Data gaps in Psychology

Representative open questions

Showing 30 of 78 — one per source paper, highest-quality first.

• Psychosocial factors in sustainable youth social work: enhancing resilience, self-efficacy, and pro-environmental behavior among Chinese youth (2026) · doi

  The study proposes that eco-anxiety and environmental fatalism operate as emotional barriers reduced by resilience-building interventions, but does not empirically measure or track changes in these specific emotional constructs as mediating pathways between psychological interventions and behavioral outcomes.

• Systematic survey of neurocognitive studies that examine connections between domain-general cognitive characteristics and mathematical processing (2026) · doi

  While oscillatory EEG correlates of arithmetic strategy use have been documented for addition and subtraction, the survey reveals no comparable neurocognitive investigations of strategy switching in complex multi-step mathematical problems or algebra. EEG studies should directly compare oscillatory patterns during procedural versus conceptual mathematical reasoning across different problem complexity levels.

• Adversity and Resilience in Children With Moderate-to-profound Intellectual Disabilities: A Multi-source, Multiple-case Study Across Developmental Stages (2026) · doi

  The study identifies systemic failures (e.g., 'limited early parental presence due to historical policy,' 'exclusion from adapted activities,' 'occasional staff disrespect') as contributors to cumulative adversity in children with intellectual disabilities, but does not measure or compare the magnitude of impact of specific institutional/policy barriers versus family-level adversities on resilience outcomes across the developmental stages examined.

• Task-dependent increases and decreases of BOLD signal in theory of mind brain regions during strategic social interaction (2026) · doi

  The findings reveal increased functional coupling between bilateral TPJ-precuneus and left IFG, and between mPFC-right TPJ and right IFG during RPS, but the paper does not specify how these inter-region connectivity patterns vary as a function of opponent behavior (e.g., opponent skill level, predictability, reciprocal strategy). Cross-task comparisons examining connectivity dynamics across RPS variants with different strategic complexity are required.

• Measuring and decomposing income inequalities in child and adolescent mental health in the UK (2026) · doi

  While the study identified social housing tenure as a significant contributor to income inequalities in child mental health outcomes, it did not examine specific housing quality characteristics (e.g., overcrowding, damp, heating adequacy) or neighborhood-level factors that may mediate this relationship. Investigation of these granular housing and environmental variables in relation to internalising and externalising problems would clarify whether tenure alone or underlying housing conditions drive the disparities.

• Faster adult implicit probabilistic statistical learning following childhood adversity (2026) · doi

  The conditional R² of 0.075 for the learning accuracy model and 0.299 for the consolidation model indicate substantial unexplained variance in implicit probabilistic statistical learning outcomes following childhood adversity; investigation of additional environmental, neurobiological, or individual difference variables beyond current socioeconomic status, age, and parental education is needed.

• A Qualitative Exploration: Black Women Living with Depression (2026) · doi

  Few studies have examined Black women's perceived treatment experiences and therapeutic relationships with mental health providers in relation to racial identity, despite evidence that client-provider relationships significantly impact depression treatment outcomes. Future research should specifically investigate how Black women perceive race-related interactions with providers and how these perceptions predict treatment engagement and clinical outcomes.

• Information Foraging With Generative AI: Usage Patterns in Germany and Israel (2026) · doi

  GenAI information foraging patterns were examined only in Germany and Israel; the cross-cultural applicability of Information Foraging Theory to GenAI use remains untested in other cultural contexts with different power distance orientations, collectivism levels, and risk perception profiles regarding artificial intelligence.

• Influence of playing Roblox on learning engagement and emotional well-being of students in Divine Word College of San Jose (2026) · doi

  The study reports that students played Roblox 3-5 times weekly, defined as 'regularly but not excessively,' yet does not establish threshold data on how varying dosages of Roblox gameplay (e.g., 1-2 times weekly vs. daily vs. excessive sessions) affect learning engagement and emotional well-being trajectories. Research is needed to determine optimal gameplay frequency and session duration for maximizing educational benefits while mitigating risks of problematic gaming behavior among high school students.

• Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours towards schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, and epilepsy in Ireland: a national survey (2026) · doi

  The analysis of Irish media narratives surrounding schizophrenia remains unclear, despite evidence that 54.8% of respondents felt uninformed about mental illness by media and that 656 online news articles rarely actively challenged stigmatizing narratives. A systematic content analysis of Irish media portrayals of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, and epilepsy is needed to identify opportunity for challenging biogenetic explanations and violence associations.

• The Psychology Behind Online Anonymity and Toxic Behaviour (2026) · doi

  The paper identifies the paradox of anonymous intimacy (freedom and vulnerability trade-offs including deception risk and diminished real-world social skills) but does not specify measurement instruments, longitudinal study designs, or control group comparisons needed to quantify these outcomes in users of different anonymous platforms or AI-driven companionship systems.

• Living with loss: environmental grief, solastalgia, and young adults’ experiences after wildfires (2026) · doi

  The sample is limited to predominantly educated, urban-centric young adults with relatively high social capital in Turkey; stratified sampling must include rural communities and individuals with lower educational backgrounds to determine how social vulnerability moderates the experience of solastalgia and disenfranchised grief in wildfire-affected populations.

• Psychological typology of Sasang medicine (2015) · doi

  Overlap exists between Sasang typology categorical classifications and Western dimensional typologies (introversion-extraversion), yet the specific mapping between Sasang types and Western personality dimensions remains incompletely characterized. Research must quantitatively measure the degree of overlap between Sasang conceptual framework and Western psychological typology using simultaneous administration of Sasang classification tools and standardized Western scales (MBTI, NEO-PI-R, MMPI) on identical samples.

• CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE AS A PREDICTOR OF WORK ENGAGEMENT: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP IN HOTELS (2026) · doi

  The current sample size was not explicitly stated as adequate for detecting the indirect effect of servant leadership (0.12, p = 0.002). Future studies should increase sample size substantially to strengthen statistical power and validity of the mediation model, particularly given the hospitality sector's high employee turnover and sampling challenges.

• Psychiatric Disorders: Grounded in Human Biology but Not Natural Kinds (2021) · doi

  HiTOP would benefit from systematic collection of symptom-level reporting across genetic, clinical, and epidemiological studies to facilitate deconstruction of DSM disorders and increase available information for symptom covariation analyses within its hierarchical framework.

• Rhythmic skills mediate the link between music training and cognition via attention and phonological processing (2026) · doi

  The mediation model linking musical training to cognition via rhythmic skills was tested on a sample with only three participants with more than six years of formal musical training and five self-identifying musicians. The extent to which the thresholded rhythmic skills model and mediation pathway replicate in populations with expert or professional musicians (defined as 10+ years training or performing status) requires dedicated investigation.

• The Biology of Fear (2013) · doi

  The paper argues that fear modules evolved to respond adaptively to prepared stimuli such as snakes and spiders, yet the neurobiological mechanisms underlying differential conditioning and innate fear responses to prepared versus unprepared stimuli remain incompletely characterized. Comparative neurobiological analysis of amygdala and fear-related circuits during conditioning with prepared versus unprepared stimuli across primate, rodent, and other species is needed.

• Emotion regulation success involves systematic gradient-based reconfigurations of large-scale activation patterns in the human brain (2026) · doi

  The smartphone-based experience sampling validation of gradient-based neural changes (Eq. 1) was conducted only in a subset of n = 55 participants from RS Study 7; the ecological validity of gradient shifts as predictors of daily-life affective outcomes needs verification in larger and more diverse samples with extended sampling periods.

• Exploring the Antidepressant Properties of Essential Oils: A Natural Approach to Mental Well-Being (2026) · doi

  The paper demonstrates that essential oils present limited onset of response compared to conventional antidepressants, but does not characterize the temporal pharmacokinetics of essential oil absorption, blood-brain barrier penetration, or receptor occupancy kinetics required to understand why onset is delayed relative to synthetic drugs.

• Support Received from Ex-Partners (CARE) in the Context of Separation and Divorce: Psychometric Properties in the Chilean Population (2026) · doi

  The paper references coparenting interventions for fragile families but does not specify whether the CARE scale's psychometric properties have been tested across different socioeconomic strata or family income levels; validation of the instrument's performance in low-income versus high-income separated/divorced families requires targeted investigation.

• The silent accumulation: AI as mental contaminant (2026) · doi

  The framework currently lacks domain-specific evidence beyond GPS navigation to validate broader claims about cumulative technological impacts on cognitive-social capacities. Research must establish correlational and causal relationships across multiple technology domains (social media, algorithmic recommendation systems, attention-fragmenting interfaces) to validate the proposed cumulative exposure pathways.

• Development, psychometric validation, and correlates of the 15-item quality of life in epilepsy scale (QOLIE-15) (2026) · doi

  The paper notes that seizure control in the study cohort does not equate to clinical simplicity, as participants continued to experience adverse effects, cognitive complaints, and psychosocial challenges despite antiepileptic treatment. Longitudinal investigation of how QOLIE-15 captures QOL trajectories in patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy or those experiencing persistent treatment-related adverse effects has not been conducted.

• Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) Employees: Assessing Mental Health Stigma, Culture, and Needs (2026) · doi

  The study could not examine how demographic factors (gender, race, age) contribute to mental health outcomes and organizational culture at CSIS due to data limitations and anonymity constraints. Future research should systematically investigate demographic variations in mental health stigma, disclosure patterns, and help-seeking behaviors across different employee populations within intelligence services.

• The Method of Loci: A Survey Review (2026) · doi

  The durability of cognitive training effects using mnemonic techniques like the Method of Loci beyond 5-year follow-up periods remains unknown; Belleville et al. (2024) tracked effects for five years in mild cognitive impairment populations, but long-term trajectories over 10+ years and late-stage cognitive decline have not been documented.

• Artificial intelligence anxiety, digital well-being, and future career concerns among engineering and information technology students in Jordan (2026) · doi

  The study documents gender disparities in AI anxiety among female students but does not deeply examine the specific structural and sociocultural barriers (e.g., access to mentoring, field norms, opportunity pipelines) that drive these differences in the Jordanian context.

• EMPLOYEE MENTAL HEALTH AND WORKPLACE SUPPORT SYSTEMS IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES AT COIMBATORE (2026) · doi

  The study found only weak correlations across all dimensions (ranging from 0.011 to 0.246), indicating potential limitations in the measurement instruments or the need to explore confounding variables not captured in the current analysis.

• Cannabis use frequency may differentially impact cognitive performance in young adults with and without HIV (2026) · doi

  Previous studies of HIV and cannabis use have focused largely on heavy, such as daily, use. Study of mild/moderate use was necessary to discover different patterns for YWH, including examination of a range of cannabis use frequency which is critical for understanding population-specific impacts on cognitive functioning.

• Impact of subanesthetic ketamine delivered via AmyloLipid nanovesicle (ALN)-based intranasal system on biobehavioral responses in an animal model of PTSD (2026) · doi

  Limited research on the comparative efficacy of different ketamine isomers (R,S vs R vs S) when delivered via intranasal ALN-based nanovesicles in PTSD models.

• The impact of goal orientation on Chinese university students’ reading engagement: the mediating roles of boredom and self-efficacy (2026) · doi

  A generalized self-efficacy measure was employed rather than a domain-specific reading self-efficacy scale, which may limit precision of insights into reading-related competence beliefs.

• Modulation of feedback-related negativity by objective and subjective response correctness (2026) · doi

  The study included only false negative feedback; future studies should incorporate false positive feedback and collect certainty reports following positive feedback to better characterize the neural mechanisms underlying FRN/RewP.