An Observatory to monitor range extension of the Mediterranean monk seal based on its eDNA traces: collecting data and delivering results in the "Open Science" era.

The monk seal is the most endangered pinniped in the world and the only one found in the Mediterranean, where its distribution and abundance have suffered a drastic decline in the last few decades. Data on its status are scattered due to both its rarity and evasiveness and records are biased towards occasional, mostly coastal encounters. Nowadays, molecular techniques allow us to detect and quantify minute amounts of DNA traces released into the environment (eDNA) by any organism.

Enjoying art: an evolutionary perspective on the esthetic experience from emotion elicitors.

The ubiquity of human art prompted evolutionary psychologists to explore its origins as a potential adaptation to the environment. Here we focus on emotionally charged art and posit that affective affordances embedded into some artworks play a pivotal role in explaining why these artworks are enjoyed from an evolutionary perspective. Such features, recurring in various art forms, are interpreted as cues to the emotional state of others, enabling art consumers to engage in empathetic experiences and vicarious emotions.

Teaching after the pandemic: The role of technostress and organizational support on intentions to adopt remote teaching technologies.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to several changes in academic teaching practices. Although educational digital technologies have been crucial during the initial phases of the pandemic, their forced adoption has led to negative consequences. In the present study, we aimed to integrate the Technology Acceptance Model theoretical framework (Davis, 1989) by exploring the effects of some possible factors that influence the willingness to adopt digital learning tools in the future when the pandemic is over.

An Internet-Based Multi-Approach Intervention Targeting University Students Suffering from Psychological Problems: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation.

Despite the widespread prevalence of mental health problems, most psychological distress remains untreated. Internet-based psychological interventions can be an essential tool for increasing treatment availability and accessibility. The main objective of the MindBlooming project is to design and implement an innovative Internet-based multi-approach treatment for university students suffering from psychological or physical problems.

Loneliness, Escapism, and Identification With Media Characters: An Exploration of the Psychological Factors Underlying Binge-Watching Tendency.

Nowadays, binge-watching (i.e., watching multiple episodes of a TV series in one session) has become a widespread practice of media consumption, raising concerns about its negative outcomes.

Corrigendum: Together Apart: The Mitigating Role of Digital Communication Technologies on Negative Affect During the COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.

Together Apart: The Mitigating Role of Digital Communication Technologies on Negative Affect During the COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy.

The ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 has forced governments to impose a lockdown, and many people have suddenly found themselves having to reduce their social relations drastically. Given the exceptional nature of similar situations, only a few studies have investigated the negative psychological effects of forced social isolation and how they can be mitigated in a real context. In the present study, we investigated whether the amount of digital communication technology use for virtual meetings (i.

The ACME shop: A paradigm to investigate working (self-) objectification.

The paper presents an open usable tool, the ACME shop paradigm, for experimentally studying self-objectification due to objectifying work activities. The paradigm consists of a simulation in which participants are asked to perform an objectifying (repetitive, fragmented, and other directed) a non-objectifying work activity. Two studies tested the construct (convergent and discriminant) validity of the paradigm by showing its effectiveness in inducing different facets of working self-objectification - but not other forms of dehumanization - in laboratory and online settings.

Do Self-Objectified Women Believe Themselves to Be Free? Sexual Objectification and Belief in Personal Free Will.

The present study aims to investigate the indirect link between sexual objectification and belief in personal free will. We hypothesized that being subjected to objectifying commentary would lead women to self-objectify and, in turn, to perceive themselves as having less personal free will. In this study, 105 women were asked to sign up a website created for this study by providing a personal description and a photo.

Lonely hearts and angry minds: Online dating rejection increases male (but not female) hostility.

The present work explores the hostile tendencies elicited by romantic rejection in the increasingly common context of online dating. To empirically investigate this issue, we created an ad hoc online dating platform in which fictitious online dating partners romantically rejected heterosexual male and female participants. Results revealed that male-but not female-participants who were rejected by desired dating partners displayed increased hostility.

Original dataset used in the article "Does Pokémon Go lead to a more physically active life style?".

The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled "Does Pokémon Go lead to a more physically active life style?" (Gabbiadini et al., in press) [1]. In the study, 981 individuals completed a web survey, in which frequency of Pokémon Go usage, overall physically active behavior, and amount of Pokémon Go related physical activity were measured.

Fitness mobile apps positively affect attitudes, perceived behavioral control and physical activities.

Background: Recent studies suggest that about 6 out of 10 users have installed a fitness tracking application on their smartphone. Nevertheless, more than 59% of adults do not engage in sufficient daily physical activity and much remains unknown with regard to the effectiveness of mobile applications. By adopting the Theory of Planned Behavior, we tested whether the use of fitness apps for daily steps tracking could positively influence people's health behavior.

The lone gamer: Social exclusion predicts violent video game preferences and fuels aggressive inclinations in adolescent players.

Violent video game playing has been linked to a wide range of negative outcomes, especially in adolescents. In the present research, we focused on a potential determinant of adolescents' willingness to play violent video games: social exclusion. We also tested whether exclusion can predict increased aggressiveness following violent video game playing.

Grand Theft Auto is a "Sandbox" Game, but There are Weapons, Criminals, and Prostitutes in the Sandbox: Response to Ferguson and Donnellan (2017).

In this issue, (Ferguson, C. J., & Donnellan, B.

Neuromodulation can reduce aggressive behavior elicited by violent video games.

Research has shown that exposure to violent media increases aggression. However, the neural underpinnings of violent-media-related aggression are poorly understood. Additionally, few experiments have tested hypotheses concerning how to reduce violent-media-related aggression.

Testing the Model of Goal-Directed Behavior for Predicting Binge Drinking Among Young People.

Background: One of the most problematic modes of alcohol consumption in young adults is risky drinking in single episodes, which typically takes place in social contexts. Several studies have applied the Theory of Planned Behavior to drinking intentions and behavior in young people. However, previous studies show that this model lacks a "bridge" that links a mental process like intentions to a physical process represented by the actual action.

Work and freedom? Working self-objectification and belief in personal free will.

The current work aimed to extend the burgeoning literature on working objectification by investigating the effects of particular job activities on self-perception. By integrating relevant theoretical reflections with recent empirical evidence, we expected that performing objectifying (i.e.

Acting like a Tough Guy: Violent-Sexist Video Games, Identification with Game Characters, Masculine Beliefs, & Empathy for Female Violence Victims.

Empathy--putting oneself in another's shoes--has been described as the "social glue" that holds society together. This study investigates how exposure to sexist video games can decrease empathy for female violence victims. We hypothesized that playing violent-sexist video games would increase endorsement of masculine beliefs, especially among participants who highly identify with dominant and aggressive male game characters.

Virtual users support forum: do community members really want to help you?

The survival of a virtual community is guaranteed by the users' creation of content. However, the literature has found that the percentage of users who create innovative content is very modest. The content contribution process can also be interpreted as a social collective action in which we-intentions play a primary role.

Brief report: Does exposure to violent video games increase moral disengagement among adolescents?

Several studies have repeatedly shown that violent/action video games increase aggressive tendencies. The present study provides preliminary evidence that exposure to these games also affects the process of moral disengagement. High school students (N = 385) were recruited, and the impact of both recency and frequency of their exposure to the video game Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA; 2008) on moral disengagement was explored.