Danièle Anne Gubler

The susceptibility to emotional contagion has been psychometrically addressed by the self-reported Emotional Contagion Scale. With the present research, we validated a German adaptation of this scale and developed a mimicry brief version by selecting only the four items explicitly addressing the overt subprocess of mimicry. Across three studies (N₁ = 195, N₂ = 442, N₃ = 180), involving various external measures of empathy, general personality domains, emotion recognition, and other constructs, the total German Emotional Contagion Scale demonstrated sound convergent and discriminant validity. A bi-factor model provided acceptable fit, suggesting the factorial validity of the total scale, which is aimed to measure a general factor, representing the susceptibility to emotional contagion. Longitudinal analyses across four measurement occasions revealed high temporal stabilities for the total scale across periods of up to 1 year as well as longitudinal measurement invariance of the factor loadings and partial invariance of the intercepts and residuals. The correlation pattern of the mimicry short version was comparable to the total Emotional Contagion Scale’s correlation pattern, the unidimensional factor structure was confirmed, and it also demonstrated high temporal stabilities and longitudinal invariance. The present research underscores the relevance of susceptibility to emotional contagion and mimicry as personality constructs and provides valid measurement tools for assessing them in future research and practical contexts (e.g., assessment in the clinical or work context).

Previous research has linked various personality features to relationship satisfaction, primarily investigating bivariate effects. Given the interrelatedness of these personality features, their unique associations with relationship satisfaction remain unclear. The present study addresses this gap by exploring the holistic interplay of relationship satisfaction with related personality features and considering gender as a moderator. With an online self-report survey, relationship satisfaction, attachment, jealousy and trust, self-esteem, relationship self-efficacy, sexual satisfaction, and sociosexuality in 510 women and 300 men (M_age = 26.5 years) were assessed. Network analysis was used to estimate a combined network, while a network comparison test was used to examine gender differences. Insecure attachment, trust, mutuality, and sexual satisfaction uniquely correlated with relationship satisfaction within the combined network. Networks of men and women were largely similar. These results expand the understanding of relationship satisfaction and inform the ongoing debate on gender differences in psychological research.

Background. Pain is known to negatively impact attention, but its influence on more complex cognitive abilities, such as logical reasoning, remains inconsistent. This may be due to compensatory mechanisms (e.g., investing additional resources), which might not be detectable at the behavioral level but can be observed through psychophysiological measures. In this study, we investigated whether experimentally induced pain affects logical reasoning and underlying attentional mechanisms, using both behavioral and electroencephalographic (EEG) measures. Methods. A total of 98 female participants were divided into a pain-free control group (N = 47) and a pain group (N = 51). Both groups completed the Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) task, with EEG recordings capturing task-related power (TRP) changes in the upper alpha frequency band (10–12 Hz). We used a mixed design where all participants completed half of the APM task in a pain-free state (control condition); the second half was completed under pain induction by the pain group but not the pain-free group (experimental condition). Results. Logical reasoning performance, as measured by APM scores and response times, declined during the experimental condition, compared to the control condition for both groups, indicating that the second part of the APM was more difficult than the first part. However, no significant differences were found between the pain and pain-free groups, suggesting that pain did not impair cognitive performance at the behavioral level. In contrast, EEG measures revealed significant differences in upper alpha band power, particularly at fronto-central sites. In the pain group, the decrease in TRP during the experimental condition was significantly smaller compared to both the control condition and the pain-free group. Conclusions. Pain did not impair task performance at the behavioral level but reduced attentional resources, as reflected by changes in upper alpha band activity. This underscores the importance of incorporating more sensitive psychophysiological measures alongside behavioral measures to better understand the impact of pain on cognitive processes.

Based on Aron's (2020) DOES model, we developed the DOES Scale to measure Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) with four dimensions: Depth of Processing, Overstimulation, Emotional Reactivity, and Sensing the Subtle. Using interview data from the study by Roth et al. (2023), we created a 20-item questionnaire (5 items per dimension) in German and English. In three studies with 1,365 subjects from Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and the UK, we evaluated the psychometric properties of the scale using confirmatory factor analysis and examined construct validity with the established Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS) and different personality measures. The results confirmed each subscale's unidimensionality and good psychometric properties. Considering the four subscales together indicated that they could be best described as correlated factors rather than in terms of a second-order factor. Convergent validity was confirmed, especially for Overstimulation in its association with the HSPS total score and its subscales EOE and LST. Regarding discriminant validity, the Sensing the Subtle dimension exhibited clear distinctiveness, while the other three subscales overlapped with neuroticism, extraversion, empathy, and rumination, aligning with theoretical expectations. The DOES Scale emerges as a reliable, valid tool for assessing SPS, recommending its four dimensions be interpreted as a trait constellation.

Contexte : Les déficits attentionnels chez les patients souffrant de douleur chronique sont courants et bien étudiés. Pourtant, peu d’études ont examiné les effets de la douleur chronique sur les capacités cognitives plus complexes qui dépendent du bon fonctionnement des systèmes attentionnels. Dans la présente étude, nous avons cherché à déterminer si l’impact de la douleur chronique sur l’attention affecte l’idéation créative telle que mesurée avec une adaptation de la tâche d’utilisation alternative (AUT). Méthodes : Les performances dans la tâche AUT étaient évaluées et comparées chez 33 patients souffrant de douleur chronique et 33 témoins sains appariés. Tout en complétant la tâche, des mesures électroencéphalographiques (EEG) ont été enregistrées pour mesurer le degré d’attention dirigée vers des représentations mentales internes. Résultats : Les résultats ont révélé que les patients souffrant de douleur chronique généraient moins d’idées créatives que les témoins sains. Ce manque de performance s’accompagnait d’une synchronisation liée aux événements (ERS) moindre, spécialement dans les régions pariétales droites. Ces différences d’ERS expliquaient un tiers de la variance intergroupe dans la performance AUT. Conclusion : Ces résultats suggèrent que les baisses de performance dans l’idéation créative chez les patients souffrant de douleur chronique peuvent être, au moins partiellement, attribuables aux déficits attentionnels associés à la douleur chronique. Signification : La douleur chronique affecte négativement l’attention et les capacités cognitives plus complexes. Cependant, les mécanismes psychophysiologiques sousjacents et le rôle de l’attention comme source de ces déficiences dans les capacités plus complexes sont mal compris. En analysant les changements de puissance EEG liés à la tâche, le rôle de l’attention dirigée vers les représentations mentales internes pourrait être mieux compris en révélant la relation fonctionnelle entre la douleur chronique, l’attention et une capacité cognitive plus complexe.

The construct of “sensory processing sensitivity” has become an extremely popular concept outside the scientific literature under the term “high sensitivity” (HS), reflected in a variety of self-help guides and media reports. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate this phenomenon by examining in-depth individuals who consider the label HS essential to their self-definition. In semi-structured interviews, 38 individuals described their understanding of HS and its perceived manifestations and impact on their lives (among other topics). Subsequently, the data were content-analytically evaluated, i.e., categorized and quantified. One key finding was that HS individuals feel relief following self-attribution or self-diagnosis. Moreover, this self-attribution replaced the feeling of being somehow different from the others, which almost all interviewees mentioned, with positive attributes. The main negative features of HS mentioned were feeling overwhelmed by sensory and emotional stimuli. The results are discussed with regard to the significance of the label HS for this group on the one hand, and with regard to alternative approaches for future research on the other hand.

Romantic jealousy describes a feeling when individuals suspect losing their romantic partner to a potential rival. Social media has a high potential to trigger romantic jealousy as it offers almost unlimited opportunities to build social relationships. Thus, it is unsurprising that many studies are now examining social media‐induced jealousy (SoMJ). However, there has been a lack of standardized instruments that can capture SoMJ independently of a specific social media platform. In the present two studies, we developed the 9-item Digital Jealousy Scale (DJS) in German and English and examined its psychometric properties using three heterogeneous samples from Germany and the United Kingdom. The postulated one-factor structure fitted the data very well. Additionally, construct validity was established by showing the expected correlations between the DJS and personality variables such as other jealousy measures, attachment dimensions, self-esteem, and the Big Five dimensions. The DJS is thus a valuable instrument to assess SoMJ.