Spatial-Numerical Associations are fundamental to numerical cognition. The Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect denotes faster responses to small/large numbers with the left/right, respectively (Dehaene et al., 1993). It is typically measured in magnitude classification (MC: smaller vs. larger than 5) or parity judgment (PJ: odd vs. even) with numbers 1–9 (excluding 5). These tasks differ in magnitude and parity processing, compatibility effects, and other aspects. In this highly powered online experiment, data from 611 participants in a within-subjects design demonstrated a rather categorical MC-SNARC (i.e., similar left-hand advantage for 1–4, and similar right-hand advantage for 6–9) and a continuous PJ-SNARC (i.e., right-hand advantage increasing with magnitude). Accordingly, the PJ-SNARC can be modeled using linear regression, while the MC-SNARC requires a categorical or mixed analysis. Explained variance and split-half reliability were higher for the MC-SNARC than for the PJ-SNARC. We replicated the Numerical Size Effect (slower responses for larger numbers; Brysbaert, 1995) in MC and PJ, the Numerical Distance Effect (faster responses for larger numerical distance between stimulus and reference; Moyer & Landauer, 1967) in MC, and the Odd effect in PJ (faster responses to even numbers; Hines, 1990; potentially masked by the Numerical Distance Effect in MC), but not the MARC effect (faster responses to odd/even with the left/right, respectively; Nuerk et al., 2004). The MC-SNARC and PJ-SNARC correlated slightly positively (r = 0.17), suggesting partly common underlying magnitude representations. Altogether, the SNARC effect appears highly task-dependent and should be modeled differently depending on the task.
Research shows that individuals regulate their emotions using various strategies, depending on the specific context. To develop a deeper understanding of regulatory processes, it is crucial to understand which contextual features are related to the emotion regulation strategies individuals choose. This study is the first to investigate the associations between multiple contextual features and emotion regulation strategies in daily life. A dataset comprising 115 participants (Mage = 35.1 years, 50.4% women) was used. Participants completed questionnaires each evening for 7 days. Network and Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) analyses were conducted. We found that some contextual features (e.g., coping potential, emotional valence, presence of others) influenced strategy choice. For instance, problem-solving was more closely tied to greater coping potential (the ability to change the situation) and events that required exerting more effort. We further examined these associations across groups differing in depressive symptom severity (high versus low). In participants with high depressive symptoms, strategies such as rumination were associated with specific contextual features, such as lower coping potential (emotional coping), which was not observed in participants with low depressive symptoms. Interestingly, findings were generally consistent across the network and DTW analyses, suggesting the association among these constructs may be stable over time.
Communicating group commitment is critical for identifying reliable cooperative partners, and this assortment has been theorized to be facilitated by attaching costs to commitment signals. However, it remains unresolved why outsiders would not strategically fake such signals and then free-ride on the group’s public goods. We propose that the reliability of commitment signals is facilitated by differential computation of a signal’s costs and benefits, such that the cost-benefit trade-off favors signal production only for genuinely committed individuals. To test this, we conducted three preregistered studies (total N = 1,341; US general population) in which participants could choose to signal cooperative intent and then play a public goods game with other signalers (or non-signalers). We assessed how perceived costs and benefits of signaling varied across cooperative versus selfish strategies and modeled how these perceptions predicted signaling choices. Study 1 showed that cooperative individuals perceived greater cooperative benefits of signaling and preferentially assorted with one another, although selfish individuals who faked signals earned the most by free-riding. Study 2 used a real-world signal—religious text transcription—and demonstrated that highly costly religious signals deter outsiders, rendering religious cooperation profitable and resistant to free-riders, though not via differential perceptions of cooperative benefits. Finally, Study 3 revealed that committed members perceived religious signals as providing additional (i.e., not only cooperative) benefits that outsiders did not perceive, inadvertently stabilizing the cooperative function of religious signals. Together, these findings suggest that costly signals of group commitment persist because, while both cooperators and free-riders perceive cooperative benefits, the signaling trade-off is favorable only for those who also perceive additional benefits of signal production. Further and cross-cultural work is needed to establish the generality of this mechanism.
Basic personality models, such as the HEXACO framework, are intended to cover the personality space exhaustively. However, it is debated whether the dispositional proneness to psychotic-like experiences and behaviors – conceptualized here as a potential seventh personality trait termed Disintegration – can be adequately integrated into existing models or necessitates their extension. Due to a lack of meta-analytic evidence, this study examines the true magnitude of these associations and tests the generalizability of Disintegration’s discriminant validity across diverse populations and assessment contexts. We conducted a multivariate random-effects meta-analysis of 47 samples (N = 17,092). The main findings indicate that D shows small (ρ = |.01| with Openness) to moderate correlations (ρ = |.37| with Conscientiousness) with the six HEXACO dimensions. Critically, these associations fall within the internal boundaries of the HEXACO intercorrelations (from ρ = |.00| to ρ = |.38| between Honesty-Humility and Agreeableness). Furthermore, the HEXACO model accounts for at most 29% of the variance in Disintegration, and Disintegration facets load primarily on a distinct latent factor rather than distributing across HEXACO dimensions. These findings were robust across sensitivity analyses (outliers, hierarchical effect size dependency, publication bias), moderator conditions (proportions of patients, students, translated measures), and levels of analysis (domain- and facet-level). Given the evidence supporting discriminant validity, we encourage future research to examine the predictive utility of a seven-factor HEXACOD model, to develop and validate translated DELTA versions in non-Serbian samples, and to refine the operationalization of the low pole of Disintegration to improve its psychometric properties. The personality space may be more complex than current lexical models suggest, and Disintegration might offer a theoretically grounded and empirically supported candidate for improved personality space coverage.
Zero-sum beliefs—the conviction that one party’s gains inherently imply another’s losses—enhance societal polarization and impede cooperation. While prior work links perceived economic inequality to zero-sum beliefs, the underlying psychological drivers remain inadequately explored. This study posits that perceptions of inequality amplify zero-sum beliefs by triggering feelings of relative deprivation. Across five studies, we tested this effect in economic, workplace, and academic domains. In Study 1 (N = 132), survey data established a positive link between perceived economic inequality and zero-sum beliefs. Building on this, Studies 2–4 (N = 163, 218, and 178, respectively) experimentally manipulated inequality in controlled scenarios across economic, workplace, and academic domains. Results showed that perceived inequality consistently increased domain-specific zero-sum beliefs in economic and workplace settings, an effect mediated by relative deprivation. In the academic domain, the effect was less robust. To further test causality and societal impact, Study 5 (N = 210) found that perceived inequality amplified economic zero-sum beliefs through heightened relative deprivation and perceived competition. In addition, these domain-specific zero-sum beliefs were associated with general zero-sum beliefs, which in turn predicted lower interpersonal trust. Collectively, this research clarifies how perceptions of inequality amplify zero-sum beliefs primarily through the experience of relative deprivation. Furthermore, it demonstrates that these activated zero-sum beliefs were associated with broader zero-sum worldviews, which ultimately undermine interpersonal trust. These findings advance the theoretical understanding of zero-sum beliefs. Consequently, they offer policymakers valuable insights, emphasizing the need for evidence-based interventions to reduce zero-sum beliefs and strengthen societal trust.
