Downward social comparison positively promotes altruism: the multi-mediating roles of belief in a just world and general life satisfaction.

Introduction: This study examined the underlying mechanism of the relationship between downward social comparison (DSC) and altruism through two conceptually important but rarely studied factors: belief in a just world (BJW) and general life satisfaction (GLS). Methods: The study utilized a two-time-point design, spaced 2 months apart, with a sample of 1,764 college students from China. The study measured DSC, altruism, BJW, and GLS. Results: The findings revealed a significant positive predictive effect of DSC on college students' altruism and belief in a just world (BJW). Notably, GLS emerged as a multi-mediating factor in this relationship. The study also revealed that both subscales of BJW, namely personal belief in a just world (PBJW) and general belief in a just world (GBJW), played distinct roles in the mediation model. PBJW exhibited a stronger mediating effect, suggesting that DSC can foster individual altruism and BJW. Particularly, BJW was identified as enhancing GLS, subsequently promoting altruistic behavior. Conclusion: This study contributes to the existing literature on social comparison by shedding light on the relationship between DSC, altruism, and the mediating role of belief in a just world and GLS. The findings underscore the potential for promoting altruistic behavior among college students through interventions targeting beliefs in a just world, especially at the personal level, and enhancing GLS.

The influence of gratitude on patriotism among college students: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study.

Introduction: Patriotism, a positive emotional attachment to one's country, has been associated with prosocial behavior, social responsibility, and gratitude. It plays a crucial role in promoting social harmony and national development. However, the factors influencing patriotism and their mechanisms remain unclear. This research consists of two studies exploring the internal mechanisms that connect gratitude and patriotism. Methods: Study 1 conducted a cross-sectional analysis among 3,826 college students to investigate the influence of gratitude on patriotism, emphasizing the mediating role of general life satisfaction and the moderating impact of socioeconomic status. This approach aimed to elucidate the complex relationships between these variables within college students. Study 2 adopted a longitudinal approach, surveying 905 college students across three-time points. This study was designed to explore the temporal mediation of general life satisfaction in the gratitude-patriotism relationship, offering insights into the evolution of these constructs over time. The sequential surveys aimed to capture the dynamic nature of gratitude's impact on patriotism, considering the continuous interplay with general life satisfaction among college students. Results: Study 1 reveals a noteworthy finding: Gratitude enables the direct prediction of patriotism, while additionally, general life satisfaction plays a role between them. Furthermore, the predictive effect of gratitude on patriotism is strengthened among individuals with higher levels of socioeconomic status. However, there is no significant moderating effect between general life satisfaction and patriotism by socioeconomic status. Study 2 demonstrates that general life satisfaction plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between gratitude and patriotism, over a period of three times. However, the moderating influence of socioeconomic status was not substantiated in the longitudinal mediation model. Conclusion: These two studies shed light on the complex relationship between gratitude and patriotism. They emphasize the significance of gratitude, general life satisfaction, and socioeconomic status in shaping patriotism, offering potential avenues for understanding the internal mechanisms that influence patriotism.

A Comprehensive and Person-Centered View of the Association Between the Dark Triad and Youth Mental Health.

Using a dual person-centered approach, the current study examined the Dark Triad profiles and mental health profiles among a large-scale sample of high school students. The study also simultaneously examined whether the emerging Dark Triad profiles could diverge in mental health profiles, delineating a thorough, and person-centered view of this association. To achieve these research aims, 1,640 Chinese high school students (M age = 16.78; SD = 0.68; 57.6% females) participated in this study, and they were uniformly instructed to complete a set of well-established questionnaires. Results from latent profile analyses revealed five Dark Triad profiles-low Machiavellianism-psychopathy (7.4%), benevolent (61.7%), highly malevolent (6.7%), low narcissism (8.8%), and malevolent (15.4%)-and the following four mental health profiles: flourishing (37.7%), vulnerable (16.4%), troubled (33.9%), and highly troubled (12.4%). Moreover, results from multiple multinomial regression analyses showed that, among all five empirically derived Dark Triad profiles, students with the low Machiavellianism-psychopathy profile exhibited the highest probability of being "flourishing," whereas those with the low narcissism profile showed the highest likelihood of being "highly troubled."

Perceived Epidemic Risk and Depression Symptoms during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Role of Security and the Moderation Role of Perceived Discrimination.

The 2019 coronavirus disease pandemic has resulted in a significant increase in the incidence and prevalence of mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, posing a threat to peoples' lives and health safety all over the world. Research suggests some potential relationships among perceived risk, discrimination, security, and depression symptoms. However, little attention has been paid to the complex mechanisms of the associations between these variables. This study aimed to examine the mediating role of security and moderation role of perceived discrimination in the prediction of perceived epidemic risk on depression symptoms. Thus, we aimed to identify if perceived epidemic risk is a positive predictor of depression. A cross-sectional study was conducted through an anonymous online survey in China during the COVID-19 pandemic which measured perceived epidemic risk, discrimination, security, and depression symptoms. A total of 3443 valid questionnaires were obtained. The results indicated that depression symptoms were predicted by perceived epidemic risk through the mediating role of security, and this mediating role of security was moderated by perceived discrimination. Specifically, high levels of perceived discrimination may lead to a significant decrease in personal security, thus clustering depressive symptoms. These findings shed light on the influence of the perceived risk of the epidemic on depression symptoms in the context of the epidemic situation, which may help to develop targeted interventions.

Dampening Effects of Perceived Teacher Enthusiasm on Class-Related Boredom in College Students: Longitudinal Mediation Effects of Perceived Task Value.

This study aims to explore the longitudinal mediation effects of college students' perceived task value (PTV) between perceived teacher enthusiasm (PTE) and class-related boredom (CB). We conducted a longitudinal survey among college students from five colleges at the second (T1), sixth (T2), tenth (T3), and fourteenth week (T4) in a semester, and overall 1,371 students completed all the measurements. In the survey, a battery of questionnaires was used to measure the students' PTE, perception of task difficulty, perception of task value, and CB. At T1, boredom proneness was measured as a control variable. Analysis of the longitudinal data showed that after controlling for the effects of boredom proneness and perceived task difficulty, students' PTE was a significant predictor of CB, and students' PTV played a significant mediating role in this causation relationship. The study supported the importance of the control-value theory in explaining the mitigating effect of students' PTE on CB, especially highlighting the role of PTV.

Stability of the Mitigating Effect of Students' Perceived Teacher Enthusiasm on Class-related Boredom: Moderating Role of Boredom Proneness and Perceived Task Difficulty.

The aim of the current study was to explore the stability of the mitigating effect of students' perceived teacher enthusiasm on class-related boredom and the moderating role of boredom proneness and perceived task difficulty in such effect. A total of 984 students from five universities in China participated in the study. Questionnaires on class-related boredom, perceived teacher enthusiasm, boredom proneness, and perceived task difficulty were used to measure the respective variables. Results showed that boredom proneness and perceived task difficulty significantly moderated the relationship between perceived teacher enthusiasm and class-related boredom. Moreover, when considering perceived task difficulty, boredom proneness became silent in the moderating path between perceived teacher enthusiasm and class-related boredom. Even so, the mitigating effect of students' perceived teacher enthusiasm on class-related boredom was stable in students with different levels of boredom proneness and perceived task difficulty. The implications for learning and teaching are discussed.

[Research on low-level Hg(II) removal from water by the heavy metal capturing agent].

Treatment of mercury containing wastewater using conventional approach is considered to be difficult to bring down its concentration to meet the discharge standard. In this study, we utilized dithiocarbamate (DTCR-2), 2,4,6-trimercaptotriazine(TMT-18B), Na2S and Ca(OH)2+ as the advanced treatment agents to remove low-level Hg2+ from water. Due to its better treatment effect, DTCR-2 was finally chosen as the most ideal option. The influence of pH value, dosage of DTCR-2, reaction time, initial Hg2+ concentration as well as other heavy metal ions on the Hg2+ removal were studied. The results showed that DTCR-2 had high removal efficiency under the following conditions: 100 microg x L(-1) of initial Hg2+ concentration, pH 8.0, 1.0 times stoichiometric ratio of DTCR-2 dosage and 10 min of reaction time, leading to 41.36 microg x L(-1) of residual Hg2+ concentration which was below the national discharge standard (50 microg x L(-1)). Moreover, three heavy metal ions including Cd2+, Pb2+ and Cu2+, inhibited the DTCR-2 capturing capacity towards Hg2+ and the inhibition effects followed this order: Cu2+ > Pb2+ > Cd2+, while Zn2+ promoted the Hg2+ removal. From this study, we could provide theoretical support for process design to deal with wastewater containing low mercury concentration using DTCR-2.