Angelo Panno

A mediation model to explain decision making under conditions of risk among adolescents: the role of fluid intelligence and probabilistic reasoning.

Aim: This study tested the mediating role of probabilistic reasoning ability in the relationship between fluid intelligence and advantageous decision making among adolescents in explicit situations of risk—that is, in contexts in which information on the choice options (gains, losses, and probabilities) were explicitly presented at the beginning of the task. Method: Participants were 282 adolescents attending high school (77% males, mean age = 17.3 years). We first measured fluid intelligence and probabilistic reasoning ability. Then, to measure decision making under explicit conditions of risk, participants performed the Game of Dice Task, in which they have to decide among different alternatives that are explicitly linked to a specific amount of gain or loss and have obvious winning probabilities that are stable over time. Results: Analyses showed a significant positive indirect effect of fluid intelligence on advantageous decision making through probabilistic reasoning ability that acted as a mediator. Specifically, fluid intelligence may enhance ability to reason in probabilistic terms, which in turn increases the likelihood of advantageous choices when adolescents are confronted with an explicit decisional context. Conclusions: Findings show that in experimental paradigm settings, adolescents are able to make advantageous decisions using cognitive abilities when faced with decisions under explicit risky conditions. This study suggests that interventions designed to promote probabilistic reasoning, for example by incrementing the mathematical prerequisites necessary to reason in probabilistic terms, may have a positive effect on adolescents’ decision-making abilities.

A different way to stay in touch with 'Urban Nature': The perceived restorative qualities of botanical gardens

Botanical gardens represent interesting arenas for research in environmental psychology and environment-behavior relations. They can be considered a very particular type of restorative environment and also have a relevant social function for the promotion of a more sustainable lifestyle in current societies. In this paper, we present a study assessing the relationship between the perceived restorativeness, the psychological and physical benefits experienced, and the subjective well-being reported by visitors of botanical gardens in four different cities in Italy (N = 127). As expected, a bootstrapping mediation model supported the idea that perceived restorativeness of botanical gardens significantly predicts visitors’ subjective well-being, both directly and indirectly through perceived physical and psychological benefits of the visit. A moderation model also revealed that the relationship between restorativeness and well-being varies across respondents with different socio-demographic characteristics, being stronger for singles as compared to couples with and without children, respectively. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Nature-based solutions to promote human resilience and wellbeing in cities during increasingly hot summers

ABSTRACT Air temperatures are increasing because of global climate change. A warming phenomenon strongly related to global climate change is the urban heat island. It has been shown that the hotter temperatures occurring in cities during the summer negatively affect human wellbeing, but little is known about the potential mechanisms underlying the relationships between hotter temperatures, cognitive psychological resources and wellbeing. The aim of the present research is to understand whether, and how, spending time in urban green spaces, which can be considered as a specific kind of Nature‐Based Solution (NBS), helps the recovery of cognitive resources and wellbeing. The main hypothesis is that contact with urban green is related to wellbeing through the depletion of cognitive resources (i.e., ego depletion). Moreover, we expected that individuals showing higher scores of ego depletion also report a higher estimate of the maximum temperature reached during the summer. The results of a survey (N = 115) conducted among visitors to Parco Nord Milano, a large urban park located in Milan (Italy), point out that people visiting the park during the summer show a higher level of wellbeing as well as a lower level of ego depletion. A mediation analysis shows that visiting urban green spaces is associated with greater wellbeing through less ego depletion. Our results also point out that, as expected, people showing a higher level of ego depletion tend to overestimate the maximum air temperature. Implications for future studies and applied interventions regarding the role of NBS to promote human wellbeing are discussed. HighlightsWe investigate wellbeing deriving from the visit to the Parco Nord Milano during a hot summer.Individuals visiting the PNM during summer report a higher capacity of conserving cognitive self‐control resources.Frequency of the visits to the PNM is related to wellbeing, through the conservation of self‐control resources.This research indicates that visiting the Parco Nord Milano might reduce the depletion of cognitive resources.People showing higher levels of ego depletion overestimate the maximum air temperature reached during the summer season.

Mindfulness, Pro-environmental Behavior, and Belief in Climate Change: The Mediating Role of Social Dominance:

In recent years, mindfulness has been considered as a potential source of proenvironmental attitudes and behavior. Present research is aimed at consolidating and expanding previous knowledge by proposing that mindfulness is related to both proenvironmental behavior and belief in global climate change through social dominance orientation (SDO). A first study was conducted on undergraduate students (n = 279) and found, as expected, that trait mindfulness was related to proenvironmental behavior through SDO. A second study using a known groups approach compared practitioners (n = 44) and nonpractitioners (n = 53) of Buddhist meditation, which is known to develop a mindful stance. Moreover, in Study 2, a measure of belief in global climate change was adopted as a further outcome. Again, trait mindfulness was related to both proenvironmental outcomes through SDO. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Regulatory mode and risk-taking: The mediating role of anticipated regret

We propose that decision maker’s regulatory mode affects risk-taking through anticipated regret. In the Study 1 either a locomotion or an assessment orientation were experimentally induced, and in the Studies 2 and 3 these different orientations were assessed as chronic individual differences. To assess risk-taking we used two behavioral measures of risk: BART and hot-CCT. The results show that experimentally induced assessment orientation–compared to locomotion–leads to decreased risk-taking through increased anticipated regret (Study 1). People chronically predisposed to be in the assessment state take less risk through increased anticipated regret (Study 2 and Study 3). Study 2 results also show a marginally non-significant indirect effect of chronic locomotion mode on BART through anticipated regret. Differently, Study 3 shows that people chronically predisposed to be in the locomotion state take greater risk through decreased anticipated regret, when play a dynamic risk task triggering stronger emotional arousal. Through all three studies, the average effect size for the relationship of assessment with anticipated regret was in the moderate-large range, whereas for risk-taking was in the moderate range. The average effect size for the relationship of locomotion with anticipated regret was in the moderate range, whereas for risk-taking was in the small-moderate range. These results increase our understanding of human behavior under conditions of risk obtaining novel insights into regulatory mode theory and decision science.

La misura dell’attaccamento materno prenatale:un confronto psicometrico di tre strumenti di valutazione

RIASSUNTO: Obiettivi: Questo studio confronta le proprieta psicometriche dei rating di attaccamento prenatale, misurati dalle scale Maternal Foetal Attachment Scale (MFAS), Prenatal Attachment Scale (PAI) e Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (MAAS), tenendo in considerazione l’eta gestazionale. Metodo: 254 donne (eta 31±5 anni; eta gestazionale 24±11 settimane) hanno compilato i tre strumenti presentati in ordine casuale. L’attendibilita e la validita dei punteggi totali e parziali e stata valutata in funzione dell’eta gestazionale. Risultati: I punteggi totali, in particolare quelli di MFAS e PAI, raggiungono gli standard di attendibilita, specialmente se i rating sono stati raccolti entro la 20-esima settimana. I punteggi parziali hanno una buona validita convergente, ma la loro attendibilita e minacciata dal ridotto numero di item, specialmente per i rating raccolti oltre la 21-esima settimana. Tutti i punteggi correlano con l’eta gestazionale, mentre quelli del PAI erano i piu correlati con le caratteristiche del campione. Conclusioni: I punteggi totali sono piu attendibili dei punteggi parziali, ma essi colgono meno aspetti specifici del costrutto. Le proprieta psicometriche tendono a peggiorare nella seconda meta della gravidanza, presumibilmente a causa di un ‘effetto tetto’ nella valutazione materna. L’analisi fattoriale confermativa ha dimostrato che nessuno dei modelli ipotizzati nella letteratura raggiunge un fit accettabile. Ulteriori studi dovranno indagare la caratteristiche strutturali dei rating di attaccamento, per distinguere fattori comuni e specifici utili per le applicazioni cliniche e di ricerca.

Need for cognitive closure and political ideology: Predicting pro-environmental preferences and behavior.

Little is known about epistemic motivations affecting political ideology when people make environmental decisions. In two studies, we examined the key role that political ideology played in the relationship between need for cognitive closure (NCC) and self-reported eco-friendly behavior. Study 1: 279 participants completed the NCC, pro-environmental, and political ideology measures. Mediation analyses showed that NCC was related to less pro-environmental behavior through more right-wing political ideology. Study 2: We replicated these results with a nonstudent sample (n = 240) and both social and economic conservatism as mediators. The results of Study 2 showed that social conservatism mediated the relationship between NCC and pro-environmental behavior. Finally, NCC was associated with pro-environmental attitude through both social and economic conservatism.

A Chip Off the Old Block: Parents’ Subtle Ethnic Prejudice Predicts Children’s Implicit Prejudice

The increasing flow of immigrants in many European countries and the growing presence of children from immigrant families in schools makes it relevant to study the development of prejudice in children. Parents play an important role in shaping children’s values and their attitudes toward members of other ethnic groups; an intergenerational transmission of prejudice has been found in a number of studies targeting adolescents. The present study aims to investigate the intergenerational transmission of ethnic prejudice in 3- to 9- year-old children and its relations to parenting styles. Parents’ blatant and subtle ethnic prejudice and parenting style are measured together with children’s explicit and implicit ethnic prejudice in pupils and parents of preschool and primary schools in the region of Rome, Italy (N = 318). Results show that parents’ subtle prejudice predicts children’s implicit prejudice regardless of the parenting style. Findings indicate that children might acquire prejudice by means of the parents’ implicit cognition and automatic behavior and educational actions. Implications for future studies and insights for possible applied interventions are discussed.

What About the Different Shortened Versions of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale

Given the mixed conclusions on the psychometric properties of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) and the variety of subsets of items identified as abbreviated forms, the current study aimed to (a) further investigate the performance of single items and different combinations of items of the MAAS from within an Item Response Theory framework, (b) to expand upon existing knowledge about the coverage of the construct of the scale and its shortened versions. A sample of 914 participants (67.6% women; mean age 23.28, SD = 4.77) completed the MAAS. To fulfill the second aim of the study, of the total sample, two subsamples (N = 156 and N = 158, respectively) were administered a battery of self-report questionnaires. Analyses attested that four items of the MAAS have weak psychometric properties and that the reliability of the scale remains unchanged when these items are excluded. The relationships with several constructs (consciousness, present-time attitude, emotional intelligence, alexithymia, emotion regulation strategies, behavioral inhibition and activation, affect, anxiety, and depression) provided evidence that the scale adequately reflects the operationalization of the construct, although some facets of the construct are only partially covered. The current findings confirm that the MAAS might be slightly shortened without reducing its reliability and validity, but drastically abbreviated forms, such as the proposed five-item version, fail to maintain adequate psychometric properties.

The Moderating Role of Interest in Politics on the Relations between Conservative Political Orientation and Denial of Climate Change

Abstract Although shared consensus in the scientific community confirms the reality of climate change and the likelihood of its anthropogenic causes, denial of this phenomenon, its anthropogenic causes, and its consequences still is widespread. This denial consistently has been associated with conservative ideology and related individual differences at the psychological level, but little is known about the mechanisms that explain this relationship. We aimed to understand how different components of conservative ideologies relate to climate change denial, and to investigate the moderating role of interest in politics on these relationships. We considered a representative sample of the U.S. electorate [American National Election Studies (ANES) 2012 database, N = 1525]. We assessed the ideological components of conservatism through measures of right wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO). Results showed a main effect for both RWA and SDO on climate change denial. Moderation analysis revealed that the RWA and SDO effects became stronger, moving from low to high levels of interest in politics.