Perspectives

The literature assumes that intergroup contact is naturally occurring, positive and consistently associated with positive outcomes, but these premises are inconsistent with everyday intergroup contact experiences. In this Perspective, Paolini et al. propose that variations in contact valence and environmental affordances for self-selection influence segregation dynamics, leading to stable trajectories of contact and intergroup bias.

Behavioural and psychosocial interventions can effectively reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. In this Perspective, Burg et al. identify the elements and actions needed for a broad implementation of these interventions in standard cardiovascular care.

Reasoning about minds and reasoning about physical objects are governed by two distinct systems. In this Perspective, Liu et al. review research from developmental psychology and cognitive neuroscience that provides evidence for the interaction between psychological and physical reasoning systems.

Complex decision-making tasks can be addressed with artificial intelligence (AI) systems that complement human capabilities. In this Perspective, Gonzalez and Heidari provide a conceptual framework to integrate human and AI decision-making, highlighting technical challenges and ethical risks.

Machine learning algorithms can increase the effectiveness of mental health interventions, but biased systems might exacerbate current disparities in case identification and treatment. In this Perspective, Timmons et al. propose a model that integrates artificial intelligence methods with co-creation techniques to reduce bias and increase inclusion in mental healthcare.

Deficit-based models assume that inequality arises because of deficiencies among low-status individuals. In this Perspective, Kraus et al. propose a functional approach to inequality wherein psychological processes that arise from structural context promote actions that either support or dismantle structures of inequality.

There is extensive debate about whether and how social media use affects well-being. In this Perspective, Vanden Abeele et al. outline key methodological issues in experimental intervention studies on social media use and how they could be addressed.

Despite the impact of functional neurological disorder on people’s lives, effective treatments remain elusive. In this Perspective, Putica et al. identify features shared between this condition and posttraumatic stress disorder to propose mechanistic targets for improved treatment outcomes.

Dual-process models propose that reasoning involves intuition and deliberation, but the conceptualization of deliberation remains unclear. In this Perspective, De Neys presents four key functions of deliberation and proposes guiding principles for defining dual-process thinking.

Memory cannot retain verbatim information about all experiences; some loss and compression is needed to meet resource constraints. In this Perspective, Nagy and colleagues describe a framework in which semantic memory encodes broad regularities and episodic memory retains specific information for key experiences.

The capability to use abstract concepts such as ‘justice’ is a key part of human cognition. In this Perspective, Borghi et al. highlight distinct levels of social interaction and conceptual flexibility in the acquisition and use of abstract concepts.

Impression formation occurs when a perceiver infers another person’s traits, goals and preferences and forms an attitude towards that person. In this Perspective, Amodio describes the unique and interactive contributions of episodic, semantic, instrumental and Pavlovian memory systems to impression formation and updating.

Memory enables people to build narratives of the past and to imagine a future for themselves and others. In this Perspective, Thomsen and colleagues present a framework for how vicarious, collective and personal memories interact to support future projections and narrative identities.

Word production has typically been studied using two distinct approaches: one focused on higher-level linguistic processes and one on lower-level motor processes. In this Perspective, Nozari draws from both approaches to discuss how speakers assess whether production is going smoothly, adjust to difficulties and fix errors.

Aesthetic experience has traditionally been considered a unique kind of experience that occurs when people view specific objects such as artwork. In this Perspective, Nadal and Skov posit an account of aesthetic experience that emphasizes its similarities to other types of experience.

Optimism declines across early childhood, but there is no theoretical account for why such changes occur. In this Perspective, Leonard and Sommerville discuss and integrate three candidate causes for age-related declines in optimism: learning from experience, theory development and valenced learning biases.

Implicit measures are widely used because they are assumed to be superior to self-reports. In this Perspective, Corneille and Gawronski challenge this view and argue that claims about disadvantages of self-reports are unfounded and that self-reports have unmatched advantages over implicit measures.

Mindfulness meditation improves performance in some cognitive domains, but the mechanisms that underlie this change are unclear. In this Perspective, Cásedas and colleagues synthesize mindfulness meditation and cognitive training frameworks and suggest that mindfulness training improves cognitive efficiency by reducing mind-wandering and negative affect.

Early warning signals have been proposed to predict symptom changes and to provide timely warnings of mental health risk and recovery. In this Perspective, Helmich et al. question the clinical utility of such signals and discuss alternative avenues for early change prediction.

Many people conceal some of their identities to successfully navigate intergroup contexts. In this Perspective, Le Forestier and Lewis propose a model of identity concealment that makes specific predictions about when people choose to engage in concealment that applies to a broad range of motives and identities.