Annual Review of Psychology - Current Issue

The capacity to change with experience infuses our perceptions, thoughts, and actions in and about the past, present, and future. The cognitive system supporting this capacity for change can be exquisitely responsive to external events and yet can influence how those external events affect us. This interplay between the external and internal has been a major theme of my lab group's research. We proposed that the fundamental ambiguity of subjective experience requires ongoing reality monitoring processes for evaluating its veridicality and proposed a source monitoring framework for exploring the encoding, activation, and evaluation of information. We further proposed a functional architecture, a multiple-entry modular memory system, that characterizes component subprocesses of cognition that give rise to remembering and other subjective phenomena (e.g., knowledge, beliefs, emotion, consciousness, self). I first discuss these approaches and some issues they address and then describe some educational and professional experiences that provided opportunities to investigate this fascinating epistemological puzzle.

The incentive-sensitization theory (IST) of addiction was first published in 1993, proposing that (a) brain mesolimbic dopamine systems mediate incentive motivation (“wanting”) for addictive drugs and other rewards, but not their hedonic impact (liking) when consumed; and (b) some individuals are vulnerable to drug-induced long-lasting sensitization of mesolimbic systems, which selectively amplifies their “wanting” for drugs without increasing their liking of the same drugs. Here we describe the origins of IST and evaluate its status 30 years on. We compare IST to other theories of addiction, including opponent-process theories, habit theories of addiction, and prefrontal cortical dysfunction theories of impaired impulse control. We also address critiques of IST that have been raised over the years, such as whether craving is important in addiction and whether addiction can ever be characterized as compulsive. Finally, we discuss several contemporary phenomena, including the potential role of incentive sensitization in behavioral addictions, the emergence of addiction-like dopamine dysregulation syndrome in medicated Parkinson's patients, the role of attentional capture and approach tendencies, and the role of uncertainty in incentive motivation.

Interoception, the sensing of internal bodily signals, is intricately linked with the experience of emotions. Various theoretical models of emotion incorporate aspects of interoception as a fundamental component alongside higher-order processes such as the appraisal of internal signals guided by external context. Interoception can be delineated into different dimensions, which include the nature of afferent signals, the accuracy with which they can be sensed, their neural processing, and the higher-order interpretation of these signals. This review methodically evaluates these interoceptive dimensions through empirical research to illustrate their role in shaping emotions. Clinical and neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by altered emotional profiles, such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, posttraumatic stress disorder, emotionally unstable personality disorder, and autism, exhibit distinct changes in interoception. Various therapeutic approaches, including behavioral, pharmacological, and psychological strategies, may be efficacious for treating conditions associated with emotional alterations by targeting interoceptive mechanisms.

Many individuals struggle to regulate their own consumption of food. Beginning with general theories of self-control, we review psychological factors that have been shown to influence the regulation of eating, including those related to particular personality variables, such as external eating, restrained eating, and reward sensitivity, as well as situational constraints, including normative influences, emotions, and calorie deprivation. Strategies for the self-control of eating, including reappraisal, effortful inhibition, and various automatic strategies are also reviewed, along with a discussion of the strengths and limitations of historical and contemporary psychological studies investigating food consumption. Whereas extensive examinations of food preferences and body weight have appeared in the psychological literature, we call for more robust research that prioritizes actual eating as the primary dependent measure.

Circadian rhythms are inherent to living organisms from single cells to humans and operate on a genetically determined cycle of approximately 24 hours. These endogenous rhythms are aligned with the external light/dark cycle of the Earth's rotation and offer the advantage of anticipating environmental changes. Circadian rhythms act directly on human cognition and indirectly through their fundamental influence on sleep/wake cycles. The strength of the circadian regulation of performance depends on the accumulated sleep debt and the cognitive domain, and it has been suggested to involve the activation of ascending arousal systems and their interaction with attention and other cognitive processes. In addition, attention-related cortical responses show extensive circadian rhythms, the phases of which vary across brain regions. This review discusses the impact of the circadian system on sleep/wake regulation and cognitive performance. It further addresses the health implications of circadian disruption, particularly in relation to mental and neurological disorders.

Therapeutic claims about many psychedelic drugs have not been evaluated in any studies of even modest rigor. The science of psychedelic drugs is strengthening, however, making it easier to differentiate some promising findings amid the hype that suffuses this research area. Ketamine has risks of adverse side effects (e.g., addiction and cystitis), but multiple studies suggest it can benefit individuals with treatment-resistant depression. Other therapeutic signals from psychedelic drug research that merit rigorous replication studies include 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psilocybin for depression, end of life dysphoria, and alcohol use disorder. The precise mechanisms through which psychedelic drugs can produce benefit and harm are not fully understood. Rigorous research is the best path forward for evaluating the therapeutic potential and mechanisms of psychedelic drugs. Policies governing the clinical use of these drugs should be informed by evidence and prioritize the protection of public health over the profit motive.

Humans and other primates have a remarkable ability to perform a wide range of tasks and behaviors, even novel ones, in order to achieve their goals. Further, they are able to shift flexibly among these behaviors as the contexts demand. Cognitive control is the function at the base of this remarkable behavioral generativity and flexibility. The present review provides a survey of current research on cognitive control focusing on two of its primary features within a control systems framework: (a) the ability to select new behaviors based on context and (b) the ability to monitor ongoing behavior and adjust accordingly. Throughout, the review places an emphasis on how differences in the content and structure of task representations affect these core features of cognitive control.

Subjective value is a core concept in neuroeconomics, serving as the basis for decision making. Despite the extensive literature on the neural encoding of subjective reward value in humans, the neural representation of punishment value remains relatively understudied. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the neural representation of reward value, including methodologies, involved brain regions, and the concept of a common currency representation of diverse reward types in decision-making and learning processes. We then critically examine existing research on the neural representation of punishment value, highlighting conceptual and methodological challenges in human studies and insights gained from animal research. Finally, we explore how individual differences in reward and punishment processing may be linked to various mental illnesses, with a focus on stress-related psychopathologies. This review advocates for the integration of both rewards and punishments within value-based decision-making and learning frameworks, leveraging insights from cross-species studies and utilizing ecological gamified paradigms to reflect real-life scenarios.

Haptic perception uses signals from touch receptors to detect, locate, and mentally represent objects and surfaces. Research from behavioral science, neuroscience, and computational modeling advances understanding of these essential functions. Haptic perception is grounded in neural circuitry that transmits external contact to the brain via increasingly abstracted representations. Computational models of mechanical interactions at the skin predict peripheral neural firing rates that initiate the processing chain. Behavioral phenomena and associated neural processes illustrate the reciprocal relationship by which perception supports action and action gates experience. The interaction of sensation and action is evident in how features of surfaces and objects such as softness and curvature are encoded. By incorporating touch sensations in conjunction with motor control, biologically embedded prosthetics enhance user capabilities and may elicit feelings of ownership. Efforts to create virtual haptic experience with advanced technologies underscore the complexity of this fundamental perceptual channel and its relation to action.

The current review presents an integrated tripartite framework for understanding attentional control, emphasizing the interaction and competition among top-down, bottom-up, and selection-history influences. It focuses on attentional capture, which refers to conditions in which salient objects or events receive attentional priority even when they are inconsistent with the goals, tasks, and intentions of the observer. The review describes which components of the tripartite framework are in play when distraction by salient objects is prevented and the conditions in which there is no control over the occurrence of attentional capture. It then concludes that attentional capture can be controlled in a proactive way mainly by implicit statistical learning mechanisms associated with selection history. Current and lingering controversies regarding the control of attentional capture are also discussed.

Generalization, defined as applying limited experiences to novel situations, represents a cornerstone of human intelligence. Our review traces the evolution and continuity of psychological theories of generalization, from its origins in concept learning (categorizing stimuli) and function learning (learning continuous input-output relationships) to domains such as reinforcement learning and latent structure learning. Historically, there have been fierce debates between approaches based on rule-based mechanisms, which rely on explicit hypotheses about environmental structure, and approaches based on similarity-based mechanisms, which leverage comparisons to prior instances. Each approach has unique advantages: Rules support rapid knowledge transfer, while similarity is computationally simple and flexible. Today, these debates have culminated in the development of hybrid models grounded in Bayesian principles, effectively marrying the precision of rules with the flexibility of similarity. The ongoing success of hybrid models not only bridges past dichotomies but also underscores the importance of integrating both rules and similarity for a comprehensive understanding of human generalization.

Planning has been studied in different fields of psychology, including cognitive, developmental, personality, social, and work and organizational research. This article looks at the planning process through the lens of motivation science, and asks the question, What kind of planning can help people reach their goals? We focus on the strategy of making if-then plans (also known as forming implementation intentions). We discuss what kinds of cognitive performance can be enhanced by if-then planning (e.g., attention control, prospective memory, executive functions, and decision making), and whether if-then planning may also benefit people's emotion control, their desired behavior change, and their pending social interactions. We point to the positive impacts of making if-then plans on thinking, feeling, and acting, and we list moderators pertaining to sample characteristics and features of the underlying goals and of the if-then plans themselves. Finally, the underlying processes of if-then planning effects are delineated in the hope of better understanding what kind of if-then planning might work best in promoting flexible but tenacious goal pursuit.

The imagination is central to human social life but undervalued worldwide and underexplored in psychology. Here, we offer Possible Worlds Theory as a synthetic theory of the imagination. We first define the imagination, mapping the mental states it touches, from dreams and hallucinations to satire and fiction. The conditions that prompt people to imagine range from trauma to physical and social deprivation, and they challenge the sense of reality, stirring a need to create possible worlds. We theorize about four cognitive operations underlying the structure of the mental states of the imagination. We then show how people embody the imagination in social behaviors such as pretense and ritual, which give rise to experiences of a special class of feelings defined by their freedom from reality. We extend Possible Worlds Theory to four domains—play, spirituality, morality, and art—and show how in flights of the imagination people create new social realities shared with others.

Claims about unawareness are abundant in attitude research. This article provides an analysis of evidence regarding three aspects of an attitude of which people may lack awareness: (a) the attitude itself, (b) its environmental causes, and (c) its behavioral effects. Our analysis reveals that, despite widespread claims of unawareness of the three aspects, strong empirical evidence for these claims is surprisingly scarce. The article concludes with a discussion of the most likely aspects of attitudes that people may be unaware of; their relation to contextual factors that might influence evaluative responses outside of awareness; open questions about the (un)awareness of attitudes, their environmental causes, and their behavioral effects; and methodological recommendations for future research that aims to provide more compelling evidence for aspects of attitudes that may evade awareness.

Where do positive feelings about a romantic or sexual partner come from? This article offers an overview of—and imposes some structure on—the enormous literature on mate evaluation, from initial attraction to long-term relationship settings. First, we differentiate between research that identifies the factors that predict positive evaluation on average (i.e., normative desirability) and research that attempts to document for whom certain factors are more versus less positive (i.e., heterogeneity in desirability). Second, we review the positive biases that tend to dominate the evaluative process, as well as the promising (and sorely needed) new methods in this research space. Third, we cover contemporary perspectives on the mechanisms that explain how evaluations shift and change over the entire relationship arc. Fourth and finally, we discuss how diversifying the samples and perspectives in mate evaluation research will address novel and generative questions about culture, stigma, and socioeconomic status.

People often want to know what their interaction partners are thinking. How accurate are they, what information do they use, what predicts how accurate they will be, and does accuracy matter? We organize our review of thought-feeling accuracy, defined as the accuracy of individuals’ judgments about the content of another person's thoughts and feelings in live interaction, around these questions. At the same time, we argue that often people are especially interested in what others are thinking about them, such that research on the accuracy of individuals’ metaperceptions regarding others’ views of them is highly relevant to understanding thought-feeling accuracy more broadly construed. In particular, we maintain that systematic biases characterizing individuals’ spontaneous metaperceptions are an important source of preventable and harmful forms of thought-feeling inaccuracy. We advocate for integration across the thought-feeling accuracy and meta-accuracy literatures so as to generate new insights that can move them both forward.

Our review, situated within the context of the United States, explores how societal forces shape youths’ racial socialization processes. Specifically, we explore how youths learn beliefs about race through interactions with their environment, how these processes affect youths’ engagement with race in multiple contexts, and how they contribute to the perpetuation and dismantling of racial inequality. First, we discuss key psychological theories that inform our understanding of racial socialization. Second, we discuss how families, peers, media, and environmental cues shape racial socialization processes. Finally, we discuss interventions to enhance racial socialization and offer directions for future psychological research to advance our understanding of both racial and broader socialization processes in the United States and internationally.

Moral learning and decision-making are crucial throughout our lives, from infancy to old age. Emerging evidence suggests that there are important differences in learning and decision-making in moral situations across the lifespan, and these are underpinned by co-occurring changes in the use of model-based values and theory of mind. Here, we review the decision neuroscience literature on moral choices and moral learning considering four key concepts. We show how in the earliest years, a sense of self/other distinction is foundational. Sensitivity to intention versus outcome is crucial for several moral concepts and is most similar in our earliest and oldest years. Across all ages, basic shifts in the influence of theory of mind and model-free and model-based learning support moral decision-making. Moving forward, a computational approach to key concepts of morality can help provide a mechanistic account and generate new hypotheses to test across the whole lifespan.

A key debate in the psychology of ideology is whether leftists and rightists are psychologically similar or different. A long-standing view holds that left-wing and right-wing people are meaningfully different from one another across a whole host of basic personality and cognitive features. Scholars have recently pushed back, suggesting that left-wing and right-wing people are more psychologically similar than distinct. We review evidence regarding the psychological profiles of left-wing and right-wing people across a wide variety of domains, including their dispositions (values, personality, cognitive rigidity, threat-sensitivity, and authoritarianism), information processing (motivated reasoning and susceptibility to misinformation), and their interpersonal perceptions and behaviors (empathy, prejudice, stereotyping, and violence). Our review paints a nuanced picture: People across the ideological divide are much more similar than scholars sometimes appreciate. And yet, they differ—to varying degrees—in their personality, values, and (perhaps most importantly) in the groups and causes they prioritize, with important implications for downstream attitudes and behavior in the world.