A study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family examined the connection between fathers taking paternity leave and the developmental progress of their young children in Singapore. The researchers found that when fathers took two weeks or more of paternity leave, it was associated with increased involvement in childcare, stronger father-child bonds, and improved family dynamics. These factors, in turn, were linked to better academic performance and fewer behavioral challenges in children as they grew from preschool into early primary school.

Previous research , mostly from Western countries, has found that paternity leave was connected to fathers being more involved in childcare and to stronger family ties. However, there was less understanding of how this policy directly influenced the development of young children, especially over a longer period. This gap in knowledge was particularly notable in Asian societies, where paternity leave policies are often newer and offer shorter durations compared to European nations.

In Asia, many regions have only recently introduced paternity leave policies, or they do not have them at all. The length of leave available to fathers in these countries is generally shorter. For example, some countries offer only a few days, while others, like South Korea and Japan, have expanded leave to up to a year.

“Many Asian societies, including Singapore, are facing the challenges of raising fertility rates and the related issues of gender inequality within the family. Some western governments (especially Nordic countries) had introduced longer parental leave to alleviate parents’ work-life conflict and encourage fathers’ participation in childcare decades ago,” said study author Wei-Jun Jean Yeung, a professor and chair of the Family, Children, and Youth Research Cluster at the National University of Singapore.

“In Asian countries, while maternity leave has been widely provided, paternity leave is either relatively short compared to Nordic countries, or non-existing. We believe paternity leave is very important because it helps fathers build stronger bonds with their children and improve couples’ relationships, which could indirectly reduce gender inequality and potentially affect couples’ intention to have a child.”

“However, no study has comprehensively examined how paternity leave affects family relationships and early childhood development. This gap led us to start our research on the topic. This paper is our second study, following our first one published in 2022. We believe the results will be useful for Singapore and other Asian countries, particularly East Asian countries such as South Korea, Japan, and China, which also shares more prevalent patriarchal norms and ‘ultra-low’ fertility levels.”

The research was guided by two main theoretical perspectives: family systems theory and social capital theory. Family systems theory suggests that a family operates as a connected unit, where the actions and experiences of one member, such as a father’s involvement in childcare, can influence other parts of the family, including children’s development and the relationships between parents.

Social capital theory posits that strong relationships and bonds within a family, such as those between parents and children, contribute positively to a child’s development. Paternity leave is seen as a way to enhance this family social capital by giving fathers time to become more competent and involved caregivers.

The researchers analyzed data from the Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study (SG-LEADS), which collected information from a large, representative sample of Singaporean children and their primary caregivers in two waves: 2018/2019 and 2021. The study focused on children who were born after May 1, 2013, which is when Singapore’s paternity leave policy began.

The final sample included 3895 children who lived with two parents and whose primary caregiver was their mother. For analyses focusing on developmental outcomes, the sample was further narrowed to children aged three and above who had reported data on both behavioral problems and academic achievements in both waves.

To measure children’s development, the study used the Children’s Behavior Problems Index (BPI) for children aged three and above, which assesses externalizing behaviors like aggression and internalizing behaviors like anxiety. Academic achievements were measured using test scores for letter-word identification and applied problems from the Woodcock-Johnson Test of Achievement. The key independent variable was paternity leave-taking, categorized based on whether fathers took no leave, one week of leave, or two weeks or more of leave, as reported by the mothers.

The researchers also examined several factors as potential intermediaries. Fathers’ involvement was measured by mothers’ reports of how much fathers participated in childcare activities like bathing, changing diapers, and playing. Father-child closeness was assessed by mothers’ statements about how close their child felt to their father. Family dynamics was a broader concept encompassing family conflict, marital satisfaction, and parenting aggravation, all reported by mothers.

The results showed that taking two weeks or more of paternity leave was associated with higher scores in children’s letter-word identification when they were three to six years old, and again when they were five to eight years old. This suggests a direct and lasting benefit for verbal skills.

For children’s applied problems, which measure numeracy skills, taking two weeks or more of leave was positively related to scores when children were three to six years old. Taking one week of leave was linked to better applied problems scores when children were five to eight years old, after accounting for earlier scores. This indicates some direct benefits for numerical abilities as well.

The researchers also found positive connections between paternity leave and the intermediary factors. Specifically, taking two weeks or more of paternity leave was linked to greater fathers’ involvement in childcare activities, stronger father-child closeness, and more positive family dynamics.

Fathers’ involvement, in turn, was positively related to father-child closeness, and both of these were associated with better family dynamics. While fathers’ involvement and father-child closeness did not directly influence children’s verbal academic scores, father-child closeness was directly related to children’s applied problems scores when they were three to six years old.

For children’s behavioral outcomes, paternity leave did not have a direct effect. Instead, its impact was entirely indirect. Taking two weeks or more of paternity leave was associated with fewer behavioral problems in children when they were three to six years old, and also later when they were five to eight years old, primarily through improved family dynamics. This suggests that paternity leave helps reduce children’s behavioral challenges by fostering a more supportive and cohesive family environment.

“Paternity leave is good for family relations and for children’s development,” Yeung told PsyPost. “It has the potential to improve spousal relations and parent-child relation. Our results show that 2 weeks or longer paternity leave was linked to greater fathers’ involvement in childcare, closer father-child relationships, and enhanced family dynamics (i.e, family members have fewer conflicts, mothers have higher marital satisfaction and feel less stressed about raising children). It can also have long-term benefits for children’s cognitive development and social-emotional well-being during early childhood.

“However, paternity leave should be at least two weeks or longer. We found one-week paternity leave does not have a positive impact on family dynamics and child development. It is possible that one week is too short for fathers to build a routine, learn the many new skills needed to care for a baby, and figure out how to work together with the mother. Two weeks gives fathers and mothers more time to adjust emotionally and practically, and to enjoy time with their new baby.”

“We should encourage countries to provide government-subsidized paternity leave that is at least two weeks long, and enable fathers to take paternity leave, because of its potential benefits to family and child well-being.”

The researchers controlled for a range of other influences, such as parents’ education, income, age, children’s age and gender, and household living arrangements, including the presence of domestic helpers or grandparents.

“A common misinterpretation of the results is that fathers who are more likely to take paternity leave are of higher socioeconomic status (SES), and it is the higher SES that makes their children do better cognitively and behaviorally,” Yeung said. “In our study, we have used rigorous methodology to address this selectivity issue, including using data from a nationally representative longitudinal study and taking into account a large number of parents’ and family characteristics to “isolate” the net impact of paternity leave taking on children’s developmental outcomes. ”

But there are still some limitations to consider. The study did not have information on fathers’ gender attitudes or their involvement before the child’s birth, which could influence their decision to take leave and their subsequent parenting behaviors. The measures for fathers’ involvement and family relationships were based on mothers’ reports, which might introduce some bias.

Future research could benefit from including perspectives from both parents. The measure of fathers’ involvement could also be expanded to include engagement in children’s educational and social activities more broadly. The researchers also acknowledge that while they used robust methods to account for pre-existing differences between fathers who took leave and those who did not, it cannot definitively prove a causal link due to the potential for unmeasured factors to play a role.

The study, “Paternity leave-taking and early childhood development: A longitudinal analysis in Singapore,” was authored by Nanxun Li and Wei-Jun Jean Yeung.

A new study has found that young adults who exhibit higher levels of manipulative, self-centered, and callous personality traits tend to report having lower quality family interactions. The research, published in the Journal of Professional & Applied Psychology, suggests a distinct connection between these so called “Dark Triad” traits and the health of family dynamics.

Researchers have long been interested in how personality develops, often focusing on widely recognized models of personality. Recently, attention has shifted toward understanding the less socially desirable aspects of human nature, collectively known as the Dark Triad, which includes Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. These traits are associated with behaviors that can strain social bonds, yet their specific impact within the family unit has been a less explored area.

The study’s authors wanted to examine this connection in a specific cultural and demographic context. They focused on young adults in Pakistan, a country where a large portion of the population falls within the 18 to 25 age range. This period is a formative time when an individual’s personality and perspective are still evolving, heavily influenced by their immediate environment, especially the family. By investigating this group, the researchers aimed to add a non-Western perspective to a field of study that has predominantly been centered on European and North American populations.

“The motivation for this study stemmed from the fact that this area remains largely understudied in Pakistan, leaving a significant research gap,” said study author Quratul Ain Arshad, who is currently a Bachelor of Laws student at the University of London.

“This topic represents a real-world issue that has not received the attention it deserves. I have personally observed several families affected by these dark traits, struggling to cope due to a lack of awareness and understanding. Through this research, I aimed to shed light on this issue so that individuals can better recognize what is happening to them and those around them and seek the help and guidance they need.”

To conduct their investigation, the researchers recruited a sample of 300 young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 from various universities and corporate offices in Lahore, Pakistan. Participation was voluntary, and the confidentiality of the responses was protected. Each participant completed two self-report questionnaires designed to measure different psychological constructs.

The first questionnaire was the Short Dark Triad scale, which assesses the three core traits. Machiavellianism is characterized by a manipulative and cynical worldview, narcissism involves a sense of grandiosity and entitlement, and psychopathy is marked by impulsivity and a lack of empathy. The second questionnaire was a modified version of the Family Assessment Device, which measures the quality of family interactions across several dimensions. These dimensions include problem solving, communication, assigned roles, emotional responsiveness, emotional involvement, and behavior control.

After collecting the data, the research team performed a statistical analysis to determine if there was a relationship between the scores for Dark Triad traits and the scores for family functioning. This type of analysis reveals whether two variables tend to move together, either in the same direction or in opposite directions. The study specifically tested four hypotheses about these potential connections.

The primary finding confirmed the researchers’ main prediction. There was a clear negative relationship between overall scores on the Dark Triad scale and the overall quality of family interaction. This indicates that as an individual’s levels of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy increased, their reported level of healthy family functioning tended to decrease. This suggests that these aversive personality traits are indeed connected to difficulties within the family environment.

When the researchers examined the traits individually, the results were more nuanced. The connection between Machiavellianism and a family’s general functioning was found to be very weak and not statistically meaningful. This suggests that a person’s tendency toward manipulation may not have a direct, measurable link to their perception of the family’s overall effectiveness.

A different pattern emerged for psychopathy. This trait was found to have a modest but statistically significant negative relationship with what is known as “affective responsiveness,” which is a family’s capacity to respond to situations with appropriate emotions. In simple terms, young adults with higher psychopathy scores were more likely to come from families they perceived as being less emotionally attuned.

The final hypothesis looked at the link between narcissism and “affective involvement,” which refers to the extent to which family members show interest and care for one another. Much like the finding for Machiavellianism, this connection was also very weak and not considered statistically significant. This outcome suggests that a person’s level of narcissism may not be directly tied to the degree of emotional investment they perceive within their family.

“The key takeaway from this study is the importance of self-awareness,” Arshad told PsyPost. “Every individual should strive to understand their own personality traits and reflect on their behaviors. By doing so, they can not only improve themselves but also better support those around them who may exhibit these traits.”

The study did have some limitations. The findings are based on self-report questionnaires, which means participants’ responses could have been influenced by a desire to present themselves or their families in a positive light. The sample was also drawn exclusively from one city in Pakistan and was limited to young adults, which means the results might not be generalizable to other age groups or cultures.

For future research, the authors suggest that longitudinal studies, which follow individuals over a long period, could provide deeper insight into how Dark Triad traits and family dynamics influence each other over time. Using multiple methods of assessment, beyond just self-reports, could also help create a more complete picture of these complex interactions. Such work could help in designing interventions aimed at improving family relationships and promoting healthier personality development.

“The size of the sample used in this study is not big enough to represent the total young adult population in Pakistan, but this study is significant in understanding how these traits shape interactions on a microlevel,” Arshad said. “The effect of this study is such that it will help researchers dig towards the developmental aspects of these traits and also conduct longitudinal studies in future to understand the implications of the Dark Triad traits in both older and younger populations than young adults.”

The study, “The Relationship Between Dark Triad and Quality of Family Interaction among Young Adults,” was authored by Quratul Ain Arshad, Uzma Ashiq, and Khadija Malik.

A new study has found that a student team’s collective emotional intelligence is a significant predictor of its success in collaborative problem-solving. Specifically, the abilities to understand and manage emotions were linked to both better teamwork processes and a higher quality final product. The findings, which also examined the role of personality, were published in the Journal of Intelligence.

While individual intelligence and personality traits like conscientiousness are known to predict individual success, much less is understood about what drives performance when students are required to work together in teams. This form of learning, known as collaborative problem solving, is increasingly common in modern education, prompting a need to identify the skills and dispositions that help groups succeed.

The study’s authors aimed to investigate how two sets of characteristics, emotional intelligence and the Big Five personality traits, might influence the performance of high school students working in small groups.

“This study was actually part of a larger project, called PEERSolvers, in which we were looking for scientifically supported ways to enhance the quality of students’ collaborative problem solving,” said study author Ana Altaras, a full professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Belgrade.

“This naturally led us to explore the role played by emotional intelligence and personality in student collaborations. Having previously conducted two systematic reviews (Altaras et al., 2025; Jolić Marjanović et al., 2024), we knew that both emotional intelligence and the Big Five personality traits indeed act as ‘deep-level composition variables’ shaping the processes and outcomes of teamwork in higher-education and professional contexts.”

“We also knew that both variable sets contribute to the prediction of individual students’ school performance. However, we also saw an obvious research gap when it comes to exploring their joint effects on the performance of student teams in high school. Hence, we digged into this topic.”

The researchers recruited 162 tenth-grade students from twelve secondary schools. The students first completed assessments to measure their emotional intelligence and personality. Emotional intelligence was evaluated using the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test, a performance-based test that measures a person’s actual ability to perceive, use, understand, and manage emotions. Personality was assessed with the Big Five Inventory, a questionnaire that measures neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.

Following the initial assessments, the students were organized into 54 teams of three. Each team was then tasked with solving a complex social problem over a 2.5-hour session. The problems were open-ended and required creative thinking, covering topics such as regulating adolescent media use or balancing economic development with ecological protection. The entire collaborative session for each team was video-recorded, and each team submitted a final written solution.

Trained observers analyzed the video recordings to rate the quality of each team’s collaborative processes. They assessed four distinct aspects of teamwork: the exchange of ideas and information, the emotional atmosphere and level of respect, how the team managed its tasks and time, and how it managed interpersonal relationships and conflicts. In a separate analysis, a different set of evaluators rated the quality of the team’s final written solution based on criteria like realism, creativity, and the strength of its arguments.

The researchers found that emotional intelligence was a strong predictor of team performance. Teams with higher average scores in understanding and managing emotions showed superior teamwork processes. This improvement in collaboration, in turn, was associated with producing a better final solution. The ability to understand emotions also appeared to have a direct positive effect on the quality of the written solution. This suggests that knowledge about human emotions was directly applicable to solving the complex social problems presented in the task.

“Looking at the results of our study, emotional intelligence–particularly its ‘strategic branches’ or the ability to understand and manage emotions–had a lot to do with students’ performance in collaborative problem solving,” Altaras told PsyPost. “Student teams with higher team-average emotional intelligence engaged in a more constructive exchange of ideas, had a friendlier way of communicating, and were more efficient in managing both task and relationship-related challenges throughout the problem-solving process. Ultimately, these teams also came up with better solutions to the problems at hand. In sum, students’ emotional intelligence seems to contribute substantially to the quality of their collaborative problem solving.”

The role of personality traits was more nuanced and produced some unexpected results. As expected, the personality trait of openness to experience was positively associated with the quality of the final solution. This connection is likely due to the creative and open-ended nature of the problem-solving task.

But teams with a higher average level of neuroticism, a trait associated with anxiety and stress, were actually better at managing their tasks. The researchers propose that a tendency toward distress may have prompted these teams to plan their approach more diligently. In contrast, teams with higher average extraversion were less effective at relationship management, perhaps because they were less inclined to formally address group tensions.

“Contrary to our expectations, we found only few statistically significant associations between the Big Five personality traits and the quality of students’ collaboration,” Altaras said. “Moreover, the effects that did surface as significant–a positive effect of neuroticism on task management and a negative effect of extraversion on relationship management–seem counterintuitive in terms of their direction.”

When the researchers examined emotional intelligence and personality together in a combined model, emotional intelligence emerged as the more consistent and powerful predictor of overall performance. The contribution of personality was largely limited to the link between neuroticism and task management, suggesting emotional skills were more influential in this context.

As with all research, the study does have some limitations. The sample size was relatively small due to the intensive nature of analyzing hours of video footage. The teams were also composed of students of the same gender, which might not fully represent the dynamics of mixed-gender groups common in schools. Additionally, the study did not measure the students’ general academic intelligence, which could also be a factor in their performance.

“In our defense, emotional intelligence has already been shown to have incremental predictive value in so many instances–including the prediction of students’ individual school performance–that we would not expect it to lose much of its predictive weight when analyzed concurrently with academic abilities,” Altaras noted. “Still, the picture would be more complete had we been able to also test participants’ academic intelligence and include this variable as another potential predictor of their performance in collaborative problem solving.”

For future research, the authors suggest exploring these dynamics in larger and more diverse student groups. It would also be informative to see if these findings hold when teams are faced with different kinds of problems, such as those that are less social and more technical in nature. Examining these factors could provide a more complete picture of the interplay between ability, personality, and group success in educational settings.

“Within the PEERSolvers project, we have already developed a training (PDF) that targets, among other things, students’ emotional intelligence abilities and knowledge of personality differences, hoping to enhance the quality of their collaborative problem solving in this manner,” Altaras said. “In an experimental study, the training was shown to make a difference–i.e., to have a positive effect on students’ performance in collaborative problem solving (Krstić et al., 2025)–and we are now looking forward to having it more widely implemented in schools. When it comes to further research, we will certainly continue to explore the role of emotional intelligence abilities in the educational context, considering the performance and well-being of both students and teachers.”

The study, “Emotional Intelligence and the Big Five as Predictors of Students’ Performance in Collaborative Problem Solving,” was authored by Ana Altaras, Zorana Jolić Marjanović, Kristina Mojović Zdravković, Ksenija Krstić, and Tijana Nikitović.

New research suggests that the desire for a psychologically rich life, one filled with varied and perspective-altering experiences, is a significant driver behind why people choose activities that are intentionally unpleasant or challenging. The series of studies, published in the journal Psychology & Marketing, indicates that this preference is largely fueled by a motivation for personal growth.

Researchers have long been interested in why people sometimes opt for experiences that are not traditionally pleasurable, such as watching horror movies, eating intensely sour foods, or enduring grueling physical challenges. This behavior, known as counterhedonic consumption, seems to contradict the basic human drive to seek pleasure and avoid pain. While previous explanations have pointed to factors like sensation-seeking or a desire to accumulate a diverse set of life experiences, researchers proposed a new motivational framework to explain this phenomenon.

They theorized that some individuals are driven by a search for psychological richness, a dimension of well-being distinct from happiness or a sense of meaning. A psychologically rich life is characterized by novelty, complexity, and experiences that shift one’s perspective. The researchers hypothesized that this drive could lead people to embrace discomfort, not for the discomfort itself, but for the personal transformation and growth such experiences might offer.

To investigate this idea, the researchers conducted a series of ten studies involving a total of 2,275 participants. In an initial study, participants were presented with a poster for a haunted house pass and asked how likely they would be to try it. They also completed questionnaires measuring their desire for a psychologically rich life, as well as their desire for a happy or meaningful life and their tendency toward sensation-seeking.

The results showed a positive relationship between the search for psychological richness and a preference for the haunted house experience. This connection remained even when accounting for the other factors.

To see if this finding extended beyond fear-based activities, a subsequent study presented participants with a detailed description of an intensely sour chicken dish. Again, individuals who scored higher on the scale for psychological richness expressed a greater likelihood of ordering the dish.

A third study solidified these findings in a choice-based scenario, asking participants to select between a “blissful garden” experience and a “dark maze” designed to be disorienting. Those with a stronger desire for psychological richness were more likely to choose the dark maze, a finding that held even after controlling for general risk-taking tendencies.

Having established a consistent link, the research team sought to determine causality. In another experiment, they temporarily prompted one group of participants to focus on psychological richness by having them write about what it means to make choices based on a desire for interesting and perspective-changing outcomes. A control group wrote about their daily life. Afterward, both groups were asked about their interest in a horror movie streaming service.

The group primed to think about psychological richness showed a significantly higher preference for the service, suggesting that this mindset can directly cause an increased interest in counterhedonic experiences.

The next step was to understand the psychological process behind this link. The researchers proposed that a focus on self-growth was the key mechanism. One study tested this by again presenting the sour food scenario and then asking participants to what extent their choice was motivated by a desire for self-discovery and personal development. A statistical analysis revealed that the desire for self-growth fully explained the connection between a search for psychological richness and the preference for the sour dish.

To ensure self-growth was the primary driver, another study tested it against an alternative explanation: the desire to create profound memories. While a rich life might involve creating interesting stories to tell, the results showed that self-growth was the significant factor explaining the choice for the sour dish, whereas the desire for profound memories was not.

Further strengthening the causal claim, another experiment first manipulated participants’ focus on psychological richness and then measured their self-growth motivation. The results showed that the manipulation increased a focus on self-growth, which in turn increased the preference for the counterhedonic food item.

A final, more nuanced experiment provided further support for the self-growth mechanism. In this study, the researchers manipulated self-growth motivation directly. One group was asked to write about making choices that foster personal growth, while a control group was not. In the control condition, the expected pattern emerged: people higher in the search for psychological richness were more interested in the sour dish.

However, in the group where self-growth was made salient, preferences for the sour dish increased across the board. This effectively reduced the predictive power of a person’s baseline level of psychological richness, indicating that when the need for self-growth is met, the underlying trait becomes less of a deciding factor.

The research has some limitations. Many of the studies relied on hypothetical scenarios and self-reported preferences, which may not perfectly reflect real-world consumer behavior. The researchers suggest that future work could use field experiments to observe actual choices in natural settings. They also note that cultural differences could play a role, as some cultures may place a higher value on experiences of discomfort as a pathway to wisdom or personal development. Exploring these boundary conditions could provide a more complete picture of this motivational system.

The study, “The Allure of Pain: How the Quest for Psychological Richness Drives Counterhedonic Consumption,” was authored by Sarah Su Lin Lee, Ritesh Saini, and Shashi Minchael.

A new study finds that single adults in both the United States and Japan report lower well-being than their married peers. The research suggests that the influence of family support and strain on this health and satisfaction gap differs significantly between the two cultures. The findings were published in the journal Personal Relationships.

Researchers conducted this study to better understand the experiences of single adults outside of Western contexts. Much of the existing research has focused on places like the United States, where singlehood is becoming more common and accepted. In these individualistic cultures, some studies suggest single people may even have stronger connections with family and friends than married individuals.

However, in many Asian cultures, including Japan, marriage is often seen as a more essential part of life and family. This can create a different set of social pressures for single people. The researchers wanted to investigate whether these cultural differences would alter how family relationships, both positive and negative, are connected to the well-being of single and married people in the U.S. and Japan.

“I’ve always been curious about relationship transitions and singlehood lies in this awkward space where people are unsure if it really counts as an actual ‘relationship stage’ per se,” said study author Lester Sim, an assistant professor of psychology at Singapore Management University.

“Fortunately, the field is starting to recognize singlehood as an important period and it’s becoming more common, yet people still seem to judge singles pretty harshly. I find that kind of funny in a way, because it often reflects how we judge ourselves through others. Coming from an Asian background, I also wondered if these attitudes toward singlehood might play out differently across cultures, especially since family ties are so central in Asian contexts. That curiosity really sparked this project.”

To explore this, the research team analyzed data from two large, nationally representative studies: the Midlife in the U.S. (MIDUS) study and the Midlife in Japan (MIDJA) study. The combined sample included 4,746 participants who were 30 years of age or older. The researchers focused specifically on individuals who identified as either “married” or “never married,” and they took additional steps to exclude participants who were in a cohabiting or romantic relationship despite being unmarried.

Participants in both studies answered questions at two different points in time. The first wave of data included their marital status, their perceptions of family support, and their experiences of family strain. Family support was measured with items asking how much they felt their family cared for them or how much they could open up to family about their worries. Family strain was assessed with questions about how often family members criticized them or let them down.

At the second wave of data collection, participants reported on their well-being. This included rating their overall physical health on a scale from 0 to 10 and their satisfaction with life through a series of six questions about different life domains. The researchers then used a statistical approach to see how marital status at the first time point was related to well-being at the second time point, and whether family support and strain helped explain that relationship.

Across the board, the results showed that single adults in both the United States and Japan reported poorer physical health and lower life satisfaction compared to their married counterparts. This finding aligns with a large body of previous research suggesting that marriage is generally associated with better health outcomes.

When the researchers examined the role of family dynamics, they found distinct patterns in each country. For American participants, being married was associated with receiving more family support and experiencing less family strain. Both of these family factors were, in turn, linked to higher well-being. This suggests that for Americans, the well-being advantage of being married is partially explained by having more supportive and less tense family relationships.

The pattern observed in the Japanese sample was quite different. Single Japanese adults did report experiencing more family strain than married Japanese adults. Yet, this higher level of family strain did not have a significant connection to their physical health or life satisfaction later on.

“Family relationships matter a lot for everyone, whether you’re single or married, but in different ways across cultures,” Sim told PsyPost. “We found that singles in both the US and Japan reported lower well-being, in part because they experienced more family strain and less support (differentially across cultures). So even though singlehood is becoming more common, it still carries social and emotional costs. I think this shows how important it is to build more inclusive environments where singles feel equally supported and valued.”

Another notable finding from the Japanese sample was that there was no significant difference in the amount of family support reported by single and married individuals. While family support did predict higher life satisfaction for Japanese participants, it did not serve as a pathway explaining the well-being gap between single and married people in the way it did for Americans.

“I honestly thought the patterns would differ more across cultures,” Sim said. “I expected singles in Western countries to feel more accepted, and singles in Asia to rely more on family support and report greater strain; but neither of the latter findings turned out to be the case. It seems that, across the board, social norms around marriage still shape how people experience singlehood and well-being.”

The researchers acknowledged some limitations of their work. The definition of “single” was based on available survey questions and could be refined in future studies with more direct inquiries about relationship status.

“We focused only on familial support and strain because family is such a big part of East Asian culture,” Sim noted. “But singlehood is complex: friendships, loneliness, voluntary versus involuntary singlehood, and how satisfied people feel being single all matter too. We didn’t examine these constructs in the current study because there is existing work on this topic, so I wanted to bring more focus onto the family (especially with the cross-cultural focus). Future work should dig into those other layers and examine how they interact to shape the singlehood experience.”

It would also be beneficial to explore these dynamics across different age groups, as the pressures and supports related to marital status may change over a person’s lifespan. Such work would help create a more comprehensive picture of how singlehood is experienced around the world.

“I want to keep exploring how culture shapes the meanings people attach to relationships and singlehood,” Sim explained. “Long term, I hope this work helps shift the narrative away from the idea that marriage is the default route to happiness, and shift toward recognizing that there are many valid ways to live a good life.”

“Being single isn’t a problem to be fixed. It’s a meaningful, often intentional part of many people’s lives. The more we understand that, the closer we get to supporting well-being for everyone, not just those who are married.”

The study, “Cross-Cultural Differences in the Links Between Familial Support and Strain in Married and Single Adults’ Well-Being,” was authored by Lester Sim and Robin Edelstein.

A new clinical trial has found that adding repeated intravenous ketamine infusions to standard care for hospitalized patients with serious depression did not provide a significant additional benefit. The study, which compared ketamine to a psychoactive placebo, suggests that previous estimates of the drug’s effectiveness might have been influenced by patient and clinician expectations. These findings were published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

Ketamine, originally developed as an anesthetic, has gained attention over the past two decades for its ability to produce rapid antidepressant effects in individuals who have not responded to conventional treatments. Unlike standard antidepressants that can take weeks to work, a single infusion of ketamine can sometimes lift mood within hours. A significant drawback, however, is that these benefits are often short-lived, typically fading within a week.

This has led to the widespread practice of administering a series of infusions to sustain the positive effects. A central challenge in studying ketamine is its distinct psychological effects, such as feelings of dissociation or detachment from reality. When compared to an inactive placebo like a saline solution, it is very easy for participants and researchers to know who received the active drug, potentially creating strong expectancy effects that can inflate the perceived benefits.

To address this, the researchers designed their study to use an “active” placebo, a drug called midazolam, which is a sedative that produces noticeable effects of its own, making it a more rigorous comparison.

“Ketamine has attracted a lot of interest as a rapidly-acting antidepressant but it has short-lived effects. Therefore, its usefulness is quite limited. Despite this major limitation, ketamine is increasingly being adopted as an off-label treatment for depression, especially in the USA,” said study author Declan McLoughlin, a professor at Trinity College Dublin.

“We hypothesized that repeated ketamine infusions may have more sustained benefit. So far this has been evaluated in only a small number of trials. Another problem is that few ketamine trials have used an adequate control condition to mask the obvious dissociative effects of ketamine, e.g. altered consciousness and perceptions of oneself and one’s environment.”

“To try address some of these issues, we conducted an independent investigator-led randomized trial (KARMA-Dep 2) to evaluate antidepressant efficacy, safety, cost-effectiveness, and quality of life during and after serial ketamine infusions when compared to a psychoactive comparison drug midazolam. Trial participants were randomized to receive up to eight infusions of either ketamine or midazolam, given over four weeks, in addition to all other aspects of usual inpatient care.”

The trial, conducted at an academic hospital in Dublin, Ireland, aimed to see if adding twice-weekly ketamine infusions to the usual comprehensive care provided to inpatients could improve depression outcomes. Researchers enrolled adults who had been voluntarily admitted to the hospital for moderate to severe depression. These participants were already receiving a range of treatments, including medication, various forms of therapy, and psychoeducation programs.

In this randomized, double-blind study, 65 participants were assigned to one of two groups. One group received intravenous ketamine infusions twice a week for up to four weeks, while the other group received intravenous midazolam on the same schedule. The doses were calculated based on body weight. The double-blind design meant that neither the patients, the clinicians rating their symptoms, nor the main investigators knew who was receiving which substance. Only the anesthesiologist administering the infusion knew the assignment, ensuring patient safety without influencing the results.

The primary measure of success was the change in participants’ depression scores, assessed using a standard clinical tool called the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale. This assessment was conducted at the beginning of the study and again 24 hours after the final infusion. The researchers also tracked other outcomes, such as self-reported symptoms, rates of response and remission, cognitive function, side effects, and overall quality of life.

After analyzing the data from 62 participants who completed the treatment phase, the study found no statistically significant difference in the main outcome between the two groups. Although patients in both groups showed improvement in their depressive symptoms during their hospital stay, the group receiving ketamine did not fare significantly better than the group receiving midazolam. The average reduction in depression scores was only slightly larger in the ketamine group, a difference that was small and could have been due to chance.

Similarly, there were no significant advantages for ketamine on secondary measures, including self-reported depression symptoms, cognitive performance, or long-term quality of life. While the rate of remission from depression was slightly higher in the ketamine group (about 44 percent) compared to the midazolam group (30 percent), this difference was not statistically robust. The treatments were found to be generally safe, though ketamine produced more dissociative experiences during the infusion, while midazolam produced more sedation.

“We found no significant difference between the two groups on our primary outcome measure (i.e. depression severity assessed with the commonly used Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS)),” McLoughlin told PsyPost. “Nor did we find any difference between the two groups on any other secondary outcome or cost-effectiveness measure. Under rigorous clinical trial conditions, adjunctive ketamine provided no additional benefit to routine inpatient care during the initial treatment phase or the six-month follow-up period.”

A key finding emerged when the researchers checked how well the “blinding” had worked. They discovered that it was not very successful. From the very first infusion, the clinicians rating patient symptoms were able to guess with high accuracy who was receiving ketamine.

Patients in the ketamine group also became quite accurate at guessing their treatment over time. This functional unblinding complicates the interpretation of the results, as the small, nonsignificant trend favoring ketamine could be explained by the psychological effect of knowing one is receiving a treatment with a powerful reputation.

“Our initial hypothesis was that repeated ketamine infusions for people hospitalised with depression would improve mood outcomes,” McLoughlin said. “However, contrary to our hypothesis, we found this not to be the case. We suspect that functional unblinding (due to its obvious dissociative effects) has amplified the placebo effects of ketamine in previous trials. This is a major, often unacknowledged, problem with many recent trials in psychiatry evaluating ketamine, psychedelic, and brain stimulation therapies. Our trial highlights the importance of reporting the success, or lack thereof, of blinding in clinical trials.”

The study’s authors acknowledged some limitations. The research was unable to recruit its planned number of participants, partly due to logistical challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. This smaller sample size reduced the study’s statistical power, making it harder to detect a real, but modest, difference between the treatments if one existed. The primary limitation, however, remains the challenge of blinding.

The results from this trial suggest that when tested under more rigorous conditions, the antidepressant benefit of repeated ketamine infusions may be smaller than suggested by earlier studies that used inactive placebos. The researchers propose that expectations for both patients and clinicians may play a substantial role in ketamine’s perceived effects. This highlights the need to recalibrate expectations for ketamine in clinical practice and for more robustly designed trials in psychiatry.

Looking forward, the researchers emphasize the importance of reporting negative or null trial results to provide a balanced view of a treatment’s capabilities. They also expressed concern about a separate in the field: the promotion of ketamine as an equally effective alternative to electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT.

“Scrutiny of the scientific literature shows that this includes methodologically flawed trials and invalid meta-analyses,” McLoughlin said. “We discuss this in some detail in a Comment piece just published in Lancet Psychiatry. Unfortunately, such errors have been accepted as scientific evidence and are already creeping into international clinical guidelines. There is a thus a real risk of patients and clinicians being steered towards a less effective treatment, particularly for patients with severe, sometimes life-threatening, depression.”

The study, “Serial Ketamine Infusions as Adjunctive Therapy to Inpatient Care for Depression: The KARMA-Dep 2 Randomized Clinical Trial,” was authored by Ana Jelovac, Cathal McCaffrey, Masashi Terao, Enda Shanahan, Emma Whooley, Kelly McDonagh, Sarah McDonogh, Orlaith Loughran, Ellie Shackleton, Anna Igoe, Sarah Thompson, Enas Mohamed, Duyen Nguyen, Ciaran O’Neill, Cathal Walsh, and Declan M. McLoughlin.

A new study indicates that Donald Trump’s frequent shrugging is a deliberate communication tool used to establish common ground with his audience and express negative evaluations of his opponents and their policies. The research, published in the journal Visual Communication, suggests these gestures are a key component of his populist performance style, helping him appear both ordinary and larger-than-life.

Researchers have become increasingly interested in the communication style of right-wing populism, which extends beyond spoken words to include physical performance. While a significant amount of analysis has focused on Donald Trump’s language, particularly on social media platforms, his live performances at rallies have received less systematic attention. The body is widely recognized as being important to political performance, but the specific gestures used are not always well understood.

This new research on shrugging builds on a previous study by one of the authors that examined Trump’s use of pointing gestures. That analysis found that Trump uses different kinds of points to serve distinct functions, such as pointing outwards to single out opponents, pointing inwards to emphasize his personal commitment, and pointing downwards to connect his message to the immediate location of his audience. The current study continues this investigation into his non-verbal communication by focusing on another of his signature moves, the shrug.

“The study was motivated by several factors,” explained Christopher Hart, a professor of linguistics at Lancaster University and the author of Language, Image, Gesture: The Cognitive Semiotics of Politics.

(1) Political scientists frequently refer to the more animated bodily performance of right wing populist politicians like Trump compared to non-populist leaders. We wanted to study one gesture – the shrug – that seemed to be implicated here. (2) Trump’s shrug gestures have been noted by the media previously and described as his “signature move”. We wanted to study this gesture in more detail to examine its precise forms and the way he uses it to fulfil rhetorical goals.”

“(3) To meet a gap: while a great deal has been written about Donald Trump’s speech and his use of language online, much less has been written about the gestures that accompany his speech in live settings. This is despite the known importance of gesture in political communication.”

To conduct their analysis, the researchers examined video footage of two of Trump’s campaign rallies from the 2016 primary season. The events, one in Dayton, Ohio, and the other in Buffalo, New York, amounted to approximately 110 minutes of data. The researchers adopted a conservative approach, identifying 187 clear instances of shrugging gestures across the two events.

Each shrug was coded based on its physical form and its communicative function. For the form, they classified shrugs based on the orientation of the forearms and the position of the hands relative to the body. They also noted whether the shrug was performed with one or two hands and whether it was a simple gesture or a more complex, animated movement. To understand the function, they analyzed the spoken words accompanying each shrug to determine the meaning being conveyed.

Hart was surprised “just how often Trump shrugs – 1.7 times per minute in the campaign rallies analyzed. Trump is a prolific shrugger and this is one way his communication style breaks with traditional forms of political communication.”

The analysis of the physical forms of the shrugs provided evidence for what has been described as a strong “corporeal presence.” Trump tended to favor expansive shrugs, with his hands positioned outside his shoulder width, a form that physically occupies more space.

The second most frequent type was the “lateral” shrug, where his arms extend out to his sides, sometimes in a highly theatrical, showman-like manner. This use of large, exaggerated gestures appears to contribute to a performance style more commonly associated with live entertainment than with traditional politics.

The researchers also noted that nearly a third of his shrugs were complex, meaning they involved animated, oscillating movements. These gestures create a dynamic and sometimes caricatured performance. While these expansive and animated shrugs help create an extraordinary, entertaining persona, the very act of shrugging is an informal, everyday gesture. This combination seems to allow Trump to simultaneously signal both his ordinariness and his exceptionalism.

When examining the functions of the shrugs, the researchers found that the most common meaning was not what many people might expect. While shrugs are often associated with expressing ignorance (“I don’t know”) or indifference (“I don’t care”), these were not their primary uses in Trump’s speeches. Instead, the most frequent function, accounting for over 44 percent of instances, was to signal common ground or obviousness. Trump often uses a shrug to present a statement as a self-evident truth that he and his audience already share.

For example, he would shrug when asking rhetorical questions like “We love our police. Do we love our police?” The gesture suggests the answer is obvious and that everyone in the room is in agreement. He also used these shrugs to present his own political skills as a given fact or to frame the shortcomings of his opponents as plainly evident to all. This use of shrugging appears to be a powerful tool for building a sense of shared knowledge and values with his supporters.

“Most people think of shrugs as conveying ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I don’t care,” Hart told PsyPost. “While Trump uses shrugs to convey these meanings, more often he uses shrugs to indicate that something is known to everyone or obviously the case. This is one of the ways he establishes common ground and aligns himself with his audience, indicating that he and they hold a shared worldview.”

The second most common function was to express what the researchers term “affective distance.” This involves conveying negative emotions like disapproval, dissatisfaction, or dismay towards a particular state of affairs. When discussing trade deals he considered terrible or military situations he found lacking, a shrug would often accompany his words. In these cases, the gesture itself, rather than the explicit language, carried the negative emotional evaluation of the topic.

Shrugs that conveyed “epistemic distance,” meaning ignorance, doubt, or disbelief, accounted for about 17 percent of the total. A notable use of this function occurred during what is known as “constructed dialogue,” where Trump would re-enact conversations. In one instance, he used a mocking shrug while impersonating a political opponent to portray them as clueless and incompetent, a performance that drew laughter from the crowd.

The least common function was indifference, or the classic “I don’t care” meaning. Though infrequent, these shrugs served a strategic purpose. When shrugging alongside a phrase like “I understand that it might not be presidential. Who cares?,” Trump used the gesture to dismiss the conventions of traditional politics. This helps him position himself as an outsider who is not bound by the same rules as the political establishment.

The findings highlight that “what politicians do with their hands and other body parts is an important part of their message and their brand,” Hart told PsyPost. However, he emphasizes that “gestures are not ‘body language.’ They do not accidentally give away one’s emotional state. Gestures are built in to the language system and are part of the way we communicate. They carry part of the information speakers intend to convey and that information forms part of the message audiences take away.”

The study does have some limitations. Its analysis is focused exclusively on Donald Trump, so it remains unclear whether this pattern of shrugging is unique to his style or a broader feature of right-wing populist communication. Future research could compare his gestural profile to that of other populist and non-populist leaders.

Additionally, the study centered on one specific gesture, and a more complete picture would require analyzing the full range of a politician’s non-verbal repertoire. The authors also suggest that future work could examine other elements, like facial expressions and the timing of gestures, in greater detail.

Despite these limitations, the research provides a detailed look at how a seemingly simple gesture can be a sophisticated and versatile rhetorical tool. Trump’s shrugs appear to be a central part of a performance style that transgresses political norms, creates entertainment value, and forges a strong connection with his base. The findings indicate the importance of looking beyond a politician’s words to understand the full, embodied performance through which they communicate their message.

“We hope to look at other gestures of Trump to build a bigger picture of how he uses his body to distinguish himself from other politicians and to imbue his performances with entertainment value,” Hart said. This might include, for example, his use of chopping or slicing gestures. I also hope to explore the gestural performances of other right wing populist politicians in Europe to see how their gestures compare. ”

The study, “A shrug of the shoulders is a stance-taking act: The form-function interface of shrugs in the multimodal performance of Donald Trump,” was authored by Christopher Hart and Steve Strudwick.

A new study examining nine consecutive birth years in Sweden indicates that the dramatic rise in clinical diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder is not accompanied by an increase in autism-related symptoms in the population. The research, published in the journal Psychiatry Research, also found that while parent-reported symptoms of ADHD remained stable in boys, there was a small but statistically significant increase in symptoms among girls.

Autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by differences in social communication and interaction, along with restricted or repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, is another neurodevelopmental condition marked by persistent patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that can interfere with functioning or development. Over the past two decades, the number of clinical diagnoses for both conditions has increased substantially in many Western countries, particularly among teenagers and young adults.

This trend has raised questions about whether the underlying traits associated with these conditions are becoming more common in the general population. Researchers sought to investigate this possibility by looking beyond clinical diagnoses to the level of symptoms reported by parents.

“The frequency of clinical diagnoses of ASD and ADHD has increased substantially over the past decades across the world,” said study author Olof Arvidsson, a PhD student at the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre at Gothenburg University and resident physician in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

“The largest prevalence increase has been among teenagers and young adults. Therefore, we wanted to investigate if symptoms of ASD and ADHD in the population had increased over time in 18-year-olds. In this study we used data from a twin study in Sweden in which parents reported on symptoms of ASD and ADHD when their children turned 18 and investigated whether symptoms had increased between year 2011 to 2019.”

To conduct their analysis, the researchers utilized data from a large, ongoing project called the Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden. This study follows twins born in Sweden to learn more about mental and physical health. For this specific investigation, researchers focused on information collected from the parents of nearly 10,000 twins born between 1993 and 2001. When the twins reached their 18th birthday, their parents were asked to complete a web-based questionnaire about their children’s behaviors and traits.

Parents answered a set of 12 questions designed to measure symptoms related to autism. These items correspond to the diagnostic criteria for ASD. For ADHD, parents completed a 17-item checklist covering problems associated with inattention and executive function, which are core components of ADHD.

Using this data, the researchers employed statistical methods to analyze whether the average symptom scores changed across the nine different birth years, from 1993 to 2001. They also looked at the percentage of individuals who scored in the highest percentiles, representing those with the most significant number of traits.

The analysis showed no increase in the average level of parent-reported autism symptoms among 18-year-olds across the nine-year span. This stability was observed for both boys and girls. Similarly, when the researchers examined the proportion of individuals with the highest symptom scores, defined as those in the top five percent, they found no statistically significant change over time. This suggests that the prevalence of autism-related traits in the young adult population remained constant during this period.

The results for ADHD presented a more nuanced picture. Among boys, the data indicated that parent-reported ADHD symptoms were stable. There was no significant change in either the average symptom scores or in the percentage of boys scoring in the top 10 percent. For girls, however, the study identified a small but statistically detectable increase in ADHD symptoms over the nine birth years. This trend was apparent in both the average symptom scores and in the proportion of girls who scored in the top 10 percent for ADHD traits.

Despite being statistically significant, the researchers note that the magnitude of this increase in girls was small. The year of birth explained only a very small fraction of the variation in ADHD symptom scores. The results suggest that while there may be a slight upward trend in certain ADHD symptoms among adolescent girls, it is not nearly large enough to account for the substantial increase in clinical ADHD diagnoses reported in this group. The study provides evidence that the steep rise in both autism and ADHD diagnoses is likely influenced by factors other than a simple increase in the symptoms themselves.

“Across the nine birth years examined, there was no sign of increasing symptoms of ASD in the population, despite rising diagnoses,” Arvidsson told PsyPost. “For ADHD, there was no increase among boys. However, in 18-year-old girls we saw a very small but statistically significant increase in ADHD symptoms. The increase in absolute numbers was small in relation to the increase in clinical diagnoses.”

The researchers propose several alternative explanations for the growing number of diagnoses. Increased public and professional awareness may lead more people to seek assessments. Diagnostic criteria for both conditions have also widened over the years, potentially including individuals who would not have met the threshold in the past. Another factor may be a change in perception, where certain behaviors are now seen as more impairing than they were previously. This aligns with other research indicating that parents today tend to report higher levels of dysfunction associated with the same number of symptoms compared to a decade ago.

Changes in societal demands, particularly in educational settings that place a greater emphasis on executive functioning and complex social skills, could also contribute. In some cases, a formal diagnosis may be a prerequisite for accessing academic support and resources, creating an incentive for assessment. For the slight increase in ADHD symptoms among girls, the authors suggest it could reflect better recognition of how ADHD presents in females, or perhaps an overlap with symptoms of anxiety and depression, which have also been on the rise in this demographic.

“The takeaway is that the increases in clinical diagnoses of both ASD and ADHD need to be explained by other factors than increasing symptoms in the population, such as increased awareness and increased perceived impairment related to ASD and ADHD symptoms,” Arvidsson said. “Taken together we also hope to curb any worries about a true increase in ASD or ADHD.”

The study has some limitations. The response rate for the parental questionnaires was about 41 percent. While the researchers checked for potential biases and found that their main conclusions about the trends over time were likely unaffected, a higher participation rate would strengthen the findings. Additionally, the questionnaire for ADHD primarily measured symptoms of inattention and did not include items on hyperactivity. The results, therefore, mainly speak to the inattentive aspects of ADHD.

Future research could explore these trends with different measures and in different populations. The researchers also plan to investigate trends in clinical diagnoses more closely to better understand resource allocation for healthcare systems.

“We want to better understand trends of clinical diagnoses, such as trends of incidence of diagnoses in different groups,” Arvidsson said. “With increasing clinical diagnoses of ASD and ADHD and the resulting impact on the healthcare system as well as on the affected patients, it is important to characterize these trends in order to motivate an increased allocation of resources.”

The study, “ASD and ADHD symptoms in 18-year-olds – A population-based study of twins born 1993 to 2001,” was authored by Olof Arvidsson, Isabell Brikell, Henrik Larsson, Paul Lichtenstein, Ralf Kuja-Halkola, Mats Johnson, Christopher Gillberg, and Sebastian Lundström.

Recent research published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior offers new insights into how broad environmental conditions may shape “dark” personality traits on a national level. The study suggests that harsh or unpredictable ecological factors experienced during childhood, such as natural disasters or skewed sex ratios, are linked to higher average levels of traits like narcissism in adulthood. These findings indicate that forces largely outside of an individual’s control could play a key role in the development of antisocial personality profiles across different cultures.

The “Dark Triad” consists of three distinct but related personality traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Individuals with high levels of narcissism often display grandiosity, entitlement, and a constant need for admiration. Machiavellianism is characterized by a cynical, manipulative approach to social interaction and a focus on self-interest over moral principles. Psychopathy involves high impulsivity, thrill-seeking behavior, and a lack of empathy or remorse for others.

While these traits are often viewed as undesirable, evolutionary perspectives suggest they may represent adaptive strategies in certain environments. Psychological research frequently focuses on immediate social causes for these traits, such as family upbringing or individual trauma. However, this new study aimed to broaden that lens by examining macro-level ecological factors that affect entire populations.

“There were several reasons to do this study,” explained Peter Jonason, a professor at Vizja University, creator of the Your Stylish Scientist YouTube Channel, and editor of Shining Light on the Dark Side of Personality: Measurement Properties and Theoretical Advances.

“First, there is limited understanding how ecological factors predict personality at all, let alone the Dark Triad. That is, most research focuses on personal, familial, or sociological predictors, but these are embedded in larger ecological systems. If the Dark Triad traits are mere pathologies of defunkt parenting or income inequality, one would not predict sensitivity to ecological factors in determining people’s adult Dark Triad scores let alone sex differences therein.”

“Second, most research on the Dark Triad traits focuses on individual-level variance but here we examined what you might call a culture of each trait and what might account for it. Third, and, less interestingly perhaps, the team happened to meet, get along, have the skills needed, and had access to the data to examine this.”

The researchers employed a theoretical framework known as life history theory to guide their investigation. This theory proposes that organisms, including humans, unconsciously adjust their reproductive and survival strategies based on the harshness and predictability of their environment. In dangerous or unstable environments, “faster” life strategies (characterized by greater risk-taking, short-term mating, and higher aggression) tend to be more advantageous for evolutionary fitness.

To test this idea, the researchers utilized existing personality data from 11,504 participants across 48 different countries. The data for these national averages were collected around 2016 using the “Dirty Dozen,” a widely used twelve-item questionnaire designed to briefly measure the three Dark Triad traits. The researchers then paired these personality scores with historical ecological data from the World Bank and other international databases.

They specifically examined ecological conditions during three developmental windows: early childhood (years 2000–2004), mid-childhood (years 2005–2009), and adolescence (years 2010–2015). The ecological indicators included population density, life expectancy (survival to age 65), and the operational sex ratio, which measures the balance of men to women in society. They also included data on the frequency of natural disasters, the prevalence of major infectious disease outbreaks, and levels of income inequality.

“When considering what makes people different from around the world, it is lazy to say ‘culture,'” Jonason told PsyPost. “Culture is a system that results from higher-order conditions like access to resources and ecological threats. If you want to understand why someone differs from you, you must consider more than just her/his immediate–and obvious–circumstances.”

The analysis used advanced statistical techniques known as spatial autoregressive models. These models allowed the researchers to not only test the direct associations within a country but also to account for “spillover” effects from neighboring nations. This approach recognizes that countries do not exist in isolation and may be influenced by the conditions and cultures of sharing borders.

The results indicated that different ecological factors were associated with distinct Dark Triad traits. Countries that had more male-biased sex ratios during the participants’ childhoods tended to have higher average levels of adult narcissism. The researchers suggest that an excess of males may intensify intrasexual competition, prompting men to adopt grander, more self-promoting behaviors to attract mates.

Conversely, a higher prevalence of infectious diseases during childhood and adolescence was associated with lower national levels of Machiavellianism and psychopathy. In environments with a high disease burden, strict adherence to social norms and greater group cohesion are often necessary for survival. In such contexts, manipulative or antisocial behaviors that disrupt group harmony might be less adaptive and therefore less common.

The study also found that ecological conditions might influence the magnitude of personality differences between men and women. Exposure to natural disasters during developmental years was consistently linked to larger sex differences across all three Dark Triad traits in adulthood. High-threat environments may cause men and women to adopt increasingly divergent survival and reproductive strategies, thereby widening the psychological gap between the sexes.

Furthermore, the research provided evidence for regional clustering of these personality profiles. Conditions in neighboring countries frequently predicted a focal country’s personality scores. For example, higher income inequality or natural disaster impact in bordering nations was associated with higher narcissism or Machiavellianism in the country being studied.

This suggests that dark personality traits may diffuse across borders. This could happen through mechanisms such as migration, shared regional economic challenges, or cultural transmission. The findings highlight the importance of considering regional contexts when studying national character.

“Do not assume that good parenting, safe schools, and successful social experiences are all that matter in determining who goes dark,” Jonason explained. “Larger factors, well beyond our control, have influence as well. By removing the human from the equation, we can better see how people are subject to forces well beyond their will, self-reports, and even situated in larger socioecological systems.”

As with all research, the study has some limitations that should be considered when interpreting these results. The personality data were largely derived from university students, who may not be fully representative of their national populations. Additionally, because the study relied on historical aggregate data, it cannot establish a definitive causal link between these ecological factors and individual personality development. It is possible that other unmeasured variables contribute to these associations.

Future research could aim to replicate these findings using more diverse and representative samples from the general population. The researchers also express an interest in investigating the specific psychological and cognitive mechanisms that might link broad environmental conditions to individual differences in motives and morals. Understanding these mechanisms could provide a clearer picture of how macro-level forces shape the human mind.

“We hope to pursue projects that try to understand the specific conditions that allow for not just personality, but also motives, morals, and mate preferences to be calibrated to local conditions providing more robust tests of not just cross-national differences, but, also, what are the cognitive mechanisms and perceptions that drive those differences,” Jonason said. “This is assuming we get some grant money to do so!”

“This is a study attempting to understand how lived experiences in people’s mileu can correlate with their personality and sex differences therein. This is an important step forward because while manipulating the conditions in people’s lives is nearly impossible, we can get a strong glimpse of how conditions in people’s generalized past can cause adaptive responses to help them solve important tasks like securing status and mates–two motivations highly valued by those high in the Dark Triad traits.”

The study, “Towards an ecological model of the dark triad traits,” was authored by Peter K. Jonason, Dritjon Gruda, and Mark van Vugt.

Researchers in Japan have documented the case of a teenager whose psychotic symptoms consistently appeared before her menstrual period and resolved immediately after. A case report published in Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences Reports indicates that a medication typically used to treat seizures and bipolar disorder was effective after standard antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs failed to provide relief. This account offers a detailed look at a rare and often misunderstood condition.

The condition is known as menstrual psychosis, which is characterized by the sudden onset of psychotic symptoms in an individual who is otherwise mentally well. These episodes are typically brief and occur in a cyclical pattern that aligns with the menstrual cycle. The presence of symptoms like delusions or hallucinations distinguishes menstrual psychosis from more common conditions such as premenstrual syndrome or premenstrual dysphoric disorder, which primarily involve mood-related changes. Menstrual psychosis is considered exceptionally rare, with fewer than 100 cases identified in the medical literature.

The new report, authored by Atsuo Morisaki and colleagues at the Tokyo Metropolitan Children’s Medical Center, details the experience of a 17-year-old Japanese girl who sought medical help after about two years of recurring psychological distress. Her initial symptoms included intense anxiety, a feeling of being watched, and auditory hallucinations where she heard a classmate’s voice. She also developed the belief that conversations around her were about herself. She had no prior psychiatric history or family history of mental illness.

Initially, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and prescribed antipsychotic medication, which did not appear to alleviate her symptoms. Upon being transferred to a new medical center, her treatment was changed, but her condition persisted. While hospitalized, her medical team observed a distinct pattern. In the days leading up to her first menstrual period at the hospital, she experienced a depressive mood and restlessness. This escalated to include delusional thoughts and the feeling that “voices and sounds were entering my mind.” These symptoms disappeared completely four days later, once her period ended.

This cycle repeated itself the following month. About twelve days before her second menstruation, she again became restless. Nine days before, she reported the sensation that her thoughts were “leaking out” during phone calls. She also experienced auditory hallucinations and believed her thoughts were being broadcast to others. Her antipsychotic dosage was increased, but the symptoms continued until her menstruation ended, at which point they once again resolved completely.

A similar pattern emerged before her third period during hospitalization. Fourteen days prior, she developed a fearful, delusional mood. She reported that “gazes and voices are entering my head” and her diary entries showed signs of disorganized thinking. An increase in her medication dosage seemed to have no effect. As her period began, the symptoms started to fade, and they were gone by the time it was over. This consistent, cyclical nature of her psychosis, which did not respond to conventional treatments, led her doctors to consider an alternative diagnosis and treatment plan.

Observing this clear link between her symptoms and her menstrual cycle, the medical team initiated treatment with carbamazepine. This medication is an anticonvulsant commonly used to manage seizures and is also prescribed as a mood stabilizer for bipolar disorder. The dosage was started low and gradually increased. Following the administration of carbamazepine, her psychotic symptoms resolved entirely. She was eventually able to discontinue the antipsychotic and antidepressant medications. During follow-up appointments as an outpatient, her symptoms had not returned.

The exact biological mechanisms behind menstrual psychosis are not well understood. Some scientific theories suggest a link to the sharp drop in estrogen that occurs during the late phase of the menstrual cycle. Estrogen influences several brain chemicals, including dopamine, and a significant reduction in estrogen might lead to a state where the brain has too much dopamine activity, which has been associated with psychosis. However, since psychotic episodes can occur at various points in the menstrual cycle, fluctuating estrogen levels alone do not seem to fully explain the condition.

The choice of carbamazepine was partly guided by the patient’s age and the potential long-term side effects of other mood stabilizers. The authors of the report note that carbamazepine may work by modulating the activity of various channels and chemical messengers in the brain, helping to stabilize neuronal excitability. While there are no previous reports of carbamazepine being used specifically for menstrual psychosis, it has shown some effectiveness in other cyclical psychiatric conditions, suggesting it may influence the underlying mechanisms that produce symptoms tied to biological cycles.

It is important to understand the nature of a case report. Findings from a single patient cannot be generalized to a larger population. This report does not establish that carbamazepine is a definitive treatment for all individuals with menstrual psychosis. The positive outcome observed in this one person could be unique to her specific biology and circumstances.

However, case reports like this one serve a significant function in medical science, especially for uncommon conditions. They can highlight patterns that might otherwise be missed and introduce potential new avenues for treatment that warrant further investigation. By documenting this experience, the authors provide information that may help other clinicians recognize this rare disorder and consider a wider range of therapeutic options. This account provides a foundation for future, more systematic research into the causes of menstrual psychosis and the potential effectiveness of medications like carbamazepine.

The report, “Menstrual psychosis with a marked response to carbamazepine,” was authored by Atsuo Morisaki, Ken Ebishima, Akira Uezono, and Takashi Nagasawa.

A new study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders provides evidence that a brief but structured physical exercise program can help reduce stress levels in adolescents diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The researchers found that after just three weeks of moderate to vigorous physical activity, participants reported lower levels of stress and showed a measurable increase in salivary cortisol, a hormone linked to the body’s stress response.

Adolescence is widely recognized as a time of dramatic psychological and biological development. For teens with ADHD, this period often comes with heightened emotional challenges. In addition to the typical symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity, many adolescents with the condition also struggle with internal feelings such as anxiety and depression. These emotional difficulties can interfere with daily functioning at school and at home, placing them at greater risk for long-term mental health problems.

Although stimulant medications are commonly used to manage symptoms, they often cause side effects such as sleep problems and mood shifts. Due to these complications, many families and young people stop using medication or seek alternative approaches. One such approach gaining traction is physical exercise. Prior research suggests that structured activity may benefit brain function and emotional regulation. However, most studies have focused on children rather than adolescents, and few have examined whether exercise influences cortisol, a stress hormone thought to be dysregulated in young people with ADHD.

Cortisol plays an important role in how the body manages stress. Low levels of cortisol in the morning have been found in children and adolescents with ADHD, and this pattern has been associated with fatigue, anxiety, and greater symptom severity. The researchers behind the new study wanted to know whether a short physical exercise intervention could influence both subjective stress levels and objective stress markers like cortisol in teens with ADHD.

“Adolescents with ADHD face stress-related challenges and appear to display atypical cortisol patterns, yet most exercise studies focus on younger children and rarely include biological stress markers,” explained study author Cindy Sit, a professor of sports science and physical education at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

“We wanted to test a practical, low-risk intervention that schools and families could feasibly implement and to examine both perceived stress and a physiological marker (salivary cortisol) within a randomized controlled trial design. In short, we aimed to examine whether a brief, feasible program could help regulate stress in this under-researched group through non-pharmacological methods.”

The researchers recruited 82 adolescents, aged 12 to 17, who had been diagnosed with ADHD. Some of the participants also had a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, which often co-occurs with ADHD. The teens were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group participated in a structured physical exercise program lasting three weeks. The other group served as a control and continued with their normal routines.

The exercise group attended two 90-minute sessions each week, totaling 540 minutes over the course of the program. These sessions included a variety of activities designed not only to improve physical fitness but also to engage cognitive functions such as memory, reaction time, and problem-solving. Exercises included circuit training as well as games that required strategic thinking and teamwork. Participants were guided to maintain moderate to vigorous intensity throughout much of the sessions, and their heart rates were monitored to ensure appropriate effort.

To measure outcomes, the researchers used both self-report questionnaires and biological samples. Stress, depression, and anxiety levels were assessed through a validated scale. Cortisol was measured using saliva samples collected in the afternoon before and after the intervention, as well as three months later.

The findings showed that immediately following the exercise program, participants in the exercise group reported lower levels of stress compared to their baseline scores. At the same time, their cortisol levels increased.

The increase in cortisol following exercise was interpreted not as a sign of increased stress but as a reflection of more typical hormonal activity. The researchers noted that this pattern aligns with the idea of exercise as a “positive stressor” that helps train the body to respond more effectively to real-life challenges. Importantly, the teens felt less stressed, even as their cortisol levels rose.

“The combination of lower perceived stress alongside an immediate rise in cortisol was striking,” Sit told PsyPost. “It supports the idea that exercise can feel stress-relieving while still producing a normal physiological stress response that may help calibrate the HPA axis. We also noted a baseline positive association between anxiety and cortisol in the control group only, which warrants further investigation.”

However, by the three-month follow-up, the improvements in self-reported stress had faded, and cortisol levels had returned to their initial levels. There were no significant changes in self-reported depression or anxiety in either group at any point.

“A short, three-week exercise program (90-minute sessions twice a week at moderate to vigorous intensity) reduced perceived stress in adolescents with ADHD immediately after the program,” Sit said. “Cortisol levels increased right after the intervention, consistent with a healthy, short-term activation of the stress system during exertion (often called ‘good stress’). The positive effects on perceived stress did not last for three months without continued physical exercise, and we did not observe short-term changes in depression or anxiety. This suggests that ongoing participation is necessary to sustain these benefits.”

Although the results suggest benefits from the short-term exercise program, there are some limitations to consider. Most of the participants were male, and this gender imbalance could affect how the findings apply to a broader group of adolescents. The study also relied on self-report questionnaires to assess stress, anxiety, and depression, which can be affected by personal bias. Additionally, there was no “active” control group, meaning the control participants were not given an alternate activity that involved social interaction or structure, which might have helped isolate the effects of the exercise itself.

Future studies might benefit from longer intervention periods to examine whether extended participation can produce lasting changes. Collecting saliva samples multiple times during the day could also help map out how cortisol behaves in response to both daily routines and interventions. Incorporating interviews or observer-based assessments could provide a more complete understanding of emotional changes, especially in teens who have difficulty expressing their feelings through questionnaires.

“Our team is currently conducting a large randomized controlled trial testing physical‑activity interventions for people with intellectual disability, with co‑primary outcomes of mood and physical strength,” Sit explained. “The broader aim is to develop scalable, low‑cost programs that can be implemented in schools, day services, and community settings. Ultimately, we aim to increase access for underserved populations so that structured movement becomes a feasible part of everyday care and improves their quality of life.”

“We see exercise as a useful adjunct, not a replacement, for standard ADHD care,” she added. “In practice, that involves incorporating structured movement alongside evidence-based treatments (e.g., medication, psychoeducation, behavioural supports) and working with families, schools, and healthcare providers. Exercise is accessible and generally has low risk; it can assist with stress regulation, sleep, attention, and fitness. However, it should be individualized and monitored, especially for individuals with special needs like ADHD, to support rather than replace routine care.”

The study, “Efficacy of a short-term physical exercise intervention on stress biomarkers and mental health in adolescents with ADHD: A randomized controlled trial,” was authored by Sima Dastamooz, Stephen H.S. Wong, Yijian Yang, Kelly Arbour-Nicitopoulos, Rainbow T.H. Ho, Jason C.S. Yam, Clement C.Y. Tham, Liu Chang, and Cindy H.P. Sit.

A new study in the Archives of Sexual Behavior suggests that how people react to sexual versus emotional infidelity is shaped by more than just biological sex. While heterosexual men were more distressed by sexual betrayal and women by emotional betrayal, the findings indicate that traits like masculinity, femininity, and sexual attraction also influence these responses in flexible ways.

For several decades, psychologists have observed that men and women tend to react differently to infidelity. Men are more likely to be disturbed by sexual infidelity, while women are more upset by emotional cheating. Evolutionary psychologists have suggested that this might reflect reproductive pressures. For men, the risk of raising another man’s child might have favored the development of stronger reactions to sexual betrayal. For women, the loss of a partner’s emotional commitment could mean fewer resources and support for offspring, making emotional infidelity more threatening.

But this difference is not universal. Studies have shown that it becomes much less pronounced among sexual minorities. Gay men and lesbian women often report similar levels of distress over emotional and sexual infidelity, rather than showing a clear difference based on biological sex. This has raised the question of whether the difference between men and women is really just about being male or female—or whether other psychological traits might be involved.

The researchers behind the current study wanted to examine this question in more detail. They were interested in whether traits often associated with masculinity or femininity might influence how people respond to infidelity. They also wanted to test whether sexual orientation, measured not just as a label but as a continuum of attraction to men and women, could account for some of the variation in jealousy responses.

“We have for many years found robust sex difference in jealousy, but we have also been interested in any factors that could influence this pattern. Other researchers discovered that sexual orientation might influence that pattern. We also were influence by David Schmitt’s ideas on sexual dials vs. switches — how masculinization/feminization might be much better described as dimensional than categorical, including sexual orientation and jealousy triggers,” said study author Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, a professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

For their study, the researchers collected data from 4,465 adults in Norway, ranging in age from 16 to 80. The sample included people who identified as heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and pansexual. Participants were recruited through social media advertisements and LGBTQ+ websites. Each person completed a survey about their responses to hypothetical infidelity scenarios, along with questions about their childhood behavior, personality traits, sexual attraction, and self-perceived masculinity or femininity.

To measure jealousy, the participants were asked to imagine different types of infidelity. In one example, they were asked whether it would be more upsetting if their partner had sex with someone else, or if their partner developed a deep emotional connection with another person. Their answers were used to calculate a jealousy score that reflected how much more distressing they found sexual versus emotional betrayal.

The results supported some long-standing findings. Heterosexual men were much more likely than heterosexual women to be disturbed by sexual infidelity. In fact, nearly 59 percent of heterosexual men said sexual betrayal was more upsetting, compared to only 31 percent of heterosexual women. This pattern was consistent with past research.

But among sexual minorities, the sex difference mostly disappeared. Gay men and lesbian women responded in ways that were more alike, with both groups tending to be more upset by emotional infidelity. Bisexual men and women also reported similar responses. This suggests that sexual orientation plays a key role in how people experience jealousy.

The researchers then examined sexual attraction as a continuous variable. Rather than looking only at how people labeled themselves, they measured how strongly participants were attracted to men and to women. Among men, those who were exclusively attracted to women showed the highest levels of sexual jealousy. Men who had even a small degree of attraction to other men reported less distress about sexual infidelity.

The researchers also measured four different psychological traits related to masculinity and femininity. These included whether participants preferred system-oriented thinking or empathizing, whether they had gender-typical interests as children, whether they preferred male- or female-dominated occupations, and how masculine or feminine they saw themselves. These traits were used to create a broader measure of psychological gender.

In men, higher levels of psychological masculinity were linked to both a stronger attraction to women and a greater tendency to be disturbed by sexual infidelity. But the connection between masculinity and jealousy seemed to depend on whether the man was attracted to women. Masculinity influenced jealousy only when it was also linked to strong gynephilic attraction—that is, attraction to women.

Among women, masculinity was related to sexual orientation, but not to jealousy responses. This suggests that masculinity and femininity may play different roles in shaping sexual psychology for men and women.

Kennair told PsyPost that these findings suggest “that sexual orientation might be best measured dimensionally (as involving both gynephilia and androphilia), that sexual orientation influences sex differences (in this case, jealousy triggers), and that gendering and sex differences are not primarily categorical processes but dimensional processes that are largely influenced by biological sex, but absolutely not categorically determined in an either/or switch pattern. Rather, they function more like interconnected dimensional dials.”

A surprising finding came from a smaller group: bisexual men who were partnered with women. “In the current study, we found that bisexual men with a female partner were still more triggered by emotional than sexual infidelity,” Kennair explained. “Bisexual men should also be concerned about who the father of their partner’s children really is, from an evolutionary perspective, but it seems that only the highly gynephilic men are primarily triggered by sexual infidelity. This needs further investigation and theorizing.”

But the study, like all research, has some caveats. The participants were recruited online, which means the sample might not fully represent the broader population. In addition, the jealousy scenarios were hypothetical, and people’s real-life reactions might differ from what they imagine.

The study raises some new and unresolved questions. One puzzle is why sexual jealousy in men seems to drop off so steeply with even a small degree of androphilic attraction. From an evolutionary standpoint, any man who invested in raising a child would have faced reproductive costs if his partner had been unfaithful, regardless of his own sexual orientation. Yet the findings suggest that the mechanism for sexual jealousy may be tightly linked to sexual attraction to women, rather than simply being male or being partnered with a woman.

It also remains unclear why women’s jealousy responses are less influenced by sexual orientation or masculinity. The results suggest that emotional jealousy is a more stable pattern among women, while sexual jealousy in men appears more sensitive to individual differences in orientation and psychological traits.

“I think this is a first empirical establishment of the dials approach,” Kennair said. “I think it might be helpful to investigate this approach with other phenomena. Also, the research cannot address the developmental and biological processes underlying the psychological level we addressed in the paper. The causal pathways therefore need further investigation. And theorizing.”

He hopes that “maybe in the current polarized discussion of identity and sex/gender, people will find the dimensional and empirical approach of this paper a tool to communicate better than the categorical approaches let us do.”

The study, “Male Sex, Masculinization, Sexual Orientation, and Gynephilia Synergistically Predict Increased Sexual Jealousy,” was authored by Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, Mons Bendixen, and David P. Schmitt.

Watching a powerful movie may do more than stir emotions. According to a study published in the journal Communication Research, emotionally moving films that explore political or moral issues may encourage viewers to think more deeply about those topics and even engage politically. The researchers found that German television theme nights combining fictional drama with related factual programs were associated with higher levels of information seeking, perceived knowledge, and consideration of political actions related to the issues portrayed.

There is a longstanding debate about whether entertainment harms or helps democracy. Some scholars worry that media such as movies and reality shows distract citizens from more serious political content. But recent research has begun to suggest that certain types of entertainment might actually contribute to political awareness and engagement.

“We were curious about effects of entertainment media on political interest and engagement. Can watching a movie and walking in the shoes of people affected by a political issue raise viewers’ awareness about the issue and motivate them to take action to address the issue?” explained study author Anne Bartsch, a professor at Leipzig University.

“From about a decade of experimental research, we know that moving and thought-provoking media experiences can stimulate empathy and prosocial behavior, including political engagement. In this study, we used television theme nights as an opportunity to replicate these findings ‘in the wild.’ Theme nights are a popular media format in Germany that combines entertainment and information programs about a political issue and attracts a large enough viewership to conduct representative survey research. This opportunity to study political effects of naturally occurring media use was quite unique.”

The researchers conducted three studies around two German television theme nights. The first theme night focused on the arms trade, while the second dealt with physician-assisted suicide. Each theme night included a full-length fictional film followed by an informational program. Across the three studies, more than 2,800 people took part through telephone and online surveys.

In the first study, researchers surveyed a nationally representative sample of 905 German adults by phone after the arms trade theme night. Participants were asked whether they watched the movie, the documentary, or both. They were also asked about their emotional reactions, whether they had thought deeply about the issue, and what actions they had taken afterward.

People who had seen the movie reported feeling more emotionally moved and were more likely to report having reflected on the issue. These viewers also reported greater interest in seeking more information, higher levels of both perceived and factual knowledge, and more willingness to engage in political actions related to arms trade, such as signing petitions or considering the issue when voting.

Statistical analysis indicated that the emotional experience of feeling moved led to deeper reflection, which then predicted greater knowledge and political engagement. However, there was no significant difference in how often viewers talked about the issue with others, compared to non-viewers. Surprisingly, emotional reactions did not appear to encourage discussion on social media, and may have slightly reduced it.

In the second study, the researchers repeated the survey online with a different sample of 877 participants following the same theme night. The results were largely consistent. Again, those who watched the movie felt more moved, thought more about the issue, and were more engaged. In this study, feeling moved was also linked to more frequent interpersonal discussion.

The third study examined the theme night about physician-assisted suicide. Over 1,000 people took part in the online survey. As with the earlier studies, viewers who watched the movie reported being emotionally affected and more reflective. These experiences were linked to higher interest in the topic, greater perceived knowledge, and a higher likelihood of discussing the issue or participating politically. Watching the movie also predicted stronger interest in the subsequent political talk show.

Across all three studies, the researchers found that emotional and reflective experiences were key pathways leading from entertainment to political engagement. People who felt moved by the movies were more likely to think about the issues they portrayed. These thoughts were, in turn, connected to learning more about the issue, talking with others, and taking or considering political action.

The findings suggest that serious entertainment can function as a catalyst, helping viewers process complex social issues and motivating them to become more engaged citizens.

“We found that moving and thought-provoking entertainment can have politically mobilizing effects, including issue interest, political participation, information seeking, learning, and discussing the issue with others,” Bartsch told PsyPost. “This is interesting because entertainment often gets a bad rap, as superficial, escapist pastime. Our findings suggest that it depends on the type of entertainment and the thoughts and feelings it provokes. Some forms of entertainment, it seems, can make a valuable complementary contribution to political discourse, in particular for audiences that rarely consume traditional news.”

Although the findings were consistent across different samples and topics, the authors note some limitations. Most importantly, the studies were correlational, meaning they cannot establish that the movies directly caused people to seek information or take political action. It is possible that people who are already interested in politics are more likely to watch such films and respond emotionally to them.

The researchers also caution that while theme nights seem to offer an effective combination of entertainment and information, these findings might not easily transfer to other types of media or digital platforms. Watching a movie on television with millions of others at the same time may create a shared cultural moment that is less common in today’s fragmented media landscape.

“Our findings cannot be generalized to all forms of entertainment, of course,” Bartsch noted. “Many entertainment formats are apolitical ‘feel-good’ content – which is needed for mood management as well. What is more concerning is that entertainment can also be instrumentalized to spread misinformation, hate and discrimination.”

Future studies could use experimental methods to better isolate cause and effect, and could also explore how similar effects might occur with streaming platforms or social media. Researchers might also investigate how hedonic, or lighter, forms of entertainment interact with political content, and how emotional reactions unfold over time after watching a movie.

“Our study underscores the value of ‘old school’ media formats like television theme nights that can attract large audiences and provide input for shared media experiences and discussions,” Bartsch said. “With the digital transformation of media, however, it is important to explore how entertainment changes in the digital age. For example, we are currently studying parasocial opinion leadership on social media and AI generated content.”

The study, “Eudaimonic Entertainment Experiences of TV Theme Nights and Their Relationships With Political Information Processing and Engagement,” was authored by Frank M. Schneider, Anne Bartsch, Larissa Leonhard, and Anea Meinert.