Is variety the spice of life? An experimental investigation into the effects of species richness on self-reported mental well-being

Losses in biodiversity and trends toward urbanisation have reduced people's contact with biodiverse nature, yet the consequences for mental well-being are not well understood. Here, we demonstrate that greater plant and animal species richness in isolation causes an improvement in mental well-being. To do so, the present research experimentally manipulated species richness and assessed widely-used indicators of mental well-being. Participants viewed short videos of either high or low tree (Study 1) or bird (Study 2) species richness and reported on positive (i.e., vitality, positive affect) and negative (i.e., anxiety) indicators of mental wellbeing. Building on Study 1, Study 2 included an urban environment as a reference treatment and explored the role of giving participants information on the presented environment. We find that, in line with expectations, watching videos containing greater species richness consistently leads to higher mental well-being. We discuss findings in light of the importance of connecting people to biodiverse environments

A large-scale test of the Goldilocks hypothesis: quantifying the relations between digital-screen use and the mental well-being of adolescents

Although the time adolescents spend with digital technologies has sparked widespread concerns that their use might be negatively associated with mental well-being, these potential deleterious influences have not been rigorously studied. Using a preregistered plan for analyzing data collected from a representative sample of English adolescents (n = 120,115), we obtained evidence that the links between digital-screen time and mental well-being are described by quadratic functions. Further, our results showed that these links vary as a function of when digital technologies are used (i.e., weekday vs. weekend), suggesting that a full understanding of the impact of these recreational activities will require examining their functionality among other daily pursuits. Overall, the evidence indicated that moderate use of digital technology is not intrinsically harmful and may be advantageous in a connected world. The findings inform recommendations for limiting adolescents’ technology use and provide a template for conducting rigorous investigations into the relations between digital technology and children’s and adolescents’ health

You 'Have' to Hear This: Using Tone of Voice to Motivate Others.

The present studies explored the role of prosody in motivating others, and applied self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) to do so. Initial studies describe patterns of prosody that discriminate motivational speech. Autonomy support was expressed with lower intensity, slower speech rate and less voice energy in both motivationally laden and neutral (but motivationally primed) sentences. In a follow-up study, participants were able to recognize motivational prosody in semantically neutral sentences, suggesting prosody alone may carry motivational content. Findings from subsequent studies also showed that an autonomy-supportive as compared with a controlling tone facilitated positive personal (perceived choice and lower perceived pressure, well-being) and interpersonal (closeness to others and prosocial behaviors) outcomes commonly linked to this type of motivation. Results inform both the social psychology (in particular motivation) and psycho-linguistic (in particular prosody) literatures and offer a first description of how motivational tone alone can shape listeners' experiences. (PsycINFO Database Recor

Enhancing need satisfaction to reduce psychological distress in Syrian refugees

Objective: Becoming a refugee is a potent risk factor for indicators of psychological distress such as depression, generalized stress, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), though research into this vulnerable population has been scant, with even less work focusing on interventions. The current study applied principles from self-determination theory (SDT; Ryan & Deci, 2000) to develop and test an intervention aimed at increasing need-satisfying experiences in refugees of Syrian civil unrest. Method: Forty-one refugees who fled Syria during the past 24 months and resettled in Jordan participated in the study and were randomly assigned to receive the intervention or a neutral comparison. Results: The 1-week-long intervention alleviated some of the need frustration likely associated with refugee status, a major aim of the intervention, and also lowered refugees’ self-reported symptoms of depression and generalized stress as compared to the comparison condition, though it did not reduce symptoms of PTSD. Conclusions: Discussion focuses on how these findings speak to the universal importance of need satisfaction for mental health, and how need-satisfying experiences can help buffer against the profound stress of being a refugee. Avenues for longer-term or more intensive interventions that may target more severe outcomes of refugee experiences, such as PTSD symptoms, are also discussed

Internet gaming disorder: investigating the clinical relevance of a new phenomenon

The American Psychiatric Association identified Internet Gaming Disorder as a new potential psychiatric disorder and has recognized that little is known about the prevalence, validity, or cross-cultural robustness of proposed Internet Gaming Disorder criteria. In response to this gap in our understanding, this project estimated the period prevalence of this new potential psychiatric disorder using APA guidance, examined the validity of its proposed indicators, evaluated reliability cross-culturally and across genders, compared it to gold-standard research on gambling addiction and problem gaming, and estimated its impact on physical, social, and mental health. To do so, in a first for this research topic, four survey studies (n = 18,932) with large international cohorts employed an open-science methodology wherein the analysis plans for confirmatory hypotheses were registered prior to data collection. Results showed that of those who play games, more than 2 in 3, did not report any symptoms of Internet Gaming Disorder, and findings showed a very small proportion of the general population – between 0.3% and 1.0% – might qualify for a potential acute diagnosis of Internet Gaming Disorder. Comparison to Gambling Disorder revealed that Internet-based games may be significantly less addictive than gambling and similarly dysregulating as electronic games more generally. The evidence linking Internet Gaming Disorder to game engagement was strong, but links to physical, social, and mental health outcomes were decidedly mixed

Using technology to make learning fun: technology use is best made fun and challenging to optimize intrinsic motivation and engagement

Educators have incorporated technologies designed to “gamify” or increase the fun and reward of classroom learning, but little is known about how these resources can be employed to create positive learning climates. Informed by self-determination theory (SDT), two experiments investigated a number of strategies teachers can use to frame one such technology, the student response system (SRS), when they use it as an educational tool to enhance its fun and contribution to positive learning environments. Participants (n = 30) in a pilot experiment were randomly assigned to a 2-month experiment that showed that using SRS versus non-technology-based learning increases academic well-being. A primary study (n = 120 students) experimentally manipulated the use of SRS with and without motivational framing strategies that were anticipated to enhance its effects, specifically by employing teamwork, friendly competition between students, and giving students a choice to participate. Results showed that motivational framing strategies enhanced students’ need satisfaction for autonomy (sense of choice), competence (sense of efficacy in relation to learning), relatedness (to others in the classroom), and academic well-being (interest and engagement). In short, the use of interactive technology and how it was implemented in class was vital for enhancing students’ learning outcomes

Anti-immigrant prejudice: understanding the roles of (perceived) values and value dissimilarity

Although human values and value dissimilarity play pivotal roles in the prejudice literature, there remain important gaps in our understanding. To address these gaps, we recruited three British samples (N = 350) and presented Muslim immigrants, refugees, and economic migrants as target groups. Using polynomial regression analyses, we simultaneously tested effects of individuals’ own values, their perceptions of immigrant values, and self-immigrant value dissimilarities on prejudice. Results indicated that favorability toward immigrants is higher when individuals hold higher self-transcendence values (e.g., equality) and lower self-enhancement values (e.g., power), and when they perceive immigrants to hold higher self-transcendence values and lower self-enhancement values. In addition, prejudice toward immigrants is higher when individuals who hold higher conservation values (e.g., security) perceive immigrants to value openness (e.g., freedom) more, suggesting a value dissimilarity effect. No value dissimilarity effects emerged when immigrants were perceived to be higher in conservation, self-transcendence, or self-enhancement values. Overall, these results showed that effects of values and value dissimilarity differ depending on which value dimension is considered. Additionally, the results revealed support for a novel mechanism with the motivation to be nonprejudiced underpinning the links between individuals’ values and prejudice. Our discussion highlights the multifaceted manner in which values are linked to prejudic

A gamified experiential learning intervention for engaging students through satisfying needs

A field experiment conducted across an academic semester tested the impact of a gamified experiential learning intervention strategically framing a student response system (SRS) to maximize student engagement through their technology use in class. Participants ( n = 123) aged 9–16 years received an experimental intervention designed to foster intrinsic motivation through optimally challenging engagement. To achieve this, the intervention utilized teamwork, made friendly competence-enhancing competition salient, and created choice. In a comparison condition, students used SRS without these additional enhancements. Students were surveyed at three time points. The experimental intervention reported increasing psychological need satisfaction for autonomy, competence, and relatedness and greater academic well-being. An observer rating demonstrated more classroom behaviors indicative of intrinsic motivation as compared to the comparison condition. The effects of the intervention increasing student-reported and observer-rated academic well-being were due to more immediate beneficial effects of the gamified experiential condition fostering basic psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence

The impacts of motivational framing of technology restrictions on adolescent concealment: evidence from a preregistered experimental study

Caregivers employ a range of motivational strategies to help regulate and protect adolescents using connective technologies. The present study explored a new conceptual model informed by self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2000) with a representative sample of 1,000 adolescents recruited nationwide within Britain, and using a confirmatory, pre-registered and open science methodology. In this experimental study we compared controlling (pressuring, coercive, or punitive) styles of restricting technology with neutral, and autonomy-supportive (empathic, choice-promoting) styles of restricting to predict adolescents’ concealing their technology use from caregivers. We further tested two mechanisms which might explain the links of condition and concealment: perceiving caregivers to be trusting, and experiencing reactance or the desire to do the opposite of what was instructed. Findings are discussed in terms of the role of regulation styles on interpersonal outcomes and adolescent development, and implications for technology use policy and recommendations to caregivers and teachers

Teachers’ Motivational Prosody: A Pre-Registered Experimental Test of Children’s Reactions to Tone of Voice Used by Teachers

Background: Teachers’ behaviours drive motivational climates that shape children’s engagement and well-being in the classroom, but few studies examine how specific teachers’ behaviours such as wording, body language, or voice contribute to these outcomes in isolation of one another. Aims: This pre-registered experiment sought to examine the often-forgotten role that teachers’ tone of voice plays in children’s education. Informed by the theoretical framework of self-determination theory (SDT; Ryan & Deci, 2017), conditions manipulated controlling (pressuring, demanding), autonomy-supportive (inviting of choice), or motivationally neutral, tones of voice to explore their effects on children’s self-reported psychological needs satisfaction, well-being, intention to self-disclose to and intention to cooperate with their teacher. Sample and Method: Children aged 10-16 years (n=250) heard pre-recorded teachers’ voices holding sentence content and speakers constant across conditions, but varying tones of voice. Results: We hypothesized a-priori and found that when children heard controlling sounding voices, they anticipated lower basic psychological need satisfaction, well-being, and intention to disclose to teachers, as compared to neutral sounding voices. We also anticipated beneficial effects for autonomy-supportive versus neutral voices, but pre-registered analyses did not support these expectations. Intention to cooperate with teachers did not differ across conditions. Supporting relational motivation theory (RMT; Deci & Ryan, 2014), exploratory analyses showed that hearing autonomy-supportive sounding voices increased autonomy and relatedness need satisfactions (but not competence need satisfaction), and through doing so indirectly related to beneficial outcomes (well-being, intention to cooperate and self-disclose). Conclusion: In summary, tones of voice seem to play an important role in shaping teachers’ impact on their students