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Previous studies have highlighted that temporal source memory can be influenced by factors such as the individual's age and the emotional valence of the event to be remembered. In this study, we investigated how the different points of view (POVs) from which an event is presented could interact with the relationship between age-related differences and emotional valence on temporal source memory. One hundred and forty-one younger adults (aged 18–30) and 90 older adults (aged 65–74) were presented with a series of emotional videos shot from different POVs (first vs. third-person) in three sessions. In the fourth session, participants were asked to indicate in which session (1, 2, or 3) they viewed each video. The results indicated that the first-person POV amplified the effects of the emotional valence on temporal source memory. Only in this experimental condition, older adults "pushed away" negative stimuli by perceiving them as more distant in time, and "kept closer" positive stimuli by perceiving them as more recent. In comparison, younger adults "kept closer" positive stimuli. These findings add to the existing literature on the positivity effect on temporal source memory and highlighted the importance of considering the POV in relation to the emotional valence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sleep quality (SQ) is a crucial aspect of overall health. Poor sleep quality may cause cognitive impairment, mood disturbances, and an increased risk of chronic diseases. Therefore, assessing sleep quality helps identify individuals at risk and develop effective interventions. SQ has been demonstrated to affect heart rate variability (HRV) and skin temperature even during wakefulness. In this perspective, using wearables and contactless technologies to continuously monitor HR and skin temperature is highly suited for assessing objective SQ. However, studies modeling the relationship linking HRV and skin temperature metrics evaluated during wakefulness to predict SQ are lacking. This study aims to develop machine learning models based on HRV and skin temperature that estimate SQ as assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). HRV was measured with a wearable sensor, and facial skin temperature was measured by infrared thermal imaging. Classification models based on unimodal and multimodal HRV and skin temperature were developed. A Support Vector Machine applied to multimodal HRV and skin temperature delivered the best classification accuracy, 83.4%. This study can pave the way for the employment of wearable and contactless technologies to monitor SQ for ergonomic applications. The proposed method significantly advances the field by achieving a higher classification accuracy than existing state-of-the-art methods. Our multimodal approach leverages the synergistic effects of HRV and skin temperature metrics, thus providing a more comprehensive assessment of SQ. Quantitative performance indicators, such as the 83.4% classification accuracy, underscore the robustness and potential of our method in accurately predicting sleep quality using non-intrusive measurements taken during wakefulness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metacognition is the process of thinking about one's own thinking, learning, and problem-solving strategies. It involves being aware of one's own cognitive processes and knowing how to regulate and monitor them. Sustainability, instead, refers to the ability to maintain or preserve resources and ecosystems for future generations. Here, we draw from the classical metacognitive approach and propose that metacognition plays an important role in sustainability. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and MetaAnalyses) Statement was used to perform and recode this review. Given that metacognitive abilities develop early during childhood, metacognition can be viewed as a useful approach to teach pro-environmental behavior from early childhood. Although the interaction between metacognition and sustainability in preschoolers appears to be insufficiently explored, the final aim of this review is to offer a new education-based perspective about metacognition that can be implemented in early childhood to foster pro-environmental actions in the longterm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: It is well-established that older persons compared with younger persons show a bias toward positive valence (a positivity effect), together with less pronounced hemispheric asymmetries, but these topics have been scarcely explored in auditory modality. (2) Methods: We presented auditory stimuli with positive, neutral, or negative emotional valence dichotically to 20 younger and 20 older participants and asked them to memorize the stimuli. In a following session, stimuli were presented binaurally, and participants had to decide whether they were new or already presented in the left/right ear. (3) Results: A higher performance by younger compared with older listeners emerged, but neither the expected Right Ear Advantage nor the positivity effect was confirmed. New stimuli were correctly categorized more frequently if they had neutral valence, whereas stimuli already presented were better recognized with negative rather than neutral or positive valence, without any age difference. (4) Conclusions: These results reveal no hemispheric asymmetries and no age difference in a memory task for auditory stimuli and suggest the existence of a bias to better encode negative content, possibly due to the crucial role of negative stimuli in everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated people's preferences in COVID-19 vaccine allocation priority, comparing different social categories based on age and occupation. Vaccine allocation preferences were related to perceived health vulnerability and economic backlash (economic negative consequences) endured by the different social groups during the pandemic. In-group favoritism in vaccine allocation preferences was analyzed. Data were collected through an online survey in Italy (n = 506) before the start of the vaccination campaign. Vaccine allocation preferences, health vulnerability, and economic backlash due to COVID-19, measured through ranking tasks. The healthcare workers category was placed at the top of the ranking in vaccine allocation priority by 65% of the respondents. Vaccine allocation priority was related to perceived health vulnerability and not economic difficulties. Limited self-preference effects emerged. People who did not consider healthcare workers a priority (1/5 of the sample) had a lower education level, were more worried about COVID-19 infection risk, and did not trust vaccines. A consensus emerged on who should be vaccinated first. Governments and policymakers should be aware of these preferences when designing and communicating vaccine allocation plans to predict and foster the public's acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccination programs created by experts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic tremendously impacted people's day-to-day activities and mental health. This article describes the dataset used to investigate the psychological impact of the first national lockdown on the general Italian population. For this purpose, an online survey was disseminated via Qualtrics between 1 April and 20 April 2020, to record various socio-demographic and psychological variables. The measures included both validated (namely, the Impact of the Event Scale-Revised, the Perceived Stress Scale, the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire, the seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, the Big Five Inventory 10-Item, and the Whiteley Index-7) and ad hoc questionnaires (nine items to investigate in-group and out-group trust). The final sample comprised 4081 participants (18–85 years old). The dataset could be helpful to other researchers in understanding the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its related preventive and protective measures. Furthermore, the present data might help shed some light on the role of individual differences in response to traumatic events. Finally, this dataset can increase the knowledge in investigating psychological distress, health anxiety, and personality traits. Dataset:  http://doi.org/10.17632/985sfwcj9k.3 , accessed on 24 May 2023. Dataset License: CC BY 4.0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]