Archive

The Dark Side of Social Media - Unpacking Its Psychological Impact 

Social media has revolutionized the way we connect, communicate and consume information. However, its darker aspects pose significant challenges to individuals and societies. This Special Issue (SI) seeks to explore the negative psychological consequences of social media, such as their impact on interpersonal communication, the formation of political beliefs, mental health and body image, consumer behavior, and information processing. We invite research that... / more

Join the In-Mind Team: Help us make psychology accessible to everyone!

What is In-Mind? 

In-Mind is a volunteer-driven project dedicated to sharing psychological research. We give researchers a platform to present their work in an engaging, accessible, and scientifically rigorous way—psychology by scientists, for everyone.  Our journal publishes freely available, ad-free articles across all areas of psychology. We are the English version of In-Mind. The journal also publishes in German, French, Dutch, and Italian.

Who are we looking for? 

We are seeking active researchers across all stages of an academic career... / more

If you read this…

… you can already do a lot! Reading is a bit like magic: You can easily read a word like “dozibrofu” out loud, even though you’ve probably never seen it before. You can also read a sentence in which the wrods suddnely look copmleteyl dffiernet. And even when something isn’t fully described in a text, you can often visualize it clearly. Maybe that’s why you’ve already guessed that we’re about to explain how reading works. / more

Small Screens, Big Effects: How Screen Media Shapes Early Childhood

How does early screen use shape child development? This article reveals how content type, family background, and parental media habits can either support or hinder a child’s cognitive, emotional, and social growth. It also provides practical strategies for fostering healthier media habits in young children. / more

Left-wing vs. right-wing: who is more likely to help others?

Are supporters of the political left more prosocial and altruistic than their right-wing counterparts? In theory, this link is very plausible. This article summarizes the empirical research on the link between political orientation and prosocial behaviors and personality traits. / more

Do we really like what we like? How social influence processes shape our experiences when we are online

We have all been in that situation where we see a post on social media but spend more time reading the comments section than the actual post. In this scenario, can the comments written by others influence our own opinions about the post? More generally, can the reactions of other people change the way we perceive media messages? / more

The psychology behind being a dad and its effects on fathers themselves

Becoming a father for one’s own psychological development? While this might sound self-centered, research indicates that pursuing fatherhood offers psychological benefits not only for fathers themselves but, more importantly, for those around them. Much research has explored how father involvement impacts children's development; however, less is known about how fatherhood affects fathers themselves, particularly over the long term. This scoping review will provide an overview of the existing knowledge on the psychological and health outcomes associated with father involvement for fathers themselves. / more

The Price is Right: How to Get the Best Possible Outcome in Price Negotiations

Not every negotiation offers the possibility for win-win agreements. In simple price negotiations, one party’s loss implies an equal gain for the other party. This article outlines tactics and strategies from negotiation psychology that help you achieve the best outcome for yourself in such situations. / more

How perception and action emerge: Stories of a puzzling mind

Nothing seems as simple to us as perceiving the world around us. But in fact, the way our brain processes sensory input is astonishingly complex. It first breaks down our sensory impressions into small individual features. These individual features must then be put together like a jigsaw puzzle. But how does our brain “know” which features belong to which object, person, or environmental event? / more

From moderate to radical - will failure change the climate movement? Psychological studies on the impact of success and failure on social movements

While the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns of an escalation of the climate crisis and climate movements call for effective measures to mitigate climate change, their political implementation is making slow progress. How will this perception of failure and frustration impact the climate movement? Does it lead to their fragmentation and radicalization, or do they persist with previous forms of action? This article describes psychological studies on the effects of perceived success and failure by social movements. / more