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Both common wisdom and findings from multiple areas of research suggest that it is helpful to understand and make meaning out of negative experiences. However, people’s attempts to do so often backfire, leading them to ruminate and feel worse. Here we attempt to shed light on these seemingly contradictory sets of findings by examining the role that self-distancing plays in facilitating adaptive self-reflection. We begin by briefly describing the “self-reflection paradox.” We then define self-distancing, present evidence from multiple levels of analysis that illustrate how this process facilitates adaptive self-reflection, and discuss the basic science and practical implications of this research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

How similar are the experiences of social rejection and physical pain? Extant research suggests that a network of brain regions that support the affective but not the sensory components of physical pain underlie both experiences. Here we demonstrate that when rejection is powerfully elicited-by having people who recently experienced an unwanted break-up view a photograph of their ex-partner as they think about being rejected-areas that support' the sensory components of physical pain (secondary somatosensory cortex; dorsal posterior insula) become active. We demonstrate the overlap between social rejection and physical pain in these areas by comparing both conditions in the same individuals using functional MRI. We further demonstrate the specificity of the secondary somatosensory cortex and dorsal posterior insula activity to physical pain by comparing activated locations in our study with a database of over 500 published studies. Activation in these regions was highly diagnostic of physical pain, with positive predictive values up to 88%. These results give new meaning to the idea that rejection "hurts." They demonstrate that rejection and physical pain are similar not only in that they are both distressing-they share a common somatosensory representation as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to control craving for substances that offer immediate rewards but whose long-term consumption may pose serious risks lies at the root of substance use disorders and is critical for mental and physical health. Despite its importance, the neural systems support- ing this ability remain unclear. Here, we investigated this issue using functional imaging to examine neural activity in cigarette smokers, the most prevalent substance-dependent population in the United States, as they used cognitive strategies to regulate craving for cigarettes and food. We found that the cognitive down-regulation of craving was associated with (i)activity in regions previously associated with regulating emotion in particular and cognitive control in general, including dorsomedial, dorsolateral, and ventrolateral pre- frontal cortices, and (ii) decreased activity in regions previously associated with craving, including the ventral striatum, subgenual cingulate, amygdala, and ventral tegmental area. Decreases in craving correlated with decreases in ventral striatum activity and increases in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activity, with ventral striatal activity fully mediating the relationship between lateral prefrontal cortex and reported craving. These results provide insight into the mechanisms that enable cognitive strategies to effectively regulate craving, suggesting that it involves neural dynamics parallel to those involved in regulating other emotions. In so doing, this study provides a methodological tool and conceptual foundation for studying this ability across substance using populations and developing more effective treatments for substance use disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although recent findings indicate that people can reflect either adaptively or maladaptively over negative experiences, extant research has not examined how culture influences this process. We compared the self-reflective practices of Russians (members of an interdependent culture characterized by a tendency to brood) and Americans (members of an independent culture in which self-reflection has been studied extensively). We predicted that self-reflection would be associated with less-detrimental outcomes among Russians because they self-distance more when analyzing their feelings than Americans do. Findings from two studies supported these predictions. In Study 1, self-reflection was associated with fewer depressive symptoms among Russians than among Americans. In Study 2, Russians displayed less distress and a more adaptive pattern of construals than Americans after reflecting over a recent negative event. In addition, they self-distanced more than Americans while analyzing their feelings, and self-distancing mediated the cultural differences in self-reflection. These findings demonstrate how culture shapes the way people reflect over negative experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Two experiments examined the psychological operations that enable individuals to process negative emotions and experiences without increasing negative affect. In Study 1, type of self-perspective (self-immersed vs. self-distanced) and type of emotional focus (what vs. why) were experimentally manipulated following the recall of an anger-eliciting interpersonal experience. A why focus on emotions from a self-distanced perspective (distanced-why strategy) was expected to enable “cool,” reflective processing of emotions, in which individuals can focus on their experience without reactivating excessive “hot” negative affect. Findings were consistent with this hypothesis. Study 2 replicated these findings and furthermore demonstrated that (a) the degree to which individuals construe their recalled experience in abstract versus concrete terms mediates the effect of the distanced-why strategy and (b) the status of the recalled experience (resolved vs. unresolved) does not moderate the effectiveness of the distanced-why strategy. These findings help disentangle the mechanisms that may allow adaptive working through from those that lead to rumination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers the author's perspective on a seminal work of psychologist James Gross on emotion regulation which the author implied that works in ways that may benefit basic science and society. It says that the author was delighted to learn about how developments in this area of study have influenced the views of the individual who helped launch this area of research.

Research suggests that placebos administered without deception (i.e. non‐deceptive placebos) may provide an effective and low‐effort intervention to manage stress and improve mental health. However, whether non‐deceptive placebos administered remotely online can manage distress for people at risk for developing high levels of affective symptoms remains unclear. Volunteers experiencing prolonged stress from the COVID‐19 pandemic were recruited into a randomized controlled trial to examine the efficacy of a non‐deceptive placebo intervention administered remotely online on affective outcomes. COVID‐related stress, overall stress, anxiety, and depression were assessed at baseline, midpoint, and endpoint. Compared with the control group, participants in the non‐deceptive placebo group reported significant reductions from baseline in all primary affective outcomes after 2 weeks. Additionally, participants in the non‐deceptive placebo group found the intervention feasible, acceptable, and appropriate for the context. Non‐deceptive placebos, even when administered remotely online, offer an alternative and effective way to help people manage prolonged stress. Future large‐scale studies are needed to determine if non‐deceptive placebos can be effective across different prolonged stress situations and for clinical populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotion regulation is critical for managing stress, but many regulatory strategies consume high levels of cognitive resources to implement, which are depleted under stress. This raises a conundrum: the tools we have to feel better may be ineffective when they are most needed. Recent event-related potential (ERP) research indicates that distanced self-talk (i.e., reflecting on one's experiences using non-first-person singular pronouns and one's name) reduces negative emotional reactivity without overtaxing cognitive resources. Here, we report the first direct replication of this work and extend it by examining how distanced self-talk compares to detached reappraisal, one of the most frequently studied regulatory techniques. Sixty-seven participants were randomly assigned to an emotion regulation picture task and instructed to reflect on the feelings they experienced in response to viewing negative emotional images using distanced self-talk or detached reappraisal while ERPs were measured. Directly replicating past findings, distanced self-talk led to a reduction in an affective arousal ERP, the late positive potential (LPP), without increasing stimulus preceding negativity (SPN), an ERP that reflects anticipatory and preparatory processing. These results further bolster support for distanced self-talk as a relatively effortless emotion regulation strategy. On the other hand, detached reappraisal was neither associated with the modulation of the LPP nor the SPN. Due to the failed replication of the reappraisal effect, a direct comparison between emotion regulation strategies was not conducted. Methodological limitations that may have contributed to the reappraisal failure and future directions for comparisons between emotion regulation strategies are discussed. • Research suggests that distanced self-talk is a relatively effortless emotion regulation strategy. • This study aimed to replicate previous work and compare distanced self-talk to reappraisal. • Distanced self-talk led to a reduction in the late positive potential. • Distanced self-talk did not lead to an increase in the stimulus preceding negativity. • Reappraisal failed to modulate the late positive potential and the stimulus preceding negativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most fundamental, yet often overlooked, components of language is the personal pronoun system. Pronouns reveal and empower different perspectives, providing insight into and even altering how a person is conceptualizing the self. Here, we illustrate how the pronouns "I," "you," and "we" can enable shifts in perspective that bring a person further from, or closer to, others. We additionally highlight the implications of these pronoun shifts on the addressee(s). We review a growing body of research that focuses on how these words can function as both windows--providing insight into the thoughts and emotions of a speaker, and levers--that can subtly alter the speaker's and addressee(s)' thoughts, emotions, and even behaviors, across a range of domains. We conclude by discussing possibilities for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the findings of a study conducted on human behavior. The findings reveled that people who are engaged in rumination often suffer from health problems as rumination plays a major role in mediating the connection between various cardiovascular diseases and stress. According to the findings it was found that one should not get indulged in too much of mediation and should also avoid negative thoughts as they tend to affect the mental balance and make the person emotionally weak.

Norms help people navigate their social lives, dictating what behaviors are typical, expected, or valued in a given context. Here we suggest that a subtle linguistic cue—the generic usage of the word "you" (i.e., "you" that refers to people in general rather than to one or more specific individuals) carries persuasive force, influencing how people discern unfamiliar norms. Across five experiments (N = 800), people endorsed unfamiliar behaviors described with generic-you (e.g., "You share them with your friends") as more normatively correct than behaviors expressed with 'I' (e.g., "I share them with my family") or third-person singular pronouns ("he" or "she"; e.g., "She shares them with her family"). These effects persisted even when participants were told that their informants were highly knowledgeable about the norms. Together, these findings indicate that generic-you functions as a linguistic nudge that carries persuasive force. Broadly, they add to a growing body of literature on how subtle linguistic shifts can meaningfully influence social cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Language is one powerful vehicle for transmitting norms—a universal feature of society. In English, people use "you" generically (e.g., "You win some you lose some") to express and interpret norms. Here, we examine how norms are conveyed and interpreted in Spanish, a language that—unlike English—has two forms of you (i.e., formal, informal), distinct generic person markers, and pro-drop, allowing for an examination of underlying conceptual tendencies in how the structure of language facilitates the transmission of norms. In Study 1a-b (N = 838) Spanish speakers used informal generic-you and the generic person marker "se" (but not formal-you) to express norms (vs. preferences). In Study 2 (N = 300), formal you, informal you, and impersonal "se" had persuasive force over personal endorsements (e.g., "I"), informing Spanish speaker's interpretation of unfamiliar norms. Our findings add to a growing literature on how subtle linguistic shifts reflect and influence cognitive processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do social networking sites (SNSs) influence well-being? According to the active-passive model of SNS use, the impact of SNSs on well-being depends on how they are used: Using SNSs actively to interact with other users positively affects well-being, whereas passive consumption of SNS content negatively affects well-being. However, emerging evidence suggests that the active-passive distinction is too coarse to fully capture the relationship between SNS use and well-being. Here we describe the extended active-passive model of SNS use, which refines the original model in three ways: It decomposes active use, decomposes passive use, and crosses usage types with user characteristics. We describe recent empirical evidence illustrating the benefits of these three extensions and highlight important future research directions. The extended active-passive model of SNS use provides a nuanced understanding of the relationship between SNS use and well-being by highlighting that active use of SNSs is not always beneficial and passive use is not always detrimental. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to delay gratification in childhood has been linked to positive outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Here we examine a subsample of participants from a seminal longitudinal study of self-control throughout a subject's life span. Self-control, first studied in children at age 4 years, is now re-examined 40 years later, on a task that required control over the contents of working memory. We examine whether patterns of brain activation on this task can reliably distinguish participants with consistently low and high self-control abilities (low versus high delayers). We find that low delayers recruit significantly higher-dimensional neural networks when performing the task compared with high delayers. High delayers are also more homogeneous as a group in their neural patterns compared with low delayers. From these brain patterns, we can predict with 71% accuracy, whether a participant is a high or low delayer. The present results suggest that dimensionality of neural networks is a biological predictor of self-control abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A critical skill of childhood is learning social norms. We examine whether the generic pronouns "you" and "we," which frame information as applying to people in general rather than to a specific individual, facilitate this process. In one pre‐registered experiment conducted online between 2020 and 2021, children 4‐ to 9‐year‐old primarily living in the midwestern U.S. (N = 146, 75 girls, 71 boys, Mage = 7.14, SD = 1.69, 82% White) interpreted actions described with generic pronouns (vs. "I") as normatively correct and selected the speaker who used generic pronouns as the rule‐follower, particularly when generic pronouns were presented first. There were no significant effects of age. These results illustrate how generic pronouns influence how children discern unfamiliar norms and form interpersonal judgments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does stepping back to evaluate a situation from a distanced perspective lead us to be selfish or fair? This question has been of philosophical interest for centuries, and, more recently, the focus of extensive empirical inquiry. Yet, extant research reveals a puzzle: some studies suggest that adopting a distanced perspective will produce more rationally self-interested behavior, whereas others suggest that it will produce more impartial behavior. Here we adjudicate between these perspectives by testing the effects of adopting a third-person perspective on decision making in a task that pits rational self-interest against impartiality: the dictator game. Aggregating across three experiments (N = 774), participants who used third-person (i.e., distanced) vs. first-person (i.e., immersed) self-talk during the dictator game kept more money for themselves. We discuss these results in light of prior research showing that psychological distance can promote cooperation and fairmindedness and how the effect of psychological distance on moral decision-making may be sensitive to social context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laws govern society, regulating people's behavior to create social harmony. Yet recent research indicates that when laws are broken by people we know and love, we consistently fail to report their crimes. Here we identify an expectancy-based cognitive mechanism that underlies this phenomenon and illustrate how it interacts with people's motivations to predict their intentions to report crimes. Using a combination of self-report and brain (ERP) measures, we demonstrate that although witnessing any crime violates people's expectations, expectancy violations are stronger when close (vs. distant) others commit crimes. We further employ an experimental-causal-chain design to show that people resolve their expectancy violations in diametrically opposed ways depending on their relationship to the transgressor. When close others commit crimes, people focus more on the individual (vs. the crime), which leads them to protect the transgressor. However, the reverse is true for distant others, which leads them to punish the transgressor. These findings highlight the sensitivity of early attentional processes to information about close relationships. They further demonstrate how these processes interact with motivation to shape moral decisions. Together, they help explain why people stubbornly protect close others, even in the face of severe crimes. • We used neural and self-report methods to explain people's reluctance to punish close others who act immorally. • Close others acting immorally, and severe immoral acts, are highly unexpected. • Expectancy violations interact with motivation to drive attention. • For close others, people focus on the transgressor, which yields a more lenient response. • For distant others, people focus on the immoral act, which yields a more punitive response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a public concern that smartphone communication undermines well-being by displacing face-to-face interactions. However, research on this "social displacement hypothesis" has provided mixed results. We examined when this hypothesis holds true (within-persons vs. between-persons) and tested an intervention to decrease smartphone communication. Participants (N = 109) reported daily on smartphone communication, face-to-face communication, and emotional well-being for fifteen days. At day six, participants were assigned to a mindfulness-treatment intervention group or a no-treatment control group. The social displacement hypothesis was confirmed at the within-person but not between-person level. Specifically, when someone communicates a lot using her smartphone during a particular day, that person engages in less face-to-face interactions during that same day. However, people who tend to spend a lot of time communicating on their smartphone do not engage in less face-to-face conversations than people who largely refrain from smartphone communication. The mindfulness-intervention reduced daily smartphone communication, which decreased negative emotions. • The social displacement hypothesis holds within-persons but not between-persons. • Within: daily smartphone and face-to-face communication are negatively related. • Between: Avid smartphone communicators do not communicate less face-to-face. • Mindfulness reduces smartphone communication, which increases emotional well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the benefits of self-distancing (i.e., taking an outsider's view of one's own situation) on young children's perseverance. Four- and 6-year-old children (N = 180) were asked to complete a repetitive task for 10 min while having the option to take breaks by playing an extremely attractive video game. Six-year-olds persevered longer than 4-year-olds. Nonetheless, across both ages, children who impersonated an exemplar other-in this case a character, such as Batman-spent the most time working, followed by children who took a third-person perspective on the self, or finally, a first-person perspective. Alternative explanations, implications, and future research directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research suggests that people show increased self-referential processing when they provide criticism to others, and that this self-referential processing can have negative effects on interpersonal perceptions and behavior. The current research hypothesized that adopting a self-distanced perspective (i.e. thinking about a situation from a non-first person point of view), as compared with a typical self-immersed perspective (i.e. thinking about a situation from a first-person point of view), would reduce self-referential processing during the provision of criticism, and in turn improve interpersonal perceptions and behavior. We tested this hypothesis in an interracial context since research suggests that self-referential processing plays a role in damaging interracial relations. White participants prepared for mentorship from a self-immersed or self-distanced perspective. They then conveyed negative and positive evaluations to a Black mentee while electroencephalogram(EEG) was recorded. Source analysis revealed that priming a self-distanced (vs self-immersed) perspective predicted decreased activity in regions linked to self-referential processing (medial prefrontal cortex; MPFC) when providing negative evaluations. This decreased MPFC activity during negative evaluations, in turn, predicted verbal feedback that was perceived to be more positive, warm and helpful. Results suggest that self-distancing can improve interpersonal perceptions and behavior by decreasing self-referential processing during the provision of criticism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although the relationship between depression and "offline" social support is well established, numerous questions surround the relationship between "online" social support and depression. We explored this issue by examining the social support dynamics that characterize the way individuals with varying levels of depression (Study 1) and SCID-diagnosed clinically depressed and non-depressed individuals (Study 2) interact with Facebook, the world's largest online social network.Method: Using a novel methodology, we examined how disclosing positive or negative information on Facebook influences the amount of social support depressed individuals (a) actually receive (based on actual social support transactions recorded on Facebook walls) and (b) think they receive (based on subjective assessments) from their Facebook network.Results: Contrary to prior research indicating that depression correlates with less actual social support from "offline" networks, across both studies depression was positively correlated with social support from Facebook networks when participants disclosed negative information (p=.02 in Study 1 and p=.06 in Study 2). Yet, depression was negatively correlated with how much social support participants thought they received from their Facebook networks (p=.005 in Study 1 and p=.001 in Study 2).Limitations: The sample size was relatively small in Study 2, reflecting difficulties of recruiting individuals with Major Depressive Disorder.Conclusions: These results demonstrate that an asymmetry characterizes the relationship between depression and different types of Facebook social support and further identify perceptions of Facebook social support as a potential intervention target. (243 words; 250 max). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent work indicates that people are more likely to protect a close (vs. distant) other who commits a crime. But do people think it is morally right to treat close others differently? On the one hand, universalist moral principles dictate that people should be treated equally. On the other hand, close relationships are the source of special moral obligations, which may lead people to believe they ought to preferentially protect close others. Here we attempt to adjudicate between these competing considerations by examining what people think they would and should do when a close (vs. distant) other behaves immorally. Across four experiments (N = 2002), we show that people believe they morally should protect close others more than distant others. However, we also document a striking discrepancy: participants reported that they would protect close others far more than they should protect them. These findings demonstrate that people believe close relationships influence what they morally ought to do-but also that moral decisions about close others may be a context in which people are particularly likely to fail to do what they think is morally right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the digital age we live in, refraining from procrastinatory social media usage, particularly when conflicting with highly valued goal pursuit, can result in failure and subsequent negative psychological outcomes. Despite mounting interest, existing evidence remains correlational and restricted to mundane contexts. To fill these gaps the current two study investigation provides converging ecological and causal evidence for the influence of procrastinatory social media usage on subsequent anxiety. Study 1 used longitudinal unobtrusive measurement of actual procrastinatory Facebook usage (using designated software) together with experience-sampling, during real-life academic exam preparation period. Findings showed that enhanced procrastinatory Facebook usage predicted increased levels of anxiety over time. Further evidence provided inferences regarding the likely ordering of this association, by ruling out a reversed directionality between anxiety and subsequent Facebook usage. Providing direct causal evidence, Study 2 created a laboratory exam context conceived as highly predictive of academic success, that directly manipulated whether actual Facebook usage was procrastinatory or not, prior to examining its influence on anxiety. Supporting predictions, only when Facebook was used instead of studying, it resulted in enhanced anxiety. The present investigation illuminates when and why social media usage leads to adverse psychological consequences. • Does Procrastinatory Facebook Usage (PFU) instead of studying enhance anxiety? • Two studies offer ecological and causal support for an influence of PFU on anxiety. • Higher PFU longitudinally predicted higher anxiety during exam studying period. • Experimentally manipulated PFU in a lab exam context causally increased anxiety. • These studies illuminate when Facebook usage is maladaptive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Drinking identity (the extent to which one links the self with drinking alcohol) is a unique risk factor for college students' hazardous drinking that is not directly targeted by existing interventions. We conducted a study that aimed to decrease drinking identity among college students with hazardous drinking. We adapted a writing task about the future self and tested whether three writing sessions could decrease drinking identity and change drinking. We also investigated whether two additional factors (writing perspective and inclusion of participants' social networks) would enhance task impact. The present study evaluated whether posited proximal cognitive and motivational outcomes (drinking identity, self-efficacy, readiness to change, and drinking intentions) changed immediately after each writing session., Method: The study is a randomized clinical trial in which hypotheses and analyses were pre-registered. Participants were 328 college students who met hazardous drinking criteria. The study had a 2 (narrative writing topic: low-risk drinker vs. reduced smartphone use) × 2 (writing perspective: first-person vs. non-first-person) × 2 (social network instruction: instructed to include vs. not) factorial design. Proximal outcomes were drinking identity, self-efficacy, readiness to change, and drinking intentions. The clinical outcome was alcohol consumption. Participants completed three laboratory sessions at weekly intervals that included the writing task and pre- and post-task assessments., Results: Results were largely null, except that readiness to reduce drinking was higher in the low-risk drinker condition and increased over the lab sessions. Time effects indicated that reductions in drinking identity, drinking intentions, and alcohol consumption, and increases in self-efficacy were observed but did not change above and beyond control conditions., Conclusions: Findings indicate the need to strengthen the writing task and select a more appropriate control task to target proposed proximal outcomes. Future studies might try personalizing the task, evaluating its efficacy with individuals motivated to change their drinking, and using a control task that does not involve imagining a future self., (© 2024 Research Society on Alcohol.)

College student drinking is prevalent and costly to public and personal health, leading to calls to identify and target novel mechanisms of behavior change. We aimed to manipulate drinking identity (a cognitive risk factor for hazardous drinking) via three sessions of narrative writing about a future self. We tested whether writing could shift drinking identity and would be accompanied by changes in alcohol consumption and problems. Participants were college students meeting hazardous drinking criteria (N = 328; M age  = 20.15; 59% women, 40% men, 1% gender-diverse; 60% white; 23% Asian; 12% multiple races; 2% other racial groups; 8% identified as Hispanic/Latino/a/x). The study had a 2 [narrative writing topic: low-risk drinker vs. reduced smartphone use] × 2 [writing perspective: first person vs. non-first-person] × 2 [social network instruction: instructed to include vs. not] factorial design. Outcomes were drinking identity, drinking refusal self-efficacy, alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, and craving. Participants completed three writing sessions and online follow-up assessments at 2, 4, and 12 weeks. The study is a registered clinical trial; hypotheses and analyses were preregistered (https://osf.io/vy2ep/). Contrary to predictions, narrative writing about a future self as a low-risk drinker did not significantly impact outcomes. Null results extended to expected interactions with writing perspective and social network instructions. The narrative writing task did not shift drinking or alcohol-related outcomes. Future experimental work may benefit from greater flexibility in conceptualizing a future self, recruiting individuals interested in behavior change, and more sensitive measures of drinking identity., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Decades of evidence reveal intimate links between sensation and emotion. Yet, discussion of sensory experiences as tools that promote emotion regulation is largely absent from current theorizing on this topic. Here, we address this gap by integrating evidence from social-personality, clinical, cognitive-neuroscience, and animal research to highlight the role of sensation as a tool that can be harnessed to up- or downregulate emotion. Further, we review evidence implicating sensation as a rapid and relatively effortless emotion regulation modality and highlight future research directions. Notably, we emphasize the need to examine the duration of sensory emotion regulation effects, the moderating role of individual and cultural differences, and how sensory strategies interact with other strategies., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests No interests are declared., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Many college students reduce hazardous drinking (HD) following graduation without treatment. Identifying cognitive mechanisms facilitating this "natural" reduction in HD during this transition is crucial. We evaluated drinking identity as a potential mechanism and tested whether within-person changes in one's social network's drinking were linked to within-person changes in drinking identity and subsequent within-person changes in HD. A sample of 422 undergraduates reporting HD was followed from six months before until two years after graduation. Their drinking, drinking identity, and social networks were assessed online. Within-person changes in drinking identity did not mediate the relationship between within-person changes in social network drinking and personal HD, though significant positive between-person associations among all constructs were found. Instead, there was some evidence that within-person changes in drinking identity followed changes in HD, suggesting that drinking identity may function as a marker versus mechanism of "natural" HD reduction during transition out of college.

Within a relatively short time span, social media have transformed the way humans interact, leading many to wonder what, if any, implications this interactive revolution has had for people's emotional lives. Over the past 15 years, an explosion of research has examined this issue, generating countless studies and heated debate. Although early research generated inconclusive findings, several experiments have revealed small negative effects of social media use on well-being. These results mask, however, a deeper set of complexities. Accumulating evidence indicates that social media can enhance or diminish well-being depending on how people use them. Future research is needed to model these complexities using stronger methods to advance knowledge in this domain., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Creating resonance between people and ideas is a central goal of communication. Historically, attempts to understand the factors that promote resonance have focused on altering the content of a message. Here we identify an additional route to evoking resonance that is embedded in the structure of language: the generic use of the word "you" (e.g., "You can't understand someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes"). Using crowd-sourced data from the Amazon Kindle application, we demonstrate that passages that people highlighted-collectively, over a quarter of a million times-were substantially more likely to contain generic-you compared to yoked passages that they did not highlight. We also demonstrate in four experiments ( n = 1,900) that ideas expressed with generic-you increased resonance. These findings illustrate how a subtle shift in language establishes a powerful sense of connection between people and ideas., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest., (Copyright © 2020 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.)

Because of the rise of social networking sites (SNSs), social comparisons take place at an unprecedented rate and scale. There is a growing concern that these online social comparisons negatively impact people's subjective well-being (SWB). In this paper, we review research on (a) the antecedents of social comparisons on SNSs, (b) the consequences of social comparisons on SNSs for SWB and, (c) social comparison as a mechanism explaining (mediator) or affecting (moderator) the relationship between SNSs and SWB. The occurrence of social comparisons on SNSs depends on who uses the SNS and on how the SNS is being used with passive use in particular resulting in increased levels of social comparison. Moreover, social comparison on SNSs may occasionally result in an increase in SWB but typically negative effects are found as people tend to engage in contrasting upward social comparisons. Finally, several studies show that social comparison is a key mechanism explaining the relationship between use of SNSs and SWB and that users with a tendency to engage in social comparison are especially likely to be negatively impacted by SNSs. The dynamic, cyclical processes that result from this pattern of findings are discussed., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Prior research indicates that children construe norms as general and construe preferences as individual. The current studies tested whether this expectation is built into how children interpret and use language. We focused on the pronoun you, which is ambiguous between a canonical interpretation (referring to the addressee) and a generic interpretation (referring to people in general). In Study 1, children (N=132, ages 3-10years) were asked a series of questions containing "you," referring to either descriptive norms (e.g., "What do you do with bikes?") or preferences (e.g., "What do you like to do with bikes?"). In Study 2, parents conversed with their children (N=28, ages 2-4years) about prescriptive norms (e.g., "What should you do with books?") and preferences (e.g., "What do you like about books?"). In both studies, children's choice of pronoun in their answer revealed whether they interpreted you in the questions as generic or canonical. Results indicated that children more often interpreted you as generic in the normative contexts (i.e., responded with generic you, e.g., "You read them") and as canonical in the preference contexts (i.e., responded with I, e.g., "I read them"). This pattern emerged by early preschool, providing the first evidence that the distinction between norms and preferences directs young children's interpretation and use of everyday language., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Mindfulness theorists suggest that people spend most of their time focusing on the past or future rather than the present. Despite the prevalence of this assumption, no research that we are aware of has evaluated whether it is true or what the implications of focusing on the present are for subjective well-being. We addressed this issue by using experience sampling to examine how frequently people focus on the present throughout the day over the course of a week and whether focusing on the present predicts improvements in the 2 components of subjective well-being over time-how people feel and how satisfied they are with their lives. Results indicated that participants were present-focused the majority of the time (66%). Moreover, focusing on the present predicted improvements in life satisfaction (but not happiness) over time by reducing negative rumination. These findings advance our understanding of how temporal orientation and well-being relate. (PsycINFO Database Record, ((c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).)

Does silently talking to yourself in the third-person constitute a relatively effortless form of self control? We hypothesized that it does under the premise that third-person self-talk leads people to think about the self similar to how they think about others, which provides them with the psychological distance needed to facilitate self control. We tested this prediction by asking participants to reflect on feelings elicited by viewing aversive images (Study 1) and recalling negative autobiographical memories (Study 2) using either "I" or their name while measuring neural activity via ERPs (Study 1) and fMRI (Study 2). Study 1 demonstrated that third-person self-talk reduced an ERP marker of self-referential emotional reactivity (i.e., late positive potential) within the first second of viewing aversive images without enhancing an ERP marker of cognitive control (i.e., stimulus preceding negativity). Conceptually replicating these results, Study 2 demonstrated that third-person self-talk was linked with reduced levels of activation in an a priori defined fMRI marker of self-referential processing (i.e., medial prefrontal cortex) when participants reflected on negative memories without eliciting increased levels of activity in a priori defined fMRI markers of cognitive control. Together, these results suggest that third-person self-talk may constitute a relatively effortless form of self-control.

Is psychology headed in the right direction? In this essay, I share my views on the answer to this question. I begin by describing how recent advances in technology, heightened levels of interdisciplinary collaboration, a renewed emphasis on considering the broader implications of basic psychological research, and field-wide efforts to encourage optimal research practices have combined to tilt psychology's trajectory upward. I then offer three suggestions for how to maintain the field's upward slanting course: (a) collaborate more to build cumulative knowledge, (b) improve the way we communicate contextual factors in psychological research, and (c) examine the psychological effects of technology. I conclude by offering a single piece of advice for new researchers and a few closing comments.

"You" is one of the most common words in the English language. Although it typically refers to the person addressed ("How are you?"), "you" is also used to make timeless statements about people in general ("You win some, you lose some."). Here, we demonstrate that this ubiquitous but understudied linguistic device, known as "generic-you," has important implications for how people derive meaning from experience. Across six experiments, we found that generic-you is used to express norms in both ordinary and emotional contexts and that producing generic-you when reflecting on negative experiences allows people to "normalize" their experience by extending it beyond the self. In this way, a simple linguistic device serves a powerful meaning-making function., (Copyright © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science.)

Prior research indicates that expressive writing enhances well-being by leading people to construct meaningful narratives that explain distressing life experiences. But how does expressive writing facilitate meaning-making? We addressed this issue in 2 longitudinal studies by examining whether and how expressive writing promotes self-distancing, a process that facilitates meaning-making. At baseline in both studies, participants reflected on a distressing life experience. In Study 1 participants were then randomly assigned to write about their distressing experience or a non-emotional topic for 15 min on 3 consecutive days; in Study 2 participants were randomly assigned to write or think about their distressing experience or write about a non-emotional topic for the same amount of time. One day following the intervention, expressive writing participants in both studies self-distanced more when they reflected over their distressing experience compared with participants in the other conditions, which in turn led them to experience less emotional reactivity 1 month (Studies 1 and 2) and 6 months (Study 2) after the intervention. Analyses using data from both studies indicated that expressive writing reduced physical symptoms indirectly through its effects on self-distancing and emotional reactivity [that is, expressive writing group (vs. comparison groups) → greater self-distancing → less emotional reactivity → fewer physical symptoms]. Finally, linguistic analyses using essays from both studies indicated that increased use of causation words and decreased use of negative emotion words and first-person singular pronouns predicted increases in self-distancing over time. These findings demonstrate that expressive writing promotes self-distancing and illustrate how it does so., ((c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).)

Experiments performed primarily with adults show that self-distancing facilitates adaptive self-reflection. However, no research has investigated whether adolescents spontaneously engage in this process or whether doing so is linked to adaptive outcomes. In this study, 226 African American adolescents, aged 11-20, reflected on an anger-related interpersonal experience. As expected, spontaneous self-distancing during reflection predicted lower levels of emotional reactivity by leading adolescents to reconstrue (rather than recount) their experience and blame their partner less. Moreover, the inverse relation between self-distancing and emotional reactivity strengthened with age. These findings highlight the role that self-distancing plays in fostering adaptive self-reflection in adolescence, and begin to elucidate the role that development plays in enhancing the benefits of engaging in this process., (© 2015 The Authors. Child Development © 2015 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.)