Eye-tracking correlates of the Implicit Association Test.

Raising awareness of environmental challenges represents an important issue for researchers and scientists. As public opinion remains ambiguous, implicit attitudes toward climate change must be investigated. A custom Single-Category Implicit Association Test, a version of the Implicit Association Test, was developed to assess climate change beliefs. It was administered to 20 subjects while eye movements were tracked using a smart glasses system. Eye gaze patterns were analysed to understand whether they could reflect implicit attitudes toward nature. Recurrence Quantification Analysis was performed to extract 13 features from the eye-tracking data, which were used to perform statistical analyses. Significant differences were found between target stimuli (words related to climate change) and bad attributes in reaction time, and between target stimuli and good attributes in diagonal length entropy, suggesting that eye-tracking may provide an alternative source of information to electroencephalography in modeling and predicting implicit attitudes.

Dark Personality Traits and Counterproductive Work Behavior: A PRISMA Systematic Review.

Nowadays it is important for companies to keep their profits and productivity high. This can be achieved by creating a good environment in which employees can perform at their best. Unfortunately, counterproductive work behavior (CWB) is widespread in the workplace and poses a serious threat to both organizational performance and employee well-being. Among the many potential risk factors for CWB, the Dark Triad (DT) personality traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) have received increasing attention in recent years. To assess the robustness and magnitude of the association between DT and CWB, we conducted a systematic review of the available literature on DT and CWB using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines after a thorough search of several databases, 21 papers were included. The results showed that DT and CWB are positively associated. Psychopathy exhibited the strongest positive association with CWB, followed immediately by Machiavellianism and narcissism. Moreover, Machiavellianism and psychopathy showed positive correlations with both forms of CWB (organisational and interpersonal), whereas narcissism was positively correlated only with interpersonal CWB. Our findings highlight that even though organisations could benefit from people with DT at the performance level, there could be serious implications for well-being and an appropriate work environment due to CWB.

Cognitive Empathy and the Dark Triad: A Literature Review.

This literature review aims to analyze studies published by researchers on the topic of the relationship between the psychological constructs of the Dark Triad and Cognitive Empathy. This study hypothesizes how having good cognitive empathic skills could benefit people who demonstrate Dark Triad traits, as this could facilitate the implementation of manipulative strategies. Through the process of identifying studies via databases and registers, 23 studies were included in this literature review, and the results and theories brought forward by the researchers find more agreement regarding the individual components of the Dark Triad than the whole construct: narcissism seems to have, for the most part, relatively small and typical positive correlations (more than 50% of correlations), Machiavellianism has relatively small and typical negative relationships (about 80% of correlations), and psychopathy has relatively large negative relationships (about 90% of correlations). This study conveys that Machiavellians and psychopaths, having reduced empathic abilities, use manipulation techniques that do not have to do with empathy (for example seduction, intimidation etc.), while narcissists would be, among these three dimensions, those most likely to understand others' states of mind and thus be able to use this knowledge to their advantage-although there are doubts about the veracity of the statements and answers given by narcissists in the tests administered to them. This literature review could be a valid aid to professionals dealing with people who exhibit Dark Triad traits; understanding how those exhibiting Dark Triad traits manage their empathic abilities, the areas in which the various dimensions show deficits or not, and how they act to implement their manipulative and controlling tactics could aid in the development of more effective helping strategies to be utilized in therapy settings.

The Relationship between Orthorexia Nervosa and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is characterized by an intense avoidance of foods considered unhealthy, obsession with healthy eating behaviors, and pathological fixation on healthy foods. Although there are still debates in the literature about the psychological factors and symptoms of ON, it should be noted that many of the symptoms share common features with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between ON and OCD with its subtypes. In this framework, the cross-sectional study was conducted with an opportunistic sample of 587 participants (86% women and 14% men), with an average age of 29.32 (s.d. = 11.29; age range = 15-74). Our work showed that almost all OCD subtypes were largely correlated with ON. The lowest correlation was for "Checking" and the highest for "Obsession". Overall, the OCD subtypes (i.e., Indecisiveness, Just Right, Obsession, and Hoarding) were more strongly associated with ON measures, while subtypes Checking and Contamination, although positively associated, had lower correlation coefficients.

Interaction of Virus in Cancer Patients: A Theoretical Dynamic Model.

This study reports on a phase-space analysis of a mathematical model of tumor growth with the interaction between virus and immune response. In this study, a mathematical determination was attempted to demonstrate the relationship between uninfected cells, infected cells, effector immune cells, and free viruses using a dynamic model. We revealed the stability analysis of the system and the Lyapunov stability of the equilibrium points. Moreover, all endemic equilibrium point models are derived. We investigated the stability behavior and the range of attraction sets of the nonlinear systems concerning our model. Furthermore, a global stability analysis is proved either in the construction of a Lyapunov function showing the validity of the concerned disease-free equilibria or in endemic equilibria discussed by the model. Finally, a simulated solution is achieved and the relationship between cancer cells and other cells is drawn.

The Long-COVID Experience Changed People's Vaccine Hesitancy but Not Their Vaccination Fear.

Starting in early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has been responsible, worldwide, for millions of deaths and patients with long-COVID syndrome. In an attempt to stop the spread of the virus, the blanket administration of COVID-19 vaccines proved to be the most effective measure, yet the existence and availability of functional vaccines did not and, still, do not ensure the willingness and intent of people to be vaccinated. This study assessed the similarities and differences in vaccine fears and vaccine hesitancy through between clusters of subjects: people that were not infected with COVID-19, people that had COVID but did not develop long-lasting symptoms, and people that were infected with COVID and developed long-COVID syndrome. From the sample of 1111 Italian people, it was found that individuals who experienced mild symptoms showed higher vaccine hesitancy (confidence, complacency, and collective responsibility) than those who did not contract COVID-19. People affected by long-COVID showed a lower overall hesitancy than individuals who had COVID-19 without incurring long-lasting symptoms and, thus, essentially resembled people who had no experience of COVID-19 infection in terms of the vaccine hesitancy scores. Vaccine fear remained unchanged across all three of the examined clusters.

ADHD Symptoms as a Stressor Leading to Depressive Symptoms among University Students: The Mediating Role of Perceived Stress between ADHD and Depression.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition manifested in childhood and includes symptoms, such as attention deficit, impulsivity, difficulty in concentrating, hyperactivity, and aggressive behavior. Along with the negative effects of ADHD symptoms on individuals, various psychological factors are thought to be associated with these symptoms. However, ADHD in emerging adulthood is not rare and can be conceived as the continuation of discomfort that might emerge during childhood and adolescence. Our mediation study involved 613 undergraduate students in Istanbul. The participants filled out demographic information forms: Adult Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Self-Reported Scale (ASRS), Perceived Stress Scale and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Our work stressed those positive correlations found among ASRS, Perceived Stress Scale, and BDI scores. Analysis by Model 4 of Hayes Process Macro and Sobel tests showed that ADHD symptoms predicted both perceived stress and depression scores of the participants and dimensions of perceived stress acted as partial mediators in the positive relationship between ADHD and depression scores.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Types and Social Media: Are Social Media Important and Impactful for OCD People?

Social media (SM) are the new standard for social interaction and people with OCD use such platforms like everyone else. However, the research on these individuals provides limited, sporadic, and difficult-to-generalize data outside of social-media evidence for one specific context concerning how SM is experienced by people with OCD. Our cross-sectional study involved 660 participants (71.4% females, 28.6% males) with 22% of the sample surpassing the 90° percentile threshold to be identified as high-level OCD-symptomatic individuals. Our work highlighted that roughly all OCD types are affected by social media in terms of mood and that these individuals appeared to give SM more importance than non-OCD individuals. The evidence presented, although very narrow, can be conceived as the first building blocks to encourage future research considering how individuals with OCD experience social media, since they appear to be affected more by them compared to non-OCD individuals.