Reviews & Analysis

Behavioural policies succeed on average but yield highly heterogeneous outcomes. Reviewing the psychology of poverty, this Perspective argues that variability in conformism, present orientation, personal agency and social vigilance alters responses to default options, self-regulation devices, information campaigns and social norms.

Practical guidelines for transparent statistical reporting in quantitative psychology are presented, covering key decisions from study planning through results reporting across frequentist, Bayesian, and sequential frameworks. Resources include the Transparent Statistical Reporting in Psychology (TSRP) Checklist as well as specific R packages, functions, and side-by-side comparisons of insufficient versus best-practice reporting.

Hope has the capacity to be a powerful driving force for adaptation. Hope can, in theory, spur adaptation to climate change in situations where individuals and collectives identify adaptation goals and pathways; likewise, effective collective adaptation can reinforce hope.

Emotional meaning should be studied through language. Language may capture emotional meaning by identifying the concerns that are put in focus within a given situation, the perspective from which the situation is viewed, and the dimensions by which the situation or event is evaluated.

Applying computational models of reinforcement learning can help to improve psychotherapeutic interventions by helping to identify the therapeutic mechanisms of change and identifying for whom therapies will be most effective.

How do threat, reward, and active avoidance intersect? This Perspective proposes the existence of a toggle switch that allows the organism to change, responding from threat to active avoidance.

Humans are driven to deploy their cognitive and neural resources in optimal ways – to maintain a kind of cognitive homeostasis. This perspective outlines the case of boredom as a signal of deviation from that optimal cognitive homeostatic range.

Psychology must embrace more responsible practices in design, reporting, generalisation, and evaluation of research to counteract the spectre of Questionable Generalisability Practices and the issue of MASKing (Making Assumptions based on Skewed Knowledge).

Decision making integrates affective dynamics, with affect providing information, signalling changes in the environment and conveying the current relevance of goals

Applying social cognition theories, concepts, and methodologies to the context of sexual interactions can lead to a better understanding of the dynamics and outcomes of sexual interactions. Likewise, considering the context of sexual interactions can better inform knowledge of the domain specificity of social cognition.

Biller et al explain that humans actively shape their lighting environment through behaviour to meet specific individual needs. They propose that achieving healthy light exposure relies on shaping behaviour.

In recent years, there has been an increase in both reports of boredom and greater use of digital media. Digital media may exacerbate boredom via multiple pathways including dividing attention and reducing sense of meaning.

Integrating human and animal research, this Perspectives proposes a detailed neurobiological account of attachment, from prenatal influences, to early emergence and later consolidation of individual attachment patterns.

A theoretical framework informed by computational social science and social psychology explains the process of polarization as the gradual fragmentation of a divided society.

The neurobiological action of psychedelics on the brain may increase the intensity of the experience of insight. Psychedelics can thus lead to flexible updating of beliefs, critically including the adoption of false beliefs.

The Perspective presents an activity autonomy framework to distinguish experimental activity characteristics and discusses best practices for studying the neurophysiological correlates of flow.

Group polarization, a result of social interaction, can underpin political polarization—the division of society into groups. While intergroup conflict and hostility are possible outcomes of polarization, polarization as a mobilizing force for collective action can benefit marginalized groups.

This Perspective calls for a reform of the criminal justice system in the US. Psychological and neuroscientific research should inform regulations around pollution and toxins, policies for solitary confinement, and the framework for the admissibility of legal insanity defense.

This Perspective argues for a revised mechanism for the functional role of alpha oscillations. While alpha oscillations reflect inhibition, they are controlled by an indirect mechanism governed by the load of goal-relevant information.

Analysts in criminal justice and social media companies encounter material including lethal violence, sexual assault, and self-harm. Harnessing established models, research needs to clarify what factors lead to or mitigate PTSD and secondary traumatic stress in these professionals.