This paper presents a novel psychological model of the socio-cognitive management of uncertainty, the semiotic dimensional model (SDM). The SDM claims that uncertainty increases the momentum of affect-laden meanings in meaning-making. This is so because affective meanings provide a simplified interpretation of the world that restores the experience of being able to make sense of the reality destabilized by uncertainty. Moreover, the SDM models the affective meanings in terms of low-dimensional mental phase space (MPS). Each dimension of the MPS detects a facet of the context. The lower the MPS dimensionality, the lower the number of facets of the context processed, therefore, the more simplified the meaning-making is. We attained the first empirical validation of the SDM in a sample of 120 Italian people. First, the SDM assumption that the low-dimensional MPS is the computational descriptor of affective meaning was tested. Second, an experimental study was designed in which uncertainty was manipulated so as to assess its effects on the dimensionality of participants’ MPS. It was hypothesized that uncertainty induces a decrease in the MPS dimensionality. Results were consistent with both hypotheses. Theoretical implications of the SDM and its relationship with other theories are discussed and future research direction outlined.

As immigration is one of the dominant issues in contemporary public discourse, it is important to explain the mechanism of prejudice against immigrants from a cultural psychology perspective. Several studies in the literature have confirmed a significant relationship between perceptions of the estimated size of the immigrant population and negative attitudes towards them. This study aims to investigate whether this relationship is moderated by symbolic universes, i.e., affect-laden generalized worldviews. The study involves a representative sample of 3020 Italians who participated in a computer-assisted web survey and completed a questionnaire containing items measuring their estimates of the size of the migrant population in Italy, political orientation, cultural worldviews (symbolic universes), and the perceived threat posed by migrants. The results confirm that the relationship between the estimated size of the migrant population and the perceived threat is moderated by symbolic universes, being stronger for participants who hold both pessimistic and idealizing symbolic universes. The results are interpreted within the framework of semiotic cultural psychology theory.

Social and cultural aspects (i.e., political decision making, discourses in the public sphere, and people’s mindsets) played a crucial role in the ways people responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Framed with the Semiotic-Cultural Psychological Theory (SCPT), the present work aims to explore how individual ways of making sense of their social environment affected individuals’ perception of government measures aimed at managing the pandemic and the adherence to such measures. An online survey was administered from January to April 2021 to the Italian population. Retrieved questionnaires (N = 378) were analyzed through a Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) to detect the factorial dimensions underpinning (dis)similarities in the respondents’ ways of interpreting their social environment. Extracted factors were interpreted as markers of Latent Dimensions of Sense (LDSs) organizing respondents’ worldviews. Finally, three regression models tested the role of LDSs in supporting the individual satisfaction with the measures adopted to contain the social contagion defined at national level, individual adherence to the containment measures and the perception of the population’s adherence to them. Results highlight that all the three measures are associated with a negative view of the social environment characterized by a lack of confidence in public institutions (health system, government), public roles and other people. Findings are discussed on the one hand to shed light on the role of deep-rooted cultural views in defining personal evaluations of government measures and adherence capacity. On the other hand, we suggest that taking into account people’s meaning-making can guide public health officials and policy makers to comprehend what favors or hinders adaptive responses to emergencies or social crises.

Background: The number of students with Specific Learning Disorders (SLDs) in universities has recently increased. Thus, it is important to analyze their difficulties throughout their academic studies and propose adequate interventions to prevent emotional problems and dropout. Previous research has reported higher levels of internalizing problems (anxiety and depression) in students with SLDs compared to those with typical development. Surprisingly, academic burnout among students with SLDs remains a largely overlooked and under-researched issue. The present work is one of the first studies that seeks to address this critical gap by examining the levels of academic burnout, and exploring its relationship with depression and anxiety in university students both with and without SLDs. Methods: The sample included 120 university students (M = 42, F = 78; mean age = 21.16, SD = 2.26). Of these, 60 students had SLDs and 60 had typical development (TD). Students were asked to complete three questionnaires assessing burnout (BAT-C), depression (BDI-II), and anxiety (STAI-Y). Results: The comparison between groups revealed that students with SLDs reported significantly higher levels of total burnout (mean difference = −3.98, t[118] = −2.59, p = 0.011, d = 0.47) and trait anxiety (mean difference = −2.87, t[118] = −2.73, p = 0.007, d = 0.50), with a moderate effect size for both differences. They also exhibited greater cognitive impairment related to burnout (U = 2333.50, p = 0.006, r = 0.25). No group differences were found in depression. Path analyses showed that while trait anxiety mediated the burnout–depression link in both groups, state anxiety was a significant mediator only for students with SLDs (β = 0.22, p = 0.025). Conclusions: The findings provide new evidence of the importance of monitoring academic burnout and anxiety in students with SLDs. The results show that anxiety plays a crucial mediating role between burnout and depression in students with SLDs, reinforcing the need for specific psychological support programs in universities.