Search Results (382)

Scientific theories survive on institutional fitness, not empirical merit alone. Under Soviet Stalinism, Vygotsky and Luria’s cultural-historical psychology was suppressed while Leontiev’s Activity Theory flourished because it aligned with Marxist-Pavlovian materialism. A game-theoretic framework formalizes this dynamic through three coupled mechanisms: a researcher utility function (U_r = αT + βR − γC), a state utility function (U_s(e) = δI(e) − εD(e) − κ(e)), and a replicator dynamic for institutional selection. Under sufficiently high punishment coefficients, the unique Nash equilibrium is aligned with the ideologically safe theory regardless of empirical truth, and the replicator dynamics drive empirically stronger theories to extinction in the institutional population. Classical findings on conformity and obedience from Sherif, Asch, Festinger, Schachter, and Milgram supply the foundations for the model’s parameters. This pattern—termed here as epistemological selection pressure—explains the Vygotsky case. Because the model assumes severe punishment, active enforcement, complete information, and a binary choice, it applies most directly to authoritarian science; contemporary liberal institutions correspond to the low-punishment regime in which the same model predicts that empirical merit can prevail, so the mechanism is expected to recur only in attenuated form within specific high-pressure domains where scientific truth and institutional power remain entangled. Full article

Democratic erosion often begins rhetorically before institutions show visible damage. Here we test whether large language models (LLMs) can detect early linguistic signals of authoritarian drift in political speech. Formal speeches by Adolf Hitler (1922–1939), Donald Trump (2017–2025), Nicola Sturgeon (2014–2023), Giorgia Meloni (2022–2025) and Viktor Orban (2022–2025) were scored using an 11-indicator taxonomy derived from the Levitsky–Ziblatt framework and evaluated independently by GPT-4o, Gemini 2.5-Pro and Grok-4-Fast, with near-perfect inter-model agreement. Principal Component Analysis revealed two poles: an authoritarian–populist cluster (Hitler–Trump–Orban) and a democratic-institutional pole (Meloni–Sturgeon). To quantify proximity to an authoritarian reference, we introduce the Authoritarian Reference Index (ARI), defined such that it captures both its alignment and intensity relative to the Hitler gold-standard vector. Trump exhibited the highest proximity to the reference (99.1% alignment, 80.7% intensity), followed by Orban, who mirrored the structural alignment (97.6%) with a moderated intensity (72.4%). In contrast, the democratic-institutional pole was distinguished by significantly lower intensity scores, with Meloni (16.4%) and Sturgeon (22.3%) remaining distant from the authoritarian magnitude despite varying degrees of structural overlap. These results show that extreme rhetorical peaks carry disproportionate diagnostic weight and that LLMs can expose structural authoritarian patterns relevant for democratic monitoring. Full article

Nicolás Guillén Landrián (1938–2003) is often described as one of the most formally daring documentary filmmakers to emerge from Cuba’s Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC), yet decades of institutional censorship, including imprisonment, forced psychiatric treatment, and the quiet burial of his films in archives, pushed him into a kind of official nonexistence. His work resurfaced unexpectedly during a 2003 screening in Havana, an event that seemed to reveal just how much had been missing from the historical record. This article examines the systematic relationship between the revolutionary Cuban censorship apparatus and the aesthetic strategies Guillén Landrián developed, from his early ICAIC shorts to his final exile film, Inside Downtown (2001). Drawing on archival materials, published interviews, critical theory (Foucault, Agamben, Bourdieu, Scott, de Certeau), and close readings of key films such as Coffea Arábiga (1968), Desde La Habana ¡1969! Recordar (1969–1971), and Taller de Línea y 18 (1971), we argue that censorship did not simply constrain his filmmaking but shaped it in ways that opened unexpected formal paths. We describe these strategies as a “poetics of obliqueness”—a mode of working that embeds critique within intermedial collage, uneasy juxtapositions, ellipsis, allegory, and double coding. These tactics exploited the gap between the apparatus’s strict monitoring of explicit ideological statements and its difficulty policing ambiguous or formally inventive gestures. Although grounded in the Cuban case, this framework speaks to broader questions about how artists under authoritarian conditions convert pressure into a generative constraint, revealing how creativity can survive, and sometimes mutate, under sustained surveillance. Full article

Background/Objectives: Mass suicide events represent complex socio-cultural phenomena requiring multidisciplinary investigation. The 1978 Jonestown event (>900 deaths) remains the most extensively documented modern case. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review adhering to PRISMA guidelines, searching PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases for peer-reviewed articles published between 1978 and 2026 using the query: ((mass) AND (suicide)) OR (suicide) AND (jonestown). Following screening, 10 papers were selected for inclusion. We integrated these findings with forensic autopsy reports (n = 7), toxicological analyses, discourse analysis of the 45 min audio recording preceding the mass deaths, field investigation data, scholarly monographs, reputable popular science publications, and archival materials from contemporary sources to examine the forensic and criminological aspects of the event. Results: Toxicological analysis detected cyanide in 2/7 autopsied bodies; multiple sedatives (promethazine, chlorpromazine, diphenhydramine, pentobarbital) in gastric tissue indicated recent ingestion. Two gunshot fatalities presented additional complexity. Manner of death was classified as undetermined due to ambiguous circumstances regarding volition versus coercion. Discourse analysis revealed the community’s response was actively debated and constructed through persuasive communication: Reverend Jones strategically framing the situation as hopeless while preserving the appearance of individual agency. Psychosocial analysis identified characteristic patterns: charismatic authoritarian leadership, progressive isolation, apocalyptic ideology, and deindividualization processes. Conclusions: The Jonestown event exemplifies the intersection of forensic pathology challenges in mass casualty investigations and complex group dynamics culminating in collective death. Analysis demonstrates group members actively participated in leadership–followership dynamics, constructing narrative fit between identity and action through discourse. Findings emphasize the importance of immediate toxicological sampling, preservation of forensic evidence, recognition of warning signs in high-control groups, and understanding how narratives of hopelessness and foreclosure of options can be exploited for extremist mobilization. Full article

Parental emotional expressivity toward their child is an integral component of creating a family emotional climate, which is the primary context in which children develop social–emotional skills. The current study sought to empirically test Darling and Steinberg’s model that parent attitudes that make up parenting style effect parental emotional expressivity during parent–child interaction. Using longitudinal data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD), the authors examined the compounding effects of maternal authoritarian attitudes measured soon after birth on maternal emotional expressivity toward their infant across three time points (child at 6, 15, and 24 months old). Hierarchical linear modeling analyses (HLMs) demonstrated that a mother’s (n = 1165, M_age = 28.2 years) authoritarian attitudes were associated with both decreased positive expressivity and increased negative expressivity toward their child at 6 months of age. Mothers who held more authoritarian attitudes at baseline demonstrated an increased rate of growth in negative expressivity toward their child over time. Maternal race and income were also significantly associated with the linear rate of growth of negative expressivity over time but not in positive expressivity. This suggests that authoritarian attitudes measured when the child is 1 month old continue to impact parent behavior up to 23 months later. This pattern suggests a potential window for effective universal prevention efforts in promoting nurturing parent behavior and promoting positive parent–child relationships. A possible target of prevention intervention could be providing parents with components of a modularized emotion regulation curriculum. The content could help parents to regulate their negative expressivity toward the child and focus on the message they want to convey to the child related to the child’s specific behavior. Full article

Background: Health-promoting lifestyle behaviors established during young adulthood play a crucial role in shaping long-term physical and mental health outcomes, including the risk of chronic disease, psychological well-being, and quality of life. Parenting styles represent an important psychosocial factor that may be associated with health-related behaviors; however, evidence regarding their association with multidimensional health-promoting lifestyles among university students remains limited. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 700 university students. Parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive) were assessed using validated self-report measures. Health-promoting lifestyle behaviors were measured with the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP II), including six subscales: Health Responsibility, Physical Activity, Nutrition, Spiritual Growth, Interpersonal Relations, and Stress Management, as well as the overall HPLP II score. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to examine associations between parenting styles and each HPLP II subscale and the total score. Results: All regression models were statistically significant (p < 0.001), explaining between 5.2% and 13.5% of variance across HPLP II subscales and 11.8% of variance in the total score. Authoritative parenting was significantly positively associated all health-promoting lifestyle domains (β = 0.22–0.33, p < 0.001), including physical activity, interpersonal relations, stress management, and overall health-promoting lifestyle. Permissive parenting was negatively associated with several domains, particularly physical activity, interpersonal relations, stress management, and the total HPLP II score (β = −0.07 to −0.12, p < 0.05). Authoritarian parenting showed weaker and more selective negative associations, most notably with nutrition and stress management. Conclusions: Parenting styles are significantly associated with health-promoting lifestyle behaviors among university students. Authoritative parenting was consistently associated with more favorable health-promoting lifestyle patterns across multiple domains, whereas permissive and authoritarian parenting may be linked to less favorable health behaviors. These findings suggest that perceived parenting styles are associated with health-related behaviors among university students. Full article

Background: Puberty is a period of visible bodily change, heightened self-consciousness, and increased sensitivity to social evaluation. While prior studies have linked pubertal development to broad psychological outcomes, less attention has been given to adolescents’ social evaluative distress, defined here as discomfort when feeling looked at or talked about by others. Parenting style may also be relevant to this outcome. Methods: Using secondary survey data from 3591 secondary-school students in Shenzhen, China, this study employed Bayesian analysis to examine whether puberty stress, authoritarian parenting, and permissive parenting were associated with adolescents’ social evaluative distress, and whether authoritarian and permissive parenting moderated the association between puberty stress and social evaluative distress. Results: Puberty stress was positively associated with social evaluative distress, and authoritarian parenting was also positively associated with this outcome. Permissive parenting did not show a clear direct association. Neither authoritarian nor permissive parenting showed clear evidence of moderating the association between puberty stress and social evaluative distress. Conclusions: Social evaluative distress during adolescence appears to be associated more clearly with puberty stress and authoritarian parenting as direct correlates than with interaction effects between puberty stress and parenting style. The study extends existing literature by focusing on a narrower, socially focused form of adolescent distress in the Chinese context. Full article

“Theosis in Soloviev and Berdyaev” will look at the deification concepts of these Russian philosophers. Deification ideas in both these writers had a strong social side and included a sharp critique of institutional churches. Sources that influenced each author will be examined. In speaking of deification, both thinkers drew upon the philosophy of Jacob Boehme. Both Soloviev and Berdyaev affirmed Orthodox principles but reacted against the authoritarianism of the Russian Orthodox hierarchy and wanted the church to return to its legitimate spiritual mission of fostering the Kingdom of God on earth. I first examine Soloviev, reacting, in part, to Jeremy Pilch’s penetrating study of Soloviev’s use of Maximus the Confessor during Soloviev’s middle and late periods. Soloviev pictures deification as a restoration of harmony with God. I argue that Soloviev also drew upon Origen’s concept of apokatastasis, which relates to theosis. Boehme’s philosophy is briefly examined in order to highlight what the two philosophers utilized from him. Berdyaev‘s philosophy is studied, including his usage of Boehme’s notion of the Ungrund. Ruth Coates offers a sophisticated analysis of Berdyaev. I argue that Berdyaev’s work is prophetic rather than Nietzschean. Berdyaev articulates a strongly theistic and anti-Nietzschean philosophy of cooperation with God. For both thinkers, deification is initiated by God, but free human cooperation is required for it to be realized. Both authors assert that Christ made deification possible. Both authors speak of a deification of the flesh, although their meaning is unclear. Full article

The current paper examines how individual/personality factors are associated with the political legitimacy of government restrictions at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 1262 US-based participants completed an online survey comprising several scales (predictor factors), such as the Just World Scale, the Police Legitimacy Scale, and the Authoritarianism Scale measuring aggression, submission, and conventionalism. In addition, they completed scales measuring their Fear of COVID and Perceptions of Government (outcome factors). The results suggest that those who viewed the president or federal government as most responsible had lower legitimacy scores than those who reported their governor, state government, or local official or government to be responsible. Also, those who aligned with the Republican party had the lowest mean for fear of COVID, while the highest was in the “Other” political affiliation, followed by the Democrats, who had the second highest. It also turned out that whereas one’s relationships with those who have been hospitalized or died as a result of COVID and individual risk factors for COVID were not significant variables in predicting perceptions of the federal government’s handling of the pandemic, the most significant factors were Authoritarianism, Fear of COVID-19, (older) Age, Change in Federal Trust and Political Ideology. Fear of COVID-19 was the only significant factor predicting government legitimacy and individual decisions to engage in protection measures during the pandemic. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Full article

Background/Objectives: Excess consumption of energy-dense foods (EDF; ultra-processed snacks, sweets, and sugar-sweetened beverages) among preschool-aged children is a public health concern, particularly in low-income families. Caregiver parenting style, psychological stress, and food-parenting practices (FPP) may shape children’s EDF consumption, yet little is known about how these factors operate in real time. This exploratory pilot study examined (1) associations between baseline characteristics and EDF feeding episodes across 1 week and (2) whether caregivers’ momentary stress during EDF episodes related to FPP used. Methods: In total, 22 caregivers of Head Start children (ages 3–5) completed baseline measures and 7 days of ecological momentary assessment (up to seven prompts/day). At each prompt, caregivers reported child EDF consumption in the past hour; if confirmed, they reported FPP used and rated momentary stress. Aim 1 used Poisson regression to model caregiver-level EDF episode counts. Aim 2 tested momentary stress–practice associations during EDF episodes using GEE, with within-person and between-person stress modeled separately. Results: Authoritarian parenting was associated with a higher weekly rate of EDF episodes (RR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.23–1.66, p < 0.001); authoritative parenting trended lower (RR = 0.90, p = 0.065). Higher baseline stress was associated with more EDF episodes (RR = 1.25, p = 0.001). Momentarily, elevated stress above a caregiver’s own average increased odds of using food as a reward (OR = 1.08 per +10 points, p = 0.011), while higher average momentary stress was associated with co-eating (OR = 1.59, p = 0.042). Domain-level FPP composites showed no association with momentary stress. Conclusions: Authoritarian parenting and higher caregiver stress were associated with increased EDF feeding, and momentary stress was linked to reward-based feeding during those episodes. These hypothesis-generating findings suggest potential behavioral targets for just-in-time adaptive intervention, pending replication in adequately powered studies. Full article

This study examines whether the association between parenting styles and adolescent adjustment reflects universal principles or culturally embedded processes, comparing adolescents from Germany (n = 395) and Spain (n = 331). Grounded in the bidimensional model of parental socialization (warmth × strictness), four styles were identified: authoritative, indulgent, authoritarian, and neglectful. Participants (Mage = 15.6 years) completed measures of parental socialization (ESPA29) and multidimensional self-concept (AF5); academic achievement was obtained from school records; and substance use was self-reported. A cross-sectional design was employed. Multivariate analyses of variance that revealed warmth was positively associated with all self-concept domains and negatively with substance use, whereas strictness showed weak or negative links. Significant Parenting Style × Country interactions emerged for academic self-concept, achievement, and substance use. In the Spanish sample, indulgent parenting exhibited a distinct pattern, particularly with respect to academic self-concept. Among German adolescents, both indulgent and authoritative styles yielded favorable outcomes, with authoritative parenting demonstrating protective effects against substance use. These findings suggest that the effectiveness of the authoritative style may not be uniform across contexts and underscore the importance of cultural factors in defining optimal parenting, supporting a contextualist model of adolescent socialization across European contexts. Full article

This study explores how school leadership styles are perceived to relate to teacher resilience during crises in Arab schools in Israel. Drawing on twenty semi-structured interviews with principals and vice-principals, findings show that transformational and participative leadership, characterized by emotional support, accessibility, active listening, and shared decision-making, are perceived to foster teachers’ sense of security, self-efficacy, and collective resilience. In contrast, authoritarian and rigid approaches are described as contributing to increased stress, reduced motivation, and diminished coping capacity. The study highlights the significance of socio-cultural and political contexts, indicating that effective leadership in crises involves not only professional guidance but also cultural awareness, flexibility, and responsiveness to staff needs. These findings underscore the value of integrative leadership approaches and targeted professional development to support teacher well-being and organizational resilience in crisis-prone settings. By focusing on leaders’ perspectives, the study contributes to understanding how culturally sensitive and adaptive leadership practices may support educational stability under conditions of uncertainty. Full article

The mental health of children/adolescents is closely related to family functioning. However, there are factors that impair family functioning, such as parental psychopathology, parenting styles, and beliefs about physical punishment, which may require intervention by psychology and psychiatry. Given the lack of literature, the main objectives of this research are: to explore the association between parenting styles and the personality traits that constitute the Dark Triad, to analyze the association between beliefs about physical punishment and the personality traits that make up the Dark Triad, and to test the mediating effect of beliefs about physical punishment between the traits of the Dark Triad and parenting styles. The sample consisted of 290 parents of school-age children/adolescents between 7 and 16 years old, consisting of 231 female and 59 male participants. The main results suggest that Machiavellianism and narcissism are positively associated with authoritarian and permissive parenting styles and psychopathy with authoritarian; personality traits are associated with beliefs about physical punishment, and beliefs about physical punishment influence the relationship between the Dark Triad and parenting styles. In short, parental psychopathology seems to have an influence on the way parents educate their children and on their beliefs about physical punishment. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic represented a critical stress test for institutional trust and legitimacy, particularly in societies characterized by pre-existing deficits of confidence in public authorities. In Romania, the health crisis unfolded against a background of low institutional credibility and widespread skepticism toward political and administrative actors. This study examines how institutional authority was discursively evaluated, contested, and delegitimized through public online comments during the most severe phase of the pandemic. The analysis is based on a corpus of 457 comments collected from major Romanian news websites and YouTube channels between 20 and 26 October 2021, corresponding to the peak week in terms of infections and mortality. Drawing on Discourse Analysis and Discursive Psychology, the study combines quantitative coding with qualitative analysis to identify recurrent forms of moral and epistemic criticism, inflammatory discourse, and sarcasm, organized into interpretative repertoires. The findings show that online criticism is structured primarily around accusations of hypocrisy, incompetence, corruption, insensitivity, and authoritarianism. These discourses function not merely as expressions of dissatisfaction but as practices through which commenters articulate moral order, contest institutional legitimacy, and position themselves as morally vigilant and epistemically competent actors entitled to judge public decision-making. Online comment spaces thus emerge as arenas of discursive delegitimation in times of crisis, with important implications for democratic resilience and crisis governance. Full article

The 1923 Greek–Turkish Population Exchange (Mubadele in Turkish), formalized through the Lausanne Convention, remains one of the most consequential cases of compulsory migration in modern history. This systematic review synthesizes a century of scholarship across political, legal, social, cultural, and historiographical dimensions. Findings indicate that the exchange not only legitimized forced displacement under international law but also reinforced authoritarian state-building in Turkey and exacerbated political instability in Greece. The social consequences included trauma, marginalization, and the emergence of heterogeneous refugee identities, while cultural memory oscillated between nationalist silencing and transnational remembrance. Urban landscapes and demographic structures were profoundly reshaped, producing visible legacies in contemporary cities. Furthermore, assimilation policies formalized the integration of populations, influencing the development of national identities in both Turkey and Greece. Historiographical trajectories diverged, with Greek scholarship emphasizing refugee struggles and Turkish scholarship foregrounding nation-building. Recent studies highlight hybrid identities and transgenerational redefinitions of belonging. This review underscores the necessity of integrating political, social, and memory studies to capture the multi-layered impacts of the exchange, offering a comprehensive account of its enduring relevance for migration, nationalism, and memory studies in Southeast Europe. Full article