Br J Psychol [JOURNAL]
Sun
200 papers
Daily effects of a brief compassion-focused intervention for self-compassion.
Varley D, Sherwell CS, Kirby JN
Br J Psychol · 2025 Feb · PMID 39474774 · Publisher ↗
Interventions for increasing self-compassion are typically assessed through retrospective reports, which may not accurately capture everyday self-compassionate behaviour. Our study addresses this using experience samplin...
Interventions for increasing self-compassion are typically assessed through retrospective reports, which may not accurately capture everyday self-compassionate behaviour. Our study addresses this using experience sampling to evaluate a brief compassion-focused intervention's effects on needs for self-compassion, awareness of opportunities for self-compassion, self-compassionate behaviour and emotional responses to one's distress in daily life. Results indicated that the intervention was associated with less likelihood of reporting needs and opportunities for self-compassion but with no difference in self-compassionate actions or emotional experience. When participants acted self-compassionately, they reported more positive emotional experiences after needing self-compassion. This underscores the disparity between retrospective and ecological assessments, emphasizing the need for interventions to be evaluated in real-life contexts.
Inter-brain synchrony is associated with greater shared identity within naturalistic conversational pairs.
Hinvest NS, Ashwin C, Hijazy M … +4 more , Carter F, Scarampi C, Stothart G, Smith LGE
Br J Psychol · 2025 Feb · PMID 39460494 · Full text
Inter-brain synchrony occurs between individuals who feel connected socially, but how synchrony relates to felt connectedness under naturalistic social interaction has remained enigmatic. We hypothesized that inter-brain...
Inter-brain synchrony occurs between individuals who feel connected socially, but how synchrony relates to felt connectedness under naturalistic social interaction has remained enigmatic. We hypothesized that inter-brain synchrony between naturally interacting individuals might be associated with the internalization of a social identity, a link between an individual's personal identity and the social group to which the individual belongs. A convenience sample of sixty participants were split into dyads and interacted naturalistically on a social task. Through mapping EEG oscillatory waveforms onto a conceptual model categorizing the formation of a social identity within a naturalistic conversation, greater inter-brain synchrony was observed in the emergent stage within the formation of a social identity compared to earlier stages, where a social identity was not present. We provide evidence for greater neural synchrony related to higher socio-psychological connectedness during the development of social identity under naturalistic social interaction.
The differences in essential facial areas for impressions between humans and deep learning models: An eye-tracking and explainable AI approach.
Sano T, Shi J, Kawabata H
Br J Psychol · 2026 May · PMID 39460393 · Full text
This study explored the facial impressions of attractiveness, dominance and sexual dimorphism using experimental and computational methods. In Study 1, we generated face images with manipulated morphological features usi...
This study explored the facial impressions of attractiveness, dominance and sexual dimorphism using experimental and computational methods. In Study 1, we generated face images with manipulated morphological features using geometric morphometrics. In Study 2, we conducted eye tracking and impression evaluation experiments using these images to examine how facial features influence impression evaluations and explored differences based on the sex of the face images and participants. In Study 3, we employed deep learning methods, specifically using gradient-weighted class activation mapping (Grad-CAM), an explainable artificial intelligence (AI) technique, to extract important features for each impression using the face images and impression evaluation results from Studies 1 and 2. The findings revealed that eye-tracking and deep learning use different features as cues. In the eye-tracking experiments, attention was focused on features such as the eyes, nose and mouth, whereas the deep learning analysis highlighted broader features, including eyebrows and superciliary arches. The computational approach using explainable AI suggests that the determinants of facial impressions can be extracted independently of visual attention.
Explainability increases trust resilience in intelligent agents.
Xu M, Wang Y
Br J Psychol · 2026 May · PMID 39431949 · Full text
Even though artificial intelligence (AI)-based systems typically outperform human decision-makers, they are not immune to errors, leading users to lose trust in them and be less likely to use them again-a phenomenon know...
Even though artificial intelligence (AI)-based systems typically outperform human decision-makers, they are not immune to errors, leading users to lose trust in them and be less likely to use them again-a phenomenon known as algorithm aversion. The purpose of the present research was to investigate whether explainable AI (XAI) could function as a viable strategy to counter algorithm aversion. We conducted two experiments to examine how XAI influences users' willingness to continue using AI-based systems when these systems exhibit errors. The results showed that, following the observation of algorithms erring, the inclination of users to delegate decisions to or follow advice from intelligent agents significantly decreased compared to the period before the errors were revealed. However, the explainability effectively mitigated this decline, with users in the XAI condition being more likely to continue utilizing intelligent agents for subsequent tasks after seeing algorithms erring than those in the non-XAI condition. We further found that the explainability could reduce users' decision regret, and the decrease in decision regret mediated the relationship between the explainability and re-use behaviour. These findings underscore the adaptive function of XAI in alleviating negative user experiences and maintaining user trust in the context of imperfect AI.
A new way to conceptualize intolerance of uncertainty among adolescents: Embracing the network perspective.
Ye H, Shi X, Li Y … +6 more , Huang Y, You R, Zhang X, Yu Z, Li H, Fan F
Br J Psychol · 2025 Feb · PMID 39425919 · Publisher ↗
Intolerance of uncertainty (IU), a pivotal transdiagnostic risk factor in psychopathology, is defined as a dispositional incapacity to withstand uncertainty distress, driving maladaptive cognitive, emotional and behaviou...
Intolerance of uncertainty (IU), a pivotal transdiagnostic risk factor in psychopathology, is defined as a dispositional incapacity to withstand uncertainty distress, driving maladaptive cognitive, emotional and behavioural reactions to uncertainty. However, the intricate interplay among these components, particularly in adolescents, remains underexplored; yet understanding this interplay is crucial for supporting mental health. To address this gap, we employed a network approach to conceptualize IU in 5672 non-clinical Chinese adolescents (M = 14.13 years, SD = 1.96 years, range = 10-19 years, 46.6% boys), combining graphical Gaussian models (GGM) and directed acyclic graphs (DAG). Our analyses revealed a tripartite network comprising cognitive, behavioural and emotional components. Notably, 'frustration' and 'work with hindrance' emerged as key drivers, while 'catastrophizing belief' served as a critical bridge linking different components. These findings underscore the importance of alleviating uncertainty-induced frustration and enhancing coping skills for behavioural impediments to mitigate adolescent IU. Additionally, therapeutic interventions should prioritize modifying and re-evaluating catastrophizing beliefs related to uncertainty.
Orthographic character complexity modulates dynamic neural activity in skilled handwriting.
Pei L, Sommer W, Ouyang G
Br J Psychol · 2025 Feb · PMID 39367804 · Full text
Handwriting is an outstanding case of a highly complex and efficient fine motor skill. However, little is known about its neural underpinnings during continuous handwriting production. In the present study, we examined t...
Handwriting is an outstanding case of a highly complex and efficient fine motor skill. However, little is known about its neural underpinnings during continuous handwriting production. In the present study, we examined the effects of orthographic character complexity (i.e. the stroke number of a Chinese character) on both neural and behavioural activities during an EEG-based naturalistic fluent sentence-handwriting task from 102 adult Chinese native speakers. For each written character, the interval between finishing the preceding character and its onset (inter-character interval) as well as the amplitudes of the onset-synchronized event-related potential (ERP) in pre- and post-onset time windows was defined as dependent variables. The effects of character complexity and other confounding factors were analysed with linear mixed models. Character complexity increased the inter-character interval and significantly affected ERP amplitudes in both pre- and post-onset time windows. The ERP pattern in the pre-event time window exhibited a dipole-like activation in the left motor cortex, and its amplitude increased with character complexity in line with the documented relationship between the lateralized readiness potential and motor complexity. This study demonstrates the feasibility of studying neurocognitive processes in complex naturalistic motor tasks and extends our knowledge about the dynamic pattern of handwriting-related neural activities.
Listen to yourself! Prioritization of self-associated and own voice cues.
Kirk NW, Cunningham SJ
Br J Psychol · 2025 Feb · PMID 39361444 · Full text
Self-cues such as one's own name or face attract attention, reflecting a bias for stimuli connected to self to be prioritized in cognition. Recent evidence suggests that even external voices can elicit this self-prioriti...
Self-cues such as one's own name or face attract attention, reflecting a bias for stimuli connected to self to be prioritized in cognition. Recent evidence suggests that even external voices can elicit this self-prioritization effect; in a voice-label matching task, external voices assigned to the Self-identity label 'you' elicited faster responses than those assigned to 'friend' or 'stranger' (Payne et al., Br. J. Psychology, 112, 585-610). However, it is not clear whether external voices assigned to Self are prioritized over participants' own voices. We explore this issue in two experiments. In Exp 1 (N = 35), a voice-label matching task comprising three external voices confirmed that reaction time and accuracy are improved when an external voice cue is assigned to Self rather than Friend or Stranger. In Exp 2 (N = 90), one of the voice cues was replaced with a recording of the participant's own voice. Reaction time and accuracy showed a consistent advantage for the participant's own-voice, even when it was assigned to the 'friend' or 'stranger' identity. These findings show that external voices can elicit self-prioritization effects if associated with Self, but they are not prioritized above individuals' own voices. This has implications for external voice production technology, suggesting own-voice imitation may be beneficial.
Facial basis of stereotypes: Judgements of warmth and competence based on cross-group typicality/distinctiveness of faces.
Saribay SA, Pokorný Š, Tureček P … +1 more , Kleisner K
Br J Psychol · 2025 Feb · PMID 39347699 · Full text
Human migration is an increasingly common phenomenon and migrants are at risk of disadvantageous treatment. We reasoned that migrants may receive differential treatment by locals based on the closeness of their facial fe...
Human migration is an increasingly common phenomenon and migrants are at risk of disadvantageous treatment. We reasoned that migrants may receive differential treatment by locals based on the closeness of their facial features to the host average. Residents of Türkiye, the country with the largest number of refugees currently, served as participants. Because many of these refugees are of Arabic origin, we created target facial stimuli varying along the axis connecting Turkish and Arabic morphological prototypes (excluding skin colour) computed using geometric morphometrics and available databases. Participants made judgements of two universal dimensions of social perception-warmth and competence-on these faces. We predicted that participants judging faces manipulated towards the Turkish average would provide higher warmth and competence ratings compared to judging the same faces manipulated towards the Arabic average. Bayesian statistical tools were employed to estimate parameter values in multilevel models with intercorrelated varying effects. The findings did not support the prediction and revealed raters (as well as target faces) to be an important source of variation in social judgements. In the absence of simple cues (e.g. skin colour, group labels), the effect of facial morphology on social judgements may be much more complex than previously assumed.
Who tends to be a perfectionistic adolescent? Distinguishing perfectionism from excellencism and investigating the links with the Big Five and self-esteem.
Bien K, Wagner J, Brandt ND
Br J Psychol · 2025 Feb · PMID 39325595 · Full text
Striving towards perfection is an important concept of study, given its heterogenous associations with both positive and negative outcomes. To address this matter, recent work has emphasized the need to differentiate bet...
Striving towards perfection is an important concept of study, given its heterogenous associations with both positive and negative outcomes. To address this matter, recent work has emphasized the need to differentiate between striving towards perfection (perfectionism) and excellence (excellencism). However, the applicability of this differentiation in adolescence remains largely unexplored, despite this life phase being particularly sensitive for the development of perfectionism. To better understand striving towards perfection in adolescence, we examined the psychometric properties of the German Scale of Perfectionism and Excellencism (SCOPE) and evaluated the nomological net with the Big Five and self-esteem in 788 German adolescents (M = 15.49 years; 50% female). The results underscored the distinctiveness of the different strivings in adolescents but pointed to mixed evidence regarding convergent and discriminant validities. Notably, striving towards perfection was related to lower levels of openness and self-esteem but higher levels of neuroticism, whereas striving towards excellence was related to higher levels of every trait except neuroticism. Finally, most results remained consistent across genders and school types. We discuss how the differentiation between perfectionism and excellencism deepens our understanding of adolescents' perfectionistic strivings and how it might inform future research across different psychological fields.
Generative neural networks for experimental manipulation: Examining dominance-trustworthiness face impressions with data-efficient models.
Sobieszek A, Siemiątkowski M, Imbir KK
Br J Psychol · 2026 May · PMID 39311440 · Full text
An important development in the study of face impressions was the introduction of dominance and trustworthiness as the primary and potentially orthogonal traits judged from faces. We test competing predictions of recent...
An important development in the study of face impressions was the introduction of dominance and trustworthiness as the primary and potentially orthogonal traits judged from faces. We test competing predictions of recent accounts that address evidence against the independence of these judgements. To this end we develop a version of recent 'deep models of face impressions' better suited for data-efficient experimental manipulation. In Study 1 (N = 128) we build impression models using 15 times less ratings per dimension than previously assumed necessary. In Study 2 (N = 234) we show how our method can precisely manipulate dominance and trustworthiness impressions of face photographs and observe how the effects' pattern of the cues of one trait on impressions of the other differs from previous accounts. We propose an altered account that stresses how a successful execution of the two judgements' functional roles requires impressions of trustworthiness and dominance to be based on cues of both traits. Finally we show our manipulation resulted in larger effect sizes using a broader array of features than previous methods. Our approach lets researchers manipulate face stimuli for various face perception studies and investigate new dimensions with minimal data collection.
Editorial: Introducing the British Psychological Society journals' landmark special issue on the United Nation's Sustainability Goals.
Berry K
Br J Psychol · 2025 Aug · PMID 39298059 · Publisher ↗
Abstract loading — click title to view on PubMed.
Differential diagnosis of autism, attachment disorders, complex post-traumatic stress disorder and emotionally unstable personality disorder: A Delphi study.
Sarr R, Spain D, Quinton AMG … +12 more , Happé F, Brewin CR, Radcliffe J, Jowett S, Miles S, González RA, Albert I, Scholwin A, Stirling M, Markham S, Strange S, Rumball F
Br J Psychol · 2025 Feb · PMID 39300915 · Full text
Individuals diagnosed with autism, attachment disorders, emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD) or complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) can present with similar features. This renders differential and...
Individuals diagnosed with autism, attachment disorders, emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD) or complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) can present with similar features. This renders differential and accurate diagnosis of these conditions difficult, leading to diagnostic overshadowing and misdiagnosis. The purpose of this study was to explore professionals' perspectives on the differential diagnosis of autism, attachment disorders and CPTSD in young people; and of autism, CPTSD and EUPD in adults. A co-produced three-round Delphi study gathered information through a series of questionnaires from 106 international professionals with expertise in assessing and/or diagnosing at least one of these conditions. To provide specialist guidance and data triangulation, working groups of experts by experience, clinicians and researchers were consulted. Delphi statements were considered to have reached consensus if at least 80% of participants were in agreement. Two hundred and seventy-five Delphi statements reached consensus. Overlapping and differentiating features, methods of assessment, difficulties encountered during differential diagnosis and suggestions for improvements were identified. The findings highlight current practices for differential diagnosis of autism, attachment disorders, CPTSD and EUPD in young people and adults. Areas for future research, clinical and service provision implications, were also identified.
Exploring the spatial interference effects elicited by social and non-social targets: A conditional accuracy function approach.
Ponce R, Lupiáñez J, González-García C … +2 more , Casagrande M, Marotta A
Br J Psychol · 2025 Feb · PMID 39267579 · Full text
Recent studies employing the spatial interference paradigm reveal qualitative differences in congruency effects between gaze and arrow targets. Typically, arrows produce a standard congruency effect (SCE), with faster re...
Recent studies employing the spatial interference paradigm reveal qualitative differences in congruency effects between gaze and arrow targets. Typically, arrows produce a standard congruency effect (SCE), with faster responses when target direction aligns with its location. Conversely, gaze targets often lead to a reversed congruency effect (RCE), where responses are slower in similar conditions. We explored this dissociation using the Conditional Accuracy Function (CAF) to assess accuracy across reaction time bins. Using a hierarchical linear mixed modelling approach to compare cropped eyes, and full faces as social stimuli, and arrows as non-social stimuli, we synthesized findings from 11 studies, which led to three distinct models. The results showed that with non-social targets, incongruent trials exhibited lower accuracy rates in the first bin than in subsequent bins, while congruent trials maintained stable accuracy throughout the distribution. Conversely, social targets revealed a dissociation within the fastest responses; alongside a general reduction in accuracy for both congruency conditions, congruent trials resulted in even lower accuracy rates than incongruent ones. These results suggest with gaze targets that additional information, perhaps social, in addition to the automatic capture by the irrelevant target location, is being processed during the earlier stages of processing.
Unpacking interplays between competitiveness, cooperativeness, and social comparison orientation: A network psychometric approach and replication.
Meng G, Wang L, Zhong B … +3 more , Wang S, Li Q, Liu X
Br J Psychol · 2025 Feb · PMID 39264351 · Publisher ↗
Emerging evidence highlights the role of social comparison in competition and cooperation, yet the dynamics among competitiveness, cooperativeness, and social comparison orientation (SCO) remain underexplored. In the pre...
Emerging evidence highlights the role of social comparison in competition and cooperation, yet the dynamics among competitiveness, cooperativeness, and social comparison orientation (SCO) remain underexplored. In the present study, we sought to unravel these complex interplays employing graphical Gaussian models (GGMs) and characterize the network structures utilizing cross-sectional data derived from 1073 Chinese participants. A pre-registered independent sample (n = 1348) served to examine the replicability and robustness of our initial findings. Moreover, we explored the Bayesian networks (i.e., directed acyclic graphs) to delve into their probabilistic directed dependencies. Our analysis identified an interpersonal co-opetition network where SCO bridges competitiveness and cooperativeness, emphasizing the key influence of the desire to surpass others. We also found a significant gender effect on the levels of these orientations but not on the network patterns. Additionally, the replication sample offered validation for the resultant network structure and its key nodes. In sum, these findings provide a new insight into the symbiotic relationship between competitiveness and cooperativeness within the framework of social comparison, offering significant theoretical and practical implications.
Positive and negative touch differentially modulate metacognitive memory judgements for emotional stimuli.
Convertino G, Talbot J, Stockner M … +4 more , Gatti D, Marchetti M, Mitaritonna D, Mazzoni G
Br J Psychol · 2025 Feb · PMID 39259183 · Publisher ↗
Touch plays a crucial role in providing humans with information from the external environment and can be perceived by humans as positively or negatively valenced. It is well documented that touch can differentially influ...
Touch plays a crucial role in providing humans with information from the external environment and can be perceived by humans as positively or negatively valenced. It is well documented that touch can differentially influence social functions, but very little is known about how touch can modulate (meta)cognition. Utilizing a within-subject design, participants were exposed to (a) positive, (b) negative, and (c) no touch, alongside encoding of emotionally valenced (positive and negative) images. After a 20-minute delay, participants completed a Yes/No recognition task to investigate how touch influenced memory-related decision components (e.g. criterion, confidence). Results showed that, compared to the control condition, both positive and negative touch were associated with overall lower confidence ratings, a less liberal response bias and slower response times. Interestingly, for correct recognitions, only negative touch (vs. no touch) led to inappropriately lower confidence and slower response times while both confidence and response time remained unaltered in positive touch. Our findings provide the first evidence that positive and negative touch differentially interact with metacognitive memory-related decisions. Altered metacognitive judgements after being touched could have significant consequences in applied settings, such as situations of eyewitness testimony.
People have different expectations for their own versus others' use of AI-mediated communication tools.
Purcell ZA, Dong M, Nussberger AM … +2 more , Köbis N, Jakesch M
Br J Psychol · 2026 May · PMID 39230876 · Full text
Artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance human communication, for example, by improving the quality of our writing, voice or appearance. However, AI mediated communication also has risks-it may increase deception, compro...
Artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance human communication, for example, by improving the quality of our writing, voice or appearance. However, AI mediated communication also has risks-it may increase deception, compromise authenticity or yield widespread mistrust. As a result, both policymakers and technology firms are developing approaches to prevent and reduce potentially unacceptable uses of AI communication technologies. However, we do not yet know what people believe is acceptable or what their expectations are regarding usage. Drawing on normative psychology theories, we examine people's judgements of the acceptability of open and secret AI use, as well as people's expectations of their own and others' use. In two studies with representative samples (Study 1: N = 477; Study 2: N = 765), we find that people are less accepting of secret than open AI use in communication, but only when directly compared. Our results also suggest that people believe others will use AI communication tools more than they would themselves and that people do not expect others' use to align with their expectations of what is acceptable. While much attention has been focused on transparency measures, our results suggest that self-other differences are a central factor for understanding people's attitudes and expectations for AI-mediated communication.
Social sharing of emotion during the collective crisis of COVID-19.
Ma GWS, Schöne JP, Parkinson B
Br J Psychol · 2024 Nov · PMID 39215960 · Publisher ↗
We collected data from two sources - social media and online questionnaires - to investigate the emotional consequences of social sharing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study 1 tracked and analysed sentiment of tweets pos...
We collected data from two sources - social media and online questionnaires - to investigate the emotional consequences of social sharing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study 1 tracked and analysed sentiment of tweets posted over the course of a month in the crisis period and found that users who tweeted more frequently about COVID-19 expressed decreasing negative sentiment and increasing positive sentiment over time. Granger causality tests confirmed that this association was better interpreted in the forward direction (sharing levels predicting sentiment) than in the reverse direction (sentiment predicting sharing levels). Study 2 focused on immediate emotional consequences of sharing COVID-19-related events and found that participants reported improved overall affect about an event after sharing it, especially when that event was a personal experience rather than a news story. Reported positive feelings about both kinds of events were also significantly higher after sharing. Taken together, both studies suggested that social sharing is linked with emotional relief and may therefore help people to deal with their negative experiences during a persistent collective crisis.
Opposing sequential biases in direction and time reproduction: Influences of task relevance and working memory.
Cheng S, Chen S, Shi Z
Br J Psychol · 2024 Nov · PMID 39133516 · Publisher ↗
Our current perception and decision-making are shaped by recent experiences, a phenomenon known as serial dependence. While serial dependence is well-documented in visual perception and has been recently explored in time...
Our current perception and decision-making are shaped by recent experiences, a phenomenon known as serial dependence. While serial dependence is well-documented in visual perception and has been recently explored in time perception, their functional similarities across non-temporal and temporal domains remain elusive, particularly in relation to task relevance and working memory load. To address this, we designed a unified experimental paradigm using coherent motion stimuli to test both direction and time reproduction. The direction and time tasks were randomly mixed across trials. Additionally, we introduced pre-cue versus post-cue settings in separate experiments to manipulate working memory load during the encoding phase. We found attractive biases in time reproduction but repulsive biases in direction estimation. Notably, the temporal attraction was more pronounced when the preceding task was also time-related. In contrast, the direction repulsion remained unaffected by the nature of the preceding task. Additionally, both attractive and repulsive biases were enhanced by the post-cue compared to the pre-cue. Our findings suggest that opposing sequential effects in non-temporal and temporal domains may originate from different processing stages linked to sensory adaptation and post-perceptual processes involving working memory.
Increases in sense of purpose predict future positive changes in personality traits.
Joshanloo M
Br J Psychol · 2024 Nov · PMID 39120086 · Publisher ↗
This longitudinal study examined the reciprocal relationship between the Big Five personality traits and sense of purpose over a 13-year period using a nationally representative sample of American adults (N = 11,010). Th...
This longitudinal study examined the reciprocal relationship between the Big Five personality traits and sense of purpose over a 13-year period using a nationally representative sample of American adults (N = 11,010). The random intercept cross-lagged panel model revealed unidirectional effects: increases in sense of purpose predicted subsequent increases in openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and extraversion, as well as decreases in neuroticism. Conversely, changes in personality traits did not predict future changes in sense of purpose. One potential mechanism underlying this effect might involve the link between sense of purpose and optimal self-regulatory processes and outcomes, such as successful planning, goal-directed behaviour, and self-control, which promote gradual positive changes in personality traits. Another plausible mechanism may be the association between purpose and improved subjective well-being and reduced psychological distress, which have been found to predict positive changes in personality traits. These findings challenge previous research that has interpreted cross-sectional associations as evidence that personality traits are predictive of purpose, rather than the other way around. The findings that intentionally cultivating a strong sense of purpose may facilitate positive personality change in adulthood.
Plinko: Eliciting beliefs to build better models of statistical learning and mental model updating.
DiBerardino PAV, Filipowicz ALS, Danckert J … +1 more , Anderson B
Br J Psychol · 2024 Nov · PMID 39096484 · Publisher ↗
Prior beliefs are central to Bayesian accounts of cognition, but many of these accounts do not directly measure priors. More specifically, initial states of belief heavily influence how new information is assumed to be u...
Prior beliefs are central to Bayesian accounts of cognition, but many of these accounts do not directly measure priors. More specifically, initial states of belief heavily influence how new information is assumed to be utilized when updating a particular model. Despite this, prior and posterior beliefs are either inferred from sequential participant actions or elicited through impoverished means. We had participants to play a version of the game 'Plinko', to first elicit individual participant priors in a theoretically agnostic manner. Subsequent learning and updating of participant beliefs was then directly measured. We show that participants hold various priors that cluster around prototypical probability distributions that in turn influence learning. In follow-up studies, we show that participant priors are stable over time and that the ability to update beliefs is influenced by a simple environmental manipulation (i.e., a short break). These data reveal the importance of directly measuring participant beliefs rather than assuming or inferring them as has been widely done in the literature to date. The Plinko game provides a flexible and fecund means for examining statistical learning and mental model updating.
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