrument assesses how kind and caring individuals are toward themselves during instances of pain or failure. It includes elements such as self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness.</p>
<p>The results indicated that adverse childhood experiences were common among the participants. Approximately 76% of the students reported experiencing at least one adverse event. About 27% of the sample reported four or more adverse experiences.</p>
<p>The statistical analysis revealed clear associations between the variables. Students who reported a higher number of adverse childhood experiences tended to have lower levels of self-compassion. These students also exhibited lower levels of emotion regulation.</p>
<p>Simultaneously, higher scores on the ACEs checklist were associated with higher levels of both attention deficit and hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms. The researchers used a technique called path analysis to test how these variables influenced one another. This analysis suggested that the relationship between early adversity and ADHD symptoms was not entirely direct.</p>
<p>The data supported a model where adverse childhood experiences lead to lower self-compassion. This lack of self-compassion then predicts difficulties in emotion regulation. Finally, poor emotion regulation predicts increased severity of ADHD symptoms.</p>
<p>Self-compassion appeared to play a mediating role. The analysis showed that self-compassion had an indirect effect on the relationship between ACEs and emotion regulation. It also had an indirect effect on the association between ACEs and ADHD symptoms.</p>
<p>The study found that emotion regulation mediated the link between self-compassion and ADHD symptoms. This implies that one reason self-compassion helps reduce ADHD symptoms is that it improves an individual’s ability to manage their emotions. All variables together accounted for 22% of the variance in attention deficit symptoms and 16% of the variance in hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms.</p>
<p>These findings suggest that individuals with high levels of self-compassion are better equipped to process adverse experiences constructively. They are less likely to engage in self-criticism or shame. This positive self-regard appears to foster better emotional control, which subsequently reduces the intensity of ADHD-like behaviors.</p>
<p>The authors noted that adaptive emotion regulation strategies serve as protective factors. When individuals can reappraise stressful situations rather than suppressing their feelings, they may experience less impulsivity and better focus. The disruption of these skills by early trauma appears to be a key pathway to ADHD symptomatology.</p>
<p>There are some limitations to this study that should be considered. The research relied on self-reported data, which can be subject to memory errors or social desirability bias. Participants may not have remembered childhood events accurately or may have been hesitant to report them.</p>
<p>The study utilized a cross-sectional design, meaning data was collected at a single point in time. This prevents the researchers from establishing definitive cause-and-effect relationships. It is possible that the relationships between these variables work in different directions than hypothesized.</p>
<p>The sample consisted solely of university students in Türkiye. This specific demographic means the results may not generalize to other populations, such as older adults, those not in college, or people from different cultural backgrounds. Additionally, the participants were screened for symptoms but were not clinically diagnosed with ADHD by the researchers.</p>
<p>The authors also highlighted the potential overlap between ADHD and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Individuals with PTSD often display hypervigilance and intrusive thoughts that can mimic the inattention seen in ADHD. It is important for clinicians to distinguish between trauma-related inattention and neurodevelopmental attention deficits.</p>
<p>Future research should employ longitudinal designs to track these variables over time. This would help clarify how early adversity impacts the development of these symptoms throughout young adulthood. Including clinical samples with formal ADHD diagnoses would also strengthen the validity of the findings.</p>
<p>Despite these limitations, the study offers significant implications for mental health support. The results suggest that interventions aimed at increasing self-compassion could be beneficial for college students with ADHD symptoms, particularly those with a history of trauma. Teaching students to be kind to themselves may improve their emotional regulation and attention.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10870547251370427" target="_blank">Adverse Childhood Experiences and ADHD in College Students: Exploring the Role of Emotion Regulation and Self-Compassion</a>,” was authored by Fikriye Eda Karaçul and Gökmen Arslan.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/confident-gestures-fail-to-mask-the-uncertainty-signaled-by-speech-disfluencies/" 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;">Confident gestures fail to mask the uncertainty signaled by speech disfluencies</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Dec 27th 2025, 10:00</div>
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<p><p>New research published in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.70144" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cognitive Science</a></em> provides evidence that the fluidity of a person’s speech influences how knowledgeable they appear to others. The findings indicate that speakers who use “ums,” “ahs,” and corrections are consistently rated as less knowledgeable than those who speak fluently. But the presence of hand gestures, regardless of their type or frequency, does not appear to mitigate this negative perception.</p>
<p>Communication is a complex process that involves much more than just the words spoken. When humans interact, they rely on a multimodal system that includes speech, hand movements, eye gaze, and facial expressions. Previous studies suggest that hand gestures play a significant role in this dynamic.</p>
<p>Gestures often help listeners understand information and can even make a speaker seem more persuasive or likeable. At the same time, speech is rarely perfect. It often contains disfluencies, which are temporary pauses, errors, or filler sounds that interrupt the flow of language. These verbal stumbles can signal that a speaker is hesitant or experiencing difficulty planning their next words.</p>
<p>“Two main factors motivated this study,” explained study author <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/-canavci/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Can Avcı</a>, a PhD Student at Koç University and member of the <a href="https://research.ku.edu.tr/research-infrastructure/laboratories/language-and-cognition-lab/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Language and Cognition Lab</a>. “First, there was a gap in the literature on how hand gestures affect the listeners’ knowledge assessments of the speaker. Most studies (there are not many) focused on speech disfluencies as signals for ignorance, but no investigation of gestures. The second motivation came from the possibility of understanding if gestures are beneficial in terms of knowledgeability perception and may even change how disfluencies are perceived by the listeners.”</p>
<p>The researchers utilized a concept known as the “feeling-of-another’s-knowing.” This concept refers to the judgment a listener makes about how well a speaker knows the topic they are discussing. The research team conducted two separate experiments to test whether seeing a speaker gesture would lead listeners to rate a disfluent speaker as more knowledgeable.</p>
<p>The first study focused on naturalistic, spontaneous speech. The researchers recruited 42 native Turkish-speaking young adults to participate. The participants watched a series of video clips featuring various speakers providing navigational instructions.</p>
<p>These videos were selected from a previous dataset and contained natural variations in speech and movement. Some speakers used gestures while others kept their hands still. Some speakers spoke fluently while others included disfluencies such as repetitions, repairs, or filled pauses.</p>
<p>A repair occurs when a speaker corrects a word, such as saying “left” and immediately changing it to “right.” A filled pause involves sounds like “um” or “uh” that bridge gaps in speech. In this naturalistic study, the researchers did not manipulate the videos.</p>
<p>Factors such as background noise, the speaker’s clothing, and facial expressions were allowed to vary naturally. After viewing each clip, participants rated the speaker’s knowledge level. They answered questions regarding how certain the speaker seemed and how well the speaker appeared to know the answer.</p>
<p>The results showed a strong link between speech fluency and perceived knowledge. Participants consistently rated speakers who spoke without hesitation as more knowledgeable than those who stumbled. The presence of gestures did not produce a statistically significant change in these ratings.</p>
<p>To address the potential messiness of natural stimuli, the researchers designed a second study with a more controlled environment. They recruited a new group of 43 participants. For this experiment, the team hired an actress to record the stimuli.</p>
<p>This approach allowed the researchers to control extraneous variables that might have influenced the first study. The background, camera angle, lighting, and the speaker’s appearance remained identical across all trials. The actress recorded specific sentences containing navigational information.</p>
<p>The researchers manipulated two key variables: the type of gesture and the presence of disfluencies. The study included three gesture conditions. The first condition involved no gestures at all.</p>
<p>The second condition involved iconic gestures. These are hand movements that visually represent the object or action being discussed, such as drawing a circle in the air to represent a round object. The third condition involved beat gestures.</p>
<p>Beat gestures are rhythmic hand movements that align with the cadence of speech but do not carry specific semantic meaning. The researchers also manipulated the speech to be either fluent or disfluent. The disfluent versions contained specific, scripted errors and pauses at consistent points in the sentences.</p>
<p>In addition to rating the speaker’s knowledge, participants in the second study completed the Gesture Awareness Scale. This measure assessed how much individuals typically notice and attend to hand movements in daily life. This allowed the researchers to see if people who are more attuned to gestures might be more influenced by them.</p>
<p>The findings from the second study mirrored those of the first. Once again, speech fluency emerged as the dominant factor. When the actress spoke with disfluencies, participants rated her as significantly less knowledgeable than when she spoke fluently.</p>
<p>The type of gesture used made no difference to the ratings. Whether the actress used descriptive iconic gestures, rhythmic beat gestures, or no gestures at all, the knowledge ratings remained largely the same. This held true even for participants who scored high on the Gesture Awareness Scale.</p>
<p>“We were surprised that although participants were aware of the presence of gestures, they did not consider them as signals of knowledge or ignorance,” Avcı told PsyPost.</p>
<p>These results suggests that when listeners are trying to judge a speaker’s competence, they prioritize verbal cues over visual ones. The hesitation signaled by an “um” or a self-correction appears to be a powerful indicator of uncertainty. It seems to overshadow any potential competence signaled by confident hand movements.</p>
<p>“People who have disfluencies in their speech are perceived as less knowledgeable than fluent speakers,” Avcı said. “The presence or absence of gestures does not affect others’ knowledge assessments.”</p>
<p>The researchers propose several explanations for why gestures failed to impact knowledge judgments. One possibility is the redundant nature of the gestures used. In many communicative contexts, gestures are most helpful when they provide information that is missing from the speech.</p>
<p>In these experiments, the speech conveyed the navigational information clearly enough on its own. Listeners may have felt they did not need to rely on the gestures to gauge the speaker’s understanding. Consequently, the gestures may have been processed as background noise rather than vital clues.</p>
<p>Another possibility involves the timing of the gestures relative to the disfluencies. In the controlled study, the gestures often occurred simultaneously with the verbal stumbles. It is possible that the obvious signal of difficulty provided by the stuttering simply drowned out the visual signal.</p>
<p>The study has some limitations. The speech samples used in the experiments were relatively short, consisting of only two or three sentences. This brief exposure might not allow enough time for gestures to build an impression of competence.</p>
<p>Additionally, the topic of the speech was limited to spatial directions. While gestures are commonly used in spatial descriptions, the effect might differ in other contexts. For example, gestures might play a larger role in persuasive speeches or emotional storytelling.</p>
<p>“For my future studies, I plan to include additional modalities, such as facial movements, in knowledgeability assessment and other contexts,” Avcı said.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.70144" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Assessing Others’ Knowledge Through Their Speech Disfluencies and Gestures</a>,” was authored by Can Avcı, Demet Özer, Terry Eskenazi, and Tilbe Göksuna.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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