bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Orientation on the Legibility and Comfort of 3D-Printed Braille
Authors: Puerta Eduardo , Crnovrsanin Tarik , South Laura , Dunne Cody
Published: March 2024

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is a low-cost method of 3D printing that involves stacking horizontal layers of plastic. FDM is used to produce tactile graphics and interfaces for people with visual impairments. Unfortunately, the print orientation can alter the structure and quality of braille and text. The difference between printing braille vertically and horizontally has been documented. However, we found no comprehensive study of these angles or the angles in between, nor any study providing a quantitative and qualitative user evaluation. We conducted two mixed-methods studies to evaluate the performance of braille printed at different angles. We measured reading time and subjective preference and performed a thematic analysis of participants' responses. Our participants were faster using and preferred 75° and vertical braille over horizontal braille. These results provide makers with guidelines for creating models with readable 3D-printed braille.
Motivation of Farmers in Raising Bangkok Chickens in Unaaha Subdistrict, Konawe Regency
Authors: Munadi Laode Muh.
Published: March 2024

Motivation plays a crucial role in driving individuals to achieve goals and lead a fulfilling life. This study focuses on assessing the motivation levels of farmers engaged in raising Bangkok Chickens in Unaaha District, Konawe Regency. Conducted in March-April 2023, the research involved 30 farmers as respondents. Data collection utilized a questionnaire, and subsequent analysis was carried out descriptively. The findings revealed that 80% of Bangkok Chicken breeders fell within the motivated category, with the remaining 20% classified as less motivated. The primary motivations identified among farmers were entertainment (39%), economic factors (33%), and social aspects, which were comparatively lower (28%). This study provides insights into the diverse motivations driving farmers in the poultry industry, contributing to a better understanding of their practices and aspirations.
Integrating security risks in local adaptation to disaster risks and climate change in the Sahel region: the Badolo LocalMultiriskAdapation model
Authors: Badolo Mathieu
Published: March 2024

In the Sahel region, the impacts of security risks on economic sectors, basic social services and development dynamics have profoundly modified the local resilience challenges. They modify contextual vulnerabilities to disaster risks and climate change, increase resilience needs and alter local resilience course and capacities. The consequences of security risks could include significant local resilience to climate change regressions. For local governments, a relevant and efficient response to these consequences of security risks could be the adoption of integrated local adaptation plans. In this article, the methodological tools and resilience approach of the ClimResilience Scientific Framework are used to develop the Badolo LocalMultiriskAdapation model. It is a scientific tool to strengthen the capacities of local governments to elaborate and implement multirisk, multidimensional integrated responses to disaster risks, climate change and security risks. Specifically, it is, for local governments, an efficient scientific tool to characterize and achieve successive progress related to adaptation to disaster risks, climate change and security risks, taking into account local specificities and capacities.In practice, the implementation of the Model that we propose requires scientific partnerships and local governance of adaptation which is participatory, inclusive, fundamentally characterized by integrated management of disaster risks, climate change and security risks.
What can the best-laid plans of multilateral donors tell us about the likelihood of protecting human rights in area-based conservation interventions? A case study from Bangladesh.
Authors: Scanlan Oliver
Published: March 2024

Adequately integrating evidence from diverse social science perspectives, from political ecology to development studies, gives us a clear picture of the conditions necessary for conservation strategies to support human rights outcomes. Collectively these comprise the need for principles of recognitional, procedural and distributional justice to be embedded in conservation programs. An analysis of the World Bank-funded Sustainable Access to Forests and Livelihoods (SUFAL) Program in Bangladesh, finds significant shortcomings relating to this conception of environmental justice within the disclosed project documentation. The SUFAL project is likely to fail in achieving human rights outcomes. The theoretical implication is that at least in some cases area-based conservation will fail to protect human rights because justice is not part of the plan. The methodological implication is that analysis of all extant disclosed donor documentation by area experts is a research priority, allowing us to determine the extent to which the SUFAL intervention design is typical. To the extent that it is typical, it is likely that the Global Biodiversity Framework will fail to achieve human rights outcomes. In policy terms, this further vindicates recent progress in donor disclosure practices; such practices should be strengthened where they already exist, and adopted immediately by conservation NGOs and civil society organizations.
The Indonesian Independent Curriculum Requires Student-Centred Teaching Approaches: Does the Teacher Guide Accompanying a Grade VIII Ministry-Published Mathematics Textbook Assist Teachers?
Authors: Rahimah Dewi , Susanta Agus , Susanto Edi , Utari Tria
Published: March 2024

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia published mathematics textbooks accompanied by teacher guides to support the implementation of the independent curriculum requiring student-centred teaching approaches. It is important to know whether the teacher guides provide sufficient guidance for teachers in implementing student-centred teaching approaches in classrooms. This study was qualitative research applying textual analysis and a text-coding method. This research study found that in the teacher guide, pedagogical guidance for handling students’ errors was provided only for one section of the textbook, namely, Let Us Explore, while pedagogical guidance for handling students’ difficulties was not provided for any section of the textbook. An answer key without an explanation was provided for most of Let Us Explore, Let Us Think Creatively, and Let Us Communicate sections; an answer key with an explanation was provided for most of Let Us Think Critically sections; and for most of Let Us Use Technology and Let Us Work Together sections, an answer key was not provided. An explanation of how to use sections of the textbook was provided for most of Let Us Explore, Let Us Work Together, and Let Us Communicate sections, and it was dominated by teaching scenarios to use these sections.
Pyramid of Thought: Enhancing the Chain of Thought with the Fibonacci Sequence and the Inner Thought Journal
Authors: Nkwindjeu Fabo Fritz
Published: March 2024

Recent advances in large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated their remarkable abilities in complex language tasks. However, achieving the depth and flexibility of human reasoning remains a challenge. Inspired by the power of step-by-step reasoning highlighted in "Chain-of-Thought Prompting Elicits Reasoning in Large Language Models," this paper introduces the "Pyramid of Thought" framework. This framework leverages principles of Euclidean geometry, the Fibonacci sequence, and psychological engagement to create structured, adaptable AI responses while promoting transparent and intuitive communication.

The "Pyramid of Thought" uses a dynamic layer mechanism, adjustable via linear, logarithmic, or Fibonacci-based scaling. This aligns the AI's thought process with natural mathematical patterns. Mirroring psychological principles, this approach aims to promote user engagement. Each layer builds on the previous one, starting with foundational facts ("Five Ws") and progressing through reasoning steps ("How," "Then"), culminating in an "Apex" of analysis or insight. An inner thought journal maintains contextual richness.

The flexible and iterative nature of the "Pyramid of Thought" reflects the emphasis on refinement and evolution found in conceptual modeling. Experiments will evaluate its effectiveness against traditional AI response methods. Metrics will include user engagement, response coherence, satisfaction, and the model's ability to communicate its reasoning process transparently. We anticipate that the "Pyramid of Thought" will produce more intuitive, meaningful, and thought-provoking interactions, aligning with the goals of conceptual modeling in simulation. This work contributes to the development of AI systems that better emulate human reasoning patterns and foster clearer communication.
Neural Architecture Transfer 2
Authors: Lomurno Eugenio , Matteucci Matteo , Sarti Simone
Published: March 2024

The advent of deep learning has had a significant impact on various sectors of modern society, with artificial neural networks becoming the leading models for tackling a wide range of challenges. The innovation of Neural Architecture Search (NAS) methods, which facilitate the automated creation of optimal neural networks, marks a significant step forward in this field. However, the large computational resources and time required for NAS processes are significant limitations. To address these challenges, Once-For-All (OFA) and its advanced version, Once-For-All-2 (OFAv2), were introduced to develop a single, comprehensive super-network capable of efficiently deriving specific sub-networks without the need for retraining, thereby maintaining stellar performance under varying constraints. Building on this, Neural Architecture Transfer (NAT) was developed to improve the efficiency of extracting such sub-networks from the overarching super-network. This study introduces Neural Architecture Transfer 2 (NAT2), an evolution of NAT that refines the multi-objective search mechanisms within dynamic super-networks to further improve the performance-complexity trade-off for the searched architectures. Leveraging the advances of OFAv2, NAT2 introduces significant qualitative improvements in the sub-networks that can be extracted by incorporating novel policies for network initialisation, pre-processing, and archive updates, as well as a fine-tuning based post-processing pipeline. The empirical evidence presented here highlights the effectiveness of NAT2 over its predecessor, particularly in the development of high-performance architectures with a reduced number of parameters and multiply-accumulate operations.
Automatic Recognition of Gesture Identity and Onset of Cues-Speech
Authors: Sarré Annahita , Salpeter Hagar , Bechar Deliane , Cohen Laurent , Lakretz Yair
Published: March 2024

Cued speech is a communication system based on hand gestures used in certain communities of deaf people around the world. Hand gestures in cued speech convey complementary information to that available from lip-reading alone, which helps to communicate accurate phonological information. Cued speech provides several unique opportunities for scientific research, such as studying phonological processing via the visual modality. However, cued speech has been studied only scarcely since its invention, and there are only a few empirical datasets and standardized methods available to the scientific community. Here, we suggest several contributions to advance research in the field: (1) A new dataset on cued speech annotated for various linguistic features, (2) a new approach to automatically identify gesture identity and gesture onset from raw videos, using cued-speech-specific features, which achieves relatively high performance (AUC-identity>0.95), $Error-onset=93ms$), and (3) additional insights into the relationship between sound and gesture production in cued speech, showing that syllable acoustic onset precedes gesture onset by around 150ms on average and that this time difference is more sensitive to consonant rather than to vowel identity. We make the new dataset and all associated tools publicly available.
A Meta-Analysis of Relative Clause Processing in Mandarin Chinese Using Bias Modelling
Authors: Vasishth Shravan
Published: March 2024

The reading difficulty associated with Chinese relative clauses presentsan important empirical problem for psycholinguistic research on sentencecomprehension processes. Some studies show that object relatives are easierto process than subject relatives, while others show the opposite pattern. IfChinese has an object relative advantage, this has important implicationsfor theories of reading comprehension. In order to clarify the facts aboutChinese, we carried out a Bayesian random-effects meta-analysis using 15published studies; this analysis showed that the posterior probability of asubject relative advantage is approximately 0.77 (mean 16, 95% credibleintervals −29 and 61 ms). Because the studies had significant biases, itis possible that they may have confounded the results. Bias modelling is apotentially important tool in such situations because it uses expert opinion toincorporate the biases in the model. As a proof of concept, we first identifiedbiases in five of the fifteen studies, and elicited priors on these using theSHELF framework. Then we fitted a random-effects meta-analysis, includingpriors on biases. This analysis showed a stronger posterior probability (0.96)of a subject relative advantage compared to the standard random-effectsmeta-analysis (mean 33, credible intervals −4 and 71).
Predicting long-term pain by combining brain imaging, genetics and health questionnaire data with Swedish national registries using a prospective superstruct design
Authors: Gedin Filip , Blomé Sebastian , Kastrati Granit , Lalouni Maria , Åhs Fredrik , Fransson Peter , Rosén Jörgen , Thompson William Hedley , Jensen Karin
Published: March 2024

BackgroundLong-term pain is a common health problem that results in disability for patients of all ages, leading to an enormous economic burden. Over 20% of the population suffer from long-term pain. Unfortunately, there are no clinical tests that predicts who will develop long-term pain. The overall aim is to predict future pain incidence based on brain function, pain behavior, health status, and genetic variability.MethodPrePain utilizes a superstruct design, which involves recruiting participants from ongoing research projects. Eligible individuals for participation in PrePain were over 18 years old and free from long-term pain. During the baseline visit, participants provide pain and health-related questionnaires, undergo structural and functional MRI scans, and provide a saliva sample for DNA extraction. Individual baseline measures are then routinely followed- up via national registries.ResultWe present quality-assessed data from over 300 participants. The average age was 34 years, and most participants were women (75%). Participants rated their pain sensitivity above average and reported low avoidance. Catastrophizing thoughts during painful episodes were rated as moderate. Assessments of (f)MRI data indicated generally good image quality. In this first follow-up, we found that 45 participants had a pain-related diagnoses.ConclusionResults indicate that a superstruct design is feasible for collecting a large number of high-quality data. The incidence of long-term pain indicates that a sufficient number of participants have been recruited to complete the prediction analyses. PrePain is a unique prospective pain database with a fair prognosis to determine risk factors of long-term pain.
An online emotion socialization intervention for parents of children with challenging behavior: Tuning in to Kids OnLine (TIKOL)
Authors: Havighurst Sophie , Mangelsdorf Shaminka N , Boswell Nikki , Little Jonathon , Zhang Abby , Gleeson Kate , Hussain Aniqa , Harley Ann , Radovini Alessandra , Kehoe Christiane
Published: March 2024

Evidence-based parenting programs delivered using online technology are an important way to enhance program uptake. To date, programs that address emotion socialization processes, such as Tuning in to Kids, have always been delivered in person, via group or one-to-one delivery. This study used a randomized control design to examine the efficacy of Tuning in to Kids OnLine (TIKOL). Participants were 150 parents of children aged 4-10 years old with challenging behaviors, randomized into intervention or 10-month waitlist control. Parents and teachers completed questionnaires at baseline and 6 months after the intervention (equivalent time points for controls) measuring parent wellbeing, parent emotion socialization, parent efficacy, child behavior and anxiety. Analyses, using mixed methods multilevel modelling, showed that intervention parents reported significantly reduced emotion dismissiveness and increased emotion coaching, empathy and efficacy compared to controls who did not. Parents participating in TIKOL also reported that their children’s behavior problems and anxiety were significantly improved. Greater engagement (modules watched and duration of support calls) was associated with more significant improvements. Findings support the efficacy of TIKOL in improving parents’ emotion socialization and reducing child behavior problems and anxiety, especially when efforts to support online engagement are utilized.
Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Opportunities, Challenges, and Ethical Considerations
Authors: Farmer Ryan L. , Lockwood Adam , Goforth Anisa , Thomas Christopher
Published: March 2024

This project explores the rapidly evolving integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into psychological practice, focusing on health service psychologists. The study critically examines the potential, limitations, and ethical/legal considerations of AI use in this field.Artificial Intelligence, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs), presents both promising applications and significant ethical concerns for psychological practice. This paper aims to provide a balanced view of AI's integration into psychology, advocating for careful oversight, ethical practices, and legal compliance to harness AI's potential responsibly. The manuscript details AI's practical uses in administrative tasks, therapeutic services, and enhancing service provision, while also addressing the potential risks such as bias introduction, deskilling, and privacy concerns. Special attention is given to the ethical and legal challenges posed by AI technologies, emphasizing the need for ongoing evaluation and updating of ethical codes and legal frameworks to align with technological advancements. This project raises awareness among psychologists about the complexities of AI application in their practice, urging a cautious yet optimistic approach to integrating these technologies. It serves as a call to action for the psychological community to actively engage in shaping the future of AI in their field, ensuring that advancements improve service quality without compromising ethical standards or client welfare.
Understanding Daily Positive Emotion Regulation: Examining Associations With Momentary Emotions and Anhedonia
Authors: van Roekel Eeske , Erbas Yasemin , Everaert Jonas , Dejonckheere Egon , Maciejewski Dominique
Published: March 2024

Disturbances in positive emotion play a unique role in mental health problems, but little is known about how positive emotion regulation (ER) processes unfold in daily life. This study aimed to capture the dynamics of daily positive ER processes by investigating (1) which positive ER strategies individuals use, (2) the association between intensity of positive and negative emotions and the use of specific positive ER strategies, and (3) how positive ER strategy use is associated with changes in emotions. Additionally, the role of anhedonia in explaining inter-individual differences in positive ER processes was examined. A total of 159 emerging adults (Mage=21.50, 76% female) completed a baseline questionnaire and enrolled in a 14-day Experience Sampling Method (ESM) study (5x/day), tracking their emotions and positive ER strategies. Pre-registered Dynamic Structural Equation Models showed that greater emotional intensity, regardless of valence, was associated with increased positive ER strategy use. Using upregulation strategies was linked to improvements in emotions, whereas downregulation strategies had the opposite effect. Anhedonia did not consistently explain individual differences in these associations. Our findings highlight the complexity of positive ER processes in daily life and their mental health implications, and underscore the need for further research in this area.
Art, Music, and Sport: Catalysts of Growth for Adolescents in Extreme Contexts - A Qualitative Inquiry
Authors: Decarpentrie Laurie , Bélanger Claude , Rakotondramanana Bryan , Rakotomalala Olivier , Guirao José Luis , Aina Miranto Andrianina Ramarokoto Ny , Gadais Tegwen
Published: March 2024

Limited research has focused on the experiences of adolescents in extracurricular programs and their potential to enhance their optimal development. Moreover, less studies examine the participation in such programs for those developing in extreme conditions (i.e. extreme poverty, sexual exploitation, refugee camps, conflicted areas, areas affected by climate changes). This study focuses on the experience of youth living in the difficult context of Southern Madagascar. The aims of this study are to explore and gain a better understanding of the experience of adolescents engaging in extracurricular activities within this extreme context. A total of 14 (N=14) semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 participants (M=7; F=7), aged 15 to 19 years old, involved in extracurricular programs like art, music and sport, provided by a local non-governmental organisation. Based on a thematic analysis, the results show that this extracurricular program support the process of socialization of youth, personal growth, and give a sense of protection. Such programs also support their psychological well-being and their basic psychological needs in a challenging and insecure environment, and attempt to bridge the gap in basic resources. Overall, these results offer interesting insights on the value of these programs for youth living in extreme contexts of development.
Validating a measure of the precision of ascending noxious signals
Authors: Singh Aadya , Treister Roi , Charalambous Christiana , Mancini Flavia , Talmi Deborah
Published: March 2024

Pain perception can be described as a process of Bayesian inference, which generates sensory estimates based on prior expectations and afferent information. The inference is inherently affected by the precision (inverse variance) of the distribution of centrally-predicted ascending noxious signals. In this study, we examined the measurement validity of Bayesian likelihood precision in pain perception. Using a 2x2 fully factorial within-subject design, we measured and compared the precision of the distribution of centrally-predicted noxious stimuli in four tasks administered to 57 healthy adults: the cued-pain task (CPT) and the Focused Analgesia Test (FAST), in two noxious modalities, thermal and electrical. A hierarchical Bayesian model was applied to the CPT, and the FAST was employed as a validation criterion, given that it is known to correlate with clinical pain reports and the placebo response. We found that individuals with a more precise representation of ascending sensory signals in the cued-pain task produced less variable pain reports in the FAST. We validated the result by replicating this correlation across thermal and electrical pain. These results support the validity of our approach to the measurement of precision of ascending noxious signals. Their correlation with FAST scores supports their criterion validity and their correlation across noxious sub-modalities support the concurrent validity of this measurement. In the future, the precision of noxious inputs could be used to quantify individual placebo susceptibility, and thereby optimise the assay sensitivity of randomised clinical trials of new pain medication.
Significantly higher suicide mortality (p=.05) without gender reassignment should not be dismissed. A commentary on Ruuska et al. “All- cause and suicide mortalities among adolescents and young adults who contacted specialised gender identity services in Finland in 1996–2019: a register study” BMJ Ment Health 2024;27:1–6.
Authors: Sullins Donald
Published: March 2024

Ruuska et al.’s [1] analysis inappropriately concluded that medical gender reassignment (GR) did not reduce suicide mortality because they had assessed that “the suicide mortality of both those [presenting with gender dysphoria (GD)] who proceeded and did not proceed to GR did not statistically significantly differ from that of controls.” On the contrary, by conventional criteria, the suicide mortality of the non-GR group was significantly higher than controls while that of the GR group was not. This complicates, but does not negate, their observation that this comparison “does not support the claims that GR is necessary in order to prevent suicide.”
Νευροποικιλότητα στην τριτοβάθμια εκπαίδευση
Authors: Zerva Irini
Published: March 2024

Η νευροποικιλότητα ως ορολογία έχει πλέον εισαχθεί στο επιστημονικό και εκπαιδευτικό γίγνεσθαι, συμπορεύεται με την έννοια της συμπερίληψης και αποτελεί ζητούμενο για την αποτελεσματικότερη εκπαιδευτική μεθοδολογία. Αφορά σε ευαίσθητους μαθησιακά και εκπαιδευτικά πληθυσμούς, οι οποίοι παρόλο που εντάσσονται στην εκπαιδευτική διαδικασία χωρίς αποκλεισμούς, εντούτοις δεν αναγνωρίζεται πάντα και στον βαθμό που θα έπρεπε η ευαλωτότητά τους, ιδιαίτερα μετά την ενηλικίωσή τους και την απομάκρυνσή τους από το σχολικό περιβάλλον. Η ανώτατη εκπαίδευση ταυτίζεται χρονικά με την ενηλικίωση και η συμπεριληπτική κουλτούρα που σε προηγούμενες βαθμίδες της εκπαίδευσης αποτελεί ζητούμενο, στην τριτοβάθμια εκπαίδευση αποτελεί στοιχείο τυχαιότητας, υποκειμενικότητας και μερικής πλαισίωσης, επιφανειακής τις περισσότερες φορές. Η πορεία ωστόσο προς τη γνωστική ανάπτυξη και την ακαδημαϊκή πρόοδο είναι προϋπόθεση της πολύπλευρης εξέλιξης του ατόμου και όταν αυτή ανακόπτεται ή δυσχεραίνεται εμποδίζοντας την ατομική, πνευματική και επαγγελματική ανάπτυξη του ατόμου, τότε μπορεί κανείς να ξεκινήσει να μιλά για κοινωνικό αποκλεισμό και άνισες ευκαιρίες. Χρειάζεται επαναπροσδιορισμός των παρεχόμενων μέσων υποστήριξης και επικαιροποίησή τους, ώστε να είναι σύμφωνα με τις ανάγκες ενός σύγχρονου ανθρώπου.
Investigating the Causal Effects of Anger on Costly Third-Party Punishment
Authors: Sasse Julia , Baumert Anna
Published: March 2024

Anger, as a common reaction to injustice and due to its approach motivation, is assumed to fuel the costly punishment of others’ unjust acts, even if they do not affect one personally. Yet, to date, this causal role of anger in costly third-party punishment is underexplored. To close this gap, we conducted a series of seven studies (total N = 3249) in which we experimentally induced anger and assessed consequential behavioral reactions to unfair dictator decisions in the third-party punishment game (3PPG). In five studies, we used incidental anger induction procedures (imagery or autobiographical recall) that allowed us to induce anger without altering the specifics of the game. In all studies, anger was successfully induced yet did not lead to more punishment compared to an emotionally neutral control condition. In two further studies, we then used integral anger induction procedures (framing and regulation) to manipulate anger that originates in the game. Particularly framing showed to be effective: Here, the dictator’s unfair split was held constant across conditions but was either the result of giving little to or taking a lot from the recipient. As expected, participants in the take-condition experienced more anger than in the give-condition. Importantly, participants in the take-condition punished more than participants in the give-condition and the effect was mediated through experienced anger. Taken together, this series of studies provided evidence for the causal role of anger for third-party punishment but only if anger originates from the unfair act itself.
People, process and power: implementing advance choice documents for Black people in mental healthcare
Authors: Babatunde Abigail , Simpson Adelabu Jonathan , Gilbert Steven , Simpson Alan , Stephenson Lucy , Owen Gareth , Chua Kia-Chong , Ruck-Keene Alex , Smith Shubulade , Henderson Claire
Published: March 2024

BackgroundAdvance Choice Documents (ACDs) have been recommended for inclusion in new mental health legislation for England and Wales. This is based on evidence-based interventions to reduce compulsory psychiatric admission, with particular benefit for Black people, whose rates of compulsory psychiatric admission in the UK are over three times higher than those of White British people. Our aim was to explore potential barriers and enablers to effective implementation of ACDs for use by Black people with previous experience of compulsory admission. MethodsSeven online and in-person workshops were held with: Black service users who had previously been compulsorily admitted, carers/supporters of Black service users, and mental health professionals. Workshops were recorded and transcribed. ResultsInductive analysis was employed to identify recommendations and determine where there was a lack of consensus. Thematic analysis identified key themes of ‘people’, ‘process’ and ‘power’ pertaining to ACD implementation.DiscussionOur results reinforce the need for independent facilitation for ACD creation and their potential to empower Black service users in relation to their care. They suggest that explicit acknowledgement of, and time spent listening to, the historical and individual poor experiences that underlie the treatment preferences Black people express are important aspects of ACD creation.
Language-based game theory in the age of artificial intelligence
Authors: Capraro Valerio , Di Paolo Roberto , Perc Matjaz , Pizziol Veronica
Published: March 2024

Understanding human behaviour in decision problems and strategic interactions has wide-ranging applications in economics, psychology, and artificial intelligence. Game theory offers a robust foundation for this understanding, based on the idea that individuals aim to maximize a utility function. However, the exact factors influencing strategy choices remain elusive. While traditional models try to explain human behaviour as a function of the outcomes of available actions, recent experimental research reveals that linguistic content significantly impacts decision-making, thus prompting a paradigm shift from outcome-based to language-based utility functions. This shift is more urgent than ever, given the advancement of generative AI, which has the potential to support humans in making critical decisions through language-based interactions. We propose sentiment analysis as a fundamental tool for this shift and take an initial step by analyzing 61 experimental instructions from the dictator game, an economic game capturing the balance between self-interest and the interest of others, which is at the core of many social interactions. Our meta-analysis shows that sentiment analysis can explain human behaviour beyond economic outcomes. We discuss future research directions. We hope this work sets the stage for a novel game theoretical approach that emphasizes the importance of language in human decisions.
Open TSST VR: Psychobiological reactions to an open version of the Trier Social Stress Test in Virtual Reality
Authors: Linnig Katrin , Seel Saskia , von Dawans Bernadette , Zielasko Daniel , Standard William , Weyers Benjamin , Domes Gregor
Published: March 2024

The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) has become one of the most frequently employed laboratory stressors in human studies over the past decades. Several TSST adaptations for the presentation in virtual reality (VR) have been introduced and evaluated recently. Here we describe a freely available version, the Open TSST-VR. In two independent studies, we evaluated subjective, endocrine, and heart rate responses to the Open TSST-VR compared to an active control condition. In study 1, 50 men were randomly assigned to the Open TSST-VR or the control condition. Compared to the active control condition, the Open TSST-VR induced higher levels of subjective stress and significantly more cortisol responders. In study 2, we employed a balanced within-subject design comparing groups of 46 men and women. Again, the TSST-VR induced more stress than the control condition and a stronger cortisol response, but there were also order-effects suggesting that the TSST-VR is less suitable for within-subject comparisons. In both studies, we observed a substantial stress level (and cortisol responders) in the control condition indicating that future studies should further elaborate on non-stressful control conditions, either without any task or non-stressful active components. Overall, the Open TSST-VR is a versatile tool for collaborative experimental stress research that offers flexibility to a broad range of future research questions among various disciplines.
Toward a Mechanistic Understanding of LGBTQ-Affirmative Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: Testing Treatment Mediators in a Randomized Controlled Trial with Young Gay and Bisexual Men
Authors: Burger Julian , Wang Katie , Hollinsaid Nathan Louis , Safren Steve A , Pachankis John E.
Published: March 2024

Introduction: Young gay and bisexual men (YGBM) face elevated risk for co-occurring mental (e.g., depression, anxiety), behavioral (e.g., substance use), and sexual (e.g., HIV-transmission-risk behavior) health challenges compared to their heterosexual peers. LGBTQ-affirmative cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) targets psychosocial pathways through which minority stress contributes to these disparities. We evaluated whether LGBTQ-affirmative CBT operates through these mechanisms.Methods: We analyzed clinical trial data from 254 HIV-negative YGBM (ages 18–35; 67.2% racial/ethnic minority) with mental, behavioral, and/or sexual health concerns, randomly assigned to receive LGBTQ-affirmative CBT or one of two control conditions: LGBTQ-affirmative community counseling or HIV testing and counseling. Using baseline and 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow-up assessments, trajectories of identity-specific (i.e., acceptance concerns, concealment motivation, and internalized stigma) and general (i.e., assertiveness, emotion regulation difficulties, rumination, self-esteem, and social support) psychological mechanisms were examined. Additionally, latent change score structural equation models tested whether these mechanisms mediated the relative impact of LGBTQ-affirmative CBT on depression, anxiety, substance use, HIV-transmission-risk behavior, or their co-occurrence.Results: LGBTQ-affirmative CBT was associated with early and enduring improvements in internalized stigma, emotion regulation, rumination, and assertiveness, but not greater than control. Changes in emotion regulation and assertiveness also consistently predicted reductions in all study outcomes. No indirect effects emerged in the mediation models.Conclusion: Identifying treatment mechanisms can maximize the efficacy of LGBTQ-affirmative CBT. Based on this study, universal processes such as assertiveness and emotion regulation difficulties may be promising candidate mechanisms. Future iterations of LGBTQ-affirmative CBT should aim to maximize improvements in these processes.
Pervasive and Pernicious Underestimation of Asian Americans’ Support for Affirmative Action
Authors: Goh Jin X. , Alt Nicholas P
Published: March 2024

Polling data show that 69% of Asian American voters favor affirmative action. However, Asian Americans were featured prominently by the organization Students for Fair Admissions, which played a central role in the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn affirmative action. This may distort people’s estimates of Asian Americans’ support for affirmative action. Two studies (N = 695) found that people, even Asian Americans, underestimated Asian Americans’ support for affirmative action. Three follow-up studies (N = 1,625), where we manipulated perceived Asian Americans’ support for affirmative action or the Supreme Court’s decision, found no evidence that such information affected White people’s support for affirmative action. In Study 6 (N = 365), however, we found that Asian Americans were more likely to agree with the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn affirmative action when they saw that a majority of Asian Americans supported the court ruling (relative to a control condition in which no information was presented). This suggests that the widespread misperception of Asian Americans’ support for affirmative action and their central role in the Supreme Court cases may ultimately create a self-fulfilling prophecy that could shift individual Asian Americans’ own attitude about affirmative action.
Psychological Safety and Patient Safety: a systematic and narrative review
Authors: Montgomery Anthony , Chalili Vilma , Mouratidis Christos , Maliousis Ilias , Lainidi Olga , Paitaridou Konstantina
Published: March 2024

Importance: Various psychological concepts have been proposed over time as potential solutions to improving patient safety and quality of care. Psychological safety has been identified as a crucial mechanism of learning and development, and one that can facilitate optimal patient safety in healthcare.Objective: We investigated the quantitative evidence on the relationship between psychological safety and objective patient safety outcomes.Evidence review: We searched 8 databases and conducted manual scoping to identify peer reviewed quantitative studies published up to November 2023. Objective patient safety outcomes of any type were eligible. The findings were analysed descriptively and discussed in a narrative synthesis.Findings: Nine papers were selected for inclusion which reported on heterogeneous patient safety outcomes. Five studies showed a significant relationship between psychological safety and patient safety. The majority of studies reported on the experiences of nurses working in healthcare from the USA. Conclusion: No clear conclusions can be extracted regarding the relationship between psychological safety and patient safety. Patient safety may be contradictory to elements of psychological safety and a more nuanced approach is needed. Systematic review registration This systematic review is registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO CRD4202347829).
Within- and between-person associations between social interactions and loneliness: Students’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Truong Alyssa , Keskin Gizem , Lougheed Jessica P.
Published: March 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced many restrictions to in-person interactions, and remote social interactions may be especially important for managing loneliness when such restrictions are in place. However, it is unclear how social interactions are related to loneliness when in-person interactions are limited. Data were collected between February 2021 and March 2022 from a sample of 581 university students. Participants reported their loneliness and participation in positive in-person or remote social interactions each day for 14 days. Results from dynamic structural equation models showed that participants felt less lonely than they usually felt on the days they engaged in positive remote interactions at the within-person level. Moreover, participants generally felt less lonely when engaging more frequently in remote interactions, but only when in-person interactions were restricted (between-person level). Some of these results varied by changing COVID-19 restrictions. Finally, for participants who felt lonelier in general, the effect of positive in-person and remote interactions on loneliness was less strong. These findings suggest that social interactions may buffer loneliness but are not as impactful for those who experience greater loneliness.
Make a Move: A Multi-method Quasi-Experimental Study of a Program Targeting Psychosexual Health and Sexual and Dating Violence for Dutch Male Adolescents
Authors: Verbeek Mirthe , van de Bongardt Daphne , Luijk Maartje , Weeland Joyce
Published: March 2024

Adolescent sexual and dating violence (SDV) is a worldwide problem. Although male adolescents in vocational education or youth care may be at increased risk of perpetrating SDV, little is known about effective gender-specific prevention. Therefore, we conducted a quasi-experimental evaluation of a Dutch group-counseling program promoting psychosexual health and preventing SDV among male adolescents aged 12–18 years: Make a Move. The 66 participating male adolescents completed three questionnaires (baseline, post-test, 3-month follow-up; 48.5% retention). We also conducted interviews with a subsample of four adolescents and two trainers and performed observations in one group. With these multi-method, multi-informant data, we evaluated program effectiveness on the six intended outcomes (attitudes, social norms, self-efficacy, skills, intentions and SDV perpetration) by 1) statistically comparing self-reports between the intervention and control groups; 2) thematically analyzing interview data and 3) describing three individual male adolescent cases, triangulating questionnaire, interview, and observation data. We found limitations in program integrity, and evidence for program effectiveness on skills, mixed evidence on attitudes, self-efficacy and intentions, but no evidence for effectiveness on socials norms or SDV perpetration. We also found indications of adverse effects on attitudes and intentions. We offer suggestions for program refinement and future program evaluations.
Using Monte Carlo Simulation to Forecast the Scientific Utility of Psychological App Studies: A Tutorial.
Authors: Kueppers Sebastian , Rau Richard , Scharf Florian
Published: March 2024

Mobile applications offer a wide range of opportunities for psychological data collection, such as increased ecological validity and greater acceptance by participants compared to traditional laboratory studies. However, app-based psychological data also pose data-analytic challenges because of the complexities introduced by missingness and interdependence of observations. Consequently, researchers must weigh the advantages and disadvantages of app-based data collection to decide on the scientific utility of their proposed app study. For instance, some studies might only be worthwhile if they provide adequate statistical power. However, the complexity of app data forestalls the use of simple analytic formulas to estimate properties such as power. In this paper, we demonstrate how Monte Carlo simulations can be used to investigate the impact of app usage behavior on the utility of app-based psychological data. We introduce a set of questions to guide simulation implementation and showcase how we answered them for the simulation in the context of the guessing game app Who Knows. Finally, we give a brief overview of the simulation results and the conclusions we have drawn from them for real-world data generation. Our results can serve as an example of how to use a simulation approach for planning real-world app-based data collection.
I’m a 5, I’m Paralyzed, but I’m Learning to Move! Fostering the Development of Voluntary Motor Skills in Spastic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy Child using a Novel Psychomotor Sensory Substitution Paradigm : A case report
Authors: Junker-Tschopp Chantal , Folletet
Published: March 2024

Background: Cerebral palsy, particularly spastic quadriplegia (SQ), severely impairs motor development. Developing voluntary motor skills is therefore one of the most challenging issues when considering these children! Movement relies on sensation, yet quadriplegia not only impairs motor control but also somatosensory sensitivity, particularly proprioception, hindering clear perception of body movement.Objective: The present project aims to evaluate the efficacy of a novel sensory substitution paradigm utilizing visuo-auditory feedback through a serious game (SG) in fostering the development of voluntary motor skills among SQ children.Methods: We tested one 5-year-old girl with severe motor disabilities due to SQ, who are unable to sit or control her head (GMFCS grade V, SATCo score 0) and demonstrate no manual ability (MACS grade V). She can only voluntarily control her eyes, moving and focusing on a target when asked. The child is non-verbal but can respond to simple questions by looking at basic communicative targets. Using an EMG device, muscle contractions were translated into visual and auditory feedback according to a sensory substitution paradigm. A right-arm contraction prompts the appearance of a cat on the right side of the screen, while a left arm contraction positions it on the left. Conversely, the onset of a spasm triggers a soothing melody. The child attended 9 bi-weekly 60-minute sessions at her institution. Data collection was conducted using video recordings reporting 1) the number of spasms versus voluntary movements event per minute, 2) movement pattern and 3) gaze orientation. A baseline before the intervention was established over 4 sessions of standard treatment for comparison.Results: our preliminary findings show that the sensory substitution SG we designed for this SQ CP child prove to be effective to provide visuo-auditive feedback to the child’s contractions and therefore allows the child to produce more controlled movements. Moreover, they highlight the potential of providing visuo-auditive feedback to the child's contractions as a substitute for impaired proprioception, restoring crucial cues for motor development and control.
Long-term perspectives of participating in extracurricular activities in an extreme context in Madagascar
Authors: Decarpentrie Laurie , Bélanger Claude , Rakotondramanana Bryan , Rakoto Sitrakarivo , Rakotomalala Olivier , Guirao José Luis , Gadais Tegwen
Published: March 2024

In recent decades, extreme development contexts (i.e., extreme poverty, refugee camps, conflicted areas, areas affected by climate change, sexual exploitation) are gaining ground, increasingly affecting youth throughout the world. It is crucial to examine how youth optimal development can be sustained in these extreme contexts. Extracurricular activities are considered a potential avenue, yet there is limited research on their impact, especially concerning long-term effects in adulthood. This collaborative study aims to explore and gain a deeper understanding of the long-term perspectives of young adults who engaged in extracurricular activities (specifically art-music and sports) during adolescence in the challenging southern region of Madagascar. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight participants (M=4; F=4), aged 19 to 27. The results indicate the value of these programs during their involvement, supporting basic psychological needs, acting as a protective factor against risky behaviors, providing a meaningful time investment, offering a nurturing environment for developing personal values, fostering personal growth, and focusing on education. Importantly, the programs appear to have a lasting impact, influencing participants' adult lives. They contribute to the development of enduring relationships, promote the acquisition of transferable cognitive and non-cognitive skills, facilitate the pursuit of new personal projects, and open doors to employment opportunities. Overall, the findings offer valuable insights into the significance of participating in extracurricular programs for youth in extreme contexts of development, both during and years after their involvement. Results underscore extracurricular programs as a valuable means to sustain optimal youth development over time, emphasizing their importance in challenging environments.