Showing with whom I belong: The desire to belong publicly on social media

Despite a plethora of social media use research, surprisingly little is known about what social media users post about, and, more importantly, why . In three studies ( N = 1,140), we present novel evidence for a disposition describing individual differences in the desire to display belonging on social media: the desire to belong publicly (DTBP). We validate an eight-item DTBP scale, encompassing the desire to display both a high quantity (e.g., having many friends) and a high quality of belonging (e.g., having close friends) on social media. The scale shows good internal consistency and test-retest reliability over two weeks. DTBP is related to, but conceptually distinct from neighboring constructs such as need to belong and need for popularity, as well as other personality dimensions known to drive social media behaviors such as extraversion, public self-consciousness, and social comparison propensity. DTBP is related to indicators of active and passive social media use, daily use of social media, frequency of posting about belonging, and social media addiction, above and beyond other constructs, and on different social media platforms (i.e., Instagram and Facebook). In sum, DTBP is a reliable and valid construct that aids the understanding of why and how individuals use social media

Boosted by closure! Regulatory focus predicts persistence and effort mobilisation in the aftermath of task-unrelated goal closure

Past research has found that regulatory closure, that is, successful goal striving regulated either under a promotion or prevention focus, has important consequences in terms of motivational activation and mobilisation of cognitive resources in subsequent tasks, but it mostly investigated motivation in the same or similar tasks to the one for which closure was achieved. Drawing from an energisation-deactivation hypothesis, we investigated the effect of closure on performance and persistence in unrelated subsequent cognitive tasks. Across four studies, we found that promotion closure had an energising effect leading to: quicker decision times in lexical tasks (Studies 1-2), increased persistence and greater originality (Study 3), and greater visuospatial memory performance (Study 4). In contrast, prevention closure had a deactivating effect leading to reduced performance and persistence. No systematic differences arose in situations of non-closure. We discuss results and implications with respect to both regulatory closure and regulatory fit theoretical approaches

COVID-19 conspiracy theories and compliance with governmental restrictions: The mediating roles of anger, anxiety, and hope

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an ideal breeding ground for conspiracy theories. Yet, different beliefs could have different implications for individuals’ emotional responses, which in turn could relate to different behaviours and specifically to either a greater or lesser compliance with social distancing and health protective measures. In the present research, we investigated the links between COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, emotions (anger, anxiety, and hope), attitudes towards government restrictions, and self-reported compliant behaviour. Results of a cross-sectional survey amongst a large UK sample (N = 1,579) provided support for the hypothesis that COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs showed a polarising relationship with compliant behaviour through opposing emotional pathways. The relation was mediated by higher levels of anger, itself related to a lesser perceived importance of government restrictions, and simultaneous higher levels of anxiety, related to a greater perceived importance. Hope was also related to conspiracy beliefs and to greater perceived importance but played a weaker role in the mediational model. Results suggest that the behavioural correlates of conspiracy beliefs might not be straightforward, and highlight the importance of considering the emotional states such beliefs might elicit, when investigating their potential impact

Measurement with beam of the deflecting higher order modes in the TTF superconducting cavities

This paper reports on recent beam measurements of higher order modes in the TESLA Test Facility (TTF) accelerating modules. Using bunch trains of about 0.5 ms with 54MHz bunch repetition and up to 90% modulated intensity, transverse higher order modes are resonantly excited when the beam is offset and their frequency on resonance with the modulation frequency. With this method, the trapped modes can be excited and their counteraction on the beam observed on a wide-band BPM downstream of the module. Scanning the modulation frequency from 0 to 27MHz allows a systematic investigation of all possible dangerous modes in the modules

How STRANGE are your study animals?

A new framework for studies of animal behaviour will help to avoid sampling bias— ten years on from the call to widen the pool of human participants in psychology research beyond the WEIRD.Publisher PDFNon peer reviewe

Cleaning up our acts: Psychological interventions to reduce engine idling and improve air quality

A large-scale field experiment tested psychological interventions to reduce engine idling at long-wait stops. Messages based on theories of normative influence, outcome efficacy, and self-regulation were displayed approaching railway crossing on street poles. Observers coded whether drivers (N = 6049) turned off their engine while waiting at the railway crossings (only 27.2% did so at baseline). Automatic air quality monitors recorded levels of pollutants during barrier down times. To different degrees, the social norm and outcome efficacy messages successfully increased the proportion of drivers who turned off their engines (by 42% and 25%, respectively) and significantly reduced concentrations of atmospheric particulate matter (PM2.5) 2 m above ground level. Thus, the environment was improved through behavior change. Moreover, of both practical and theoretical significance, there was an ‘accelerator effect’, in line with theories of normative influence whereby the social norm message was increasingly effective as the volume of traffic increased

Moral identity, moral self-efficacy, and moral elevation: A sequential mediation model predicting moral intentions and behaviour

Witnessing acts of uncommon moral virtue can elicit feelings of moral elevation, which translate further into prosocial intentions and behaviour. Recent findings suggest that moral identity strengthens the elevation response after witnessing such acts. In the present paper, we propose that the positive relationship between moral identity and elevation is mediated by perceived moral self-efficacy (i.e. perceived ability to behave up to one’s moral standards), as a result of the moral vicarious experience. We present a set of five studies that tested the effect of moral identity (either measured or manipulated) and moral self-efficacy on elevation, prosocial intentions, and behaviour, following exposure to an act of uncommon virtue. Results supported a sequential mediation model: the positive effect of moral identity on elevation was mediated by moral self-efficacy; and elevation then mediated the effect of moral identity on prosocial intentions (Studies 3a-3b-4) and behaviour (Study 4). Implications and limitations are outlined