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Emotion-like states in animals are commonly assessed using judgment bias tests that measure judgements of ambiguous cues. Some studies have used these tests to argue for emotion-like states in insects. However, most of these results could have other explanations, including changes in motivation and attention. To control for these explanations, we developed a novel judgment bias test, requiring bumblebees to make an active choice indicating their interpretation of ambiguous stimuli. Bumblebees were trained to associate high or low rewards, in two different reward chambers, with distinct colours. We subsequently presented bees with ambiguous colours between the two learnt colours. In response, physically stressed bees were less likely than control bees to enter the reward chamber associated with high reward. Signal detection and drift diffusion models showed that stressed bees were more likely to choose low reward locations in response to ambiguous cues. The signal detection model further showed that the behaviour of stressed bees was explained by a reduction in the estimated probability of high rewards. We thus provide strong evidence for judgement biases in bees and suggest that their stress-induced behaviour is explained by reduced expectation of higher rewards, as expected for a pessimistic judgement bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the theory and practice of non-monogamy at the turn of the twentieth century across a range of texts, including anarchist periodicals, mainstream newspapers, and literary fiction. Moving from utopian to ambivalent representations of multipartner relationships, it turns to a canonical novel to explore a perspective we might call poly pessimism, which not only critiques monogamy but exposes the systems that make non-monogamous alternatives equally unlivable. Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome (1911) offers a blistering naturalist account of the constraints of monogamous marriage as the organizing institution of care work under capitalism, but the monstrous menáge à trois revealed at the novel's end suggests only the multiplication of domestic duty and the expansion of marriage and the private home rather than their abolition. Both in its sexual utopianism and its calls for the practical reconfiguration of home life and the economies of care, critical non-monogamy at the turn of the twentieth century holds an important position in a tradition of radical thought that connects antebellum socialisms to more recent liberation agendas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses ChatGPT from the perspective of the philosophy of education. It explores ChatGPT's implications for universities, focussing on the intertwined concepts of critical thinking, the crisis of higher education, and humanity. Does ChatGPT sound the death knell for critical thinking and, thus, exacerbate the oft-diagnosed 'crisis in education'? And is ChatGPT really a convenient, but dangerous, tool to outsource humanity to machines?. In addressing these questions, the article's two main arguments offer an alternative to both triumphalist and overly pessimistic narratives: first, ChatGPT can lead to a revitalisation of critical thinking in higher education. However, it arrives at this conclusion not from the triumphalist viewpoint that celebrates ChatGPT's (allegedly) limitless potential, but from the more sober perspective that ChatGPT combines remarkable strengths with considerable weaknesses and built-in limitations. Secondly, ChatGPT can prompt a return to the qualities that distinguish humans from calculating machines and (re)instate critical thinking as the pivotal virtue of higher education. The article arrives at this conclusion by rejecting the overly pessimistic concern with 'outsourcing humanity' and endorsing the idea that ChatGPT lays bare a 'crisis in education' that constitutes, simultaneously, a precious opportunity. Finally, the article stresses that this opportunity inevitably comes at a price. There will be winners and losers of the ChatGPT revolution and there is a danger that ChatGPT reintroduces elitism through the back door. One urgent task of the near future, therefore, will be to keep this danger in check. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imagery rescripting (ImRs) is a prominent approach to help individuals alleviate the negative consequences following victimization. In two studies (total N = 641), participants experienced a victimization incident induced by a video. In subsequent audio‐guided (ImRs or control) interventions, we examined the impact of imagined (i) victims' active or passive role, (ii) punishment for the offender (yes/no), and (iii) offender moral change (yes/no) on both psychological states and behavioural intentions. Specifically, after the ImRs, participants reported their feelings of empowerment, justice‐related satisfaction, positive and negative affect, and intention to act after the intervention. Results revealed that ImRs significantly reduced negative consequences of victimization, with active ImRs surpassing passive ImRs in enhancing victims' empowerment and positive affect. Notably, neither imagined offender punishment nor moral change affected the efficacy of ImRs. We discuss these findings in light of ImRs as an intervention to address victims' threatened needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recovery is a hot topic in current psychosis literature. However, popular models on recovery, like CHIME-DTAR, fail to address the relationship with factors that might hamper recovery, like experiencing negative symptoms. This study explores how narratives can play a role in recovery from negative symptoms. As a mixed team of researchers, some with lived experience of psychosis, others with a background in clinical psychology or special needs education, we co-constructed an understanding of how narratives played a role in the experiences of Pete and Tanguy. Two major themes stood out: narratives can serve as points of support; and the importance of claiming ownership over your own narrative practice. The authors conclude that recovery can be promoted by creating opportunities for service users to articulate personal narratives and get recognition for these. Our collaborative approach not only highlighted these aspects, but also provided an opportunity for articulating narratives. POINTS OF INTEREST: This article explores how narratives can play a role in the recovery from negative symptoms of psychosis. This study is the result of a collaboration between researchers with and without lived experience of psychosis. Developing a personal narrative practice can help to regain a grip on life and as such to get out of a crisis. Narratives are especially helpful when you are able to claim ownership/authorship of them. Current mental health care still too often fails to recognize service users as active meaning making subjects, but rather approaches them as passive recipients of care. We believe such an attitude might unwittingly promote negative symptoms. Creating opportunities to develop and get recognition for one's narratives might foster recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article objects to two arguments that William MacAskill gives in What We Owe the Future in support of optimism about the prospects of longtermism, that is, the prospects of positively influencing the longterm future. First, it grants that he is right that, whereas humans sometimes benefit others as an end, they rarely harm them as an end, but argues that this bias towards positive motivation is counteracted by the fact that it is practically easier to harm than to benefit. For this greater easiness makes it likely both that accidental effects will be harmful rather than beneficial and that the means or side‐effects of the actions people perform with the aim of benefiting themselves and those close to them will tend to be harmful to others. Secondly, while our article agrees with him that values could lock‐in, it contends that the value of longtermism is unlikely to lock in as long as human beings have not been morally enhanced but remain partial in favor of themselves and those near and dear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low optimism and high pessimism have predicted depressive symptoms in several studies, but the associations in the other direction, from depressive symptoms to future optimism and pessimism, have been unexplored. We examined bidirectional associations of optimism and pessimism with depressive symptoms in adulthood. A population-based sample of 4011 Finnish adults (55 % women) was analyzed with a 15-year prospective follow-up period from age 31 to age 46. Optimism and pessimism were measured with the Life Orientation Test-Revised, and depressive symptoms were measured with the Symptom Checklist-25. Temporal associations were investigated with cross-lagged panel models. According to the model fit indices (RMSEA < 0.04, CFI ≥ 0.97) optimism and pessimism had bidirectional relationships with depressive symptoms: optimism predicted lower depressive symptoms (β = −0.09, p <.001), and depressive symptoms predicted lower optimism (β = −0.10, p <.001) in the follow-up. Also, pessimism predicted higher depressive symptoms (β = 0.08, p <.001), and depressive symptoms predicted higher pessimism (β = 0.09, p <.001) in the follow-up. In the participants with clinically high depressive symptoms at age 31, the predictive associations from optimism and pessimism to depressive symptoms remained, but associations in the other direction were attenuated. The follow-up study included only two time points with a 15-year time gap, which does not consider the possible fluctuation in the study variables between the measured times. Dispositional optimism and pessimism may have bidirectional relationships with depressive symptoms in adulthood when the baseline depressive symptoms are below the clinical level. • Temporal associations of dispositional optimism and pessimism with depressive symptoms were analyzed in a 15-year follow-up study • Low optimism and high pessimism at age 31 predicted higher depressive symptoms at age 46 • Depressive symptoms at age 31 also predicted lower optimism and higher pessimism at age 46 • In a subgroup with clinically high symptoms, the associations from optimism and pessimism to depressive symptoms remained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Nővér is the property of Chamber of Hungarian Health Care Professionals and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Our study aims to examine variations in behavioral decision‐making by employing the focus theory of choice. We discuss the impact of different personality traits of the retailer on the final decisions and the trends in performance across the supply chain. Our finding indicates that an increase in loss acceptance and pessimism positively impacts the overall profitability of the supply chain. If the retailer's level of pessimism is deterministic, the lower the level of loss acceptance, the lower the supplier's optimal profit. This study can help decision makers understand how to consider the personality traits of collaborators when collaborating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hope is in a twofold crises in Western societies: perceived as unavailable by some and as undesirable by others. Against this background, this introduction argues that there is a need to ask anew what (if anything) citizens should hope for. After some introductory remarks both about the current role of hope in the public arena and important developments in recent philosophical debates, I provide an overview of the contributions to the Special Issue. Through a variety of theoretical lenses and from a variety of theoretical backgrounds, the contributors systematically ask which hopes (if any) we should cultivate or whether it may sometimes be necessary to let go of certain hopes. While they agree that hope is indispensable as a way of dealing with our fragility and sustaining our resolve, it is not without dangers. What emerges is a profile of hope as a complex and ambivalent attitude that has so far received too little attention by political philosophers, despite its prominent and increasingly contested role in political practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a movement aiming to teach agents about their privilege by making the information about their privilege as costless as possible. However, some argue that in risk-sensitive frameworks, such as Lara Buchak's (2013), it can be rational for privileged agents to shield themselves from learning about their privilege, even if the information is costless and relevant. This threatens the efficacy of these information-access efforts in alleviating the problem of elite-group ignorance. In response, I show that even within the same framework, in this case David Kinney and Liam Kofi Bright's (2021), the rationality of this information avoidance rests on shaky ground in practice. In this framework, whether an agent should avoid information depends on the precise details of (1) how relevant they expect the information to be, (2) their priors about the value of various options, and (3) their risk attitudes. The model sugests that rationality of elite-group ignorance is a function of structural factors that are pervasive but nonetheless not insurmountable, thus offering a way out of pessimism about elite group education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that Lauren Groff's 2015 novel Fates and Furies engages with distinct conceptions of pessimism – cosmic pessimism as defined by Eugene Thacker and metaphysical pessimism as defined by Joshua Foa Dienstag – via the depiction of a deteriorating American marriage. The essay considers how the text's representations of pessimism allows Groff to consider multiple philosophical issues such as the meaning and function of excess and the subjective limits of interpersonal relations. The piece concludes with an analysis of what the novel's narrator dubs "the paradox of marriage," – encapsulated in the phrase "you can never know someone entirely; you do know someone entirely" – examining, finally, how a state-sanctioned humanism haunts the concept of marriage at its core, one predicated on the pessimistic nature of subjectivity (202). The essay ultimately attempts to start a long overdue conversation on a considerably underappreciated author with little to no scholarship published on her significant writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst adolescence is often discussed as a challenging time, it is also a stage of life with tremendous potential for building positive skills that will support current and future mental health. This paper presents results from a pilot study of a mental health and stigma reduction program called The Inquiring Mind Youth, which is based on a series of programs that have previously demonstrated effectiveness in adult and workplace samples. The program was developed in collaboration with experts and youth and piloted in nine secondary schools across Canada (Calgary area and Eastern Coast). Data from 293 adolescent participants were collected using a pre-post-follow-up design. An overall medium effect size was found for both improved resilience skills (SMD = 0.49) and decreased stigmatizing attitudes (SMD = 0.38) pre-post program. An additional multi-level modelling analysis also showed improved resilience skills and decreased stigmatizing attitudes pre-post program, with more robust shifts in one geographic region (Calgary area). Further analysis showed that resilience improvements were retained at follow-up, with smaller effects. The results of this pilot study support ongoing work and development of programming that aims to foster resilience and reduce stigmatizing attitudes in young people. Highlights: A novel mental health promotion and stigma reduction program (The Inquiring Mind Youth) was developed and piloted in Canadian schools. Participants showed increased resilience skills, decreased stigmatizing attitudes, and increased willingness to seek help after participating in the program. Males saw more improvements than females on resilience, while the opposite was found with stigmatizing attitudes, with females decreasing significantly more. Results support efforts in program development aimed at fostering resilience and reducing stigmatizing attitudes in youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the greatest philosophical disputes in Germany in the latter half of the nineteenth century concerned the value of life. Following Arthur Schopenhauer, numerous philosophers sought to defend the provocative view that life is not worth living. A persistent objection to pessimism is that it is not really a philosophical theory at all, but rather a psychological state; a mood or disposition which is the product of socio-economic circumstance. A developed and influential version of this view was advanced in the 1870s by the English psychologist James Sully. Yet, as important as Sully's critique was for the pessimism dispute, it has been almost entirely overlooked in the history of philosophy. With some growing recent attention to nineteenth-century pessimism, this paper aims to reconstruct Sully's view, and what I argue is his primary argument for it in terms of the best explanation for an alleged historical correlation between pessimistic belief and social hardship in the form of frustrated ideals. The paper then presents and analyses some challenges to this argument, some of which are argued to have been at least partially anticipated in the nineteenth-century by the likes of Schopenhauer and Olga Plümacher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Repetitive negative thinking and intolerance of uncertainty are risk and maintenance factors for emotional disorders. Although emerging evidence suggests that intolerance of uncertainty predicts increases in distress through repetitive negative thinking, these relationships have yet to be investigated among veterans. The present study examines if repetitive negative thinking mediates the relationships of intolerance of uncertainty with stress, disordered symptoms and impairment among a mixed clinical sample of veterans. Two hundred and forty-four treatment-seeking veterans with diagnoses of major depressive disorder, panic disorder, or posttraumatic stress disorder completed measures of intolerance of uncertainty, repetitive negative thinking, stress, impairment, depression, panic, and posttraumatic stress prior to receiving treatment. Mediation models revealed indirect effects of intolerance of uncertainty through repetitive negative thinking on stress and impairment in the full sample, and on disordered symptoms in subsamples with major depressive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. Conversely, intolerance of uncertainty did not have direct or indirect effects on disordered symptoms in a panic disorder subsample. Findings suggest that repetitive negative thinking and intolerance of uncertainty uniquely contribute to stress, impairment, and disordered symptoms, but repetitive negative thinking, may, in part, drive intolerance of uncertainty's contribution to emotional disorders. Interventions for repetitive negative thinking might improve the efficacy of existing transdiagnostic treatment protocols. Cross-sectional data is a limitation of the present study. Prospective designs in civilian samples can better establish the temporality of these relationships and if they are generalizable to the larger population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) exhibit high comorbidity. Possible explanations for this comorbidity include symptom overlap and shared risk factors. Repetitive negative thinking, distress intolerance, and emotion-related impulsivity are three factors implicated in the onset and maintenance of each disorder, but it is largely unknown how these factors relate to individual symptoms of each disorder and if these factors act as bridges across diagnostic boundaries. This study used network analysis to examine relationships among GAD, MDD, and OCD symptoms and shared risk factors in a non-selected sample of 1,799 young adults. Subnetworks were estimated and compared between participants with and without clinically elevated symptoms. GAD, MDD, and OCD symptoms generally clustered within diagnostic categories but exhibited myriad connections across diagnostic clusters. Repetitive negative thinking acted as a bridge between diagnostic boundaries. Distress intolerance and emotion-related impulsivity were more influential in the symptom network of participants with clinically elevated symptoms compared to that of participants without clinically elevated symptoms. Shared risk factors—including repetitive negative thinking, distress intolerance, and emotion-related impulsivity—appear to confer simultaneous and differential risk for symptoms of GAD, MDD, and OCD. Findings can inform etiological research and intervention design for anxiety, mood, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay engages with the inclination of recent ecocritical thought to disqualify postapocalyptic fiction and, often by extension, dystopian fiction from the ranks of those responses to the Anthropocene deemed helpful or appropriate. After a survey of recent antidystopian pronouncements and a discussion of their implications, this essay argues that Antoine Volodine's dark fiction offers tools for imagining why one might assert the validity—if not the productivity—of dark modes of thought. Specifically, it shows how Volodine's darkness explores literary intransitivity and defiant nonpurposiveness, where stark pessimism about the ecological impacts of human life allows for the cultivation of hospitable ideas of a posthuman future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite their often perceived linearity, the past, present, and future are intricately woven together. Previous experiences shape our perception, nourishing potential scenarios and enriching our evaluations. Sociocultural contexts reinforce this interplay, directing our attention toward various aspects based on our social positions. This scenario forms the context for the present study, which investigates perspectives of young Chilean men from two considerably distinct life conditions: business students and incarcerated individuals. Using semistructured interviews and a phenomenologically inspired analysis, we found that participants (amidst COVID-19) referred to similar pessimistic evaluations for their country but, on the contrary, remarkably converged on optimistic future expectations for their personal lives. Despite their markedly different personal life stories. The conclusions point to the stark experience of individuals "freed" from social structure, nurtured by recent neoliberal Chilean history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research examining gender differences in perseverative cognition (repetitive, negative, and difficult-to-control thoughts) has focused on depressive rumination and internalizing syndromes. This study examines the transdiagnostic role of depressive rumination, anger rumination, and repetitive negative thinking across gender on internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Utilizing an ethnoracially diverse sample (33% Black, 35% Latinx, 32% White non-Hispanic) of n = 1,187 young adults (49.5% women), we found equivalent instrument functioning across gender for depressive rumination (specifically brooding), anger rumination, and internalizing problems. Differential item functioning was found for repetitive negative thinking and externalizing problems; partial metric and scalar invariance were established for repetitive negative thinking, and partial metric invariance was established for externalizing problems. After accounting for bias in measurement, women engaged in more perseverative cognition, though effects were small for brooding and anger rumination and large for repetitive negative thinking. Different types of perseverations were positively associated with internalizing and externalizing symptoms across gender. Perseverative cognition may be a transdiagnostic mechanism beyond internalizing problems. Public Significance Statement: This study demonstrated that women engage in more perseverative cognition (repetitive, negative, and difficult-to-control thoughts); however, this thinking process is related to various mental health problems in both women and men. Thus, targeting perseverative cognition in psychological treatment may be important to ameliorate a host of mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xala is perhaps the film that best encapsulates Ousmane Sembene's entire career. It also hints at the future of African cinemas and the next generations of African and/or African diasporic filmmakers. To pull at this thread, my reading of Xala goes through the prism of African futurity, as understood by Senegalese philosopher Felwine Sarr and others, and focuses on the final scene and on several female characters. Initially laser-focused on colonial and postcolonial tensions, African cinemas remained largely pessimistic in their developmental stages. While concerns with postcolonialism tinged with heavy doses of pessimism have somewhat remained the norm, a variety of more hopeful cinematic productions have appeared in the new century. In short, pessimism and optimism have been clashing in contemporary African films, much as they were in Xala's final scene fifty years ago. What might this moment teach us about African futurity more specifically, though? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Negative faculty role modelling is an area of growing concern especially due to its implications on medical professionalism. The study aims to explore the impacts of negative role modelling on professionalism of medical students in the context of Pakistan. Methods: This qualitative study is part of a larger study exploring impacts of role modelling on professionalism of students. It is based on Constructivist Grounded Theory involving six semi-structured interviews with clinical faculty and three focus group discussions with 22 students. Initial, focused, selective coding and thematic analysis was used to find the core category. Results: Three overarching categories were developed: traits observed with negative role models; impact of negative role modelling; factors promoting negative role modelling. Subcategories of impacts included negative impact on professionalism, emotional impact, and its paradoxical positive impact. Negative role modelling, a manifestation of declining professionalism, was attributed to deteriorating societal values; further compounded by the lack of required mechanisms by institutions and the regulatory authority at their respective levels. Conclusions: In the absence of a strong moral platform at societal level, the burden of responsibility rests with the faculty and more importantly with institutions and regulatory bodies to discourage negative role modelling and educate students to recognize, reflect on and avoid negative behaviours and adopt strong professional values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research was to compare social, emotional, and cognitive determinants of depression and anxiety symptoms and mental wellbeing using the two-continua model of mental health and illness in two age groups. The two-continua model proposes that mental health and mental illness are not two ends of the same spectrum but are, in fact, two separate but related spectrums. This cross-sectional study used a multi-age group comparison approach to identify the relative predictive strengths of risk and protective factors for the two-continua model of mental health and mental illness. Participants (n = 458: 251 16–25 year olds, and 207 35–64 year olds) completed an online survey that measured the outcome variables of depression and anxiety symptoms and mental wellbeing. Independent variables from three conceptual areas in psychology—(1) positive psychology: optimism, pessimism, and accomplishment; (2) emotion regulation: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression; and (3) interpersonal theories: belonging and relationship with parent/child—were measured to ascertain the determinants of these outcome variables. The all-variables models explained 58–68% of the variance in depression symptoms, 77–80% in mental wellbeing, and 26–43% in anxiety symptoms. For both groups, the strongest predictor of mental wellbeing in these models was accomplishment. The strongest predictors in these models of mental illness symptoms differed between groups: belonging in the younger group and accomplishment in the older group. Programs targeting belonging and accomplishment could be highly effective in promoting mental wellbeing and reducing mental ill-health for these groups. Interventions require contextual investigation to locate drivers of mental wellbeing and illness for different age groups prior to implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Orientation Scolaire et Professionnelle (OSP) is the property of Institut National d'Etude du Travail et d'Orientation Professionnelle and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In our previous paper on the Future of Cognitive Remediation published more than 10 years ago, we envisaged an imminent and wide implementation of cognitive remediation therapies into mental health services. This optimism was misplaced. Despite evidence of the benefits, costs, and savings of this intervention, access is still sparse. The therapy has made its way into some treatment guidance, but these documents weight the same evidence very differently, causing confusion, and do not consider barriers to implementation. This paper revisits our previous agenda and describes how some challenges were overcome but some remain. The scientific community, with its commitment to Open Science, has produced promising sets of empirical data to explore the mechanisms of treatment action. This same community needs to understand the specific and nonspecific effects of cognitive remediation if we are to provide a formulation-based approach that can be widely implemented. In the last 10 years we have learned that cognitive remediation is not "brain training" but is a holistic therapy that involves an active therapist providing motivation support, and who helps to mitigate the impact of cognitive difficulties through metacognition to develop awareness of cognitive approaches to problems. We conclude that, of course, more research is needed but, in addition and perhaps more importantly at this stage, we need more public and health professionals' understanding of the benefits of this therapy to inform and include this approach as part of treatment regimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Summary: While previous organizational impression management (OIM) research focuses on highlighting firms in a favorable light, we explore CEOs' use of "strategic negativity" to manage expectations. We draw on OIM's psychological roots to predict that despite pressure to "be positive," when CEOs perceive stakeholders are motivated to raise their expectations and have an opportunity to do so, CEOs strategically use negativity to counteract this anticipated expectation increase. We test our predictions on 7330 quarterly earnings calls from 370 publicly traded firms (2008–2019), examining how the "motive" of a positive material earnings surprise and "opportunity" of a new fiscal year jointly increase CEO negativity in prepared remarks. We elaborate the wide applicability of strategic negativity, the "other side" of the OIM phenomenon. Managerial Summary: In contrast to the prevailing view that CEOs usually "positively spin" the firm's situation to stakeholders, we investigate how CEOs strategically use negativity to counteract stakeholder optimism, provided CEOs perceive expectations are likely to rocket upward. We argue that positive news represents a "motive" and a chance to reflect represents an "opportunity," and that together they risk raising expectations. Analyzing 7330 quarterly earnings calls of 370 companies (2008–2019), we specifically examined how both (1) a positive earnings surprise and (2) a new fiscal year force CEOs out of their positivity comfort zone and encourage them to be strategically negative in earnings call remarks, to try to lower stakeholder expectations. Our results support this view and pave the way for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Nietzsche - Studien is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The passages composed by Nietzsche around the time he spent at Sorrento reflect an engagement with the anarcho-utopian socialist milieu into which he had been introduced by Malwida von Meysenbug. The "Sorrentino politics" that appear in Human, All Too Human I and II and later works need to be understood in the context of an affirmative form of political thought that could remedy the pessimism and nihilism that he finds in the politics of all sides. Nietzsche argues that the monarchical state, modern industrialism, and the restricted ownership of capital and property all undermine the goal of creating a life-affirming culture for Europe. He also provides a criticism of a utopian teleology of equality in the future – whether religious or socialist – that imposes an objective notion of purpose. Nietzsche rejects the Schopenhauerian pessimism of resignation while affirmatively engaging with the thought of Alexander Herzen and Guiseppe Mazzini. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We identify exposure to political risk by exploiting a unique variation around land lease extension protection after 2047 in Hong Kong's housing market due to historical arrangements. Relative to properties that have been promised an extension protection, those with unprotected leases granted by the current government are sold at a discount of 8 percent; those with colonial leases suffer an additional discount of 8 percent. Incorporating estimated structural parameters that suggest an additional 20 percent ground rent after 2047, our model matches empirical discounts well across lease horizons. Discounts increase over time, particularly in areas with greater pessimism about the city's future. (JEL D72, G12, R31, R38) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On a three stage “ladder,” from humanism to scepticism to pessimism, Ecclesiastes has traditionally been regarded as the last of those three. Many recent studies, however, have challenged this assessment, replacing humanism with optimism and presenting a stark choice between the two extremes of optimism and pessimism. In this paper it is argued that a middle way can be found, using the language of “realism.” How to define “a realist” and what this means for understanding Qoheleth is explored. Examples of Qoheleth’s pragmatic advice, experiential starting point, and continual balancing of life’s options are aired, and key indicators of his realism are found. These are demonstrated first, in his use and placement of the three major poems in the book, second, in his choice of phrases around “knowledge,” and third, in his use of exemplifying stories that ground his more abstract musings in a concrete reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) express concern about self-perceived cognitive decline despite no objective impairment and are at higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Despite documented links between SCD and repetitive negative thinking (RNT), the specific impact of RNT on brain integrity and cognition in exacerbating the SCD condition remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the influence of RNT on global cognition and brain integrity, and their interrelationships among healthy middle-aged and older adults experiencing SCD. Methods: Out of 616 individuals with neuroimaging and neuropsychological data available, 89 (mean age = 56.18 years; 68.54% females) met SCD criteria. Eighty-nine non-SCD individuals matched by age, sex, and education were also selected and represented the control group (mean age = 56.09 years; 68.54% females). Global cognition was measured using the preclinical Alzheimer's cognitive composite (PACC5), which includes dementia screening, episodic memory, processing speed, and category fluency tests. RNT was calculated through three questionnaires assessing intrusive thoughts, persistent worry, and rumination. We generated cortical thickness (CTh) maps and quantified the volume of white matter lesions (WML) in the whole brain, as grey and white matter integrity measures, respectively. Results: SCD individuals exhibited higher RNT scores, and thinner right temporal cortex compared to controls. No differences were observed in PACC5 and WML burden between groups. Only the SCD group demonstrated positive associations in the CTh-PACC5, CTh-RNT, and WML-RNT relationships. Discussion: In this cross-sectional study, RNT was exclusively associated with brain integrity in SCD. Even though our findings align with the broader importance of investigating treatable psychological factors in SCD, further research may reveal a modulatory effect of RNT on the relationship between cognition and brain integrity in SCD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay examines possible reasons as to why Plato wrote dialogues. Hypotheses raised include the notion that dialogues were designed for public consumption, Plato's Idea of the Good and his protection of himself from the power elite. It describes the features of each variety of Platonic dialogues and discusses the essence of human wisdom, knowledge acquisition and the theoretical pessimism embedded in Plato's book "The Apology of Socrates."

Stress is widely known to have debilitating effects on physical health and mental wellbeing, particularly on one’s coping styles, personality traits, and outlook on life. Cumulative and chronic stress, which can serve as a triggering or aggravating factor for many pathological disorders if left unaddressed, has been linked to many life-threatening diseases. While many studies have looked at how optimism and pessimism are used as a form of coping mechanism, few have examined how different bio-psycho-social reactions to stress shape the level of optimism and pessimism. Using a sample of adult individuals aged 18 and older in the United States (n = 3361), this study addressed the following research questions: (1) What types of stress are predictive of optimism and pessimism? (2) Which responses to stress and coping mechanisms are most predictive of optimism and pessimism? (3) Do optimism and pessimism share the same stress-related risk and protective factors? Overall, this study found that while optimism and pessimism share conceptual similarities, they are not necessarily influenced by the same stress mechanisms. Stress, whether personal or financial, was associated with a negative outlook on life. This study showed that having good sleep quality and a lower number of psychological stress symptoms was linked to increasing optimism and reducing pessimism, while overeating or eating unhealthily was connected to both optimism and pessimism. Additionally, this study found that exercise/walking and emotional support mediated the effects of the responses to stress on the respondents’ level of optimism and pessimism.

In this paper, we infer how the estimates of firm value by "optimists" and "pessimists" evolve in response to information shocks. Specifically, we examine returns and disagreement measures for portfolios of short-sale-constrained stocks that have experienced large gains or large losses. Our analysis suggests the presence of two groups, one of which overreacts to new information and remains biased over about 5 years, and a second group, which underreacts and whose expectations are unbiased after about 1 year. Our results have implications for the belief dynamics that underlie the momentum and long-term reversal effect. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix , which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although dispositional optimism and pessimism have been prospectively associated with health outcomes, little is known about how these associations manifest in everyday life. This study examined how short-term optimistic and pessimistic expectations were associated with psychological and physiological stress processes. METHODS: A diverse sample of adults (N = 300) completed a 2-day/1-night ecological momentary assessment and ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) protocol at ∼45-minute intervals. RESULTS: Moments that were more optimistic than typical for a person were followed by moments with lower likelihood of reporting a stressor, higher positive affect (PA), lower negative affect (NA), and less subjective stress (SS). Moments that were more pessimistic than typical were not associated with any affective stress outcome at the following moment. Neither optimism nor pessimism were associated with ABP, and did not moderate associations between reporting a stressor and outcomes. DISCUSSION: These findings suggest that intraindividual fluctuations in optimistic and pessimistic expectations are associated with stressor appraisals.

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Individuals' lives depend heavily on their freedom, which is why they may respond with reactance if freedom is threatened. Our research, which spans four studies with 1,486 Chinese students as participants, from the perspective of psychological reactance theory, provides evidence that positive gender stereotypes can provoke targets' negative reactions. In Study 1, participants who heard a speaker state a positive gender stereotype (e.g., "women are beautiful" and "men are strong") disliked the speaker more, believed that the speaker was more gender prejudiced, and experienced stronger negative emotions than those who heard no stereotype. In Studies 2−4, freedom threat was a crucial mediator in the relation between the positive gender stereotype and targets' negative reactions. Furthermore, depersonalization also played a parallel mediating role. Although positive gender stereotypes seem superficially complimentary, they may have detrimental effects on interpersonal relations. Our research suggests that people should refrain from using stereotypes in their interpersonal interactions whenever possible. Even though people may sometimes inevitably convey positive stereotypes to others, they should be given the freedom to minimize the negative consequences of such stereotypes. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/DOI: 10.1177/03616843241242711 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characteristics of Western societies pose significant challenges to how emerging adults view their futures. In the present study, we analyzed the associations between romantic attachment, self-regulation, and future expectations of emerging adults controlling the sex and age of participants. More specifically, we analyzed the moderating role of goal-setting, decision-making, and learning from mistakes (self-regulation dimensions) in the links between trustful, dependent, avoidant, and ambivalent romantic relationships and future expectations. The sample, collected by convenience in Portugal, includes 571 emerging adults (76.2% were female and 23.8% were male) aged between 18 and 30 years (M = 23.31; SD = 3.35). Our results indicate significant associations between trust, dependent, avoidant, and ambivalent romantic relationships, with different dimensions of future expectations. Findings indicated that goal-setting moderates the association between dependent and avoidant romantic relationships and pessimism. We discuss these findings based on attachment theory, considering the relevance of emotional bonds and self-regulatory processes in future planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following details the importance of modality when analyzing the articulation of our state of affairs and provides an argument against pessimism. Our endeavor’s argument follows from a renewed consideration of Leibniz’s logical consideration of ours being the best of all possible worlds. In so doing, the essay utilizes an updated analysis of the modal construction of alternative states of affairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sobriety approach is gaining traction in the market, with many brands seeking to address new environmental challenges by adopting zero-waste manufacturing processes and promoting moderate product usage. This positioning raises major questions for brands related to the coherence of this strategy with their initial brand image and consumer reactions to this strategy. Through an experiment conducted with 241 participants in Canada, this study examines the coherence effect (strong vs. weak) and its interaction with the communications tone (optimistic vs. pessimistic) on consumers perceptions and responses to brand sobriety. The results show that strong coherence reduces perceptions of brand hypocrisy and increases perceptions of brand relevance, as well as emotional attachment and purchase intention. The study also shows that reactions are reinforced or diminished based on the communicational tone chosen; only the optimistic tone enhances consumers perceptions and responses when the coherence is weak. The theoretical and managerial implications of this study will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is the decadence that Oswald Spengler predicts for after 2000 that Fernando Távora already encounters at every step of his mythical American journey. It is this “cultural pessimism”, the matrix of “decline”, that marks his life forever, even if the “springtime” with which he was formed is omnipresent: Le Corbusier and Picasso, the modernists like baroque angels, the modernism that then fluttered and rebuilds his beloved Brazil; and Fernando Pessoa, who was decline and ascension in reverse order, with an entourage of heteronyms to deal with the complexities of life.

This paper demonstrates how people can manipulate their beliefs in order to obtain the self-image of an altruistic person. I present an online experiment in which subjects need to decide whether to behave altruistically or selfishly in an ambiguous environment. Due to the nature of ambiguity in this environment, those who are pessimistic have a legitimate reason to behave selfishly. Thus, subjects who are selfish but like to think of themselves as altruistic have an incentive to overstate their pessimism. In the experiment, I ask subjects how optimistic or pessimistic they feel about an ambiguous probability and then, through a separate task, I elicit their true beliefs about the same probability. I find that selfish subjects claim to be systematically more pessimistic than they truly are whereas altruistic subjects report their pessimism (or optimism) truthfully. Given the experiment design, the only plausible explanation for this discrepancy is that selfish subjects deliberately overstate their pessimism in order to maintain the self-image of an altruistic person. Altruistic subjects, whose behavior has already proven their altruism, have no such need for belief manipulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rumination is an established transdiagnostic factor in mental illness, but there remains a significant gap in understanding the subjective experiences of those affected by it. This study explored the lived experiences of depressive rumination in early adulthood, a population notably susceptible to its effects. We interviewed 20 participants aged between 18 and 35 years using a semistructured approach and generated five distinct but interconnected themes using reflective thematic analysis. The first theme delved into recurrent narratives of past traumas and unresolved pain, with participants unable to move on from their past. The second theme illustrated how participants, due to real or perceived pressure, often equated their self-worth with their ability to meet expectations, leading to a distorted self-view and diminished self-esteem. The third theme captured the relentless pursuit of mental peace, with tranquility remaining ever elusive despite the frequent use of distraction. The fourth theme highlighted the profound isolation stemming from internalized mental health stigma, with participants grappling with fears of being perceived as burdensome and facing rejection from their close ones. Finally, the fifth theme underscored the far-reaching and interconnected repercussions of rumination on mental, emotional, and physical health and individuals' ability to achieve their life goals. These findings emphasize the intertwined nature of psychological, physiological, and social risk factors for the development and maintenance of rumination, advocating for a holistic treatment approach to rumination and paving the way for more timely, tailored care. Public Significance Statement: Our study highlights the complex sources and manifestations of harmful, repetitive negative thinking in early adults. We focus on the maladaptive processing of events, the impact of social expectations and stigma, problems with rest, and how these issues affect overall health. We propose a framework to identify and evaluate these issues early, focusing on prevention and care that is tailored to each person over circumscribed, reactive treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across two studies, we examined how individual differences in masculine honor beliefs (i.e., MHBs; beliefs that men should preserve tough reputations; Saucier et al., 2016) related to male rape myth acceptance (Study 1) and perceptions of men who have been raped (Study 2). Supporting our hypotheses, in Study 1, higher levels of MHBs were uniquely associated with male rape myth acceptance above and beyond relevant correlates (e.g., female rape myth acceptance, adherence to traditional gender roles). Study 2 extended this by examining how MHBs related to perceptions of a hypothetical male rape, dependent upon the victim's sexual orientation (i.e., gay or heterosexual) and the perpetrator's gender (i.e., man or woman). Supporting our hypotheses, higher levels of MHBs were uniquely associated with more disparaging attitudes toward a male victim (e.g., higher levels of victim blaming, higher ratings that the victim should have been able to resist the assault). While some of these relationships were stronger when rape was perpetrated by a woman (compared to a man), our results largely suggest MHBs are related to negative attitudes toward male rape victims across situational factors. Overall, this research suggests adherence to MHBs relates to attitudes that trivialize the experience of male rape. Public Significance Statement: Masculine honor beliefs refer to expectations about men's behaviors, especially as they relate to preserving tough reputations. Higher levels of masculine honor beliefs are related to higher levels of male rape myth acceptance. Higher levels of masculine honor beliefs are also related to more disparaging attitudes toward hypothetical male rape victims across situational factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has indicated that various factors, such as psychological distress, distress intolerance, anhedonia, impulsivity and smoking metacognitions, have been individually linked to the urge to smoke, withdrawal symptoms and dependence. However, these factors have not been collectively examined to determine whether smoking metacognitions independently and significantly contribute to these outcomes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the impact of distress intolerance, anhedonia, impulsivity and smoking metacognitions on the urge to smoke, withdrawal symptoms and dependency in men who are dependent on smoking. A total of 300 smoking‐dependent men completed psychological scales and smoking‐related measures. The findings of the study indicated that positive metacognitions about emotion regulation significantly predicted the urge to smoke, even when accounting for other significant predictors such as the number of daily cigarettes smoked, psychological distress, anhedonia and impulsivity. Furthermore, positive metacognitions about cognitive regulation were found to be a significant predictor of withdrawal symptoms, independent of other significant predictors such as psychological distress and the urge to smoke. Smoking dependence was predicted by negative metacognitions about uncontrollability beyond other significant predictors, including the number of daily cigarettes smoked and distress intolerance. These results highlight the role of metacognitions about smoking in both short‐ and long‐term clinical outcomes related to smoking. Consequently, addressing such beliefs during treatment for smoking dependence should be an important therapeutic goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Illness perceptions are views and beliefs formed in response to a health threat, and they may influence self-management behaviours and chronic disease outcomes. Despite effective medication, sub-optimal outcomes in gout are common. This study aimed to quantitatively investigate illness perceptions in gout to examine how illness perceptions relate to health outcomes. Methods Data were obtained from a randomized controlled trial in which people with gout (n  = 493) completed surveys measuring illness perceptions [Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ)], gout flares, medication adherence, health-related quality of life, health-care utilization, and productivity, alongside serum urate blood tests at baseline, and at 6- and 12-month follow-ups. Multivariable linear regression identified patient factors independently associated with each B-IPQ item score. Logistic and linear regression, adjusted for age and sex, determined whether baseline B-IPQ items could predict current and future health outcomes. Results Younger individuals and those with severe gout were more likely to experience pessimistic illness perceptions at baseline. Optimistic illness perceptions were associated with lower odds of having had at least one flare in the preceding 6 months. Every 1-point increase in B-IPQ treatment control, indicating an increasingly optimistic view that gout is treatable, decreased the odds of a recent flare prior to baseline by 33% [odds ratio (OR): 0.67; 95% CI: 0.53, 0.85; P  < 0.001] and prior to the 12-month follow-up by 15% (OR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.76,0.96; P  = 0.01). Pessimistic illness perceptions also predicted poorer medication adherence, health-related quality of life, and productivity, but not serum urate levels. Conclusion Modifying pessimistic illness perceptions, including, but not limited to, patient education, may promote prudent self-management behaviours and better outcomes in gout. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry; https://www.anzctr.org.au/ , ACTRN12616000455460. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Motivational interviewing (MI) has been recognized as highly effective for treating chronic diseases and various conditions, with encouraging results demonstrating its effectiveness in promoting health behaviour change. The current study was proposed to evaluate the feasibility of MI on adherence to care practices, emotional intelligence (EI), and dispositional optimism among patients with permanent pacemakers. Methods and results This study was a parallel arm randomized controlled trial. Seventy clients with permanent pacemakers were randomly allocated to a six-session MI intervention (n = 35) or a waiting list control group (n = 35). A statistically significant improvement in the mean scores of adherence to care practices, EI, and dispositional optimism, along with a significant reduction in pessimism, was registered among the study group compared with the control group. Conclusion Following the intervention for 1- and 2-month follow-up measurements, there were statistically significant improvements in self-care practice adherence. After 1 month of intervention, there were statistically significant gains in EI and dispositional optimism, but at the 2-month follow-up measurement, this improvement had somewhat lessened. The findings suggest that MI may be a feasible and practical approach for improving adherence to care practices, EI, and dispositional optimism in patients with permanent pacemakers. Registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05883514 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religion has had a mixed impact on society, with some followers engaging in violent behavior. It remains unclear why some followers perpetrate violence and others are peaceful. We argue that religious overclaiming is one facet of religion to be considered when trying to understand the relationship between religion and violence. Across two studies (N = 551), we tested the hypothesis that a higher tendency to overclaim knowledge of the Christian Bible would be associated with higher perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV). We also tested the hypotheses that men who overclaim would be most likely to engage in the perpetration of IPV, and that higher religiosity would attenuate the effects of religious overclaiming. In both studies, participants completed a measure of religious overclaiming, reported on their perpetration of IPV, and reported their religiosity. Our findings across both studies indicated that Bible overclaiming was associated with greater perpetration of IPV. Further, Study 1 found that those high in Bible overclaiming (especially men) engaged in the most perpetration of IPV. However, this gender-based finding did not replicate in Study 2. Both studies found that religiosity was unassociated with the perpetration of IPV. Our results provide evidence that Bible overclaiming is related to the perpetration of IPV. Specifically, individuals who claim to know religious concepts that do not exist are associated with a higher risk for IPV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aims of this study were to examine changes in habitual optimism over a six-year period and to analyze the relationship between changes in optimism and changes in other quality of life-related variables. Method: A randomly selected community sample of the German adult general population (N  =  4,965) was surveyed twice, with a time interval of 6.04  years. Results: During the course of the 6  years, the mean score of the LOT-R total scale improved (effect size d  =  0.11). The temporal stability in terms of the test– retest correlation was r  =  0.61 for the total sample. There were only marginal gender differences in this temporal stability, however, the stability in the oldest age group ≥70  years (r  =  0.50) was lower than the stability of the other age groups. The cross-sectional correlations showed clear relationships between optimism on the one hand and quality of life, life satisfaction, social support, and low levels of anxiety and physical complaints on the other. The corresponding longitudinal correlations between changes in optimism and changes in the other variables were less pronounced, but in the same direction. Conclusion: The study confirmed the applicability of the LOT-R in longitudinal studies. In samples with participants of 70  years and above, the limited stability in the optimism assessments needs to be considered in clinical practice and epidemiologic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]