Swedish translation and psychometric testing of the Self-Conscious Emotions in COPD Questionnaire.

Assessment of self-conscious emotions is important to develop tailored interventions for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Previous instruments have largely been developed for mental health populations. The Self-Conscious Emotions in COPD Questionnaire was the first instrument to assess self-conscious emotions in people with COPD, but it was only available in English. The aim was to translate the Self-Conscious Emotions in COPD Questionnaire into Swedish and to evaluate its psychometric properties and internal structure in a Swedish context. The translation process included forward and backward translation, a multidisciplinary meeting, assessment of content validity, and cognitive interviews. The translated instrument was tested in a sample of 173 people with COPD between September 2021 and September 2022. Parallel analysis (PA), exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and test-retest reliability was performed. The content validity index (CVI) for the instrument was 0.88. Based on the PA, an EFA with a two-factor solution was conducted, with a high Cronbach's alpha (0.786-0.821), and one item about self-blame was excluded. The two factors were labelled: The burden of living with a disability and The desire to hide vulnerability. Test-retest reliability showed no difference between scale scores on factor or item level, except for one item. The Swedish Self-Conscious Emotions in COPD showed good validity and reliability. One item was excluded from the two subscales, indicating that the instrument needs to be further developed to cover the concept of self-blame. The instrument is expected to be a valuable tool for assessing self-conscious emotions in people with COPD.

Self-Consciousness as a Construction All the Way Down.

Contemporary mind and brain sciences provide theories and data that seem to confirm a hypothesis about human nature that we might formulate as follows. Human life is conditioned by a need that is no less important than elementary biological needs (such as survival and reproduction) or universal forms of social competition: the need to build and, indeed, defend a subjective identity whose solidity and clarity are the foundation of our intra- and inter-personal equilibrium and therefore of psychological well-being and mental health. In this article, distancing ourselves from a neo-Cartesian position still prevalent in the philosophy of mind and approaching instead the outcomes of contemporary cognitive sciences, we sketch the complex interweaving of the cognitive, emotional, and affective elements that are constitutive of subjective identity, with a focus on the role played in self-identity construction by Theory-of-Mind abilities. We will suggest that, at every stage of self-construction, individuals engage in processes of understanding others that have a largely innate basis. In this perspective, a mature self-awareness is somewhat secondary to the knowledge of others, an evolutionarily refined acquisition primarily serving as a defense mechanism.

Changes in spatial self-consciousness elicit grid cell-like representation in the entorhinal cortex.

Grid cells in the entorhinal cortex (EC) encode an individual's location in space, integrating both environmental and multisensory bodily cues. Notably, body-derived signals are also primary signals for the sense of self. While studies have demonstrated that continuous application of visuo-tactile bodily stimuli can induce perceptual shifts in self-location, it remains unexplored whether these illusory changes suffice to trigger grid cell-like representation (GCLR) within the EC, and how this compares to GCLR during conventional virtual navigation. To address this, we systematically induced illusory drifts in self-location toward controlled directions using visuo-tactile bodily stimulation, while maintaining the subjects' visual viewpoint fixed (absent conventional virtual navigation). Subsequently, we evaluated the corresponding GCLR in the EC through functional MRI analysis. Our results reveal that illusory changes in perceived self-location (independent of changes in environmental navigation cues) can indeed evoke entorhinal GCLR, correlating in strength with the magnitude of perceived self-location, and characterized by similar grid orientation as during conventional virtual navigation in the same virtual room. These data demonstrate that the same grid-like representation is recruited when navigating based on environmental, mainly visual cues, or when experiencing illusory forward drifts in self-location, driven by perceptual multisensory bodily cues.

The relationship between self-consciousness and depression in college students: the chain mediating effect of meaning life and self-efficacy, with the moderating effect of social support.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the impact of self-consciousness on depression of college students, and mainly focus on confirming the mediator role of life meaningful and self-efficacy, as well as the moderator role of social support. METHODS: In the present study, convenient sampling method was adopted, 583 college students were recruited from Harbin city and Wenzhou city in China. All students were assessed using self-assessment scales, including self-consciousness scale, life meaningful scale, self-efficacy scale, social support scale, and self-rating depression scale. Descriptive statistical analysis and correlation analysis, structural equation model analysis were conducted by SPSS 25.0 and M-plus. RESULTS: Results showed that self-consciousness was negatively related to depression, life meaningful and self-efficacy partially mediated the relation between self-consciousness and depression. Moderated mediation analysis further indicated that the relation between self-efficacy and depression were moderated bu social support. Compare with college students who had high social support, depression in those with low social support was more susceptible to the effect of self-efficacy. CONCLUSION: These findings imply that college students with low levels of self-consciousness are more easy to be depressive, enhancing their sense of life meaning and self-efficacy can effectively alleviate depression, and college student with high social support can benefit more from self-efficacy. Therefore we should pay more attention to the mental health problems of low levels self-consciousness college students in university.

Neural correlates of an illusionary sense of agency caused by virtual reality.

Sense of agency (SoA) is the sensation that self-actions lead to ensuing perceptual consequences. The prospective mechanism emphasizes that SoA arises from motor prediction and its comparison with actual action outcomes, while the reconstructive mechanism stresses that SoA emerges from retrospective causal processing about the action outcomes. Consistent with the prospective mechanism, motor planning regions were identified by neuroimaging studies using the temporal binding (TB) effect, a behavioral measure often linked to implicit SoA. Yet, TB also occurs during passive observation of another's action, lending support to the reconstructive mechanism, but its neural correlates remain unexplored. Here, we employed virtual reality (VR) to modulate such observation-based SoA and examined it with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). After manipulating an avatar hand in VR, participants passively observed an avatar's "action" and showed a significant increase in TB. The binding effect was associated with the right angular gyrus and inferior parietal lobule, which are critical nodes for inferential and agency processing. These results suggest that the experience of controlling an avatar may potentiate inferential processing within the right inferior parietal cortex and give rise to the illusionary SoA without voluntary action.

Self-consciousness mediated the role of the insula in self-disclosure: Evidence from rs-fMRI data.

INTRODUCTION: Self-disclosure is integral to forming intimate connections within interpersonal exchanges. While its advantages are widely acknowledged, the cerebral basis of self-disclosure is not thoroughly understood. Insight into its neural underpinnings is crucial for refining therapeutic approaches, especially for challenges associated with self-disclosure. METHODS: Our study probed the association between spontaneous neural activity, gauged via resting-state fMRI, and self-disclosure tendencies among 258 healthy university students, employing Regional Homogeneity (ReHo) and behavioral correlation analysis. We also explored the mediating effect of self-consciousness on this relationship. RESULTS: The ReHo-behavior correlation analysis uncovered that higher ReHo values in the insula are predictive of greater self-disclosure in social settings. Additionally, the mediation analysis identified self-consciousness as a partial intermediary between spontaneous neural activity in the insula and self-disclosure behaviors. CONCLUSION: The findings imply that decreased similarity in the insula during rest-state may amplify self-conscious emotions such as embarrassment, thus illuminating the cognitive processes that underlie disclosure behaviors. Critically, these insights have practical ramifications for enhancing therapeutic methods and communication skills by aiding individuals in navigating self-consciousness obstacles, thereby promoting more transparent and efficacious self-disclosure.

The influence of motor learning methods on motor performance stability: The moderating effect of reinvestment propensity.

Different motor learning methods (explicit or analogy learning) show different effects on motor performance stability, and reinvestment propensity plays an important role in motor performance stability. This study aimed to explore whether reinvestment propensity, that is, movement self-consciousness (MS-C) and conscious motor processing (CMP) as two dimensions, played a moderating role in the relationship between motor learning methods and motor performance stability. A total of 78 participants were randomly assigned to either the explicit or analogy learning group and their reinvestment propensity was measured. We recorded the number of golf putt goals in both the practice phase and the test phases (including a retention test and a stress test). In the moderating analysis, participants' reinvestment propensity was the moderating variable, and the dependent variable was motor performance stability (i.e., the difference between the two test phases). Results showed that motor performance was significantly different between practicing blocks, which indicated that the motor performance of learners was gradually increasing. The significant interaction between learning methods and the test phase on motor performance was detected, suggesting under stress, analogy learning was more likely to maintain the stability of motor performance, while explicit learning impaired the stability of motor performance. The CMP played a significant moderating role in the relationship between motor learning methods and motor performance stability. The result indicated that for learners with low CMP, the motor performance stability of analogy learning was better than explicit learning, while there was no significant difference in the stability of motor performance between the two learning methods for learners with high reinvestment propensity. No significant evidence was found that MS-C played a moderating role in the relationship between motor learning methods and motor performance stability. These findings expand the theoretical framework of motor skill learning and provide theoretical support for motor performance stability.

Multisensory Integration in Body Representation.

To be aware of and to move one's body, the brain must maintain a coherent representation of the body. While the body and the brain are connected by dense ascending and descending sensory and motor pathways, representation of the body is not hardwired. This is demonstrated by the well-known rubber hand illusion in which a visible fake hand is erroneously felt as one's own hand when it is stroked in synchrony with the viewer's unseen actual hand. Thus, body representation in the brain is not mere maps of tactile and proprioceptive inputs, but a construct resulting from the interpretation and integration of inputs across sensory modalities.

Predictive Model of the Relationship between Positive and Negative Affect, Self-Consciousness of Appearance, and Positive Body Image in Physical Exercise Practice.

The biopsychosocial development of individuals is influenced by body image and physical exercise. This study aimed to evaluate seven hypotheses regarding the impact of positive affect, negative affect, self-consciousness of appearance, and positive body image on the practice of physical exercise. The data were processed using the statistical package SmartPLS 4.0.9.5. Using an exploratory methodology based on structural equation modeling (SEM) of structural equations applied to small sample sizes, a tentative model has been generated to define the drivers of physical activity. The survey used the Body Mass Index, Body Appreciation Scale-Revised, and Derriford Appearance Scale-14 items. The study involved 129 men and 279 women (N = 408). The model demonstrated a distinct internal consistency in that, out of the seven hypotheses analyzed, only one was rejected. The findings of the multigroup analysis indicate that there are no statistically significant discrepancies between the constructed measures and the practice of physical activity. The conclusions of this study showed that, although positive and negative affect, and self-consciousness influence positive body image, there were no statistically significant differences between those who exercise and those who do not exercise. Various factors influence biopsychosocial development. Future studies should explore the influence of psychological and social variables on understanding body image and physical exercise.

Beyond peripersonal boundaries: insights from crossmodal interactions.

We experience our self as a body located in space. However, how information about self-location is integrated into multisensory processes underlying the representation of the peripersonal space (PPS), is still unclear. Prior studies showed that the presence of visual information related to oneself modulates the multisensory processes underlying PPS. Here, we used the crossmodal congruency effect (CCE) to test whether this top-down modulation depends on the spatial location of the body-related visual information. Participants responded to tactile events on their bodies while trying to ignore a visual distractor presented on the mirror reflection of their body (Self) either in the peripersonal space (Near) or in the extrapersonal space (Far). We found larger CCE when visual events were presented on the mirror reflection in the peripersonal space, as compared to the extrapersonal space. These results suggest that top-down modulation of the multisensory bodily self is only possible within the PPS.

Brain-inspired bodily self-perception model for robot rubber hand illusion.

The core of bodily self-consciousness involves perceiving ownership of one's body. A central question is how body illusions like the rubber hand illusion (RHI) occur. Existing theoretical models still lack satisfying computational explanations from connectionist perspectives, especially for how the brain encodes body perception and generates illusions from neuronal interactions. Moreover, the integration of disability experiments is also neglected. Here, we integrate biological findings of bodily self-consciousness to propose a brain-inspired bodily self-perception model by which perceptions of bodily self are autonomously constructed without any supervision signals. We successfully validated the model with six RHI experiments and a disability experiment on an iCub humanoid robot and simulated environments. The results show that our model can not only well-replicate the behavioral and neural data of monkeys in biological experiments but also reasonably explain the causes and results of RHI at the neuronal level, thus contributing to the revelation of mechanisms underlying RHI.

Pandemic-activated psychological growth: significance of extraversion, self-consciousness and COVID-19 related anxiety.

BACKGROUND: The sense of threat to health and life in the face of a pandemic, accompanied by difficulties imposed by lockdown, may trigger a serious crisis. Among possible consequences of such a crisis may paradoxically be the phenomenon of psychological growth. The aim of this article is to identify predictors of pandemic-activated psychological growth (PPG). The relationships between extraversion, reflective and ruminative self-consciousness and PPG were the subject of our inquiry. Additionally, a question was posed about the indirect effect of self-consciousness on PPG through anxiety. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE: The study involved 1206 participants aged 18 to 26 years, who declared that the pandemic situation significantly threatened their important life goals. Procedure: cross-sectional design. Four online short questionnaire-measures were used: the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), the Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire (RRQ), the Current Self-disposition Scale (CSS), and the Post-traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). RESULTS: Extraversion and reflective self-consciousness were direct predictors of higher PPG, whereas ruminative self-consciousness was directly related to a lower PPG. There was an indirect effect of ruminative self-consciousness on PPG through COVID-19 related anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Although the results do not confirm the permanence of a growth effect, finding PPG predictors considered as beneficial resources for coping with difficult pandemic circumstances appears to be valuable in the current state of affairs.

Development and validation of the Exteroceptive Body Awareness (EBA-q) questionnaire.

The conscious processing of body signals influences higher-order psychological and cognitive functions, including self-awareness. Dysfunctions in the processing of these signals has been connected to neurological and psychiatric disorders characterized by altered states of self-consciousness. Studies indicate that perceiving the body through interoceptive signals (e.g., from internal organs such as heartbeat and breathing) is distinct from perceiving the body through exteroceptive signals (e.g., by relying on visual, tactile and olfactory cues). While questionnaires are available for assessing interoception, there are no validated self-report instruments for measuring bodily exterception. To fill this gap, we performed three studies to develop and validate a novel scale designed to assess bodily self-consciousness based on the processing of exteroceptive bodily signals. Exploratory factor analysis (Study 1, N = 302) led to an 18-item questionnaire comprised of four factors. We called this instrument Exteroceptive Body Awareness questionnaire (EBA-q). Confirmatory factor analysis (Study 2, N = 184) run on a second sample showed an acceptable fit for a bifactor model, suggesting researchers may use the questionnaire as a unidimensional scale reflecting exteroceptive bodily self-consciousness, or use each of its four sub-scales, reflecting "visuo-tactile body awareness", "spatial coordination", "awareness of body changes" and "awareness of clothing fit". Overall EBA-q showed good internal consistency. Convergent and divergent validity were assessed via cross-validation with existing body awareness questionnaires (Study 3, N = 366) and behavioral measures (Study 3, N = 64) of exteroceptive and interoceptive bodily self-consciousness. Research applications are discussed within a multi-faceted model of exteroception and interoception as distinct, but at the same time interconnected, dimensions of bodily self-consciousness.

Me, myself and you: How self-consciousness influences time perception.

Several investigations have shown that the processing of self-relevant information differs from processing objective information. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of social stimuli on subjective time processing. Here, social stimuli are images of an unknown male and female person and an image of participants' self. Forty university students were tested with a time reproduction task in which they were asked to reproduce the duration of the stimulus previously presented. Images of others or themselves were used to mark the temporal intervals. Participants also performed questionnaires to evaluate the level of anxiety and depression as well as self-consciousness. A generalised linear mixed-effects model approach was adopted. Results showed that male participants with higher Private Self-Consciousness scores showed higher time perception accuracy than females. Also, female participants reported higher scores for the Public Self-Consciousness subscale than male participants. The findings are discussed in terms of social context models of how attention is solicited and arousal is generated by social stimuli, highlighting the effect of social context on subjective perception of time.

Understanding the neural bases of bodily self-consciousness: recent achievements and main challenges.

The last two decades have seen a surge of interest in the mechanisms underpinning bodily self-consciousness (BSC). Studies showed that BSC relies on several bodily experiences (i.e., self-location, body ownership, agency, first-person perspective) and multisensory integration. The aim of this literature review is to summarize new insights and novel developments into the understanding of the neural bases of BSC, such as the contribution of the interoceptive signals to the neural mechanisms of BSC, and the overlap with the neural bases of conscious experience in general and of higher-level forms of self (i.e., the cognitive self). We also identify the main challenges and propose future perspectives that need to be conducted to progress into the understanding of the neural mechanisms of BSC. In particular, we point the lack of crosstalk and cross-fertilization between subdisciplines of integrative neuroscience to better understand BSC, especially the lack of research in animal models to decipher the neural networks and systems of neurotransmitters underpinning BSC. We highlight the need for more causal evidence that specific brain areas are instrumental in generating BSC and the need for studies tapping into interindividual differences in the phenomenal experience of BSC and their underlying mechanisms.

Forgive, Let Go, and Stay Well! The Relationship between Forgiveness and Physical and Mental Health in Women and Men: The Mediating Role of Self-Consciousness.

BACKGROUND: The current study assessed forgiveness (positive forgiveness and reduced unforgiveness), self-consciousness (rumination and reflection), and physical and mental health. The aim of the study was to check if self-consciousness mediates the relationship between dispositional forgiveness and health. METHODS: To address this link, we conducted 2 studies (N = 484 in Study 1 and N = 249 in Study 2). Data were collected separately for Study 1, as well as Study 2. We used in both studies the Heartland Forgiveness Scale and the Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire, and additionally, the General Health Questionnaire-28 in Study 1 and the Scales of Psychological Well-Being in Study 2. RESULTS: The results indicated that rumination was an effective mediator between positive forgiveness and mental health (B = 0.14, CI95% = [0.064, 0.234]), reduced unforgiveness and physical health (B = -0.13, CI95% = [-0.182, -0.088]), and both rumination and reflection between reduced unforgiveness and mental health (B = 0.13 CI95% = [0.051, 0.226]), positive forgiveness (B = -0.09 CI95% = [-0.135, -0.052]), and physical health. CONCLUSION: The mediating role of ruminations was more frequently observed in females. The study highlighted the indirect effect between forgiveness and health. Rumination and reflection are mediators between forgiveness and health.

Sexuality during pregnancy: attitudes, self-efficacy and self-consciousness.

The study aimed to determine the relationship between sexual self-efficacy and sexual self-consciousness levels and pregnant women's attitudes toward sexuality. The data of this descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational study were collected from 318 pregnant women between September 2020 and May 2021. A personal information form and the Sexual Self-Efficacy (SSES), Sexual Self-Consciousness (SSCS) Scale, and Attitude toward Sexuality in Pregnancy Scale (AStSdP) were used to collect the data. Six out of ten pregnant women had a positive attitude toward sexuality during pregnancy, and their sexual self-efficacy (26.35 ± 6.71) and sexual self-consciousness (24.75 ± 9.10) levels were moderate. Participants' AStSdP mean score had a moderate positive correlation with the SSES mean score, a low negative low level relationship with the SSCS mean score, and a moderate negative relationship with sexual shyness (p < .05). Risk factors for attitude toward sexuality during pregnancy were SSES total score (Odds Ratio [OR] = .90, 95 percent Confidence Interval [CI] = .86-.95), sexual shyness score (OR = 1.23, 95 percent CI = .901-1.02), and partner training (OR = 3.93, 95 percent CI = 1.58-9.77). Sexual self-consciousness, sexual shyness, and education level of the partner influenced pregnant women's attitudes toward sexuality during pregnancy. Attitudes toward sexuality, sexual self-efficacy, and sexual self-consciousness levels of pregnant women should be determined in prenatal follow-ups.

Visual perspective, distance, and felt presence of others in dreams.

The peripersonal space, that is, the limited space surrounding the body, involves multisensory coding and representation of the self in space. Previous studies have shown that peripersonal space representation and the visual perspective on the environment can be dramatically altered when neurotypical individuals self-identify with a distant avatar (i.e., in virtual reality) or during clinical conditions (i.e., out-of-body experience, heautoscopy, depersonalization). Despite its role in many cognitive/social functions, the perception of peripersonal space in dreams, and its relationship with the perception of other characters (interpersonal distance in dreams), remain largely uncharted. The present study aimed to explore the visuospatial properties of this space, which is likely to underlie self-location as well as self/other distinction in dreams. 530 healthy volunteers answered a web-based questionnaire to measure their dominant visuo-spatial perspective in dreams, the frequency of recall for felt distances between their dream self and other dream characters, and the dreamers' viewing angle of other dream characters. Most participants reported dream experiences from a first-person perspective (1PP) (82%) compared to a third-person perspective (3PP) (18%). Independent of their dream perspective, participants reported that they generally perceived other dream characters in their close space, that is, at distance of either between 0 and 90 cm, or 90-180 cm, than in further spaces (180-270 cm). Regardless of the perspective (1PP or 3PP), both groups also reported more frequently seeing other dream characters from eye level (0° angle of viewing) than from above (30° and 60°) or below eye level (-30° and -60°). Moreover, the intensity of sensory experiences in dreams, as measured by the Bodily Self-Consciousness in Dreams Questionnaire, was higher in individuals who habitually see other dream characters closer to their personal dream self (i.e., within 0-90 cm and 90-180 cm). These preliminary findings offer a new, phenomenological account of space representation in dreams with regards to the felt presence of others. They might provide insights not only to our understanding of how dreams are formed, but also to the type of neurocomputations involved in self/other distinction.

Formation mechanism and prediction model of juvenile delinquency.

Exploring the formation mechanism of juvenile delinquency is of great significance to prevent juvenile delinquency. The present study examined relations and interactions among juvenile delinquents' self-consciousness, family factors, social relationships, belief in a just world, and legal consciousness, and then developed a predictive model to distinguish between juvenile delinquents and non-delinquents. The results showed that family factors have a significant influence on the formation of juvenile delinquents' self-consciousness and there are notable differences in family environment and self-consciousness between delinquent and non-delinquent adolescents. Due to the complex interactions among juvenile delinquency's self-consciousness, family factors, social relationships, belief in a just world and legal consciousness, adolescents' self- consciousness and social relationships can be utilized to predict and classify the groups of delinquent and non-delinquent adolescents effectively. Therefore, the key to preventing juvenile delinquency is to improve their self-consciousness and develop their prosocial relationships.

Perceived a community with shared future for doctor-patient and benefit finding: a moderated mediation model.

BACKGROUND: Under the background that the concept of a community with shared future for mankind has been advocated, the doctor-patient relationship has rapidly sublimated into a community with shared future for doctor-patient. The purpose of this study was to analyze the changes and relationships of anxiety, perceived a community with shared future for doctor-patient (PCSF), health self-consciousness (HSC) and benefit finding (BF) in the outbreak stage of COVID-19 and in the stable stage of COVID-19. METHODS: The questionnaire consisted of a self-designed health self-consciousness scale, perceived a community with shared future for doctor-patient scale, revised 7-item generalized anxiety disorder scale and benefit finding scale. Questionnaires were administered in the outbreak stage of COVID-19 and in the stable stage of COVID-19 to address public anxiety, BF, and trust between medical staff and patients. RESULTS: Risk perception will increase anxiety in public, and the public who trust medical staff and the ability of the government to prevent and control the epidemic will have a higher PCSF. Compared with those in the outbreak stage of COVID-19, PCSF, HSC and BF all decreased in the stable stage of COVID-19. HSC partly plays a mediating role in the process of the influence of PCSF and BF (95% CI = [0.3785, 0.5007], [0.2357, 0.3695], P < .001). The R-value of the model in the outbreak stage of COVID-19 and in the stable stage of COVID-19 were 0.555 and 0.429, and the value of R2 was 0.308 and 0.184 respectively (P < .001). In the stable stage of COVID-19, the coefficient of anxiety ✕ PCSF is negative. The B values of anxiety and PCSF are positive, and the moderating effect is negative (P = .038). Anxiety has a negative moderating effect between PCSF and HSC, indicating that anxiety will weaken the positive impact of PCSF on HSC. It means that there exists a substitution relationship between anxiety and PCSF. CONCLUSIONS: The common goal of medical staff and patients is health, and health is the premise of the meaning of life. Vigorously advocating for PCSF can not only promote a harmonious doctor-patient relationship, but also establish a good HSC and improve the understanding of the meaning of life in the public. Furthermore, if the common concept of a community with a shared future for doctor-patient is integrated into the values of life, it may be more stable and long-term to maintain a good doctor-patient relationship. In addition, we should guard against the influence of high-level anxiety on the path of meaning perception.