ABSTRACT In coalition formation, strength can paradoxically become a liability: those who bring the most resources are often excluded from winning coalitions. We integrate classical coalition theories with recent experiments to clarify when strength backfires, when it is an asset, and how weaker players benefit. First, alignment of self‐interest and fairness norms enables weaker actors to justify excluding stronger ones. Second, the effect is also driven by the salience of self‐interest and fairness: most people self‐select into the strong role and avoid the weak one, and once in that role, the majority use allocation rules that alienate potential partners—resulting in their exclusion. Third, legitimacy matters: when resource advantages are perceived as deserved, strong actors regain coalition appeal. Finally, perspective‐taking, as an individual difference in adopting others' viewpoints, consistently predicts inclusion across roles. Together, these findings show that exclusion of the strong is not a fixed rule but a conditional outcome shaped by self‐interest, fairness, legitimacy, and perspective‐taking.
ABSTRACT From the first encounter to the final farewell, people are constantly evaluating their romantic partners. While empirical studies have predominantly examined experiences of either positive or negative partner evaluations, theoretical work has recognized that people can also feel ambivalent (simultaneously positive and negative) and indifferent (neither positive nor negative) toward their partners. Importantly, ambivalence and indifference are likely to trigger specific processes and outcomes throughout the course of a romantic relationship that are distinct from the consequences of having mostly positive or mostly negative partner evaluations. However, research has yet to systematically examine how these neglected, but impactful, evaluative states shape relationship development. To this end, we review and theorize about the likely outcomes of ambivalence and indifference across three key contexts in romantic relationships: relationship initiation, relationship maintenance, and relationship dissolution. Overall, we propose that ambivalence functions as a source of relational turbulence—it stimulates questions around compatibility with a potential partner during relationship initiation, fluctuations and unpredictability during the maintenance of established relationships, and deliberation and distress around relationship dissolution. In contrast, we propose that indifference is an unstimulating, relatively passive state in relationships—it is linked to low investment in relationship initiation, boredom and low effort during relationship maintenance, and disengagement and withdrawal during relationship dissolution. These insights shed new light on how people might feel toward their romantic partners throughout relationship development and provide a foundation for essential future research on ambivalence and indifference in developing, established, and dwindling romantic relationships.
ABSTRACT Demographic shifts, defined as either increases in minority populations or decreases in the size of majority groups, are occurring across the United States and worldwide. These changes are evident across multiple domains, including race, gender, and religion. In this review, we summarize existing literature on the psychological consequences of anticipated demographic shifts for majority–minority interactions. We show that across several demographic domains, anticipated demographic shifts heighten perceptions of threat, increase perceptions of negative bias against the majority group, and elicit greater negativity toward multiple minority groups among majority members. We also discuss how various diversity initiatives can either exacerbate or ameliorate these tensions during periods of demographic change. We conclude by highlighting promising avenues for future research.
ABSTRACT Recent research conceptualizes revenge as a communicative activity designed to send messages to targets, but few methods exist for researchers to draw inferences about the message properties and meanings that perpetrators wish to impart in their revenge messages. In this essay, we demonstrate how the Doll Aggression Task (DAT) can be paired with heatmap data visualization to address this challenge and help researchers draw conclusions about the communicative dimensions of revenge behavior. Using illustrative data from a study of revenge in romantic relationships, we spotlight novel insights into the communication of revenge that can be gleaned from the application of heatmap visualizations to the DAT.
ABSTRACT Art inhabits the imagination, but can it influence real‐world issues? While some scholars cast art as autonomous from moral and civic life, others see it as deeply entangled with the social world. We address this debate by synthesizing evidence on art's social influence across literature, music, visual art, and film. We organize findings across four domains—civic engagement, gender equality, intergroup relations, and environmental conservation—and highlight psychological levers through which effects emerge. Our review reveals that art can shape attitudes and behavior, but not always for the greater good. Counter‐stereotypical works and prosocial content often shift norms and broaden moral concerns, while degrading or status‐quo‐affirming content can entrench social divides. We outline priorities for future research: isolating art‐specific effects, probing harmful outcomes, testing the durability and real‐world impact of effects, and developing an integrative framework to clarify when, how, and for whom art moves behavior in the social world.
ABSTRACT The law is a prominent institutional pillar in societal structure, yet psychology has not seriously contended with the way the law shapes individuals views and perceptions of the world. Both the law and the individual mind are mutually constructive entities. Drawing from social psychological theories, such as The Culture Cycle and Situated Cognition, as well as cross disciplinary perspectives from sociology and legal studies, this article outlines the process by which the law impacts individuals. By introducing the theoretical concept of Legal Enculturation—the dynamic process by which the legal system defines our individual psychologies—this article offers a new approach to critically assess human attitudes and behaviors in psychological science.
ABSTRACT Listening is widely recognized as essential to human interaction, yet research on it remains conceptually fragmented and theoretically inconsistent. Although extensive evidence shows that good listening benefits emotional, cognitive, motivational, and relational outcomes, the field lacks consensus about what listening is, how it should be defined, and under what conditions it helps or hinders interaction. This article synthesizes these tensions by identifying 10 core “listening puzzles” that reveal contradictions in existing theories and findings: (1) what constitutes good listening and its dimensions such as empathy and non‐judgment; (2) the paradox of distraction and invisible inattention; (3) the relationship between listening and agreement; (4) when listening requires follow‐up action; (5) the benefits and risks of silence; (6) asymmetries between speakers' and listeners' perceptions; (7) the dual role of question‐asking; (8) the role of paraphrasing in demonstrating active engagement and non‐judgmentalness; (9) the balance between speaking and listening; and (10) the link between listening and personality. Together, these puzzles demonstrate that listening is neither a fixed skill nor a uniformly positive behavior, but a context‐dependent, relational process shaped by perception, goals, and situational norms. By mapping these puzzles, the article provides a foundation for a more integrated and nuanced understanding of how listening operates across interpersonal and social contexts.
ABSTRACT This review summarizes the current state of the state purpose literature. I begin this article by describing what purpose is and the benefits of having a higher sense of purpose, setting the stage for why researchers are interested in bolstering purpose for individuals. Through the lens of the intervention‐oriented Purpose As a Trait, Habit, and State (PATHS) model, I dive into the literature by describing different perspectives of the commonly studied trait purpose, which often represents either (a) one’s stabler, more consistent aims and life direction, or (b) how high or low one's sense of purpose is. To guide intervention efforts, I recommend taking a three‐factor approach when conceptualizing trait purpose in life: purpose scope, strength, and awareness. Working down the levels of the PATHS model, I introduce the theoretically‐derived habit purpose, which reflects narrower and more automatic purposeful thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Using habit purpose as a bridge, the bulk of the current review considers the status of the literature on state purpose (i.e., one's short‐term, ephemeral levels of purpose), summarizing differences in within‐person variability tied to state purpose measurement, intensive longitudinal design approaches, and lifespan developmental‐based changes. Finally, I summarize what we currently know regarding potential mechanisms for within‐person fluctuations of state purpose (e.g., physical activity, positive social interactions, social media use), while emphasizing the individual differences in these associations. By understanding the patterns and nuances of purpose in daily life, we are one step closer to creating individualized, bottom‐up purpose interventions.
ABSTRACT This article reviews empirical evidence on how cognition differs in isolation versus social contexts (mere presence, co‐action), focusing on memory activation and control processes. The reviewed findings suggest that social presence broadens associative activation and heightens sensitivity to contextual features, while concurrently strengthening cognitive control over potential distractions. In contrast, social isolation favors early attentional selection processes, attentional narrowing and a more efficient updating of working memory. Supported by this evidence, we propose a Dynamic Activation‐Control model, which posits that the presence of others increases the amount of information activated compared to being alone, which is accompanied by a necessary increase in monitoring and inhibitory control. We discuss how this model revisits and expands upon classical Social‐facilitation theories by integrating the findings with contemporary insights into the functioning of the human mind.
ABSTRACT Research on social digital technologies like smartphones and social media has grown exponentially, yet consensus on their effects on well‐being remains elusive. I introduce the Costs and Opportunities of Technology in Context (COTeC) framework, focused on defining and integrating the processes by which social technologies impact well‐being indirectly via their opportunity costs. COTeC specifies at least three such mechanisms: displacement (i.e., time reallocation: time spent on devices leaves less time for other activities), substitution (i.e., qualitative replacement: technology offers alternatives to more challenging, but often more rewarding, activities), and interference (i.e., real‐time attention reallocation: social technologies tax cognitive resources, reallocate attention, and disrupt ingrained social processes and expectations). Though evidence suggests that these mechanisms primarily undermine digital well‐being, the COTeC framework posits that their effects depend on contextual affordances: on what is being displaced, substituted, or interfered with. I consider the practical implications of the framework for policy, practice (e.g., digital detox interventions), and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). In short, COTeC aims to organize existing evidence of opportunity‐cost processes (e.g., phubbing vs. technoference), build on existing content‐focused and person‐focused approaches, and accelerate discoveries with practical implications.
ABSTRACT Personality change interventions (PCIs) are structured approaches that help people intentionally modify aspects of their personality in line with self‐endorsed goals. This article synthesizes theoretical and empirical advances in volitional personality change and sets a research agenda for PCIs. We review core models of self‐regulated personality change, summarize evidence for PCI effectiveness and putative mechanisms, and delineate methodological, ethical, and societal challenges. Priorities for future research include active‐control randomized trials, multi‐method outcome assessment (self, informant, behavioral), and long‐term follow‐ups. We argue for personalized, adaptive approaches and for broadening targets from trait levels to skills and behavioral flexibility. We also map the ethical landscape (e.g., potential harm, pressure to conform, possible exacerbation of social disparities), while outlining corresponding safeguards. The result is a framework that clarifies what can change, for whom, under which conditions, and with what downstream consequences. When designed responsibly, PCIs may foster favorable individual and collective outcomes, including adaptive functioning, well‐being, and resilience in a rapidly changing world.
ABSTRACT Social decisions occur across various contexts, and this review highlights how an individual's social status can influence these decisions. We summarize psychological research on the impact of social status on decision making and propose extending the theoretical framework known as the Social Status Framework, to include considerations of how status shapes trust and punishment. We begin by defining the concept of social status and then examine its influence on two key areas of social interactions: punishment and trust. Additionally, we discuss the potential interactions between social status and other social identity characteristics within these dynamics. Finally, we propose promising directions for future research to explore the complex relationships between social status and decision making, specifically trust and punishment, across diverse contexts and among different populations.
ABSTRACT Why individuals engage in costly interventions to uphold norms of fairness and justice remains a pivotal question in social science. While third‐party punishment has long dominated the literature, recent empirical work reveals a consistent preference for third‐party compensation as a reparative intervention. However, the motivational landscape of third‐party compensation remains fragmented and poorly understood. To integrate these insights, we propose a novel heuristic framework that conceptualizes the motivations for third‐party compensation as emerging from two dimensions: self‐other referential orientation and moral character. Rather than treating motivations in isolation, this framework reveals a structured motivational architecture that explains how outwardly similar compensatory acts can arise from distinct psychological response modes—for example, those driven by self‐referential moral image versus those driven by other‐referential moral emotional responses. By offering a unified account of third‐party compensation motivation, this framework not only integrates previously scattered empirical findings but also provides a systematic analytical foundation for future research into the dynamic interplay of these motives and their neurophysiological substrates.
ABSTRACT Why do Latine people living across the globe live happier and longer lives than non‐Hispanic individuals despite facing structural and systemic challenges? This question has challenged researchers across disciplines and has been framed as the Latin American Happiness Paradox and the Hispanic Health Paradox, which together reflect patterns in the well‐being and health of Latine populations across North, Central, and South America. In this paper, we review empirical evidence on both paradoxes, highlighting their robustness and scope. We then discuss the limitations of existing explanations and propose expressive interdependence as a framework for organizing the affective, social, and cognitive psychological mechanisms underlying subjective well‐being and physical health in Latin American cultural contexts. We suggest that the unique blend of interdependence, positivity, emotional expression, relational mobility, and self‐enhancement characteristic of Latin American cultures may give rise to psychological and physiological resilience, ultimately promoting well‐being and health among Latine groups.
ABSTRACT Vigilance, or being “on guard” due to a potential threat, has been a topic of research for over half a century. Stigma (and discrimination) is an important context in which vigilance is studied because of the threat of physical and psychological harm that results in people being chronically “on the lookout” for future experiences of stigma and discrimination. Over time, this cognitive and physiological activation impacts one's physical health. However, this is the first review to synthesize definitions, measurements, and findings of vigilance to stigma from cognitive, behavioral, physiological, and social perspectives. This review also uncovers future directions in the weight stigma literature, an area that has been seldom included in social identity threat theory and which could benefit from an interdisciplinary and intersectional approach. Specifically, this paper outlines theoretically‐founded paths for future research to ensure that it expands on relevant previous research, rather than assuming that weight‐related vigilance will act the same as other forms, given cultural context.
ABSTRACT Collective environmental sustainability depends, in part, on individuals acting pro‐environmentally. Individual environmental behaviors have social consequences as well as an environmental consequence. These behaviors signal who a person is and how a person wants to be seen by others. People anticipate that their actions will have social meaning to others, and this meaning is magnified when the behavior is socially visible to others. Research in fields such as environmental psychology and consumer behavior have both measured and manipulated social visibility, and yet there is no theoretical framework to organize this literature. We propose that social visibility will impact environmental action depending on characteristics of the actor (e.g., identity, social status), the behavior (e.g., conspicuousness, costliness), and the observer (e.g., social closeness, perceived identity). With this framework, we seek to understand when and why being seen and not seen while engaging in environmental action influences both the performance of the action, its meaning to the self, and the action's perceived meaning to others. We also identify methodological practices that are informed by this theoretical framework, and future areas of research that hold promise for practitioners and researchers to more effectively use visibility to promote environmental behaviors.
ABSTRACT Discrimination is increasingly recognized as a correlate of low‐grade inflammation, a key mechanism in many chronic health problems that marginalized individuals are disproportionately likely to experience. This review synthesizes existing evidence while highlighting ongoing gaps that limit progress in the field. By integrating findings across studies and identifying priorities for future research, it aims to clarify how exposure to discrimination may contribute to immune dysregulation, outline promising pathways and models to better characterize the relationship between discrimination and inflammation, and guide research testing whether discrimination drives the development and persistence of health disparities.
Childhood and adolescence are critical periods for shaping habits, behaviors, and identities, and parents play a vital role for positive development in these years. Positive parenting during these years leads to long‐term benefits, ultimately promoting healthier societies. Refugee youth face heightened risks of negative emotional, social, and mental health outcomes due to the adversities in refugee contexts. Supporting refugee parents through targeted interventions can mitigate these risks, empowering youth to become resilient adults and contributing members of their communities. This paper examines the factors that would promote the effectiveness of parenting interventions in refugee contexts and suggests future directions for parenting interventions. Since parenting in refugee camps is uniquely challenging, comprehensive support systems to help parents is required. Research highlights the importance of comprehensive parenting programs that enhance knowledge, skills, cognitions, and mental health of parents. Group‐based and longer‐term interventions are suggested to be particularly effective, fostering lasting social support networks. Effective parenting interventions must also address basic needs including nutrition, safety, and financial security to create the stability necessary for positive parenting practices. Despite these promising outcomes, more research is needed to assess the cultural relevance and long‐term effectiveness of these programs, especially in refugee camp settings. Moreover, potential new venues like intervening on promoting post‐traumatic growth within different refugee settings as well as using digital tools to establish and sustain parenting intervention programs shall be examined. This paper provides potential new venues for research and interventions in refugee contexts.
A growing literature identifies political polarization as a risk factor adversely shaping public health outcomes. We propose that this relationship can be understood through theories of group processes and behavioral decision‐making. To explain the effects of polarization on public health, we review and integrate classic models from these traditions. Guided by this framework, we review evidence suggesting that identity‐based motives can shape people's attitudes toward health behaviors, social norms about the behavior, and the perceived ability to control the behavior. This integrative review helps explain divergent patterns of health behaviors across political groups but can also generalize to explain group influences on health behaviors more broadly. We argue that to fully understand the role of social contexts in shaping human health, it is critical to investigate how group identification shapes people's actions.
We use “mind” in language on a regular basis. But what does it mean to have a mind? Within moral psychology, mind perception refers to the act of ascribing a mind, characterized in terms of mental and emotional capacities, to others. As the U.S. becomes increasingly diverse, we are interested in how people conceptualize minds, and how their conceptions of the mind affect how they treat individuals from diverse social groups. However, research to date takes an “identity‐neutral” approach to mind perception in that it overlooks the identities of perceivers and the target characters they are perceiving. In this paper, we draw on moral psychology research on mind perception, developmental and intergroup psychology, intersectional and critical perspectives, and consciousness theory to argue for the need to include identity in mind perception work. In doing so, we outline the theoretical and practical benefits of nuancing current mind perception research to include identity. Finally, we provide three concrete strategies to include identity in research on mind perception, organized by their potential to inform work that could make strong theoretical contributions. Thus, we aim to provide a framework for how researchers can build rigorous models of mind perception that are representative of an increasingly diverse society.
