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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/online-gaming-might-contribute-to-creativity-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;">Online gaming might contribute to creativity, study finds</a>
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<p><p>A study in Taiwan found that individuals who were more motivated to play online games tended to show higher post-game imagination. Imagination, in turn, was associated with greater creativity, indicating that gaming motivation might contribute to creativity. The paper was published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2025.1561548"><em>Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience</em></a><em>.</em></p>
<p>Researchers widely agree that internet technology, especially online gaming, has a strong impact on people’s lives. However, scientific studies primarily focus on these activities in the context of problems like addiction and reduced reading comprehension. Potential positive effects of gaming tend to be less discussed.</p>
<p>Of the studies that have explored the potential positive impacts of gaming, most have focused on visual and problem-solving benefits, while paying less attention to how games may support imagination and creativity. However, some research shows that children who play video games more often can score higher on creativity tests, even when the games contain violent content. Other studies also suggest that online games can improve students’ creative thinking and attitudes. At the same time, researchers note that there is still a gap between the potential of games to support creativity and the amount of research actually done on this topic.</p>
<p>Study author Yung-hsun Cheng wanted to explore the relationship between the motivation to play online games, imagination, and creativity. Cheng hypothesized that motivation to play online games would be positively associated with imagination and creativity. Cheng also expected that imagination would mediate the relationship between motivation to play online games and creativity.</p>
<p>In this study, Cheng focused on two specific games – Genshin Impact and Roblox. Genshin Impact is a free-to-play open-world role-playing game that combines exploration, combat, and story-driven quests in a fantasy world. Roblox is an online platform where users can create, share, and play a wide variety of games made by other players.</p>
<p>This study had two parts – a survey and a small experiment. Survey participants were 202 Taiwanese university students. The experimental part of the study included 6 male and 6 female students. Study participants were required to have a basic understanding and experience of Roblox or Genshin Impact.</p>
<p>Survey participants completed measures of motivation for online gaming (the Online Gaming Motivation Scale), imagination (the Imaginative Capability Scale), and creativity (the Creativity Capability Scale). Experimental participants were divided randomly into two groups. One group was to play Roblox during two 2.5-hour sessions per week for 4 weeks. The task of the other group was to play Genshin Impact in the same number of sessions. These participants underwent EEG measurements of their brain activity before and after these interventions.</p>
<p>Results of the survey showed that motivation for online gaming was associated with higher imagination and higher creativity. The study author tested a statistical model proposing that higher motivation for online gaming leads to higher imagination, and that higher imagination leads to higher creativity. Analysis of the results supported this relationship.</p>
<p>Results of the experiment showed differences in activity in some areas of the brain before and after the gaming interventions. Based on the region of the brain where the difference in activity was detected, the author of this study drew inferences about changes in the psychological characteristics of interest, such as creative thinking and imagination.</p>
<p>“The study concludes that online gaming can positively influence creativity, especially when imagination mediates the relationship between gaming motivation and creative outcomes. These results underscore the potential cognitive benefits of online games, particularly for players with high levels of motivation, and highlight the distinct roles of RPGs and sandbox games in fostering creativity,” the study author concludes.</p>
<p>The study contributes to the scientific understanding of the psychological correlates of online gaming. However, it should be noted that the experimental part of the study was conducted on a very small sample, and inferences about psychological characteristics based on EEG-detected brain activity reported in the paper might be problematic.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2025.1561548">The impact of online games on creativity and the role of imagination,</a>” was authored by Yung-hsun Cheng.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/more-time-spent-on-social-media-is-linked-to-a-thinner-cerebral-cortex-in-young-adolescents/" 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;">More time spent on social media is linked to a thinner cerebral cortex in young adolescents</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Apr 15th 2026, 08:00</div>
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<p><p>New research published in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2026.121860" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NeuroImage</a></em> suggests that spending more time on social media is associated with physical differences in the developing brains of young adolescents. Specifically, children who spent more hours on digital platforms exhibited a thinner outer layer of the brain in areas responsible for attention, memory, and emotional control. These findings provide evidence that everyday digital habits might relate to how the brain physically matures during a highly sensitive period of growth.</p>
<p>Early adolescence is a period characterized by major physical, social, and mental changes. During this time, the brain undergoes a high degree of restructuring to prepare a child for adulthood.</p>
<p>At the same time, children are increasingly gaining access to smartphones and creating social media accounts for the very first time. Recent statistics suggest that a majority of young adolescents between the ages of 11 and 12 use these platforms regularly.</p>
<p>Scientists wanted to know if this widespread social media use is linked to how the brain develops. Past research has associated general screen time, like watching television or playing video games, with disrupted sleep, poor mental health, and physical changes in the brain.</p>
<p>Social media involves unique interactive elements that separate it from passively watching a movie or playing a single-player game. Because it engages different thought processes, scientists suspected that social media use might be associated with distinct patterns of brain development.</p>
<p>Previous studies on the topic often focused on older teenagers or lumped all screen time together into a single broad category. By isolating social media use, the researchers hoped to paint a clearer picture of how platforms designed for social interaction might influence the growing mind.</p>
<p>“I first became interested in social media research through caring for adolescents with eating disorders, many of whom described spending hours on social media viewing unrealistic body ideals and weight-focused content. These clinical experiences led me to study the broader mental health effects of social media use and to help inform guidance for families. Brain development is a critical area that remains less understood, which motivated this line of research,” said study author <a href="https://nagatalab.ucsf.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jason Nagata</a>, an associate professor of pediatrics at the <a href="https://profiles.ucsf.edu/jason.nagata" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of California, San Francisco</a>.</p>
<p>For their study, the researchers analyzed data from a large, nationwide project called the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. They focused on a specific group of 7,614 children between the ages of 10 and 13.</p>
<p>The scientists utilized a technique called structural magnetic resonance imaging to take detailed pictures of each child’s brain. This type of brain scan allows researchers to measure the brain’s physical characteristics, such as the thickness, volume, and surface area of the cerebral cortex.</p>
<p>The cerebral cortex is the wrinkled outer layer of the brain that handles complex functions like reasoning, language, and sensory processing. The researchers looked at these brain measurements and compared them to the participants’ self-reported social media habits.</p>
<p>The children completed surveys detailing how many hours they spent on social media during a typical weekday and weekend. On average, the adolescents used social media for just over half an hour a day, though some individuals spent considerably more time online.</p>
<p>The participants also answered a six-item questionnaire designed to measure addictive behaviors related to social media. This survey asked about habits such as unsuccessfully trying to cut back on app usage or feeling unable to stop scrolling.</p>
<p>To ensure their findings were as accurate as possible, the scientists accounted for a wide range of outside factors. They adjusted their mathematical models for the participants’ age, sex, race, genetic background, household income, and the education level of their caregivers.</p>
<p>They also factored in how much time the children spent on other types of screens, ensuring that the final results reflected social media use specifically. In addition to examining pre-defined regions of the brain, the researchers used an advanced computer algorithm to analyze the brain scans at an incredibly high resolution.</p>
<p>This highly detailed analysis allowed them to examine the brain without relying on artificial boundaries between different brain regions. The researchers found that higher average daily social media use was significantly associated with a thinner cerebral cortex.</p>
<p>Specifically, children who spent more time on social media tended to have a thinner outer layer across several widespread areas of the brain. These areas included regions within the frontal, temporal, occipital, and parietal lobes.</p>
<p>These specific brain regions overlap with networks that control executive functions, which involve planning, memory, and impulse control. They also overlap with networks responsible for visual processing and maintaining attention.</p>
<p>Additionally, the scientists noticed lower overall cortical volume in the right hemisphere of the brain among frequent social media users. They did not find a strong link between social media use and the surface area of the brain.</p>
<p>When looking at the addiction questionnaire, the scientists did not find any significant physical brain differences associated with social media addiction. The physical variations were tied strictly to the amount of time spent on the platforms rather than addictive behavioral patterns.</p>
<p>In the developing adolescent brain, a gradual thinning of the cerebral cortex is actually a normal part of growing up. This natural process is known as synaptic pruning, where the brain eliminates unused connections to become more efficient.</p>
<p>Excessive or accelerated thinning, however, can sometimes be a marker of abnormal development. Past research has linked overly rapid cortical thinning to difficulties with emotional regulation and a higher risk of psychiatric conditions.</p>
<p>“Greater social media use is associated with differences in brain structure,” Nagata noted PsyPost. “Social media use in young adolescents was linked to lower cortical thickness across the prefrontal cortices, temporal lobe, occipital lobe, and parietal lobe. Regions identified were in key nodes of the default mode network, prefrontal executive control networks, and visual processing and attention networks. However, we cannot conclude if these differences are a result of social media use or a predisposing factor.”</p>
<p>It is possible that children who naturally have a thinner cerebral cortex are simply more drawn to using social media. The researchers also noted that the physical differences they observed, while mathematically significant, were relatively small in size. The magnitude of these brain differences was comparable to the effects seen from watching television or reading books.</p>
<p>“Reduced cortical thickness is not necessarily something that is bad,” Nagata noted. “During development, our brains shrink as unnecessary neural connections are naturally removed, which improves neuronal efficiency. These findings should not be interpreted solely as something that is good or bad.”</p>
<p>“Additionally, given the cross-sectional design of this paper, we cannot determine if these alterations may be a consequence of social media use or if they precipitate social media use. Correlation does not imply causation. Further research is required to understand the directionality of these associations and to determine if there are any long-term behavioral consequences.”</p>
<p>The scientists also did not measure the type of content the children were consuming. Scrolling through educational videos likely engages the brain differently than experiencing cyberbullying or viewing highly curated lifestyle images.</p>
<p>Moving forward, the researchers plan to track these participants over several years to observe how their brains change over time. This long-term approach will help clarify if social media use accelerates brain changes or if pre-existing brain differences drive social media habits.</p>
<p>The scientists also hope to use functional brain scans in the future to see how the brain actively behaves while adolescents are using social media. Because many of the children in this study were under the age of 13, the researchers suggest their findings highlight a need for stronger age verification policies online.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2026.121860" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Social media use and early adolescent brain structure: Findings from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study</a>,” was authored by Jason M. Nagata, Kevin Bao, Stuart B. Murray, Pierre Nedelec, Racquel A. Richardson, Sahana Nayak, Elizabeth J. Li, Jennifer H. Wong, Eva M. Muller-Oehring, Aaron Scheffler, Fiona C. Baker, Andreas M. Rauschecker, and Leo P. Sugrue.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/these-types-of-breakups-tend-to-coincide-with-moving-on-more-easily/" 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;">These types of breakups tend to coincide with moving on more easily</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Apr 15th 2026, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>New research published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623x.2026.2628652" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy</a></em> suggests that how a romantic relationship ends plays a role in the subsequent emotional well-being of both partners. Specifically, the study indicates that providing a partner with a sense of understanding and respect during a breakup tends to promote greater positive mood and a sense of feeling alive afterward. These findings provide evidence that the communication strategies used during relationship dissolution can meaningfully shape the emotional recovery process.</p>
<p>The end of a romantic relationship commonly brings significant emotional distress, but scientists have rarely examined how people might soften this emotional blow during the breakup conversation itself. During difficult interactions, psychologists recognize that using autonomy-supportive techniques tends to reduce defensiveness and foster understanding. Autonomy support involves acknowledging the other person’s feelings, using non-controlling language, offering meaningful reasons for decisions, and allowing the individual to feel a sense of choice.</p>
<p>In a functioning relationship, partners typically share an authentic willingness to maintain their bond and support each other’s needs. A breakup interrupts this mutuality, often placing the person initiating the split in a new position of authority. Researchers designed the current study to see if maintaining supportive communication techniques during this difficult transition might act as an emotional buffer.</p>
<p>“There’s a lot of research about the characteristics of a breakup that predict distress or well-being, such as gender, relationship length, ongoing contact with an ex-partner, or the role and use of technology in breakup practices. But I think what was missing was the actual script,” explained study lead author Erin McClung, a doctoral candidate at the University of Ottawa being supervised by Serena Corsini-Munt, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa and director of <a href="https://reachlabuottawa.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Relationships and Couple Health (REACH) Lab</a>.</p>
<p>“What should you do when you want to break up with a romantic partner? How do you let them down easy? We know from previous research, using autonomy-supportive techniques has been shown to reduce defensiveness and foster better understanding during difficult interpersonal interactions, like a disagreement.”</p>
<p>However, it was unknown if using these same techniques would be associated with better emotional and psychological outcomes for those breaking up, where one person is usually making the unilateral decision to end the relationship.</p>
<p>“Autonomy-support is an interpersonal style, and when people are being autonomy supportive, they are usually behaving in such a way that they help foster a sense of choice and help the other person feel acknowledged. So, we decided to look at autonomy support during breakups,” McClung continued.</p>
<p>“To us, providing autonomy support during a breakup, from the initiator’s perspective, looks like (1) providing an honest and non-controlling rationale for the reasons for the breakup, (2) allowing the recipient to process the news in their own time and way, and (3) taking the time to understand and non-judgmentally respond to the recipients perspective on the relationship and breakup.”</p>
<p>To explore this, the scientists recruited young adults who had experienced a relationship split within the previous twelve months. They filtered the initial responses to remove incomplete surveys and instances where participants failed attention checks. The final sample consisted of 362 participants, the majority of whom were young, white, cisgender, and heterosexual women attending university in Canada.</p>
<p>On average, the participants were about 19 years old and had been in dating relationships lasting slightly over a year. The average time since the breakup was roughly two and a half months. Most participants indicated that they were the ones who ended the relationship, and the sample included a fairly even split between in-person and virtual breakups.</p>
<p>Participants completed several standardized questionnaires to assess their emotional state and the nature of their breakup. To measure psychological well-being, the scientists used scales evaluating depression, anxiety, positive mood, negative mood, and subjective vitality. Subjective vitality refers to the specific mental state of feeling energized and fully alive.</p>
<p>The researchers also gathered exact details about the breakup conversation itself. Participants answered questions about the level of autonomy support present during the split. Depending on who ended the relationship, participants reported on either their own supportive behaviors or the behaviors of the person who broke up with them.</p>
<p>The analysis shed light on how relationship dissolution affects emotional health. The researchers found that greater autonomy support during the breakup was linked to a more positive mood and higher subjective vitality. This association held true regardless of whether the participant initiated the split or was the recipient of the breakup. When an initiator provides an honest reason for the separation and listens to the former partner’s perspective, both individuals seem to find it easier to move forward.</p>
<p>“We found that greater autonomy support by the initiator of the breakup was associated with more positive mood and subjective vitality for both those who initiated the breakup and for those who were the recipient,” McClung told PsyPost. “It may be the case that providing autonomy support during a breakup may demonstrate a level of respect for the former relationship and provide closure for both the initiator and recipient of the breakup.”</p>
<p>Surprisingly, autonomy support did not associate with a measurable reduction in psychological distress. Using supportive and respectful communication during a breakup did not lower symptoms of depression, anxiety, or negative mood.</p>
<p>“So, it’s not necessarily that using autonomy-supportive techniques is associated with lessened emotional pain, but it is associated with higher positive mood and vitality,” Corsini-Munt explained. “Despite the pain, moving on may be easier. For example, knowing why a partner broke off the relationship may not make it hurt any less, but at least in knowing their reasons and having had the chance to discuss it, you’re able to pick up the pieces and move forward, instead of wondering ‘why?’ and engaging in ‘what-if’ scenarios.”</p>
<p>The scientists also examined other variables related to the breakup experience. They found that maintaining ongoing contact with an ex-partner associated with increased levels of anxiety and depression. Staying in touch might make it more difficult to process feelings of loss or might reopen emotional wounds caused by the separation.</p>
<p>Additionally, the data suggests noticeable differences between men and women in post-breakup emotional states. Men in the sample reported higher positive mood, lower negative mood, and less anxiety compared to women. The researchers propose that men might be socialized to show more resilience in the face of romantic rejection, or they might simply be less likely to report feelings of distress.</p>
<p>Finally, the scientists noted that the specific method of the breakup did not appear to significantly impact later psychological well-being. Participants did not show differing levels of distress whether they ended the relationship in person or virtually. The amount of time that had passed since the breakup also did not strongly correlate with the participants’ current emotional states.</p>
<p>While these findings provide helpful insights, readers should be aware of a few potential misinterpretations and limitations. The study relied on a retrospective cross-sectional design, meaning participants recalled past events at a single point in time. This type of research cannot prove that autonomy support directly causes improved mood, and the results might be influenced by a person’s biased memory of the event.</p>
<p>“I think it’s important to note that our data comes from what people shared with us,” Corsini-Munt said. “Not everyone will feel that they are in a position to be autonomy supportive when breaking-up, or it may not be feasible to apply all aspects of autonomy-support.”</p>
<p>The characteristics of the sample also limit how broadly these findings can be applied. The participants were predominantly female undergraduate students who were previously in relatively short dating relationships. It remains unclear if the same emotional patterns would emerge in older adults or individuals ending legal marriages.</p>
<p>Future research could address these gaps by studying more established relationships and recruiting evenly distributed groups across different genders and backgrounds. Scientists could also track couples over time to observe how specific autonomy-supportive behaviors impact emotional recovery as the months pass.</p>
<p>To build on these initial findings, the scientists are currently investigating the broader methods people use to navigate these difficult conversations. “We are working on a second paper from this research, qualitatively assessing breakup strategies and perceptions of their effect on well-being,” McClung and Corsini-Munt explained. “Although, this doesn’t get at the question of autonomy support, it will hopefully provide a bit more insight on current breakup practices and how these practices are experienced.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623x.2026.2628652">Don’t Break My Heart: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study Examining Autonomy Support During Romantic Relationship Dissolution</a>,” was authored by Erin McClung, Ryan Pecore, Elisa Stragapede, Paola Michelle Garcia Mairena, and Serena Corsini-Munt.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/this-mediterranean-style-diet-is-linked-to-a-slower-loss-of-brain-volume-as-we-age/" 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;">This Mediterranean‑style diet is linked to a slower loss of brain volume as we age</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Apr 14th 2026, 18:00</div>
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<p><p>The Mediterranean diet – rich in olive oil, fish, vegetables and legumes – has long been linked to better heart health. Growing evidence suggests it may also help support brain health as we age, with a brain-focused variation of the diet drawing increasing scientific attention.</p>
<p>It is called the Mind diet. The name stands for <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/mediterranean-diet-6780">Mediterranean</a>-Dash Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay – though what matters more than the acronym is what it actually involves: plenty of green vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts, berries, poultry and fish, with olive oil as the main cooking fat, and limited amounts of red meat, butter, cheese, fried food and sweets. It combines the most brain-friendly elements of two well-studied eating patterns: the traditional Mediterranean diet and the Dash diet, which was originally developed to lower blood pressure.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/early/2026/03/11/jnnp-2025-336957">recent analysis</a> from the long-running <a href="https://www.framinghamheartstudy.org/">Framingham heart study</a> examined the diets of adults aged 60 and over and assessed how these dietary patterns were associated with brain scan data collected later in the study. Those who followed the Mind diet most closely tended to have more grey matter – the tissue associated with memory and decision-making – and showed less overall loss of brain volume over time.</p>
<p>Both findings point in the same direction: that this way of eating may help keep the brain in better shape as we get older.</p>
<p>This is not the first study to suggest a link between diet and dementia risk. An earlier analysis combining 12 observational studies found an overall reduction in dementia risk of between <a href="https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/nutrit/nuaf121/8196859">15 and 22%</a> among people who followed Mediterranean-style diets, with the Mind diet showing the strongest effect of the three patterns studied. That is a meaningful difference, even if it cannot be taken as proof that diet alone is responsible.</p>
<p>Within the Framingham study, berries and poultry stood out as particularly beneficial for grey matter. This fits with what other research has suggested. Blueberries, for instance, have been the subject of several small trials, with one <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40856863/">recent study</a> finding improvements in memory even in people already showing early signs of memory problems.</p>
<p>Since red and processed meat have been linked to higher dementia risk <a href="https://theconversation.com/processed-red-meat-isnt-just-bad-for-your-heart-its-also-associated-with-dementia-247619">in other studies</a>, replacing them with chicken may be part of why poultry appears beneficial.</p>
<p>Some of the findings were less straightforward. Fried food, as expected, was associated with worse outcomes. But whole grains, generally considered one of the healthier staples, produced a surprisingly weak result.</p>
<p>The reasons are unclear, though large amounts of bread and pasta – even wholegrain varieties – may raise blood sugar enough to offset some of the benefits. The evidence on whole grains and brain health remains <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924224425003188">mixed</a>, and this is one area where more research is needed.</p>
<p>It is also worth noting who, in the Framingham study, was most likely to follow the Mind diet. They tended to be women, non-smokers, well-educated, and less likely to be overweight or to have diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease. All of <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=L_h1DwAAQBAJ&hl=en">these factors</a> are independently associated with better brain health, which makes it genuinely difficult to untangle how much of the benefit comes from the diet itself, and how much from the broader lifestyle it tends to accompany.</p>
<h2>What the science can and can’t tell us</h2>
<p>This is the central challenge facing all research in this area. Most of the studies are observational, meaning they track what people eat and what happens to them over time, rather than randomly assigning people to follow a particular diet and measuring the results.</p>
<p>Observational studies can show associations, but they cannot prove cause and effect. Self-reported diet data is also unreliable at the best of times – and particularly so among people whose memory is already beginning to fail.</p>
<p>The few trials that have actually put the Mind diet to the test have produced mixed results. One <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40795-025-01020-6#Sec1">small three-month study</a> found no improvement in memory or thinking skills, though participants did report better mood and quality of life.</p>
<p>Another <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-04258-9">trial</a> found improvements in both brain scans and mental performance, but the participants were obese middle-aged women who also lost weight during the study, making it hard to know how much the diet itself contributed. Three months is also a short window in which to expect measurable changes in brain structure, and longer trials may yet tell a different story.</p>
<p>None of this means the Mind diet is not worth following. The broader evidence – across multiple studies and populations – consistently points in the same direction, and there is little downside to eating more vegetables, berries, fish and olive oil.</p>
<p>But diet is only one piece of a much larger picture. Not smoking, staying active, keeping blood pressure and blood sugar under control, and maintaining social connections all appear to matter at least as much when it comes to keeping the brain healthy in later life.</p>
<p>The Mind diet is not a cure for dementia, and it would be misleading to present it as one. What the evidence does suggest is that the food choices we make over decades – not just in later life, but across adulthood – may quietly shape the health of our brains in ways that only become visible much later. That is not a guarantee, but it is a reasonable basis for eating well.<img decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/278461/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1"></p>
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<p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/this-mediterranean-style-diet-could-keep-your-brain-sharp-as-you-age-new-study-278461">original article</a>.</em></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/how-finding-deep-spiritual-meaning-in-the-bedroom-changes-relationship-dynamics/" 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 map out the pathways connecting sacred beliefs to better sex</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Apr 14th 2026, 16:00</div>
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<p><p>Viewing sexual intimacy as a sacred experience is linked to higher levels of sexual satisfaction and passion, a newly published psychological study reveals. The research shows that finding spiritual meaning in the bedroom operates by enhancing specific relationship habits, such as open communication and staying present in the moment, rather than just increasing the frequency of intimacy. These findings were published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623x.2025.2593329">Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy</a>.</em></p>
<p>Psychologists often study how humans create meaning to navigate and enrich their daily lives. One way people construct meaning is through a process called sanctification. This occurs when a person perceives ordinary aspects of life as having a divine character or a deep, sacred significance. While the word sacred might bring traditional religion to mind, researchers note that sanctification is a psychological reality experienced by people both inside and outside of formal faith communities.</p>
<p>When an individual views a part of their life as sacred, they tend to invest extra time and energy into making it flourish. They also tend to use these deeply meaningful areas as an emotional resource during difficult life transitions. In the context of romantic relationships, prior research has shown that viewing sexuality as sanctified is associated with positive outcomes, including higher relationship satisfaction and more enjoyment during intimacy.</p>
<p>Knowing that a relationship trait exists is just the first step in understanding it. Family life researchers Dean Busby and Chelsea Zollinger Allen at Brigham Young University wanted to know exactly how this internal belief system alters a couple’s actual dynamic. The researchers sought to map the specific behavioral pathways that connect a sacred view of sexuality to documented sexual satisfaction.</p>
<p>To organize their approach, Busby and Allen used a theoretical framework called the Sexual Wholeness Model. This model suggests that human sexuality consists of three main components: physical actions, relational emotions, and internal meaning systems. Sexual sanctification is a type of meaning system that partners bring into a romantic union. The researchers predicted that this internal belief would influence the physical and relational aspects of a couple’s sex life.</p>
<p>The research team recruited a national sample of 452 heterosexual couples for their survey. To participate, couples needed to be in a committed sexual relationship for at least two years. This time requirement ensured that the couples had moved past the initial adjustment stages of a relationship and had developed established patterns of interaction.</p>
<p>Each partner completed an online survey independently from their significant other. This allowed the researchers to collect dyadic data, meaning they gathered information from both members of the couple simultaneously. Using data from both partners lets researchers observe how one person’s beliefs affect their own experiences, which are known as actor effects. It also lets them test if those beliefs project onto their romantic partner, which are known as partner effects.</p>
<p>The survey asked participants to rate their views on sexual sanctification, alongside their overall sexual satisfaction and passionate feelings for their partner. The researchers also measured four specific behaviors that might serve as the bridge between sacred beliefs and overall satisfaction. These four mechanisms included sexual mindfulness, sexual communication, how often the partners had intercourse, and how consistently they experienced orgasms.</p>
<p>The researchers measured two primary endpoints for a healthy sex life. The first was overall sexual satisfaction, which evaluates a person’s general contentment with their physical relationship. The second endpoint was harmonious sexual passion. This concept describes an excitement about sexual activity that is well integrated into the relationship, balancing easily with the rest of a person’s daily life.</p>
<p>In this study, sexual mindfulness was defined as remaining aware and non-judgmental during sexual experiences. General mindfulness usually involves paying attention to the present moment to reduce distraction. Applying this skill to a romantic encounter allows a partner to stay focused on the physical and emotional sensations of a given moment.</p>
<p>Sexual communication measured how comfortably partners could discuss their preferences and desires. Orgasmic consistency and intercourse frequency represented the physical elements of the relationship. The researchers included orgasmic consistency to look beyond just the raw frequency of intimacy. Having sex often is not enough to accurately measure the physical quality of a relationship, as previous studies show that partners who rarely reach climax tend to be less content.</p>
<p>The researchers utilized statistical models to track how all these variables interacted for both men and women. The results highlighted a severe difference in how sexual sanctification relates to relationship habits based on gender. For the female participants, viewing sex as sacred was strongly connected to all four of the test mechanisms.</p>
<p>Women who held highly sanctified views of their sexual relationship reported more sexual mindfulness and more open communication. They also reported higher intercourse frequency and greater orgasmic consistency. For women, open communication was the strongest mechanism linking a sacred viewpoint to overall sexual satisfaction. Taking a spiritual view of intimacy seemed to make women much more willing or able to communicate their needs.</p>
<p>Experiencing a predictable climax and practicing sexual mindfulness were the next strongest pathways for the women studied. Notably, while sexual sanctification was linked to having sex more often, simply having more sex did not reliably predict higher sexual satisfaction for women. Instead, the emotional and physical quality of the interactions carried the weight of their satisfaction.</p>
<p>For the male participants, the psychological links looked very different. For men, viewing sex as sacred was only reliably associated with having sex more frequently. The belief did not directly connect to how well they communicated, how mindful they were during intimacy, or how consistently they reached an orgasm.</p>
<p>Instead, the factors that actually predicted sexual satisfaction for men were their practical communication habits and their organizational religious routines, such as attending worship services. It appears that the abstract concept of sexual sanctification does not alter specific bedroom habits for men in the same way it does for women. The behavioral and community aspects of general religion may be more central to influencing how men experience intimacy.</p>
<p>The researchers noted the lack of partner effects identified in the data. The results were largely not statistically significant when looking at how one person’s belief system impacted the other person’s direct physical experience. Because sanctification is a highly internal, personal framework for finding meaning, it does not easily transfer directly to a partner’s personal satisfaction without intermediate behaviors like talking.</p>
<p>However, both partners experienced massive benefits when open sexual communication and orgasmic consistency were present in the relationship. When couples discussed a shared belief in the sacred nature of their intimacy, this likely motivated them to invest more effort into understanding each other’s functional needs. This mutual effort helps create the feelings of connection and love required for long-term sexual passion.</p>
<p>The authors of the study acknowledged a few limiting factors in their research process. The sample of participants, while national in scope, did not serve as a perfectly representative cross-section of the population. Specifically, certain ethnic groups were underrepresented across the survey pool, and all the participants were in heterosexual relationships.</p>
<p>Because the study only looked at opposite-sex couples, the findings cannot automatically be generalized to the broader public. Future research should include a wider diversity of relationship types and sexual orientations to see if these patterns hold steady. The surveys also relied on single-item questions to measure the physical elements of the couples’ sex lives, which limits the analytical depth.</p>
<p>The use of cross-sectional survey data serves as another study limitation. Because the researchers recorded the couples’ answers at only one point in time, the study cannot state that adopting a sacred view of sex automatically causes better communication. It is entirely possible that the psychological dynamic works in reverse.</p>
<p>Partners who naturally communicate well and experience consistent pleasure might be more inclined to start viewing their relationship as uniquely special or sacred over time. To find out which factors truly lead to the others, future studies would need to track couples over several years. Collecting long-term data would reveal how these meaning systems fluctuate as couples go through major adult transitions like career changes or raising children.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623x.2025.2593329">Potential Mechanisms Through Which Sexual Sanctification May Influence Sexual Outcomes: Sexual Mindfulness, Sexual Intercourse Frequency, Sexual Communication, and Orgasmic Consistency</a>,” was authored by Dean M. Busby and Chelsea Zollinger Allen.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/why-thinking-hard-feels-bad-the-emotional-root-of-deliberation/" 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;">Why thinking hard feels bad: the emotional root of deliberation</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Apr 14th 2026, 14:00</div>
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<p><p>When an intuitive answer to a problem feels slightly off, the human brain generates an uncomfortable state known as doubt. This negative feeling acts as an internal alarm bell that prompts individuals to abandon simple mental shortcuts and engage in heavy, analytical thinking. The new findings detailing this emotional trigger were published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13546783.2025.2531067"><i>Thinking & Reasoning</i></a>.</p>
<p>Psychologists often categorize human thought into two distinct cognitive systems. The first system is intuition, which provides rapid, effortless, and almost automatic responses to everyday situations. This system operates so quickly that we are rarely aware of its mechanics. The second system is deliberation, which requires deep logical analysis, conscious effort, and consumes a massive amount of mental energy.</p>
<p>Because deliberation is so energetically expensive to maintain, humans naturally prefer to rely on their intuition whenever it appears adequate for the task at hand. A major question in cognitive psychology is how the brain knows when to switch from easy intuition to taxing deliberation. Many existing psychological models suggest this cognitive switch happens through a quiet metacognitive evaluation.</p>
<p>Metacognition refers to the brain’s ability to think about its own thinking processes. These previous models argue that an internal judgment about whether a thought objectively feels correct triggers a shift in strategy. Researchers Cédric Cortial, Jérôme Prado, and Serge Caparos wanted to explore an alternative explanation based firmly in raw emotion.</p>
<p>The researchers proposed that the transition from intuition to deliberation is driven by an active, negative visceral response. According to this framework, when an automatic intuition fails to perfectly solve a problem, it disrupts a person’s fluid interaction with their environment. This disruption generates an emotional sense of doubt, which feels physically and mentally unpleasant.</p>
<p>In this psychological context, doubt is not just a simple awareness of missing information. It is an active emotion related to confusion and anxiety. The researchers hypothesized that people use mental deliberation specifically to escape this unpleasant emotional state. To test this idea, they designed a series of experiments using logical puzzles designed to pit intuition against strict logic.</p>
<p>The study utilized categorical syllogisms, which are classical arguments composed of two premises and a single conclusion. Some of these syllogisms were purposefully designed to create an invisible cognitive conflict. In a conflict problem, the rigid logical validity of the argument directly contradicts a person’s prior real-world knowledge. This structure forces the brain to choose between what it knows to be biologically true and what the strict rules of the puzzle dictate.</p>
<p>Consider an argument stating that all primates have legs, and humans have legs, leading to the conclusion that humans are primates. While the conclusion is biologically true in the real world, the logical structure of the argument actually fails. Birds also have legs, meaning the premises alone do not mathematically guarantee the conclusion. This type of puzzle creates an internal clash between a belief-based instinct and a logic-based instinct.</p>
<p>In the first experiment, the research team asked hundreds of participants to evaluate the logical validity of various syllogisms. Subjects had only ten seconds to read each problem and provide an answer. This tight time constraint was intentionally designed to force participants to rely heavily on their immediate intuition.</p>
<p>After answering each problem, participants rated their emotional experience on a standardized psychological scale. They reported whether they felt blocked, confused, or found the reflection process unpleasant. The researchers mathematically combined these responses to create an overall metric for the emotional experience of doubt.</p>
<p>The data showed that participants were much less accurate on the conflict problems than on the standard non-conflict puzzles. More to the point, the tricky conflict problems caused a much higher level of emotional doubt across the testing group. Participants who experienced higher levels of doubt also reported higher levels of general psychological anxiety at the end of the experiment.</p>
<p>To further isolate the role of pure intuition, the researchers conducted a second experiment with a modified setup. They used a two-response paradigm, asking participants to read a problem and provide an initial answer in under three seconds. This extremely short window prevented any deep mathematical analysis and guaranteed a purely intuitive response.</p>
<p>Immediately after giving their fast response, participants rated their feelings of doubt and completed a scale measuring their physical arousal, assessing whether they felt calm or restless. The participants were then presented with the exact same puzzle again. This time, they had unlimited time to think about the problem before giving a second, final answer.</p>
<p>The researchers used three different behavioral metrics to measure whether participants actually engaged in deep deliberation during the second phase. They tracked whether participants changed their original answer, recorded how long they spent thinking before submitting the exact final response, and asked them directly if they had actively reflected on the problem.</p>
<p>The results confirmed the findings of the first experiment, showing that the difficult conflict puzzles caused higher levels of doubt and physical arousal than the straightforward puzzles. All three metrics of deep thinking were positively associated with elevated doubt. Participants who reported feeling the most doubt were the most likely to spend a long time reflecting and ultimately altering their initial answer.</p>
<p>The researchers also noticed a distinct pattern in how the exact intensity of the emotion shaped the reasoning outcome. When participants experienced only mild doubt, they tended to engage in a shallow form of reasoning called rationalization. In this process, they thought about the problem briefly but ultimately kept their original intuitive answer, seeking only to justify their very first instinct.</p>
<p>Conversely, when participants experienced intense doubt, they engaged in a much deeper form of mental analysis. They spent far more time reflecting and were highly likely to abandon their original intuitive response for a new answer. The researchers suggest that strong emotional discomfort is physically required to motivate a person to fully decouple from their initial biases.</p>
<p>While the study links negative emotion to critical thinking, the authors noted several limitations in their methodology. The research relied heavily on self-reported feelings, which are highly subjective and can sometimes be skewed by personal perception. Future studies could incorporate physiological measurements like pupil dilation or skin conductance to provide unbiased physical data on emotional arousal.</p>
<p>The researchers also pointed out that their experiments only tested one specific type of logical puzzle. It remains unknown if this specific emotional mechanism applies universally to all forms of mathematical and logical reasoning. Future behavioral experiments must test a wider variety of brain teasers and statistical problems to see if doubt acts as a universal trigger for deep thought.</p>
<p>Human cognition is highly integrated, making it difficult to completely separate the intellectual awareness of a mistake from the emotional pang of doubt. Still, these findings highlight the necessary role of unpleasant feelings in human intelligence. A person’s ability to tolerate and actively respond to emotional discomfort might be the true key to overcoming everyday cognitive biases.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13546783.2025.2531067">Reasoning does hurt: deliberation is associated with heightened levels of doubt</a>,” was authored by Cédric Cortial, Jérôme Prado, and Serge Caparos.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-study-links-watching-tiktok-thirst-traps-to-lower-relationship-trust-and-satisfaction/" 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 links watching TikTok “thirst traps” to lower relationship trust and satisfaction</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Apr 14th 2026, 12:00</div>
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<p><p>A recent study published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075261430780" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Journal of Social and Personal Relationships</a></em> suggests that the way people interact with attractive strangers on TikTok can impact the trust and satisfaction in their romantic relationships. The research provides evidence that watching or liking “thirst traps” tends to harm a relationship, especially if the people in the videos look physically different from a person’s actual partner.</p>
<p>Scientists wanted to understand how modern social media algorithms influence the stability of romantic relationships. On platforms like TikTok, the content a user sees is heavily dictated by an automated system that recommends videos based on previous engagement, rather than just the accounts a person chooses to follow. This algorithm curates a personalized video feed, which often includes “thirst traps.”</p>
<p>Thirst traps are videos specifically created to highlight an attractive person’s body or elicit sexual interest from viewers. Because the algorithm pushes content based on a user’s viewing habits, the continuous presence of attractive alternatives on this feed might signal a wavering commitment to a current partner.</p>
<p>Algorithms are highly effective at facilitating new connections for single people looking to expand their social networks. Yet for people in committed relationships, these same algorithms can introduce unwanted temptations by constantly suggesting attractive alternatives.</p>
<p>Researchers wanted to see if people could pick up on these digital signals and how these perceptions might alter the quality of their relationship. Past studies have looked at how individuals ignore or devalue attractive alternatives to protect their relationships. Few studies have explored how one partner’s view of the other partner’s digital habits changes relationship dynamics.</p>
<p>“This study was motivated by a conference discussion group on close relationship dynamics within the context of social media. One of my main research interests is in studying how people in committed relationships perceive alternative threats,” said study author <a href="https://www.alexandraeblackphd.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alexandra E. Black</a>, a postdoctoral scholar at Rutgers School of Public Health.</p>
<p>“In other words, how do people perceive their romantic partners interacting with attractive people, and how does this impact their relationships? I’ve applied my construct, known as perceived partner devaluation to the context of Instagram and dating applications, and this current study is a timely addition with an application to TikTok.”</p>
<p>“TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular social media platforms; as a side effect, TikTok can introduce alternative threat into relationships via ‘Thirst Traps.’ My team wanted to determine how perceptions of alternatives on TikTok are associated with relationship satisfaction and trust and if there are specific characteristics about TikTok alternatives (e.g., perceived dissimilarity) that make them more threatening.”</p>
<p>The scientists recruited 65 romantic couples, totaling 130 individuals, for an online survey. The participants were an average of 29 years old and predominantly identified as heterosexual. The researchers asked each person a series of questions about their own TikTok use and their awareness of the videos their partner watched.</p>
<p>Participants reported how attractive they found the people on their own video feeds, as well as how attractive they believed their partner found the people on their partner’s feed. The scientists also measured whether participants were projecting. Projection occurs when a person assumes their partner shares their exact same thoughts and feelings about an attractive stranger, such as projecting their own attraction onto their partner.</p>
<p>By measuring this projection, the researchers could isolate how much of a person’s worry was based on reality versus their own imagination. Finally, the survey asked about active engagement, like following a creator or liking a video. It also measured passive engagement, such as simply watching a video that appeared automatically on the screen. Participants then answered standard psychological questionnaires to assess their overall relationship trust and satisfaction.</p>
<p>The data revealed distinct patterns regarding how digital behaviors relate to relationship trust and satisfaction. Surprisingly, the researchers found that a person’s beliefs about how often their partner watched or liked TikTok videos did not significantly change their relationship trust or satisfaction. The data showed no meaningful link between a person’s perceptions of their partner’s digital habits and their overall relationship quality.</p>
<p>“It was surprising that perceptions of the partner interacting with TikTok alternatives did not significantly predict relationship quality,” Black told PsyPost. “There are well known findings within the relationship science literature that suggest relationship perceptions > reality with predicting relationship outcomes. Perhaps our sample was not aware enough of their partner’s TikTok involvement for their perceptions to influence feelings of trust and satisfaction.”</p>
<p>Instead, only the partner’s actual, self-reported engagement with attractive strangers on the app predicted negative relationship outcomes. When participants believed their partner was already highly committed to the relationship, the partner’s actual digital habits did not significantly impact relationship trust. But when participants believed their partner was not highly committed to the relationship, the partner’s actual digital habits became highly relevant.</p>
<p>If the partner reported that they genuinely viewed the people on TikTok as unattractive, the participants tended to experience a higher level of trust. This suggests that a partner’s actual protective behaviors might be more influential than what a person merely perceives their partner to be doing. Taking active steps to internally devalue digital temptations appears to reassure a doubtful partner.</p>
<p>The researchers also found that engaging with attractive people on TikTok was negatively associated with relationship quality, depending on who was in the videos. When a partner actively liked or followed attractive users who looked physically dissimilar to the participant, the participant reported lower trust and lower relationship satisfaction.</p>
<p>Even passive engagement, like simply watching videos of dissimilar attractive people when they popped up on the screen, was linked to reduced relationship satisfaction. The scientists suggest this might occur because seeing a partner engage with a very different physical “type” challenges a person’s assumptions about what their partner finds ideal. This physical discrepancy can introduce new insecurities into the relationship.</p>
<p>“Having a partner that is actually not tempted by attractive TikTok alternatives is what matters for protecting trust,” Black said. “This is particularly the case when perceived partner commitment might be wavering, or a person has doubts about their partner’s commitment. A person actively engaging with TikTok alternatives (e.g., following their accounts, liking their videos), however, is harmful to relationship quality (i.e., satisfaction and trust), especially if the alternative doesn’t look like their current partner.”</p>
<p>While this study provides evidence about the intersection of social media and romantic commitment, there are a few potential misinterpretations and limitations to consider. The study relied on self-reported estimates of TikTok use, which might not perfectly reflect a person’s actual screen time or viewing habits. The research was also observational at a single point in time, meaning the scientists cannot definitively prove that watching TikTok videos directly causes relationship issues.</p>
<p>“We would love to determine causality in a follow-up study by experimentally manipulating perceptions of TikTok alternatives,” Black said. “Stay tuned!”</p>
<p>“One strength of this study is that we collected data from both members of each couple to obtain a dyadic perspective of these processes. This was an extremely enjoyable research process and that was largely due to my awesome team. Thank you Liesel, Sara, and Karissa!”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075261430780" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Is my partner watching thirst traps? Associations between perceptions of a partner’s TikTok alternatives and relationship quality</a>,” was authored by Alexandra E. Black, Liesel L. Sharabi, Sara Cloonan, and Karissa L. Beesley.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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