It's not unusual to be unusual (or: A different take on multivariate distributions of personality)

Personality, and many other psychological constructs, are assumed to be distributed along multiple dimensions. The current research demonstrates an intriguing implication that these multidimensional distributions hold: as dimensionality increases, people are located progressively further away from the average. In other words, multivariate models of personality render people to be rather ‘unusual.’ I review the geometric and statistical basis for this phenomenon and then illustrate its occurrence in real life using large, open-source personality data. This research offers a fresh perspective on the behavior of multivariate distributions for those who are interested in personality, psychological testing, or enjoy a lighthearted (but substantial) take on statistics

Saying Good and Bad Things Behind Someone’s Back or to Their Face: Perceived Source Selflessness and Trust in Information Matter When the Information Is Positive

This study explores the consequences of gossiping on impression formation as compared to the consequences of direct communication in the presence of the target individual. Specifically, we focus on perceived source selflessness and trust in the information conveyed about the target individual as important factors for impression formation. In an internet-based study, participants (N = 155) evaluated descriptions of target individuals presented as gossip (spoken outside the target individual’s presence), as direct communication (spoken in the presence of the target individual) or without any information about the source. Analyses yielded no significant differences between experimental conditions on the impression of the target individual. However, we found that trust in information mediated the relation between perceived source selflessness and the general impression of the target individual, yet only when the information about the target individual is positive

An appraisal profile of nostalgia.

The authors aimed to (a) identify the cognitive appraisals underlying nostalgia and (b) compare nostalgia with other emotions in terms of its appraisal profile. In Study 1, participants (N = 1,125) generated narratives. Next, they reported the level of nostalgia and 31 other emotions that these narratives elicited. Subsequently, participants evaluated the narrative events on several cognitive appraisals. Events that elicited nostalgia were pleasant, involved an irretrievable loss, felt psychologically distant, and were unique—an appraisal profile that differed from all other emotions. In Study 2 (N = 1,261), the authors experimentally varied these appraisals in a vignette paradigm and measured anticipated nostalgia and 10 other emotions. Participants anticipated most nostalgia when events were pleasant, involved irretrievable loss, were distant, and were unique—a profile shared only with longing. In Study 3 (N = 994), the authors used a guided autobiographical recall procedure in which they manipulated appraisals and measured the resultant emotions. Corroborating Studies 1–2, nostalgia was most intense for events that were pleasant, irretrievably lost, temporally distant, and unique. This appraisal profile was not shared by other emotions. The findings delineate the distinguishing cognitive appraisal profile of nostalgia. Nostalgia occupies a special place in the pantheon of emotions

Boredom belief moderates the mental health impact of boredom among young people: Correlational and multi-wave longitudinal evidence gathered during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives Young people’s experience of boredom and its psychological health sequelae have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study examined the moderating role of boredom beliefs—the extent to which one affectively dislikes boredom (boredom dislike) and cognitively accepts it (boredom normalcy)—on the association between boredom experience and mental well-being. We also validated a new measure of boredom beliefs in two different samples of young people. Method We report data from a correlational study with British young people aged 12–25 (Study 1; N = 2,495) and a 16-week eight-wave within-subject study with Israeli adolescents aged 12–18 (Study 2; N = 314). Results Across both studies, disliking boredom was associated with higher frequency and intensity of boredom. Boredom dislike moderated the negative association between boredom and mental well-being, such that the association was more salient among those who strongly disliked boredom. Normalizing boredom was positively associated with mental well-being. The measure of boredom beliefs demonstrated fair validity and reliability. Conclusion Results provide novel insights into the potential buffering effect of boredom beliefs against the mental health impact of boredom, particularly at a time of reduced activity. These findings generalize across two different countries

A Three-Dimensional Taxonomy of Achievement Emotions

We present a three-dimensional taxonomy of achievement emotions that considers valence, arousal, and object focus as core features of emotions occurring in achievement settings. By distinguishing between positive and negative emotions (valence), activating and deactivating emotions (arousal), and activity emotions, prospective outcome emotions, and retrospective outcome emotions (object focus), the taxonomy has a 2 × 2 × 3 structure representing 12 groups of achievement emotions. In four studies across different countries (N = 330, 235, 323, and 269 participants in Canada, the US, Germany, and the UK, respectively), we investigated the empirical robustness of the taxonomy in educational (Studies 1-3) and work settings (Study 4). An expanded version of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire was used to assess 12 key emotions representing the taxonomy. Consistently across the four studies, findings from multilevel facet analysis and structural equation modeling documented the importance of the three dimensions for explaining achievement emotions. In addition, based on hypotheses about relations with external variables, the findings show clear links of the emotions with important antecedents and outcomes. The Big Five personality traits, appraisals of control and value, and context perceptions were predictors of the emotions. The 12 emotions, in turn, were related to participants’ use of strategies, cognitive performance, and self-reported health problems. Taken together, the findings provide robust evidence for the unique positions of different achievement emotions in the proposed taxonomy, as well as unique patterns of relations with external variables. Directions for future research and implications for policy and practice are discussed

Self-construals predict personal life satisfaction with different strengths across societal contexts differing in national wealth and religious heritage

We explore to what extent previously observed pan-cultural association between dimensions of self-construal and personal life satisfaction (PLS) may be moderated by three national-contextual variables: national wealth, economic inequality, and religious heritage. The results showed that Self-reliance (vs. dependence on others) predicted PLS positively in poorer countries but negatively in richer countries. Connectedness to others (vs. self-containment) predicted PLS more strongly in Protestant-heritage countries. Self-expression (vs. harmony) predicted PLS more weakly (and non-significantly) in Muslim-heritage countries. In contrast, previously reported associations of self-direction (vs. reception-to-influence), consistency (vs. variability), and decontextualized (vs. contextualized) self-understanding with personal life satisfaction were not significantly moderated by these aspects of societal context. These results show the importance of considering the impact of national religious and economic context