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The monk seal is the most endangered pinniped in the world and the only one found in the Mediterranean, where its distribution and abundance have suffered a drastic decline in the last few decades. Data on its status are scattered due to both its rarity and evasiveness and records are biased towards occasional, mostly coastal encounters. Nowadays, molecular techniques allow us to detect and quantify minute amounts of DNA traces released into the environment (eDNA) by any organism. A species-specific molecular assay is now available for detecting the recent presence of the monk seal in the water column through the analysis of sea-water samples collected from the sea surface. The project "Spot the Monk" uses this non-invasive detection tool to monitor monk seal occurrence in Mediterranean waters by means of eDNA analysis. The simplicity in the acquisition of samples together with the need to collect samples in multiple points simultaneously made the project well suited to the involvement of the general public. Up to today, about 350 samples have been collected and analysed in the central-western Mediterranean by researchers and a multifarious range of citizen scientists - from recreational sailing organisations, both amateur and competitive sportsmen, to fishermen. This work announces the launch of an open-source Observatory (https://www.spot-the-monk-observatory.com/) where the project outcomes are publicly accessible as soon as they are produced. Embracing the principles of Open Science, we believe that such an approach can contribute to filling the knowledge gap about the distribution of this charismatic species in our seas, providing, at the same time, a proof of concept on how data collected by a variety of actors can be returned to the scientific and non-scientific communities in an innovative format for immediate consultation., Competing Interests: No conflict of interest to declare Disclaimer: This article is (co-)authored by any of the Editors-in-Chief, Managing Editors or their deputies in this journal., (Elena Valsecchi, Alessandro Gabbiadini.)

The ubiquity of human art prompted evolutionary psychologists to explore its origins as a potential adaptation to the environment. Here we focus on emotionally charged art and posit that affective affordances embedded into some artworks play a pivotal role in explaining why these artworks are enjoyed from an evolutionary perspective. Such features, recurring in various art forms, are interpreted as cues to the emotional state of others, enabling art consumers to engage in empathetic experiences and vicarious emotions. We explore the adaptive value of deriving pleasure from vicarious emotions, while also addressing the seemingly counterintuitive enjoyment of artworks that evoke negative emotions. We discuss the appreciation of vicarious emotions irrespective of their valence and maintain this appreciation to hold adaptive significance for three key reasons. Firstly, it aids art consumers in refining their interpretational schemes of internal states, potentially enhancing emotional regulation skills. Secondly, it contributes to a deeper understanding of the emotions of others, thereby fostering emotional intelligence and empathy. Lastly, the enjoyment of affectively charged artworks reinforces social cohesion by harmonizing the emotions of group members. This perspective provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the evolutionary underpinnings of the human capacity for art appreciation and emotional engagement., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Serrao, Chirico, Gabbiadini, Gallace and Gaggioli.)

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to several changes in academic teaching practices. Although educational digital technologies have been crucial during the initial phases of the pandemic, their forced adoption has led to negative consequences. In the present study, we aimed to integrate the Technology Acceptance Model theoretical framework (Davis, 1989) by exploring the effects of some possible factors that influence the willingness to adopt digital learning tools in the future when the pandemic is over. Among them, technostress was considered one of the external factors that could have adversely affected digital teaching technology adoption in the future. In contrast, the perception of technical support offered by the university was considered a potential protective factor. A total of 463 Italian university faculty completed an online questionnaire at the end of the first semester (a.y. 2020-21). The frequency of distance teaching technologies usage behavior was measured objectively by extracting teachers' activities from the University's e-learning databases. Key findings indicated that distance teaching technologies' frequency of use increased technostress, which in turn negatively impacted the perception of ease of use. The latter influences - both directly and indirectly through perceived usefulness - the intentions to adopt distance learning tools after the pandemic. Organizational support negatively predicted technostress. Implications to help public institutions develop functional strategies to cope with the technological changes brought by the pandemic are discussed., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest No potential competing interest are reported by the authors., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Despite the widespread prevalence of mental health problems, most psychological distress remains untreated. Internet-based psychological interventions can be an essential tool for increasing treatment availability and accessibility. The main objective of the MindBlooming project is to design and implement an innovative Internet-based multi-approach treatment for university students suffering from psychological or physical problems. The intervention will focus on symptoms of depression, anxiety, sleep problems, self-destructive thoughts, job- and study-related stress and burnout, and chronic pain. It will be based on different approaches, primarily psychoeducation, Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment (CBT), and third-wave CBT. At the end of the treatment, user satisfaction and usability will be assessed. In addition, two further aims will be evaluating the treatment efficacy through a randomized controlled trial and tuning a predictive model through Machine Learning techniques. The intervention consists of a 7-week treatment on two problematic areas according to each students' personal needs, identified through an initial assessment. Besides the treatment assigned following the initial screening, participants will also be assigned to a different module to improve their relational skills. The treatment, which can be accessed through a mobile app, consists of psychoeducational videos followed by related exercises. We expect MindBlooming to be a remarkable tool for promoting the mental health of university students.

In the popular imaginary, cocoa-derived products, like chocolate, represent a panacea for mood and affectivity. However, whether this is a myth or a fact has yet to be clarified. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines to investigate the effect of cocoa-derived food on depressive and anxiety symptoms, positive and negative affect. We searched Web of Knowledge TM and PsycINFO up to April 3, 2020. After screening 761 records, we selected nine studies. Two trials evaluated the long-term effects of cocoa consumption (>1 week), two studies the short-term effects (3 days), while five studies were conducted in acute (single administration). Random-effects meta-analyses found an overall significant effect of cocoa-rich products on depressive (Hedge's g = -0.42, 95% CI -0.67 to -0.17) and anxiety symptoms (Hedge's g = -0.49, 95% CI -0.78 to -0.19). Moreover, both positive (Hedge's g  = 0.41, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.77) and negative affect (Hedge's g = -0.47, 95% CI -0.91 to -0.03) significantly improved. In all meta-analyses, the effect size was medium, while heterogeneity was low. Our findings suggest that the consumption of cocoa-rich products may improve affect and mood in the short term. However, given the short duration of trials, our results cannot be generalized to long-term intake of cocoa-derived food. Cautious interpretation is also needed due to the low number of participants and studies included in the meta-analyses.

Nowadays, binge-watching (i.e., watching multiple episodes of a TV series in one session) has become a widespread practice of media consumption, raising concerns about its negative outcomes. Nevertheless, previous research has overlooked the underlying psychological mechanisms leading to binge-watching. In the present work, we investigated some of the psychological variables that could favor binge-watching tendencies in a sample of TV series viewers ( N  = 196). To this aim, psychological determinants of problematic digital technologies usage (i.e., feelings of loneliness), as well as some of the mechanisms related to the enjoyment of media contents (i.e., escapism and the identification with media characters), were considered as predictors of the tendency to binge-watch. Results indicated that higher feelings of loneliness were associated with higher levels of problematic digital technologies usage. Additionally, direct and indirect effects showed that only escapism - out of the four dimensions measuring the problematic use of Internet-related technologies - predicted participants' stronger identification with media characters, which in turn promoted greater binge-watching tendencies. Overall, we suggest that binge-watching could be interpreted as a coping strategy for media escapists, who enjoy TV series as a privileged online space in which the need to escape finds its fulfillment, allowing them to manage loneliness by identifying with a fictitious character., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Gabbiadini, Baldissarri, Valtorta, Durante and Mari.)

The paper presents an open usable tool, the ACME shop paradigm, for experimentally studying self-objectification due to objectifying work activities. The paradigm consists of a simulation in which participants are asked to perform an objectifying (repetitive, fragmented, and other directed) vs a non-objectifying work activity. Two studies tested the construct (convergent and discriminant) validity of the paradigm by showing its effectiveness in inducing different facets of working self-objectification - but not other forms of dehumanization - in laboratory and online settings. In the objectifying condition, participants self-objectified more, that is they self-attributed less human mental state and self-perceived as more instrument-like than participants in the non-objectifying and control (an activity characterized by objectifying features but not related to the work domain) conditions. Moreover, the convergent and discriminant validity of the paradigm in inducing self-objectification, and no other type of dehumanization, was demonstrated by the significant impact of objectifying condition on self-attribution of both agency and experience and not on self-perception as animal-like. Applications of the paradigm will be discussed.

The ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 has forced governments to impose a lockdown, and many people have suddenly found themselves having to reduce their social relations drastically. Given the exceptional nature of similar situations, only a few studies have investigated the negative psychological effects of forced social isolation and how they can be mitigated in a real context. In the present study, we investigated whether the amount of digital communication technology use for virtual meetings (i.e., voice and video calls, online board games and multiplayer video games, or watching movies in party mode) during the lockdown promoted the perception of social support, which in itself mitigated the psychological effects of the lockdown in Italy. Data were collected in March 2020 ( N = 465), during the lockdown imposed to reduce the COVID-19 spread. The results indicated that the amount of digital technology use reduced feelings of loneliness, anger/irritability, and boredom and increased belongingness via the perception of social support. The present study supported the positive role of digital technologies in maintaining meaningful social relationships even during an extreme situation such as a lockdown. Implications such as the need to reduce the digital divide and possible consequences of the ongoing pandemic are discussed., (Copyright © 2020 Gabbiadini, Baldissarri, Durante, Valtorta, De Rosa and Gallucci.)

The term "autism" was originally coined by Eugen Bleuler to describe one of the core symptoms of schizophrenia. Even if autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are now considered two distinct conditions, they share some clinical features. The present study aimed to investigate self-reported autistic traits in individuals with ASD, SSD, and non-clinical controls (NCC), using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), a 50-item questionnaire. The study was conducted in the Psychiatry Unit of Policlinico "G. Rodolico", Catania, Italy. The AQ was administered to 35 adults with ASD, 64 with SSD, and 198 NCC. Overall, our data showed that the ASD sample scored significantly higher than NCC. However, no significant differences were detected between individuals with ASD and SSD. Notably, the three groups scored similarly in the subscale "attention to detail". AQ showed good accuracy in differentiating ASD from NCC (AUC = 0.84), while discriminant ability was poor in the clinical sample (AUC = 0.63). Finally, AQ did not correlate with clinician-rated ADOS-2 scores in the ASD sample. Our study confirms that symptoms are partially overlapping in adults with ASD and psychosis. Moreover, they raise concerns regarding the usefulness of AQ as a screening tool in clinical populations.

Curcumin is the principal curcuminoid found in turmeric ( Curcuma longa ), a spice frequently used in Asian countries. Given its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, it has been hypothesized that curcumin might be effective in treating symptoms of a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders, such as depression. We conducted a systematic review following the PRISMA guidelines. In August 2019, we screened 930 articles, of which 9 were eligible for the meta-analysis. In 7 articles, participants were affected by major depressive disorder (MDD), while in other two they suffered from depression secondary to a medical condition. We found an overall significant effect of curcumin on depressive (10 studies, 531 participants, Hedge's g  = -0.75, 95% CI -1.11 to -0.39, p  < 0.001) and anxiety symptoms (5 studies, 284 participants, Hedge's g = -2.62, 95% CI -4.06 to -1.17, p  < 0.001), with large effect size. Curcumin was generally well-tolerated by patients. Our findings suggest that curcumin, if added to standard care, might improve depressive and anxiety symptoms in people with depression. However, given the small sample size, our results should be cautiously interpreted. Further trials should be implemented, particularly in Western countries, where curcumin does not represent a usual component of dietary regimens.

The present work explores the hostile tendencies elicited by romantic rejection in the increasingly common context of online dating. To empirically investigate this issue, we created an ad hoc online dating platform in which fictitious online dating partners romantically rejected heterosexual male and female participants. Results revealed that male-but not female-participants who were rejected by desired dating partners displayed increased hostility. This pattern of findings was consistent across different measures, which considered both aggressive tendencies against the rejecting partners and hostile attitudes against the opposite gender. Further, increased feelings of anger explained the relationship between online romantic rejection and increased male hostility. Our work and its findings have both theoretical and methodological implications for the understanding of interpersonal processes in online interactions and the growing body of literature on online dating., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

In this study, we explored vagally-mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) responses, a psychophysiological index of cognitive self-regulatory control, to map the dynamics associated with empathic responses for pain towards an out-group member. Accordingly, Caucasian participants were asked to judge the experience of African and Caucasian actors touched with either a neutral or a harmful stimulus. Results showed that (1) explicit judgment of pain intensity in African actors yielded higher rating score and (2) took longer time compared to Caucasian actors, (3) these behavioural outcomes were associated with a significant increment of RMSSD, Log-HF-HRV and HF-HRV n.u., (4) resting HF-HRV n.u. predicted the participants' lag-time to judge painful stimulations delivered to African actors. Interestingly, these dynamics were associated with a measure of implicit racial attitudes and were, in part, abolished when participants performed a concurrent task during videos presentation. Taken together our results support the idea that a cognitive effort is needed to self-regulate our implicit attitude as predicted by the 'Contrasting Forces Model'.

The present study aims to investigate the indirect link between sexual objectification and belief in personal free will. We hypothesized that being subjected to objectifying commentary would lead women to self-objectify and, in turn, to perceive themselves as having less personal free will. In this study, 105 women were asked to sign up a website created for this study by providing a personal description and a photo. After signing up, they received feedback from a fictitious male user. Depending on the condition, the comment was neutral (baseline), focused on their description (non-objectifying) or focused on their physical appearance (objectifying). The results showed that participants in the objectifying condition (vs. non-objectifying vs. baseline) self-objectified (i.e., perceived themselves as lacking human mental states and more as an instrument vs. a human) and, in turn, believed that they had less personal free will. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings for educators and therapists are discussed.

Background: Recent studies suggest that about 6 out of 10 users have installed a fitness tracking application on their smartphone. Nevertheless, more than 59% of adults do not engage in sufficient daily physical activity and much remains unknown with regard to the effectiveness of mobile applications. By adopting the Theory of Planned Behavior, we tested whether the use of fitness apps for daily steps tracking could positively influence people's health behavior., Methods: Participants (N.=78) were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions; in one condition, they were asked to adopt a fitness app for two weeks. No information regarding mobile apps was given for participants in the control condition. In order to test the effects of using a fitness app, a series of two-way mixed ANOVAs were conducted., Results: Participants in the experimental condition reported more favorable attitudes in the post-test compared to the pre-test, t(43)=4.09, P<0.001, d=0.65. By contrast, in the control condition, the difference on attitudes between pre-test and post-test was not significant (P=1.00). They also reported higher perceived behavioral control (PBC) scores, t(43) =4.97, P<0.001, d=0.75, whereas the difference on PBC for the control condition was not significant (P=0.27). Participants who used a fitness app reported to have walked more in the post-test compared to the pre-test, t(43) =2.41, P=0.02, d=0.36, whereas self-reported behavior did not change for participants in the control condition (P=0.46)., Conclusions: The present study provides encouraging evidence for the positive effects of using a fitness-tracking app in promoting health behavior.

The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled "Does Pokémon Go lead to a more physically active life style?" (Gabbiadini et al., in press) [1]. In the study, 981 individuals completed a web survey, in which frequency of Pokémon Go usage, overall physically active behavior, and amount of Pokémon Go related physical activity were measured. Regression analyses revealed that Pokémon Go related physical activity significantly reversed the positive effects of the app on participants' overall physically active behavior, suggesting that the mere adoption of the app does not reliably change people׳s behavior in general. The increase in physical activity levels is rather explained by the exercise required by the game. The data set is made publicly available to enable critical or extended analyzes.

Violent video game playing has been linked to a wide range of negative outcomes, especially in adolescents. In the present research, we focused on a potential determinant of adolescents' willingness to play violent video games: social exclusion. We also tested whether exclusion can predict increased aggressiveness following violent video game playing. In two experiments, we predicted that exclusion could increase adolescents' preferences for violent video games and interact with violent game playing fostering adolescents' aggressive inclinations. In Study 1, 121 adolescents (aged 10-18 years) were randomly assigned to a manipulation of social exclusion. Then, they evaluated the violent content of nine different video games (violent, nonviolent, or prosocial) and reported their willingness to play each presented video game. The results showed that excluded participants expressed a greater willingness to play violent games than nonviolent or prosocial games. No such effect was found for included participants. In Study 2, both inclusionary status and video game contents were manipulated. After a manipulation of inclusionary status, 113 adolescents (aged 11-16 years) were randomly assigned to play either a violent or a nonviolent video game. Then, they were given an opportunity to express their aggressive inclinations toward the excluders. Results showed that excluded participants who played a violent game displayed the highest level of aggressive inclinations than participants who were assigned to the other experimental conditions. Overall, these findings suggest that exclusion increases preferences for violent games and that the combination of exclusion and violent game playing fuels aggressive inclinations., (© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

The current work aimed to extend the burgeoning literature on working objectification by investigating the effects of particular job activities on self-perception. By integrating relevant theoretical reflections with recent empirical evidence, we expected that performing objectifying (i.e., repetitive, fragmented, and other-directed) tasks would affect participants' self-objectification and, in turn, their belief in personal free will. In three studies, we consistently found that performing a manual (Study 1 and Study 2) or a computer (Study 3) objectifying task (vs. a non-objectifying task and vs. the baseline condition) led participants to objectify themselves in terms of both decreased self-attribution of human mental states (Study 1 and Study 3) and increased self-perception of being instrument-like (Study 2 and Study 3). Crucially, this increased self-objectification mediated the relationship between performing an objectifying activity and the participants' decreased belief in personal free will. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are considered., (© 2016 The British Psychological Society.)

Research has shown that exposure to violent media increases aggression. However, the neural underpinnings of violent-media-related aggression are poorly understood. Additionally, few experiments have tested hypotheses concerning how to reduce violent-media-related aggression. In this experiment, we focused on a brain area involved in the regulation of aggressive impulses-the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (rVLPFC). We tested the hypothesis that brain polarization through anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over rVLPFC reduces aggression related to violent video games. Participants (N = 79) were randomly assigned to play a violent or a nonviolent video game while receiving anodal or sham stimulation. Afterward, participants aggressed against an ostensible partner using the Taylor aggression paradigm (Taylor Journal of Personality, 35, 297-310, 1967), which measures both unprovoked and provoked aggression. Among those who received sham stimulation, unprovoked aggression was significantly higher for violent-game players than for nonviolent-game players. Among those who received anodal stimulation, unprovoked aggression did not differ for violent- and nonviolent-game players. Thus, anodal stimulation reduced unprovoked aggression in violent-game players. No significant effects were found for provoked aggression, suggesting tit-for-tat responding. This experiment sheds light on one possible neural underpinning of violent-media-related aggression-the rVLPFC, a brain area involved in regulating negative feelings and aggressive impulses.

Background: One of the most problematic modes of alcohol consumption in young adults is risky drinking in single episodes, which typically takes place in social contexts. Several studies have applied the Theory of Planned Behavior to drinking intentions and behavior in young people. However, previous studies show that this model lacks a "bridge" that links a mental process like intentions to a physical process represented by the actual action., Objectives: The aim of the present study is to test the predictive power of the Model of Goal-Directed Behavior plus social influences in order to overcome theory of planned behavior gaps in predicting binge-drinking behavior in young people., Methods: 404 undergraduates completed a questionnaire containing measures for the MGB variables, social identity, and group norms. Two weeks later, participants reported how many times they had had five/four or more alcoholic drinks on a single occasion. Structural equation modeling revealed strong support for model validity., Results: The final equation accounted for 66% in intentions to binge drink, and 48% in drinking behavior, while a planned behavior model accounted for the 47% of variance in intentions to binge and 37% of the drinking behavior. Social influences positively affected desire and intentions to drink., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that, compared to other attitude-behavior frameworks, the MGB is preferable in modeling the proximal determinants of binge drinking. Therefore, the distinction between desire and intention and the consideration of social influences seem to be essential to improve the prediction of binge drinking among young people.

Empathy--putting oneself in another's shoes--has been described as the "social glue" that holds society together. This study investigates how exposure to sexist video games can decrease empathy for female violence victims. We hypothesized that playing violent-sexist video games would increase endorsement of masculine beliefs, especially among participants who highly identify with dominant and aggressive male game characters. We also hypothesized that the endorsement of masculine beliefs would reduce empathy toward female violence victims. Participants (N = 154) were randomly assigned to play a violent-sexist game, a violent-only game, or a non-violent game. After gameplay, measures of identification with the game character, traditional masculine beliefs, and empathy for female violence victims were assessed. We found that participants' gender and their identification with the violent male video game character moderated the effects of the exposure to sexist-violent video games on masculine beliefs. Our results supported the prediction that playing violent-sexist video games increases masculine beliefs, which occurred for male (but not female) participants who were highly identified with the game character. Masculine beliefs, in turn, negatively predicted empathic feelings for female violence victims. Overall, our study shows who is most affected by the exposure to sexist-violent video games, and why the effects occur. (200 words).

The survival of a virtual community is guaranteed by the users' creation of content. However, the literature has found that the percentage of users who create innovative content is very modest. The content contribution process can also be interpreted as a social collective action in which we-intentions play a primary role. Nevertheless, some people choose not to participate in the collective action, but to benefit from the community's resources and to maximize individual outcomes. In this study (N=250), we investigated the effects of the free-riding tendency, conceived as the willingness to maximize personal outcomes. The specific setting was a virtual support forum, the most common type of web platform, generally used instrumentally by web users to find information and solutions to specific problems. We used the theory of planned behavior theoretical framework, plus social influence variables to test the effect of the free-riding tendency as a drawback for contributions, considering both the role of individual and we-intentions on the observed behavior. Findings showed that neither we-intentions nor I-intentions predicted the actual contribution behavior. Both types of intentions and contribution behavior were negatively influenced only by the free-riding tendency construct. Considerations and future developments of these results are discussed.

Several studies have repeatedly shown that violent/action video games increase aggressive tendencies. The present study provides preliminary evidence that exposure to these games also affects the process of moral disengagement. High school students (N = 385) were recruited, and the impact of both recency and frequency of their exposure to the video game Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA; 2008) on moral disengagement was explored. Results showed that exposure to GTA predicted higher levels of moral disengagement. Recency of exposure had a primary impact on the considered mechanisms of moral disengagement. These findings provide insights into a relevant detrimental effect of exposure to video games, to our knowledge not explored yet. Future research is needed to provide evidence of the causal link in the observed relationships., (Copyright © 2012 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)