Abstract Human gaze is a potent social signal; it communicates attention, intention and social engagement, and allows observers to infer not only where others are attending but also how they are socially related. Although gaze has been extensively studied in direct social interaction, far less is known about how it shapes the perceptions and actions of uninvolved observers in shared environments. Here, we investigate whether mutual gaze creates an ‘attentional territory’ that third parties implicitly respect. In a large‐scale field study across four university campuses in Europe and Canada ( N = 4680 pedestrians), two confederates stood facing one another in a public space. We manipulated gaze direction and reciprocity (mutual, unilateral or no interaction) as well as interpersonal distance (2–6 metres), holding body orientation and spatial arrangement constant. Pedestrians were less likely to cross between individuals engaged in mutual gaze. This effect weakened with increasing distance, but was robust across all locations. Together, the findings demonstrate that gaze does not merely coordinate interaction between individuals but also shapes how uninvolved others perceive and move through shared environments. By isolating gaze reciprocity from spatial arrangement, we demonstrate that mutual gaze functions as a dynamic social boundary organizing the permeability of public space.
Abstract Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMA) of psychological constructs enables examination of between‐person differences and within‐person fluctuations across timescales: across days and within days. Research has mostly focused on between/within‐person levels and on affect dynamics, leaving potential within‐person timescale distinctions and self‐reported cognitive processes understudied. We applied multilevel variance decomposition to EMA items from the HowNutsAreTheDutch study (30 days; three daily beeps/assessments; N = 1299; t = 60,189; 84% female; mean age = 39; range = 16–86), partitioning their variance into: between‐person, within‐person/across days, within‐person/within‐day (structured by the beeps), and residual/unexplained within‐person/within‐day variance. We analysed positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), and self‐reported cognitive processes across three domains: evaluative, perseverative, and concentration. Cognitive items showed higher average between‐person variance than NA and PA (61.8%, 53.1%, 34.5%, respectively). Within‐person/across days variance was moderate (7%–15.9%), while structured within‐person/within‐day variance was minimal (0.3%–2.8%). Residual variance was largest for PA, then NA, and smallest for cognition (averages of 47%, 33.4%, 26.9%, respectively). Total within‐person variance (across days, within day, and residual) was comparable to between‐person variance for most items, and exceeded it for PA, suggesting that psychological variables contain both state and trait components to varying degrees. Overall, results revealed heterogeneous variance profiles, which are dependent on construct type, level of observation, and timescale.
Humans rely on spatial representations to process both temporal duration and mentally project themselves across time. Yet, it remains unclear whether this spatial-temporal mapping depends on embodied mechanisms or on abstract attentional codes. We investigated whether embodied cues (gaze direction) versus abstract cues optokinetic stimulation (OKS) modulate Mental Time Travel (MTT) and age judgement. Gaze direction induced direction-specific effects in both tasks: in MTT leftward gaze enhanced the perceived likelihood of past events, while rightward gaze enhanced judgements for future events; in the Age Judgement task leftward cues yielded younger estimates and rightward cues older estimates. Conversely, non-embodied OKS biased Age Judgements but induced no direction-specific effects in the MTT task. Overall, these dissociations suggest that embodied cues play a specific role in modulating temporal projection in MTT, whereas non-embodied attentional cues are sufficient to bias age-related temporal estimates. These findings suggest that temporal projection during MTT relies more strongly on embodied perceptual mechanisms, whereas judgements of longer temporal durations can be shaped by domain-general attentional processes.
Low fertility intentions among childless individuals constitute a critical factor underlying the low-fertility crisis. Drawing on an integrated theoretical framework, this study employs four studies to examine the mechanisms through which beliefs about social mobility influence fertility intentions. Results indicate that social mobility beliefs positively predict fertility intentions, though age-stratified analyses reveal that this direct association is driven by post-reproductive adults, consistent with the view that prospective fertility intentions among younger adults require a mediating mechanism (Study 1); experimental evidence confirms the causal effects of social mobility belief on fertility intention and fertility efficacy among reproductive-age childless adults (Studies 2 and 3); fertility efficacy mediates this relationship (Study 3); and a quasi-experimental design provides support for the proposed mediator's role (Study 4). These findings elucidate a 'social mobility beliefs, fertility efficacy, fertility intentions' mechanism, offering a novel perspective for understanding fertility intentions and important implications for enhancing them by fostering positive societal beliefs and strengthening individual efficacy.
Conspiracy mentality - the tendency to view important events as the product of secret plots by powerful groups - is known to arise from collective victimization and discrimination. Yet less is understood about how adversities such as illness, financial loss, or trauma, unrelated to social identity, foster such beliefs. Drawing on social and clinical perspectives, we conducted three preregistered studies (total n = 1284) to test whether lifetime adversity contributes to conspiracy mentality via perceived injustice. Study 1 (n = 275) supported this hypothesis, showing an indirect link between lifetime adversity and conspiracy mentality through injustice perceptions. Study 2 (n = 471) employed a controlled comparison group design, showing that victims of violence (vs. non-victims) reported stronger perceptions of injustice, which were positively associated with conspiracy mentality. Study 3 (n = 538) experimentally manipulated perceptions of justice, demonstrating that perceived injustice (vs. justice) increased conspiracy beliefs. While the effect was not significantly moderated by lifetime adversity, exploratory analyses replicated Study 1's mediation pattern. Additional analyses revealed that adversity predicted institutional distrust via injustice and political conspiracy beliefs. These findings advance interdisciplinary understanding and identify the psychological mechanisms linking adversity to conspiracy beliefs, with relevance for understanding social trust and resilience.
