{"title":"Consequences of Bilingual Language Coactivation for Higher Order Cognition","authors":"Viorica Marian, Sayuri Hayakawa","doi":"10.1177/09637214251339455","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214251339455","url":null,"abstract":"Hearing a single word can initiate a sequence of activation that spreads from the representation of the word (e.g., “candy”) to words that share auditory and visual form (e.g., “candle”) and the concepts those words reference (e.g., the idea of a “candle”). In bilinguals, this coactivation spreads both within and across languages to words that share form or meaning in either or both languages. This parallel activation across two languages has cascading effects on higher order cognitive functions such as attention (e.g., what people focus on in a visual scene), memory (e.g., what people remember seeing), and semantic organization (e.g., how concepts are represented and grouped on the basis of their meanings). Here, we consider how the consequences of language coactivation extend beyond the linguistic domain to impact the broader cognitive system and conclude that the interactivity of languages in the bilingual mind fundamentally transforms mental operations.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144104590","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Positive Affect Dynamics","authors":"Anthony D. Ong, Egon Dejonckheere, Nilàm Ram","doi":"10.1177/09637214251339454","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214251339454","url":null,"abstract":"Positive affect is a fundamental component of well-being, influencing multiple domains of psychological and physical functioning. This article synthesizes empirical research on positive affect dynamics in naturalistic contexts, emphasizing their associations with mental- and physical-health outcomes. Although a substantial amount of research has investigated positive emotional experiences through trait-based and state-based measurement paradigms, recent methodological innovations highlight the temporal dynamics of affective experiences within individuals across multiple timescales. Here, we examine how key temporal properties—including variability, instability, inertia, and reactivity—relate to adaptive functioning and health-relevant outcomes. These dynamic approaches extend traditional assessment frameworks, offering greater predictive utility for understanding health trajectories beyond static measures. Despite these advances, significant challenges remain in measuring, modeling, and integrating affective processes across diverse temporal resolutions and contexts. Addressing these issues requires refined methodological approaches that enhance precision and interpretability. We conclude by outlining a forward-looking agenda for advancing positive affect dynamics research, emphasizing its potential applications for promoting health and resilience.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144104548","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"How Can We Characterize Human Generalization and Distinguish It From Generalization in Machines?","authors":"Mirko Thalmann, Eric Schulz","doi":"10.1177/09637214251336212","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214251336212","url":null,"abstract":"People appear to excel at generalization: They require little experience to generalize their knowledge to new situations. But can we confidently make such a conclusion? To make progress toward a better understanding, we characterize human generalization by introducing three proposed cognitive mechanisms allowing people to generalize: applying simple rules, judging new objects by considering their similarity to previously encountered objects, and applying abstract rules. We highlight the systematicity with which people use these three mechanisms by, perhaps surprisingly, focusing on failures of generalization. These failures show that people prefer simple ways to generalize, even when simple is not ideal. Together, these results can be subsumed under two proposed stages: First, people infer what aspects of an environment are task relevant, and second, while repeatedly carrying out the task, the mental representations required to solve the task change. In this article, we compare humans to contemporary AI systems. This comparison shows that AI systems use the same generalization mechanisms as humans. However, they differ from humans in the way they abstract patterns from observations and apply these patterns to previously unknown objects—often resulting in generalization performance that is superior to, but sometimes inferior to, that of humans.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144066835","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Corrigendum to “Interdependent Minds: Quantifying the Dynamics of Successful Social Interactions”","authors":"","doi":"10.1177/09637214251343551","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214251343551","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144066157","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Danfei Hu, Tony Gutentag, Iris B. Mauss, Maya Tamir
{"title":"The Critical (and Neglected) Role of Effort in Emotion Regulation","authors":"Danfei Hu, Tony Gutentag, Iris B. Mauss, Maya Tamir","doi":"10.1177/09637214251318294","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214251318294","url":null,"abstract":"When people feel bad, how much effort should they invest to make themselves feel better? Should they try harder, or might this even make matters worse? In other domains of self-regulation, effort contributes to goal-related behaviors and success. However, it is unclear whether, when, or for whom effort is beneficial, irrelevant, or harmful for emotion regulation success and psychological health. In this article, building on theories of motivation, we first discuss how and when effort determines success in emotion regulation and review relevant empirical evidence. We then provide an analysis of two key factors that might predict effort in emotion regulation. Finally, we highlight open questions and future directions.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"121 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143945917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Origins of Face Responses in the Human Cortex: fNIRS and fMRI Evidence From Infants","authors":"Rebecca Saxe, Heather L. Kosakowski","doi":"10.1177/09637214251327113","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214251327113","url":null,"abstract":"In adults, cortical regions in the fusiform face area (FFA), superior temporal sulcus (STS), and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) respond selectively to faces but underlie distinct perceptual and social processes. When do each of these regions, and their distinctive functions, develop? We reviewed recent studies of awake human infants’ cortical responses to faces using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and functional MRI (fMRI). The results converged and do not support a slow, sequential posterior-to-anterior development of face-selective responses. Instead, cortical face-selective responses arise very early and simultaneously in infancy and may reflect distinctively social processes from the start.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143851089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shannon M. Burns, Lily Tsoi, Emily B. Falk, Sebastian P. H. Speer, Laetitia Mwilambwe-Tshilobo, Diana I. Tamir
{"title":"Interdependent Minds: Quantifying the Dynamics of Successful Social Interactions","authors":"Shannon M. Burns, Lily Tsoi, Emily B. Falk, Sebastian P. H. Speer, Laetitia Mwilambwe-Tshilobo, Diana I. Tamir","doi":"10.1177/09637214251323598","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214251323598","url":null,"abstract":"Social interactions are a ubiquitous part of human life. They are also complex and dynamic, posing a challenge for traditional psychology methods. This article provides an overview of a dynamic systems approach to the study of social interactions that manages this complexity and enables the quantification of interdependence between people. We also discuss key empirical findings that demonstrate how different forms of interdependence and interaction dynamics shape social outcomes. Last, we highlight the utility of this approach for advancing theories of social behavior and practical application. By adopting this dynamic systems approach, researchers can gain a deeper understanding of the patterns underlying social interactions and test hypotheses about the mechanisms driving human connection and coordination.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143836741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Unintended Negative Consequences of Help in Childhood","authors":"Jellie Sierksma, Kristin Shutts","doi":"10.1177/09637214251323594","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214251323594","url":null,"abstract":"Exchanges of help in childhood produce many positive consequences, such as increasing academic success, promoting happiness, and fostering positive peer relations. For this reason, caretakers encourage helping behavior early in life, and schools implement intervention programs to nurture children’s prosociality. An often overlooked issue, however, is that providing and receiving help do not always produce positive outcomes. We review the latest research that converges to suggest that when children receive, witness, or provide help there can be unintended negative consequences—for example, receiving help can produce feelings of incompetence. We also grapple with how to balance the negative and positive outcomes of helping behavior, with an eye toward promoting children’s well-being and social cohesion in society.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143836739","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lydia F. Emery, Emma L. McGorray, Erin K. Hughes, Abdo Elnakouri
{"title":"Merging in Close Relationships","authors":"Lydia F. Emery, Emma L. McGorray, Erin K. Hughes, Abdo Elnakouri","doi":"10.1177/09637214251325191","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214251325191","url":null,"abstract":"As people come together in romantic relationships, they tend to <jats:italic>merge</jats:italic> —to integrate aspects of each other and even create a new unit or entity. This phenomenon has inspired several robust literatures within the field of relationship science, but they have developed within relative isolation of one another. In this article, we put four of those literatures into conversation: merging in the context of selves, goals, processing, and reality. We review each of these topics in turn before discussing the commonalities and differences between them, including shared antecedents and consequences of merging. Merging, we conclude, is typically associated with better relationship functioning, with a few noted exceptions (e.g., too much closeness can dampen desire). We then propose an agenda for the future of research on the theme of merging in close relationships.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"106 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143819085","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From Words to Worlds: Twenty-Five Years of Advances in Situation Model Research","authors":"Rolf A. Zwaan","doi":"10.1177/09637214251326812","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214251326812","url":null,"abstract":"Situation models—mental representations formed during comprehension—have evolved significantly beyond their origin in text-based research. Situation models are now used in accounts of comprehension across various media, including films, comics, and even real-world events. This article reviews four key developments in comprehension research over the past 25 years: grounded cognition, multitext comprehension, visual media comprehension, and everyday event comprehension. In all these lines of research, situation models continue to play an important role.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"74 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143819086","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}