Acta PsychologicaPub Date : 2025-05-30DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105091
Weiwei Shi
{"title":"The application of systematic analytical thinking in teaching vocabulary for English majors","authors":"Weiwei Shi","doi":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105091","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105091","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The main goal of this study is to examine and demonstrate the effectiveness of applying systematic analytical thinking in the teaching of vocabulary to English majors. Specifically, the research aims to assess the impact of systematic analytical thinking on students' comprehension of vocabulary, including their ability to grasp word meanings, usage, and contextual nuances. The paper utilizes a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods to investigate the topic of vocabulary learning in the context of cognitive psychology. The focus of the study is the systematic analytical approach itself. This approach involves dividing vocabulary into such components as word roots, affixes, or collocations, and applying analytical thinking strategies to enhance understanding and retention. The study examines how this systematic approach affects participants' vocabulary learning processes, including their ability to grasp word meanings, make connections between words, and use vocabulary in context. The study's results show that the majority of participants (84.2 %) expressed a positive outlook on using this approach, recognizing its benefits. However, a smaller portion (15.7 %) held an opposing viewpoint, suggesting that alternative methods may be more effective. The analysis revealed that a significant majority (90.5 %) demonstrated improved vocabulary retention due to the systematic analytical approach and activities like word analysis and pattern recognition. However, a small group (9.4 %) did not experience noticeable improvements, highlighting individual learning preferences and strategies. The research on teaching vocabulary for English majors and the application of systematic analytical thinking provides valuable insights for curriculum development and instructional strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7141,"journal":{"name":"Acta Psychologica","volume":"257 ","pages":"Article 105091"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144168528","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta PsychologicaPub Date : 2025-05-29DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105107
Po-Ching Huang , Hung-Ching Wu , Ji-Kang Chen , Xavier C.C. Fung , Nadia Bevan , Daniel Kwasi Ahorsu , Mark D. Griffiths , Jung-Sheng Chen , Kuo-Hsin Lee , Amir H. Pakpour , Chung-Ying Lin
{"title":"The mediating role of physical activity avoidance in the association between weight stigma and physical activity","authors":"Po-Ching Huang , Hung-Ching Wu , Ji-Kang Chen , Xavier C.C. Fung , Nadia Bevan , Daniel Kwasi Ahorsu , Mark D. Griffiths , Jung-Sheng Chen , Kuo-Hsin Lee , Amir H. Pakpour , Chung-Ying Lin","doi":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105107","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105107","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background and aims</h3><div>Low levels of physical activity (PA) are a global issue that contribute to worse health outcomes in the general population. PA avoidance and weight stigma may play a significant role in lower levels of PA. Therefore, the present study examined the (i) associations between perceived weight stigma, weight-related self-stigma, PA avoidance and PA, and (ii) mediating role of PA avoidance between weight-related self-stigma and PA.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Using a cross-sectional study design, a total of 1383 university students from Taiwan and Hong Kong (mean age = 25.34 years; 40.20 % men) completed a survey. More specifically, they completed the Perceived Weight Stigma Scale, Weight Bias Internalized Scale, Tendency to Avoid Physical Activity and Sport Scale (TAPAS), and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Measurement invariance of the TAPAS was tested to ensure that the combining of data from Hong Kong and Taiwan participants was appropriate for further analysis.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Structural equation modeling showed that weight-related self-stigma was significantly associated with PA avoidance (standardized coefficient [<em>β</em>] = 0.67, <em>p</em> < 0.01), and negatively associated with PA (<em>β</em> = −0.14, <em>p</em> < 0.01). In addition, PA avoidance mediated the association between weight-related self-stigma and PA (<em>β</em> = −0.09, <em>p</em> < 0.01).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Higher weight-related self-stigma was associated with lower PA through higher PA avoidance. Strategies such as psychoeducation, or the development of weight-stigma-free exercise settings could be adopted to ameliorate weight-related self-stigma and PA avoidance, resulting in greater rates of physical activity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7141,"journal":{"name":"Acta Psychologica","volume":"257 ","pages":"Article 105107"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144168489","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta PsychologicaPub Date : 2025-05-29DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105103
Xiaoli Liu, Liting Liu
{"title":"The mediating role of college students' body image and self-esteem in the impact of physical activity on life satisfaction and mental health","authors":"Xiaoli Liu, Liting Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105103","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105103","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>As mental health and life satisfaction gain attention, college students increasingly recognize their impact on well-being. Physical activity is known to improve mental health and life satisfaction, potentially mediated through self-cognitive factors like body image and self-esteem. The effect of physical activity on psychological outcomes may differ by gender.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A random sample of 712 college students was surveyed using the Physical Activity Rating Scale, Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Chinese Life Satisfaction Scale, and Chinese Mental Health Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 software to assess the direct and mediating effects of physical activity and the moderating role of gender.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Physical activity significantly improved mental health (β = 0.0229, <em>p</em> < 0.001) and life satisfaction (β = 0.0377, p < 0.001). Body image mediated the effect on mental health (β = 0.0090, <em>p</em> < 0.01) and life satisfaction (β = 0.0121, <em>p</em> < 0.001). Self-esteem also mediated the relationship with mental health (β = 0.0019, <em>p</em> < 0.05) and life satisfaction (β = 0.0027, <em>p</em> < 0.001). The impact of physical activity on self-esteem was significantly stronger in females.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Physical activity directly enhances college students' mental health and life satisfaction and indirectly affects them by improving body image and self-esteem. Gender moderates certain pathways, suggesting tailored interventions for different genders. These findings provide theoretical and empirical support for integrating physical activity with mental health development in universities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7141,"journal":{"name":"Acta Psychologica","volume":"257 ","pages":"Article 105103"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144168527","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta PsychologicaPub Date : 2025-05-28DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105086
Jianglin Huang , Qiaoqiao Lv , Xiaojin Zeng
{"title":"The influence of social support and empowerment on physical exercise behavior in university students: A self-determination theory perspective","authors":"Jianglin Huang , Qiaoqiao Lv , Xiaojin Zeng","doi":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105086","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105086","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the synergistic effects of interpersonal relationships, social support, and exercise empowerment on promoting physical activity behavior change among 1530 non-athletic university students through a self-determination theory framework. Mixed-methods analysis revealed that social support (β = 0.28, <em>p</em> < 0.001) and exercise empowerment (β = 0.21, <em>p</em> < 0.05) serve as dual mediators, explaining 39 % of variance in behavioral change stages, with their interaction exhibiting synergistic enhancement (ΔR<sup>2</sup> = 0.06, <em>p</em> < 0.05). Path analysis identified three core mechanisms: direct impacts on exercise intention (β = 0.35) and self-efficacy (β = 0.29), indirect mediation of peer network effects on behavioral maintenance (Bootstrap CI: 0.11–0.23), and moderated moderation where relationship quality amplified intervention efficacy (ΔR<sup>2</sup> = 0.09, <em>p</em> < 0.01). Theoretical integration demonstrated that social capital enhances empowerment and intrinsic motivation through interpersonal connections. Practical implications suggest multi-level interventions targeting peer-supported communities (Cohen's d = 0.72), empowerment curricula with autonomy-supportive feedback (d = 0.65), and relationship counseling (d = 0.68) could achieve comparable outcomes to established exercise programs. Despite cross-sectional design limitations and self-reported data, this study innovatively validates latent variable modeling and effect size quantification, providing evidence for integrating social-emotional learning into university health promotion. Methodologically, it advances precision intervention development through validated mechanisms and actionable strategies supported by empirical metrics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7141,"journal":{"name":"Acta Psychologica","volume":"257 ","pages":"Article 105086"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144168488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta PsychologicaPub Date : 2025-05-28DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105085
Jana Sophie Kesenheimer , Beril Fidan , Andreas Kastenmüller , Tobias Greitemeyer
{"title":"Out of office: A diary study on remote work's impact on well-being through psychological basic needs","authors":"Jana Sophie Kesenheimer , Beril Fidan , Andreas Kastenmüller , Tobias Greitemeyer","doi":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105085","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105085","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study explored the impact of remote work on well-being through self-determination theory, which highlights the importance of fulfilling psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Data were gathered from 85 employees in city administration through 605 daily assessments over a two-week period. The results indicated that remote work positively affected well-being by fulfilling employees' needs for autonomy and competence. While it led to a decrease in feelings of relatedness, this decline did not negatively influence overall well-being. Furthermore, the increase in well-being driven by greater autonomy and competence was associated with enhanced helping behavior toward colleagues. Given that these results were significant at the within- (but not between-) person level, the findings suggest that a hybrid model combining remote and office work may be the most effective strategy for enhancing employee well-being - and, in turn, promoting pro-social behavior in the workplace.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7141,"journal":{"name":"Acta Psychologica","volume":"257 ","pages":"Article 105085"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144148075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta PsychologicaPub Date : 2025-05-27DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105093
Ping Yin , Nan Liu
{"title":"The relationship between components of EFL teachers' spiritual intelligence and their work engagement","authors":"Ping Yin , Nan Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105093","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105093","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The role of teachers' spiritual intelligence in their professional behaviors and emotions has been ignored in the literature. To address this gap, this particular study investigated the relationship between the components of Spiritual Intelligence and Chinese's EFL teachers' work engagement. Employing purposeful sampling, the researcher shared the link of the questionnaire among 498 Chinese's English language learners in M.A. and PhD levels in Shandong province, three municipalities of Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai that were directly under the Central Government, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and other 13 provinces. To collect the required data, two valid questionnaires were used: Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Questionnaire and Teachers' Work Engagement Questionnaire. The researcher used descriptive and inferential statistics; Pearson correlation coefficient, and multivariate analysis in Amos to analyze the obtained data. The specific findings of the present study confirmed a direct, positive, and significant relationship between teachers' spiritual intelligence and their work engagement. Implications are also discussed to raise teachers' awareness of spirituality and work.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7141,"journal":{"name":"Acta Psychologica","volume":"257 ","pages":"Article 105093"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144148073","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta PsychologicaPub Date : 2025-05-27DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105095
Wenfu Bao , Alejandro Pérez , Monika Molnar
{"title":"Evaluating the feasibility of using heart rate to measure auditory attention allocation during spoken language processing","authors":"Wenfu Bao , Alejandro Pérez , Monika Molnar","doi":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105095","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105095","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A deceleration in heart rate (HR), along with a lengthening of the time between heartbeats, has been associated with attentional engagement. Here, we investigated the feasibility of using changes in HR to estimate attentional engagement during spoken language processing. Prior neuroimaging studies suggest that speech processing of an unknown language is more cognitively demanding; we thus designed an experiment to test this finding through HR. In an active listening task, we measured cardiac responses in 66 native English speakers (34 monolingual, 32 simultaneous bilingual), who listened to spoken passages in two conditions: one in a familiar language and the other unfamiliar. Results demonstrated significant condition effects on participants' BPM (beats per minute) and IBI (interbeat interval). Listening to an unfamiliar language induced significantly lower BPM and a trend of longer IBI, particularly during the first five out of nine trials. Our finding aligns with previous neuroimaging evidence that processing an unfamiliar language demands more attention than a familiar one. Our analysis also revealed that the effects were independent of participants' bilingual experience or language and cognitive abilities. Overall, our results indicate that HR measurement has a potential in psycholinguistic and cognitive research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7141,"journal":{"name":"Acta Psychologica","volume":"257 ","pages":"Article 105095"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144148072","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta PsychologicaPub Date : 2025-05-27DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105111
Anna Friedmann , Katharina Richter , Tamara Fuschlberger , Friedrich Voigt , Ronald Schmid , Günter Esser , Frank W. Paulus , Volker Mall , Ina Nehring
{"title":"Infant social development before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic and the mediating effect of maternal media use – an observational study from Germany","authors":"Anna Friedmann , Katharina Richter , Tamara Fuschlberger , Friedrich Voigt , Ronald Schmid , Günter Esser , Frank W. Paulus , Volker Mall , Ina Nehring","doi":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105111","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105111","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The changes in social life and education settings associated with the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted the social development of infants who are particularly vulnerable to environmental stressors.</div><div>The present observational study compared infants' social development in a group examined prior vs. a group examined during the COVID-19 pandemic and investigated the role of maternal media use. We also explored if any single developmental tasks were specifically affected.</div><div>Trained examiners assessed social developmental scores of 1860 healthy infants (0–24 months; mean age: 9.1 months, SD = 6.5) via a standardized developmental test.</div><div>An adjusted regression model showed significantly lower social developmental T-values (<em>B</em> = −1.790, 95 % CI: [−2.682; −0.898) for infants examined during the pandemic as well as for infants with a longer duration of exposure to the pandemic (<em>B</em> = −0.131, 95 % CI: [−0.239; −0.023]). The effect was partially mediated by maternal media use (direct effect: B = −1.35; total effect: B = −1.65, <em>p</em> < .05). Infants up to 11 months predominantly showed difficulties with engaging in dyadic interaction and emotion regulation, while in children up to 24 months of age items indicative of prosocial behavior were fulfilled less frequently.</div><div>While there seems to be a small effect of being examined during the pandemic on infants' social development, children were in a non-delayed range of development. Although it only had a small impact on social development, parents should be educated on responsible media use.</div><div>Longitudinal studies might offer further insights on additional influencing factors and long-term effects of the pandemic on infant social development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7141,"journal":{"name":"Acta Psychologica","volume":"257 ","pages":"Article 105111"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144148074","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta PsychologicaPub Date : 2025-05-27DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105105
Fei Xu , Lizhen Wang , Jinnuo Xu
{"title":"The impact of teachers' motivating style and student-teacher relationships on adolescents' class participation: The indirect role of learning motivation","authors":"Fei Xu , Lizhen Wang , Jinnuo Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105105","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105105","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In today's competitive society, education's importance is widely recognized. Adolescence is a crucial stage during which individuals experience significant physical and mental growth and form positive learning attitudes. As society's future drivers, adolescents' learning and class participation are vital for personal growth and social progress. Teachers play a crucial role as knowledge transmitters and providers of psychological support. This study explores the relationships among teachers' motivating styles, student-teacher relationships, adolescents' class participation, and the indirect role of learning motivation. This study surveyed 658 students and employed quantitative methods to analyze how teachers' motivating style and student-teacher relationships influences class participation. The findings indicate that autonomy support style and student-teacher relationships positively influence class participation, whereas controlling style has a significant negative effect on class participation. Adolescents' learning motivation served as a complementary partial indirect effect pathway linking teachers' motivating styles and student-teacher relationships to classroom participation. These findings provide meaningful insights for both theoretical understanding and intervention strategies regarding the role of adolescents' class participation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7141,"journal":{"name":"Acta Psychologica","volume":"257 ","pages":"Article 105105"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144138032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acta PsychologicaPub Date : 2025-05-26DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105097
Weiwei Huo , Jiaying Xie , Jiaqi Yan , Tianyi Long , Bingqian Liang
{"title":"Approach or avoidance? Relationship between perceived AI explainability and employee job crafting","authors":"Weiwei Huo , Jiaying Xie , Jiaqi Yan , Tianyi Long , Bingqian Liang","doi":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105097","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105097","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Amid growing concerns about the lack of transparency in algorithms, heightened focus has been placed on artificial intelligence (AI) explainability in workplace decision-making processes. This study leverages work design theory to explore when and how perceived AI explainability impacts two types of employee job crafting: approach job crafting and avoidance job crafting. We analysed multi-wave survey data of 278 medical staff to examine the effects of perceived AI explainability on approach and avoidance job crafting through a dual-pathway model. Results indicated that perceived AI explainability enhanced AI-oriented benefit perception and reduced AI-oriented threat perception, resulting in an increase in approach and avoidance job crafting. Furthermore, our findings suggested that ethical climate strengthened the impacts of perceived AI explainability on AI-oriented benefit perception and AI-oriented threat perception. We discuss key theoretical insights of our findings for advancing AI and job crafting research as well as implications for organisational practice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7141,"journal":{"name":"Acta Psychologica","volume":"257 ","pages":"Article 105097"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144134413","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}