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25 August 2026, Volume 58 Issue 8 Previous Issue   
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Reports of Empirical Studies


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The potential mechanisms of self-conscious emotions influencing time perception: The mediating roles of arousal and attention networks YIN Huazhan, WU Dehua, HE Ronghua 2026, 58 (8):  1459-1475.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1459 Abstract ( 22 )   PDF (356KB) ( 3 )   The impact of self-conscious emotions on time perception and its underlying mechanisms remains an unresolved scientific question. Although existing research has explored the impact patterns of certain self-conscious emotions on time perception and inferred their underlying mechanisms based on literature, there has never been a systematic and direct exploration of the potential mechanisms underlying the influence of self-conscious emotions on time perception. To address this, the current study designed two experiments. Experiment 1 aimed to induce four self-conscious emotions—embarrassment, guilt, pride, and shame—using a combined paradigm of recall/imagery and situational simulation. At the same time, the influence of four types of self-conscious emotions on time perception was also explored in experiment1. A total of 225 college students were randomly recruited from a university (after excluding dropouts, 203 participants remained) and assigned to five groups (embarrassment induction, guilt induction, pride induction, shame induction, and neutral group). All participants volunteered and provided informed consent before the experiment, with normal or corrected-to-normal vision. The study was approved by the Human Ethics Committee of the first author’s university. A pretest-posttest control group design was employed. The independent variable was the emotion group (embarrassment, guilt, pride, shame, and neutral), and the dependent variables were the induced emotion type, and intensity. Results showed that the combined recall/imagery and situational simulation paradigm successfully induced the target self-conscious emotions. A total of 188 participants met the sample size requirements. All participants volunteered, provided informed consent, and received compensation. The study was approved by the Human Ethics Committee of the first author's university. The experiment employed a 5 (emotion type: embarrassment, guilt, pride, shame, neutral) × 7 (probe duration: 400 ms, 600 ms, 800 ms, 1000 ms, 1200 ms, 1400 ms, 1600 ms) mixed design, with emotion type as a between-subjects variable and probe duration as a within-subjects variable. The dependent variables were the proportions of "long" responses [P (long)], the point of subjective equivalence (PSE), and the Weber coefficient (WR). Results revealed that, based on P (long) and PSE, pride and shame led to time underestimation. Experiment 2 further explored the potential mechanisms of arousal and attention networks in the influence of self-conscious emotions on time perception within the framework of the pacemaker-accumulator model. A total of 134 participants met the sample size requirements. All participants volunteered, provided informed consent, and received compensation. The study was approved by the Human Ethics Committee of the first author's university. The experiment employed a 3 (emotion induction group: pride, shame, neutral) × 7 (probe duration: 400 ms, 600 ms, 800 ms, 1000 ms, 1200 ms, 1400 ms, 1600 ms) mixed design, with emotion induction as a between-subjects variable and probe duration as a within-subjects variable. The dependent variables were P (long), PSE, and WR. Results showed that, compared to neutral emotion, pride and shame led to time underestimation, whereas guilt and embarrassment did not distort time perception. Pride influenced time underestimation via arousal, while shame affected time underestimation through both arousal and attentional networks. These findings suggest two key pathways through which pride and shame influence time perception: one pathway is jointly mediated by the arousal and attention networks, with differences in their intensities of effect, and is shared by both emotions; the other pathway is unique to the emotion of pride and directly influences the perception of time duration. This provides critical evidence for understanding how self-conscious emotions affect time perception and the roles of arousal and attention networks in these mechanisms. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Influence of perceptual and conceptual stimuli on non-conscious and conscious fear generalization: A behavioral and event-related potential study ZHOU Yijia, MEI Ying, WANG Jinxia, LEI Yi 2026, 58 (8):  1476-1492.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1476 Abstract ( 20 )   This study investigated cognitive neural mechanisms underlying the generalization, both perceptual and conceptual, of fear under conscious and non-conscious conditions. Sixty-seven healthy individuals participated as valid subjects, randomly assigned to either a “conscious” or “non-conscious” group and following a classical fear-conditioning procedure. The experimental design incorporated three independent variables: two within-subject factors (conceptual generalization stimulus type [C+ vs. C-] and perceptual generalization stimulus type [P+ vs. P-]) as well as one between-subjects factor (conscious vs. non-conscious condition). The experiment unfolded over three distinct phases. In the first, participants underwent a habituation phase to ensure their familiarity with all stimuli. Next, during the acquisition phase, perceptual stimuli (navy blue and olive green colors) and conceptual stimuli (animal- and furniture-related words) served as conditioned stimuli (CS), with one category designated as CS+ (e.g., navy blue as P+ and animal words as C+) and the other as CS-. An electric shock served as the unconditioned stimulus (US). In the subsequent generalization phase, four types of generalization stimuli (GS) were used: navy blue animal words (C+P+), olive green animal words (C+P-), olive green furniture words (C-P-), and navy blue furniture words (C-P+). Critical temporal parameters differed between groups: to the conscious group, GS were presented for 30 ms, followed by a 200-ms blank screen and a 100-ms mask; to the non-conscious group, GS were presented for 30 ms, followed immediately by a 100-ms mask, then a 200-ms blank screen. Behavioral and electrophysiological data were recorded throughout. The behavioral data indicated significantly higher US expectancy ratings for P+ than C+ during acquisition. The electrophysiological data revealed two critical patterns: 1) the non-conscious group exhibited more negative frontal N1 amplitudes in response to GS than the conscious group; and 2) in the non-conscious group, C+ elicited more negative N400 amplitudes than C-, whereas the reverse pattern emerged in the conscious group. These results support three main conclusions. First, perceptual stimuli may more strongly encourage threat-learning to relative to conceptual stimuli. Second, non-conscious GS induce enhanced early attentional vigilance compared to conscious group, as indexed by N1 modulation. Third, distinct neural signatures appear during conceptual processing, where non-conscious conditions facilitate threat-detection through N400 modulation for threat-related concepts. Under conscious conditions, conversely, N400 modulation for safety-related concepts is inconsistent with the threat expectation generated while the individual is in a vigilant state. Discrepancies between early attentional (N1) and later semantic (N400) processing, as evidenced in this study, suggest stage-specific neural correlates of fear generalization across states of consciousness and pointœ toward compelling possible neural mechanisms underlying anxiety disorders. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The facilitating effect of frontal P3 amplitude regulation on emotion regulation LI Yiwei, TANG Yuyao, WANG Tingdong, ZhANG Dandan 2026, 58 (8):  1493-1505.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1493 Abstract ( 22 )   PDF (414KB) ( 2 )   The frontal P3 component is a reliable electrophysiological marker of the engagement of prefrontal cognitive control resources. In previous studies, frontal P3 amplitude has typically been regarded as a neural correlate of early-stage resource recruitment during executive control tasks, including emotion regulation. However, this correlational interpretation leaves an important question unresolved: whether actively changing frontal P3 amplitude can causally influence the executive control processes that support emotion regulation. To address this question, the present study used neurofeedback (NF) training to modulate frontal P3 amplitude and examined its potential causal role in emotion regulation. Sixty-seven participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental group, which was trained to upregulate frontal P3 amplitude (n = 34), or a control group, which was trained to downregulate frontal P3 amplitude (n = 33). All participants completed an emotion regulation task before and after NF training. During the task, participants were instructed to use cognitive reappraisal to reinterpret negative emotional stimuli and reduce their emotional impact. Emotion regulation effectiveness was assessed using both subjective ratings of negative emotion and the parietal late positive potential (LPP), an electrophysiological index of emotional experience intensity. Compared with the pre-training baseline, participants in the experimental group successfully increased frontal P3 amplitude through NF training. This training effect indicated that they were able to more effectively recruit the executive control function indexed by frontal P3. Critically, after NF training, the experimental group showed improved emotion regulation effectiveness, as reflected by significant reductions in both self-reported negative emotion and parietal LPP amplitude during emotion regulation. In contrast, the control group showed the opposite pattern. After training, frontal P3 amplitude during emotion regulation decreased, and emotion regulation effectiveness was reduced, suggesting that weakening the neural activity indexed by frontal P3 impaired the regulatory process. Further analyses indicated that the beneficial effect of P3-NF training on emotion regulation was primarily achieved by increasing frontal P3 amplitude during cognitive reappraisal itself. This finding suggests that frontal P3 is not merely a passive neural marker of prefrontal resource engagement, but may reflect an executive control process that directly contributes to successful emotion regulation. Unlike previous correlational neuroimaging studies, we utilized ERP-NF neuromodulation technology to causally demonstrate that the prefrontal cognitive control resources indexed by frontal P3 constitute the causal neural foundation for the early stages of emotion regulation. These findings provide novel insights into the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying emotion regulation and offer a new approach for precise, non-invasive brain modulation to treat prefrontal executive control deficits in clinical populations. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Neural mechanisms of symbolic number processing in high math anxiety: An ERP study LIU Jie, YAO Xiaohuan, LIN Yuefan, YAN Peiqing, HAN Shangfeng 2026, 58 (8):  1506-1516.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1506 Abstract ( 20 )   PDF (1668KB) ( 4 )   Math anxiety has been consistently shown to impair performance in numerical and mathematical tasks, but its impact on specific cognitive stages—particularly the visual perception of numerical symbols and the processing of numerical magnitude—remains poorly understood. The present study investigated the neural mechanisms underlying symbolic number processing deficits in individuals with high math anxiety (HMA) using event-related potentials (ERP). A hierarchical task design was employed to dissociate distinct levels of numerical processing, including a visual baseline task (non-digit color judgment), a digit color judgment task, and a numerical magnitude judgment task. This design allowed for the separation of general visual processing, symbolic digit recognition, and abstract numerical magnitude processing. Fifty-eight university students were selected from a larger screening sample based on their scores on the Shortened Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (sMARS), forming high math anxiety (HMA, n = 29) and low math anxiety (LMA, n = 29) groups. Participants completed the three experimental tasks while EEG was recorded. ERP analyses focused on the anticipatory P3 component elicited by task cues, the N170 component associated with early visual processing of digits, and the P2P component related to numerical magnitude processing. Results showed that individuals with HMA exhibited significantly reduced N170 amplitudes during digit processing, suggesting weakened neural responses during early visual recognition of symbolic numbers. In contrast, the HMA group showed increased P2P amplitudes during numerical magnitude processing, indicating altered or less efficient neural processing of quantity representations. Although behavioral performance did not reveal robust group differences—likely due to task simplicity and ceiling effects—neural measures clearly differentiated the groups. Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) further demonstrated that individuals with low math anxiety could distinguish between digit and non-digit stimuli earlier and with higher decoding accuracy than those with high math anxiety. Specifically, the LMA group showed earlier and more reliable neural decoding of digit-related information, whereas the HMA group exhibited delayed and less accurate classification, indicating reduced efficiency in symbolic number discrimination. Importantly, mediation analyses revealed that the anticipatory P3 amplitude fully mediated the relationship between math anxiety and both N170 and P2P amplitudes in the digit color judgment task. This finding suggests that deficits in anticipatory cognitive-emotional control contribute critically to downstream impairments in symbolic number processing. Source localization using sLORETA traced the anticipatory P3 activity to the inferior parietal region (Brodmann area 40), a key node within the frontoparietal control network. Reduced activity in this region may reflect impaired emotional regulation and cognitive control during the anticipation of numerical stimuli in individuals with high math anxiety. Taken together, these findings suggest that symbolic number processing deficits in individuals with high math anxiety arise from a multi-level disruption that begins during anticipatory preparation and propagates through early visual recognition to later numerical magnitude processing. These results highlight the role of anticipatory emotional and cognitive control mechanisms in shaping numerical cognition and provide new neurocognitive evidence for understanding and potentially intervening in math anxiety. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Effects of reward and punishment motivation on working memory updating among college students at high risk for internet gaming disorder GAO Yuanxia, WANG Jiangyang 2026, 58 (8):  1517-1531.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1517 Abstract ( 10 )   PDF (255KB) ( 2 )   Previous studies have found that individuals with internet gaming disorder (IGD) have relatively low cognitive functioning and commonly suffers from poor academic performance. As a key aspect of executive functioning, working memory plays an important role in the academic growth of college students, not only as a foundation for cognitive development, learning, and education, but also as a prerequisite to cope with the complex cognitive challenges of daily life. Several studies have shown that IGD risk negatively affects working memory updating, and this impairment likely contributes to poor academic performance in college students at high risk for IGD. Therefore, based on the social cognition theory, this study aims to explore the influences of IGD risk on college students’ working memory updating, as well as the effects and differences in reward and punishment motivation induced by monetary rewards and losses on working memory updating in high-risk (IGD) and low-risk (non-IGD) college students. Participants were recruited using posters. Forty-two high-risk and 45 low-risk college students were identified using the Internet (Gaming) Addiction Test. In Experiment 1, participants completed three reward-based N-back tasks with different memory loads to examine differences in working memory updating between high- and low-risk college students in conditions with or without reward motivation. In Experiment 2, a punishment-based N-back task was used to examine differences in working memory updating between high- and low-risk college students in conditions with or without punishment motivation across three different memory loads. The results of Experiment 1 showed that in the rewarded version of the working memory updating task, high-risk college students had weaker processing, that is, longer reaction times and lower accuracy, than low-risk college students. With reward motivation, high- and low-risk college students’ reaction time increased, accuracy improved, and the degree of processing was enhanced. There was no significant difference in the role of reward motivation in facilitating response time and accuracy in the working memory updating task between high- and low-risk college students. The results of Experiment 2 showed that in the punishment version of the working memory updating task, high-risk college students had weaker processing than low-risk college students. With punishment motivation, the accuracy of high- and low-risk college students increased, and it contributed less to facilitating the working memory updating accuracy of high-risk college students than low-risk college students. After conducting a cross-experimental analysis, it was found that the accuracy of reward motivation in working memory updating was significantly higher than that of punishment motivation among high-risk students, and there was no significant difference in the accuracy of reward and punishment motivation among low-risk students. In conclusion, this study showed that the working memory updating speed and accuracy of high-risk college students are significantly slower and lower than low-risk college students. Rewarding motivation helped improve working memory updating performance in both high- and low-risk college students by increasing accuracy and reducing speed, whereas punishment motivation only improved accuracy and had a weaker facilitating effect for high-risk college students than for low-risk college students. Overall, the facilitating effect of reward motivation on the accuracy of working memory updating in high-risk students is greater than that of punishment motivation, whereas reward and punishment motivation show the same utility value for accuracy of working memory updating in low-risk college students. This implies that college students at high risk for IGD exhibit certain impairment in working memory updating and reduced sensitivity to punishment in cognitive tasks. Additionally, the mechanism of working memory updating in college students at high risk for IGD provides new insights into their poor academic performance, and offers suggestions for reference to address this issue. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Emotion polyregulation and psychological adjustment in early adolescence: A multilevel latent profile analysis HAN Xianguo, MA Xinyue, YANG Yilin, WU Qin, LI Dan 2026, 58 (8):  1532-1552.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1532 Abstract ( 12 )   PDF (1760KB) ( 3 )   Research on emotion regulation (ER) has predominantly examined single regulation strategies and their associations with psychological adjustment. Although this line of work has yielded important insights, it provides only a limited understanding of the complexity and dynamic nature of ER in everyday life. Emerging evidence suggests that individuals often deploy multiple strategies, either simultaneously or sequentially, in response to a single emotional episode. This process, termed emotion polyregulation, represents a core feature of ER in real-world contexts yet remains understudied, particularly in early adolescence. Little is known about the strategy repertoire of emotion polyregulation (ER strategy combinations) that early adolescents typically deploy during negative social interactions and which patterns of the strategy repertoire are associated with more adaptive adjustment over time. To address this gap, the present study examined 352 Chinese students in Grades 5 to 7 (Mage = 12.05 years, SD = 0.88) using a 10-day daily diary with a 6-month longitudinal questionnaire survey. The daily diaries captured the use of 10 distinct ER strategies, perceived regulatory success following negative social interactions (e.g., with classmates, friends, teachers), and daily experiences of anxiety and depressive mood. The longitudinal questionnaire survey assessed self-reported loneliness, depression, social anxiety, and self-esteem. This intensive, multi-method design allowed us to examine both within-person variation in ER strategy combinations and between-person differences in relatively stable polyregulation patterns, as well as their associations with indices of psychological adjustment. Multilevel latent profile analysis and structural equation modeling identified five within-person ER profiles: no ER, low-level polyregulation, moderate-level polyregulation, high-adaptive polyregulation, and high-level polyregulation. These profiles differed in both regulatory intensity and the relative predominance of adaptive versus maladaptive strategies. Adolescents who reported higher daily anxiety and depressive mood were more likely to engage in low-, moderate-, and high-level polyregulation profiles and less likely to rely on the adaptive strategy-dominant profile. At the between-person level, four relatively stable profiles: predominantly no ER, predominantly low-level polyregulation, predominantly moderate-level polyregulation, and a diverse polyregulation profile characterized by greater heterogeneity and flexibility. Adolescents in the diverse polyregulation profile reported lower loneliness and higher self-esteem, whereas those in the predominantly low- and moderate-level profiles reported higher social anxiety. These findings highlight the pivotal role of flexible emotion polyregulation in early adolescents’ psychological adjustment. Moving beyond static, single-strategy perspectives on ER, the results underscore the adaptive value of dynamically coordinating multiple ER strategies in response to situational demands. By capturing both within- and between-person variability, the present study advances understanding of ER as a context-sensitive and flexible developmental process, and suggests that polyregulation-promoting interventions designed to broaden young adolescents’ ER repertoires and promote the integrative use of multiple strategies may enhance resilience and psychological well-being. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Dynamic reciprocal associations between parental harsh discipline and child emotion regulation: An analysis based on random intercept cross-lagged panel model LIU Li, WANG Jingyi, XING Xiaopei, WANG Meifang 2026, 58 (8):  1553-1566.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1553 Abstract ( 15 )   PDF (1766KB) ( 3 )   As an important component of child adjustment, child emotion regulation has received increasing attention. It is widely recognized that parental harsh discipline strongly influences the growth of child emotion regulation. However, the direction of influence is not necessarily unidirectional, child emotion regulation can also exert influences on parental harsh discipline, and the associations may change over time. Thus, the present study attempts to explore dynamic reciprocal associations between parental harsh discipline and child emotion regulation. Given that the cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) fails to separate between-person variance from within-person variance, we used random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) to explore the reciprocal associations between parental harsh discipline and child emotion regulation. The longitudinal sample consisted of 560 father-mother dyads and their children (56.79% boys, 43.21% girls) in Jinan, China. At T1, the average ages of the children, fathers, and mothers were 9.41 years (SD = 1.00), 37.13 years (SD = 5.04), and 36.14 years (SD = 4.72), respectively. During four times points, parents and children respectively reported parents’ harsh discipline using the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale (CTSPC). Children reported their emotion regulation using the Children’s Emotion Management Scale (CEMS). SPSS was used to conduct reliability, common method bias tests, and to calculate descriptive statistics. Mplus was used to test longitudinal measurement invariance and conduct RI-CLPMs to test dynamic reciprocal associations between parental harsh discipline and child emotion regulation. The results indicated that all measurements showed good reliability, and there is no serious common method bias, and the results of the longitudinal measurement invariance indicated that changes in all variables over time were reliable. Moreover, the results of the RI-CLPMs showed that at the between-person level, the random intercepts of paternal harsh discipline were significantly positively with the random intercepts of child emotion dysregulation (including anger, sadness and anxiety) and negatively with the random intercept of sadness coping; the random intercepts of maternal harsh discipline were significantly positively with the random intercepts of child emotion dysregulation (including anger, sadness and anxiety) and negatively with the random intercepts of emotion coping (including anger, sadness and anxiety) and anxiety inhibition. In addition, the random intercepts of paternal harsh discipline and maternal harsh discipline were significantly positively correlated. At the within-person level, the within-person changes in maternal harsh discipline significantly negatively predicted the within-person changes in child anger dysregulation at the subsequent time point; the within-person changes in child anger inhibition at T2 significantly negatively predicted the within-person changes in maternal harsh discipline at T3; maternal harsh discipline and child anger coping were reciprocally negatively predicted at the within-person level between T2 and T3. In sum, the associations between parental harsh discipline and child emotion regulation were found to be different for parent’s roles, child emotion types, and regulation methods. These observations expand the understanding of the complex associations between parental harsh discipline and child emotion regulation, having important implications for intervention and improvement of child mental health and parental parenting. In addition, the results differences highlight the importance of distinguishing between-person and within-person levels. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The effect of antiphonal singing experience on executive function in middle-aged and older Zhuang adults: Evidence from behavioral and fNIRS data ZHANG Shuyue, YI Jingyuan, SU Yue, LI Yuhan, ZHANG Jijia 2026, 58 (8):  1567-1585.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1567 Abstract ( 20 )   PDF (996KB) ( 8 )   Executive function is a set of higher-order cognitive abilities that support goal-directed behavior, typically comprising three core components: inhibitory control, working memory updating, and cognitive flexibility. While executive function tends to decline in middle and older adulthood, improvisational activities may help slow this deterioration. Antiphonal singing, a traditional form of spontaneous lyric creation widely practiced in ethnic minority regions of China, emphasizes real-time generation and flexible response, potentially engaging multiple components of executive function. This study aimed to investigate whether experience in antiphonal singing enhances executive function in middle-aged and older adults and further explore the neural basis underlying these potential advantages. We hypothesized that individuals with such experience would perform better in inhibitory control, working memory updating, and cognitive flexibility. Two groups of middle-aged and older adults were recruited: those with experience in antiphonal singing and those without. The average age across participants was approximately 58 years. In Study 1, 34 singers and 31 non-singers were included in the analysis; in Studies 2 and 3, both groups consisted of 32 participants. Three experiments were conducted: a Simon arrow task assessed inhibitory control, an n-back task assessed working memory updating, and a more-odd shifting task assessed cognitive flexibility. During task performance, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measured changes in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration in key frontal, parietal, and temporal brain regions to assess behavioral performance and neural activation patterns. Behavioral results across all three experiments showed that participants with antiphonal singing experience had superior executive function. In Study 1, fNIRS data revealed significantly lower activation in the singer group under conflict conditions in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, primary motor cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, posterior parietal cortex, middle and superior temporal gyri, and somatosensory association cortex. In Study 2, higher activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, primary motor cortex, somatosensory association cortex, and posterior parietal cortex was observed in the singer group during the 2-back task (but not the 1-back task). In Study 3, during task-switching conditions, the singer group exhibited significantly higher activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, frontopolar area, premotor and primary motor cortices, posterior parietal cortex, and somatosensory association cortex. This study is the first to systematically examine the influence of antiphonal singing experience on different components of executive function and their neural underpinnings. Results indicate that such experience significantly enhances executive function in middle-aged and older adults. These findings support the potential of improvisational language training as an intervention for cognitive aging, offering empirical evidence for culturally grounded cognitive enhancement programs. Moreover, the fNIRS data suggest that the observed cognitive improvements may reflect enhanced neural processing efficiency. These findings provide valuable insights for advancing cognitive training research and broaden the potential applications of improvisational practices in cognitive interventions, particularly culturally embedded forms of improvisation such as antiphonal singing. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The influence of the type of being envied on helping decision LIN Shu-Hui, CHANG Li-Jia, LIU Xin-Jie, LI Zhong-Quan 2026, 58 (8):  1586-1599.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1586 Abstract ( 18 )   PDF (569KB) ( 7 )   Being the target of envy is a complex social phenomenon that profoundly shapes interpersonal dynamics. However, existing research has primarily focused on the envious individual, with limited attention to how those who are envied respond, particularly their willingness to engage in prosocial behavior. Findings remain inconsistent: some studies link being envied to increased prosocial behavior aimed at relationship maintenance, whereas others report reduced helping tendencies driven by status protection. These inconsistencies may stem from a failure to distinguish between benign envy (rooted in admiration) and malicious envy (associated with resentment and potential harm). Additionally, prior research has largely neglected distinctions between types of help—specifically, autonomous help (which empowers recipients to solve problems independently) versus dependent help (which provides direct solutions). This study examined how benign versus malicious envy influences helping willingness and preferences for help types. We hypothesized that malicious envy would reduce helping willingness (H1a) and preference for autonomous help (H2a), whereas benign envy would enhance both (H1b and H2b). These effects were expected to be mediated by agency and communion (H3a-H3b), moderated by interpersonal closeness (H4a-H5b). Three studies investigated how being envied shapes helping behavior. In Study 1 (N = 405), participants recalled a personal experience of being envied, reported their perceptions of benign versus malicious envy, and indicated their willingness to adopt three types of responses in daily scenarios: no help, autonomous help, or dependent help. Study 2 (N = 216) manipulated envy type (benign, malicious without harm, malicious with harm) and a control condition, then measured participants’ helping intentions (no help, autonomous help, dependent help) using hypothetical scenarios. Study 3 (N = 217; all with work experience) manipulated envy type and interpersonal closeness (high vs. low) in work-related contexts, while assessing participants’ agency and communion levels as well as their helping intentions. Study 1 revealed that malicious envy reduced helping willingness (especially for autonomous help), whereas benign envy promoted helping, particularly in low-competition contexts. Study 2 confirmed that malicious envy with harm significantly reduced helping willingness, with a stronger effect on autonomous than dependent help; malicious envy without harm did not differ from the control condition. In Study 3, agency mediated the negative effect of malicious envy with harm on helping willingness and preference for autonomous help, whereas communion showed no significant mediation. Interpersonal closeness moderated these relationships: higher closeness attenuated the negative impact of malicious envy with harm on helping willingness, although it did not significantly influence preferences for help types. This research clarifies how being envied shapes helping decisions by distinguishing between benign and malicious envy. Specifically, malicious envy with harm reduced helping willingness (particularly for autonomous help) through increased agency, whereas benign envy promoted helping in less competitive contexts. Interpersonal closeness mitigated these negative effects, underscoring the role of relational dynamics. By examining different types of help, this study advanced our understanding of prosocial behavior beyond binary help/no-help categorizations. Theoretically, it reconciled conflicting findings by elucidating the psychological mechanisms underlying different types of envy. Practically, it suggests that fostering close relationships may mitigate the negative impact of malicious envy, thereby promoting cooperation in social and workplace contexts. Future research could explore additional mediators, such as threat perception. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Moral smog effect: Perceived environmental threat increases individuals’ acceptance of unethical behavior CHEN Sijing, YANG Shasha, XU Yijie, MU Honglei, SUN Qingzhou 2026, 58 (8):  1600-1619.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1600 Abstract ( 17 )   PDF (225KB) ( 7 )   Environmental threats have emerged as one of the most pressing global challenges of our time. While extensive research has examined the economic, social, and health-related consequences of environmental degradation, its impact on moral psychology remains underexplored. Existing studies have primarily focused on whether environmental threats elicit unethical behaviors, yet little is known about how such threats may influence individuals’ moral evaluations—specifically, their tolerance toward unethical behaviors. This paper proposes that perceived environmental threats not only influence individuals’ engagement in unethical behavior, but also shift moral standards themselves. We refer to this pattern as the “moral smog effect”. Across five primary studies and two supplementary studies (Ntotal = 4, 733), we employed a multi-method approach that combined secondary data analyses with experimental methods to examine the relationship between perceived environmental threat and moral judgment. Studies 1a and 1b analyzed two large-scale datasets—the 2021 Chinese General Social Survey and the fifth wave of the World Values Survey (Chinese subsample)—using correlational methods to examine the association between perceived environmental threat and the acceptability of unethical behaviors. Supplementary Study S1 drew on the same sample as Study 1a and incorporated psychological stress as an additional variable, providing initial evidence that stress partially accounts for this association. Study 2 adopted a single-factor between-participants experimental design, manipulating environmental threat via scenario priming (high vs. low threat), followed by participants’ moral evaluations of a series of unethical behaviors. Study 3 utilized a 2 (perceived environmental threat: high vs. low) × 2 (psychological stress: induced vs. neutral) between-participants design, enabling a test of the mediating role of stress through a “manipulation-of-mediation-as-a-moderator” design. Study 4 and the supplementary study employed two 2 (perceived environmental threat: high vs. low) × 2 (moral agent: self vs. other) between-participants designs to test whether the moral agent (self vs. other) moderated the main effect of environmental threat on moral judgment. The findings across these studies converge on the conclusion that perceived environmental threats consistently increased individuals’ acceptance of unethical behaviors. This relationship was robust across diverse measurement tools, data sources, and research designs. Experimental results further demonstrated that the experience of environmental threat elevates stress levels, which in turn reduces individuals’ cognitive capacity to uphold abstract moral norms, leading to greater moral leniency. Importantly, Study 4 and its supplementary analysis found no evidence of moral hypocrisy under threat: participants became equally tolerant of unethical behavior regardless of whether it was enacted by themselves or by others, and this pattern remained robust after controlling for social desirability. This finding suggests that environmental stress may impair individuals’ ability to differentiate between moral agents, potentially due to reduced cognitive resources under heightened stress. This research advances theoretical understanding in both environmental psychology and moral cognition by demonstrating that environmental threats can systematically reshape individuals’ moral standards, rather than merely influencing their behavioral tendencies. The concept of the “moral smog effect” contributes to a broader recognition that the psychological consequences of environmental degradation extend beyond emotions and health to include value systems and social norms. Practically, these findings carry significant implications for public policy and moral education. In an era of escalating environmental risk, fostering psychologically safe and low-stress environments may help safeguard not only public well-being but also the moral fabric of society. Recognizing the moral costs of environmental threat thus adds a critical dimension to the discourse on sustainable development and ethical governance. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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High status rarely helps others: How does a sense of power inhibit internet altruistic behavior ZHENG Xianliang, SONG Zijia, CAI Ruonan, LIU Zhiqing 2026, 58 (8):  1620-1633.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1620 Abstract ( 12 )   PDF (191KB) ( 3 )   The influence of sense of power on individuals’ altruistic behavior has long been a subject of debate. Scholars hold different views on whether power inhibits or promotes altruistic behavior. As an extension of real-world altruistic behavior in online contexts, Internet altruistic behavior (IAB) may also be influenced by power; however, systematic research on this topic remains limited. In particular, the underlying mechanisms through which sense of power affects IAB have not been fully explored. Based on social cognitive theory, sense of power, as a perception of social relationships, not only directly shapes individuals’ behavioral responses (e.g., IAB) but may also exert indirect effects through individuals’ social cognition (e.g., justice sensitivity) or interact with individuals’ emotional experiences (e.g., moral emotions) to regulate behavior. Therefore, from the perspective of social relationship perception, this study integrates relevant theories of power to examine its effect on IAB and further investigates the mediating role of justice sensitivity and the moderating role of moral emotions. This study tested the hypotheses through three experiments. Study 1 employed a power priming paradigm and a one-factor between-subjects design (high sense of power vs. low sense of power) to examine the direct effect of sense of power on IAB. Study 2 adopted a dual-randomization design, incorporating two rigorous causal chain experiments to systematically explore the mediating role of justice sensitivity. First, power was manipulated, and justice sensitivity and IAB were measured to preliminarily test the mediating effect. Subsequently, justice sensitivity was further manipulated to assess its impact on IAB, strengthening the causal inference regarding mediation. Study 3 introduced moral emotions as a moderating variable and employed a 2 (sense of power: high vs. low) × 3 (moral emotions: positive vs. neutral vs. negative) between-subjects design to examine how moral emotions moderate the effect of sense of power on IAB. The results of the three experiments showed that: (1) individuals with a high sense of power exhibited significantly lower levels of IAB than those with a low sense of power (Study 1); (2) justice sensitivity mediated the relationship between sense of power and IAB (Study 2); and (3) moral emotions moderated the effect of sense of power on IAB, with both positive and negative moral emotions significantly mitigating the negative predictive effect of power on IAB (Study 3). This study contributes to both theoretical and practical domains. Theoretically, it deepens the understanding of the psychological mechanisms through which sense of power influences IAB and helps address inconsistencies in previous research. Practically, by integrating justice sensitivity and moral emotions, this study highlights the importance of enhancing justice sensitivity and activating moral emotions to alleviate the potential negative impact of power on IAB. These findings provide insights into promoting prosocial behavior in digital environments. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The dynamic evolution mechanism of informal leadership status: The dual-path effects of coworker’s emotions PAN Jingzhou, SUN Binbin, XU Haoying, CUI Zeting 2026, 58 (8):  1634-1649.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1634 Abstract ( 20 )   PDF (443KB) ( 3 )   Despite the growing body of research on informal leadership, the extant literature still has two notable limitations. First, most studies have focused on the antecedents of informal leadership emergence, ignoring the dynamic evolutionary process of informal leadership status (e.g., enhancement, weakening, or even disappearance). Although a limited number of studies have examined the dynamics of informal leadership status, they only explored its positive evolutionary path, neglecting the potential negative evolutionary trajectory. Second, current research has predominantly adopted the informal leader’s perspective, devoting insufficient attention to the behaviors of coworkers as the “grantors” of informal leadership status. The few studies that have considered coworker behaviors only explored their positive responses to informal leadership status, ignoring the potential erosive effects of coworkers. To overcome these limitations, based on the cognitive appraisal theory of emotion and from a dynamic research perspective, we propose a dual-path model through which coworker emotions and behaviors exert endowment and erosion effects on the evolution of informal leadership status. This study conducted a four-wave longitudinal study with repeated measurements and multi-source data to test the proposed theoretical model (N = 311). The data were collected at four time points with an interval of approximately two months between each wave. In the first wave, a round-robin design was used to measure the initial level of informal leadership status of focal members and the coworker inspiration and envy aroused by focal members, while focal members self-reported their coworker exchange relationship. In addition, control variables were collected in the first wave. In the second wave, a round-robin design was continued to measure coworker inspiration and envy induced by focal members, and focal members self-reported coworker helping and social undermining behaviors. In the third wave, focal members self-reported the received coworker helping and social undermining behaviors, and a round-robin design was synchronously used to measure the informal leadership status of focal members at the third stage. Finally, in the fourth wave, a round-robin design was used again to measure the informal leadership status of focal members at the fourth stage. Finally, we constructed a latent change score model to examine the theoretical model using Mplus 8.3. Empirical results fully supported the proposed theoretical model. The findings of the latent change score model indicated that (1) Changes in coworker inspiration and changes in coworker helping behavior mediated the positive effect of initial level of informal leadership behavior on changes in subsequent informal leadership. (2) Changes in coworker envy and changes in coworker social undermining behavior mediated the negative effect of initial level of informal leadership behavior on changes in subsequent informal leadership. (3) Coworker exchange relationship significantly moderated the positive indirect effect of initial level of informal leadership on changes in subsequent informal leadership, such that the indirect effect was stronger when coworker exchange relationship was higher. (4) Coworker exchange relationship significantly moderated the negative indirect effect of initial level of informal leadership on changes in subsequent informal leadership, such that the indirect effect was stronger when coworker exchange relationship was lower. The results indicated that coworker exchange relationship plays a critical moderating role in the dual-path evolution of informal leadership status: when the level of coworker exchange relationship is high, the initial level of informal leadership status is more likely to trigger an increase in coworkers’ inspiration and subsequent helping behaviors, which in turn drives the further enhancement of informal leadership status in subsequent stages. In contrast, when the level of coworker exchange relationship is low, the initial informal leadership status tends to induce a rise in coworkers’ envy emotions and subsequent social undermining behaviors, ultimately leading to the erosion of informal leadership status in the following stages. This study makes several theoretical contributions to the literature on informal leadership. First, by constructing a dual-path model that elucidates how coworker emotions and behaviors shape the evolution of informal leadership status, this study highlights the critical role of coworkers in the dynamic evolution of informal leadership status, shifting the research perspective from the individual level to the social interaction level. Second, by identifying the negative responses (i.e., envy and social undermining) of coworkers, this study complements the understanding of coworker influences in the dynamics of informal leadership status, thereby revealing the dark-side process in the dynamics of informal leadership. Third, this study introduces the cognitive appraisal theory of emotion into the dynamics of informal leadership status, revealing the mediating role of changes in coworker emotions in driving changes in coworker behaviors. Fourth, this study empirically verifies that coworker exchange relationship serves as a key boundary condition in the dual-path evolution of informal leadership status. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Depletion or fulfillment? The double-edged sword effect of leader humor on leader interpersonal deviance YANG Fu, ZHAO Yiting, LIU Wenjun, YANG Ju 2026, 58 (8):  1650-1665.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1650 Abstract ( 19 )   Leader humor, as a prevalent behavior in the modern workplace, refers to an intentional behavior enacted by a leader that is intended to be amusing to the subordinate. Despite its prevalence, leader humor does not necessarily mean positive interpersonal interactions. The same leader may shift from humorous expressions to interpersonally inappropriate responses within a short period of time, yet the reasons underlying such fluctuations remain unclear. To address this theoretical gap, integrating the conservation of resources theory and the self-determination theory, this study explores the effects of daily leader humor on daily leader interpersonal deviance via both daily leader state depletion and daily leader relatedness needs satisfaction. Additionally, we reveal the important moderating role of leader trait mindfulness and daily leader role self-compassion. We employed an experience sampling methodology to test the hypothesized model, including an initial one-time survey and daily surveys administered for ten consecutive working days. We collected data from a large-scale hotel chain in China, and the final sample included 1, 004 observations from 116 leaders. One week before the start of the daily surveys, participants reported their trait mindfulness, trait humor, emotional stability, and demographic information. Subsequently, the participants completed three surveys per day over ten consecutive working days. At Time 1 (sent at 8:00 a.m.; completed by 8:30 a.m.), participants reported their positive and negative affect as well as sleep quality from the previous night. At Time 2 (sent at 12:00 p.m.; completed by 12:30 p.m.), participants reported daily leader humor, daily leader state depletion, daily leader relatedness needs satisfaction, and daily leader role self-compassion. At Time 3 (sent at 5:00 p.m.; completed by 5:30 p.m.), participants reported daily leader interpersonal deviance. Consistent with our predictions, the results demonstrated that daily leader humor was positively related to daily leader interpersonal deviance via daily leader state depletion. Meanwhile, daily leader humor was negatively related to daily leader interpersonal deviance through daily leader relatedness needs satisfaction. We also found that leader trait mindfulness and daily leader role self-compassion moderated the indirect relationship between daily leader humor and daily leader interpersonal deviance via daily leader state depletion and daily leader relatedness needs satisfaction. More specifically, when leader trait mindfulness and daily leader role self-compassion were low, the indirect relationship between daily leader humor and daily leader interpersonal deviance through daily leader state depletion was significant; however, when leader trait mindfulness and daily leader role self-compassion were high, the indirect relationship via daily leader state depletion was not significant. Meanwhile, when leader trait mindfulness and daily leader role self-compassion were high, the indirect relationship between daily leader humor and daily leader interpersonal deviance through daily leader relatedness needs satisfaction was significant; however, when leader trait mindfulness and daily leader role self-compassion were low, the indirect relationship via daily leader relatedness needs satisfaction was not significant. Overall, our research makes important contributions to the existing literature. First, we extend the research on leader humor by taking an actor-centric perspective to demonstrate dynamic variation of leader humor and its impact on leaders themselves. Second, our research sheds light on the process by which leader humor affects leaders’ subsequent behaviors. We explain two key mechanisms linking leader humor to leader interpersonal deviance by investigating the mediating roles of leader state depletion and leader relatedness needs satisfaction. Third, our research allows for a better understanding of differentiated effects of leader humor by highlighting two moderators, including leader trait mindfulness as a stable individual difference and daily leader role self-compassion as a dynamic state. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The mechanism through which team voice affects leader voice-taking: A legitimacy perspective FAN Pan, LI Fuli 2026, 58 (8):  1666-1680.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1666 Abstract ( 17 )   PDF (158KB) ( 1 )   In the rapidly evolving business landscape, team voice has become a prevalent and highly valued form of proactive behavior in organizations and been recognized as a key driver of team innovation and performance. Although team members can typically make constructive suggestions regarding existing or potential work issues affecting the team, the effectiveness of team voice hinges on the acceptance of team leaders and their action on such suggestions. Despite the significance of the receptiveness of team leaders to team voice, research has predominantly focused on the process of leaders’ acceptance of individual voice and paid little attention to the mechanisms of such acceptance. To explore how and when team leaders act on team voice, we draw on legitimacy theory and a group influence perspective to propose that team leaders’ perceived legitimacy of team voice serves as a mediating mechanism between team voice and leaders’ voice-taking behavior (i.e., implementation of team voice and delivery of team voice to higher-up leaders). Additionally, we suggest that the openness of higher-up leaders acts as a boundary condition that can strengthen the mechanism. This study employs a mixed-method of questionnaire surveys and experimental designs across three studies to test the hypotheses. This study collects experimental data from 179 participants in a within-subjects scenario design and from 350 participants in two between-subjects scenario designs and three-wave survey data from 99 team leaders. The within-subjects experimental results demonstrate that compared with individual voice, team voice exerts a stronger influence on leaders’ perception of voice legitimacy and subsequent voice-taking behavior. Moreover, the survey and two between-subjects experiments consistently support most of the proposed hypotheses. This research makes three significant contributions to the literature. First, this study extends the leader voice-taking process from the individual level to the team level. By introducing legitimacy theory from the group influence perspective, this study reveals that team voice legitimacy is a key mediating mechanism through which team voice influences leaders’ voice-taking behavior. This study goes beyond prior research, which primarily explored leaders’ voice-taking behavior (e.g., implementation) from an interpersonal influence perspective, and reveals the bottom-up influence of collective action as a vehicle of power on leaders’ behavior. Second, this study uncovers a bottom-up legitimacy-generating pathway within the interaction process between leaders and teams in organizational contexts and thus extends legitimacy theory from organizational-institutional contexts to team-leader interactions. Specifically, this study reveals a bottom-up legitimacy construction mechanism driven by collective action from frontline members. Finally, this study distinguishes between two types of leader voice-taking behavior and reveals the distinct response strategies employed by leaders in response to team voice. References | Related Articles | Metrics