Between 2020 and 2022, lockdown and restraining measures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic led to changes in daily routines and also in language usage. At certain points during the pandemic, populations in some countries were unwilling or unlikely to respond to government messages, either because of the tone and analytic discourse used by leaders, or because they did not understand the messages. Linguistic markers and meanings were therefore linked to low levels of engagement, negative emotions and high levels of analytical thinking, especially in relation to the discourses of influential international leaders. We subjected sixteen speeches by eight country leaders to topic modelling and sentiment analysis in order to understand how the psychological functions of language were affected during two different periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this topic analysis we organize 39,073 words collected from sixteen authentic speeches delivered in two different periods of the acute phase of the pandemic. These were encoded in the Linguistic Inquiry Word Count program (LIWC), with the main aim being to identify differences between the periods. We examined the following aspects: (1) the emotional tone, analytical thinking and clout (empathy dimension); (2) the changes in these three dimensions or factors between periods 1 and 2 (February and May 2020). We observed a negative relationship between emotional tone and analytical thinking and a positive relationship between clout and emotional tone. When we considered the changes in pandemic circumstances, the psycholinguistic profiles of eight country leaders demonstrated fluctuations in language and emotions. Further reviews and research should focus on the current language and deficit wording of this population (leaders). We also note that psychologists and schoolteachers can play an important role in supporting language programmes with positive wording and by emphasising the collateral effects of face-to-face classes when teaching children to read and write.

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between chronotype, classroom behaviour and school performance in 140 healthy school-age children attending various levels of education during the 1st cycle during 2021 in Portugal. In this cross-sectional and quantitative study, the Chronotype Questionnaire for Children (to assess the chronotype) and the Conners Scale—a reduced version was presented to the teachers (to assess behaviours such as excessive movement, inattention and oppositional behaviours)—were used. The methodology of this study followed a comparative method since the independent variables were not controlled, and therefore, it was still possible to compare the differences between the morning and evening groups. Statistical methods were used such as multivariate analyses, inter-item correlations and reliability tests, and descriptive tests were used for the percentile analysis. The sample was divided into three groups based on the identification of the chronotype—morning, intermediate and evening types—to further study the relationship between these chronotypes, their academic performance and classroom behaviour were studied. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed that there was a higher rate of oppositional behaviour in the morning type and no differences in the school performance during the two semesters (covering all of the school periods) regarding the chronotype effect, even with the analysis of regression parameters and covariates. On the other hand, the morning-type children showed a greater amount of motor agitation and impulsivity after controlling for the gender covariate. Age had an effect on the chronotype, after controlling for the covariate parental education. This study highlights the need for further research on the chronotype of the morning children in order to regulate their behaviour. The data that were obtained raise questions that have not been yet considered in the literature in the area of education and infant development.