Psychological well-being in Europe after the outbreak of war in Ukraine

The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has had devastating effects on the Ukrainian population and the global economy, environment, and political order. However, little is known about the psychological states surrounding the outbreak of war, particularly the mental well-being of individuals outside Ukraine. Here, we present a longitudinal experience-sampling study of a convenience sample from 17 European countries (total participants = 1,341, total assessments = 44,894, countries with >100 participants = 5) that allows us to track well-being levels across countries during the weeks surrounding the outbreak of war. Our data show a significant decline in well-being on the day of the Russian invasion. Recovery over the following weeks was associated with an individual’s personality but was not statistically significantly associated with their age, gender, subjective social status, and political orientation. In general, well-being was lower on days when the war was more salient on social media. Our results demonstrate the need to consider the psychological implications of the Russo-Ukrainian war next to its humanitarian, economic, and ecological consequences

A global experience-sampling method study of well-being during times of crisis : The CoCo project

We present a global experience-sampling method (ESM) study aimed at describing, predicting, and understanding individual differences in well-being during times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This international ESM study is a collaborative effort of over 60 interdisciplinary researchers from around the world in the “Coping with Corona” (CoCo) project. The study comprises trait-, state-, and daily-level data of 7490 participants from over 20 countries (total ESM measurements = 207,263; total daily measurements = 73,295) collected between October 2021 and August 2022. We provide a brief overview of the theoretical background and aims of the study, present the applied methods (including a description of the study design, data collection procedures, data cleaning, and final sample), and discuss exemplary research questions to which these data can be applied. We end by inviting collaborations on the CoCo dataset

Automatic or controlled: How does disbelief in free will influence cognitive functioning?

Most people believe in free will. Past research has indicated that reducing this belief has numerous downstream consequences including everyday outcomes as well as neural and cognitive correlates associated with a reduction of self-control. However, the exact mechanisms through which a reduction in free will belief affects self-control are still a matter of investigation. In the present registered report, we used a task switching paradigm to examine whether reducing belief in free will makes people less controlled or whether it enhances their reliance on automatic impulses. Using Bayesian sequential analysis, we failed to conceptually replicate the previous link between free will belief and cognitive control. Our registered report plan mostly accumulated substantial evidence supporting the null hypothesis. That is, diminished belief in free will does neither impact control nor automaticity. Theoretical implications of this finding are discussed

Is it all about appearance? Limited cognitive control and information advantage reveal self-serving reciprocity

Previous research on social preferences has found that reciprocal behavior is an automatic response, which requires less cognitive control than self-interested behavior. However, research on unethicality has demonstrated that cognitive control is required to resist the temptation to benefit from engaging in an unethical act, thus suggesting that self-interested behaviors are automatic. By manipulating information asymmetry (i.e., advantage) among trust game receivers, we examined whether the automatic tendency to positively reciprocate a kind gesture is driven by a genuine motivation to be fair, or whether it reflects a motivation to appear fair. In an equal-information condition, we replicated previous findings by showing that limited cognitive control, due to ego-depletion, promotes reciprocal behavior (Experiments 1 & 2). However, this effect did not replicate under time-constraint, an additional manipulation to limit cognitive control (Experiment 3). Importantly, in an advantaged-information condition, under ego-depletion (Experiments 1 & 2) or time-constraint (Experiments 3 & 4) manipulation, participants did not exhibit enhanced reciprocity. Rather, in three out of these four experiments, and as confirmed by a meta-analysis that additionally included a pilot experiment, participants exploited their information advantage and positively reciprocated to a lesser extent than participants whose cognitive control was intact. These results suggest that the automatic preference for reciprocity might be more driven by a self-serving motivation to appear (rather than to be) fair than is typically credited. We further discuss various other findings supporting the notion that what may appear as automatic pro-sociality may in fact reflect an automatic self-serving motivation of self-presentatio

Exploring Motivated Reasoning in Polarization over the Unfolding 2023 Judicial Reform in Israel

This work explored a rapidly unfolding polarizing issue – Israel’s Judicial Reform, introduced in January 2023. We documented mass polarization over whether the judicial reform presents a threat to democracy and examined its predictors. We found evidence that different types of polarization are related, but distinct constructs. Specifically, issue-based, affective, and perceived societal polarization are differentially predicted by trust in democratic institutions (i.e., government, judiciary, and media), constructive patriotism, and social identity. Constructive patriotism and trust in institutions predicted issue-based and affective polarization, whereas social identity predicted only issue-based polarization. These effects vary across pro- and anti-reform individuals. Perceived societal polarization was predicted by generalized trust and universalism/benevolence values across the polarized camps. These types of polarization differentially predicted downstream consequences of polarization–conflict management attitudes, acts of, and responses to, civil protests, and outgroup attitudes. We discuss the results in the context of growing anti-liberal-democratic movements and the importance of democratic education

Optimal suppression as a solution to the paradoxical cost of multitasking: examination of suppression specificity in task switching

Switching between tasks necessitates maintaining tasks in high readiness, yet readiness creates paradoxical interference from these tasks when they are not currently required. Optimal suppression, which targets just the interfering information, provides a partial solution to this paradox. By examining the carryover of suppression of a competitor stimulus-response (S-R) set from Trial N - 1 to Trial N, Meiran, Hsieh and colleagues (Meiran et al., J Exp Psychol Learn mem cognit 36:992-1002, 2010; Cognit Affect Behav Neurosci 11:292-308, 2011, and Hsieh et al., Acta Psychol 141:316-321, 2012) found that only the competing stimulus-response (S-R) set of rules is suppressed. Specifically, they found that a competitor S-R set in Trial N - 1 incurs cost when it becomes the relevant set in Trial N [competitor becomes relevant (CbR)]. Extending this logic, we predicted performance benefit when the competitor S-R set in Trial N - 1 remains the competitor S-R set in Trial N [competitor remains competitor (CrC)]. Here, we examined the question of whether what is being suppressed when encountering a response conflict is the entire S-R set of rules (e.g., IF pink PRESS right, and IF blue PRESS left) or an even more specific representation, namely, the currently interfering S-R rule (e.g., just IF blue PRESS left). We show that both CbR and CrC interact with Response (i.e., left or right key), suggesting that the system can recognize the exact source of interference (the competing S-R rule), and inhibit only this source

Polarization Over the Unfolding 2023 Judicial Reform in Israel: A Real-Time Snapshot

Polarization Over the Unfolding 2023 Judicial Reform in Israe

Validating self-reported compliance with COVID-19 regulations:Demonstrating group-level sociodemographic self-reported compliance that mirrors actual morbidity rates

Using a novel approach, in this work, we establish an association between self-reported compliance with COVID-19 preventive behaviors and fear of the virus with morbidity rates (i.e., actual tests and their outcome). In two nationally representative samples that were collected in Israel during the first (April 2020: N = 507) and second (August 2020: N = 515) waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, participants responded to items assessing their compliance with the COVID-19 preventive behaviors and their fear of contracting the virus. Participants' compliance and fear self-reports served as a proxy for morbidity rates. Specifically, we assessed the association between sociodemographic variables (gender, age, or belonging to a minority group), self-reports, and morbidity rates (as reported in publicly open databases of the Israeli health ministry). We found that self-reports of compliance and fear were mirrored and aligned with actual morbidity rates across sociodemographic variables and studies. By establishing a clear connection between specific behavior (i.e., compliance with covid regulations) and emotion (i.e., fear of getting infected by the virus), self-reports and sociodemographic variables represent a real related phenomena (i.e., covid 19 morbidity rates), our findings overall validate numerous studies that used self-reports to assess compliance with COVID-19 preventive behaviors