Conducting Prolonged Exposure for PTSD During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Considerations for Treatment

The unprecedented effects and duration of the COVID-19 crisis are likely to elevate the population’s level of anxiety due to psychological stress, economic hardship, and social isolation. This effect may be especially potent for individuals with preexisting mental health conditions, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy is a highly effective treatment for PTSD across trauma-exposed populations, and has been implemented effectively via telehealth. Nevertheless, PE implementation via telehealth may require specific adaptations during the COVID-19 crisis due to public health mandates calling for sheltering in place and physical distancing. This paper discusses strategies for implementing PE for PTSD during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may also be applied to other situations in which physical distancing must be considered.     

Where Emerging Adults in the United States Find Meaning in Life

We explored the most important sources of meaning among emerging adults and whether time spent on social media had an effect on life meaning dimensions. Results showed that the majority of emerging adults mentioned family and friends when asked in an open‐ended question about things that make their life meaningful.     

The relationship between dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs and problematic social networking sites use

Social networking sites (SNSs) enrol new subscribers each day. However, problematic SNS use has undesirable effects on psychological functioning. Therefore, it is important to identify the factors that contribute to the development of problematic SNS use. Very few studies have focused on revealing the underlying mechanisms of problematic SNS use. Although many past studies have examined the relationship between metacognitive beliefs and Internet addiction, the association between metacognitive beliefs and problematic SNS use has not been adequately explored. In this study, we aimed to explore the association between metacognitive beliefs and problematic SNS use among young adults. A total of 308 individuals participated in this study. A socio-demographic data form, the Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30), and Social Media Addiction Scale (SMAS) were administered. Group comparisons were performed using multivariate analysis of covariance. Pearson's correlational and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between metacognitive beliefs and problematic SNS use. The SNS addicts scored higher in all of the SMAS assessments. When compared to non-addicts, SNS addicts obtained higher scores on all the subtests of the SMAS and MCQ-30 except cognitive self-consciousness. The negative beliefs about the uncontrollability and danger of worry, cognitive confidence, and need for control thoughts were associated with SMAS mood modification, relapse and conflict subdimensions. Our findings revealed that dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs are related to problematic SNS use among young adults. These findings indicate that mental health workers should consider the modification of metacognitive beliefs in the treatment of problematic SNS use.     

Does community violence exposure moderate the associations between maternal spanking and early child behavior problems?

A robust research literature links parental spanking with negative behavioral outcomes for children, however, it remains unclear whether conditions in the community may moderate the associations between spanking and behavior problems in early childhood. In the current study, we examined whether community violence exposure moderated the associations of maternal spanking with externalizing and internalizing behavior problems of young children. The sample used in this study was urban families and their children ages 3–5 (n = 2,472). We used fixed effects regression models, which yield stronger statistical control for baseline behavior problems, selection bias, and omitted variables bias. Mother's spanking was associated with elevated levels of both externalizing (β = .037, p < .001) and internalizing (β = .016, p < .001) behavior problems. Community violence exposure also predicted higher levels of externalizing (β = .071, p < .01) and internalizing (β = .043, p < .05) behavior problems. Community violence exposure did not moderate the associations between maternal spanking and behavior problems. Professionals working with families should promote the use of nonphysical disciplinary practices, regardless of the level of violence and crime in the community in which the family resides.     

Pictures and repeated exposure increase perceived accuracy of news headlines

Fake news, deliberately inaccurate and often biased information that is presented as accurate reporting, is perceived as a serious threat. Recent research on fake news has documented a high general susceptibility to the phenomenon and has focused on investigating potential explanatory factors. The present study examined how features of news headlines affected their perceived accuracy. Across four experiments (total N = 659), we examined the effects of pictures, perceptual clarity, and repeated exposure on the perceived accuracy of news headlines. In all experiments, participants received a set of true and false news headlines and rated their accuracy. The presence of pictures and repeated exposure increased perceived accuracy, whereas manipulations of perceptual clarity did not show the predicted effects. The effects of pictures and repeated exposure were similar for true and false headlines. These results demonstrate that accompanying pictures and repeated exposure can affect evaluations of truth of news headlines.     

Psychometric and Validity Issues in Machine Learning Approaches to Personality Assessment: A Focus on Social Media Text Mining

In the age of big data, substantial research is now moving toward using digital footprints like social media text data to assess personality. Nevertheless, there are concerns and questions regarding the psychometric and validity evidence of such approaches. We seek to address this issue by focusing on social media text data and (i) conducting a review of psychometric validation efforts in social media text mining (SMTM) for personality assessment and discussing additional work that needs to be done; (ii) considering additional validity issues from the standpoint of reference (i.e. ‘ground truth’) and causality (i.e. how personality determines variations in scores derived from SMTM); and (iii) discussing the unique issues of generalizability when validating SMTM for personality assessment across different social media platforms and populations. In doing so, we explicate the key validity and validation issues that need to be considered as a field to advance SMTM for personality assessment, and, more generally, machine learning personality assessment methods. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Modelling the acceptance of fully autonomous vehicles: A media-based perception and adoption model

As the technology matures, fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) are on the corner. This calls for exploring the factors that might influence potential users’ perception and acceptance of AVs. Limited existing studies related to acceptance modeling investigated the effects of media and human on fully AVs’ beliefs. Hence, a media-based perception and adoption model (MPAM) is developed to investigate how information and opinion (from mass media and social media) affect human self-perception (including self-efficacy and subjective norms) and product value perception (including perceived usefulness and risks), which in turn drive users’ adoption intention to private AVs and public AVs as well. Through a questionnaire survey, 355 samples from two universities were collected in Beijing. The structural equation model results confirm that media channels have salient effects on consumer and product with different emphases. Mass media enhances potential users’ self-efficacy of fully AVs, while social media strengthens subjective norms. Both usefulness and risks of AVs are perceived simultaneously via mass media, whereas risks perception can be significantly eliminated by social media. All constructs of user’s self-perception and product perception are verified to drive users’ intention to using AVs and public AVs. Besides the theoretical and modeling contributions, practical implications are provided for the marketers and stakeholders in the early stages of AVs launch.     

社交媒体信任对重大突发公共卫生事件中公众网络谣言自治行为的影响

从社会心理学视角、以社交媒体信任为切入点,基于新冠肺炎疫情,考察公众在重大突发公共卫生事件中网络谣言自治行为的心理机制。采用问卷方法对963名成年居民进行调查。结果表明:(1)公众对官方社交媒体的信任既能直接促进公众的辟谣行为,也能通过增强公众对战胜疫情的信心产生间接影响;(2)公众对官方社交媒体的信任影响公众对自媒体的信任,但自媒体信任不能独立于官媒信任影响辟谣行为。因此,我国社交媒体存在着两个舆论场且官方舆论占主导地位,及时、有效的官方报道不仅能提高公众对战胜疫情的信心,也能促进公众网络谣言自治,进而实现网络谣言治理主体的多元化。     

网络社交媒体使用对青少年生活满意度的影响：自我同一性状态的中介作用

为考察网络社交媒体使用对青少年生活满意度的影响及其内在心理机制—自我同一性状态的中介作用,采用问卷法对2634名青少年进行调查。结果表明：（1）网络社交媒体使用无法直接预测青少年生活满意度,但可以通过自我同一性状态这一中介变量产生间接影响;（2）网络社交媒体使用对青少年心理发展呈现双重作用,既能通过加强成就型自我同一性状态提高生活满意度,也可以通过增强弥散型自我同一性状态进而削弱青少年生活满意度。     

特征信息和呈现时间对异族面孔知觉的影响

为了探讨面孔认知中内部特征和加工时间对种族判断的影响,采用面孔种族评价任务,选用被试内设计,通过操纵内部特征替换部位,刺激呈现时间,以及种族三个自变量进行研究.结果发现:对中国被试来说,面孔种族信息的获取是一个随时间不断累积信息的过程.在此过程中鼻和口特征并不能提供有效的亚洲和高加索种族信息,眼部特征和构型信息在加工中...