New Content From Current Directions in Psychological Science

Dimensions of Stereotypes About Groups
Vincent Yzerbyt, Alex Koch, Marco Brambilla, Naomi Ellemers, Susan T. Fiske, Gandalf Nicolas

People perceive social groups along stereotype dimensions. Several models of social evaluation identify so-called horizontal (relational, warmth, communion) and vertical (achievement, competence, agency) judgments, also known as the Big Two. Each has two facets, respectively indicating perceived morality and friendliness for horizontal judgments plus ability and assertiveness for vertical judgments. Perceivers also locate groups within sociopolitical structures, such as socioeconomic status and ideological beliefs. These six commonly used stereotype dimensions (morality, friendliness, ability, assertiveness, status, and beliefs) each predict specific and pragmatic behaviors toward (members of) groups, including approach, investment, cooperation, and inclusion. Overall, the trait dimensions correlate positively (e.g., the two respective facets of each of the Big Two), but contextual goals can override general patterns. For example, when people encounter two unequal groups and strive for social justice, harmony and positive identity, the horizontal and vertical judgments correlate negatively. Contextual goals and transient motives also moderate the importance of the stereotype dimensions. We conclude by suggesting avenues for future research.

A New Frame on Emotion Regulation in Aging: The Adaptive Positive Tactic Shift
Derek M. Isaacowitz, Blake D. Ebright-Jones, Rebecca J. Polk

Older adults report higher levels of emotional well-being in cross-sectional studies. Despite assertions that older adults are better at regulating emotions, studies investigating emotion regulation (ER) strategies have not found consistent age differences. Instead, we propose a new framework on ER in aging focusing instead on ER tactics (how ER behavior is implemented in specific situations): the age-related Adaptive Positive Tactic (APT) shift hypothesis. Older adults report relatively greater use of positive-approaching tactics, consistent with this hypothesis. Positive-approaching tactics also appear more effective in regulating emotions than negative-receding tactics and thus may be more adaptive. We consider how context influences tactic use and discuss open questions about the hypothesis. With recent longitudinal evidence showing mixed patterns of emotional well-being in aging, the APT shift hypothesis can guide future investigation of within-person changes in ER behavior.

Emotional Acculturation: Emotions as a Pathway to Social Integration
Heejung S. Kim, Batja Mesquita

This article reviews recent research that examines how emotional processes change in response to exposure to new cultures and how successful changes in emotional processes play crucial roles in immigration outcomes. Social-psychology research has shown that emotional fit (i.e., having the “right” emotions in a given social context) is a pathway to social integration. Combining these findings with research on the crucial role of culture in shaping emotional experiences, this article aims to advance understanding of psychological adaptation processes among immigrants, cultural minorities, and cultural majorities, focusing on how they develop new emotional patterns to become calibrated to their cultural surroundings, a process termed “emotional acculturation.” We also discuss the antecedents and consequences of adaptive emotional acculturation. We hope to generate interest in future research on acculturation that fully incorporates the cultural foundations of psychological processes.

Autobiographical Memory Disturbances in Schizophrenia and the Psychosis Continuum: Integrating New Insights
Mélissa C. Allé, Dorthe Berntsen

Most studies on autobiographical memory in the psychosis continuum have focused exclusively on the voluntary (strategic) retrieval of past events. Findings have identified significant memory deficits in terms of impaired retrieval, reduced recollective qualities, and disturbed life-story narration, contributing to an impoverished sense of self. However, these findings diverge with more recent research that has revealed a strikingly different pattern of memory recall compared with the earlier literature. In contrast to a uniform impairment, certain features of autobiographical memory, specifically the prevalence of involuntary (spontaneously arising) autobiographical memories, is enhanced across the psychosis continuum from subclinical to clinical levels in schizophrenia. Findings have also shown that the recollective characteristics of autobiographical memories are either enhanced or impaired depending on the predominance of clinical symptoms—such as the predominance of positive or negative symptoms. We propose that these seemingly contradictory patterns of findings can be resolved by considering that the effects of psychosis vary (a) across different components of autobiographical memory and (b) as a function of variations in salient clinical symptoms. These insights are important for attaining a deeper understanding of psychosis and schizophrenia and for developing new forms of treatment that target specific impairments in different symptom profiles.

Nature Relatedness Usefully Links Well-Being, the Environment, and Sustainability
John M. Zelenski, Paul K. Lutz, Holli-Anne Passmore, Elizabeth K. Nisbet

Environmental and mental-health problems intersect unpleasantly in climate anxiety, yet they may share a common salve via connecting with nature. We review research on nature relatedness (people’s subjective sense of connection with nature) that shows clear positive links with well-being and efforts toward environmental sustainability. Beyond correlations, some experiences in nature increase nature relatedness, well-being, and sustainability, as demonstrated by experiments and large community intervention studies. These desirable outcomes are facilitated by active participation, mindful awareness, savoring, and reflecting on meaningful aspects of nature. Future research can extend these promising suggestions and improve applications with long-term, preregistered, randomized controlled trials that include more diverse participants. Still, nature relatedness can already assist applied efforts toward sustainability and well-being.

An Integrated Immuno-Reward Model of Adolescent Depression: Theory, Evidence, and Implications
Lauren B. Alloy, Robin Nusslock

Adolescence is an “age of risk” for the emergence of depression. Despite its prevalence and public-health significance, there are major unanswered questions regarding the mechanisms contributing to depression’s etiology and surge in adolescence. Separate lines of research have investigated the roles of inflammation and low reward responsiveness in depression, and recent evidence suggests bidirectional associations between inflammation and reward responsiveness. In this article, we review this evidence, present an integrated immuno-reward model of adolescent depression (specifically, motivational and somatic symptoms of depression), and discuss the role of stress and early adversity in amplifying immune-reward interactions. We end with implications of the immuno-reward model for future research, early identification of at-risk adolescents, intervention, and public-health policy.

Silver Linings in Psychological Disorders: An Agenda for Research and Social Change
June Gruber, Cassondra Lyman, Chloe Plaisance, Jonathan Rottenberg

Conventional research on people with psychological disorders is negatively focused, concentrating on what is aberrant and harmful about psychopathology. Characterizing patterns of emotional and behavioral disturbances has helped illuminate the origins of psychopathology and led to useful treatments. Yet we argue that the conventional approach to psychopathology is factually incomplete and may also inadvertently perpetuate the deeply entrenched stigma surrounding mental disorders. In this article, we make the case for considering the positive experiences of people with psychopathology—silver linings—and integrating them into psychopathology research. In our research agenda for studying silver linings in psychopathology (SLIP), we acknowledge that psychopathology may afford individuals both sources of difficulty and opportunities for positive transformation. We illustrate SLIP in cognitive, social, and resilience domains. We close by considering implications for future research promoting a more balanced conceptualization of psychological disorders and mental well-being.

Attending to Remember: Recent Advances in Methods and Theory
Shawn T. Schwartz, Haopei Yang, Alice M. Xue, Anthony D. Wagner

The ability to learn from and remember experiences (episodic memory) depends on multiple neurocognitive systems. In this article, we highlight recent advances in methods and theory that are unveiling how mechanisms of attention impact episodic memory. We first provide a high-level overview of the construct and neural substrates underlying attention and related goal-state processes, along with their interactions with memory. We then highlight budding evidence supporting the rhythmic nature of memory and attention, raising key questions about the role that the oscillatory phase of attention rhythms plays on memory encoding and retrieval. Third, we consider how understanding age-related changes in memory and attention can be further advanced by assaying the precision of memory. Last, we illustrate how real-time closed-loop experiments provide opportunities to test causal relationships between attention and memory. Along the way, we raise open questions and future research directions about how attention-memory interactions enable learning and remembering in the mind and brain.

Multicultural Experiences: Impacts on the Mind and Self
Ying-yi Hong, Letitia Lee, Andrea Soledad Matos

Globalization has brought unprecedented opportunities for individuals to be exposed to or interact with elements or people from different cultures. Recent research has examined how multicultural experiences could impact human psychology. Borrowing from this literature, this article discusses some key ways in which people adapt and respond to multicultural exposure through the acquisition and application of cultural knowledge (the multicultural mind) and development of cultural identities (the multicultural self). Multicultural exposure allows individuals to acquire and gain fluency in multiple cultural knowledge systems, enhancing cognitive flexibility and creativity and reducing prejudice. At the same time, as individuals amass multicultural experiences, they need to negotiate their multiple identities, forming different representations of them. Although individuals may display exclusionary responses when perceiving a threat toward their culture, a secure attachment to their culture can act as a safe haven that mitigates such threat. We discuss collectivization of multicultural experiences as a future research direction.

Escaping the Jingle-Jangle Jungle: Increasing Conceptual Clarity in Psychology Using Large Language Models
Dirk U. Wulff, Rui Mata

Psychology has long struggled with conceptual redundancy, particularly in the form of “jingle-jangle fallacies,” in which different constructs share the same label or the same construct is described using different terms. This lack of conceptual clarity has hindered cumulative knowledge and comparability across studies and subfields. We propose that large language models can help address this issue by placing constructs into a shared semantic space, enabling the systematic mapping of conceptual overlap and clarification of taxonomies and generating clearer construct definitions. Although automation plays a crucial role, we argue that meaningful progress requires a coordinated, community-wide effort, combining computational advances with expert deliberation. Our approach provides a pathway toward greater conceptual clarity in psychology, fostering a more unified and rigorous framework for the discipline.

Psychological Science at the Cellular Level: Mitochondria’s Role in Health and Behavior
Christopher P. Fagundes, E. Lydia Wu-Chung, Cobi J. Heijnen

The biopsychosocial model (BPSM) has guided psychological science for decades by emphasizing the interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors in health. Despite its influence, the model has been critiqued for lacking mechanistic specificity, particularly in clarifying how psychosocial factors translate into cellular and molecular processes. Mitochondria, once viewed mainly as energy producers, are now understood to shape immune signaling, stress responses, and neural functioning. Emerging evidence shows that mitochondrial processes are sensitive to psychosocial influences such as chronic stress, trauma, and social connection, with downstream effects on inflammation and disease risk. We highlight findings that support these links while noting areas in which evidence remains preliminary, including possible feedback from mitochondrial changes to psychosocial processes. We also review interventions such as physical activity, mindfulness, and social support that may enhance mitochondrial function. This article positions mitochondria as one promising biological bridge between mind and body, offering a testable extension of the BPSM and identifying opportunities for psychologists to advance this emerging field.

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