Many individuals want to engage in prosocial behaviours, but have limited time and resources to be able to do so. Therefore, it can be difficult to decide what prosocial acts one has to capacity to engage in. To examine some factors that determine when people engage in daily prosocial acts, two seven-day diary studies were conducted by Dr. Johanna Peetz and Dr. Andrea Howard. In the first study, participants described the various prosocial acts they engaged in on a daily basis in their own words and rated the time, energy, and money required by these activities on a Likert scale. In the second study, participants indicated the prosocial acts they engaged in, and reported time and money in units of minutes and dollars. In both studies, prosocial behaviors were categorized in to types of prosocial behaviours, either by the researcher (first study) or the participant themselves (second study). For instance, behaviors were categorized as casual help (e.g., low-effort prosocial behaviours), direct help (e.g., helping a friend complete a task), indirect help (e.g., providing advice on how to complete a task), or emotional help (e.g., providing a friend emotional support). Both studies found that individuals preferred to spend their time and resources engaging in a variety of prosocial behaviours on a day to day basis. Those who engaged in more direct, indirect, and/or emotional behaviours the day before were less likely to engage in the same type of prosocial behaviour the following day. In sum, sometimes decisions to help might depend on the help one already did that day or even the day before.

Peetz, J., & Howard, A. L. (2022). People prefer to diversify across different types of prosocial behaviour. British Journal of Social Psychology, 61(3), 924ā€“939. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12519

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Eating disorders are difficult to treat and often have a protracted course with less than 50% of adults achieving recovery from anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. These conclusions are based on longitudinal research that examined outcomes over a decade.  Recent longitudinal research by Dr. Nassim Tabri (from the Department of Psychology) and colleagues in the U.S., however, indicates that people with eating disorders can recover after being sick for 10+ years. The study involved women with eating disorders recruited from the community who participated in the Massachusetts General Hospital Longitudinal Study of Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa. Results showed that most women with bulimia nervosa recovered after a decade whereas most women with anorexia nervosa recovered after two decades. The findings offer a hopeful and positive message to people living with eating disorders. To read more, please click:

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Witnessing Workplace Aggression

Research findings indicate that employees who endure aggression at work often experience detrimental outcomes, but are the effects even more widespread than current evidence suggests? Dr. Kathryne DuprƩ and her colleagues explored this question and found that those who are not direct targets of aggression, but who see or hear about it happening to others, also experience reduced health and job outcomes as a result of their exposure to aggression at work. Results from this study indicate that the effects of aggression are pervasive, and thus provide impetus to further develop policies and practices aimed at reducing aggression at work, and at providing resources to all of those who have been exposed.

You can read more about this research here: 

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Can pets be good for romantic relationships? ŠÓ°ÉŌ­““ grad Anika Cloutier (now at Queenā€™s University) and Psychology faculty member Johanna Peetz conducted several studies showing that pet ownership was associated with relationship benefits (greater overall relationship quality, partner responsiveness, adjustment and relational investment) among couples who owned pets together compared to couples with no pets. They also identified one possible reason for why pets may benefit relationships: Living with a companion animal might provide the opportunity to practice empathic abilities, which is a fundamentally important ability in the maintenance of positive relationships. The longer participants reported having lived with a pet, the higher their ability to take other peopleā€™s perspective and to feel empathic concern.

To read this article online, click here: .

For additional stories about this topic please see, , and

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Friendship, Dating & Cyberbullying in University Students

Tina Daniels & Alyssa Bonneville, Psychology Dept., ŠÓ°ÉŌ­““ University

Did you know that adolescents and young adults are most at risk of becoming a target of cyberbullying and/or excessive monitoring perpetrated by their friends and dating partners? The rates of such behaviour have been found to be seven times greater between those with a previous relationship compared to those who were never friends or intimate partners (Felmlee & Faris, 2016). Although this type of cyber abuse is often taken for granted and considered normal it is intimate partner violence and the emotional effects can be devastating! It can affect grades, mental health and relationships with others (Mishna et al., 2018). Those targeted report more suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts than those who have not been cybervictimized (Hinduja and Patchin 2010). Acknowledging and addressing cyber-aggression is an important way to improve the mental health and wellbeing of university students who are experiencing these acts.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO GET HELP?

If your partner is stalking you online, following your posts, wants access to your phone or is excessively monitoring your whereabouts using an online app, donā€™t make excuses for them or tell yourself that you are overreacting. They may say this is a sign of love, or to keep you safe, but these are acts of control. Recognize what is happening and tell someone you trust so that you have a support person. Identify the problem. Name what is going on between you and your partner. If you are in immediate danger dial 911. There is no price for overreacting!

If you are in a relationship where there are high levels of cyberaggression and/or excessive electronic monitoring you can seek support and advice by clicking on the  following link  /health/counselling-services/ or by calling 613-520-6674 or you can contact the Crisis Line by clicking or by calling 613-722-6914.

Felmlee, D. & Faris, R. (2016). Toxic Ties: Networks of Friendship, Dating, and Cyber Victimization,ā€ Social Psychology Quarterly, 79(3), 243-262.

Hinduja, S and Patchin, J. (2010). Bullying, cyberbullying, and suicide. Journal of the International Academy for Suicide Research 14(3), 206-21. doi: 10.1080/13811118.2010.494133

Mishna, F., Regehr, C., Lacombe-Duncan, A., Daciuk, J., Fearing, G. & Van Wert, M. (2018). Social media, cyber-aggression and student mental health on a university campus. Journal of Mental Health, 27(3), 222-229.

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Play is not just for children. Research suggests the importance of play (i.e., fun, discovery, exploration) in shaping adultsā€™ romantic relationships. Recent research by Dr. Cheryl Harasymchuk (faculty member from the Department of Psychology) and her colleagues tracked established couples over time and found that engaging in exciting play activities with a partner (e.g., day trip, dance lessons, escape room adventure) reignited feelings from the early stages of their relationship and increased relationship satisfaction. In other words, on days when couples decided to try something new together (vs staying at home and watching tv), they experienced greater boosts in relationship satisfaction. One reason why play is thought to be so valuable in established relationships is that it helps people to see their partner and relationship from a new perspective and these broadened horizons might help fend off relational boredom.

Read this article () to learn more about the study. And for other tips on improving your romantic relationship, read from the New York Times and Psychology Today .

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Today’s Wellness Wednesday research and tip comes from Dr. Benoit-Antoine Bacon, President and Vice-Chancellor of ŠÓ°ÉŌ­““ University and MeWeRTH Hub Research Member:

My field of research is sensory perception – how our brain processes signals from neurons in our eyes and ears to build our perception of what we call ā€˜realityā€™. What we see and hear deeply influences our thoughts, actions and moods; my wellness tip is to be fully conscious of how sensory environments affect us, and to take active steps to spend more time in sensory environments that are conducive to wellbeing. Classic examples include the stillness and beauty of nature, or the elevating effect of outstanding architecture. An easy way to leverage this effect to is to close your eyes to take a bit of a break from the onslaught of visual stimulation, and put on your favorite music. Music has been shown to help sleep, reduce pain, reduce stress and elevate mood ā€“ research is clear that music chosen by the listener works best, so whether you like Beethoven or Metallica, let your favorite musicians soothe your soul!

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Solitude can be experienced as unpleasant and even painful ā€“ particularly when it is unwelcome. In this regard, spending too much time alone can lead to feelings of loneliness and depression, and is generally seen as damaging to our wellbeing. However, when solitude is chosen and even sought after, it can also be experienced as calming, restorative, and blissful. It is this perspective that has led Dr. Robert Coplan (from the Department of Psychology) and his lab to explore the novel concept of aloneliness, conceptualized as the negative feelings that arise from the perception that one is not spending enough time alone. Results from his research suggest that aloneliness may play an important role in elucidating the complex associations between solitude and wellbeing. You can read more about this research here: .

Dr. Coplanā€™s research on solitude was also recently profiled in the New York Times: 

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Youā€™re an adult now, so it is OKā€”good evenā€”to talk to strangers. Humans are a social species, yet some people are dispositionally more social than others; think of the introversion-extraversion dimension. Dr. John Zelenski and colleagues have found that asking peopleā€”even introverted peopleā€”to act like extraverts for a few minutes consistently boosts their moods. Although dispositional introverts often anticipate anxiety, it rarely materializes in the moment. Other researchers have taken this idea to subway cars and coffee shops, and the result is the same: connecting with others produces good moods, and better than many people anticipate beforehand. If you are still not sold on socializing, there are other ways to exercise your inner extravert via more active, novel, and adventurous activities even while alone, and this seems to work too. For links to the studies, see:

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First year university student and stressed? Self-compassion might help! Self-compassion is useful during difficult times such as transitions to university, setbacks in school, or failures. It involves being kind to yourself, understanding that failure and setbacks are common to everyone, and keeping thoughts in balance. A study by Hub Research Member Katie Gunnell and her colleagues found that first year students who had an increase in self-compassion over the first year of university had an associated increase in well-being. The study also examine why self-compassion might have these effects. They found that students with higher self-compassion felt more competent, self-directed, and connected with others, which in turn, can positively influence well-being.

To read this article online, click here:

For more about this topic please see: 

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