A Multisite Preregistered Paradigmatic Test of the Ego-Depletion Effect.

We conducted a preregistered multilaboratory project (k = 36; N = 3,531) to assess the size and robustness of ego-depletion effects using a novel replication method, termed the paradigmatic replication approach. Each laboratory implemented one of two procedures that was intended to manipulate self-control and tested performance on a subsequent measure of self-control. Confirmatory tests found a nonsignificant result (d = 0.06). Confirmatory Bayesian meta-analyses using an informed-prior hypothesis (δ = 0.30, SD = 0.15) found that the data were 4 times more likely under the null than the alternative hypothesis. Hence, preregistered analyses did not find evidence for a depletion effect. Exploratory analyses on the full sample (i.e., ignoring exclusion criteria) found a statistically significant effect (d = 0.08); Bayesian analyses showed that the data were about equally likely under the null and informed-prior hypotheses. Exploratory moderator tests suggested that the depletion effect was larger for participants who reported more fatigue but was not moderated by trait self-control, willpower beliefs, or action orientation.

Is Covid-19 a natural event? Covid-19 pandemic and conspiracy beliefs.

In this paper, antecedents and consequences of conspiracy beliefs are investigated in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. 618 individuals residing in different geographical area of Italy participated in the study. We found that perceived mortality rate of COVID-19 is positively associated with adherence to conspiracy beliefs and, in turn, with negative outcomes such as: (a) a reduced support for the measures taken to deal with the pandemic emergency, (b) a weaker feeling of guilt for the violation of anti-COVID-19 government rules, and (c) a stronger utilitarian stance which prioritizes economic over health-related outcomes of lockdown. Also, framing pandemic within the "natural order of things" - fundamental and implicit expectations concerning how life and the world should function - was expected to moderate the relationship between perceived mortality rate and conspiracy beliefs: we found this relationship to be weaker when people believe that pandemic falls into the "natural order of things".

Support for discriminatory behaviours against immigrants in Italy: Perceived threat and positive beliefs mediate the effect of contact with immigrants.

The present study aimed at investigating whether the effects of intergroup contact on support for discriminatory behaviours against immigrants was mediated by perceived threat from immigrants and positive beliefs toward immigrants. Using data from the Italian national survey on "Discrimination by Gender, Sexual Orientation and Ethnic Origin," which followed a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling procedure, a representative sample of 5509 Italian residents (53.4% women), aged 18 to 74 years, participated. Findings showed that contact with immigrants was negatively related to perceived threat, and positively related to positive beliefs toward immigrants. Mediational analysis conducted by structural equation modelling, indicated that support for discriminatory behaviours was positively associated with perceived threat, and negatively associated with positive beliefs toward immigrants. Both variables together mediated the relationship between contact with immigrants and support for discriminatory behaviours against immigrants; individually, indirect relationships were also significant. To promote interaction between natives and immigrants by reducing the perceived threat and strengthening positive beliefs toward immigrants might lessen support for discriminatory behaviours against immigrants.

Moral foundations, worldviews, moral absolutism and belief in conspiracy theories.

In the present research, we examined whether individual differences in basic moral concerns might be related to a greater endorsement of conspiracy theories. Building on the notion that conspiracy theories often deal with super-individual relevant events in which a group perspective is central, we proposed that individual differences in moral concerns pertaining to group- and community-concerns (i.e., binding moral foundations) rather than to individual well-being (i.e., individualising moral foundations) would be positively associated with conspiracy beliefs. We further hypothesised that such relations would be totally mediated by beliefs in a dangerous world and by embracing moral absolutism. We found support for these predictions in two community samples (Ns: 319; 514). Theoretical implications were discussed.

Alexithymia and risk preferences: Predicting risk behaviour across decision domains.

Risk-taking is a critical health factor as it plays a key role in several diseases and is related to a number of health risk factors. The aim of the present study is to investigate the role of alexithymia in predicting risk preferences across decision domains. One hundred and thirteen participants filled out an alexithymia scale (Toronto Alexithymia Scale-TAS-20), impulsivity and venturesomeness measures (I7 scale), and-1 month later-the Cognitive Appraisal of Risky Events (CARE questionnaire). The hierarchical regression analyses showed that alexithymia positively predicted risk preferences in two domains: aggressive/illegal behaviour and irresponsible academic/work behaviour. The results also highlighted a significant association of the alexithymia facet, externally oriented thinking (EOT), with risky sexual activities. EOT also significantly predicted aggressive/illegal behaviour and irresponsible academic/work behaviour. The alexithymia facet, Difficulty Identifying Feelings, significantly predicted irresponsible academic/work behaviour. The results of the present study provide interesting insights into the connection between alexithymia and risk preferences across different decision domains. Implications for future studies and applied interventions are discussed.

What is hiding behind the rainbow plot? The gender ideology and LGBTQ+ lobby conspiracies (GILC) scale.

Previous literature on conspiracy beliefs has an important gap, as it has almost completely excluded conspiracy beliefs relating to LGBTQ+ people. The purpose of the present research was to develop and validate a specific tool to measure the Gender Ideology and LGBTQ+ Lobby Conspiracies Beliefs: the GILC scale. Two independent data collections (Ntot = 1.908) were run involving both heterosexual and gay, lesbian and bisexual people. We expected a mono-factorial structure of the tool, with high levels of internal reliability, invariant by respondents' gender, sexual orientation and previous knowledge or hearsay of gender ideology. Furthermore, we expected that GILC scale manages to measure a differentiated construct: (a) compared to other specific and general conspiracy contents; (b) compared to a generic disposition to engage in conspiratorial mentality; (c) compared to existing measures of sexual prejudice, stereotypes and negative attitudes towards sexual minority people. In relation to criterion validity, we expected that several psychosocial and socio-political ideology variables (i.e. RWA and SDO), would associate with high levels in GILC scale. The results confirmed our expectations, showing that GILC scale is a short tool which include nine items with a mono-factorial structure and with excellent psychometric properties. Limitations and further research directions are discussed.

Conspiracy beliefs of Italian voters for populist parties: The moderated mediational role of political interest and ideological attitudes.

Grounded in the theoretical framework of the dual-process motivational model of ideology and politics, we investigated the mediational role of RWA and SDO on the relationship between voting for populist parties and conspiracy beliefs; the moderation of political interest was also explored. Collapsing different convenience samples gathered after the European election (2014/2015) and the General National Election (2018/2019) allowed us to analyse two datasets (Study 1, n = 4141; Study 2, n = 2301). We hypothesised that populist voters would report higher conspiracy beliefs, RWA, and SDO, compared to non-populist voters and abstainers, and that populist voters would report more conspiracy beliefs through indirect pathways running through RWA and SDO. Furthermore, we hypothesised that such direct and indirect associations would be stronger for individuals with high rather than low political interest. Analyses of variance and moderated mediation models mostly confirmed our expectations, although RWA, and not SDO, mediated the relationships in the expected directions.

Expectations about the "Natural Order of Things" and Conspiracy Beliefs about COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic represents an event that unsettled the social and economic life of many people. When individuals are faced with shocking events, they may need to find plausible explanations for such events to restore control and make sense of reality. The adoption of conspiracy beliefs may represent a functional strategy for this purpose. The present study investigated whether the endorsement of conspiracy beliefs may be associated with the degree to which an upsetting event (i.e., the COVID-19 pandemic) is perceived as incoherent with individuals' general set of expectations about the world functioning (i.e., the natural order of things). Analyzing data from a community sample of 565 Italian participants, a path analysis model highlighted a mediation pattern where the natural order of things was negatively related to the adoption of conspiracy beliefs and, thus, was indirectly and positively related to support for the norms aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19, feelings of guilt about neglecting such norms, and intentions to be compliant with COVID-19 vaccination. Moreover, the natural order of things was indirectly and negatively related to attitudes focused on economic issues rather than public health and to negative attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines through reduced beliefs in conspiracies.

Embrace the leadership challenge: The role of Gay men's internalized sexual stigma on the evaluation of others' leadership and one's own.

Grounded in the framework of the gay glass ceiling, the current research investigated the effect of gay men's internalized sexual stigma (ISS) on both the perceived effectiveness of other gay men's leadership and on their self-perceived leadership effectiveness and their intention to apply to a leadership position. In three studies (N = 402), we manipulated either the leader's sexual orientation (SO) (study 1), or his adherence to traditional gender roles (TGR) (study 2), or participants' fictitious masculinity score (study 3). Our hypotheses were as follows: the leader's SO and TGR would moderate the association of gay participants' ISS with their positive attitudes towards the leader and with his leadership effectiveness; and gay participants' masculinity threat would moderate the association of their ISS with their intention to apply to a leadership position, and with their self-perceived effectiveness as potential leaders. Moderated regression analyses showed that: participants reported a more positive attitude towards a gay man (vs. heterosexual) as leader only when they had low - and not high - ISS; participants with high (vs. low) ISS perceived the masculine gay leader as more effective than the feminine gay leader; under masculinity threat, participants with high (vs. low) ISS showed less intention to apply to a leadership position. These studies provide both confirmation and novel insights into the key role of internalized sexual stigma and traditional gender roles. Indeed, these factors can strengthen and perpetuate the gay glass ceiling effect.

Being mindful in the tax context in Italy: Examining whether and how mindfulness relates with tax evasion intentions and support for tax progressivity.

Two studies explored whether and how mindfulness relates with citizens' tax evasion intentions and support for progressive tax rates. Based on theoretical and empirical grounds, in Study 1 (N = 1,175) we proposed that mindfulness would be negatively related with tax evasion intentions through decreased social dominance orientation. Drawing on Duckitt's dual-process motivational model, in Study 2 (N = 722) we proposed that mindfulness would be positively related with support for progressive taxation through the mediation of lower competitive-jungle beliefs, and then lower social dominance orientation. Instead, we did not expect to find mediation of the link between mindfulness and support for progressive taxation through dangerous-world beliefs and right-wing authoritarianism. These studies inform about the motivational pathways through which mindfulness relates with tax evasion intentions and support for progressive taxation.

Depression in the Mirror: Depression Severity and Its Link to Negative Judgments of Symptoms.

Background and Objectives: Depressive states represent a normal and physiological response to the experience of loss. However, it is possible to identify some elements that allow distinguishing physiological depressive states from pathological ones. Over the years, research has confirmed that a stable tendency to negative self-evaluation is a transdiagnostic factor that triggers and amplifies dysfunctional emotional reactivity, thus contributing to the shift from normal to pathological reaction. In this sense, the secondary problem, or meta-emotional problem, referring to the negative evaluation of one's depressive state and the consequent dysfunctional attempts to solve it, seems to play an important role. The aim of the present study is to investigate how dysfunctional beliefs and the evaluations of depressive symptoms (meta-emotional problems) are related to depression severity. Methods: We asked to a community sample to focus on the depressive symptoms they regard as most distressful and evaluate them through specific questionnaires. One-hundred and eighty nine participants were asked to complete a set of questionnaires: (1) the Meta-Emotional Problem Questionnaire; (2) the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; (3) the Beck Depression Inventory; (4) the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale-24 in order to investigate the relation between dysfunctional beliefs, meta-emotional problems, and depressive symptoms severity. Results: Our results show that higher levels of depression are associated both to more pervasive dysfunctional attitudes and increased evaluation of meta-emotional problem. In addition, we conduct a regression analysis to disentangle the impact of the two different measures of depressive symptoms (i.e., BDI-II and CES-D) with two explanatory variables (dysfunctional attitudes and meta-emotional problem). Results show that meta-emotional problem remains a significant and robust predictor of the severity of depressive symptomatology, while dysfunctional beliefs has a rather weak and non-significant relation with the criterion. In other words, meta-emotional problem consistently explains the higher variance of depressive symptoms than dysfunctional beliefs. In conclusion, our study shows a clear link between meta-emotional problem and depression severity. This is relevant for clinical practice, as it highlights the importance of specifically targeting beliefs about the depressive condition in cognitive-behavioral treatment of depression, since they represent crucial factors maintaining depressive symptomatologies.

Can moral convictions against gender inequality overpower system justification effects? Examining the interaction between moral conviction and system justification.

It has been shown that disadvantaged groups who endorse system-justifying beliefs tend to internalize their state of inferiority by expressing ingroup derogation and opposing collective action for change. In the present research, we recruited women - as disadvantaged group - from different countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy) and examined whether their moral conviction against gender inequality, as an absolute stance that does not tolerate any violation, may interact with and overpower system-justifying beliefs. Results from three studies provided support for our hypotheses. First, when women held strong moral conviction, they expressed higher identification with their disadvantaged ingroup and, in turn, higher collective action intentions, independent of system-justifying beliefs. Second, when women held weak moral conviction, higher system-justifying beliefs reduced women's ingroup identification and, in turn, undermined their collective action intentions. This support is found across different contexts of gender inequality (the gender leadership gap, the gender pay gap, and the gender power imbalance), using different methodological approaches (online survey, online experiment, laboratory experiment). Implications, limits, and future directions are discussed.

A Multilab Replication of the Ego Depletion Effect.

There is an active debate regarding whether the ego depletion effect is real. A recent preregistered experiment with the Stroop task as the depleting task and the antisaccade task as the outcome task found a medium-level effect size. In the current research, we conducted a preregistered multilab replication of that experiment. Data from 12 labs across the globe (N = 1,775) revealed a small and significant ego depletion effect, d = 0.10. After excluding participants who might have responded randomly during the outcome task, the effect size increased to d = 0.16. By adding an informative, unbiased data point to the literature, our findings contribute to clarifying the existence, size, and generality of ego depletion.

Italian Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the Prejudice Against Immigrants Scale (PAIS): Assessment of Validity, Reliability, and Measure Invariance.

The aim of the current study was to adapt and validate the Prejudice Against Immigrants Scale (PAIS) in the Italian context, based on the Prejudice Against Asylum Seekers Scale by Anderson (2018). The validity, reliability, and measurement invariance across gender, age, and educational levels of the scale were assessed through three sources, which involved 306 Italian individuals (N men = 151, 49.3%) between 18 and 60 years old. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) confirmed the two-factor solution of the original instrument by excluding two items, which were present in the previous validation study. The first factor is classical prejudice against immigrants, which maps onto theoretical derivations of classical and old-fashioned prejudices, whereas the second factor is conditional prejudice against immigrants, which maps onto theoretical derivations of subtle and modern prejudices. Findings of the multigroup CFAs demonstrated full configural and metric invariance and partial scalar invariance of the scale across gender, age, and educational level. The analyses confirmed that PAIS has high levels of reliability and criterion and construct validity, showing findings that are comparable to those of Anderson (2018). These results suggest that PAIS presents very good psychometric properties and could be considered a valid and reliable instrument to measure prejudice against immigrants, by enabling Italian researchers to detect both covert and more subtle forms of prejudice against immigrants. Limitations and further directions are discussed.

Dataset about populist attitudes, social world views, socio-political dispositions, conspiracy beliefs, and anti-immigration attitudes in an Italian sample.

This data article provides descriptive and analytic exploration of the links between anti-immigration policies, ideological and political attitudes and voting in an Italian Sample. More specifically, the data set comprises measures of socio-political dispositions (e.g., Right-Wing Authoritarianism), social world views (e.g., Dangerous World Beliefs), populist attitudes, self-reported voting in the last Italian political elections (March 4, 2018), and conspiracy beliefs. The sample consists of 774 participants, mostly non-student adult individuals. Participants completed an anonymous questionnaire.

Psychological constraints on aggressive predation in economic contests.

When humans compete, they invest energy and effort to injure others and to protect against injury and exploitation. The psychology behind exploiting others and protecting against exploitation is still poorly understood and is addressed here in an incentivized economic contest game in which individuals invested in predatory attack and prey defense. Consistent with standard economic theory on production and predation, we find that individuals compete less intensely when they attack rather than defend and that attacks disproportionally often fail. We find, furthermore, 2 psychological mechanisms that restrain attack more than defense. First, individuals with stronger concern for others' welfare (Experiment 1a) and with stronger empathy (Experiment 1b) less frequently attack and when they attack, they do so less forcefully. Second, shorter decision times (Experiment 2a and Experiment 2b), along with cognitive taxation (Experiment 2b) associate with more forceful, but not with more frequent attack. Finally, investments in defense were neither predicted by other-concern and empathy, nor by decision time and cognitive taxation. Thus, individuals with stronger prosocial preferences and more deliberated decisions spent less energy on injuring others, and less often defeated their antagonists but ended-up personally wealthier. The waste of conflict can be reduced by strengthening prosocial preferences and cognitive resources available for deliberate decision-making. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

What About the Different Shortened Versions of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale?

Given the mixed conclusions on the psychometric properties of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) and the variety of subsets of items identified as abbreviated forms, the current study aimed to (a) further investigate the performance of single items and different combinations of items of the MAAS from within an Item Response Theory framework, (b) to expand upon existing knowledge about the coverage of the construct of the scale and its shortened versions. A sample of 914 participants (67.6% women; mean age 23.28, SD = 4.77) completed the MAAS. To fulfill the second aim of the study, of the total sample, two subsamples (N = 156 and N = 158, respectively) were administered a battery of self-report questionnaires. Analyses attested that four items of the MAAS have weak psychometric properties and that the reliability of the scale remains unchanged when these items are excluded. The relationships with several constructs (consciousness, present-time attitude, emotional intelligence, alexithymia, emotion regulation strategies, behavioral inhibition and activation, affect, anxiety, and depression) provided evidence that the scale adequately reflects the operationalization of the construct, although some facets of the construct are only partially covered. The current findings confirm that the MAAS might be slightly shortened without reducing its reliability and validity, but drastically abbreviated forms, such as the proposed five-item version, fail to maintain adequate psychometric properties.

Being alexithymic: Necessity or convenience. Negative emotionality × avoidant coping interactions and alexithymia.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to clarify the associations between negative emotionality, avoidant coping, and alexithymia. We hypothesized that negative emotionality and avoidance strategies would interact negatively in associating with alexithymia. DESIGN: We examined, in one study conducted in Italy and another in the US (total N = 415), the associations among avoidant coping, negative emotionality, and alexithymia, using cross-sectional designs. METHOD: Study 1: Participants completed paper-and-pencil measures of alexithymia, avoidant coping, and negative emotionality. Study 2: Participants completed the above-mentioned measures plus a measure of experiential avoidance (EA), by means of an online questionnaire. RESULTS: As expected, an antagonistic avoidant coping × negative emotionality interaction was found to relate to alexithymia in both studies. In Study 2, EA mediated the effects of such interaction on alexithymia (mediated moderation). The interaction found implied that alexithymia would be adopted as a defence against negative affect or as a consequence of avoidant strategies. CONCLUSIONS: The studies suggested that two different psychological pathways to alexithymia may be at work: Preference for avoidance and negative emotionality. This result appeared theoretically relevant and may stimulate further research. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Alexithymia may develop from habitual avoidance, regardless of negative emotionality. Practitioners could consider addressing negative emotional regulation or automatic and habitual avoidant responses in dealing with alexithymic patients.

Framing political messages to fit the audience's regulatory orientation: how to improve the efficacy of the same message content.

This research investigates how the impact of persuasive messages in the political domain can be improved when fit is created by subliminally priming recipients' regulatory focus (either promotion or prevention) and by linguistic framing of the message (either strategic approach framing or strategic avoidance framing). Results of two studies show that regulatory fit: a) increases the impact of a political message favoring nuclear energy on implicit attitudes of the target audience (Study 1); and b) induces a more positive evaluation of, and intentions to vote for, the political candidate who is delivering a message concerning immigration policies (Study 2).

Persuading drivers to refrain from speeding: Effects of message sidedness and regulatory fit.

Building on regulatory fit theory (Higgins, 2000, 2005), we tested whether two-sided ads were more effective than one-sided ads in changing intentions toward driving behavior when message recipients were high in assessment orientation rather than locomotion orientation. In one study either a locomotion or an assessment orientation were situationally induced (Study 1) and in another study these different orientations were chronic predispositions (Study 2). As predicted, both studies found that for participants high in assessment, two-sided ads were more effective than one-sided ads, as reflected in stronger engagement with the persuasive message and stronger intentions to reduce driving speed. In contrast, for participants high in locomotion, one-sided ads were more effective than two-sided ads. There was also evidence that the fit effect on intentions to comply was mediated by strength of engagement with the message. Implications for persuasion concerning driving behaviors are discussed.