Chin Wen Cong

Semantic priming has been studied for nearly 50 years across various experimental manipulations and theoretical frameworks. Although previous studies provide insight into the cognitive underpinnings of semantic representations, they have suffered from small sample sizes and a lack of linguistic and cultural diversity. In this Registered Report, we measured the size and the variability of the semantic priming effect across 19 languages (n = 25,163 participants analysed) by creating the largest available database of semantic priming values using an adaptive sampling procedure. We found evidence for semantic priming in terms of differences in response latencies between related word-pair conditions and unrelated word-pair conditions. Model comparisons showed that the inclusion of a random intercept for language improved model fit, providing support for variability in semantic priming across languages. This study highlights the robustness and variability of semantic priming across languages and provides a rich, linguistically diverse dataset for further analysis. The Stage 1 protocol for this Registered Report was accepted in principle on 15 July 2022. The protocol, as accepted by the journal, can be found at https://osf.io/u5bp6 (registration) or https://osf.io/q4fjy (preprint version 6, 31 May 2022).

Ideal partner preferences (i.e., ratings of the desirability of attributes like attractiveness or intelligence) are the source of numerous foundational findings in the interdisciplinary literature on human mating. Recently, research on the predictive validity of ideal partner preference matching (i.e., Do people positively evaluate partners who match vs. mismatch their ideals?) has become mired in several problems. First, articles exhibit discrepant analytic and reporting practices. Second, different findings emerge across laboratories worldwide, perhaps because they sample different relationship contexts and/or populations. This registered report-partnered with the Psychological Science Accelerator-uses a highly powered design (N = 10,358) across 43 countries and 22 languages to estimate preference-matching effect sizes. The most rigorous tests revealed significant preference-matching effects in the whole sample and for partnered and single participants separately. The "corrected pattern metric" that collapses across 35 traits revealed a zero-order effect of β = .19 and an effect of β = .11 when included alongside a normative preference-matching metric. Specific traits in the "level metric" (interaction) tests revealed very small (average β = .04) effects. Effect sizes were similar for partnered participants who reported ideals before entering a relationship, and there was no consistent evidence that individual differences moderated any effects. Comparisons between stated and revealed preferences shed light on gender differences and similarities: For attractiveness, men's and (especially) women's stated preferences underestimated revealed preferences (i.e., they thought attractiveness was less important than it actually was). For earning potential, men's stated preferences underestimated-and women's stated preferences overestimated-revealed preferences. Implications for the literature on human mating are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Although previous studies have suggested reliable associations between personality traits and body image outcomes, the bulk of this research has been conducted in Western nations. As cultural factors may affect relationships between personality and outcome variables, the present study examined associations between the Big Five personality traits and body appreciation (i.e., a facet of positive body image) in a sample of Malaysian adults. A total of 782 adults (465 women and 317 men) completed an online survey consisting of measures of body appreciation, the Big Five personality traits, and demographic items. Linear model analysis indicated that body appreciation was significantly and negatively associated with Neuroticism while positively associated with Conscientiousness and Agreeableness respectively. Associations between body appreciation and Openness and Extraversion were not significant, nor was the moderating effect of gender. The findings replicate the previously reported negative association between Neuroticism and body appreciation and also suggest that associations with the other Big Five facets may be shaped by cultural contexts.

According to the justified true belief (JTB) account of knowledge, people can truly know something only if they have a belief that is both justified and true (i.e., knowledge is JTB). This account was challenged by Gettier, who argued that JTB does not explain knowledge attributions in certain situations, later called “Gettier-type cases,” wherein protagonists are justified in believing something to be true, but their belief was correct only because of luck. Laypeople may not attribute knowledge to protagonists with justified but only luckily true beliefs. Although some research has found evidence for these so-called Gettier intuitions, Turri et al. found no evidence that participants attributed knowledge in a counterfeit-object Gettier-type case differently than in a matched case of JTB. In a large-scale, cross-cultural conceptual replication of Turri and colleagues’ Experiment 1 ( N = 4,724) using a within-participants design and three vignettes across 19 geopolitical regions, we did find evidence for Gettier intuitions; participants were 1.86 times more likely to attribute knowledge to protagonists in standard cases of JTB than to protagonists in Gettier-type cases. These results suggest that Gettier intuitions may be detectable across different scenarios and cultural contexts. However, the size of the Gettier intuition effect did vary by vignette, and the Turri et al. vignette produced the smallest effect, which was similar in size to that observed in the original study. Differences across vignettes suggest that epistemic intuitions may also depend on contextual factors unrelated to the criteria of knowledge, such as the characteristics of the protagonist being evaluated.

The COVID‐19 pandemic laid bare pre‐existing societal fault lines, placing immense strain on intergroup relations and giving rise to xenophobic sentiments. Drawing on Realistic Conflict Theory (RCT) and Social Identity Approach (SIA), our study examined how the public allocation of COVID‐19 variant vaccines could influence the dynamics between local citizens and migrant workers, and under what conditions. One key idea is that valued resource distribution that favour migrant workers may produce increased perceptions of realistic threats among local citizens which could lead to exacerbated negative attitudes and behaviours of high‐status local citizens towards low‐status migrants, whereas higher fairness perceptions of such resource distributions could potentially mitigate these negative attitudes and behaviours. To investigate these predictions, we employed a cross‐cultural approach and conducted an experiment in both an Asian country (Malaysia; N = 197) and a Western country (Australia; N = 210). We manipulated vaccine prioritisation, assessed local citizens' perceptions of the realistic threat and fairness of vaccine prioritisation, and measured their attitudinal responses towards migrant workers. Our results showed that the perceived unfairness in migrant‐favouring vaccine prioritisation, rather than realistic threat, negatively affected local citizens' perceptions of the migrant workers. We discuss the implications of these findings in the context of intergroup relations.

How well can social scientists predict societal change, and what processes underlie their predictions? To answer these questions, we ran two forecasting tournaments testing the accuracy of predictions of societal change in domains commonly studied in the social sciences: ideological preferences, political polarization, life satisfaction, sentiment on social media, and gender–career and racial bias. After we provided them with historical trend data on the relevant domain, social scientists submitted pre-registered monthly forecasts for a year (Tournament 1; N = 86 teams and 359 forecasts), with an opportunity to update forecasts on the basis of new data six months later (Tournament 2; N = 120 teams and 546 forecasts). Benchmarking forecasting accuracy revealed that social scientists’ forecasts were on average no more accurate than those of simple statistical models (historical means, random walks or linear regressions) or the aggregate forecasts of a sample from the general public (N = 802). However, scientists were more accurate if they had scientific expertise in a prediction domain, were interdisciplinary, used simpler models and based predictions on prior data.

Family functioning (FF) is one of the crucial family factors investigated by researchers; however, the FF studies in Malaysia are still at an early stage compared to those in Western countries. To develop studies in FF, a systematic review is done to understand the measurement of FF in Malaysia. A systematic search of literature published between 2011 and 2020 was conducted in several international and local databases. A total of 31 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. Through this review, eight FF scales, most of which were developed based on the Western culture and two newly developed scales that have not been used/validated elsewhere have been identified. This review also highlights that the most widely used FF scale in Malaysia is the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale. From the Malaysian context, as the first FF scale in Malaysia, the Malaysian Family Functioning Scale stands out as the most suitable FF scale for measuring FF among Malaysians. In addition, issues surrounding the FF measurement, for example, the weaknesses found in Western FF scales when used in a non-Western context and the need for adolescent-specific FF are also discussed with recommendations for future research in this area.

Executive functioning and its related components have been found to promote well-being. However, there is a limited understanding of the underlying mechanism. Drawing from the job demands–resources and PERMA models, the present study examined the hypothetical mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between executive functioning deficit and well-being among 314 working adults in Malaysia. Participants answered a survey consisting of the Executive Skills Questionnaire-Revised (ESQ-R; a new measure of executive functioning deficits for working adults), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Employee Well-Being Scale, and Self-Rated Creativity Scale. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the ESQ-R score was negatively associated with all other target variables, while the latter was positively related to each other. Moreover, supporting the hypotheses, the results of mediation analysis using PROCESS macro found that work engagement mediated the negative relationship between executive functioning deficits and well-being after statistically controlling for the creativity score. The findings not only replicate the beneficial role of executive functioning in employees’ well-being but also shed light on the underlying process of the relationship. Implications and directions for future studies are discussed.

The nine‐item Attitudes toward Singlehood Scale (AtSS) is a newly developed measurement for people to self‐report their manners toward staying single. The original English‐version AtSS shows sound psychometric properties in the Malaysian and Indian contexts. To necessarily adapt the AtSS in cross‐cultural studies, we developed the Japanese version of the AtSS (AtSS‐J) and examined its psychometric qualities in a sample of 316 Japanese undergraduate students. The participants answered an online survey consisting of the AtSS‐J, a (single‐item) preference for being single, the Mini‐Social Phobia Inventory, the Single Item Narcissism Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Confirmatory factor analysis supports that the AtSS‐J has a second‐order factor structure (error covariance specified between Items 3 and 5) composed of three first‐order specific factors (affect, behavior, and cognition). Both Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega estimates indicated good reliability in the AtSS‐J. Moreover, convergent and discriminant validity of the AtSS‐J are evident, while the concurrent validity with life satisfaction as criterion variable showed inconsistent results. Overall, our findings offer preliminary support to the usability of the AtSS‐J.