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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/new-psychology-research-reveals-a-vicious-cycle-involving-smartphone-use-and-feelings-of-disconnection/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">New psychology research reveals a vicious cycle involving smartphone use and feelings of disconnection</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Feb 28th 2026, 08:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2026.108625" target="_blank">Addictive Behaviors</a></em> provides evidence that excessive smartphone use and feelings of disconnection fuel each other in a continuous daily cycle. When college students feel unfocused, they often reach for their phones for relief, which actually tends to leave them feeling even more detached the following day. These findings suggest that breaking this loop requires actively replacing screen time with meaningful offline activities.</p>
<p>With the rapid growth of digital technology, problematic smartphone use has become a major concern for young adults. This type of device engagement refers to screen habits that span multiple apps and become difficult to control, eventually interfering with daily life. Such excessive use has been linked to poorer mental health, strained relationships, and lower academic performance.</p>
<p>A related issue is disengagement, which is a temporary state of boredom where a person feels disconnected from their current environment. Disengaged individuals often have difficulty maintaining attention on meaningful tasks and might experience negative emotions. According to psychological theories, this detached feeling acts as a signal that a person is not finding their current activity rewarding.</p>
<p>Some scientists suggest that individuals naturally strive to maintain an optimal level of mental stimulation. When a task feels too repetitive or lacks meaning, an uncomfortable sense of lethargy sets in. Because smartphones provide immediate and endless entertainment, they offer an easy way to escape these uncomfortable feelings of boredom.</p>
<p>“My interest started with how easily smartphones lead to problematic use — basically, when usage becomes dysregulated and hard to control. I focused on first-year students because they’re navigating new autonomy and self-directed learning, which makes them especially vulnerable,” said study author Jeong Jin Yu, a professor in educational studies at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in China.</p>
<p>“The core puzzle was the link to ‘disengagement’ that struggle to focus on meaningful tasks. While students often reach for their phones to self-stimulate and fix that feeling, it tends to backfire. I wanted to test if this creates a self-reinforcing cycle: does feeling disengaged one day lead to higher phone use, which then leads to even worse disengagement the next? I used daily diaries to confirm if this back-and-forth spiral actually plays out in their daily lives.”</p>
<p>To explore exactly how this dynamic plays out on a daily basis, Yu designed a month-long study. The transition to university is a time when students experience newfound independence, heightened academic demands, and constant access to their devices. By tracking daily fluctuations, Yu aimed to see if feeling disconnected one day leads to more screen time the next, and vice versa.</p>
<p>To investigate this cycle, Yu recruited 138 first-year undergraduate students from two cities in China. The participants were contacted through email and social media platforms. As an incentive for their daily participation, students who completed the questionnaires earned a financial reward in the form of a 100 RMB coupon, which is roughly equal to 14 dollars.</p>
<p>The final analysis included 104 participants who consistently responded to the daily surveys over a 30-day period. The students had an average age of about 18.6 years, and slightly more than half of the group identified as female. The group was highly compliant, with the average participant completing about 27 out of the 30 daily surveys.</p>
<p>Every evening between nine o’clock and their bedtime, the participants completed questionnaires on their personal devices. They answered 32 questions to measure their problematic smartphone use for that specific day. These questions asked them to rate how much they agreed with statements about their inability to regulate their phone habits on a scale from one to six.</p>
<p>The students also answered five questions designed to measure their daily level of disengagement on a scale from one to seven. These items asked participants to indicate how much they felt forced to do things that lacked personal value to them. Higher scores on this specific section indicated a greater sense of momentary boredom and detachment.</p>
<p>Yu used statistical models to separate stable differences between individuals from day-to-day fluctuations within the same person. This technique allowed the researcher to observe how a single student’s behavior changed from one day to the next compared to their own average baseline. The analysis also accounted for the students’ gender and their family’s socioeconomic background, including parental education and household income.</p>
<p>The daily data revealed a clear bidirectional relationship between phone habits and feelings of boredom. On days when a student used their smartphone more than they typically did, they reported feeling more disengaged the very next day. In the opposite direction, on days when a student felt more disconnected than usual, their smartphone use spiked the following day.</p>
<p>This pattern provides evidence for a snowball effect, where small daily habits carry over and reinforce themselves. As a student tries to relieve their boredom by scrolling through apps, they inadvertently set themselves up to feel even less focused the next morning. Over time, this daily reinforcement traps the individual in a self-sustaining cycle of distraction.</p>
<p>Beyond the daily fluctuations, Yu also found consistent associations when comparing different students to one another. Individuals who generally reported higher smartphone use than their peers also tended to experience higher overall levels of disengagement. A persistent inability to reduce screen time consistently amplified a student’s feelings of boredom.</p>
<p>“The main takeaway is that smartphone use and disengagement fuel each other in a vicious cycle,” Yu told PsyPost. “When you feel disconnected or unfocused, you might reach for your phone for relief, but the findings show that this likely makes you feel more disconnected the next day. It’s a snowball effect—small habits today carry over into tomorrow.” </p>
<p>“To break this cycle, you can’t just rely on willpower. You need to replace the scrolling with something meaningful. Whether it’s joining a club, volunteering, or setting strict phone-free study hours, the goal is to actively interrupt that pattern before it becomes your new normal.”</p>
<p>Notably, neither the gender of the student nor their family’s financial background significantly changed the outcome of these models. This suggests that the daily cycle of digital distraction affects a wide variety of students equally. First-year students across different demographics appear vulnerable to this specific behavioral loop.</p>
<p>While the study provides a detailed look at daily habits, there are a few potential misinterpretations and limitations to keep in mind. The research focused exclusively on first-year university students in China, meaning the findings might not apply to other age groups or cultural backgrounds. Additionally, the study relied entirely on students reporting their own behaviors, which can sometimes introduce bias.</p>
<p>“Ideally, future studies would back this up with objective data—like actual screen-time logs—to avoid the biases that come with self-reporting,” Yu said. “Finally, while I established that this cycle exists, I didn’t fully untangle why it happens. I suspect factors like sleep loss or specific app habits (like social media vs. gaming) play a major role, but I need more research to pinpoint the exact mechanisms driving this spiral.”</p>
<p>“My long-term goal is to translate these findings into actionable solutions. First, I plan to dig deeper into the ‘why’ by moving beyond self-reports to objective measures—like actual usage logs—to see precisely how specific apps or sleep disruption drive this cycle. Simultaneously, I want to test practical interventions. I plan to explore how ‘digital well-being education’ and structured extracurricular activities—like volunteer work—can provide meaningful offline alternatives to scrolling.” </p>
<p>“I’m particularly interested in whether simple, timely strategies—like planning prompts or setting phone boundaries during study hours—can effectively interrupt that carryover effect where one bad day spirals into the next,” Yu added. “Ultimately, I aim to develop a concrete toolkit that helps universities support students during that critical transition.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2026.108625" target="_blank">Problematic smartphone use and disengagement in first-year college students: A daily diary study of between- and within-person differences</a>,” was authored by Jeong Jin Yu.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/a-mans-psychological-fit-at-work-tends-to-increase-when-his-financial-values-align-with-his-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;">A man’s psychological fit at work tends to increase when his financial values align with his partner’s</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Feb 28th 2026, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>A recent study published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-025-10094-9" target="_blank">Journal of Business and Psychology</a></em> suggests that a man’s sense of fulfillment at work is deeply tied to how well his views on money align with his romantic partner’s views. The research provides evidence that when a man and his female partner share the same beliefs about whether money represents personal success, the man tends to feel more satisfied that his job meets his psychological needs. </p>
<p>Workplace science typically treats money as an individual pursuit. Most studies examine how a single employee’s salary or desire for wealth affects their personal motivation or job satisfaction. This individualistic approach leaves out a major part of modern life. Today, a large portion of the workforce consists of dual-earner couples. These are households where both partners have jobs and make joint decisions about their finances and careers.</p>
<p>Within these households, money carries emotional and psychological weight. It acts as a symbol of deeply held values. The researchers wanted to understand how partners in a dual-earner household align on specific financial beliefs.</p>
<p>“Research has rightfully explored the disproportionate load that women in dual-earner households take on when it comes to domestic tasks and work responsibilities,” said study author <a href="https://www.business.uc.edu/faculty-research/management/faculty/students/sharmeen-merchant.html" target="_blank">Sharmeen Merchant</a>, a PhD candidate at the University of Cincinnati.</p>
<p>“In this work, we wanted to take a more holistic perspective on gender to explore how men are grappling with the societal shift towards more equitable approaches to work and life. Specifically, we were interested in shifts in money attitudes, and how both men and women consider their partner’s views on money when it comes to their job perceptions.”</p>
<p>Specifically, they focused on a concept known as “money as achievement.” This is the belief that financial earnings serve as a direct measure of personal success and accomplishment. People who hold this belief tend to view their income as a reflection of their ultimate worth, pushing them to seek higher pay as a form of validation.</p>
<p>The scientists also wanted to explore how this shared or unshared belief affects an employee’s “needs-supplies fit.” This term describes the degree to which a person feels their current job provides what they psychologically require, such as a sense of competence or esteem.</p>
<p>Based on social role theory, the scientists expected to find differences between men and women. Social role theory suggests that society places different expectations on people based on their gender. Men are frequently pressured to act as the primary financial providers, leading them to tie money closely to their masculine identity.</p>
<p>Women in dual-earner partnerships frequently navigate disproportionate caregiving and domestic demands in addition to their jobs. Because of these differing social pressures, the researchers predicted that men would be more sensitive to how well their financial values aligned with their partner’s values.</p>
<p>To test these ideas, the researchers recruited 178 heterosexual dual-income couples, resulting in a total sample of 356 individuals. The participants resided in the United States and the United Kingdom. On average, the participants were about 37 years old and earned an average individual income of roughly $55,000 per year.</p>
<p>To be included in the study, both partners in the couple had to work at least 30 hours per week. They also had to report an annual income of over $10,000.</p>
<p>The research team conducted the study in two separate phases using online recruitment tools. In the first phase, both partners answered questions about their personal views on money. They rated how strongly they agreed with statements linking wealth to personal achievement, allowing the scientists to capture their exact financial mindsets.</p>
<p>About ten to fourteen days later, the participants completed a second survey. This follow-up survey measured their needs-supplies fit at work to see how their career felt in the moment. Participants answered a series of questions about whether their current job offered exactly what they were looking for in a long-term career.</p>
<p>The findings support the idea that financial alignment within a couple affects men and women differently. For men, experiencing a high needs-supplies fit at work was directly linked to sharing similar views on money as achievement with their female partners. When a man and his partner were completely on the same page regarding wealth, the man felt that his job was much more psychologically fulfilling.</p>
<p>This boost in job fit was highest when the couple aligned at the extremes. If both partners strongly believed that money equals achievement, the man’s job fit increased. Similarly, if both partners strongly agreed that money does not represent achievement, the man also reported high job fit.</p>
<p>In the latter case, the couple likely shared alternative motivations outside of financial gain. This shared lack of interest in money as a status symbol still provided the man with a sense of security. Knowing his partner supported his non-financial goals helped him find satisfaction in his daily work.</p>
<p>“Men’s experience of fulfillment at work is intertwined with their partner’s views on money,” Merchant told PsyPost. “This paper was the first to acknowledge that money is not made in isolation, but within a household.”</p>
<p>The researchers also noticed a unique pattern when couples aligned in the middle. When both partners held moderate views on whether money represents achievement, men reported the lowest levels of job fit. The scientists suspect that this middle ground creates a sense of lingering uncertainty.</p>
<p>“What surprised us was that men’s fulfillment was lowest not when couples had completely opposing financial values, but when they were only moderately misaligned,” Merchant explained. “We initially expected that greater value differences would correspond with lower fulfillment at work. Instead, it appears that partial misalignment creates a kind of ‘messy middle,’ where ambiguity about a partner’s financial priorities may undermine perceptions of fit at work.”</p>
<p>For women, the results painted a different picture. The researchers found no relationship between a couple’s alignment on financial beliefs and a woman’s needs-supplies fit at work. Whether a woman and her partner agreed or disagreed about money as an indicator of success had no impact on how she viewed her job.</p>
<p>This suggests that women evaluate their work fulfillment using a broader range of contextual factors. Because societal norms often expect women to prioritize family over financial ambition, their psychological fit at work may rely less on monetary achievement. Instead, their job satisfaction might depend more on flexibility or work-life balance.</p>
<p>While the study provides nuanced insights into dual-earner households, there are a few limitations to keep in mind. First, the researchers only measured people’s attitudes about money. They did not measure whether the participants were actually achieving their financial goals in real life. Future studies could investigate how reaching specific financial milestones interacts with these psychological beliefs over time. </p>
<p>Future research could also look beyond the gender binary and traditional heterosexual couples. “While our study takes a binary view on gender, this approach is far from complete,” Merchant said. “We recognize that alternative gender identifications warrant greater attention when it comes to financial values and job perceptions.”</p>
<p>The scientists suggest that measuring a couple’s specific personality traits, such as their tendencies to be competitive or nurturing, might offer a more precise understanding of these workplace outcomes. Exploring these dynamics in non-Western cultures could also reveal how different societal norms shape the way couples view money and career success.</p>
<p>“While our study adopted a Western sample (US and UK based), we aim to undertake future research to study dual earners in varied cultural backgrounds, considering that both gender roles and money attitudes vary across cultural and national landscapes,” Merchant told PsyPost. “We would also encourage research that explores money values across alternative gender identifications. Currently, we are also working on a study on the work implications of financial stress.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-025-10094-9" target="_blank">Gender Differences on Dual‑Earners’ Money as Achievement Congruence and Needs‑Supplies Fit</a>,” was authored by Sharmeen M. Merchant, Scott B. Dust, Laurens Bujold Steed, Sodiq Babatunde, and Joseph Rode.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/narcissism-and-the-rising-appeal-of-sex-robots-made-in-the-buyers-image/" 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;">Narcissism and the rising appeal of sex robots made in the buyer’s image</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Feb 27th 2026, 20:00</div>
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<p><p>A recent study published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104674" target="_blank">Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services</a></em> reveals that individuals with high levels of narcissism and a sexual attraction to themselves are highly motivated to purchase robotic companions designed in their own exact likeness. The research demonstrates that this desire is driven by a strong psychological sense of ownership. These results highlight growing ethical and psychological concerns as artificial intelligence makes hyper-personalized consumer products a reality.</p>
<p>The emergence of self-replicated sex robots represents an extreme example of a much larger trend in the consumer technology sector. Artificial intelligence and advanced three-dimensional scanning are making it possible to create highly customized digital and physical avatars. The boundary between the person buying a product and the product itself is slowly disappearing across multiple industries.</p>
<p>These innovations are surfacing in everyday consumer environments, ranging from personalized gaming characters to virtual wellness assistants. Such developments signal a cultural shift in which people routinely interact with digitized versions of their own likeness. Understanding the psychological motivations behind these interactions is becoming a pressing issue for consumer researchers.</p>
<p>Amit Mahimkar, a marketing researcher at Illinois State University, led the investigation. Mahimkar wanted to understand the psychological processes that drive people to buy technologies modeled after their own physical appearance. The focus of the inquiry was on self-replicated sex robots, which are highly advanced androids customized with facial and body scans of the buyer.</p>
<p>To explore this extreme form of personalization, Mahimkar studied a specific group of consumers known as autosexuals. Autosexuality is a sexual orientation in which a person experiences physical attraction or arousal primarily directed toward their own body or image. For these individuals, the self becomes a primary focus of intimacy.</p>
<p>When autosexuality is paired with narcissism, the desire for self-reflection intensifies. Narcissism is a personality trait characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance and a constant need for admiration. Grandiose narcissism, the specific type examined in this study, involves a persistent belief in one’s own superiority.</p>
<p>A robot programmed to mimic the buyer and provide unwavering adoration perfectly aligns with these traits. It offers a unique way for the consumer to project and admire an idealized version of themselves. Mahimkar sought to uncover exactly how this combination of personality traits translates into the intention to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a custom android.</p>
<p>The theoretical framework guiding the research is known as symbolic self-completion theory. This concept suggests that when people feel a gap or an incompleteness in their identity, they seek out symbols or possessions to fill that void. A customized robot functions as the ultimate symbol for someone seeking constant validation of their exceptional status.</p>
<p>Another central concept in the study is psychological ownership, which refers to the subjective feeling that an object belongs to you, even before any legal purchase occurs. For someone with grandiose self-views, a robot bearing their own face can quickly feel like a personal extension. Mahimkar hypothesized that this immediate sense of possession would serve as the bridge between narcissistic tendencies and the decision to buy the product.</p>
<p>Finally, the researcher looked at a psychological boundary known as self-concept clarity. This term describes how firmly and consistently a person defines their own beliefs, traits, and overall identity. People with low self-concept clarity have fragile or shifting views of who they are, making them more likely to use external products to stabilize their self-image.</p>
<p>To test these ideas, Mahimkar surveyed 406 adults in the United States who publicly identified as autosexual. A specialized online panel provider recruited the participants, balancing the group across different ages, genders, and geographic regions. The recruitment process included screening procedures and attention checks to ensure the data accurately reflected the intended population.</p>
<p>Participants completed a secure questionnaire that measured their levels of narcissism, self-concept clarity, and psychological ownership regarding a self-replicated sex robot. The survey also asked them to rate their intentions to purchase such a device. The researcher applied statistical controls for demographic factors like age and ethnicity to isolate the specific psychological variables at play.</p>
<p>During the data analysis phase, the researcher utilized a statistical technique known as moderated mediation. This method allows scientists to observe how one variable transfers an effect to another, while checking if a third variable alters that relationship. In this case, the technique illuminated how psychological ownership acts as a bridge, while self-concept clarity acts as a dial controlling the intensity.</p>
<p>The data revealed a direct link between elevated narcissism and a strong desire to acquire the customized androids. Individuals who scored high on the narcissism scale showed a pronounced eagerness to buy a robot modeled after themselves. The data indicated that this attraction goes beyond mere status signaling, representing a desire to physically reproduce and consume the self.</p>
<p>The results also confirmed the mediating role of psychological ownership in this process. Highly narcissistic participants reported intense feelings that the self-replicated robot was already theirs. This deep personal attachment and sense of possession directly predicted their likelihood of following through with a purchase.</p>
<p>In essence, the narcissistic drive to affirm an idealized self creates an instant mental claim over the robot. This internalized ownership takes a hypothetical customized product and turns it into an urgent consumer need. The robot acts as a programmable mirror, satisfying both erotic interests and an appetite for admiration.</p>
<p>Self-concept clarity emerged as a powerful regulatory factor in this chain of psychological events. The study showed that all the observed effects grew stronger when participants lacked a clear and stable understanding of their own identity. For individuals with low self-concept clarity, the narcissistic urge to buy the robot intensified dramatically.</p>
<p>These individuals experience a fragmented sense of self, creating a psychological gap that they attempt to fill through the consumption of a technological replica. Their fragile identity boundaries make them highly susceptible to the appeal of a product that offers permanent validation. In this state, the impulse to claim the robot as personal property becomes incredibly potent.</p>
<p>Conversely, a well-defined self-image dampened the entire psychological sequence. Participants with high self-concept clarity possessed secure and coherent identity boundaries. Because they did not feel a pressing need to bridge an identity gap, their narcissistic traits did not translate as strongly into feelings of ownership or purchase intentions.</p>
<p>The research provides detailed insights into how technology companies might market hyper-personalized products in the future. Marketing strategies for these devices will likely rely heavily on messaging that appeals to a consumer’s ego. Advertisements could emphasize scarcity, peer validation, and the chance to own a perfected version of the self.</p>
<p>Companies might also design the purchasing process to trigger a sense of psychological ownership as early as possible. Offering a potential buyer a brief facial scan or a provisional naming badge converts an abstract concept into an intimate extension of the user. This early personalization builds emotional momentum before the consumer even considers the high price tag.</p>
<p>The study suggests that brands will need to adapt their communication styles based on how well a customer knows themselves. Consumers with vague or shifting personal identities respond best to bold, status-driven advertising copy. Individuals with highly stable self-views prefer restrained language that highlights craftsmanship and privacy.</p>
<p>The results highlight the moral and psychological consequences of technologies that blur the line between human consumers and the products they consume. For users who struggle with self-definition, interacting with a flawless technological replica can worsen body dissatisfaction and mental health issues. The flawless mirror image provided by the artificial companion sets an impossible standard of desirability based on the user’s own likeness.</p>
<p>Normalizing this kind of artificial intimacy risks reinforcing skewed expectations for human relationships. Simulated partnerships driven by algorithms lack the required empathy, mutual respect, and emotional effort of real-world interactions. Users might internalize these one-sided dynamics, making it harder to navigate authentic human connections.</p>
<p>The investigation relied on self-reported survey data, which introduces certain limitations to the findings. People answering questionnaires sometimes adjust their responses to appear more socially acceptable, though the researcher implemented multiple statistical checks to account for this bias. Relying on a single source of data at one point in time means the results provide a snapshot rather than a long-term view of consumer behavior.</p>
<p>Future research should incorporate a wider variety of data collection methods to verify these behavioral patterns. Observing actual purchasing behaviors or tracking consumer engagement over a longer period would offer a more robust understanding of the adoption process. Such approaches would help confirm how initial feelings of ownership translate into real financial commitments.</p>
<p>Additional variables also warrant exploration in subsequent studies on hyper-personalized technologies. The current framework deliberately focused on a few core traits, but concepts like a person’s individual need for uniqueness could influence the results. It is highly probable that people with a strong desire to stand out from the crowd would find a self-replicated robot especially appealing.</p>
<p>Other individual traits, such as moral beliefs or religious values, might alter how people respond to artificial intimacy. Exploring whether these cultural and ethical anchors inhibit or encourage the adoption of custom androids would provide a fuller picture of the market. Expanding the scope beyond personality traits to include these value systems remains an important next step for consumer psychology.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104674" target="_blank">Mirroring desire: Narcissism, psychological ownership, and purchase intentions for self-replicated sex robots</a>,” was authored by Amit Mahimkar.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/people-with-high-openness-to-experience-tend-to-have-fewer-children/" 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;">People with high openness to experience tend to have fewer children</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Feb 27th 2026, 18:00</div>
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<p><p>Individuals who possess a strong desire for novelty and intellectual exploration tend to have fewer children over their lifetimes. A recent study published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000392" target="_blank">Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences</a></em> provides evidence that this happens because these individuals often delay parenthood, experience shorter romantic relationships, and report fewer positive motivations for starting a family. These findings help clarify how specific personality differences influence reproductive choices in modern society.</p>
<p>Aleksandra Milić, a graduate student at the University of Pavia, and Janko Međedović, a professor at the Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research in Belgrade, conducted this research. The scientists wanted to understand human behavior through an evolutionary perspective. Specifically, they focused on a psychological trait known as Openness to Experience.</p>
<p>This trait describes people who are highly imaginative, intellectually curious, and open to new ideas. Previous studies consistently indicate a negative association between this trait and fertility. In biological terms, this means that highly open individuals tend to leave behind fewer descendants.</p>
<p>Milić and Međedović wanted to identify the specific lifestyle and relationship factors that explain this reproductive trend. “We were motivated by the limited research on Openness to Experience within a human behavioral ecology framework, which views personality traits as potential adaptive responses to environmental conditions,” Milić explained.</p>
<p>She noted that human personality has biological roots and evolutionary consequences. “While personality traits are known to have genetic components and may therefore be subject to natural selection, little research has examined how Openness relates to reproductive motivations and outcomes,” Milić said.</p>
<p>The scientists noticed a significant gap in the scientific literature regarding why this specific personality type leads to smaller family sizes. “To our knowledge, for example, no prior studies have examined the association between Openness and reproductive motivations,” Milić added. “We wanted to better understand whether and how individual differences in Openness might shape reproductive behavior in modern environments.”</p>
<p>To explore this dynamic, the researchers surveyed 1,024 individuals online. The sample was relatively young, with an average age of 32.3 years. It included a fairly even split between men and women.</p>
<p>The scientists used a snowball sampling technique to gather their data. This is a recruitment method where initial participants share the survey with their own social networks. Participants completed a standardized personality questionnaire that measured their level of Openness to Experience.</p>
<p>The survey also asked for their total number of children, their age when they had their first child, and the number of sexual partners they had experienced. If participants did not yet have children, they indicated the age at which they hoped to start a family. The researchers also asked participants about the length of their longest romantic relationship.</p>
<p>Finally, the survey included a comprehensive scale assessing both positive and negative motivations for having children. Positive motivations included factors like personal fulfillment and continuing a family line. Negative motivations covered concerns like financial stress, childrearing burdens, or physical changes to the body.</p>
<p>The data analysis revealed that individuals with higher Openness to Experience indeed reported having fewer children. The researchers identified three main factors that explained this connection. Highly open people tended to wait longer to have their first child, reported shorter long-term romantic relationships, and expressed fewer positive reasons for wanting to become parents.</p>
<p>“The main takeaway from our findings is that, in our sample, people higher in Openness to Experience tended to have fewer children,” Milić told PsyPost. “Higher Openness was associated with later entry into parenthood, shorter romantic relationships, and less positive motivation to have children, all of which were linked to fewer children.”</p>
<p>Milić noted that these interconnected variables paint a clear picture of reproductive decision making. “Taken together, these factors help explain how personality differences may shape reproductive outcomes over time,” she explained.</p>
<p>The scientists found no significant link between Openness and the total number of sexual partners. They also found no relationship between the trait and negative feelings about having children. Highly open people simply felt less drawn to the positive aspects of parenthood.</p>
<p>“One interesting finding was that individuals higher in Openness tended to have shorter romantic relationships, but not a greater number of sexual partners,” Milić said. “This suggests that the association with lower fertility may not be related to increased mating behaviors, but rather to lifestyle flexibility and changing priorities over time.”</p>
<p>She pointed out that highly open individuals are not necessarily against the idea of families. “We also found that individuals high in Openness did not report stronger negative motives for having children, suggesting that the results may reflect reduced social pressure and alternative life goals rather than negative attitudes toward parenthood,” Milić added.</p>
<p>The scientists noted a few limitations in their research design. The study relied on a cross-sectional format, meaning the data was collected at a single point in time. This prevents the researchers from proving strict cause and effect relationships.</p>
<p>“The study was cross-sectional, which means we cannot draw conclusions about causality,” Milić cautioned. The age of the participants also presented a challenge, as many had not yet finished building their families.</p>
<p>“Many participants were still within their reproductive years; therefore, their final number of children is not yet known, and patterns may differ in samples of individuals who have completed reproduction,” Milić explained. This means future studies will need to look at older demographics to confirm these patterns.</p>
<p>The sample demographic was also slightly skewed toward higher socioeconomic groups. “Additionally, the sample included a higher proportion of highly educated individuals, which limits generalization to the broader population,” Milić said. “Finally, Openness was measured using a short scale that may not fully capture the complexity of the trait.”</p>
<p>Looking ahead, the researchers hope to track how personality influences family planning across entire lifespans. They are also curious about how intelligence, which frequently correlates with Openness, factors into these reproductive trends.</p>
<p>“Future research should examine further factors that may mediate the relationship between personality and fertility, particularly values and attitudes,” Milić said. “In addition, a better understanding of how Openness interacts with intelligence may help clarify broader patterns in reproductive decision-making.”</p>
<p>She hopes to see studies that follow people as they age to see how their choices unfold. “Longitudinal studies following individuals across the reproductive lifespan would be especially valuable,” Milić concluded.</p>
<p>“To further motivate this line of research, we would like to share a recent book by Dr. Međedović for readers interested in the topic, which explores traits such as psychopathy within a behavioral ecological framework. The book is available at the following link: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32886-2" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32886-2</a>.” </p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000392" target="_blank">Rethinking Parenthood: Mechanisms Mediating the Negative Link Between Openness and Fertility</a>,” was authored by Aleksandra Milić and Janko Međedović.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/childhood-trauma-is-linked-to-different-aging-patterns-in-the-midlife-brain/" 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;">Childhood trauma is linked to different aging patterns in the midlife brain</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Feb 27th 2026, 16:00</div>
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<p><p>Childhood abuse and neglect are associated with different patterns of change in the human brain and mind as people grow older. A recent study reveals that experiencing high levels of early trauma correlates with a different relationship between advancing age, brain volume, and cognitive abilities in adulthood. The research, published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2025.11.004" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Neurobiology of Aging</a>, suggests that early adversity relates to an increased vulnerability to the cognitive declines normally associated with getting older.</p>
<p>Lead author Anna D. Stumps, a researcher at the University of Delaware, collaborated with colleagues Nadia Bounoua and Naomi Sadeh. The team wanted to understand how early traumatic experiences interact with the normal aging process during midlife. They focused on how trauma histories correlate with the physical structure of the brain and a person’s daily mental capabilities.</p>
<p>Aging is naturally accompanied by subtle changes to the nervous system. Over time, humans typically lose gray matter, which is the brain tissue packed with nerve cell bodies responsible for processing information. People also experience gradual declines in executive functioning as they get older.</p>
<p>Executive functioning acts as the control center of the mind. It encompasses mental skills like working memory, the ability to switch between tasks, and the power to control impulsive behaviors. These skills are required for everything from paying bills to driving a car safely.</p>
<p>Researchers designed this project to see if early life trauma corresponds with an acceleration of these typical age-related cognitive and physical changes. Two main theories guided their investigation into the lingering associations of childhood adversity. Both theories suggest that extreme stress alters the timeline of brain development.</p>
<p>The stress scar theory proposes that chronic stress physically damages the brain over time. It suggests that flooding the nervous system with high levels of stress hormones over long periods causes abnormal wear and tear. This biological weathering could eventually degrade the physical structure of the brain.</p>
<p>Alternatively, the stress acceleration hypothesis approaches the issue from an evolutionary perspective. This theory suggests that trauma forces the brain to mature too quickly in a rush to survive a dangerous environment. Growing up in a hostile setting might push the brain to fast-track its development, which could later change how the brain ages.</p>
<p>Both theories imply that early trauma leaves a lasting mark on how the brain develops and ages across a lifespan. Yet, few researchers had looked at how trauma histories and age interact in middle-aged adults. This gap in the scientific literature prompted Stumps and her team to investigate the issue.</p>
<p>To answer these questions, the research team recruited 225 adults between the ages of 21 and 55. This group included community members with diverse educational backgrounds and higher-than-average rates of reported childhood trauma. By studying people in midlife, the team hoped to catch subtle cognitive changes before the onset of severe conditions like dementia.</p>
<p>The team assessed the participants’ traumatic experiences using a standardized questionnaire. Volunteers answered questions about experiences of emotional abuse, physical neglect, and other forms of early adversity. The researchers then divided the volunteers into a high-trauma group and a low-trauma group to compare their physiological and behavioral results.</p>
<p>Each participant underwent brain scans using magnetic resonance imaging equipment. The researchers used these scans to measure the volume of gray matter across different parts of the brain. They looked at both the outer surface of the brain and the deeper structures hidden inside.</p>
<p>The researchers focused heavily on the cerebral cortex, which is the wrinkled outer layer responsible for complex thought. Within the cortex, they paid special attention to the prefrontal cortex. This front-facing brain region handles advanced reasoning, decision making, and emotion regulation.</p>
<p>They also measured subcortical regions, which are deeper structures tucked beneath the cortex. These inner areas include the amygdala, which processes fear and emotion, and the hippocampus, which helps form new memories. These deep structures are highly sensitive to stress hormones.</p>
<p>In addition to the brain scans, the participants completed behavioral tests to measure their executive functioning skills. For example, participants had to hold and manipulate sequences of numbers in their minds to test their working memory. Other tests measured how quickly the participants could adapt to new rules or suppress an automatic response.</p>
<p>The results of the study revealed distinct patterns depending on the brain region and the level of childhood trauma. In the prefrontal cortex, the researchers observed a normal, expected pattern among participants with low levels of childhood trauma. For these individuals, older age correlated with lower gray matter volume.</p>
<p>However, the relationship between age and brain volume looked completely different for the high-trauma group. In these individuals, age and prefrontal cortex volume were entirely unrelated. The results for this specific interaction were not statistically significant in the expected negative direction.</p>
<p>The researchers noted that the high-trauma group generally had less prefrontal brain volume to begin with. This suggests that severe adversity is linked to early tissue loss that eventually stabilizes in adulthood. Alternatively, the stressful environment might demand the brain to mature and prune its connections at an unusually fast pace during youth.</p>
<p>The team then examined the deeper, subcortical structures of the brain. In these areas, the researchers found a very different pattern. For participants with low childhood trauma, age did not show a negative relationship with subcortical brain volume.</p>
<p>For the high-trauma group, advancing age was linked to lower gray matter volume in several subcortical regions. This indicates that these deep brain structures might experience accelerated aging and tissue loss in tandem with early trauma. The subcortical regions of trauma survivors appeared uniquely vulnerable to the aging process.</p>
<p>The researchers suspect this difference occurs because the prefrontal cortex and subcortical regions mature at entirely different times. Deep brain structures develop early in childhood, while the prefrontal cortex continues developing into a person’s twenties. This timing difference might explain why stress relates to the two brain areas in different ways over a lifespan.</p>
<p>Because subcortical regions finish developing so early, they might be subjected to the lifelong wear and tear of a hyperactive stress response system. Prolonged exposure to extreme stress can relate to a heavy biological burden. Over decades, this burden is theorized to coincide with deeper brain structures shrinking faster than usual.</p>
<p>The cognitive tests mirrored the concerning trends seen in the subcortical brain regions. The researchers found a clear interaction between childhood trauma, age, and executive functioning. A history of trauma appeared alongside an amplified mental decline associated with getting older.</p>
<p>For individuals who reported low levels of childhood trauma, age had very little relationship with their cognitive test scores. Their ability to hold numbers in their memory and control their impulses remained relatively stable across the age range studied. Normal aging in midlife did not seem to correspond with impaired daily mental skills.</p>
<p>In contrast, older adults in the high-trauma group performed worse on the cognitive tests than younger adults in the same group. This suggests that the mental skills required for daily life decline more rapidly with age when a person has a history of severe early adversity. The aging process seems to correspond with a heavier toll on their cognitive reserves.</p>
<p>The authors suspect that chronic stress might correlate with impaired daily brain function. Even if structural brain loss stabilizes in the prefrontal cortex, the prolonged toxic environment of stress hormones could still relate to degraded cognitive abilities over time. The brain might simply struggle to recruit the necessary resources to complete complex mental tasks.</p>
<p>While this research offers new insights into brain health, the authors noted a few limitations regarding their methods. Because the study only examined people at a single point in time, it cannot definitively prove that trauma caused these exact changes over the course of a person’s life. The data only shows an association between the variables.</p>
<p>Additionally, the researchers could not determine exactly when the childhood trauma occurred for each participant. Different developmental stages, like early childhood versus late adolescence, might relate differently to intense stress. A person’s brain might respond to neglect at age three very differently than it responds to abuse at age fifteen.</p>
<p>Future research will need to track the same individuals over many years to see exactly how their brains shrink or stabilize. Tracking patients over time would help clarify whether different types of trauma precede different aging patterns. Scientists still need to separate the associations of specific traumas, like physical abuse versus emotional neglect.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the researchers hope these insights might lead to earlier screening for cognitive decline in trauma survivors. Addressing psychological health proactively might help protect the aging brain from the long-term echoes of childhood trauma. Identifying at-risk individuals early could open the door for interventions that preserve mental acuity well into old age.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2025.11.004" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Childhood maltreatment alters associations between age and neurocognitive health metrics in community-dwelling adults</a>,” was authored by Anna D. Stumps, Nadia Bounoua, and Naomi Sadeh.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/cultural-tightness-reduces-a-persons-ability-to-be-funny/" 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;">Cultural tightness reduces a person’s ability to be funny</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Feb 27th 2026, 14:00</div>
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<p><p>A recent study published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001607" target="_blank">American Psychologist</a></em> provides evidence that people from cultures with strict social norms tend to be less skilled at coming up with funny material compared to those from more relaxed cultures. These findings suggest that the ability to generate humor is not just an inborn personality trait, but a skill heavily shaped by the social rules of the environment in which a person lives. Understanding this dynamic can help people communicate more effectively and avoid misunderstandings in diverse, multicultural settings.</p>
<p>Humor is a universal human behavior that brings people together, but what is considered funny in one part of the world might lead to awkward silence or even legal trouble in another. For example, comedians in certain nations have faced severe backlash for making jokes about sensitive topics like the military. Scientists wanted to understand why these cultural differences in humor exist and what specific factors drive them.</p>
<p>The researchers focused on a concept called cultural tightness. Cultural tightness refers to how strictly a society enforces its social norms and rules, along with how harshly it punishes those who break them. They suspected that because making a joke usually involves breaking a rule or violating an expectation, strict societies might discourage people from developing their comedic skills.</p>
<p>“Our interest in this topic stems from a long-standing curiosity about humor in Chinese culture. Previous research has shown that, compared to people in Western countries like the United States or Canada, Chinese individuals tend to produce less humor,” explained study authors Yi Cao, a postdoctoral researcher at Peking University and Cornell University, and <a href="https://www.queensu.ca/psychology/people/li-jun-ji" target="_blank">Li-Jun Ji</a>, a professor at Queen’s University.</p>
<p>“This raised a simple yet important question: why? Earlier studies have offered broad cultural explanations?for example, the influence of Confucian values. While this makes sense, it left us wondering: what exactly within Confucianism contributes to this lower humor production? And more importantly, how could we test these ideas empirically?”</p>
<p>“Since humor is deeply shaped by social norms and expectations, we decided to investigate this through the framework of cultural tightness and looseness, which provides a clearer, more concrete way to understand cross-cultural differences in humor expression.”</p>
<p>To test this idea, they separated the concept of a sense of humor into two distinct parts. The first part is humor <em>appreciation</em>, which means finding things funny or laughing at a joke. The second part is humor <em>production</em>, which involves actively creating original jokes, writing funny captions, or using comedy in social interactions.</p>
<p>The scientists hypothesized that cultural tightness would primarily restrict humor production because creating a joke carries a higher social risk than simply laughing at one. To investigate this, the researchers conducted six separate studies. In the first study, they recruited 279 participants, consisting of 136 people from China, representing a tight culture, and 143 people from the United States, representing a loose culture.</p>
<p>The participants filled out a questionnaire that asked them to rate their own abilities in both appreciating and producing humor. The scientists found that Chinese participants rated themselves lower in humor production compared to the American participants. The two groups did not show a significant difference in their ability to appreciate humor.</p>
<p>The second study aimed to measure actual comedic ability rather than relying on self-reports. The researchers gathered 278 university students, including 150 from China and 128 from the United States. They asked the participants to look at two photographs and write the funniest captions they could think of.</p>
<p>Native speakers from each respective country then rated these captions on a scale from one to seven based on how funny they were. The results showed that the Chinese students generated captions that were rated as less funny than those written by the American students.</p>
<p>For the third study, the researchers expanded their scope to see if this pattern held true across a wider variety of nations. They recruited a total of 441 participants from three tight cultures, specifically China, India, and Norway, as well as two loose cultures, the United States and Australia. The participants completed the same photo caption task from the second study and also rated the funniness of eight pre-selected jokes.</p>
<p>The researchers found that participants from the tight cultures produced less funny captions than those from the loose cultures. While people from tight cultures also appreciated the pre-selected jokes slightly less, this difference was very weak compared to the gap in humor production.</p>
<p>“We were surprised by some of the nuances in our findings,” Cao and Ji told PsyPost. “What stood out to us was that cultural tightness strongly influenced humor production, but had little to no effect on humor appreciation across different countries. In other words, people living in tighter cultures don’t lack a sense of humor: they simply tend to be more reserved in expressing it because of social expectations and norms.”</p>
<p>In the fourth study, the scientists wanted to make sure that the differences they observed were actually due to cultural tightness and not another common cultural concept called collectivism. Collectivism refers to cultures that prioritize group harmony over individual needs. They recruited 199 participants, with 100 from Germany, a tight but individual-focused culture, and 99 from Brazil, a loose but group-focused culture.</p>
<p>After having the participants complete the photo caption task, the researchers found that the German participants produced less funny humor than the Brazilian participants. A combined statistical analysis of the previous studies confirmed that cultural tightness negatively predicts humor production. This analysis also showed that collectivism had no relationship with a person’s ability to produce humor.</p>
<p>Finally, the researchers conducted two experiments to see if they could cause a temporary change in humor production by altering people’s immediate mindset. They recruited 233 Chinese students for one experiment and 246 American students for the other. The participants read a story about a fictional future society that either had very strict social rules or very relaxed social rules, which served to prime their thinking.</p>
<p>Afterward, the participants were asked to complete three different joke scenarios in a funny way. The scientists found that participants who read about the strict society produced less funny joke completions than those who read about the relaxed society, regardless of whether they were from China or the United States.</p>
<p>“Cultural norms play a significant role in shaping how people express humor,” the researchers explained. “If someone seems less playful or doesn’t respond humorously, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are cold or disengaged. Instead, it might simply reflect their cultural expectations about when and where humor is appropriate. This insight is especially important in cross-cultural communication, where humor differences are often misunderstood or misinterpreted.”</p>
<p>While these findings provide consistent evidence, the researchers noted a few potential limitations to their work. One issue is that the ages and genders of the participants were not perfectly balanced across the different cultural groups. Although the scientists adjusted their statistical models to account for these differences, seeking out more balanced groups in future studies would help verify the results.</p>
<p>Another limitation relates to the method used to prime participants in the final experiments. Reading a story about a fictional society might simply bring the concept of strictness to mind rather than truly changing a person’s immediate behavior. The scientists suggest that future research could place participants in naturally strict environments, like a formal business meeting, to see how real-world settings impact joke creation.</p>
<p>They also recommend looking at other forms of comedy, such as retelling existing jokes rather than inventing new ones. It is possible that retelling a familiar joke carries less social risk and might not be as affected by strict cultural norms. </p>
<p>“Tightness and looseness do not only vary across cultures; they can vary across everyday social or organizational contexts,” Cao and Ji said. “In looser environments, where norms are more flexible, people may feel freer to express humor, even within generally tighter cultures. We are currently investigating this dynamic in ongoing research.”</p>
<p>“At the same time, we continue to explore broader questions about culture and humor. In two recent papers published in <em>Journal of Positive Psychology</em> and <em>Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin</em>, we found that Chinese humor often takes a ‘seriocomic’ form, where humor and seriousness coexist rather than oppose each other. Chinese individuals tend to prefer leaders who can flexibly switch between serious and humorous styles and frequently use humor to convey serious messages. This distinct cultural understanding of humor may help explain why Chinese-produced humor is sometimes perceived as less funny by Western audiences.”</p>
<p>“Moving forward, we aim to deepen our understanding of how these cultural conceptions of humor shape psychological processes and behavior, and how they contribute to broader differences between Eastern and Western cultures,” Cao and Ji added.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001607" target="_blank">Cultural Tightness Reduces Humor Production: Evidence From Multiple Countries</a>,” was authored by Yi Cao, Yubo Hou, Yijiang Wang, and Li-Jun Ji.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-study-suggests-binge-watching-and-marathon-reading-may-have-hidden-psychological-benefits/" 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 study suggests binge-watching and marathon reading may have hidden psychological benefits</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Feb 27th 2026, 12:00</div>
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<p><p>Two studies found that TV shows watched consecutively for longer durations or books read in long reading bouts were more memorable and more likely to be targets of retrospective imaginative involvement. In other words, when people engage in binge-watching a TV show or marathon reading a book, they are more likely to think about the stories of these shows and books afterward, relive them in their imagination, expand them, or imagine alternative story developments. The paper was published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105101"><em>Acta Psychologica</em></a>.</p>
<p>People love stories. Stories are important because they organize experience into coherent, meaningful patterns, helping individuals understand events, motives of other people, and consequences of actions. They allow people to simulate social situations safely. This strengthens empathy, moral reasoning, and perspective taking.</p>
<p>When stories are fictional, such as those typically found in TV shows or books, they provide immersive emotional experiences without real-world risk, allowing people to feel fear, love, triumph, and loss safely. They offer narrative structure that makes sense of chaos, satisfying the deep cognitive preference humans have for meaning, coherence, and resolution. They also create parasocial bonds with characters, giving individuals companionship and social simulation that feels psychologically real.</p>
<p>Sometimes, people revisit completed stories in their minds, actively playing with their content, modifying them, continuing to elaborate them, or imagining alternatives for how the story could have progressed. This is referred to as retrospective imaginative involvement. Retrospective imaginative involvement goes beyond simple recall, as it involves actively expanding the fictional world in the mind. </p>
<p>People may reconstruct emotional moments and intensify them by adding imagined dialogue or unseen scenes. It appears when someone thinks about “what should have happened” or how events could have unfolded differently. This process can strengthen emotional attachment to characters because the story remains psychologically active after it has ended.</p>
<p>Study author Joshua Baldwin and his colleagues wanted to examine the characteristics of stories that are highly memorable and of those that are not so memorable. They were particularly interested in how this is related to engagement and retrospective imaginative involvement with those stories. More specifically, these authors wanted to explore the relationship between retrospective imaginative involvement and binge-watching of TV shows and marathon reading of books (or what they referred to as consecutive narrative consumption). They conducted two studies.</p>
<p>Participants of the first study were 303 undergraduate students recruited online from two universities in the U.S. Midwest. Participants’ average age was 20 years. In this study, participants were asked to name three memorable stories that they experienced as TV shows, books, or movies, as well as three unmemorable ones.</p>
<p>Study authors chose one of the highly memorable stories (the first listed) and one unmemorable (the second listed unmemorable story) and asked participants questions about them. Participants also completed assessments of their viewing motivation, tendency to binge watch (using the Binge-Watching Engagement and Symptoms Questionnaire), story enjoyment and appreciation, perceived stress (the Perceived Stress Questionnaire), leisure time use (the Nottingham Leisure Questionnaire), and retrospective imaginative involvement (the RII scale).</p>
<p>Participants of the second study were 237 undergraduate students. The study procedure was mostly identical to that of the first study, with study authors fixing some errors that they noticed in the Study 1 procedure.</p>
<p>Results showed that books and TV shows that were consumed consecutively for longer durations (i.e., TV shows that participants binge-watched and books with which participants engaged in marathon reading) tended to be more memorable and more likely to be targets of retrospective imaginative involvement.</p>
<p>Participants who have a tendency to binge-watch and who use stories as a way of escaping from their daily reality were more likely to experience retrospective imaginative involvement with stories. However, the researchers found that “boundary expansion”—watching stories to experience new things and grow beyond one’s everyday self—was an even stronger predictor of imagination than pure escapism. </p>
<p>Furthermore, how a viewer felt about a story changed how they imagined it later. Stories that were simply “enjoyed” (fun stories with happy endings) generally led to people mentally replaying the exact events. In contrast, stories that were deeply “appreciated” (meaningful, emotionally complex, or challenging narratives) triggered more dynamic imagination, inspiring people to invent backstories or imagine alternative plotlines to help process the story’s deeper meaning.</p>
<p>Also, having more leisure time increased retrospective imaginative involvement, while high stress decreased it (though the stress-reduction link was only statistically significant in the first study). In other words, people imagined alternate and extended story plot developments more when they had free time, and less often when they were under high mental stress, likely because stress depletes the cognitive resources needed for daydreaming.</p>
<p>“Overall, this study highlights how one’s memory of a story (and the factors that shape memorability) impacts imagination and fantasy. Results suggest that the formation of robust mental models about narratives could be facilitated through binge-watching which might help people recover from daily stressors through retrospective imagination,” study authors concluded.</p>
<p>The study contributes to the scientific understanding of the factors that make stories memorable. However, it should be noted that participants of both studies were solely undergraduate university students. Results on other demographic groups might differ.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105101">Watching one more episode and reading one more chapter: What entertainment contexts lead to retrospective imaginative involvement?</a>,” was authored by Joshua Baldwin, Ezgi Ulusoy, Morgan Durfee, Rick Busselle, and David R. Ewoldsen.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/superager-brains-excel-at-something-scientists-once-thought-was-impossible/" 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;">Superager brains excel at something scientists once thought was impossible</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Feb 27th 2026, 10:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10169-4" target="_blank">Nature</a></em> reveals that the adult human brain continues to produce new neurons throughout life, a process that is highly active in older individuals with exceptional memories but severely limited in those with Alzheimer’s disease. The research suggests that preserving this neuron-generating capacity could be a key to protecting cognitive function in old age.</p>
<p>The human brain relies on billions of cells called neurons to process information, store memories, and coordinate movements. In certain animals like mice, researchers have repeatedly observed the birth of new neurons in the adult brain. This regenerative process is called neurogenesis.</p>
<p>For years, researchers debated whether adult humans also experience neurogenesis. Past studies produced mixed results, leading to questions about whether the human brain simply stops generating new neurons after childhood. The exact biological mechanisms controlling this cellular birth in humans remained unclear.</p>
<p>Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago, Northwestern University, and the University of Washington set out to answer these lingering questions. The research team was led by Ahmed Disouky, a scientist investigating how the brain maintains its health over time. Disouky and his colleagues wanted to understand the biological differences between brains that age well and brains that succumb to dementia.</p>
<p>A major focus of the research involved a unique group of older adults known as superagers. These individuals are eighty years of age or older, but they possess the memory capacity of people thirty years younger. The team suspected that studying these remarkable individuals could reveal biological secrets to healthy aging.</p>
<p>“What’s exciting for the public is that this study shows the aging brain is not fixed or doomed to decline,” said Ahmed Disouky, the first author of the study. “Understanding how some people naturally maintain neurogenesis opens the door to strategies that could help more adults preserve memory and cognitive health as they age.”</p>
<p>To understand the biological roots of memory, the researchers focused on a specific region of the brain called the hippocampus. The hippocampus acts as a central hub for learning and memory formation. Diseases that erode memory, such as Alzheimer’s disease, typically attack this region early on.</p>
<p>The researchers also wanted to explore the concept of epigenetics, which involves changes in how DNA is packaged and read by the cell. Inside the nucleus of a cell, DNA is wrapped tightly in a structure called chromatin. When chromatin is open and accessible, specific genes can be turned on, allowing the cell to perform new functions or mature into a different type of cell.</p>
<p>“Modern medicine has revolutionized health care such that life expectancy is greater now than ever before,” said co-lead author Jalees Rehman, the Benjamin J. Goldberg Professor and head of the department of biochemistry and molecular genetics at UIC. “We need to ensure that this overall increased life expectancy goes along with a high quality of life, including cognitive health.”</p>
<p>To achieve this goal, the team needed a comprehensive view of how chromatin accessibility and gene expression affect the hippocampus. They gathered post-mortem brain tissue from five distinct groups of human donors. These groups included healthy young adults, healthy older adults, superagers, individuals with early signs of cognitive decline, and people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.</p>
<p>The researchers analyzed the donated brain tissue using advanced single-cell sequencing techniques. This technology allows scientists to examine the genetic material inside individual cells one at a time. By looking at hundreds of thousands of individual cells, the team could identify rare cell types that might otherwise be lost in a larger sample.</p>
<p>To map out the biology of these tissues, the team used two distinct measurements for each individual cell. First, they looked at which specific genes were actively producing instructions, a process known as gene expression. Second, they measured the physical shape of the DNA to see which regions were unwound and available for use.</p>
<p>This dual approach allowed the scientists to see both the current activity of the cell and its future potential. If a gene is switched off but the DNA remains open, the cell retains the capacity to reactivate that gene later. If the DNA is tightly coiled and closed, that biological capacity is lost entirely.</p>
<p>The team specifically searched for cells at three different stages of development. The first stage involved neural stem cells, which act as blank slates that can develop into mature brain cells. The second stage involved neuroblasts, which are adolescent cells that have begun the transition into neurons.</p>
<p>The third stage consisted of immature neurons that are just on the verge of becoming fully functional. Finding cells in these three stages would prove that the brain is actively building new circuitry.</p>
<p>“Think of the stages of adult neurogenesis like a baby, a toddler and a teenager,” said Orly Lazarov, a professor in UIC’s College of Medicine and director of the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia Training Program. “All are signs that these hippocampi are growing new neurons.”</p>
<p>In previous years, some scientists struggled to tell the difference between developing neurons and other types of brain cells. Young neurons can look remarkably similar to support cells that produce brain insulation. By mapping the exact genetic profile of hundreds of thousands of cells, the research team finally separated these cellular identities.</p>
<p>The results confirmed that the adult human brain does indeed produce new neurons. The researchers detected neural stem cells, neuroblasts, and immature neurons in all five groups of donors. However, the abundance and health of these developing cells varied wildly depending on the cognitive status of the individual.</p>
<p>In the brains of superagers, the neurogenic process was highly active. These individuals produced a massive number of immature neurons and neuroblasts compared to typical older adults. The researchers described this unique cellular profile as a signature of resilience against cognitive decline.</p>
<p>“Superagers had twice the neurogenesis of the other healthy older adults,” Lazarov said. “Something in their brains enables them to maintain a superior memory. I believe hippocampal neurogenesis is the secret ingredient, and the data support that.”</p>
<p>The situation looked vastly different in the brains of individuals suffering from cognitive decline. People with early stage memory issues showed a sharp drop in the production of new neurons. Those diagnosed with advanced Alzheimer’s disease generated almost no new neurons at all.</p>
<p>By looking at the molecular data, the researchers pinpointed exactly where the neurogenic process was breaking down. They found that the problem was largely rooted in the packaging of the DNA. In the Alzheimer’s disease group, the chromatin had become less accessible, effectively shutting down the genes required for a stem cell to mature into a working neuron.</p>
<p>These changes in chromatin accessibility happened very early in the disease process. The researchers noted that individuals with mild cognitive impairment showed restricted chromatin access even before their gene expression levels dropped. This suggests that the way DNA is folded might serve as an early warning sign of impending memory loss.</p>
<p>Inside the cells, proteins known as transcription factors act as master switches to control this entire system. They bind to the accessible chromatin and turn whole networks of genes on or off. The research revealed that superagers rely on a completely different set of transcription factors compared to people experiencing typical brain aging.</p>
<p>Because the superagers maintained accessible chromatin in specific areas, their brain cells could continue to form new connections. This ability to adapt and build new wiring is essential for forming new memories. The researchers observed that this biological resilience allowed superager brains to function like those of much younger individuals.</p>
<p>The researchers noticed that specific biological pathways remained highly active in superagers. For example, the genetic instructions for building cellular power plants, called mitochondria, continued to operate normally. This allowed the cells to generate the energy required for establishing new neural pathways.</p>
<p>The scientists also mapped out the chemical conversations happening between different types of brain cells. They looked closely at star-shaped support cells called astrocytes, which provide nutrients to neurons and help maintain a stable environment in the brain. In healthy aging, astrocytes and neurons engaged in a continuous biochemical dialogue to maintain the strength of their connections.</p>
<p>In brains affected by dementia, this chemical dialogue grew quiet, leaving the surviving neurons vulnerable to damage. The failure of these cellular support systems likely contributed to the decline of neurogenesis in the diseased brains.</p>
<p>“This is a big step forward in understanding how the human brain processes cognition, forms memories and ages. Determining why some brains age more healthily than others can help researchers make therapeutics for healthy aging, cognitive resilience and the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia,” said Lazarov.</p>
<p>While the results provide a detailed map of human neurogenesis, the researchers acknowledged several limitations in their approach. The study relied on a relatively small number of brain samples. Human brain tissue is notoriously variable, and small sample sizes make it difficult to draw absolute conclusions across the entire population.</p>
<p>The researchers also pointed out that their results were not statistically significant in every single measurement comparing superagers to healthy adults. Some comparisons lacked statistical power due to the inherent variability from one tissue sample to the next. The team noted that future studies with much larger groups of donors will be necessary to confirm the exact rates of cellular birth.</p>
<p>Another limitation involves the use of post-mortem tissue. Analyzing brain tissue after death only provides a single snapshot in time. It is impossible to watch the actual progression of a single stem cell maturing into a functional neuron in a living human brain.</p>
<p>Despite these challenges, the study lays a strong foundation for future exploration. The research team plans to investigate how lifestyle choices influence the epigenetic signatures identified in this study. They hope to learn how external pressures can alter the chromatin in the hippocampus.</p>
<p>Next, this team will examine environmental and lifestyle factors like diet, exercise and inflammation that may work alongside neurogenesis to impact aging. By understanding these external influences, scientists might eventually design therapies that keep chromatin open and neurogenesis active. This approach could offer a new way to delay or prevent the onset of dementia in older adults.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10169-4" target="_blank">Human hippocampal neurogenesis in adulthood, ageing and Alzheimer’s disease</a>,” was authored by Ahmed Disouky, Mark A. Sanborn, K. R. Sabitha, Mostafa M. Mostafa, Ivan Alejandro Ayala, David A. Bennett, Yisha Lu, Yi Zhou, C. Dirk Keene, Sandra Weintraub, Tamar Gefen, M.-Marsel Mesulam, Changiz Geula, Mark Maienschein-Cline, Jalees Rehman & Orly Lazarov.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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