In order to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change (e.g. increase in the global average temperature), it is important to transition to renewable energy sources, such as onshore wind energy...Show moreIn order to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change (e.g. increase in the global average temperature), it is important to transition to renewable energy sources, such as onshore wind energy, that contribute to the reduction of one of the main cause of climate change, namely global CO2 emissions. The successful implementation of wind farms largely depends on the community acceptance of the wind project. Previous studies have shown that providing citizens with a voice opportunity results in higher levels of wind farms project acceptance via increase in the perception of fair decision making and trust in the project developer. The current study was conducted on a sample of UK citizens (N = 450). It used an experimental scenario to replicate these findings and additionally to examine whether the effects of voice opportunity on project acceptance depend on expectations regarding receiving voice opportunity. We manipulated voice expectations and voice opportunity, and found support that voice opportunity has positive effects on community acceptance of wind farm projects. Additionally, we found support for our prediction that these effects are mediated by perceived procedural fairness and trust in the project developer. We did not find support about the moderating role of voice expectations on the effects of voice opportunity on project acceptance. We discussed the implications of these findings for research and practice.Show less
The current study investigated interactions in Dutch adolescents (N = 160, M age = 15.45) between alexithymia, self-concept clarity, and emotional regulation, as well as gender differences, using...Show moreThe current study investigated interactions in Dutch adolescents (N = 160, M age = 15.45) between alexithymia, self-concept clarity, and emotional regulation, as well as gender differences, using data from the first time-point of a longitudinal study. Participants completed the Alexithymia questionnaire for children (AQC), self-concept clarity scale (SCC), and strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ). Results showed a negative relationship between self-concept clarity and alexithymia. In addition, the relationship between self-concept clarity and emotional regulation was partially mediated by alexithymia, and this effect was stronger in females than males. Females demonstrated better emotional regulation, but contrarily to prior research, no significant gender differences were identified in alexithymia or self-concept clarity. In this study, the complexity of these psychological constructs is highlighted, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions for improving adolescent emotional regulation and self-concept clarity. Developing a better understanding of emotional disorders and improving adolescent mental health through further research into gender differences and alexithymia-focused interventions could be beneficial.Show less
In an educational setting, every individual may not have equal access to opportunities (such as educational or financial resources) or outcomes (such as grades or evaluations), which could create a...Show moreIn an educational setting, every individual may not have equal access to opportunities (such as educational or financial resources) or outcomes (such as grades or evaluations), which could create a sense of inequality in the individual. Individuals may then attribute these inequalities to their personal efforts and abilities or to their circumstances. Past studies have focused on associations between inequalities (such as social or gender inequality) and educational aspirations (e.g., Guyon & Huillery, 2017; Chen et al., 2022). The present study assesses the main effects of perceived inequality and the attribution of outcomes to internal or external factors (also known as locus of control) on educational aspirations. The study also assesses whether the academic locus of control significantly moderates the impact of perceived inequality on educational aspirations. Utilizing a 1 (continuous measure of academic locus of control) x 3 (inequality: control vs. perception of inequality of outcome vs perception of inequality of opportunity) study design, participants’ aspiration scores were assessed. The participants included N= 190 students enrolled in an undergraduate program. The results from a moderated multiple regression analysis indicated that perceived inequality did not significantly affect educational aspirations. Academic locus of control significantly positively affected aspirations. Academic locus of control also has a significant moderating effect on the impact of inequality. Specifically simple effects analysis indicated that perceived inequality has a significant positive effect on educational aspirations when there is an external locus of control. The study provides an understanding that inequality in an educational context may not impact every individual in the same manner and may differ according to specific factors (such as locus of control).Show less
Many problems in the world are social dilemmas wherein uncertainty whether collective efforts are effective is a threat to cooperation. This experiment investigates whether productivity uncertainty...Show moreMany problems in the world are social dilemmas wherein uncertainty whether collective efforts are effective is a threat to cooperation. This experiment investigates whether productivity uncertainty undermines cooperation because people who distrust institutions and are overconfident estimate a public good to be unproductive. We did this by presenting people with two public good games. Productivity uncertainty was manipulated by telling respondents in one of the games that all contributions could be wasted. Although the results show that productivity uncertainty undermines cooperation, no support was found for the before mentioned underlying mechanisms. Future research with different methodology could encounter other results.Show less
In the past decades, methylphenidate has gained widespread popularity onto the pharmacological market, directed toward individuals with a diagnosis of Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD...Show moreIn the past decades, methylphenidate has gained widespread popularity onto the pharmacological market, directed toward individuals with a diagnosis of Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke, and even human immunodeficiency virus infections. This cognitive enhancer exerts its effects by binding to the dopamine transporter, resulting in heightened extracellular dopamine levels. However, the psychophysiological side-effects associated with this medication are not yet fully understood. The present study delves deeper into erratic psychophysiological side-effects, including psychosis, mood changes, experiences of seizures, tics and the development of skin rashes. Our primary objectives were twofold. Firstly, we aimed at exploring the frequency of adverse symptom perception in individuals receiving methylphenidate as treatment. Secondly, we sought to investigate the potential impact of treatment duration on symptom perception, and examine any potential correlation between the two. To achieve this, we implemented an online version of ‘The Methylphenidate monitoring side effects scale’ (MMSES), with a total of 135 participants, 22 belonging to the experimental group, with prescribed medication, and 113 to the control group, not receiving medication. The results of our study revealed that adverse symptom perception did not significantly differ between the experimental and the control group, (t = 0.31, p = .852). However, psychotic symptoms were significantly lower in the control group in comparison to the experimental group (t = 0.56, p = .041). Additionally, the correlational analysis demonstrated a non-significant relationship between treatment duration and symptom perception (r(20) = .21, p = .353). These preliminary findings need to be followed up by future research and require to be interpreted with caution due to a possibly confounding effect of age differences and other limitations. Future directions may comprise the inclusion of neuroimaging techniques to identify the pathophysiological changes associated with methylphenidate administration, and a larger sample size.Show less
The current study experimentally investigated young adults’ help-seeking for financial stress, specifically by testing differences in willingness to seek help between two sources of help ...Show moreThe current study experimentally investigated young adults’ help-seeking for financial stress, specifically by testing differences in willingness to seek help between two sources of help (professionals vs. social network) and between two help types (financial advice vs. emotional support). Young adult participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions, each presented with a flyer showing a combination of one source of help and one help type. Subsequently, participants’ willingness to seek help was measured. A 2 by 2 factorial ANOVA showed, contrary to the hypothesis, no effect of source of help. Neither an effect of help type nor an interaction effect was found. A correlation analysis showed no significant correlation between personality trait conscientiousness and willingness to seek help. Altogether, these results offer new insights into the nuances of help-seeking among financially stressed young adults and call for more research on a broader range of variables that may be influential.Show less
It is shown that social mindfulness (SoMi) – a form of low-cost cooperation defined by leaving others with a choice – is positively related environmental concern at the country-level. However,...Show moreIt is shown that social mindfulness (SoMi) – a form of low-cost cooperation defined by leaving others with a choice – is positively related environmental concern at the country-level. However, little is known about individual-level environmental concern in relation to SoMi. This study explores whether social mindfulness can be connected to environmental concern on an individual level by differentiating environmental concern into attitudes, intentions, and self-reported and actual pro-environmental behaviors. A positive relationship is hypothesized between SoMi and the various expressions of EC. This relationship was assessed using a questionnaire-based correlational research design (N = 108). The results indicate a lack of associations between SoMi and environmental attitudes and pro-environmental behavior. However, an association is found between SoMi and pro-environmental intentions. This could enhance our understanding of how demonstrating consideration for others may be related to increased environmental concern on an individual level.Show less
Objective: The period after successfully coming off treatment (SCOT) following a childhood cancer diagnosis is known to be a vulnerable time for parents in which increased levels of distress can...Show moreObjective: The period after successfully coming off treatment (SCOT) following a childhood cancer diagnosis is known to be a vulnerable time for parents in which increased levels of distress can play a significant role. It is important to know more about the distress experienced by parents during this period to determine whether an intervention should be used to help parents return to ‘normal life’. The aim of this study was therefore to gain better understanding of parental distress and factors related to their distress during the first year after their child has successfully completed treatment. Methods: A sample of 283 parents of children who had successfully completed cancer treatment in the previous year were included in this cross-sectional study. These parents, who were part of the SCOT group, were invited to complete the Distress Thermometer for Parents (DT-P) within one year after treatment completion. The DT-P consists of a thermometer score to measure experienced distress and problem domains (practical, social, emotional, physical, cognitive, and parenting). Parents in the SCOT group were compared with parents in the general population (NORM group) to see if their distress levels were higher. In addition, the association between distress and the problem domains and child- or parent-related factors (time since the end of treatment, cancer type, child’s age, parental disease, and perceived support) was examined. Results: Parents (73.9% mothers) in the SCOT group experienced higher levels of distress in the first year after SCOT compared to the general population (fathers SCOT: M=3.5, SD=2.6 vs. fathers NORM: M=2.8, SD=2.5; p=.032; mothers SCOT: M=4.1, SD=2.7 vs. mothers NORM: M=3.5, SD=2.7; p=.001). Emotional (p<.001), practical (p=.016), and physical (p=.005) problems were predictors of higher distress levels. Parents’ perceived support from their environment contributed also to their level of distress (p<.001). Conclusions: Parents of children who have successfully completed cancer treatment experience increased levels of distress in the first year after treatment compared to parents in the general population. There may be value in developing an intervention to ease this transition that specifically addresses their emotional well-being and highlights the importance of their social network during this vulnerable period.Show less
Expectations can influence the experience of pain and itch, hence expectations may also contribute to symptoms in patients with chronic itch and pain. Currently there is limited research...Show moreExpectations can influence the experience of pain and itch, hence expectations may also contribute to symptoms in patients with chronic itch and pain. Currently there is limited research investigating the role of expectancies in the perception of these patients’ itch and pain compared with healthy people. This study investigates if and how acquired expectations on ambiguous stimuli applied to the skin affect experiences between three groups; healthy people, and patients with chronic pain and itch. This study hypothesises whether patients with chronic pain and chronic itch have a higher expectation and experience a higher intensity of pain and itch, respectively, compared to healthy individuals, and to what extent the expectation of higher intensity of pain and itch contributes to the actually experienced intensity of pain and itch. A mediation analysis is examined to answer this hypothesis. The study used an observational between-subject design to investigate the three groups (Chronic pain group n = 9, chronic itch group n = 4 and healthy participants n = 10, with the target for further study n = 45). Participants were asked about prior expectations and the experience of pain and itch when applying the Von Frey monofilament. Contrary to our hypothesis, this study showed no significant differences in expectations and experiences between the chronic pain and chronic itch group and the healthy participants. In addition, the results of the mediation analyses did not show an indirect significant mediation effect of expectancies in the relationship between the groups and experienced pain/itch. For mild ambiguous stimuli, expectations determine perceptions of pain and itching, while chronic pain and itching do not seem to determine expectations. However, limitations such as the limited sample size need to be taken into account, and additional research is needed to draw further conclusions.Show less
The present study aimed to examine the way depressed adolescents experience their stressful life events, alongside their perceptions of parental support towards them. There was a sample of 115...Show moreThe present study aimed to examine the way depressed adolescents experience their stressful life events, alongside their perceptions of parental support towards them. There was a sample of 115 adolescents, and their parents (n = 214), including a group of depressed and a group of healthy control adolescents. Each adolescent was asked to write down two stressful events from his/her past and code the intensity of these events. After that, they were asked to discuss these events with their parents, and answer to three questions of the Parental Bonding (PB) questionnaire. Researchers also coded the intensity of the events. For our first hypothesis we conducted a multiple regression analysis to investigate whether depression constitutes a moderator variable between the adolescents’ codes of intensity towards their events and the researchers’ codes. For the second hypothesis we ran one-way ANCOVA to examine if there were any differences between the two groups in PB answers. Depression did not seem to moderate the relationship between the adolescents’ and the researchers’ intensity codes. However, separately, the researchers’ codes and the condition of the adolescents, depressed or not, proved to have statistically significant and positive main effects on the way the adolescents experienced their events. At the same time, the two groups also exhibited statistically significant differences on the PB. Considering these results, it is imperative to highlight the importance of including familial factors and the cultivation of resilience and coping skills towards stress into the intervention and prevention programs that address the adolescent depression.Show less
This study explores the intricate connections between music, movement, and cognition by exploring the effect of auditory cue on motor and cognitive performance in fifty healthy participants between...Show moreThis study explores the intricate connections between music, movement, and cognition by exploring the effect of auditory cue on motor and cognitive performance in fifty healthy participants between 18-39 years (females n=38). Employing a within-subjects design, participants engaged in tapping tasks under various auditory conditions, including metronome, experimenter-selected, and subject-selected musical tracks, in both single and dual-task scenarios. Objective measures of tapping timing consistency and force, alongside subjective ratings of induced arousal, induced emotional valence, familiarity, and likeness were examined. Two multilevel models were built to assess subjective ratings and/or musical condition as predictors of tapping force, consistency and 2-back performance. Significance was set at p<.05 (∝=.05). Higher ratings of emotional valence, arousal, familiarity, and liking were not found to predict higher tapping force and consistency. A repeated measures ANOVA investigated differences in tapping force and timing consistency between the three auditory conditions, however no significant difference was found for force (F(2, 123) = 0.004, p =.99) or timing consistency (F(2, 121) = 2.813, p = .06). Contrary to expectations, the metronome was found to be the only predictor of working memory (estimate = 4.92, SE = 0.63, p = .001, 95% CI = 3.69, 6.15). No significant difference was found between auditory conditions when compared in an ANOVA (experimenter-selected tracks = (t(56.89) = 1.28, p = 0.2, 95% CI = -0.78, 3.53); subjectselected tracks = (t(53.42) = , p = 0.17, 95% CI = -0.66, 3.58). Findings underscore the potential implications of auditory cues for cognitive tasks, challenging previous assumptions. By addressing gaps in existing literature and exploring the role of force in music-cued tapping, this study contributes to our understanding of human behaviour and cognition. Ultimately, these insights may inform the development of interventions aimed at optimizing performance across diverse cognitive tasks and populations.Show less
Previous research has shown that children’s art viewing behaviour is influenced by bottom-up factors, as opposed to top-down factors in adults. This study examines the influence of painting...Show morePrevious research has shown that children’s art viewing behaviour is influenced by bottom-up factors, as opposed to top-down factors in adults. This study examines the influence of painting descriptions tailored to children aged 10-12 on their visual attention and aesthetic appreciation of art. Sixty-two participants viewed a set of three painting in the halls of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, while their eye movements were recorded. One group received a description tailored to their age-group before viewing each painting (Child Description Condition), while the two other groups either received the museum’s description (Adult Description Condition) or no description at all (Free-Viewing Condition). After viewing, each participant’s aesthetic appreciation was measured. Findings indicate significant differences in visual attention between conditions, where participants with child-tailored description viewed more areas of interest for a longer period compared to other conditions. However, no difference in aesthetic appreciation was found between conditions. These results highlight the importance of tailoring art descriptions to the knowledge level of specific demographics, children in particular. Furthermore, it shows that adult-level descriptions are just as effective at modulating children’s visual attention as giving no description or information at all. Going further, this knowledge can be applied to enhance children’s understanding and maintain engagement in various real-world settings, such as education and safety.Show less
Movement sonification translates kinesiological parameters into sound stimuli. Many different sonification types are described by existing literature including musically informed sonification (MIs)...Show moreMovement sonification translates kinesiological parameters into sound stimuli. Many different sonification types are described by existing literature including musically informed sonification (MIs) and parameter mapping sonification (PMs). Both techniques have been proven efficient for training and rehabilitation settings, with researchers pointing the cause at different contributing characteristics, such as motivational aspects and enhanced informational content of either MIs or PMs stimuli respectively. Limited consideration has been devoted to personal characteristics, such as musical sophistication. The focus of this study was to investigate the differences between two sonification types, parameter mapping sonification (PMs) and musically informed sonification (MIs), in terms of subjective intuitiveness and motivation. PMs was hypothesized to be more intuitive, as well as MIs was expected to be more motivating, as compared to each other. Additionally, the individual relationship between motivation or intuitiveness and three GMSI subscales – active engagement, perceptual abilities and musical training – were examined for PMs. Here, it was speculated that only the former one would predict intuitiveness and motivation scores for PMs. To test our hypotheses, two paired samples t-tests and two backward stepwise linear regression analyses were performed in a final sample size of 171 healthy participants (67 female). Results demonstrated statistically significant differences between PMs and MIs both for motivation [t (169) = 5.64, p<.001, d = .69] and intuitiveness [t (168) = -9.71, p<.001, d = .83] respectively. The backward stepwise regression analysis yielded statistically significant results for a model of active engagement predicting PMs motivation scores [R2 = .03, F (1, 168) = 4.6, p < .05; adjusted R2 = .02]. All other regression models did not reach statistical significance levels. These observations support the hypothesis that PMs was perceived as more intuitive than MIs and that MIs was rated as more motivating than PMs. Besides, active engagement was the only GMSI subscale to predict motivation scores for PMs, with no GMSI subscales having statistically significant predictive values for intuitiveness ratings of PMs. Based on these findings, practical implications are discussed. Limitations of this research project, as well as recommendations for further research are described.Show less
