Psychology Research Digest
Frontiers in Psychology
Frontiers in Psychology is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that publishes original research and reviews on various topics in psychology. It covers clinical, cognitive, social, and animal psychology, as well as interdisciplinary fields such as neuroscience, education, and media.
Multiple dimensions of reward-sensitivity and cognitive control relate to psychopathology: an exploratory structural equation modeling approach
IntroductionAbnormalities in reward sensitivity and cognitive control are observed in multiple psychiatric disorders. However, differences in measurement of reward sensitivity and cognitive control across studies have yielded mixed findings. Despite assumptions of convergence, the correlation between survey-based and task-based assessments of these constructs remains small.MethodsIn this preregistered study of data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study (N = 11,875; ages 9–12 years), we examined relationships across these constructs and with psychopathology using exploratory structural equation modelling.ResultsWe found evidence for multiple cognitive control and reward sensitivity factors with modest correlations. Cognitive control and reward sensitivity independently related to both Internalizing and Externalizing psychopathology factors two years later (β = 0.01 to |0.605|).DiscussionOur findings highlight the utility of using multiple methods and raters to capture variance in reward sensitivity and cognitive control, showing they are multidimensional constructs each with unique relationships to psychopathology in adolescence.
Publication date: Access the article >>AIGC affordance and student self-regulation in private undergraduate education: a serial mediation model of self-efficacy and learning motivation
IntroductionWhile AIGC tools are reshaping student learning, the psychological mechanisms through which AIGC affordance translates into adaptive learning behaviors remain underexplored. Grounded in Affordance-Actualization Theory and self-regulation theory, this study examines how AIGC affordance activates self-regulated learning (SRL) through the serial mediation of self-efficacy and motivation, contextualized within industry-education integration (IEI) programs in Guangzhou Private Undergraduate.MethodsA pragmatic mixed-methods design integrated quantitative surveys (N = 689) with qualitative interviews (N = 8 instructors). PLS-SEM tested the hypothesized psychological pathways; thematic analysis elucidated implementation boundary conditions.ResultsThe results demonstrate that perceived AIGC affordance significantly enhances students’ AIGC self-efficacy, which in turn boosts their learning motivation and ultimately strengthens their self-regulated learning (SRL) capabilities. While the quality of AIGC assessment feedback is a strong predictor of student satisfaction, it does not directly improve SRL; its influence is channeled primarily through motivation. Complementing these findings, interview data uncovered persistent gaps in IEI implementation, including curriculum-industry misalignment, limited project diversity, and weak enterprise engagement, which contextualize the quantitative model.DiscussionBy integrating SRL theory with the IEI framework, this study reveals that AIGC’s primary value lies not merely as a functional productivity tool but as a psychological catalyst. It fosters adaptive learning by building students’ confidence and motivational drive. The non-significant direct path from feedback quality to self-efficacy and from satisfaction to SRL suggests that positive experience alone is insufficient for deep learning; the activation of motivational and self-efficacy mechanisms is crucial.ConclusionThe study concludes that the successful integration of AIGC in IEI requires a dual focus: strategically addressing systemic implementation gaps at the program level, and pedagogically designing AIGC activities that explicitly target the enhancement of self-efficacy and motivation to promote self-regulation.
Publication date: Access the article >>Professional ethics cultivation as a driver of faculty development: an analysis of its four underlying logics
IntroductionProfessional ethics cultivation serves as a vital approach to building a high-quality teaching workforce, exerting a foundational and endogenously driving effect on the development of university faculty.MethodsGrounded in the perspective of individual teachers’ self-moral cultivation, this study employs theoretical analysis to construct a four-dimensional logical framework through which professional ethics cultivation empowers faculty development.ResultsThe analysis reveals four core endogenous driving forces: professional ethics cultivation functions as (1) a process factor for faculty intensive development, (2) an embodiment of the internalization of faculty professional attributes, (3) an inherent requirement for faculty professional growth, and (4) a resource endowment for faculty career advancement. Against the global backdrop of high-quality higher-education construction and standardized governance of faculty professional ethics, existing studies predominantly explore professional ethics cultivation from the perspectives of institutional management and training effectiveness, yet overlook the endogenous mechanism through which such cultivation fosters faculty comprehensive growth.Discussion and conclusionThe proposed four-dimensional framework integrates individual moral growth, professional-identity formation, endogenous career motivation, and long-term career competitiveness into a unified analytical system. This framework clarifies the internal laws of university faculty development, advances the high-quality construction of teaching teams, and provides a novel conceptual analytical tool for subsequent empirical research on faculty professional ethics cultivation.
Publication date: Access the article >>How leaders' mindfulness in communication mitigates employees' knowledge hiding behavior: the underlying mechanisms
Knowledge hiding occurs when employees deliberately withhold knowledge requested by others, potentially hindering knowledge exchange and collaboration. Drawing on social exchange theory and social information processing theory, this study examines how and when leaders' mindfulness in communication mitigates employees' knowledge hiding behavior. We propose a moderated model with two serial mediation paths, in which leaders' mindfulness in communication enhances employees' perceived organizational support, which subsequently reduces knowledge hiding through increased organizational justice and strengthened interpersonal trust, respectively. We further examine employee mindfulness as a boundary condition that amplifies the positive relationship between leaders' mindfulness in communication and perceived organizational support. Study 1 used a three-wave survey of 652 employees from Chinese technology firms to test the proposed model. Study 2 employed a four-week mindfulness training intervention involving 180 leaders and 540 employees to provide supplementary evidence for the intervention effect. The results showed that leaders' mindfulness in communication was negatively associated with employees' knowledge hiding through two pathways: perceived organizational support and organizational justice, and perceived organizational support and interpersonal trust. Employee mindfulness strengthened the relationship between leaders' mindfulness in communication and perceived organizational support. The intervention study further showed that training both leaders and employees led to greater reductions in knowledge hiding than training leaders alone or providing no mindfulness training. These findings extend research on knowledge hiding and workplace mindfulness by integrating exchange-based mechanisms with social information-processing perspectives, and they offer a practical intervention approach for promoting supportive communication and reducing defensive knowledge behaviors in organizations.
Publication date: Access the article >>Adult age-group differences in domain-specific environmental appraisal under standardized exposure
Adult age-group differences in environmental judgment may be expressed through domain-specific differences in comparative appraisal under standardized exposure conditions. Drawing on environmental appraisal theory, this study examined whether perceived environmental support is organized as a domain-specific comparative appraisal process and whether age group moderates the distribution of such appraisal across domains under standardized exposure conditions. Using a within-subject comparative rating design, 804 adults from South Korea and China evaluated two thematically matched cultural exhibition settings presented through standardized visual materials. Perceived environmental support was assessed using 17 study-specific appraisal items aggregated into five theory-guided domains for domain-level comparative analysis. Results from the full-sample analysis showed significant Context × Domain and Context × Domain × Age Group interactions in linear mixed-effects models, indicating that comparative judgments followed a domain-differentiated pattern and that this domain profile varied across age groups rather than reflecting a uniform preference for one context. The overall domain-differentiated pattern was highly stable under repeated age-balanced subsampling, whereas the age-moderation effect showed lower resampling stability. Age-group profiles showed no simple monotonic progression across adulthood. Together, these findings support a domain-distributed account of environmental appraisal in which age-group variation is located in the configuration of support-relevant appraisal rather than overall evaluative tendency.
Publication date: Access the article >>The effect of anchor attraction on the buying behavior of carbon labeled agricultural products: incorporating anchor attraction into TPB
Carbon emissions from agriculture can be reduced by adding carbon labels on agricultural products. The growing trend of live streaming agricultural products is a significant tool for promoting low-carbon consumption. We investigates the influence of anchor attraction on consumer purchases of carbon-labeled agricultural products by including it in the theory of planned behavior. A total of 402 questionnaires were gathered via the Hangzhou resident questionnaire survey, and they were examined using a structural equation model. The findings show that attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavior control, and anchor attraction all have a direct impact on consumers’ intentions to buy carbon-labeled agricultural products. Purchase intention and perceived behavior control have a direct impact on purchase behavior. Purchase intention is significantly influenced by anchor attraction indirectly through attitude, perceived behavior control, and subjective norms. Product knowledge plays a moderating role in the relationship between purchase intention and actually purchase behavior, and low product knowledge can better promote the transformation from intention to behavior, which may be related to the current state of implementation of China’s carbon labeling system. This study develops a novel theoretical framework and, in a sense, makes up for the lack of attention paid to anchor attraction’s effect on consumers’ decisions. Our findings not only help mitigate carbon emissions from agricultural production, but also help guide low-carbon consumption and achieve carbon neutrality.
Publication date: Access the article >>Physical literacy and adolescent mental well-being: A chain mediation of basic psychological needs satisfaction and emotion regulation
BackgroundAdolescent mental wellbeing is a pressing global concern. Physical literacy (PL) — the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge, and understanding to value physical activity for life — has emerged as a potentially protective factor for mental wellbeing. However, the mechanisms linking PL to mental wellbeing remain poorly understood. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory and emotion regulation theory, this study examined whether basic psychological needs satisfaction (BPNS) and emotion regulation serve as sequential mediators in the PL–mental wellbeing relationship among adolescents.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted in November 2024 with 687 Chinese middle school students from Hubei Province (48.3% female; aged 12–16 years), recruited using stratified cluster sampling from three public schools. Participants completed validated Chinese measures of physical literacy (PPLI), basic psychological needs (BPNSFS), emotion regulation (ERQ), and mental wellbeing (WEMWBS). Covariance-based structural equation modeling (robust maximum likelihood) with bias-corrected bootstrapping (5,000 resamples) tested the chain mediation model.ResultsThe final analytical sample comprised 687 adolescents (48.3% female), who reported moderate levels of PL (M = 3.42, SD = 0.68), BPNS (M = 3.56, SD = 0.62), cognitive reappraisal (M = 4.52, SD = 1.08), and mental wellbeing (M = 3.51, SD = 0.71). PL was positively associated with mental wellbeing (β = 0.38, p < 0.001), the standardized total effect estimated in the structural equation model. The direct effect remained significant (β = 0.14, p = 0.006). The chain mediation pathway — PL → BPNS → emotion regulation → mental wellbeing — was significant (indirect effect = 0.12, 95% CI [0.08, 0.17]), accounting for 31.6% of the total effect. Individual mediation paths through BPNS (indirect effect = 0.05, 95% CI [0.01, 0.09]) and emotion regulation (indirect effect = 0.07, 95% CI [0.04, 0.11]) were also significant. The model explained 42% of the variance in mental wellbeing.ConclusionThese findings suggest that PL is associated with adolescent mental wellbeing through a sequential pathway involving BPNS and emotion regulation. The results highlight the potential value of PL development and need-supportive environments in educational settings. Future longitudinal research is needed to examine temporal dynamics.
Publication date: Access the article >>The effects of brain endurance training on physical endurance performance under mental fatigue and non-fatigued conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysis
BackgroundMental fatigue impairs physical endurance performance. Brain Endurance Training (BET), which combines cognitive tasks with physical training, may help alleviate these negative effects.PurposeTo systematically review and meta-analyze the effects of BET on physical endurance performance under mental fatigue and control (non-fatigued) conditions in athletes and healthy adults.MethodsThis PRISMA 2020-compliant review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251036649). PubMed, Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception through 5 August 2026. Eligible randomized controlled trials compared BET plus physical training with physical training alone in athletes or healthy adults and reported aerobic, anaerobic, or muscular endurance outcomes. Risk of bias was assessed for specific endurance outcomes using RoB 2. Random-effects meta-analyses used standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), with all effects oriented so that positive values favored BET. Heterogeneity was quantified using I2, leave-one-out analyses examined influential experiments, and certainty was assessed using GRADE. Funnel plots and Egger's regression were used only as exploratory assessments of small-study effects because each synthesis contained fewer than 10 independent experiments.ResultsTen RCT articles comprising 12 independent experiments were included. Under mental-fatigue conditions, eight independent experiments (n = 275) showed a positive overall effect of BET on endurance performance (SMD = 0.82, 95% CI 0.33 to 1.30; p = 0.001; I2 = 69%). Under non-fatigued conditions, nine independent experiments (n = 315) yielded an imprecise and highly heterogeneous estimate (SMD = 0.73, 95% CI −0.03 to 1.49; p = 0.058; I2 = 89%). A formal moderator test did not identify a statistically significant difference between test states (contrast = 0.59, 95% CI −0.30 to 1.48; p = 0.120). Overall RoB 2 judgments raised some concerns, and GRADE certainty ranged from very low to moderate.ConclusionsBET may improve endurance performance after mental-fatigue induction, although the magnitude remains uncertain. Evidence under non-fatigued conditions is inconclusive, and the formal moderator test did not confirm a difference between test states. Larger independent trials with prespecified outcomes and complete reporting are needed.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251036649, identifier: CRD420251036649.
Publication date: Access the article >>Are students dependent on AI in writing courses? Analyzing factors influencing dependence on generative AI through the I-PACE model
BackgroundThe rapid penetration of artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of education has brought about an improvement in learning efficiency, but it has also triggered serious concerns. The harms of students' excessive dependence on AI to complete learning tasks, the weakening of critical thinking, and the degradation of self-learning ability are gradually emerging. This forces researchers to deeply understand the intrinsic mechanism of users' psychological dependence on AI. The theoretical framework of problematic behavior has been fully developed and can effectively explain and predict users' emotional connection, cognition, trust, and degree of dependence when using AI.MethodThis study adopts a mixed-method design. For the quantitative phase, survey responses were collected from two universities in China. This component aims to validate the influence of AI dependence in the context of academic writing. For the qualitative phase, in-depth interviews were conducted with eight respondents. Quantitative data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, while qualitative data were processed through thematic analysis. This study explores Chinese college students' motivations for excessive AI use and their perceptions of AI dependence.ResultsQuantitative research indicates that academic stress, AI literacy, and perceived trust have a significant impact on AI dependence, while perceived usefulness can mediate the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic stress. Perceived trust plays a mediating role between social influence and AI dependence. Social influence predicts AI dependence behavior through perceived trust. Qualitative research indicates that although students are aware of the risks of AI, factors such as academic stress, peer influence, the efficiency of tools, and policy ambiguity are significant incentives for the strategic use of AI; there exists a strong psychological connection with AI dependence.DiscussionThe study extends the I-PACE model to generative AI academic writing contexts, revealing the specific social impact and the trust transmission mechanism. The study also emphasized that academic stress and AI literacy are important influencing factors. For educational practice, both protective factors and risk factors should be taken into account: efforts should be made to enhance students' AI literacy, while also paying attention to alleviating excessive academic stress on students, in order to reduce the excessive dependence of college students on generative AI. This study emphasizes that responsible use of AI should be promoted in the process of introducing AI into teaching.
Publication date: Access the article >>Perceived charismatic leadership and work engagement among higher education teachers: differential indirect associations through professional efficacy, belonging, and values
IntroductionPositive leadership is frequently associated with work engagement, but it remains unclear whether teachers’ perceptions of displayed charismatic leadership behaviors are directly associated with engagement or are linked to it through distinct professional resources. This study examined the indirect associations connecting perceived charismatic leadership with teachers’ work engagement through professional efficacy, professional belonging, and professional values.MethodsA cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted with 248 higher education teachers recruited through convenience sampling in Shandong Province, China. The measurement items were adapted from established scales and localized through translation or wording review, expert review, pilot testing, and revision. Confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and bootstrap analysis of specific indirect associations were used to evaluate the proposed model.ResultsPerceived charismatic leadership was positively associated with professional efficacy and professional values but was not uniquely associated with work engagement or professional belonging in the structural model. Professional efficacy and professional values were positively associated with work engagement and yielded significant specific indirect associations between perceived charismatic leadership and work engagement. The corresponding indirect association through professional belonging was not significant.DiscussionThe pattern is consistent with the proposition that perceived charismatic leadership is related to teachers’ work engagement primarily through capability- and meaning-related professional resources. Because the data are cross-sectional and based on adapted self-report measures, the estimates should not be interpreted as evidence of temporal or causal mediation. Subject to longitudinal confirmation, higher education leaders may benefit from pairing inspirational communication with concrete support for capability development and credible professional-purpose formation.
Publication date: Access the article >>Parental meta-emotion philosophy and children’s classroom emotional regulation: the moderating role of teacher–student interaction quality
Whether children can manage affect inside the classroom now sits at the center of debates about school readiness, yet the family belief systems that shape this capacity are rarely examined within instructional settings. We asked how parental meta-emotion philosophy relates to change in two facets of children’s classroom emotional regulation—adaptive regulation and lability/negativity—across one academic year, and whether teacher–student interaction quality conditions those associations. A two-wave panel design with a 12-month interval followed 289 child–parent dyads (children aged 6–8 years) drawn from six public elementary schools in an eastern-Chinese metropolitan area. Parents completed the Chinese adaptation of the Maternal Emotional Style Questionnaire at baseline; trained observers coded children’s classroom emotional regulation at both waves; and teacher–student interaction quality was rated with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, concurrently with the second wave of the outcome. Multilevel regression—children nested in classrooms—showed that emotion coaching at T1 forecast higher T2 adaptive regulation (β = 0.17, p = 0.002) and, more modestly, lower lability/negativity (β = − 0.11, p = 0.041), whereas emotion dismissing forecast lower adaptive regulation (β = − 0.13, p = 0.018) and higher lability/negativity (β = 0.15, p = 0.009), with baseline regulation, demographics, and classroom clustering controlled throughout. Teacher emotional support conditioned the family-level pathways on both facets: coaching effects were amplified where emotional support was high, whereas dismissing effects were partially buffered under the same condition. Classroom organization and instructional support moderated neither pathway. These findings extend meta-emotion theory into the instructional domain and offer evidence, in a Chinese context where coaching and dismissing beliefs may co-exist, for bioecological mesosystem interdependence between family and school microsystems.
Publication date: Access the article >>The effects of motivational verbal phrases on isoinertial force production and sustained force output: a comparison of positive and negative conditions
IntroductionThis study aimed to compare the effects of positive and negative motivational verbal phrases applied during short-term maximal isoinertial squat exercise on force production, sustained force output, and perceived exercise difficulty.MethodsForty healthy university students (20 women and 20 men) from the Faculty of Sports Sciences voluntarily participated in this randomized crossover study. Each participant completed a 30-s maximal isoinertial squat test under three experimental conditions—silent (control), positive, and negative motivational verbal phrases—across three separate sessions. Verbal stimuli were delivered at the onset of the test and every 5 s thereafter at a standardized sound intensity of 60–70 dB. Maximal force, average force, and perceived exertion (Borg RPE) were recorded. Due to violations of normality assumptions, data were analyzed using Friedman and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests with Holm–Bonferroni correction.ResultsBoth positive and negative motivational verbal phrase conditions resulted in significantly greater maximal and average force output compared with the silent condition (p < 0.001). Force output was significantly higher under the negative motivational verbal phrase condition than under the positive condition. However, perceived exercise difficulty was also significantly elevated during negative motivational verbal phrase exposure (p < 0.01). No significant sex-based differences were observed in responses to motivational verbal phrases.DiscussionThese findings demonstrate that not only the presence but also the content and emotional valence of motivational verbal phrases play an important role in short-term maximal strength performance and perceptual responses. Negative motivational verbal phrases may enhance force output, albeit at the cost of increased perceived exertion, highlighting the need for deliberate and context-specific use of verbal strategies in performance testing and training environments.
Publication date: Access the article >>Development and validation of the Mental Toughness Scale for Chinese Snow Sports Athletes: a mixed-methods study
IntroductionMental toughness is a key psychological resource that enables athletes to sustain goal-directed engagement, regulate internal states, and maintain consistent performance under pressure, adversity, and uncertainty. Snow sports are strongly influenced by weather and snow conditions, take place in complex training and competition environments, and involve varying degrees of risk. These characteristics require athletes to cope with stress, maintain attentional control, and adapt to changing performance conditions. Existing measures of mental toughness have been developed mainly for general athletic populations and may not fully capture the sport-specific characteristics and psychological demands of snow sports athletes. Accordingly, the present study aimed to develop and validate the Mental Toughness Scale for Chinese Snow Sports Athletes.MethodsThis study employed an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design. In Study 1, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 elite Chinese snow sports athletes. Interview data were analyzed using grounded theory coding to identify the core dimensions of mental toughness. In Study 2, an initial item pool was generated from qualitative findings and relevant literature. Items were refined and screened through Delphi consultation, a pilot survey, item analysis, item-total correlation analysis, and exploratory factor analysis, yielding 148 valid pilot responses. In Study 3, confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency reliability testing, and convergent and discriminant validity assessments were conducted using 342 valid main survey responses.ResultsThe qualitative findings supported a three-dimensional structure of mental toughness among snow sports athletes, comprising achievement motivation, positive cognition, and adaptive coping. After item refinement and structural exploration, a 20-item scale representing these three dimensions was finalized. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor model and indicated good model fit: χ2/df = 1.456, RMSEA = 0.037, CFI = 0.982, and TLI = 0.979. The total scale showed strong internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s α coefficient of 0.929, and the subscale coefficients ranged from 0.894 to 0.923. Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity met accepted psychometric standards.DiscussionThe Mental Toughness Scale for Chinese Snow Sports Athletes demonstrated a clear three-dimensional structure and promising preliminary psychometric evidence. The scale may serve as a context-specific instrument for assessing mental toughness among snow sports athletes, although its cross-cultural applicability requires further examination.
Publication date: Access the article >>Empowerment over enforcement: unpacking the psychological drivers of AI-assisted deep revision in EFL writing
The rapid integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education highlights a critical tension between top-down administrative enforcement and students’ genuine cognitive investment. Drawing upon Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), this study investigates how AI Prompting Literacy (APL) and External Mandate (EM) differentially predict the Deep Revision Engagement (DRE) of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Utilizing survey data from 327 Chinese university students and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), we tested a multiple parallel mediation model incorporating Perceived Competence (PC), Intrinsic Motivation (IM), and Psychological Safety (PS). The empirical results demonstrate that External Mandate yields a negligible direct path, suggesting that compliance-driven requirements may fail to directly stimulate deep cognitive participation. Conversely, AI Prompting Literacy emerges as a significant predictor within this structural model. Higher prompting literacy exhibits a positive indirect association with learners’ core psychological needs, thereby predicting an elevated level of Deep Revision Engagement through the parallel pathways of Perceived Competence, Intrinsic Motivation, and Psychological Safety. This research complements traditional technology acceptance frameworks by shifting the analytical lens toward internal psychological needs, suggesting that educational policies are more effective when focusing on cultivating student prompting capabilities alongside necessary institutional guidance.
Publication date: Access the article >>Predictors of university students’ leisure participation within the context of the theory of planned behavior
BackgroundUniversity students’ participation in leisure activities during their transition to adulthood supports their psychological, social, and physical development, and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) offers a framework to explain this. However, the literature shows that the contribution of leisure attitudes, motivation, and negotiation strategies to students’ leisure participation and exercise participation has not been adequately addressed.MethodsThis cross-sectional study, within the framework of the theory of planned behavior, examined the effects of leisure motivation, attitudes, negotiation strategies, and participation levels on the leisure behaviors of undergraduates (n = 709) enrolled in sports science faculties using linear and hierarchical regression analyses.ResultsLeisure attitudes, motivation, and negotiation strategies significantly predicted participation levels (p
Publication date: Access the article >>College students’ psychological resilience and daily recovery: a narrative review
Research on college students’ psychological resilience has long focused on stable protective and risk factors at the individual level, while paying insufficient attention to the recovery processes in response to daily micro-stressful contexts. Framed by the Conservation of Resources theory, this narrative review reconceptualizes resilience as the long-term outcome of sustained successful adaptation to everyday demands, a capacity that a daily recovery process helps to build and maintain. It specifies this process across three resources: sleep rhythm, daily interpersonal safety, and perceived academic control. This synthesis clarifies their recovery mechanisms, sources of vulnerability, and reinforcing pathways. On this basis, a three-dimensional daily recovery conceptual framework is proposed, which delineates two pathways of gain and loss dynamics and two temporal patterns of immediate transmission and cumulative trajectory. The framework shifts the research focus from static predictors of resilience to the daily conditions under which recovery occurs, and accordingly redirects intervention priorities toward providing systemic contextual supports that enable, rather than replace, the cultivation of individual capabilities.
Publication date: Access the article >>Motivation and learning strategies as predictors of academic maladjustment among first-year engineering students
IntroductionThis study investigates the relationships between academic motivation, learning strategies, and academic maladjustment among first-year undergraduate students at a science and technology university, with the aim of understanding factors that influence the transition to the university environment.MethodsA total of 383 first-year students from the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest participated in the study. Data were collected online using questionnaires assessing reasons for attending university, learning strategies, and academic maladjustment, including procrastination, test anxiety, lack of honesty, Machiavellian attitudes, neuroticism, and somatization. Correlational analyses and multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between these variables.ResultsExpectations and Lack of Alternatives/Inertia emerged as consistent predictors of academic maladjustment, whereas Personal-Intellectual Development, Career/Materialism, and Humanitarian orientations showed limited independent effects. Learning strategies made a relatively small contribution to maladjustment after controlling for motivation. When examined independently, concrete/practical strategies were negatively associated with maladjustment, whereas memorization was positively associated with maladjustment, although these associations were weak.DiscussionThe findings suggest that academic motivation may play a more important role than learning strategies in the academic adjustment of first-year students. The results support the value of integrated interventions combining motivation assessment, counseling, and the development of effective learning strategies to support students’ autonomy, academic adjustment, and social integration.
Publication date: Access the article >>Self-regulated monitoring in undergraduate translation: a think-aloud study of SRL processes
IntroductionThis exploratory qualitative study examines patterns of articulated monitoring depth in concurrent think-aloud protocols from undergraduate translation students, focusing on qualitative variation between surface monitoring (SM) and evaluative monitoring (EM).MethodsTwelve third-year undergraduate translation majors completed an English–Chinese literary translation task while verbalizing their thoughts concurrently. Participants were purposively selected from higher- and lower-scoring bands on a recent programme-wide translation assessment. Monitoring episodes were analyzed according to whether checking remained at local lexical or formal confirmation (SM) or involved testing candidate solutions against meaning, discourse relations, rhetorical purpose, or target-language fit (EM).ResultsThe central contrast concerned the regulatory endpoint of focal episodes rather than a uniform group difference. Several higher-scoring cases articulated sustained EM, whereas several lower-scoring cases included checks that ended once immediate lexical or structural uncertainty had been reduced. The distinction was neither categorical nor person-fixed: both forms occurred within the same participant, and P12 moved from dictionary-driven SM to discourse-based EM during the task. Within-case sequences further revealed narrowing, recovery, and maintenance of monitoring depth. Prolonged lexical search, repeated re-parsing, and unresolved uncertainty co-occurred with narrowing in some episodes.DiscussionBecause cognitive load was not directly measured and concurrent verbalization may become less complete as task demands rise, these patterns are interpreted as hypothesis-generating rather than as evidence of a causal mechanism. Pedagogically, the findings support instruction that makes evaluation criteria, deliberate deferral, global rereading, and diagnosis-led revision explicit.
Publication date: Access the article >>Authoritarianism today—a revised measurement model
IntroductionIn light of recent social developments, debates about the adequacy of Altemeyer’s widely-used scale on “right-wing authoritarianism” have (re-)gained momentum, as a shift in the articulation and expression of authoritarianism could be observed. In the German-speaking realm, researchers argue for a reconsideration of the original conceptualization of authoritarianism, drawing on a developmental-psychological model and a social-theoretical basis in the tradition of Critical Theory. Making this debate accessible to an international readership, we propose a measurement model that conceptualizes authoritarianism as a third-order factor comprising two distinct authoritarian psychodynamics — sadomasochism and fetishism — as second-order factors.MethodsAfter deriving these factors theoretically, we test the proposed model by means of confirmatory factor analysis on a German representative dataset (N = 2,466).ResultsThe proposed model fits the data very well (scaled CFI = 0.965, scaled RMSEA = 0.058, scaled SRMR = 0.044) with significant loadings throughout, though it cannot be statistically distinguished from two equivalent specifications and shows limited reliability at the higher-order level (ωl2 = 0.67).DiscussionBy critically reconsidering the origins of authoritarianism and systematically operationalizing and testing our theoretical claims, the paper sheds light on the concept’s evolving manifestations and contributes to a nuanced understanding of authoritarian tendencies amidst emerging societal changes.
Publication date: Access the article >>Professional identity and career planning in early-year medical students: the chain mediation of academic motivation and ability
BackgroundCareer planning is important for early-year medical students, yet the factors associated with it remain incompletely understood. This study examined the association between professional identity and career planning, with particular attention to the mediating roles of academic motivation and academic ability.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,031 first- and second-year medical students from a Chinese university using cluster sampling. Self-reported measures assessed professional identity, academic motivation, academic ability, and career planning. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the proposed associations.ResultsCareer planning differed significantly across several demographic and educational-context characteristics. Professional identity was positively associated with career planning (β = 0.42, p < 0.001). Academic motivation and ability showed significant mediating effects, with a significant chain mediation effect through the sequential pathway from professional identity to academic motivation to academic ability to career planning [95% CI = (0.057, 0.107)].ConclusionProfessional identity was positively associated with career planning among early-year medical students, with significant mediating effects of academic motivation and ability. These findings suggest that professional identity, academic motivation, and academic ability may be relevant considerations in supporting early career development in medical education.
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