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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-reveal-a-key-trigger-behind-narcissists-passive-aggressive-behavior/" 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 reveal a key trigger behind narcissists’ passive-aggressive behavior</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Mar 16th 2026, 10:00</div>
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<p><p>When people with high levels of narcissism feel ignored or excluded by others, they are more likely to lash out using specific types of passive-aggressive behavior. A recent study published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2025.2605347" target="_blank">Journal of Psychology</a></em> reveals that these individuals tend to retaliate against social exclusion by indirectly provoking criticism of their peers. These results shed light on how covert hostility operates in everyday social and professional relationships.</p>
<p>Psychologists define narcissism as a personality trait characterized by an intense focus on oneself, a belief in personal superiority, and a constant desire for validation. It exists on a spectrum, meaning most people possess some level of narcissistic traits rather than simply being categorized as a narcissist or not. Researchers generally divide the trait into two main subtypes. Grandiose narcissism involves high self-esteem, an exaggerated self-image, and a dominant attitude toward others.</p>
<p>Vulnerable narcissism features a fragile self-concept, struggles with emotional regulation, and hypersensitivity to criticism. Both subtypes share a foundation of arrogance and self-centeredness. People with elevated levels of either type frequently antagonize others and act aggressively. Provocations, such as being humiliated or evaluated negatively, often trigger these aggressive responses.</p>
<p>Social exclusion, or ostracism, is a particularly common type of provocation. Ostracism occurs when a person is ignored or left out by a group, often through subtle actions like unanswered messages or the silent treatment. Because humans evolved to rely on group membership for survival, detecting social exclusion causes immediate psychological distress.</p>
<p>When people perceive they are being ostracized, they experience an immediate threat to basic psychological needs like belonging and self-esteem. According to a concept known as the threatened egotism model, narcissists possess a highly fragile sense of self-worth. When they perceive signs of social exclusion, they interpret these subtle cues as a severe threat to their ego. People typically respond by trying to restore their sense of belonging or by retaliating to regain a sense of control.</p>
<p>Past experiments have shown that individuals with high levels of narcissism will act aggressively toward people who reject them. Much of this past work relied on laboratory settings where participants were explicitly told they were rejected. These controlled scenarios do not always reflect the subtle ways people experience social rejection in their daily lives. Direct aggression, like shouting or physical violence, is generally socially unacceptable and carries severe consequences.</p>
<p>To avoid these consequences, people often rely on indirect hostility, also known as passive-aggressive behavior. Passive aggression involves expressing negative feelings covertly, such as by sabotaging a coworker’s project or subtly manipulating a conversation to humiliate someone. This can manifest as what past researchers have called “sulky passive aggressive behavior” to express hostility without direct confrontation. The hidden nature of these acts makes them difficult to prove or address directly.</p>
<p>Daniel Waldeck, a psychology researcher at Coventry University in the United Kingdom, and his colleagues wanted to understand how everyday social slights influence this veiled hostility. The research team aimed to investigate whether a person’s general perception of being ostracized outside of a laboratory setting would predict their passive-aggressive actions. They specifically focused on how this dynamic plays out for people harboring high levels of narcissistic traits.</p>
<p>To explore these behavioral patterns, the research team recruited 219 adult participants through social media platforms and data collection websites. The volunteers ranged in age from 18 to 64 years old. Each participant completed an online survey consisting of several standardized psychological questionnaires. The researchers asked participants to rate statements designed to measure their levels of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism.</p>
<p>The survey also assessed how frequently participants felt ostracized in their daily lives over the previous six months. The researchers modified a standard workplace questionnaire to capture general feelings of being ignored or excluded in any social context. Finally, the participants answered questions about their tendencies to engage in three distinct types of passive aggression. These three types were inducing criticism, sabotaging others, and ostracizing others.</p>
<p>Inducing criticism involves actions like sharing embarrassing secrets to humiliate someone in public. Sabotaging refers to pretending to help someone while secretly undermining their efforts. Ostracizing simply means giving someone the silent treatment or intentionally leaving them out. The research team then used statistical models to look for relationships between the participants’ personality traits, their feelings of being excluded, and their reported behaviors.</p>
<p>The data revealed that having higher levels of overall narcissism predicted a greater likelihood of engaging in two specific passive-aggressive behaviors. People scoring higher in narcissism were more likely to report inducing criticism and sabotaging others. Feeling a high degree of everyday social exclusion also predicted these same two behaviors. Neither narcissism nor perceived ostracism predicted a tendency to ostracize other people.</p>
<p>When the researchers looked at how these factors interacted, they noticed a distinct pattern related to inducing criticism. For participants who reported feeling highly ostracized, the link between narcissism and inducing criticism grew much stronger. Essentially, feeling ignored seemed to amplify the urge to indirectly humiliate others for people with narcissistic traits. This amplification effect did not occur for sabotaging or ostracizing behaviors.</p>
<p>The research team then separated the data into the two subtypes of narcissism to see if the pattern held true for both. They found that the amplified urge to induce criticism was driven entirely by grandiose narcissism. People with high levels of grandiose narcissism were much more likely to indirectly attack others when they felt socially excluded. In contrast, vulnerable narcissism did not show this interaction with perceived ostracism.</p>
<p>The researchers note that this difference might come down to how each subtype processes a threat to their ego. For individuals with grandiose narcissism, simply feeling ignored might be enough of a provocation to trigger a retaliatory, passive-aggressive response. By contrast, vulnerable narcissists might require a much more intense or direct provocation to react aggressively. A direct insult or an explicit social rejection might be necessary to push a vulnerable narcissist into lashing out.</p>
<p>The researchers suspect that grandiose narcissists use this specific form of passive aggression to protect their inflated self-image. When they feel ignored, their perception of being dominant and likable is threatened. By subtly pointing out the flaws of others, they can assert superiority and repair their ego. Because this tactic is indirect, it allows them to maintain a facade of social harmony and avoid further exclusion.</p>
<p>Sabotaging and ostracizing, on the other hand, require more effort and carry a higher risk of being discovered. Planning to undermine a coworker or deliberately excluding a peer clearly violates social norms. If a narcissist is caught engaging in these behaviors, they risk facing direct punishment or deeper isolation from their social network. The researchers suggest that inducing criticism provides a safer, more immediate way to retaliate.</p>
<p>The study relies entirely on self-reported survey data, which introduces a few limitations. People are often hesitant to admit to engaging in socially undesirable actions like sabotage or manipulation. This reluctance might lead to underreporting, making it harder to capture the full extent of passive-aggressive behaviors. People might also act passive-aggressively without consciously realizing it, which a self-reported survey cannot easily capture.</p>
<p>The cross-sectional design of the study also means the researchers cannot definitively prove cause and effect. While feeling ostracized might cause a narcissistic person to lash out, the reverse is equally plausible. A person who frequently humiliates or sabotages their peers will likely be avoided by others as a result. The researchers suggest that this cycle of bad behavior and subsequent social exclusion likely feeds into itself over time.</p>
<p>Understanding these behavioral patterns has practical applications for both workplace management and psychological therapy. In professional environments, promoting inclusive practices could reduce the instances of employees feeling ostracized, which might in turn prevent episodes of covert bullying. Therapists working with highly narcissistic clients could focus on developing healthier ways to cope with feelings of social exclusion. In addition, these insights could aid rehabilitation programs for formerly incarcerated individuals, who often face heavy social stigma and exclusion upon release.</p>
<p>Future research should use long-term studies to track how these behaviors and feelings of exclusion influence each other over time. The team also recommends incorporating observational methods or interviews with peers to get a more accurate picture of a person’s actions. Gathering data from coworkers or romantic partners could bypass the biases associated with self-reporting. Exploring other dimensions of narcissism could also yield new insights into how covert aggression harms everyday relationships.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2025.2605347" target="_blank">Narcissism and Passive-Aggression: Testing the Moderating Effect of Perceived Ostracism</a>,” was authored by Daniel Waldeck, Christiane M. Büttner, Rachael Leggett, Katie Brooker, Chris Smyth, Ravi Dave, and Ian Tyndall.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-psychology-study-reveals-we-consistently-underestimate-our-power-in-close-relationships/" 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 study reveals we consistently underestimate our power in close relationships</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Mar 16th 2026, 08:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in the <em>Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin</em> suggests that people consistently underestimate how much influence they have over their romantic partners and friends. This misperception tends to be stronger in individuals who are highly focused on protecting themselves or maintaining control, which provides evidence that personal insecurities shape how we view our close relationships. By recognizing this hidden influence, individuals might find healthier ways to communicate and resolve conflicts with their loved ones.</p>
<p>In psychological research, power is defined as the perceived ability to steer mutual decisions and get personal needs met, rather than simply dominating another person. Previous research indicates that people who feel powerless often hide their true needs, experience lower overall well-being, and sometimes act aggressively to regain a sense of control.</p>
<p>It was previously unclear if these negative outcomes happen because people actually lack influence or because they mistakenly believe they are powerless. The researchers wanted to test the idea that individuals might systematically underestimate their power to avoid making costly social mistakes. This concept is based on error management theory, which proposes that human brains evolved to make safer errors rather than dangerous ones.</p>
<p>According to this theory, overestimating one’s power could lead to selfish behavior and eventual relationship breakdown, making it a highly damaging social mistake. Underestimating power encourages cooperation and consistent relationship maintenance, which is a much safer evolutionary strategy. The scientists wanted to see if this protective bias actually exists in modern friendships and romantic partnerships.</p>
<p>“We wondered whether people can accurately assess their level of power in their close relationships. In relationship contexts, power refers to the ability to influence one’s partner to get one’s needs, wishes, and goals fulfilled. However, only the partner can report how influenced they actually feel. Therefore, we used advanced data analyses to examine whether people can accurately judge how much power they have over their partner,” said study author Robert Körner of the Department of Psychology at the University of Bamberg.</p>
<p>The scientists analyzed data from four distinct samples containing a total of 1,304 dyads, which are paired sets of two people. The samples included 305 friendship pairs in Germany, 87 same-gender romantic couples in Germany, 481 man and woman couples in Germany, and 431 man and woman couples in New Zealand. All participants were adults, and the couples had been in their respective relationships for varying lengths of time, ranging from one month to several decades.</p>
<p>Participants completed detailed surveys completely independently from their partners or friends. They rated their own perceived ability to influence their partner’s opinions and decisions, which served as a measure of their perceived power. At the exact same time, their partners reported how much they were actually influenced by the participant, serving as a baseline metric for actual power in the relationship.</p>
<p>The researchers compared the participants’ self-reported power against their partners’ reports using a statistical approach called a truth and bias model. This mathematical method allowed the scientists to see if people were accurately tracking their relative influence while still systematically misjudging their absolute level of power. It also measured assumed similarity, which is the tendency for people to believe their partner has the exact same amount of power as they do.</p>
<p>The data revealed that across all four samples, people consistently underestimated their power. Even though participants could accurately tell if they had more or less power compared to other people in the study, their overall estimation of their own influence was objectively lower than what their partners actually reported. Participants also displayed high assumed similarity, meaning they naturally assumed that influence was equally shared even when it was not.</p>
<p>In heterosexual couples, men underestimated their power significantly more than women did. Men also underestimated their influence in romantic relationships to a much higher degree than they did in platonic friendships. The scientists suggest this gender difference might happen because traditional social expectations place intense pressure on men to hold and demonstrate continuous authority.</p>
<p>This societal pressure could make men highly sensitive to any perceived lack of control when depending on a female partner. After establishing this general tendency to underestimate power, the researchers analyzed the survey data to see if specific psychological motives predicted the severity of this bias. They categorized the participants’ personality traits into three main categories: self-protection, power, and pro-relationship motives.</p>
<p>Self-protection motives include traits like attachment anxiety, low self-esteem, and general relationship jealousy. People with these specific traits are highly sensitive to social rejection and often worry that their emotional needs will be ignored by their partners. The data showed that individuals with higher self-protection motives underestimated their power much more severely than secure individuals did.</p>
<p>Power motives involve a strong desire for control and autonomy, often seen in traits like attachment avoidance or psychopathy. Attachment avoidance describes people who try to minimize their emotional dependence on others to avoid feeling trapped or vulnerable. Psychopathy, in this context, refers to a personality trait characterized by low empathy and a tendency to suspect others of having hostile intentions.</p>
<p>The researchers found that people with high power motives also strongly underestimated their influence. This likely occurs because power-motivated individuals view mutual dependence as a direct threat to their personal control, making them hyper-aware of any limitations on their influence. Because they expect others to be manipulative, they assume their own ability to steer the relationship is severely limited.</p>
<p>Pro-relationship motives refer to a person’s level of commitment and desire to maintain the relationship over the long term. Individuals with high commitment scores showed a much smaller underestimation bias compared to other participants in the study. Because highly committed people prioritize teamwork over personal gain, they tend to view power as a shared resource.</p>
<p>As a result of this cooperative mindset, committed individuals feel less threatened by mutual compromise and perceive their own influence much more accurately. While this study provides evidence for systematic biases in how we view relationship dynamics, there are some potential limitations to consider. The data relied entirely on self-reported questionnaires, which means participants’ responses could be influenced by their current moods or a desire to view themselves positively.</p>
<p>Additionally, the scientists only examined general feelings of relationship power rather than looking at specific domains of daily influence. It is possible that people accurately estimate their influence in specific areas like household finances but underestimate their power when it comes to emotional support or physical intimacy. The samples were also drawn exclusively from Western, individualistic countries like Germany and New Zealand.</p>
<p>In more collectivistic cultures, where social harmony is heavily prioritized over individual control, people might downplay their influence to an even greater degree. Future research should investigate how these perceptions operate in different cultural contexts and within professional work settings. Workplaces feature strict hierarchies that might completely alter how people estimate their influence over colleagues and supervisors.</p>
<p>Replicating these psychological findings in larger samples of same-gender couples would also help confirm that these patterns apply universally across all types of romantic partnerships. Helping people recognize that they have more influence than they think could significantly reduce destructive relationship behaviors in the future. By understanding their true capacity to affect their partners, individuals might replace manipulation and emotional withdrawal with open communication.</p>
<p>“People usually underestimate how much influence they have over their partners or friends,” Körner told PsyPost. “This tendency is even stronger among people who are highly motivated by power or who feel insecure in their relationships. This matters because feeling low in power is linked to several detrimental relationship outcomes, including aggression, lower relationship quality, and lower sexual satisfaction.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672251409849" target="_blank">Bias in Perceptions of Power in Close Relationships: The Role of Self-Protection, Pro-Relationship, and Power Motives</a>,” was authored by Robert Körner and Nickola C. Overall.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/psilocybin-might-not-be-the-most-psychoactive-ingredient-in-magic-mushrooms-new-research-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;">Psilocybin might not be the most psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms, new research suggests</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Mar 16th 2026, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-39483-7" target="_blank">Scientific Reports</a></em> suggests that the therapeutic effects of psychedelic mushrooms likely rely on a complex interplay of multiple chemical compounds rather than just a single active ingredient. Scientists found evidence that several minor compounds in these mushrooms work together to interact with brain receptors, potentially explaining why natural extracts often produce different effects than synthetic versions.</p>
<p>Psychedelic mushrooms, often called magic mushrooms, belong to a group of fungi that naturally produce mind-altering chemicals. These fungi have been used in spiritual ceremonies for centuries and are currently gaining mainstream medical attention. Clinical trials frequently use these substances as tools alongside psychotherapy to treat severe depression and anxiety.</p>
<p>Most modern clinical studies use a synthetic, lab-made version of psilocybin, the primary psychoactive compound in the mushrooms. When a person consumes psilocybin, their body converts it into psilocin, which interacts with the brain to alter perception and emotion. However, people who use whole mushroom extracts often report different or enhanced experiences compared to those taking synthetic psilocybin.</p>
<p>“Mental illness is increasing globally, creating significant health and economic burdens, particularly in countries like South Africa, where access to healthcare remains unequal. At the same time, psychedelics such as psilocybin are gaining attention as potential treatments for disorders like depression and anxiety,” said study author Abdul Rashid Issahaku, a researcher at the University of the Free State.</p>
<p>“However, the biological mechanisms underlying their effects (particularly those of naturally occurring psilocybin-producing mushrooms) remain poorly understood. This study was motivated by the need to address this knowledge gap by investigating the molecular mechanisms and potential ‘entourage effects’ of these mushrooms on the brain.”</p>
<p>The entourage effect describes a scenario where multiple natural compounds interact synergistically, meaning their combined effect is greater or different than the sum of their individual parts. Understanding the biological mechanisms of these natural compounds could help refine future psychiatric therapies.</p>
<p>To investigate this entourage effect, the scientists used a detailed computational framework. Instead of testing the compounds in human or animal subjects, they utilized advanced computer modeling to simulate how these chemicals behave in the body. They began by identifying fifteen different biologically active compounds known to exist in psilocybin-producing mushrooms based on existing scientific literature.</p>
<p>The researchers first evaluated these fifteen chemicals to see if they could survive the human digestive system and reach the brain. They specifically looked for compounds capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier, which is a highly selective protective shield that prevents most substances in the bloodstream from entering brain tissue. The computer models predicted that eight of the fifteen compounds could successfully absorb into the gut and cross this barrier.</p>
<p>These eight compounds included psilocin, along with lesser-known chemicals such as harmane, harmol, and specific variants of tryptamine. Next, the scientists used structural similarity databases to predict which proteins in the human brain these eight chemicals would target. The software identified forty-four specific brain proteins that these compounds would likely bind to and interact with.</p>
<p>The researchers then mapped out how these forty-four protein targets connect with one another in the brain. They found that the targets are heavily involved in the brain’s serotonin and dopamine systems. Serotonin and dopamine are chemical messengers that regulate mood, reward, and cognitive processes.</p>
<p>To see exactly how well the mushroom compounds would attach to these brain targets, the scientists performed molecular docking. This is a computer simulation that tests the physical fit between a chemical molecule and a protein receptor, much like testing different keys in a lock. The simulations showed that all eight compounds fit strongly into key neurological receptors.</p>
<p>The researchers observed that the compounds formed strong electrical connections, known as salt bridges, with a specific part of the primary serotonin receptor. This mimics the exact way natural serotonin binds to the brain, offering further evidence of their biological activity. One specific finding suggests that psilocybin might not even be the most active ingredient in the mushrooms.</p>
<p>The computational models provided evidence that a compound called 4-hydroxy-N,N,N-trimethyltryptamine might bind to serotonin receptors even more strongly than psilocin does. This specific chemical is a broken-down form of aeruginascin, another natural compound found in the fungi. </p>
<p>“One surprising finding was that psilocybin itself may not be the most biologically active compound in these mushrooms,” Issahaku told PsyPost. “Our computational modelling suggested that another indole alkaloid, 4 hydroxy-N,N,N-trimethyltryptamine (a dephosphorylated form of aeruginascin), may bind even more strongly to serotonin receptors.”</p>
<p>The scientists also ran molecular dynamics simulations for a duration of two hundred nanoseconds to test how stable these chemical connections were over time. They focused their stability tests on the main serotonin receptor associated with hallucinations and an enzyme called monoamine oxidase A (MOA). This enzyme is normally responsible for clearing away excess serotonin and dopamine in the brain. The simulations revealed that certain mushroom compounds, specifically a group known as beta-carbolines, bind exceptionally well to this cleanup enzyme.</p>
<p>By binding to the enzyme, these beta-carbolines block it from breaking down serotonin. This chemical blockade would theoretically leave more serotonin and psilocin active in the brain for a longer period. This interaction provides a clear mechanical explanation for the entourage effect. By blocking the cleanup enzymes while simultaneously stimulating serotonin receptors, the minor chemical compounds in the mushroom tend to amplify the effects of the primary psychedelic compound. ”</p>
<p>“We were also surprised by the presence of beta-carbolines, such as harmane, harmol, and harmaline, which can inhibit monoamine oxidase, the enzyme responsible for breaking down serotonin and related compounds,” Issahaku said. “This suggests that natural psilocybin-producing mushrooms may have the potential to produce stronger or longer-lasting effects than synthetic psilocin alone, possibly through an ‘entourage effect’ involving multiple bioactive compounds.”</p>
<p>While these findings offer a detailed look into the chemistry of psychedelics, the researchers note limitations to their approach. Because the study relied entirely on computer simulations and existing databases, the results only represent theoretical predictions. </p>
<p>“Because the data were derived from previously published databases and computational modelling, the results suggest potential mechanisms rather than definitive biological effects,” Issahaku said. “The concentration of these compounds can vary significantly depending on the mushroom strain, developmental stage, and environmental conditions that influence growth.”</p>
<p>“In addition, other psilocybin-producing genera, such as <em>Panaeolus</em> or <em>Gymnopilus</em>, may contain different bioactive compounds. Therefore, while the findings highlight possible “entourage effects,” further experimental studies are needed to determine their practical biological significance.”</p>
<p>The researchers also caution against interpreting the findings to suggest that whole mushrooms are inherently safer or more effective than synthetic psilocybin based on these results. Some of the targeted brain receptors are also involved in regulating blood pressure and cardiovascular function. The scientists point out that using whole mushroom extracts could carry distinct physical risks that require formal medical evaluation.</p>
<p>Future research will focus on testing these computer predictions in actual biological environments. The scientists plan to use cerebral organoids, which are miniature models of human brain tissue grown in a lab, to compare how synthetic psilocin and whole mushroom extracts alter genetic expression.</p>
<p>“Apart from assessing the mechanisms of action of psychedelics, research also needs to focus on the individual undergoing the therapy,” Issahaku said. “Different genetic profiles may be correlated with the efficacy and/or risk of psychedelic treatments. Generalizations across populations should therefore be avoided, as population-specific variation may significantly contribute to therapeutic outcomes.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-39483-7" target="_blank">Network pharmacology and molecular simulation reveal the entourage effect mechanisms of psilocybin-producing mushrooms on the brain</a>,” was authored by Zurika Murray, Angélique Lewies, Johannes Frederik Wentzel, Marietjie Schutte-Smith, Elizabeth Erasmus, Anwar Noreljaleel, Hendrik Visser, Anke Wilhelm, and Abdul Rashid Issahaku.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/feminist-beliefs-linked-to-healthier-romantic-relationship-skills-for-survivors-of-childhood-trauma/" 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;">Feminist beliefs linked to healthier romantic relationship skills for survivors of childhood trauma</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Mar 15th 2026, 16:00</div>
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<p><p>A recent study suggests that embracing feminism might help women navigate romantic conflicts, especially for those who experienced emotional neglect in their early years. The research indicates that a strong feminist identity acts as a buffer, allowing women to maintain constructive communication with their partners despite past childhood trauma. These results were recently published in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2025.2494214" target="_blank">Health Care for Women International</a></em>.</p>
<p>Childhood emotional maltreatment comes in two main forms. Emotional abuse involves active harms, such as name calling, belittling, or expressing verbal hostility. Emotional neglect is characterized by a lack of action, which happens when caregivers are detached, emotionally unavailable, or ignore a child’s basic emotional needs.</p>
<p>Both forms of early mistreatment can severely disrupt how a person learns to form bonds with others. Psychology experts often refer to these bond-building habits as attachment styles. When children do not receive consistent emotional support, they often develop insecure attachments.</p>
<p>People with insecure attachments frequently struggle to trust others or feel safe in intimate settings. When these individuals grow into adults and enter romantic partnerships, they may have a hard time resolving ordinary disagreements. They might resort to destructive habits, like yelling or submitting completely, rather than finding common ground.</p>
<p>At the same time, society often promotes the idea that feminism is at odds with heterosexual romance. A common stereotype suggests that women who identify as feminists will naturally struggle to maintain happy or stable relationships with men. Some people assume that challenging traditional gender roles leads to endless romantic friction.</p>
<p>Wenjing Guo, a researcher at the School of Education at Zhengzhou University in China, wanted to test this widespread assumption. Guo and her colleagues suspected that a feminist identity might actually offer psychological protection for women. They theorized that the supportive communities and empowering beliefs associated with feminism could help heal old attachment wounds.</p>
<p>The research team pointed out that developing a feminist identity is often a multi-stage psychological process. Initially, a person might passively accept traditional gender roles and ignore societal discrimination. Over time, a person might experience a revelation about gender inequality, eventually immersing themselves in supportive communities of like-minded women.</p>
<p>In the final stages of this development, women often integrate these empowering beliefs into their core self-concept. The researchers believed this journey could give women the confidence and interpersonal skills to handle romantic disputes more positively. They wanted to see if this feminist awakening could specifically soften the blow of childhood emotional neglect.</p>
<p>To investigate this idea, the research team recruited 328 Chinese female undergraduate students. All of the participants were between the ages of 17 and 25. Every participant in the group was currently involved in a romantic relationship.</p>
<p>The students completed a detailed online survey designed to measure their early life experiences and current relationship dynamics. The first part of the survey asked participants to recall their lives up to the age of 16. It specifically asked them to rate instances of emotional abuse or neglect perpetrated by their families.</p>
<p>Another section of the questionnaire evaluated how the women typically handled disagreements with their romantic partners. The options covered a wide range of conflict resolution styles. Some styles are considered constructive, such as compromising, which involves collaborating so both partners feel satisfied.</p>
<p>Other styles measured by the survey are considered destructive. These include dominating the argument or engaging in interactional reactivity, which simply means arguing loudly and emotionally. The survey also measured neutral strategies, like avoiding the conflict entirely or submitting to the partner’s demands.</p>
<p>Finally, the survey assessed where each participant stood in their own feminist identity development. The researchers measured this by having the women rate their agreement with various statements. This allowed the team to calculate an overall score representing each woman’s propensity toward a feminist identity.</p>
<p>The results showed a clear link between a history of childhood emotional neglect and relationship struggles in early adulthood. Specifically, women who experienced more emotional neglect growing up were less likely to use compromise during arguments. It appears that being ignored emotionally as a child makes it harder to negotiate collaboratively as an adult.</p>
<p>In contrast, the researchers did not find an association between childhood emotional abuse and a lack of compromise. The data showed that emotional abuse was not statistically significant in predicting any specific romantic coping strategy. It seems that the absence of emotional support, rather than the presence of verbal hostility, specifically hampers a person’s ability to compromise.</p>
<p>However, the data revealed a different and more optimistic pattern when looking at feminist identity. Women who scored higher in feminist identity were more likely to use compromise to resolve relationship conflicts. They were also more likely to use separation, which means taking a temporary cooling down period during a fight before returning to the issue.</p>
<p>At the same time, a high feminist identity was linked to a higher likelihood of dominating an argument. The researchers suggest this tendency to dominate might stem from a strong desire for equality in the partnership. Feminists actively challenge traditional male dominance, which can sometimes turn into a struggle for control during intense relationship conflicts.</p>
<p>The most prominent finding of the study centered on how feminism interacted with a history of childhood emotional neglect. For women with a low feminist identity, childhood emotional neglect was firmly tied to an inability to compromise. But for women with a high feminist identity, this negative connection disappeared entirely.</p>
<p>Even if these feminist women had experienced severe emotional neglect as children, they were still able to compromise effectively with their partners. This means that a strong feminist identity acts as a protective shield for relationship skills. It completely buffers a woman’s ability to collaborate from the damaging effects of early emotional neglect.</p>
<p>The authors of the paper note that feminism generally refers to “the ideology that men and women should be treated equally both in the sections of politics and morality”. By embracing this equality, women may find it easier to demand fair treatment in their private lives. These results directly challenge the old stereotype that feminism harms romantic partnerships.</p>
<p>While the data offers a fresh perspective, the researchers noted a few limitations to their work. The study relied on a cross-sectional design, meaning it looked at a single snapshot in time. Because of this setup, the researchers cannot definitively prove that the feminist identity directly causes the improvement in coping skills.</p>
<p>The authors suggest that future experiments should explore the exact psychological mechanisms behind this protective effect. They also pointed out that the study only included female participants. Current psychological surveys designed to measure feminist identity are tailored specifically for women.</p>
<p>This lack of testing tools makes it difficult to study these exact effects in men. Future research could aim to adapt these surveys to see if male feminists experience similar relationship benefits. Additionally, the study focused entirely on young adults living in middle China. Expanding the research to include different age groups and cultural backgrounds could help confirm if these patterns hold true worldwide.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2025.2494214" target="_blank">Childhood emotional maltreatment and coping with romantic relationship conflicts in women during early adulthood: The protective role of feminist identity</a>,” was authored by Wenjing Guo, Andrei D. Barbanta, and Ruiping Zhang.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/ai-generates-nude-images-that-outrank-real-photographs-in-sexual-appeal-study-finds/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">AI generates nude images that outrank real photographs in sexual appeal, study finds</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Mar 15th 2026, 14:00</div>
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<p><p>Recent research published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-025-03357-2" target="_blank">Archives of Sexual Behavior</a></em> reveals that artificial intelligence can generate erotic images of women that viewers find more aesthetically pleasing and sexually attractive than actual photographs of human beings. While people still recognize actual photographs as looking more authentic, the fabricated images reliably score higher in measures of attractiveness and overall pleasantness. These results suggest a notable shift in how digital technology might alter human perceptions of physical beauty and sexual appeal.</p>
<p>Lead researcher Ellen Zakreski, a scientist at the Czech National Institute of Mental Health and Charles University, collaborated with colleagues to investigate modern perceptions of visual sexual material. The research team pursued this inquiry because expectations surrounding erotic imagery have shifted across different generations. Images that researchers validated for psychological testing several decades ago often fail to elicit the same reactions from younger adults today.</p>
<p>Humans have created visual sexual materials for thousands of years. Early examples range from ancient cave drawings and fertility statues to vintage pornographic magazines. Today, the advent of the internet has caused an explosion in the availability and variety of digitized sexual media.</p>
<p>Viewers can now instantly access relatively realistic depictions of sexual acts as well as highly stylized, fantasy-laden content. This modern media landscape includes artificial intelligence and computer-generated imagery. These digital tools allow creators to build highly realistic, three-dimensional images of people who do not actually exist.</p>
<p>While traditional plastic surgery can alter the appearance of real humans, digital programs give creators absolute control over every physical detail. Artificial intelligence, in particular, can generate ultra-realistic images with incredibly sharp visual resolution. This technology can alter a real photograph by changing a person’s body shape, facial features, or hair color.</p>
<p>It can also fabricate entirely new people from scratch. Additionally, modern viewers frequently encounter images of real women who have undergone surgery to enlarge their lips, breasts, or hips. Other distinct categories of sexual media include lifelike silicone sex dolls and hentai.</p>
<p>Hentai is a pornographic form of Japanese comic art that features highly exaggerated physical proportions and fantasy elements. With super-realistic sexual imagery becoming widely accessible, viewers may struggle to distinguish between real photographs and digital creations. Zakreski and her colleagues wanted to understand how people respond to these different visual styles.</p>
<p>To explore these modern visual categories, the researchers conducted a nationwide online survey in the Czech Republic. They recruited 649 adults who self-identified as being sexually attracted to women. The participant pool consisted mostly of men, though a smaller group of 45 women also completed the survey.</p>
<p>During the experiment, participants viewed static images of naked female figures presented against a neutral gray background. The research team exposed the volunteers to six distinct categories of images. These categories included actual photographs of real women, computer-generated figures, figures created by artificial intelligence, real women with surgically enhanced features, silicone sex dolls, and hentai illustrations.</p>
<p>To account for different personal preferences, the researchers ensured that each of the six categories contained five distinct character types. These figures varied by hair color, ranging from blond to black. They also featured different body types, such as voluptuous, athletic, and petite.</p>
<p>The team purchased basic three-dimensional digital templates and refined them to create the computer-generated figures. They then searched for real photographs, sex doll images, and hentai illustrations that closely matched the poses and body types of those digital models. They also used an online artificial intelligence platform to generate matching figures through specific text prompts.</p>
<p>After selecting the images, the team used photo editing software to standardize the visuals. They removed distracting elements like tattoos and jewelry. They also matched the skin tones across all categories to look like the original computer-generated figures, ensuring a level of visual consistency.</p>
<p>Participants rated each image using a digital slider scale from zero to 100 for realism, sexual attraction, and aesthetic appeal. They also rated the emotional pleasantness of each image, a concept scientists call valence, using a standard five-point pictorial scale. The researchers randomized the order of the images to prevent any sequential biases.</p>
<p>This pictorial scale used simple cartoon figures to measure emotional responses. It helped participants indicate whether an image made them feel “unhappy, annoyed, dissatisfied, melancholic, desperate, or bored” or whether it made them feel “happy, pleased, satisfied, hopeful, or relaxed”. Participants selected the cartoon figure that best matched their emotional reaction.</p>
<p>When reviewing the data, the research team found that participants rated the actual photographs as the most realistic category. Artificial intelligence images took second place in terms of realism. The computer-generated figures, surgically enhanced women, sex dolls, and hentai illustrations followed in descending order of perceived realism.</p>
<p>Despite being seen as less realistic than actual photographs, the images generated by artificial intelligence ranked the highest in aesthetic appeal. Participants also rated the artificial intelligence figures as the most sexually attractive and the most emotionally pleasant. Actual photographs ranked second across these three metrics.</p>
<p>The images of women with surgically enhanced features received the lowest ratings for aesthetic appeal and overall pleasantness. Hentai illustrations and images of sex dolls also ranked low in these categories. Most participants found these less realistic categories to be somewhat unpleasant overall.</p>
<p>The study revealed distinct differences in how men and women evaluated the images. Men generally gave higher ratings across all categories for realism, attractiveness, aesthetic appeal, and pleasantness. Women found the images less appealing and less realistic overall, though their general ranking of the categories matched the pattern seen among the men.</p>
<p>Age also played a major role in how participants perceived the different categories. Older individuals tended to give higher aesthetic and sexual attractiveness ratings to the actual photographs, artificial intelligence images, and computer-generated figures. They also found these realistic categories more emotionally pleasant than younger participants did.</p>
<p>Conversely, younger participants responded much more favorably to the hentai illustrations. They rated these stylized cartoons as more aesthetically pleasing, sexually attractive, and emotionally pleasant than older participants did. The researchers suggest that younger generations have greater exposure to Japanese comic art styles in mainstream media, which might normalize the aesthetic for them.</p>
<p>The researchers note that these age-related differences highlight how early exposure to certain types of media might shape long-term visual preferences. Older adults likely grew up viewing photographs of natural women in magazines. Younger adults have grown up in an era saturated with digital manipulation and highly stylized animations.</p>
<p>The research team acknowledged several limitations in their experimental design. The participant sample included far more men than women, which makes it difficult to draw broad conclusions about female preferences. Additionally, the recruitment methods targeted individuals already registered in a sexuality research database.</p>
<p>This database included people engaged in outreach programs for atypical sexual interests, meaning the sample might not perfectly reflect the general public. Another limitation involves the physical characteristics of the images used in the survey. All the female figures featured lighter skin tones to align with the general ethnic demographics of the Czech Republic.</p>
<p>The researchers also had to rely on preexisting images for several categories. This limitation resulted in minor inconsistencies, as some figures had different facial expressions, hand placements, or hairstyles. The study also relied entirely on subjective self-reporting rather than objective physiological measurements.</p>
<p>The researchers did not track physical signs of sexual arousal, such as heart rate or blood flow. Future studies could incorporate these physiological metrics to see if the human body reacts differently to real photographs versus digital creations. The authors recommend that future investigations expand the variety of the visual stimuli.</p>
<p>They suggest creating image sets that feature diverse ethnic backgrounds and different age ranges. Expanding the research to include images of naked men would also help clarify whether these preferences for artificial intelligence imagery hold true for people attracted to males. As digital technology continues to advance, artificial intelligence will likely produce even more convincing and stylized erotic media.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-025-03357-2" target="_blank">Subjective Responses of Gynephilic Men and Women to Real versus Artificial Female Nudes</a>,” was authored by Ellen Zakreski, Alena Marečková, Ondřej Vaníček, Martin Hůla, Kateřina Klapilová, Jitka Lindová, and James G. Pfaus.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/regular-exercise-reduces-anxiety-and-depression-in-people-with-chronic-insomnia/" 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;">Regular exercise reduces anxiety and depression in people with chronic insomnia</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Mar 15th 2026, 12:00</div>
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<p><p>Regular physical activity provides evidence of being an effective way to relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression in people who struggle with chronic insomnia. A recent review of multiple independent studies suggests that exercise also improves overall sleep quality and reduces the severity of sleep disruptions. These findings were recently published in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2026.115225" target="_blank">Physiology & Behavior</a></em>.</p>
<p>Insomnia is a highly common condition where people have persistent difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. This lack of rest frequently leads to severe daytime impairments, affecting a person’s social life, occupational functioning, and overall well-being. People diagnosed with this sleep disorder often experience high levels of psychological distress.</p>
<p>This distress frequently shows up as symptoms of anxiety and depression. Medical professionals notice that insomnia, anxiety, and depression often feed into each other. Poor sleep worsens mood, and negative mood disrupts sleep, creating a cycle that is notoriously difficult to treat.</p>
<p>Some evidence suggests that improving sleep quality can lead to better mental health, and improving mental health can lead to better sleep. Scientists wanted to explore non-drug treatments that might tackle all three interconnected issues at once. Physical activity is known to benefit sleep quality and lower symptoms of poor mental health in the general population.</p>
<p>The researchers set out to determine if these mental health benefits of exercise specifically hold true for patients formally diagnosed with insomnia. They wanted to see if working out could serve as a potential alternative to sleep medications and antidepressants. </p>
<p>“Previous reviews published by us and our colleagues suggested that anxiety reduction and antidepressant effect could be possible mechanisms to explain the effects of exercise on sleep. Also, some of our other previous studies investigated the effects of exercise on anxiety and depression symptoms of patients with chronic insomnia, and we have found significant decrease in these variables. In this way, we motivated ourselves to do a meta-analysis investigating the level of evidence,” said study author <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Giselle-Passos" target="_blank">Giselle Soares Passos</a>, an associate professor at the Federal University of Jataí.</p>
<p>A meta-analysis is a statistical technique that combines the mathematical results of multiple independent studies to find overall trends. The team searched eight large academic databases for research published up to May 2022. They looked specifically for studies comparing exercise interventions against a non-exercise control group in adults over eighteen.</p>
<p>The researchers ultimately selected six randomized controlled trials and one quasi-randomized trial. A randomized controlled trial is a study design where participants are randomly assigned to either receive the treatment or be part of a control group, which helps eliminate bias. In total, these seven studies included 336 participants.</p>
<p>The exercise programs varied widely across the selected studies, featuring different modes, intensities, and durations. Participants engaged in activities like brisk walking, treadmill running, stationary cycling, resistance training, yoga, and tai chi. The workout routines ranged from a frequency of once a week up to daily sessions.</p>
<p>The duration of these exercise programs lasted anywhere from eight weeks to twenty-four weeks. In contrast, the control groups typically received standard sleep hygiene education, basic attention from researchers, or no intervention at all. To measure the results, the original studies used a variety of standardized psychological questionnaires.</p>
<p>These questionnaires included tools like the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, which ask patients to rate their psychological symptoms. The studies also used specific surveys to gauge subjective sleep quality, such as the Insomnia Severity Index. Some studies tracked objective sleep data using a technique called actigraphy.</p>
<p>Actigraphy involves participants wearing a small sensor device, similar to a smartwatch, on their wrist to monitor physical movement and rest patterns throughout the night. The researchers found that engaging in regular physical activity significantly reduced symptoms of anxiety compared to the control groups. Similarly, participants who exercised experienced a significant decrease in depressed mood.</p>
<p>The statistical analysis provides evidence that the psychological benefits of working out are consistent and measurable for people suffering from chronic sleep issues. The physical activity also improved the participants’ subjective experience of rest. The scientists noted significant reductions in scores on the specific insomnia scales, indicating that the condition became much less intense.</p>
<p>Many participants saw their scores drop to levels indicating only mild, sub-threshold insomnia. Participants also reported significant improvements in their overall sleep quality on self-rated surveys. When looking at the objective data gathered from the wrist sensors, the scientists found specific improvements in nightly rest patterns.</p>
<p>Exercise significantly decreased the amount of time participants spent awake after initially falling asleep. On average, participants who exercised spent nearly nine fewer minutes tossing and turning in the middle of the night. This reduction suggests that physical activity helps consolidate sleep, making it more continuous.</p>
<p>However, the exercise interventions did not alter every aspect of sleep architecture. The wrist sensors showed no significant improvements in the time it took participants to initially fall asleep once they got into bed. The total amount of time spent sleeping and overall sleep efficiency also remained relatively unchanged according to the objective sensors.</p>
<p>The results indicate that “practicing regular exercise can improve symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients with insomnia, in addition to reducing insomnia severity, improve sleep quality, and decrease waking after sleep onset,” Passos told PsyPost.</p>
<p>While these findings are promising, there are some limitations to consider. The researchers note that the total number of included studies was relatively small, and the total sample size was just over three hundred people. Some of the original trials also had methodological challenges.</p>
<p>For example, it is generally impossible to keep participants unaware of whether they are in an exercise group or a non-exercise group. This lack of blinding might impact the reliability of the psychological results. Because the pool of available research is limited, there was not enough data to determine the ideal exercise routine.</p>
<p>It is currently unclear which specific type, intensity, frequency, or duration of exercise works best for reducing anxiety and depression in insomnia patients. People should not assume that every single workout routine will yield the exact same mental health benefits. Future research will likely address these gaps by conducting larger studies with more rigorous designs.</p>
<p>The scientists are currently planning to investigate how exercise compares directly to cognitive behavioral therapy, a highly effective type of talk therapy used to treat insomnia. They also plan to explore how physical activity might be combined with non-invasive brain stimulation techniques. Past work from this team has also looked at how exercise pairs with treatments like acupuncture and common sleep medications.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2026.115225" target="_blank">Effects of exercise on anxiety and depression in patients with insomnia: a systematic review and meta-analysis</a>,” was authored by Daniela Pantaleão Ferreira, Giselle Soares Passos, Shawn D. Youngstedt, and Marcos Gonçalves Santana.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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