The present research tests the hypothesis that the copresence of images from two seemingly distinctive cultures (Chinese and American) in the same space increases individuals' sensitivity to the psychological characteristics of the in-group culture and the tendency to use culture as a schema to organize perceptions. The authors contend that viewing images from Chinese and U.S. cultures simultaneously evokes a culture mind-set. As a consequence, individuals (from both China and the United States) tend to enlarge the perceived incompatibility between Chinese and U.S. cultures and expect members of the in-group culture to possess culture-typical psychological attributes. In two experiments, one conducted in Beijing, China, and one in the United States, supportive evidence is found for this contention.

Concerns about the consequences of social media use on well-being has led to the practice of taking a brief hiatus from social media platforms, a practice known as “digital detoxing.” These brief “digital detoxes” are becoming increasingly popular in the hope that the newly found time, previously spent on social media, would be used for other, theoretically more rewarding, activities. In this paper, we test this proposition. Participants in three preregistered field experiments (n_tot = 600) were randomly assigned to receiving each of two conditions on each of two different days: a normal-use day or an abstinence day. Outcomes (social relatedness, positive and negative affect, day satisfaction) were measured on each of the two evenings of the study. Results did not show that abstaining from social media has positive effects on daily well-being (in terms of social relatedness, positive and negative affect, day satisfaction) as suggested by the extant literature. Participants reported similar well-being on days when they used social media and days when they did not. Evidence indicated that abstinence from social media had no measurable positive effect on well-being, and some models showed significant deficits in social relatedness and satisfaction with one’s day. We discuss implications of the study of social media hiatus and the value of programmatic research grounded in preregistered experimental designs.

The contribution of social context to school bullying was examined from the self-determination theory perspective in this longitudinal study of 536 adolescents from 3 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Latent class growth analysis of the student-reported data at 5 time points from grade 7 to grade 9 identified 4 groups of students: bullies (9.8%), victims (3.0%), bully-victims (9.4%), and typical students (77.8%). There was a significant association between academic tracking and group membership. Students from the school with the lowest academic performance had a greater chance of being victims and bully-victims. Longitudinal data showed that all 4 groups tended to report less victimization over the years. The victims and the typical students also had a tendency to report less bullying over the years, but this tendency was reversed for bullies and bully-victims. Perceived support from teachers for relatedness significantly predicted membership of the groups of bullies and victims. Students with higher perceived support for relatedness from their teachers had a significantly lower likelihood of being bullies or victims. The findings have implications for the theory and practice of preventive interventions in school bullying.