The sense of agency (SoA) is defined as “the registration that I am the initiator of my actions.” Both “direct” and “indirect” measurement of SoA has focused on specific contextualized perceptual events, however it has also been demonstrated that “higher level” cognitions seemingly affect the SoA. We designed a measure of person's general, context-free beliefs about having core agency—the Sense of Agency Scale (SoAS). An exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory (CFA) factor analyses on samples of 236 (Study 1) and 408 (Study 2) participants yielded two correlated factors we labeled Sense of Positive Agency (SoPA) and Sense of Negative Agency (SoNA). The construct validity of SoAS is demonstrated by its low-to-moderate correlations with conceptually relevant tools and by the moderate-strong relationship between the SoNA subscale and obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms (r = 0.35). We conclude that the SoAS seems to isolate people's general beliefs in their agency from their perceived success in obtaining outcomes.

Background and aimsAssociation between substance use and excessive play of online games exists both in theory and research. However, no study to date examined playing online games under the influence of licit and illicit drugs.MethodsWe questioned a convenient online sample of 3,952 Czech online gamers on their experiences and motives of using caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, psychoactive pharmaceuticals, and illicit drugs while playing massive multiplayer online games (MMOGs).ResultsThe results showed low prevalence of illicit drug use while playing online games. Substance use was positively associated with intensity of gaming and both addiction and engagement; psychoactive substances with stimulating effect were linked to higher engagement and gaming intensity, whereas use of sedatives was associated with higher addiction score. Substance use varied slightly with the preference of game genre.DiscussionDrug use while playing appears as behavior, which is mostly not related to gaming – it concerns mostly caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, or cannabis. For some users, however, drug use was fueled by motivations toward improving their cognitive enhancement and gaming performance.

Abstract:The article is focused on the influence of black colored clothing and situational context on impression formation. We examinated whether individuals are evaluated as more aggressive (1) when they are wearing black clothing, (2) in an aggressive situational context. Furthermore, we examinated whether individuals are evalued as more respectable (1) when they are wearing black clothing (2) in more respectable situational context. The sample consisted of 475 high school students who assessed individuals displayed in computer-modified photographs wearing randomly chosen colors in randomly chosen contexts. We show that men unlike women are evaluated as more aggressive when wearing the color black. Black colored clothing does not have influence on the assessment of one's respectability. Both men and women are evaluated as more aggressive in aggressive situational contexts and also as more respectable in more respectable situational contexts regardless of the color of their clothing.

This study examined the role of advance expectations in generating relevance-based selection, using a version of cognitive Bblindnesst hat is driven solely by task relevance. With this irrelevance-induced blindness, participants often fail to report a feature of an irrelevant stimulus, even though the levels of perceptual and cognitive load are minimal (i.e., capacity limitations are not met). Hence, with this phenomenon, selection is based solely on task relevance. In two experiments, we examined such relevance-based selection with a new paradigm in which the participants had to report the location of an object appearing on one of two rings. Critically, while in Experiment 1 the participants could form advance expectations regarding the (ir) relevant stimuli, because the location of the relevant ring and the shape and color of the relevant object were known in advance, in Experiment 2 no concrete advance expectations could be formed. This was established by varying randomly, from trial to trial, the shape, color, and location of relevant and irrelevant stimuli. We found strong irrelevance-induced blindness in both experiments, regardless of whether or not advance expectations were formed. These findings suggest that advance expectations, at least with regard to the task-relevant stimulus' location shape or color, are not necessary for irrelevance-induced blindness to occur; more generally, this implies that such expectations do not play a critical role in selection processes that are based solely on task relevance. We further discuss these findings in the context of Garnerian and Posnerian selection, and their relationship to visual awareness.

Despite a growing body of research on later-life relationship formation, little is known about the health predictors and outcomes of later-life Living-Apart-Together (LAT) relationships. A LAT living arrangement is understood to be a possible way for older adults with age-related limits to partner and balance the consequences of being single. Using both selection and resource models to capture the links between health and relationship status, we analyzed unpartnered people 50+ from the longitudinal Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. We examined who entered LAT or cohabiting relationships between Time 1 and 2, who remained unpartnered, and what effect the transition into one of these statuses had on the well-being of those who remained in that status at Time 3. The respondents in LAT relationships did not differ from their cohabiting counterparts in health indicators before the relationship formation, nor was there a difference in life satisfaction and well-being 2 years after partnering. Compared to unpartnered persons, LAT respondents reported better self-perceived health before relationship formation and slightly higher life satisfaction 2 years later. Health status does not influence the choice for a relationship form, but a LAT relationship may constitute a resourceful living arrangement in later life, which provides some support for both the selection and resource models.