Effects of Voice Pitch on Social Perceptions Vary With Relational Mobility and Homicide Rate.

Fundamental frequency ( fo) is the most perceptually salient vocal acoustic parameter, yet little is known about how its perceptual influence varies across societies. We examined how fo affects key social perceptions and how socioecological variables modulate these effects in 2,647 adult listeners sampled from 44 locations across 22 nations. Low male fo increased men's perceptions of formidability and prestige, especially in societies with higher homicide rates and greater relational mobility in which male intrasexual competition may be more intense and rapid identification of high-status competitors may be exigent. High female fo increased women's perceptions of flirtatiousness where relational mobility was lower and threats to mating relationships may be greater. These results indicate that the influence of fo on social perceptions depends on socioecological variables, including those related to competition for status and mates.

Pancultural nostalgia in action: Prevalence, triggers, and psychological functions of nostalgia across cultures.

Nostalgia is a social, self-relevant, and bittersweet (although mostly positive) emotion that arises when reflecting on fond past memories and serves key psychological functions. The majority of evidence concerning the prevalence, triggers, and functions of nostalgia has been amassed in samples from a handful of largely Western cultures. If nostalgia is a fundamental psychological resource, it should perform similar functions across cultures, although its operational dynamics may be shaped by culture. This study (N = 2,606) examined dispositional nostalgia, self-reported triggers of nostalgia, and functions of experimentally induced nostalgia in young adults across 28 countries and a special administrative region of China (i.e., Hong Kong). Results indicated that nostalgia is frequently experienced across cultures, albeit better valued in more-developed countries (i.e., higher national wealth and life-expectancy). Nostalgia is triggered by psychological threats (especially in warmer countries), sensory stimuli (especially in more-developed countries), and social gatherings (especially in less-developed countries). The positive or negative affect prompted by experimentally induced nostalgia varied by country, but was mild overall. More importantly, recalling a nostalgic (vs. ordinary) memory increased social connectedness, self-continuity, and meaning in life across cultures. In less-developed countries, recalling an ordinary memory also conferred some of these functions, reducing the effect size of nostalgia. Finally, recalling a nostalgic (vs. ordinary) memory augmented state satisfaction with life in countries with lower quality of living (i.e., lower life-expectancy and life-satisfaction). Overall, findings confirm the relevance of nostalgia across a wide range of cultures and indicate cultural nuances in its functioning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotion regulation strategies and psychological health across cultures.

Emotion regulation is important for psychological health and can be achieved by implementing various strategies. How one regulates emotions is critical for maximizing psychological health. Few studies, however, tested the psychological correlates of different emotion regulation strategies across multiple cultures. In a preregistered cross-cultural study (N = 3,960, 19 countries), conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, we assessed associations between the use of seven emotion regulation strategies (situation selection, distraction, rumination, cognitive reappraisal, acceptance, expressive suppression, and emotional support seeking) and four indices of psychological health (life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and loneliness). Model comparisons based on Bayesian information criteria provided support for cultural differences in 36% of associations, with very strong support for differences in 18% of associations. Strategies that were linked to worse psychological health in individualist countries (e.g., rumination, expressive suppression) were unrelated or linked to better psychological health in collectivist countries. Cultural differences in associations with psychological health were most prominent for expressive suppression and rumination and also found for distraction and acceptance. In addition, we found evidence for cultural similarities in 46% of associations between strategies and psychological health, but none of this evidence was very strong. Cultural similarities were most prominent in associations of psychological health with emotional support seeking. These findings highlight the importance of considering the cultural context to understand how individuals from diverse backgrounds manage unpleasant emotions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Greater traditionalism predicts COVID-19 precautionary behaviors across 27 societies.

People vary both in their embrace of their society's traditions, and in their perception of hazards as salient and necessitating a response. Over evolutionary time, traditions have offered avenues for addressing hazards, plausibly resulting in linkages between orientations toward tradition and orientations toward danger. Emerging research documents connections between traditionalism and threat responsivity, including pathogen-avoidance motivations. Additionally, because hazard-mitigating behaviors can conflict with competing priorities, associations between traditionalism and pathogen avoidance may hinge on contextually contingent tradeoffs. The COVID-19 pandemic provides a real-world test of the posited relationship between traditionalism and hazard avoidance. Across 27 societies (N = 7844), we find that, in a majority of countries, individuals' endorsement of tradition positively correlates with their adherence to costly COVID-19-avoidance behaviors; accounting for some of the conflicts that arise between public health precautions and other objectives further strengthens this evidence that traditionalism is associated with greater attention to hazards.

Using Protection Motivation Theory to Predict Adherence to COVID-19 Behavioral Guidelines.

COVID-19 has become a global pandemic. Throughout most of the pandemic, mitigating its spread has relied on human behavior, namely on adherence to protective behaviors (e.g., wearing a face mask). This research proposes that Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) can contribute to understanding differences in individual adherence to COVID-19 behavioral guidelines. PMT identifies four fundamental cognitive components that drive responses to fear appeals: perceptions of susceptibility (to the disease), severity (of the disease), self-efficacy (to protect oneself), and response efficacy (i.e., recommended behaviors' effectiveness). Two online self-report studies assessed PMT components' capacity to predict adherence to protective behaviors concurrently and across culturally different countries (Israel, Germany, India; Study 1), and again at six-week follow-up (Israeli participants; Study 2). Study 1's findings indicate excellent fit of the PMT model, with about half of the variance in adherence explained. No significant differences were found between participants from Israel (n = 917), Germany (n = 222) and India (n = 160). Study 2 (n = 711) confirmed that PMT components continue to predict adherence after six weeks. In both studies, response efficacy was the PMT component most strongly associated with adherence levels. This study demonstrates that PMT can serve as a theoretical framework to better understand differences in adherence to COVID-19 protective behaviors. The findings may further inform the design of adherence-promoting communications, suggesting that it may be beneficial to highlight response efficacy in such messages.

Inflammation and depression symptoms are most strongly associated for Black adults.

Although race/ethnicity is associated with substantial differences in risk for depression and other diseases of aging in the United States, the processes underlying these health disparities remain poorly understood. We addressed this issue by examining how levels of a robust marker of inflammatory activity, C-reactive protein (CRP), and depression symptoms varied across racial/ethnic groups. Additionally, we tested whether the inflammation-depression association differed across groups. Data were drawn from the Chicago Community Adult Health Survey, an epidemiological survey examining biopsychosocial factors affecting health and well-being. Participants were 3105 Chicago community adults, of which 610 provided blood samples and were included in analyses. C-reactive protein was assayed from blood samples, and depression symptoms were assessed using the 11-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale. Race/ethnicity was self-reported and consisted of Black, Hispanic, White, and other racial/ethnic groups. Results revealed that these racial/ethnic groups differed in terms of both their CRP and depression levels. Specifically, Black Americans exhibited higher levels of CRP as compared to White and other race/ethnicity Americans. Moreover, Black Americans exhibited more depression symptoms than Hispanic Americans. Finally, we found that inflammatory levels were strongly related to depression symptoms but only for Black Americans, with CRP alone accounting for 8% of the variance in depression symptoms in this subgroup. These data thus point to a biological process that may help to explain disparities in mental health outcomes across race/ethnicity in the United States. At the same time, additional research is needed to understand the social and structural factors driving these effects.

Coping with Public and Private Face-to-Face and Cyber Victimization among Adolescents in Six Countries: Roles of Severity and Country.

This study investigated the role of medium (face-to-face, cyber) and publicity (public, private) in adolescents' perceptions of severity and coping strategies (i.e., avoidant, ignoring, helplessness, social support seeking, retaliation) for victimization, while accounting for gender and cultural values. There were 3432 adolescents (ages 11-15, 49% girls) in this study; they were from China, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, India, Japan, and the United States. Adolescents completed questionnaires on individualism and collectivism, and ratings of coping strategies and severity for public face-to-face victimization, private face-to-face victimization, public cyber victimization, and private cyber victimization. Findings revealed similarities in adolescents' coping strategies based on perceptions of severity, publicity, and medium for some coping strategies (i.e., social support seeking, retaliation) but differential associations for other coping strategies (i.e., avoidance, helplessness, ignoring). The results of this study are important for prevention and intervention efforts because they underscore the importance of teaching effective coping strategies to adolescents, and to consider how perceptions of severity, publicity, and medium might influence the implementation of these coping strategies.

Longitudinal Associations among Machiavellianism, Popularity Goals, and Adolescents' Cyberbullying Involvement: The Role of Gender.

Drawing on the social-ecological perspective, this longitudinal study investigated the potential moderating effect of gender in the relationships among Machiavellianism, popularity goals, and cyberbullying involvement (i.e. victimization, perpetration) among adolescents from China, Cyprus, India, and the United States. There were 2,452 adolescents (Mage = 14.85; SD = .53; 13-16 years old; 49.1% girls) from China, Cyprus, India, and the United States included in this study. They completed surveys on Machiavellianism, popularity goals, and cyberbullying victimization and perpetration during the fall of 2014 (Time 1). One year later, during the fall of 2015, adolescents completed surveys on cyberbullying victimization and perpetration. Findings revealed that Machiavellianism and popularity goals were both associated positively with Time 2 cyberbullying victimization and perpetration for all adolescents. The associations between Machiavellianism and Time 2 cyberbullying perpetration and between popularity goals and Time 2 cyberbullying perpetration were stronger for Chinese and Indian boys than girls. Opposite patterns were found for popularity goals and Time 2 cyberbullying perpetration for adolescents from the United States. Gender did not moderate any of the associations for Cypriot adolescents or for Time 2 cyberbullying victimization. The social-ecological perspective provides a useful understanding of how various contexts influence bullying.

Measurement Invariance of the Short Home Attachment Scale: A Cross-Cultural Study.

The home environment is a particularly significant part of life that is supposed to satisfy inhabitants' needs, form their identity, and contribute to psychological wellbeing. The construct of home attachment is especially relevant for students as a most mobile social group. This study is devoted to the validation of the Short Home Attachment Scale (SHAS) in a student sample from five countries (Armenia, India, Indonesia, Russia, and Ukraine). A total of 1,349 (17-26 years; Mage = 19.82, SDage = 2.14; 78% females) university students participated in the study and filled in the 14 items of HAS. In order to avoid redundant items with high error covariances damaging the model, a new scale-the SHAS was developed by eliminating seven items. The shortened scale has satisfactory structure validity in terms of model fit in all countries except Indonesia; internal reliability values were acceptable in all countries. Measurement invariance across countries was tested with Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis (MG CFA) and Alignment Analysis. MG CFA confirmed both configurational and metric invariance. The invariance of item factor loadings, as well as item intercepts, was also confirmed by the Alignment Analysis. The mean scores varied across cultures, with the highest in India and the lowest in Russia. The final version of SHAS is a valid, reliable tool that may be recommended for use in cross-cultural research. However, the SHAS factor structure robustness in the Indonesian population should be investigated thoroughly.

Young Indians' Willingness to Make a Living Organ Donation.

BACKGROUND: The large unmet need in India for organs to transplant calls for an increase in living organ donations. This study examined the positions of Indian university students on making a living organ donation. METHODS: A convenience sample of 339 students from Karnatak University rated willingness to be a living donor in 48 scenarios consisting of all combinations of 5 factors: recipient's identity (close family member vs stranger), level of surgical risk for the donor, possible long-term health consequences for the donor, probability of transplant success, and likelihood of finding other donors (the subject is one of the rare compatible donors or one donor among others). RESULTS: Cluster analyses showed the existence of 4 qualitatively distinct positions called nondonors (9%); family donors (21%), for whom willingness was very high when recipients were family members and very low when they were strangers; universal donors (30%), for whom willingness was also quite high when a stranger was involved; and conditional donors (23%), who took a risk-benefit perspective. CONCLUSIONS: These finding suggest that the fundamental reason for the current shortage of organs in India is neither psychological nor cultural but more likely organizational.

The fear of COVID-19 scale: Its structure and measurement invariance across 48 countries.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been a source of fear around the world. We asked whether the measurement of this fear is trustworthy and comparable across countries. In particular, we explored the measurement invariance and cross-cultural replicability of the widely used Fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S), testing community samples from 48 countries (N = 14,558). The findings indicate that the FCV-19S has a somewhat problematic structure, yet the one-factor solution is replicable across cultural contexts and could be used in studies that compare people who vary on gender and educational level. The validity of the scale is supported by a consistent pattern of positive correlations with perceived stress and general anxiety. However, given the unclear structure of the FCV-19S, we recommend using latent factor scores, instead of raw scores, especially in cross-cultural comparisons. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Coping styles as predictors of negative affective conditions in Asian Indians: does being optimistic still make a difference?

The present study examined the role of optimism, as measured by the Life Orientation Test-Revised, and coping styles, as measured by the COPE scale, in predicting negative affective conditions (viz., depressive symptoms, stress, and negative affect) among 386 Asian Indian young adults (197 females and 189 males). Results from our hierarchical regression analyses indicated that coping styles accounted for a medium-large amount of variance in negative affective conditions, after controlling for demographic factors (i.e. age, gender, parent's education, and monthly income). Five coping styles were significant in predicting negative affective conditions across all three indices; mental disengagement, denial, and venting emotions were found to be maladaptive, while positive reinterpretation and humor were found to be adaptive among Asian Indian young adults. Furthermore, when optimism was included in the prediction model, optimism consistently accounted for additional variance in negative affective conditions, beyond coping styles. Due to the additional variance among negative affective conditions accounted for by optimism when compared to coping, we advise that mental health professionals consider prioritizing the reinforcement of positive expectancy in addition to enhancing adaptive coping styles and reducing the use of maladaptive coping among Asian Indians.

Appraisal and coping predict health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: An international approach.

COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on people worldwide. We conducted an international survey (n = 3646) examining the degree to which people's appraisals and coping activities around the pandemic predicted their health and well-being. We obtained subsamples from 12 countries-Bangladesh, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, India, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Turkey and the United States. For each, we assessed appraisals and coping strategies as well as indicators of physical and mental health and well-being. Results indicated that, despite mean-level societal differences in outcomes, the pattern of appraisals and coping strategies predicting health and well-being was consistent across countries. Use of disengagement coping (particularly behavioural disengagement and self-isolation) was associated with relatively negative outcomes. In contrast, optimistic appraisals (particularly of high accommodation-focused coping potential and the ability to meet one's physical needs), use of problem-focused coping strategies (especially problem-solving) and accommodative coping strategies (especially positive reappraisal and self-encouragement) were associated with relatively positive outcomes. Our study highlights the critical importance of considering accommodative coping in stress and coping research. It also provides important information on how people have been dealing with the pandemic, the predictors of well-being under pandemic conditions and the generality of such relations.

Can Personality Traits Predict Depression during the COVID-19 Pandemic?

The emotional costs of the COVID-19 pandemic have raised concerns among clinicians and scholars. The goal of the current study was to test whether or not neuroticism, conscientiousness, and personal belief in a just world are associated with depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the contribution of neuroticism and conscientiousness was assessed over and above demographic variables and COVID-19 perceptions, and the unique contribution of personal belief in a just world was evaluated beyond all the other study variables. Samples were collected in three different countries-Israel (N = 917), Germany (N = 213), and India (N = 160). Online self-report questionnaires were utilized to measure age, gender, COVID-19 perceptions (probability, severity, and self-efficacy), neuroticism, conscientiousness, personal belief in a just world, and depression. The findings indicated that, across the three countries, neuroticism was positively associated with depression (correlations ranging from .24 to .44), and conscientiousness and personal belief in a just world were negatively associated with depression (correlations ranging from - .31 to - .21, and from - .35 to - .23, respectively). Moreover, neuroticism and conscientiousness explained unique variance over and above demographic variables and COVID-19 perceptions (except conscientiousness in India), and the effect of personal belief in a just world on depression was significant beyond the effects of all other study variables. These findings support the role of personality in explaining depression regardless of situational characteristics and stress the role of just world beliefs as protective factors against negative emotions.

Psychological distress in North America during COVID-19: The role of pandemic-related stressors.

RATIONALE: The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on lives around the globe. In addition to the primary threat of infection, widespread secondary stressors associated with the pandemic have included social isolation, financial insecurity, resource scarcity, and occupational difficulties. OBJECTIVE: The current study examined the impact of these disruptions on psychological distress during the initial adjustment phase to the pandemic in North America. METHOD: A sample of 2463 residents of the US and Canada completed both baseline and follow-up surveys across several weeks between March and May 2020. RESULTS: Those participants perceiving stress related to higher levels of personal threat to health and to the well-being of family members at baseline reported higher levels of depressive symptoms at follow-up, even after controlling for baseline depressive symptoms. In addition, pandemic-related secondary stressors (social isolation, financial insecurity, occupational difficulty, and resource scarcity) were all independently associated with depressive symptoms at follow-up, controlling for both baseline depression and perceived health threats. The results were robust and held up after controlling for demographic factors. Women, young adults, and those who reported lower income were all at higher risk for subsequent depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: Findings from the present study can help to identify key groups at risk for mental health problems during the pandemic, and indicate actionable areas for targeted intervention.

Structure of Dark Triad Dirty Dozen Across Eight World Regions.

The Dark Triad (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism) has garnered intense attention over the past 15 years. We examined the structure of these traits' measure-the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen (DTDD)-in a sample of 11,488 participants from three W.E.I.R.D. (i.e., North America, Oceania, Western Europe) and five non-W.E.I.R.D. (i.e., Asia, Middle East, non-Western Europe, South America, sub-Saharan Africa) world regions. The results confirmed the measurement invariance of the DTDD across participants' sex in all world regions, with men scoring higher than women on all traits (except for psychopathy in Asia, where the difference was not significant). We found evidence for metric (and partial scalar) measurement invariance within and between W.E.I.R.D. and non-W.E.I.R.D. world regions. The results generally support the structure of the DTDD.

Mind your meat: Religious differences in the social perception of animals.

While previous work demonstrated that animals are categorised based on their edibility, little research has systematically evaluated the role of religion in the perception of animal edibility, particularly when specific animals are deemed sacred in a religion. In two studies, we explored a key psychological mechanism through which sacred animals are deemed inedible by members of a faith: mind attribution. In Study 1, non-vegetarian Hindus in Singapore (N = 70) evaluated 19 animals that differed in terms of their sacredness and edibility. Results showed that participants categorised animals into three groups: holy animals (high sacredness but low edibility), food animals (low sacredness but high edibility) and neutral animals (low sacredness and low edibility). Holy animals were deemed to possess greater mental life compared to other animal categories. In Study 2, we replicated this key finding with Hindus in India (N = 100), and further demonstrated that the observed pattern of results was specific to Hindus but not Muslims (N = 90). In both studies, mind attribution mediated the negative association between sacredness and edibility. Our findings illustrate how religious groups diverge in animal perception, thereby highlighting the role of mind attribution as a crucial link between sacredness and edibility.

Country-level correlates of the Dark Triad traits in 49 countries.

OBJECTIVES: The Dark Triad traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism) capture individual differences in aversive personality to complement work on other taxonomies, such as the Big Five traits. However, the literature on the Dark Triad traits relies mostly on samples from English-speaking (i.e., Westernized) countries. We broadened the scope of this literature by sampling from a wider array of countries. METHOD: We drew on data from 49 countries (N = 11,723; 65.8% female; AgeMean  = 21.53) to examine how an extensive net of country-level variables in economic status (e.g., Human Development Index), social relations (e.g., gender equality), political orientations (e.g., democracy), and cultural values (e.g., embeddedness) relate to country-level rates of the Dark Triad traits, as well as variance in the magnitude of sex differences in them. RESULTS: Narcissism was especially sensitive to country-level variables. Countries with more embedded and hierarchical cultural systems were more narcissistic. Also, sex differences in narcissism were larger in more developed societies: Women were less likely to be narcissistic in developed (vs. less developed) countries. CONCLUSIONS: We discuss the results based on evolutionary and social role models of personality and sex differences. That higher country-level narcissism was more common in less developed countries, whereas sex differences in narcissism were larger in more developed countries, is more consistent with evolutionary than social role models.

Efficacy of the REACH Forgiveness Intervention in Indian College Students.

The present study investigated the efficacy of the REACH Forgiveness psychoeducation program for the first time in Indian college students and examined theoretically-based predictors of program response based on the model of relational spirituality and forgiveness. This was an intervention experiment that spanned 5 weeks and included three measurement occasions (weeks 1, 3, 5) and two separate deliveries of the forgiveness intervention (weeks 2 and 4). Participants were N = 124 students at Karnatak University in Darwha, India (100 Hindu; 18 Muslim, 5 Christian, and 1 Jain). This was a manualized, secular intervention led by a trained facilitator in a group, psychoeducational format. Measures included forgiveness and unforgiveness as well as assessments of positive and negative affective states and spirituality. Participants who received immediate forgiveness training showed significant and large positive changes in forgiveness and unforgiveness, as well as, more positive affect and increased self-esteem in contrast to wait-list comparisons. Perceiving one's offender as having a similar spirituality to oneself was a consistent predictor of response to the REACH Forgiveness program. Specifically, perceiving the offender as having a similar spirituality was related to less growth of unforgiveness and more growth in empathy, positive affect, and emotional forgiveness as a result of the psychoeducational program. The REACH Forgiveness psychoeducational approach is efficacious in an Indian college student sample, and some relational spirituality variables are important predictors of response to the program. Future studies should consider the role of Indian culture in promoting forgiveness and possibly tailor the intervention to suit the significant proportions of Hindus and Muslims in India.