The hub‐and‐spoke model of semantic cognition proposes that conceptual representations in a heteromodal ‘hub’ interact with and emerge from modality‐specific features or ‘spokes’, including valence (whether a concept is positive or negative), along with visual and auditory features. As a result, valence congruency might facilitate our ability to link words conceptually. Semantic relatedness may similarly affect explicit judgements about valence. Moreover, conflict between meaning and valence may recruit semantic control processes. Here we tested these predictions using two‐alternative forced‐choice tasks, in which participants matched a probe word to one of two possible target words, based on either global meaning or valence. Experiment 1 examined timed responses in healthy young adults, while Experiment 2 examined decision accuracy in semantic aphasia patients with impaired controlled semantic retrieval following left hemisphere stroke. Across both experiments, semantically related targets facilitated valence matching, while related distractors impaired performance. Valence congruency was also found to facilitate semantic decision‐making. People with semantic aphasia showed impaired valence matching and had particular difficulty when semantically related distractors were presented, suggesting that the selective retrieval of valence information relies on semantic control processes. Taken together, the results are consistent with the hypothesis that automatic access to the global meaning of written words affects the processing of valence, and that the valence of words is also retrieved even when this feature is task‐irrelevant, affecting the efficiency of global semantic judgements.

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Rates of psychological distress in UK undergraduate students are high. The majority of undergraduate students live with same-age peers, and are in a developmental period characterised by changes in social cognition and social relationships. As such, examining the relationship that students have with their housemates may be critical for understanding student wellbeing. In the current study, N=90 undergraduates at universities across the UK took part in an online qualitative study examining the role that housemates play in student wellbeing. Four themes were constructed from the data using inductive qualitative content analysis: Positive relationships stem from constant contact and shared experience; Positive relationships enable a wide range of emotional and practical support; Conflict stems from disrespect; and Poor relationships lead to loneliness, isolation and psychological distress. Together, the themes demonstrate the divergent impact that housemates can have on student wellbeing: they can be a source of immense support or great unhappiness. The findings demonstrate that, to understand wellbeing in UK undergraduates, relationships within student accommodation should be examined.

UK university students are often required to participate in an initiation ceremony to gain acceptance into a sports club. These practices are well documented, but there has been limited research assessing how they are subjectively experienced by students. In the current online study, UK undergraduates (N=61) described the initiations they experienced, and how this made them feel in the short and long term. Results indicate the varied nature of UK initiation ceremonies, and that students can subjectively experience them in both positive and negative ways. Four themes were constructed from the data using inductive qualitative content analysis: Initiations involve submission to challenges; Some initiations involve explicit pressure; Initiations can be a fun experience that bonds team members; and Some initiations are humiliating and dangerous. The themes highlight that UK university sport initiations are not universally experienced as negative, but nonetheless put students at risk of physical and psychological harm.