Browse Our Latest Psychology and Behavioral Science Journals
Psychological journals are peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journals that publish original work in some areas of psychology. The most common publications include cognitive, health and clinical psychology, applied, developmental, biological, social, experimental, and educational psychology, and psychoanalysis.
Behavioral Sciences
Nárcizmus és jóllét – a nárcisztikus működésmód költségei
Narcissism and well-being: the costs of narcissistic functioning
The relationship between narcissistic functioning and well-being is a subject of debate in current personality research. Majority of studies showed a medium sized positive association between self-report measures of both grandiose narcissistic traits and well-being, while vulnerable narcissism was positively related to negative affectivity and negatively to both self-esteem and well-being. On the other hand, narcissism viewed as a self-regulatory process for gaining and maintaining positive self-esteem implies a systematic bias in self-report measures. Therefore, in the current study we applied the framework of Self-Determination Theory (Ryan és Deci, 2017) to identify how narcissistic functioning could relate to the satisfaction of basic human needs such as – competence, autonomy and relatedness. Based on the reviewed studies narcissistic functioning might affect relatedness negatively, while it might have both positive and negative effect on the satisfaction of competence and autonomy. Lastly, we considered further research directions, that might help in clearing the mixed results.
Background and aims
For most youngsters, gaming is a fun and innocent leisure activity. However, some adolescents are prone to develop problematic gaming behavior. It is therefore important to have a comprehensive understanding of psychosocial and game-related characteristics that differentiate highly engaged gamers from problematic gamers. To that end, this study evaluated the stability and consistency of Internet gaming criteria (as suggested by the DSM-5) and psychosocial characteristics in a two-wave longitudinal study including 1928 young adolescents (mean age = 13.3 years, SD = 0.91, 57% boys).
Methods
A confirmatory factor analysis revealed good stability of the Internet gaming disorder (IGD) construct over time. Latent class analyses revealed three classes for boys (recreational, engaged, and problematic) and two classes for girls (recreational and engaged).
Results
Significant differences between classes emerged for problem criteria (conflict and problems in social life), gaming duration, impulsivity, social competence, and attention/hyperactivity. The absence of a problematic gaming class for girls suggests that girls are less likely to develop problematic gaming behavior.
Discussion
The IGD criteria as proposed by the DSM-5 are a helpful tool to identify problematic gamers, although the results of this study suggest that using a strict cut-off point might result in false positives, particularly for boys. Problem criteria appeared to be the most sensitive and specific in identifying the problematic gamer, whereas escapism criteria were the least specific and sensitive. Careful consideration of the current proposed criteria to identify problematic gaming behavior could benefit the research and clinical field.
Background and aims
Binge-watching (i.e., watching multiple episodes of a TV series in one session) has recently become standard practice among TV series viewers; this expansion generates concerns regarding the potential negative outcomes associated with this habit. However, the investigation of its psychological correlates remains fragmentary, with few initial studies a priori conceptualizing this behavior as a new addictive disorder. This study explored these psychological correlates using cluster analysis of binge-watching behavior based on three key psychological factors: motivations, impulsivity, and emotional reactivity.
Methods
An online survey was completed by 4,039 TV series viewers. Data were analyzed using hierarchical and non-hierarchical cluster analyses, the validity of the clusters being finally determined through mutual comparisons with a selection of external correlates.
Results
Four clusters were identified: recreational TV series viewers (presenting low involvement in binge-watching), regulated binge-watchers (moderately involved), avid binge-watchers (presenting elevated but non-problematic involvement), and unregulated binge-watchers (presenting potentially problematic involvement associated with negative outcomes).
Discussion and conclusions
This study underlines the heterogeneous and multidetermined nature of binge-watching. Our findings suggest that high engagement in binge-watching is distinct from problematic binge-watching, thus reinforcing the notion that conceptualizing binge-watching as an addictive disorder is of low relevance and might actually lead to the overpathologization of this highly popular leisure activity.
Perfekcionista csoportok pozitív mentális egészsége – a perfekcionizmus, az érzelemszabályozás és a szubjektív jóllét mintázódása fiatal élsportolók körében
Positive mental health of perfectionists – patterns of perfectionism, emotion regulation and subjective well-being among young elite athletes
Background and Objectives
Adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism are in different connections with several characteristics which are important in sport performance, therefore the main aim of our study was to identify and characterize latent classes of perfectionism and emotion regulation strategies in connection with positive mental health in a large young elite athlete sample and controls.
Methods
744 young elite athletes (60.2% boy, mean age=16.83, SD=1.39) and 591 controls (50.8% boy, mean age=16.91, SD=1.65) took part in the research. The questionnaire booklet included the Short Form of the Revised Almost Perfect Scale (Rice et al, 2014), the short version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Garnefski & Kraaij, 2006), and the Adolescent Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (Keyes, 2006).
Results
Using Latent Profile Analysis we could reveal a well-interpreted 3-class solution in both samples with good fit indices. Among non-athletes the outlined 3 classes are parallel with several former theoretical and empirical results: adaptive, maladaptive, and non-perfectionists emerged. In the elite athlete sample two adaptive groups and a maladaptive were delineated. One of the adaptive perfectionist athlete group can be featured by adaptive emotion regulation, while the other can be described with low use of emotion regulation strategies. Of the six latent classes the elite athlete group with adaptive perfectionism and adaptive emotion regulation has the highest level of global, emotional, psychological, and social well-being.
Conclusions
Detected latent classes highlight that mechanisms of perfectionism accompany with different styles of emotion regulation and these patterns are in close relationship with subjective well-being.
Aims
This heuristic study reports observations on the phenomenology of ayahuasca experiences of nine foreign tourist participants of an ayahuasca retreat in Peru.
Methods
Narrative interviews, reflecting individual experiences after ayahuasca “night ceremony,” have been analyzed by qualitative content analysis using a data-driven strategy in order to extract themes and categories inherent in the interviews. Previously, a demographic questionnaire was given. The dose–response connection was uncontrolled, which is typical for this naturalistic setting.
Results
The typical structure of spontaneously reported experiences includes: personal preparation, physical symptoms, visual phenomena, cognitive and emotional phenomena, reactions of the individual within the psychedelic “world” as well as within ordinary reality, and appraisal to the process. Emotional reactions were subsumed under pleasant (psychotherapeutic “target emotions” and hedonistic emotions) and unpleasant emotions. For a majority, the presence of psychotherapeutic target emotions seemed to involve the presence of unpleasant emotions in the same session – possibly as transitional emotional states.
Conclusions
This suggests that psychodynamic processes, for example, possible activation of emotional conflicts – can take place spontaneously, during ayahuasca intake in this particular setting. Some participants attributed symbolic meaning to the visionary content, which was more likely to take place in psychotherapeutically motivated clients. The specific setting influence as well as corresponding expectations of the participants in native wisdom could have considerable influence on experiences and interpretations, such as communication with entities as well as receiving personal teachings.
Pozitív pszichológia: Az elmélettől a gyakorlatig
Positive psychology: From the theory to the practice
Positive psychology, – which is a scientific approach aiming to comprehend well-being (Seligman & Csíkszentmihályi, 2000) – during the last two decades has become very popular all over the world. In Hungary, the first introduction of research in positive psychology was in a special edition of the Hungarian Review of Psychology (Magyar Pszichológiai Szemle), which was edited by Attila Oláh in 2012. The present study makes an attempt to give an insight into some important results, which have been published since the publication of the above-mentioned special edition (e.g., integrated well-being models; complex connections between personality and well-being; the psychogenetic and neurobiological basis of the flow; healthy positive emotions; optimal affective balance), and provides some critical comments regarding the future of the approach, primarily concentrating on the effectiveness of positive psychology interventions.
Pozitív technológia – Hogyan segíthetik az új technológiák a teljes emberi működést?
Positive technology. How new technologies could help human flourishing?
With the birth and the more and more widespread usage of new technologies (like Virtual Reality) it is crucial to use them in a mindful way – that is avoiding the potential dangers of the usage (e.g. addiction and technostess). In the article first I review the ways in which new technologies can help the process of the diagnosis and the therapy. After this I focus on the possible ways in which can help positive emotions and states (e.g. mindfulness, empathy and self-compassion). Further research is needed to understand the connection between the digital, psychological and subjective well-being.
Background and aims
Given the enormous global burden of depressive illness, there is an urgent need to develop novel and more effective treatments for major depressive disorder (MDD). Recent findings have suggested that psychedelic drugs may have a role in the treatment of depressive symptoms, and a number of groups are in the process of developing protocols to study this question systematically. Given the subjective quality of both the psychedelic experience and depressive symptomatology, great care must be taken when designing a protocol to study the clinical efficacy of psychedelic drugs. This study will discuss many factors to consider when designing a clinical trial of psilocybin for MDD.
Methods
We provide a thorough review of pertinent research into antidepressant clinical trial methodology and review practical considerations that are relevant to the study of psychedelic-assisted treatment for depression.
Results
We discuss participant selection (including diagnostic accuracy, exclusion criteria, characteristics of the depressive episode, and the use of concurrent medications), study interventions (including dosing regimens, placebo selection, non-pharmacological components of treatment, and the importance of blinding), trial duration, outcome measures, and safety considerations.
Conclusions
Careful and transparent study design and data analysis will maximize the likelihood of generating meaningful, reproducible results, and identifying a treatment-specific effect. Meeting the highest standards for contemporary trial design may also broaden the acceptance of psychedelic research in the scientific community at large.
We are in the midst of a psychedelic research renaissance. With research examining the efficacy of psychedelics as a treatment for a range of mental health indications still in its early stages, there is an increasing body of research to show that careful use of psychedelics can yield a variety of benefits in “healthy normals” and so lead to “the betterment of well people.” Psychedelics have been found to modulate neuroplasticity, and usage in a supportive setting can result in enduring increases in traits such as well-being, life satisfaction, life meaning, mindfulness, and a variety of measures associated with prosocial behaviors and healthy psychological functioning. The effect of psychedelic experience on measures of personality trait openness and is potential implications is examined, and the potential role of awe as a mediator of the benefits of the psychedelic experience is discussed. Special attention is given to the capacity of psychedelics to increase measures of nature relatedness in an enduring sense, which is being correlated with a broad range of measures of psychological well-being as well as a key predictor of pro-environmental awareness and behavior. The effects of particular classical psychedelic compounds on healthy people are discussed, with special attention given to the mystical-type experiences occasioned by high doses of psychedelics, which appear to be an important mediator of long-term benefits and psychotherapeutic gains. Research looking at the potential benefits of psychedelic microdosing is discussed. Potential future research avenues are explored, focusing on the potential development of psychedelics as agents of ecotherapy.
Introduction
Since there is steady increase in cell phone addiction, the act of reaching for a phone between tasks, or even mid-task, is becoming more commonplace, without a true understanding about the potential cognitive costs of taking a break in this way as opposed to taking a break through another medium.
Methods
This experimental study included 414 participants who completed a cognitively demanding task (solving anagrams) either on paper or on a computer screen. Participants in three of four randomly assigned conditions engaged in a break task (selecting items for a hypothetical shopping list) either on a cell phone, a larger computer screen, or on a paper in the middle of the task. The fourth condition had participants engaging in both halves of the cognitive task with no break.
Results
The results show that using cell phone for a break did not allow brain to recharge as effectively as the other types of breaks, both in terms of being able to perform quickly and efficiently in the second half of the task (how long it took to complete), and in terms of performance (how many anagrams were successfully solved in the second half).
Discussion and conclusions
As people are increasingly addicted to their cell phones, it is important to know the unintended costs associated with reaching for this device every spare minute. Although people may assume that it is not different from any other kind of interaction or break, this study shows that the phone might be more cognitively taxing than expected.
Background
Compulsive Internet use (CIU) refers to those individuals who experience a loss of control regarding their online use. Although suffered by a minority, a much larger proportion of adults report to be experiencing early signs of CIU, which can become more problematic if sustained over time, especially when used as a coping mechanism for stress. Since compulsive behaviors are characterized by executing behaviors on “automatic pilot,” mindfulness techniques, which help individuals relate more consciously with their environment, could help develop a more adaptive relationship with technology. However, mindfulness interventions are often lengthy hence not ideal for busy individuals with early signs of CIU.
Aims
This study tested the effectiveness of a brief mindfulness intervention (10 min a day for 2 weeks) to reduce CIU and anxiety and depression symptoms, in relation to an equivalent length classic arousal descending technique (i.e., gradual-muscle-relaxation), and a wait-list control group.
Methods
A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was used with assessments at pre- and post-phases. Participants showing initial signs of CIU were allocated to a mindfulness-group (n = 343), gradual-relaxation (n = 301), or a wait-list control group (n = 350).
Results
The mindfulness and gradual-muscle-relaxation participants were equally effective in reducing anxiety and depression. The mindfulness intervention was more effective reducing CIU symptoms.
Discussion
Given the large sample sizes of this RCT, these results are promising, although follow-up studies are needed. Considering health hazards of the “always-on-culture” and the popularity of bite-sized learning, the effectiveness of easy-to fit-in daily life health practices is a positive development.
Background and aims
Slot machines are a very popular form of gambling. In this study, we look at two different routes to enjoying slots play. One route involves the degree to which players react to rewards. The other route involves what we call dark flow – a pleasurable, but maladaptive state where players become completely engrossed in slots play, providing an escape from the depressing thoughts that characterize their everyday lives.
Methods
One hundred and twenty-nine high-frequency slots players were tested on slot-machine simulators set up in the lobby of a casino. We measured reward reactivity using post-reinforcement pauses (PRPs) and the force with which players pressed the spin button following different slot-machine outcomes. For each player, we calculated the slopes of PRPs and force as a function of credit gains. We also assessed players’ slots game enjoyment and their experience of dark flow, depression, and problem gambling.
Results
Both the PRP and the force measures of reward reactivity were significantly correlated with players’ enjoyment of the slots session, but neither measure was correlated with either problem gambling or depression. Ratings of dark flow were strongly correlated with slots enjoyment (which accounted for far more positive affect variance than the reward reactivity measures) and were correlated with both problem gambling scores and depression.
Discussion and conclusions
Our results suggest that of these two routes to enjoying slot-machine play, the dark flow route is especially problematic. We contend that the dark flow state may be enjoyable because it provides escape from the negative thoughts linked to depression.
Background and aims
Many people present excessive patterns of social networking site (SNS) use and try to self-regulate it. However, little is known regarding the strategies employed by young adult SNS users and their role in preventing the emergence of addiction-like symptoms in relation to SNS use.
Methods
In Study 1, we employed a naturalistic-qualitative approach for finding commonly employed self-control strategies in relation to SNS use. In Study 2, we examined differences between the frequency and difficulty of the strategies identified in Study 1 and tested the process through which trait self-control exerts influence on reducing SNS addiction symptomology.
Results
Study 1 revealed six families of self-control strategies, some reactive and some proactive. Study 2 pinpointed the most commonly used and most difficult to enact ones. It also showed that the difficulty to enact self-control strategies in relation to SNS use partially mediates the effect of trait self-control via SNS use habit on SNS addiction symptom severity.
Conclusions
Taken together, the present findings revealed that strategies for self-controlling SNS use are common and complex. Their theoretical and clinical significance stems from their ability to prevent the translation of poor trait self-control and strong SNS use habit to the emergence of excessive use as manifested in SNS addiction-like symptoms.
Background and aims
In the present research, we experimentally investigated whether the experience of winning (i.e., inflated payout rates) in a social casino game influenced social casino gamers’ subsequent decision to gamble for money. Furthermore, we assessed whether facets of dispositional impulsivity – negative and positive urgency in particular – also influenced participants’ subsequent gambling.
Methods
Social casino gamers who were also current gamblers (N = 318) were asked to play a social casino game to assess their perceptions of the game in exchange for $3. Unbeknownst to them, players were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: winning (n = 110), break-even (n = 103), or losing (n = 105). After playing, participants were offered a chance to gamble their $3 renumeration in an online roulette game.
Results
A total of 280 participants (88.1%) elected to gamble, but no between-condition variation in the decision to gamble emerged. Furthermore, there were no differences in gambling on the online roulette between condition. However, higher levels of both negative and positive urgency increased the likelihood of gambling. Finally, impulsivity did not moderate the relationship between experience of winning and decision to gamble.
Conclusion
The results suggest that dispositional factors, including impulsive urgency, are implicated in the choice to gamble for social casino gamers following play.
Szerhasználó várandós és kisgyermekes nők anyaság-fogalmának feltárása
Meaning of motherhood for pregnant women and young mothers who are using drugs
Background: The topic of pregnant women and young mothers who are using drugs is overly stigmatized in the public and professional discourse. The topic is rarely researched, however the studies about the possible solutions, protocols are agreeing that for understanding this topic a complex and biopsychosocial approach is needed. It is also a consensus that in modern societies some kind of substance use during pregnancy is foreseen. Aim: The aim of this qualitative case study is to explore the meanings of motherhood for pregnant women and young mothers who are using drugs in Hungary. Methodology: This idiographic case study is designed in a feminist-phenomenological paradigm, the focus is on the respondents’ meanings and experiences as women. The respondents were clients of a harm reduction service for pregnant women who are using drugs. The respondents (n = 34, mean age: 29 years, range: 18-43 years) were using drugs or were being in opioid substitution therapy. The study was conducted between 2009 and 2014 using different qualitative methods (triangulation): 1) participatory observations at the harm reduction service and at rehabilitation homes for mothers who use drugs, 2) semi-structured interview with pregnant women who are using drugs, 3) deep, longitudinal interviews with 2 mothers at rehabilitation homes for mothers who use drugs. The data analysis was based on thematic analysis (TA). Results: The main themes found: the relationship with the foetus/baby, financial insecurity, the changes of the identity, relationship with the services; in the motherhood: role models, patterns, the motherhood as turning point. Conclusions: The motherhood for women who are using drugs was a turning point to change and to become autonomous. The child becomes the most important issue in their life and in the new autonomy of motherhood a new dependency is developing. This dependence is the child for whom the mother is thankful and willing to change and recover and to spend all their time with. Ambivalence and dependence is expressed in the meaning of motherhood for pregnant women and young mothers who are using drugs.
Táplálkozáspszichológia a tanácsadásban
The relevance of nutrition psychology in therapeutic settings
The relatively new field of nutritional psychology and nutritional psychiatry has a growing number of research supporting the connection between vegetable/fruit consumption and mental health. The results of the single-nutrient studies, apart from those of omega-3 fatty acids, have not been able to produce unambiguous results so far. In contrast, complex research designs focusing on the relationships between overall dietary quality and mental disorders have revealed promising results. The consumption of the vegetables-fruits, whole grains, legumes and oil seeds could be one of the key factors in this respect since the dietary fibre found primarily in plant foods feeds billions of bacteria in our guts. The evidence for the role of gut bacteria in modulating brain health and behavior is extensive – the microbiome-gut-brain axis (MGBA) consists of bidirectional communication between the central and the enteric nervous system, linking emotional and cognitive centres of the brain with peripheral intestinal functions. Therefore this paper argues that psychologists are strongly advised to consider the dietary habits of the client, even if this is not in the focus of their symptoms.
A társas helyzetben tapasztalt flow-élmény kapcsolata a boldogságorientációkkal
Flow in social interactions and its relationship with the orientations to happiness
Background and aims
Engaged (or flow-full) life is one of the orientations to happiness, part of the full life. Experiencing flow in a social interaction can enhance well-being, however this relationship has not been studied yet. The current study aims to reveal how social flow components relate to orientations to happiness.
Method
1060 adult people participated in the online survey study – age: M (SD) = 26,67 (10,76). They filled in the questionnaires anonymously: General Flow Description, General Flow Description in Social Interactions, Flow State Questionnaire, Flow Synchronization Questionnaire, Orientations to Happiness measure.
Results
We executed K-means cluster analysis with relocation to create four groups based on the hedonistic and eudaimonic orientations to happiness: eudaimonic, hedonistic groups, a group living an empty, and a group living a full life. The results suggest the differences between empty and full life in most of the flow-related variables (frequency of flow in solitary and social activities, quality of flow, components of flow synchronization), the effect sizes are moderate, the explained variance values by group memberships are around 5-13%. Eudaimonic and hedonistic group members were not different from each other in the measured flow and flow synchronization components.
Conclusions
According to our results flow in a social interaction may contribute to the hedonistic (through the experience of positive emotions after flow) and eudaimonic (through development and growth, motivated activity) orientations to happiness as well, and it can be one necessary factor of full life.
Társszakmák a lelki egészség szolgálatában
Professions joining forces for mental health
In our study we are going to explore four professions related to each other by their importance in assisting people with mental care: psychological counselling, mental health care, clinical psychology and psycho-therapy. The professionals working in these fields are the counselling psychologist, the mental health care provider, the clinical psychologist and the psycho-therapist (a specially trained expert or physician). In our study we are going to outline the specifics of the given discipline: its legal background, the expected skills and competencies, the main areas of activity and the required specific training systems of education. We will consider and compare possible issues related to different problems and tasks, study the dimensions when dealing with different levels of maturity of the personality, the impact of the various interactions in care and the implications of different approaches. We will focus on the specifics of counselling and mental health care as well as on the differences between counselling and psycho-therapy. Finally we will have a look at the current trends of these professions and at the ways they are expected to evolve in the future, trying to understand what the possibilities are for us to make the most of the synergy born as a result of their combined impacts.
Background and aims
A recent call to action highlighted the need to understand the relationship between problem gambling, violence, and health/functioning. As weapon-carrying and gambling behaviors are prevalent in adolescents, this study systematically examined relationships between weapon-carrying status and measures of problem gambling severity and gambling perceptions and attitudes, as well as how weapon-carrying status moderated relationships between problem gambling severity and measures of health/functioning and gambling behavior.
Methods
Participants were 2,301 Connecticut high-school adolescents. χ2 and logistic regression models were conducted.
Results
Weapon-carriers reported greater problem gambling severity, more permissive gambling perceptions, greater parental approval of gambling, and more family gambling concerns, compared to non-weapon-carriers. At-risk/problem gambling was more strongly associated with family, peers, and adult gambling partners among non-weapon-carriers (vs. weapon-carriers) and with machine gambling among weapon-carriers (vs. non-weapon-carriers).
Discussion and conclusions
Greater problem gambling severity and more permissive gambling perceptions and perceived parental approval of gambling in weapon-carrying adolescents suggest that parent–child relationships are important to be considered in prevention efforts. The moderated relationship by weapon-carrying status between problem gambling severity and gambling partners suggests a problem gambling risk group that may be less linked to gambling with traditional social support groups, and this group may benefit from targeted interventions.
Background and aims
Video gaming is highly prevalent in modern culture, particularly among young people, and a healthy hobby for the majority of users. However, in recent years, there has been increasing global recognition that excessive video gaming may lead to marked functional impairment and psychological distress for a significant minority of players. Esports is a variant of video gaming. It is a relatively new phenomenon but has attracted a considerable number of followers across the world and is a multimillion dollar industry. The aim of this briefing paper is to review the global situation on esports and related public health implications.
Methods
A non-systematic review was conducted. Information obtained from the Internet and PubMed was collated and presented as genres of games, varieties and magnitudes of impacts, popularity, fiscal impact in monetary terms, government involvement, and public health implications.
Results
There are several different kinds of esports but there was no clear categorization on the genre of games. Many tournaments have been organized by gaming companies across the world with huge prize pools, and some of these events have government support. Little information on the health effects associated with esports was identified.
Discussion and conclusions
A majority of the sources of information were from commercial settings, and failed to declare conflicts of interest, which may result in a biased picture of the current situation. When gaming activity is being further promoted under the umbrella of esports, it seems reasonable to expect an increase in problematic gaming and thus increased prevalence of gaming disorder and hazardous gaming. With increasing demand for treatment services for gaming addition/disorder in different countries across the world, it is a significant public health concern. More empirically based research on this topic is needed.
Changing the beliefs of preservice teachers is a prominent topic in mathematics education. In this paper, we present the results of a study that focuses on the changes in preservice elementary-school teachers’ beliefs during a method course and use the theory of conceptual change to explore the mechanisms that underlie these changes. The results indicate not only that broad changes are possible, but also that they happen as a result of juxtaposing their lived experiences as K-12 students with their current experiences as students immersed in a course designed around problem-solving. In this regard, the results also indicate that their beliefs about mathematics change differently from their beliefs about the teaching and learning of mathematics. The conclusions pose some important questions for future research and further discussion.
To help make educational materials and practices inclusive and useful for all learners, this review article provides the history of the universal design for learning (UDL) framework by defining it in its educational context and by showing how it has been adopted in K-12 and higher education institutions across North America. It reframes UDL as a strategy for reaching adult learners on their mobile devices, and radically reflects on how faculty members and course designers can adopt UDL in order to create learning interactions that provide students with more time for study and practice in their busy days. To this end, the author argues that we should broaden our course-access-design focus away from learners with disabilities and toward a larger ease-of-use/general-inclusion framework. Going through this article, we will be able to help our faculty colleagues to incorporate UDL elements into their courses, design/retrofit existing course components using UDL principles, and expand our institution’s use of UDL elements beyond the legally required minimum. This article posits diversity in its most inclusive form: instead of relying solely on providing accommodation services to learners with disabilities – which is most often a last-minute, ad-hoc, reactive process – adopting UDL as part of an institution’s culture of course design, teaching practices, and support services allows all learners to benefit, regardless of their place on the ability spectrum.
In this paper, we explore prospective teachers and teachers’ conceptions about averages. The results show that when talking about which of the averages that is easiest and hardest to explain, respectively, the two groups differ in their responses. When teachers’ motivations most often are based on pedagogical explanations, the prospective teachers indicate conceptions based on personal experiences, often linked to procedures. When studying the conceptions about which of the averages that is most and least useful, the results indicate that there is no difference between the two groups. Mean is considered most useful, similar to what has been reported in previous studies, and mode is considered least useful by both groups. Few of the respondents recognize the mathematical properties of averages, particularly that “usefulness” is linked to which data that is in focus. The implications of the results are discussed.
Background
Cue-induced brain reactivity has been suggested to be a fundamental and important mechanism explaining the development, maintenance, and relapse of addiction, including Internet gaming disorder (IGD). Altered activity in addiction-related brain regions has been found during cue-reactivity in IGD using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), but less is known regarding the alterations of coordinated whole brain activity patterns in IGD.
Methods
To investigate the activity of temporally coherent, large-scale functional brain networks (FNs) during cue-reactivity in IGD, independent component analysis was applied to fMRI data from 29 male subjects with IGD and 23 matched healthy controls (HC) performing a cue-reactivity task involving Internet gaming stimuli (i.e., game cues) and general Internet surfing-related stimuli (i.e., control cues).
Results
Four FNs were identified that were related to the response to game cues relative to control cues and that showed altered engagement/disengagement in IGD compared with HC. These FNs included temporo-occipital and temporo-insula networks associated with sensory processing, a frontoparietal network involved in memory and executive functioning, and a dorsal-limbic network implicated in reward and motivation processing. Within IGD, game versus control engagement of the temporo-occipital and frontoparietal networks were positively correlated with IGD severity. Similarly, disengagement of temporo-insula network was negatively correlated with higher game-craving.
Discussion
These findings are consistent with altered cue-reactivity brain regions reported in substance-related addictions, providing evidence that IGD may represent a type of addiction. The identification of the networks might shed light on the mechanisms of the cue-induced craving and addictive Internet gaming behaviors.
Background and aims
Addicted individuals often demonstrate relatively automatic action tendencies in response to addiction-related stimuli, whereby they approach rather than avoid addictive stimuli. This study assessed whether an approach bias for erotic stimuli exists among heterosexual college-aged males who report using pornography.
Methods
We tested 72 male undergraduate students using an approach–avoidance task employing erotic stimuli, during which participants were instructed to push or pull a joystick in response to image orientation. To simulate approach and avoidance movements, pulling the joystick enlarged the image and pushing shrunk the image. Frequency and severity of pornography use was assessed using a Brief Pornography Screener and the Problematic Pornography Use Scale (PPUS).
Results
Participants demonstrated a significant approach bias for erotic stimuli as compared to neutral stimuli, and this approach bias significantly correlated with pornography-use measures. Moreover, individuals with problematic pornography use (as classified by the PPUS) showed more than double the approach bias than did non-problematic users.
Discussion and conclusion
The observation of cognitive biases for erotic stimuli in individuals with problematic pornography use indicate similarities between behavioral and substance addictions.
Arcfeldolgozási folyamatok fejlődési diszlexiában
Face recognition processes in developmental dyslexia
In addition to the reading problems, results of recent studies regarding developmental dyslexia frequently show decreased performance in tasks that involve executive function, working memory, and normal visual processes. Aberration in visual domain suggests a complex, higher level neural deficit in perception which probably cannot relate exclusively to the left or the right hemisphere; and the dyslexia is presumably only the most salient feature of this visual malfunction. According to a meta-analysis published in 2011, the hypoactivity of the left fusiform gyrus is unequivocal in dyslexia, while the role of the right homologous area – which is the main center of the normal face recognition – is not clear. Similarly, the role of the left fusiform gyrus is not manifest in face recognition. In this review we will summarize the results of the studies that investigate the interconnection between neural networks of face recognition and reading.
Az észlelt autonómiatámogatás hatása a teljesítéscélokra karate utánpótláskorosztályoknál
The impact of perceived autonomy support on motivation among young karate athletes
Background and aims
The prevention of early drop-out belongs to the specific features of youth sport, thus the quality of the support from parents and coaches becomes highly important in order to maintain the motivation of athletes. The aim of the present study was to explore the associations between goal-orientation of young athletes and the level of perceived autonomy support, including the characteristics of autonomy support from parents and coaches.
Method
The sample built up from 127 karatekas (boys n=65, girls n=62) with an average age of 16,16 years (from 12 years to 21 years; SD=3,00). We applied three different questionnaires: 3×2 Achievement Goal Orientation in sport (3×2 AGQ-S; Mascret, Elliot & Cury, 2015); Sport Climate Questionnaire (SCQ; Deci, 2001; Hagger, Chatzisarantis, Barkoukis, Wang & Baranowski, 2005) and Perceived Autonomy Support Scale for Exercise Settings (PASSES; Hagger, Chatzisarantis, Hein, Pihu, Soós & Karsai, 2007).
Results
Based on the results the task goals of athletes are in association with the level of perceived autonomy support (by coaches rs=.314 p<0,001; by parents rs=.292 p=0,002). This association specifically appears in case of lower amount of trainings (by coaches rs=.512 p<0,001; by parents rs=.489 p=0,002) and lower level of results (by coaches rs=.746 p<0,001; by parents rs=, 734 p=0,002), however disappears if the number of trainings increase or they achieve higher results on national level. In case of athletes with outstanding results, goal orientation is in association with perceived parental autonomy support (rs=.707 p=0,005). According to linear regression models the increasing level of perceived parental autonomy support forecasted the task goals.
Conclusions
Concerning all the results we can assume the great importance of parents and coaches in the initial phase of athletic carrier, furthermore it would be beneficial to redefine the significance and impact of the role of parents. From practical aspect – in order to decrease the level of early drop-out – it would be useful to integrate a psyhoeducational demonstration of the features of sport triangle dynamic into the system of youth sport development.
A bűnözői életnarratíva konstrukciói és kapcsolatuk az érzelmekkel
Constructions of offender life narratives and their relationship with emotions
Background and aims
Based on Canter and Youngs' (Canter and Young, 2009; Youngs and Canter, 2012) work, our aim was to reveal the relationship between criminal identity and emotional experience of offenders.
Method
We used Youngs and Canter's (2012) interview method, we replicated their four narrative type (Revenger, Professional, Tragic hero, Victim) in a sample of Hungarian offenders (cf. Boros et al., 2017). We boradened the characterization of the types by data of criminal narratives, criminal history, and demographic characteristics. We studied the emotional pattern of the four narrative types. We performed a qualitative analysis of the emotional questionnaire and a conduct analysis of the narratives.
Results
When criminals report the emotional experience of their offence, emotions are organized on the dimension of potency. Professionals' emotional pattern is less negative than the other three types'. Construction of life narratives supported our hypothesis: Professionals showed a redemptive, Revengers showed a contaminated construction of narratives, and Victims preferred ignoring negative events and focusing only on positive events in their narratives.
Conclusion
We can clearly identify emotional characteristics of identity construction in criminals' narratives that can be helpful in planning reintegration programs.
A series of illustrations in a 15th century Timurid manuscript record the mi’raj, the ascent through the seven heavens by Mohammed, the Prophet of Islam. Several of the illustrations depict Burāq, the fabulous creature by means of which Mohammed achieves his ascent, with distinctive features of the Amanita muscaria mushroom. A. muscaria or “fly agaric” is a psychoactive mushroom used by Siberian shamans to enter the spirit world for the purposes of conversing with spirits or diagnosing and curing disease. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the author explores the routes by which Burāq could have come to be depicted in this manuscript with the characteristics of a psychoactive fungus, when any suggestion that the Prophet might have had recourse to a drug to accomplish his spirit journey would be anathema to orthodox Islam. There is no suggestion that Mohammad’s night journey (isra) or ascent (mi’raj) was accomplished under the influence of a psychoactive mushroom or plant.
The characteristics and changes of psychological immune competence of breast cancer patients receiving hypnosis, music or special attention
A pszichológiai immunkompetencia jellemzői és változásai hipnózisban, zenében vagy kiemelt figyelemben részesülő emlődaganatos betegek esetében
Introduction: Coping mechanism and adaptation skills play an important role in successfully adjusting to breast cancer. The concept of psychological immunity integrates different coping skills that are capacities leading to successful adaptation. Hypnosis as a psychological intervention is effective in increasing coping potentials; nevertheless, there is little empirical evidence on the effectiveness of hypnosis in terms of increasing psychological immunity. Purpose: Our aim was to examine the characteristics and changes of psychological immune competence of breast cancer patients receiving different psychological interventions. Methods: Altogether 61 patients were assigned to receive hypnosis, music, and special attention as adjunctive treatments to standard chemotherapy. Psychological immunity was measured four times with Psychological Immune Competence Inventory (PICI). Results: Differences were detected during treatment on Social Monitoring Capacity (F(2,58) = 5.973, p = .006, ω 2 = .12); Problem-Solving Capacity (F(2,58) = 4.208, p=.023, ω 2 = .10); Impulse Control (F(2,58) = 6.051, p = .005, ω 2 = .11); Emotional Control (F(2,58) = 3.612, p = .037, ω 2 = .07) and after the chemotherapy on Sense of Control (F(2,58) = 6.548, p = .004, ω 2 = .11); Sense of Coherence (F(2,58) = 4.898, p = .013; ω 2 = .10); Problem-Solving Capacity (F(2,58) = 3.949, p = .028, ω 2 = .08). Hypnosis-group patients showed higher immune capacity compared to patients in the other two groups. Changes over time were measured and revealed increased psychological immunity based on cumulative PICI (F(3,174) = 6.403, p < .001, η 2 p = .10) and on certain PICI scales in all three groups. Only the scale of Synchronicity showed interactional effects (F(2,58) = 2.508, p = .024, η 2 p = .08). Conclusions: Psychological immune capacity of breast cancer patients seems to increase throughout chemotherapy and follow-up period, independently from the received interventions. Nonetheless hypnosis may have a further facilitating role in the maintenance and development of psychological immunity during cancer treatments.
Background and aims
Compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD) will be included in ICD-11 as an impulse-control disorder. CSBD also shares clinical features with obsessive–compulsive spectrum disorders (OCSDs) and behavioral addictions. There has been relatively little systematic investigation of CSBD in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), the paradigmatic compulsive disorder. We aimed to determine prevalence of CSBD in OCD, and its associated sociodemographic and clinical features, including associated comorbidity, to learn more about the nature of CSBD.
Methods
Adult outpatients with current OCD (N = 539) participated in this study. The Structured Clinical Interview for OCSDs was used to diagnose OCSDs (Tourette’s syndrome, compulsive shopping, pathological gambling, kleptomania, pyromania, intermittent explosive disorder, self-injurious behavior, and CSBD). Prevalence rates of OCSDs in male versus female patients as well as comorbid disorders in OCD patients with and without CSBD were compared.
Results
Lifetime prevalence of CSBD was 5.6% in patients with current OCD and significantly higher in men than women. OCD patients with and without CSBD were similar in terms of age, age of onset of OCD, present OCD illness severity, as well as educational background. Lifetime prevalence rates of several mood, obsessive–compulsive, and impulse-control disorders were considerably elevated in patients with lifetime CSBD.
Discussion and conclusions
A substantive number of OCD patients suffered from CSBD. CSBD in OCD was more likely comorbid with other mood, obsessive–compulsive, and impulse-control disorders, but not with disorders due to substance use or addictive behaviors. This finding supports conceptualization of CSBD as a compulsive–impulsive disorder.
Historical documents relating to early Mormonism suggest that Joseph Smith (1805–1844) employed entheogen-infused sacraments to fulfill his promise that every Mormon convert would experience visions of God and spiritual ecstasies. Early Mormon scriptures and Smith’s teachings contain descriptions consistent with using entheogenic material. Compiled descriptions of Joseph Smith’s earliest visions and early Mormon convert visions reveal the internal symptomology and outward bodily manifestations consistent with using an anticholinergic entheogen. Due to embarrassing symptomology associated with these manifestations, Smith sought for psychoactives with fewer associated outward manifestations. The visionary period of early Mormonism fueled by entheogens played a significant role in the spectacular rise of this American-born religion. The death of Joseph Smith marked the end of visionary Mormonism and the failure or refusal of his successor to utilize entheogens as a part of religious worship. The implications of an entheogenic origin of Mormonism may contribute to the broader discussion of the major world religions with evidence of entheogen use at their foundation and illustrate the value of entheogens in religious experience.
In light of new historical evidence regarding ethnomycologist R. Gordon Wasson’s correspondence with art historian Erwin Panofsky, this article provides an in-depth analysis of the presence of entheogenic mushroom images in Christian art within the context of the controversy between Wasson and philologist John Marco Allegro over the identification of a Garden of Eden fresco in the 12th century Chapel of Plaincourault in France. It reveals a compelling financial motive for Wasson’s refusal to acknowledge that this fresco represents Amanita muscaria, as well as for Wasson’s reluctance to pursue his hypothesis regarding the entheogenic origins of religion into Christian art and artifacts. While Wasson’s view – that the presence of psychoactive mushrooms in the Near and Middle East ended around 1000 BCE – prevailed and stymied research on entheogens in Christianity for decades, a new generation of 21st century researchers has documented growing evidence of A. muscaria and psilocybin-containing mushrooms in Christian art, consistent with ethnobotanist Giorgio Samorini’s typology of mushroom trees. This article presents original photographs, taken during fieldwork at churches and cathedrals throughout Europe and the Middle East, that confirm the presence of entheogenic mushrooms in Christian art: in frescoes, illuminated manuscripts, mosaics, sculptures, and stained glass windows. Based on this iconic evidence, the article proposes a psychedelic gospels theory and addresses critiques of this theory by art historians, ardent advocates, medieval historians, and conservative Catholics. It calls for the establishment of an Interdisciplinary Committee on the Psychedelic Gospels to independently evaluate the growing body of evidence of entheogenic mushrooms in Christian art in order to resolve a controversial question regarding the possible role of entheogens in the history and origins of Christianity.
Background and aims
This study examines exercise addiction (EA) in amateur runners from a multidimensional approach, including demographics (age, sex, educational attainment, and financial situation), training factors (duration of running activity, weekly time spent running, mean workout distance per session, other sports activities, and childhood physical activity), psychological features (perceived health, life satisfaction, loneliness, stress, anxiety, depression, body shape, and eating disorders), and anthropometrics (body mass index) that might predict EA.
Methods
The well-validated Exercise Dependence Scale (EDS) was applied to evaluate the prevalence of EA in amateur runners. A multinomial logistic regression was performed to find explanatory variables of risk of EA using the SPSS 24.0 statistical software.
Results
A total of 257 runners (48.9% females, M age = 40.49, SD = 8.99 years) with at least 2 years running activity participated in an anonymous questionnaire survey. About 53.6% of respondents were characterized as non-dependent symptomatic and 37.8% as non-dependent asymptomatic. About 8.6% had prevalence of being at risk of EA. The logistic regression model displayed five variables that significantly predicted the risk of EA: (a) anxiety, (b) loneliness, (c) weekly time spent running, (d) childhood physical activity, and (e) education level.
Discussion and conclusions
Findings indicate that loneliness and anxiety may lead to withdrawal and uncontrolled behavior that in turn leads to increased amount of exercise in amateur runners. Lower level of education attainment is also a likely risk of EA development, and childhood sports activity is a predictor.
Background and aims
Unregulated Internet pornography (IP) use is discussed as a clinically significant disorder. Because of its primarily rewarding nature, IP is a predestinated target for addictive behaviors. However, not every user develops an unregulated usage pattern. In fact, most users tend to use IP recreationally. Impulsivity-related constructs have been identified as promoters of addictive behaviors. It is unclear whether these impulsivity-related constructs are specific for unregulated IP use or also play a role in recreational but frequent behaviors. In this study, we investigated impulsive tendencies (trait impulsivity, delay discounting, and cognitive style), craving toward IP, attitude regarding IP, and coping styles in individuals with recreational–occasional, recreational–frequent, and unregulated IP use.
Methods
A total of 1,498 heterosexual males participated in an online survey. Groups of individuals with recreational–occasional use (n = 333), recreational–frequent use (n = 394), and unregulated use (n = 225) of IP were identified by screening instruments.
Results
Craving and attitude regarding IP as well as delay discounting and cognitive and coping styles differed between groups. Individuals with unregulated use showed the highest scores for craving, attentional impulsivity, delay discounting, and dysfunctional coping, and lowest scores for functional coping and need for cognition. Recreational–frequent users had the most positive attitude toward IP. Motor and non-planning impulsivity did not differ between groups.
Discussion and conclusions
The results indicate that some facets of impulsivity and related factors such as craving and a more negative attitude are specific for unregulated IP users. The results are also consistent with models on specific Internet use disorders and addictive behaviors.
A fenyegető ingerek hatására fellépő figyelmi torzítások és változások a fenntartott figyelmi folyamatokban: Áttekintés*
Attentional biases for threat and their effects on later attentional processing: Review
In the present review I focus on the effects of attentional biases for threat to later attentional processing. First, I introduce the three attentional biases for threatening stimuli, also touching on their neurological backgrounds. Then, I examine the adaptive potential of these biases from an evolutionary perspective. I discuss the possible effects of the attentional biases on information processing after the stimulus presentation, emphasizing the facilitating mechanisms of threatening stimuli on later attentional processing. Finally, I show three factors of the perceiver that often recur in studies dealing with threatening stimuli: The effects of anxiety and specific phobias, and how aging related experiments can further the understanding and help answer the questions regarding the effects of threat. Based on the results of the reviewed studies I suggest that attentional biases for threat are not exclusive to each other. Further, that threatening stimuli have a crucial, mostly facilitating, effect on the cognitive processing following stimuli presentation. The fact that these results could greatly add to the improvement of therapeutic effectivenss of anxiety disorders underscores the importance of future research.
This article collects evidence from psychopharmacology, scripture, and archeology to explore several preparations for consumption described in the Old Testament: Manna, Showbread, the Holy Ointment, and the Tabernacle Incense. The Ointment and the Incense are herbal preparations used by the priestly caste to facilitate a direct experience of the Israelite God. A wide variety of psychoactive components are found in these preparations, including GABA-receptor agonists and modulators, opioid receptor agonists, and other agents. They are normally broken down by the body’s enzymes, and therefore orally inactive, but the Holy Ointment also contains inhibitors specific to the enzymes in question. The preparations indicate that the ancient Israelites had a profound understanding of synergism, and the way they are consumed and the taboos around them are highly suggestive of their use as psychoactive agents.
A Gyermeki Viselkedés Kérdőív legrövidebb változatának (CBQ VS) magyar adaptációja
Hungarian version of the Children's Behavior Questionnaire very short form (CBQ VS)
Theoretical background: One of the most widely accepted and used measurement in temperament research is Children's Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ), which was designed to caregiver report of 3- to 8-year-old children's temperament. There has been no available Hungarian version so far. Aim: The aim of our study is to present the adaptation of Hungarian version of the Children's Behavior Questionnaire very short form (CBQ VS) and to present these psychometric properties. Method: The sample were 5–7 years old children (N = 201) and their parents (N = 201) from three Hungarian cities. The CBQ VS-H questionnaire was completed by parents (mother N = 176, father N = 25). Besides the CBQ VS-H we measured children's executive functions by HTKS and Day-Night tests. Results: Explorative factor analysis provided, similar to the original version, three main factors in adapted version with good internal consistency values: Effortful control (Cronbach's alpha: .76), Surgency (Cronbach's alpha: .78), Negative Affect (Cronbach's alpha: .74). Dimensions of temperament were independent of sociodemographic characteristics (person – mother or father, age, education). Conclusions: Based on our results, the Hungarian version of Children's Behavior Questionnaire very short form (CBQ VS) is a reliable and valid measurement for assessing three dimensions of children's temperament.
Although the indisputable importance of autonomy, partly due to its motivating capacity, is firmly anchored both in the theory of second-language acquisition and adult education at large, the cross section of the two fields, that is the autonomy of adult language learners, has received little attention in the literature. If we focus on the autonomy of adult language learners in corporate contexts, empirical studies are practically non-existent. This paper fills this niche by synthesizing the findings of 4 interview studies conducted in 18 organizations in Hungary. In this study, 19 human resource policy makers, 18 second-language (L2) teachers, and 21 adult learners were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide to explore how corporate contexts and their language teachers fostered autonomous language learning and how it affected adult learners’ L2 motivation. Results show that while these contexts promote autonomy through their ongoing organic development, teachers foster it by being responsive to learners’ needs, and by providing choices to learners on the basis of which tailor-made teaching is made feasible.
In today’s teacher-oriented and teacher-directed traditional school setting, students tend to depend on their teachers. Students expect their teachers to motivate them and to tell them what and how to learn and to what extent, which leads to the fact that students do not know how to organize and regulate their own learning. Therefore, it is important to study how teachers construct knowledge related to various aspects of the learning process, in this case self-regulation. The main aim of this article was to identify the roles teachers play in the development of self-regulation. In order to fulfill this aim, the article examined how the interviewees view the notion itself. For this purpose, four interviews were conducted with primary and secondary English language teachers in Hungary. As all these teachers come from the public education sphere, their understanding of self-regulation was compared to the Hungarian National Core Curriculum’s concept of self-regulation. The results of the study showed that teachers are fully aware of the importance of self-regulation and directly, indirectly, consciously, and even unconsciously can foster its development not just during the English lessons, but also while preparing for and reflecting on their lessons. Continuous professional development and lifelong learning from the teachers’ side turned out to be of essential importance. However, there is a considerable disagreement not only as to how teachers define the term self-regulation, but also when to start its development.
