{"title":"Collective memory and history textbooks","authors":"Inari Sakki","doi":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102073","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102073","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article explores history textbooks as psychological tools that shape collective memory, social representations, and identity. Rather than simply conveying facts, textbooks construct narratives that define group boundaries and influence how societies view themselves and others. Often politicized, they become sites of contestation over inclusion and exclusion. Through a literature review, the article emphasizes the need for a psychological lens on textbook content, form, and function, highlighting their role in reinforcing or challenging dominant narratives, shaping social hierarchies and intergroup relations. It calls for more inclusive and critical approaches to history education.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48279,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Psychology","volume":"65 ","pages":"Article 102073"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144335498","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Using multi-method data for more accurate research findings","authors":"René Mõttus , Samuel J. Henry","doi":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102075","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102075","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The vast majority of personality research is based on a single method: self-reports. As about half of the variance in single-method trait scores is the result of systematic biases and random error, it is likely that most research findings are biased, even well-replicated ones. While some ‘significant’ associations may be entirely artefactual, most are likely to be underestimated, sometimes by as much as 50 %. Unfortunately, this is rarely discussed explicitly, let alone addressed empirically. After explaining the causes and extent of the problem, we argue that it can be effectively addressed by combining personality trait self-ratings with those of knowledgeable informants. To underscore the feasibility of multi-method research, we review recent large-scale studies that have combined self-reports and informant reports to provide more accurate answers to key questions in personality research, such as the heritability of traits and their association with important life outcomes. Since most associations are likely to be underestimated in typical single-method studies, multi-method studies will likely reveal higher correlations with commensurately stronger theoretical and practical implications. For example, single-method studies may have underestimated heritability by around a third and the predictability of life satisfaction from personality traits by around half. Personality psychologists have made great progress in incentivizing more reliable research; it is now time for the field to incentivize valid research, too.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48279,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Psychology","volume":"65 ","pages":"Article 102075"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144335499","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"(Don’t) tell me more about myself: Willful ignorance of self-related feedback","authors":"Matthias Burghart, Alicia Seidl, Nicole Casali, Tatiana Khalaf, Isabel Thielmann","doi":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102071","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102071","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Individuals are highly motivated to maintain a positive self-concept, which can create a dilemma when they are presented with opportunities to receive self-related feedback, such as learning how others perceive them. Although such feedback may offer valuable self-insight, it also risks threatening one’s self-concept. As a result, people may engage in willful ignorance by deliberately avoiding this information. In this review, we explore willful ignorance in the context of self-related feedback, arguing that while such avoidance can protect individuals from discomfort, it can also impede self-knowledge. We identify key motivational, personal, and situational factors that influence the tendency to avoid self-related feedback. Finally, we outline directions for future research and offer examples for experimental designs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48279,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Psychology","volume":"65 ","pages":"Article 102071"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144290168","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Stephan Lewandowsky , Ullrich K.H. Ecker , John Cook , Sander van der Linden , Jon Roozenbeek , Naomi Oreskes
{"title":"Corrigendum to “Misinformation and the epistemic integrity of democracy” [Curr Opin Psychol 54 (2023) 101711]","authors":"Stephan Lewandowsky , Ullrich K.H. Ecker , John Cook , Sander van der Linden , Jon Roozenbeek , Naomi Oreskes","doi":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102072","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102072","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48279,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Psychology","volume":"65 ","pages":"Article 102072"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144290167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evolutionary theory and personality","authors":"Anthony A. Volk , Alexandra Puchalski","doi":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102069","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102069","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Personality is the result of a combination of environmental and genetic influences. Thus, there is a natural match between evolutionary theory and personality theory. However, the top-down application of evolutionary theory to personality has largely taken a back seat to bottom-up data driven approaches. We outline three hypotheses that can help inform the application of evolutionary theory to the study of personality: the importance of past environments in promoting current adaptations; the trade-offs associated with different trait levels that foster individual differences; and the adaptive calibration of individual personalities to specific environmental and genetic confluences. We offer examples of each of these in the hopes that they can help promote a greater integration of top-down evolutionary thinking in personality research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48279,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Psychology","volume":"65 ","pages":"Article 102069"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144290165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The polygenic and poly-environmental nature of personality","authors":"Christian Kandler , Jana Instinske","doi":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102068","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102068","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although personality differences are supposed to arise from both genetic and environmental sources, neither single genes nor specific environmental factors have yet been identified to robustly explain considerable variance. Merging relevant puzzle pieces from the current state of research, this review provides new insights into genetic and environmental personality differences. First, the nature of personality is apparently polygenic and poly-environmental, with various small, rare, and interdependent genetic and environmental factors. Second, self-ratings on broad trait dimensions as the most common operationalization of personality might mask actual genetic and environmental effects. Third, genetic and environmental factors are also interwoven and interact in multiple, complex, and probably very individual ways. Future studies should address these aspects through multi-perspective approaches and multimodal designs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48279,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Psychology","volume":"65 ","pages":"Article 102068"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144290166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Personality and personnel selection: Going beyond self-reports and linear relationships","authors":"Filip Lievens , Jinyan Fan , Jingyi Li","doi":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102058","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102058","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The study of personality in selection and assessment represents one of the most longstanding and voluminous literature in industrial and organizational psychology. In this paper, we review two important recent research streams. First, we review studies on alternatives to self-report personality inventories, namely the use of Situational Judgment Tests (SJTs), assessment center (AC) exercises, and a multi-rater framework. Second, we review studies that go beyond linear relationships between personality and job performance. Generally, our review reveals that these alternative approaches show promises in better understanding personality and how personality relates to performance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48279,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Psychology","volume":"65 ","pages":"Article 102058"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144237444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Patrick D. Dunlop , Mengting (Rachel) Xia , Jeromy Anglim
{"title":"Faking on personality assessments in high-stakes settings: A critical review","authors":"Patrick D. Dunlop , Mengting (Rachel) Xia , Jeromy Anglim","doi":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102057","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102057","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Faking—deliberately self-presenting in an overly favorable light—is a persistent challenge for personality assessments in high-stakes contexts such as personnel selection. This review examines recent research on the impact of faking, strategies for its prevention and detection, and future directions. Meta-analytic evidence supports the theory of validity declines from faking, but meaningful predictive utility remains. Research on prevention has grown, covering approaches such as forced-choice formats, neutralized items, warnings, gamified, and implicit measures. However, many methods involve practical or psychometric trade-offs. Although the literature is substantial, we encourage research involving larger samples, real applicants, and within-subjects designs. Finally, novel assessment methods, including those using generative artificial intelligence, warrant further investigation both as potential solutions and as tools for faking.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48279,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Psychology","volume":"65 ","pages":"Article 102057"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144237445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Personality and job performance: A review of trait models and recent trends","authors":"Jan Luca Pletzer , Loes Abrahams","doi":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102054","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102054","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Personality traits are among the strongest non-cognitive predictors of job performance, but many trait models exist that are used to predict different performance outcomes. To structure and synthesize this vast amount of research, we review empirical evidence and emerging trends regarding the relations of the Big Five, HEXACO, and Dark Triad traits with three indicators of job performance (i.e., task performance, organizational citizenship behavior [OCB], and counterproductive work behavior [CWB]). We find that personality traits explain most variance in CWB, followed by OCB, and then task performance. Conscientiousness is the strongest predictor across performance outcomes, and the HEXACO traits explain more variance in job performance than the Big Five or Dark Triad traits. Yet, traits do not operate in isolation, but rather interact with situational characteristics in guiding behavior (e.g., trait activation). As such, accounting for situational characteristics can further increase the validity of personality for performance. Moreover, we review recent trends in personality-performance research, such as personality development and dynamics, non-self-rated personality measures, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI). We conclude by highlighting practical implications of our findings for personnel selection and for increasing person-job fit.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48279,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Psychology","volume":"65 ","pages":"Article 102054"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144237446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Paige Amormino, Joseph S. Venticinque, Abigail A. Marsh
{"title":"The altruistic personality: Insights from research with extraordinary altruists","authors":"Paige Amormino, Joseph S. Venticinque, Abigail A. Marsh","doi":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102055","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102055","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Humans possess a remarkable capacity for altruism, frequently providing help to a wide range of beneficiaries, including strangers. But people also vary in their tendency to behave altruistically. A small subset of people engages in extraordinary altruism: rare, costly, non-normative acts such as non-directed organ or marrow donation, heroic rescues, and humanitarian aid work. These extraordinary altruists may be a uniquely valuable population for identifying traits that underlie altruism. This is because extraordinary altruism typically occurs in contexts that offer few potential self-benefits and have weak or absent social norms, helping isolate dispositional from situational influences. Recent research with extraordinary altruists suggests individual variation in altruism reflects stable differences in how much people value others' welfare relative to their own welfare. Measures that most reliably distinguish extraordinary altruists from controls include the social discounting task and the honesty–humility scale of the HEXACO personality inventory, both of which capture differences in the subjective value of one's own versus other's outcomes. Extraordinary altruists are not distinguished by trait agreeableness or self-reported empathy. However, neuroimaging and behavioral studies find that extraordinary altruists display heightened empathic accuracy and heightened empathic neural responding to others' distress in brain regions implicated in prosocial decision-making. Improved understanding of the traits that distinguish highly altruistic people can offer new insights regarding how to cultivate altruism on a broader scale, for example, through interventions that foster stable increases in how much people value others' welfare.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48279,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Psychology","volume":"65 ","pages":"Article 102055"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144237353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}