Emotion word type effect refers to a distinction between emotion-laden words (e.g., injury, gift) and emotion-label words (e.g., fear, joy). The present study examined the second language (L2) emotion word type effect using affective priming paradigms in two experiments (Experiment 1: unmasked affective priming; Experiment 2: masked affective priming). Two groups of Chinese- English bilinguals completed a word valence decision task in which they had to decide whether the emotion-laden target words were negative or positive, and their electrophysiological responses (event-related potentials) were recorded. Experiment 1 revealed that the recognition of emotion target words preceded by emotion-label words was facilitated more by emotion-laden words, with enhanced processing speed and electrophysiological activation. In Experiment 2, when participants were unaware of the primes, facilitation of target word processing was also found for emotion-label words. The results confirmed that the emotion word type effect in the L2 could be found in both explicit (unmasked) and implicit (masked) conditions.

Previous studies have shown that individuals high in the self-control trait are more skilled at avoiding distraction, including higher resistance to affective stimuli. In the current study, we aimed to examine whether self-control moderates working memory performance under the distraction of self-referential stimuli. We assumed that the level of familiarity of a photo of a person presented peripherally as irrelevant stimuli during a goal-directed task, will translate to the level of distractibility. Eighty-six volunteers (10 men) participated in the study. A spatial working memory span task was used as a goal-directed task, while photos of faces varying in their self-reference and attention-capturing propensity were used as distraction. The participants’ task was to focus on the spatial working memory span task while ignoring the distractors. The obtained results show that individuals who are average and high in proactive control (a component of self-control) exhibited higher resistance to the self-reference stimuli presented during the working memory task, thus they were more adept at avoiding distraction than those with low proactive control. Our findings suggest that only certain components of the self-control trait may be at least partially responsible for resistance to self-related distraction.

Objective: Recent research illuminates a wide range of outcomes associated with COVID-19 illness, including neurological and cognitive dysfunction. While these associations have most often been examined among hospitalized patients, emerging research suggests that cognitive impairments following COVID-19 illness may not be exclusive to hospitalized or severely ill populations. The current study investigates the impact of COVID-19 infection on objective and subjective cognitive functioning among a sample of community-dwelling adults. Method: Cross-sectional data were collected online from a community sample of adults aged 19–67 years (N = 114; Mage = 41.91 years) to examine the associations between those with and without COVID-19 illness history on objective and subjective measures of cognitive functioning. Results: There were no significant differences between those with a history of COVID-19 infection (n = 57) and those without a history of COVID- 19 infection (n = 57) in performance on digit span, digit symbol, choice reaction time, Stroop, and the N-back cognitive tasks. Within the COVID-19 positive group, individuals with long-haul (i.e., persisting four or more weeks) COVID-19 symptoms reported significantly greater impairments in subjective cognition compared to those with short-term COVID-19 symptoms. Conclusions: The current findings provide important insight into the impact of COVID-19 on cognitive outcomes among adults drawn from the community. These results highlight the necessity to continue investigating potential factors that impact the course of COVID-19 illness in diverse populations with varying degrees of viral symptomatology.

Understanding the cognitive processing mechanism of rule violation is required as the basis for preventing rule violation and promoting rule compliance. Here, we review the cognitive processing of rule violations. After reviewing the theories and evidence on the cognitive processes involved in rule violations, a new model is proposed. The model decomposes the cognitive processes of rule violation into three: activation, conflict, and inhibition. Specifically, when individuals encounter a situation in which a rule violation is possible or tasks that require violating the rules, the rule-based and violation responses are successively and simultaneously activated in the mind. The simultaneous activation of the two responses causes individuals to experience a response-selection conflict during the initiation phase and a motor-execution conflict during the execution phase. After the individual decides whether to violate the rules, the activation of the two responses is inhibited to a varying degree. Currently, the understanding of the cognitive processing of rule violation is limited and worth of further investigation. Therefore, future research should improve the existing paradigm of rule violation, enhance the ecological validity of experimental designs, and explore irrational, cognitive, and social factors in the cognitive processing of rule violation.

The risk factors for symptoms of depression in pregnant women are still unclear. The current crosssectional study examined the mindfulness stress-buffering hypothesis as a possible mediating and moderating mechanism of stress and anxiety. Two hundred and thirty-three women who were pregnant at more than 13 gestational weeks completed questionnaires designed to measure stress, anxiety, and depression. SPSS PROCESS macro 3.5 software was used to test the mediation model, in which anxiety was the moderated mediation model variable, and mindfulness was the moderator variable. The current study found that mindfulness directly, and indirectly via anxiety, moderated the effect of stress on depression, with a threshold of 146.95 and 144.60, respectively. Mindfulness levels above these thresholds reduced the use of labor anesthesia and promoted exclusive breastfeeding. This finding suggests that health professionals should pay attention to the mindfulness learning needs of participants when designing mindfulness programs. Achieving high mindfulness scores will help participants fight stress, lower anxiety, and reduce symptoms of depression. In addition, it can also help women adapt to labor pains and promote exclusive breastfeeding behaviors. Corresponding

The current study was conducted on a group of 208 children with a diagnosis of the autism spectrum aged between 3 years and 6 years 11 months, with a view to validating the four-factorial structure of the Sensory Experiences Questionnaire – 3.0 – Polish Version (SEQ-3.0 – Polish Version). The following questionnaires completed by the children’s parents/caregivers were used: SEQ-3.0 – Polish Version, the Child Behaviour Questionnaire – Very Short Form (CBQ-VSF), and a version of the EAS Temperament Survey for Children (EAS-C). The obtained results confirmed the four-factorial structure of the SEQ-3.0 – Polish Version: hyperresponsiveness (HYPER), hyporesponsiveness (HYPO), sensory interests, repetitions and seeking behavior (SIRS), and enhanced perception (EP). Not all of the items of the EP factor were found to have satisfactory loadings. Therefore, inferences about its presence in the structure of the SEQ-3.0 – Polish Version should be drawn with caution. All factors correlated with the temperamental traits of the children in the analyzed sample. The results suggest that in a group of children on the autism spectrum aged between 3 years and 6 years 11 months, the EP factor might not become manifest. Therefore, it is advisable that future studies be conducted with separate analyses for age subgroups.

The present investigation focused on assessing cognitive and affective effects of indoor exercising while exposing the participants to a video simulation of nature (simulated nature), compared to the typical indoor exercising (control condition). Participants (N = 21, physically active amateur cyclists) completed an incremental effort test to establish their aerobic power. Next, they cycled for 55 minutes under one of two randomized conditions using a within-subjects design: simulated nature, involving the presentation of an outdoor soundscape video, versus the control condition, representing the indoor cycling condition. At the end of each cycling session, conducted 3-7 days apart, participants completed a set of psychological assessments focused on their cognitive functions, including executive attention, vigilance, working memory, as well as and affective functioning, encompassing anxiety, depression, negative and positive affect. The results suggest that exercising in simulated natural environment conditions has little significant cognitive and or affective benefits after controlling for physical effort.