In this paper, we consider the impact of financial and social penalties on the propensity to evade taxes. Apart from financial fines, social penalties, such as social disapproval, may result from an illegal tax decision. Rigorous social norms regarding payment of taxes impose additional costs on violators such as fear of exclusion and stigmatization. We conducted an experiment among Polish taxpayers (N = 303) on the effect of single and combined financial and shame penalties on propen­sity to evade taxes. Results of the study confirmed that taxpayers respond not only to economic penalties, but are aware that tax evasion may also be associated with other, non-economic costs. The threat of social disapproval for illegal tax reduction may serve as an additional factor prevent­ing individuals from breaking social and legal norms regarding tax evasion. Social consequences of dishonest tax behavior have rarely been analyzed in the literature so far.

The article examines the association of attachment styles from childhood to adulthood in a retrospective manner and their relationship with romantic relationships, focusing on gender differences and relationship satisfaction. The study involved 309 adults (170 women, 139 men) aged 18 to 74 in romantic relationships. The results suggest that individuals who retrospectively report certain attachment patterns with parents in childhood tend to report similar patterns in adult romantic relationships. Significant differences were found in attachment to mother and father, especially by gender. In women, anxious attachment in adulthood was associated with anxious attachment to both parents, while avoidant patterns showed weaker associations. In men, avoidant attachment to the mother was not associated with anxious attachment in adulthood. These findings highlight the differences in attachment dynamics to the mother and the father and their association with romantic relationships. Relationship satisfaction may moderate the negative associations of insecure attachment styles with romantic involvement. This underscores the need for considering attachment histories in therapeutic interventions.

Humor, as a multifaceted aspect of human experience, has long been recognized as an integral feature of healthy personality traits and a coping strategy. The Waterloo Uses of Humor Inventory (WUHI), proposed by Stacy Elizabeth Thomas, offers a comprehensive framework for assessing different styles of humor and their utilization in stress management. The presented study is an adaptation of the WUHI for use in the Polish cultural and linguistic context (N = 1,180), marking a novel contribution to the field. Psychometric analyses, including confirmatory factor analysis and measurement invariance testing, were conducted to validate the adapted measure. The results, supported by satisfactory psychometric indices, indicated robust fit of the adapted WUHI model to the Polish context. Conclusions drawn from the study underscore the utility of the adapted WUHI in assessing humor usage in coping with stress among Polish individuals, offering valuable insights for both research and clinical practice in psychology and related fields.

Judgements of learning (JOLs) are commonly used in metacognitive research to assess a person’s ability to monitor their learning. However, despite the widespread use of this type of self-reported measure, only recently have metacognitive researchers become interested in investigating its potential reactive effects in a proper empirical manner, via directly addressing the question whether the sole act of systematically monitoring memory influences memory performance. The issue of possible reactive JOL effects has been raised since the early days of metamemory monitoring research, but has taken a completely new direction in the lately emerging studies—from issuing warnings about JOL reactivity as a potential limitation, to dedicating entire series of experiments to uncover the principles behind certain reactivity patterns, and its potential moderators. More research is needed on educationally relevant materials to determine whether JOL reactivity can be utilised in educational contexts. Finally, this phenomenon, as shown in the performed literature overview, leads to important theoretical implications reflected in the four hypotheses explaining the reactivity effect.

Mimicry is an automatic imitation of an interacting partner’s behaviors. The most frequently researched consequence of being mimicked is liking. Yet there is little research on whether specific design of control conditions (i.e., variable behavior of the confederate across conditions) may affect study results. In this study, we compared the classical mimicry group with four control conditions: (i–ii) a confederate sits still or makes random movements (common in mimicry research), (iii) confederates receive no instructions regarding their nonverbal behavior (rarely observed in mimicry studies), and a condition that we created, in which (iv) a confederate makes atypical motor movements. Participants (N = 538) were interviewed by confederates, while the confederates’ behavior varied across conditions during the interviews. They mimicked the participants’ nonverbal behaviors (mimicry condition), sat still (no-movement condition), made random nonverbal movements unrelated to the participants (responsiveness condition), made repetitive body and object movements (repetitive behavior condition), or participated in the interview without any further instructions (double-blind condition). The confederate’s behavior influenced liking: χ2(4) = 40.7, p < 0.001, ε2 = 0.07. Participants liked the confederates more when the latter mimicked them than when they sat still (p < 0.001) or made repetitive movements (p = 0.008), but not when the confederates made random movements, and when they only engaged in the conversation (p > 0.5). There were also differences between the no-movements condition (i) and the responsiveness condition (p = 0.003), (ii) and the double-blind condition (p < 0.001). Because the two classical control conditions are treated interchangeably in mimicry studies, more attention should be paid to the methodological aspects of mimicry research. Additionally, a mini-metaanalysis was conducted.

The aim of the study was to determine the links between resilience, social support and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in a group of teenagers aged 12–17 years (M = 14.65, SD = 1.28) who have experienced 4 types of traumatic events. The analyses were carried out, using the results obtained from 242 teenagers (1st measurement) and then the results of 175 respondents (2nd measurement). The analyses also included sociodemographic (age, gender) and situational variables (type of event and time since its occurrence). The study used the Personal Growth Questionnaire, the Resilience Measurement Scale, and the Social Support Scale. The results of the study indicated strong links between resilience and PTG, but only in the first measurement. Resilience also played the role of the main predictor of PTG. All analyzed types of support were positively associated with PTG (from 1st measurement) but turned out to weakly predict positive posttraumatic changes in the second one. In the occurrence of posttraumatic growth resilience plays a more important role than received social support.

The last decade has shown that burnout in sport does not only concern adults, but it can also affect young athletes and adolescents. The following study focuses on effects of individual and organiza­tional factors on dynamics of burnout in youth sports. Our research was conducted twice at a 8-month interval (at the beginning and at the end of a school year). The first round involved 495 participants, but 379 took part in the second measurement. Participants were aged 14 to 18 years, doing both individual and team sports. The research was conducted in sports clubs, schools of athletic championship, and in sports classes in southern Poland. The following tools were used: the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ) and a self-constructed questionnaire. Based on the re­sults obtained, we propose that the burnout syndrome may affect junior athletes, the most suscep­tible in this age group being girls and those practicing individual disciplines. Furthermore, we ob­served that the sports burnout syndrome tends to increase during the school year. It was also found that some individual (e.g., internship) and organizational (e.g., time available during the day) fac­tors were associated with higher levels of burnout among young players. Proper education in this area might contribute to increased awareness of the burnout issue, not only among coaches and athletes’ immediate environment, but also in athletes themselves, regardless of their age or sports practiced.

This study aimed to validate two questionnaires, the Combat Exposure Scale (CES) and the Difficult Living and Working Environment (DLWE), for Polish soldiers deployed during the Resolute Support Mission (RSM) in Afghanistan. A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted twice during the final peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, at the beginning and the end of the 2021 deployment. The Polish Military Contingent consisted of 71 soldiers, ranging in age from 26 to 50 (M = 38.75, SD = 6.45). Construct validity was examined using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), while criterion validity was assessed using Pearson’s correlations with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety symptoms, self-rated physical health, and life satisfaction, and also using the repeated measures of Student’s t-test. The structure of both scales presented an adequate fit to the data for a one-factor model, strong internal consistency, test-retest stability, appropriate psychometric properties, and criterion validity. The CES and DLWE correlated positively with symptoms of PTSD, depression and anxiety, and negatively with physical health and life satisfaction. Both the CES and the DLWE can be used as reliable and valid tools to monitor risk factors for soldiers’ adverse physical and mental health during military missions.

Childfree people face prejudice, discrimination, and misunderstanding. This study explores three methods of reducing such prejudice based on video materials: counterstereotypicality (CS), exposition (EXPO), and counterstereotypical exposition (CS-EXPO). Prejudice was measured twice: first, in a pretest, and then in a posttest that followed the video material, two weeks afterwards. The study covered 192 participants (Mage = 30.18), with 46 to 50 participants in each condition (three experimental + one control). In all of the experimental conditions (but not in the control condition), the prejudice was lower in the Posttest, compared to the Pretest. Of the three conditions, the CS and CS-EXPO conditions had the largest effect. However, the results indicated no significant differences between the conditions. Practical implications for prejudice reduction campaigns are discussed.

The present study aims to investigate the mediator role of cognitive control and cognitive flexi­bility in the relationship between university students’ perceived stress and their psychological resilience during COVID-19 pandemic. The sample consisted of 405 university students. The findings showed that perceived stress indirectly via cognitive control and cognitive flexibility effects psychological resilience of university students during pandemic. Cognitive control and cognitive flexibility mediates the relationship. The negative effect of perceived stress on cogni­tive control and cognitive flexibility caused a decrease in students’ psychological resilience. The cognitive flexibility has a positive effect on university students’ psychological resilience. Inter­ventions and techniques for stress management can support cognitive control and cognitive flexi­bility of young people under high stress, this may contribute to increasing psychological resili­ence of them. Implications for intervention are discussed.