Social connections are crucial for our health and well-being. This is especially true during times of high uncertainty distress, such as the COVID-19 lockdown. period was characterized by unprecedented physical distancing (often communicated social distancing) measures resulting in significant changes to people's usual lives. Given potential effects this disruption on well-being, it identify factors which associated with negative outcomes, conversely, those that promote resilience...

Background Dealing with insistent patient demand for antibiotics is an all too common part of a General Practitioner's daily routine. This study explores the extent to which portable Immersive Virtual Reality technology can help us gain accurate understanding factors that influence doctor's response ethical challenge underlying such tenacious requests (given threat posed by growing anti-bacterial resistance worldwide). It also considers potential train doctors face dilemmas. Experiment...

Interpersonal coordination of behaviour is essential for smooth social interactions. Measures interpersonal behaviour, however, often rely on subjective evaluations, invasive measurement techniques or gross measures motion. Here, we constructed an unobtrusive motion tracking system that enables detailed analysis at the individual and levels, which validated using wearable sensors. We evaluate dyadic joint orienting distancing, synchrony gaze behaviours to summarize data collected during...

Music listening is a universal human experience. People of all ages and cultures often use music to reduce stress improve mood, particularly in times crisis. However, ecologically valid research examining the real-time association with mood during COVID-19 pandemic scarce.

COVID-19 lockdowns were linked to a surge in unhealthy food-related behaviors, potentially as an attempt cope with disrupted social homeostasis. Here, we tested bidirectional associations between momentary psychological states and prospective food consumption, the moderation by quality quantity of interactions. We conducted preregistered ecological assessment (EMA) study Austria, Italy Germany during first lockdown. Multiple times day for seven consecutive days, 798 participants (557 women,...

Mimicry involves unconsciously copying the actions of others. Increasing evidence suggests that autistic people can copy goal an observed action but show differences in their mimicry. We investigated mimicry autism spectrum disorder (ASD) within a two-dimensional virtual reality environment. Participants played imitation game with socially engaged avatar and disengaged avatar. Despite being told only to action, participants matched neurotypical mimicked kinematics avatars' movements....

Background: Social connections are crucial for our health and well-being. This is especially true during times of high uncertainty distress, such as the COVID-19 lockdown. period was characterized by unprecedented social distancing measures resulting in significant changes to people’s usual lives. Given potential effects this disruption on wellbeing, it identify factors which associated with negative outcomes, conversely, those that promote resilience adversity. Aims: We examined...

Painkiller administration lowers pain empathy, but whether this also reduces prosocial behavior is unknown. In preregistered study, we investigated inducing analgesia through a placebo painkiller reduced effortful helping. When given the opportunity to reduce of another person, individuals experiencing ( n = 45 adults from Austria; 21 male, 24 female) made fewer choices at lowest helping level and exerted less physical effort when helping, compared with controls whose sensitivity was...

Recent evidence suggests that social contact is a basic need governed by homeostatic system. Little known, however, about how conditions of altered homeostasis affect human psychology and physiology. Here, we investigated the effects 8 hr isolation on psychological physiological variables compared this with food deprivation in lab experiment (N = 30 adult women). Social led to lowered self-reported energetic arousal heightened fatigue, comparable deprivation. To test whether these findings...

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in severe disruption to people's lives as governments imposed national ‘lockdowns’. Several large surveys have underlined the detrimental short- and long-term mental health consequences resulting from this disruption, but survey findings are only informative of individuals' retrospectively reported psychological states. Furthermore, knowledge on psychobiological responses lockdown restrictions is scarce. We used smartphone-based real-time assessments 731...

Acute stress can change our cognition and emotions, but what specific consequences this has for human prosocial behaviour is unclear. Previous studies have mainly investigated prosociality with financial transfers in economic games produced conflicting results. Yet a core feature of many types that they are effortful. We therefore examined how acute changes willingness to exert effort benefits others. Healthy male participants - half whom were put under made decisions whether physical gain...

Acute stress can change our cognition and emotions, but what specific consequences this has for human prosocial behaviour is unclear. Previous studies have mainly investigated prosociality with financial transfers in economic games produced conflicting results. Yet a core feature of many types that they are effortful. We therefore examined how acute changes willingness to exert effort benefits others. Healthy male participants – half whom were put under made decisions whether physical gain...

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in high levels of fatigue, while affecting individuals differently. This study aimed at identifying risk factors experiencing fatigue during the first and second lockdown pandemic. also predicting stress, anxiety, mood dynamics based on lockdown. Finally, explores link between hair cortisol COVID-19.Methods: In this ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study, 292 participants (231 women; Mage = 35.3 years, SDage 13.1) provided data for two...

Mimicry involves unconsciously imitating the actions of others and is a powerful ubiquitous behavior in social interactions. There has been long debate over whether mimicry abnormal people with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) what causes any differences might be. Wang Hamilton's (2012) top-down response modulation (STORM) model proposed that ASC can do mimic but, unlike neurotypical participants, fail to modulate their according context. This study used an established paradigm test this...

Humans sometimes perform actions which, at least superficially, appear suboptimal to the goal they are trying achieve. Despite being able identify these irrational from an early age, humans display a curious tendency copy them. The current study recorded participants' movements during established imitation task and manipulated rationality of observed action in two ways. Participants videos model point series targets with either low, high or 'superhigh' trajectory presence absence obstacles...

Social interactions are vital for our well-being, particularly during times of stress. However, previous studies linking social to psychological outcomes the COVID-19 pandemic have largely been retrospective and/or cross-sectional. Thus, we tested four preregistered hypotheses (H1-H4) concerning real-time effect on momentary changes in stress and mood two lockdowns.We used an ecological assessment approach 732 participants spring 2020 (burst 1) a subsample these (n = 281) further lockdown...

Facial mimicry is a ubiquitous social behaviour modulated by range of cues, including those related to reward value and self-relevance. However, previous research has typically focused on single moderator at time, it remains unknown how moderators interact when studied together. We compared the influence self-relevance, conditioning participants associate certain faces with winning or losing money for themselves, or, another person. After conditioning, watched videos these making happy angry...

Sharing resources is fundamental for human cooperation and survival. People tend to share more with individuals they feel close compared those who are socially distant. This decline in generosity at increasing social distance called discounting influenced by both traits abilities, such as empathy, non-social psychological factors, decision-making biases. receive a diagnosis of autism show differences interaction well displaying domains, restricted repetitive behaviours. We investigated found...

Acute stress can change our cognition and emotions, but what specific consequences this has for human prosocial behaviour is unclear. Previous studies have mainly investigated prosociality with financial transfers in economic games produced conflicting results. Yet a core feature of many types that they are effortful. We therefore examined how acute changes willingness to exert effort benefits others. Healthy male participants - half whom were put under made decisions whether physical gain...

Our affective states can influence whether we help others and after helping often experience improved affect. One important factor determining help, is the amount of effort involved. Using an ecological momentary assessment approach across two measurement bursts (N = 803; N 303), investigated antecedents consequences everyday in terms participants' self-reported stress mood valence, with a specific focus on perceived Regardless involved helping, participants reported more positive valence...