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This research aimed to perform linguistic analysis of the statements of experts and novices in the arts concerning figurative paintings from the 16th to 19th century of different aesthetic value under different instructions. The experts were selected based on a formal criterion of education in visual arts. Based on previous research, the paintings were divided into three groups: beautiful, not beautiful and controversial. The participants viewed them from different points of view defined by seven instructions. The Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC) was used to measure the connotation of statements in emotional and cognitive terms. Hypotheses, according to which the statements of novices are marked more with emotional, and those of experts more with cognitive processes, were only partially confirmed. It turned out that the emotional or cognitive connotation of statements concerning paintings is mostly modified by the point from which they are viewed and their aesthetic value.

The canonical size phenomenon refers to the mental representation of real-object size information: the objects larger in the physical world are represented as larger in mental spatial representations. This study tested this phenomenon in a drawing-from-memory task among children aged 5, 7, and 9 years. The participants were asked to draw objects whose actual sizes varied at eight size rank levels. Drawings were made on regular paper sheets or special foils to produce embossed drawings. When drawing from memory, the participants were either sighted or blindfolded (to prevent visual feedback). We predicted that the drawn size of objects would increase with increasing size rank of objects. The findings supported the hypothesis concerning the canonical size effect among all age groups tested. This means that children aged 5 to 9 represent real-world size information about everyday objects and are sensitive to their size subtleties. Moreover, the drawn size increased with increasing size ranks both within sighted and blindfolded perceptual conditions (however, the slope of functions that best explain the relation between size rank and drawn size varied between the perceptual conditions). This finding further supports the recent evidence of the spatial character of the canonical size phenomenon., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between time spent abroad, level of religious experience, and loneliness in Polish migrants in the UK. Factors differentiating the level of loneliness were migration time (up to one year, from one to five years, and over five years) and religious experience, which was postulated to have a protective function against the level of loneliness experienced. The R-UCLA test was used to verify the level of loneliness, and religious experience was measured with the Religious Experience Scale in participants (N = 200) who were Polish migrants. The results showed that the relationship between time abroad and loneliness is not linear-the highest levels of loneliness were experienced in those who had been living in the UK between one and five years, which is consistent with the observations of Homoncik et al. (2017). Furthermore, the level of religious experience was significantly related to loneliness in that those with high levels of religious experience displayed lower levels of loneliness than those with low levels of religious experience. These results may suggest the need for interventions to raise awareness of potential risks among people with high levels of loneliness., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Tatala et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The present study analyzed the relationship between gaming disorder (GD), motives for gaming, and psychological problems in daily life (i.e., depression, loneliness, and self-control deficits) among Polish gamers. More specifically, the purpose of the present study was to analyze the indirect effects between GD and psychological problems in daily life via motives for gaming among male and female gamers. Additionally, the present study examined gender differences in motives for gaming and the relationship between the analyzed variables. The sample comprised 652 gamers (233 females; M = 28.77 years; SD = 7.18; age range: 18-48 years). The nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Version (IGDS9-SF) was used to assess GD. The motives for gaming were assessed using the Motives for Online Gaming Questionnaire (MOGQ). The nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to assess depressive symptoms, and the Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS) was used to assess self-control. Loneliness was assessed using the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale. In order to examine the relationship between the study variables, path analysis and indirect effects analysis were performed among both male and female gamers. The present study showed that depressive symptoms and self-control exerted a significant indirect effect on GD via escape and fantasy motives for gaming. Additionally, there was an indirect effect between depressive symptoms and GD via social motives for gaming. However, these indirect effects were found among male gamers only. The present study also showed gender differences in all analyzed gaming motives except escape (males scoring higher on all of them) and in the relationship between depressive symptoms and escape. These findings contribute to a better understanding of GD development mechanisms, which are associated with psychological problems in daily life.

Recognition memory studies have shown that increased perceptual fluency results in more "old" responses and, presumably, increases familiarity. However, the exact neural mechanisms of these effects remain unresolved. We conducted two ERP experiments in which participants encoded words and performed a recognition test where fluency was manipulated by changing clarity of test words (half of them were clear or blurry). In the more demanding Experiment 1, we found a reversed effect of fluency on recognition (more hits for blurry words), which was accompanied by larger N400 and LPC old/new effects for blurry words. For high confidence responses, the topography of N400 shifted towards frontal electrodes (the FN400 for blurry words). In the less demanding Experiment 2, no behavioral differences between clear and blurry words were observed. However, there was a discrepancy in the ERP results, with the frontal FN400 for blurry words and the parietal N400 for clear words, suggesting that distinct neural pathways can support familiarity-based recognition for clear and blurry items. In both experiments, early perceptual fluency ERP effects were also observed. The results indicate that both semantic processing and familiarity can be enhanced by perceptual fluency and contribute to recognition judgments, depending on the interpretations of fluency., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to test differences in drawn size of familiar objects of different physical size in haptic drawings produced by blindfolded sighted participants. Using two sizes of the foil sheets on which they made convex drawings, they drew one object per foil. The results showed that the size of drawings increased linearly with the rising rank of real-world size. Although larger drawings were created on larger foils than on smaller ones, the ratio of the object drawn size within the foil sheet size did not differ across foil sizes. Hence, canonical size-a phenomenon known so far from studies on the visual domain-revealed here in a task performed in the haptic domain.

Over the past few decades, many new technologies have emerged, such as portable computers, the internet and smartphones, which have contributed to improving the lives of individuals. While the benefits of these new technologies are overwhelmingly positive, negative consequences are experienced by a minority of individuals. One possible negative aspect of new technologies is their problematic use due to impulsive use which may lead to lower life satisfaction. The present study investigated the mediating role of problematic video gaming (PVG) and problematic Facebook use (PFU) in the relationship between impulsivity dimensions and life satisfaction as well as the relationship between impulsivity dimensions and problematic behaviors. Additionally, the potential impact of gender differences was also examined. The study comprised 673 gamers (391 females) aged 17-38 years (M = 21.25 years, SD = 2.67) selected from 1365 individuals who completed an offline survey. PFU was assessed using the Facebook Intrusion Scale, and PVG was assessed using the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF). Impulsivity dimensions such as attention, cognitive instability, motor, perseverance, self-control, and cognitive complexity were assessed using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), and life satisfaction was assessed using the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Depending on the specific impulsivity dimension, findings showed both positive and negative relationships between impulsivity and life satisfaction. Attention and perseverance subtypes of impulsivity were primarily associated with problematic behaviors. Additionally, cognitive complexity was associated with PFU among female gamers, whereas cognitive instability was associated with PVG among male gamers. Additionally, PVG was primarily associated with lower life satisfaction. However, there was no mediation effects between impulsivity dimensions and life satisfaction via PFU or PVG. These findings provide a better understanding of the relationship between problematic behaviors, life satisfaction, and impulsivity among gamers and the differences between male and female gamers., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.