A study by the University of Stuttgart, the California State University at Fullerton, and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems has found that there are benefits to representing one’s real-life disability through an avatar in virtual reality. The Metaverse is not just a technical platform, but also one for social interaction. Therefore, all users should be included in its development, including people with disabilities. The researchers appeal to companies to be more courageous in embracing diversity in virtual spaces as authentic self-representation allows people with disabilities to identify more strongly with their work.

The research group on Comparative Social History at the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló, led by full professor José Antonio Piqueras, is advancing the understanding of the roots of cultural and social segregation in Latin America and the Hispanic Caribbean. The team has analyzed the historical trajectory leading to racial differences in labor conditions and the consolidation of the concept of citizenship.

The research, funded under the 2021 National Research Plan, is coordinated by scholars from the Universitat Jaume I and includes experts from VIU, UNIR, the Brazilian universities Federal Fluminense, Santa Catarina, and São Paulo, as well as from the University of Puerto Rico, the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, and several academic institutions in Cuba.

A new cross-national study reveals that happiness depends not only on perceived societal risk but also on the shape of happiness inequality. Using data from 32 countries in the World Values Survey, researchers show that when societal risk is high, subjective well-being drops more sharply, where many cluster at the lower end of the happiness distribution. The findings offer a fresh political–psychological understanding of why some societies remain resilient while others struggle under uncertainty.

New research reveals that narrating painful or tragic experiences faced by immigrants fosters a stronger sense of connection and reduces feelings of threat. In contrast, nostalgic narratives, those idealizing the past or present, tend to evoke weaker empathy and, in some cases, reinforce subtle forms of social distance. These findings, published in the Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, challenge the prevailing assumptions about the role of nostalgia. While nostalgia, a sentimental longing for “the good old days”, is often employed by the media, politicians, and advertisers to create emotional bonds, the study cautions that its misapplication can perpetuate exclusion and deepen divides between in-groups and out-groups.

Researchers from Japan have unveiled a comprehensive dataset detailing the psychological and social responses of Japanese adults to the COVID-19 pandemic. Spanning 30 survey waves from January 2020 to March 2024, the open dataset captures how Japanese adults’ risk perception, preventive behaviors, policy attitudes, views toward foreigners, and psychological distress evolved over more than four years of uncertainty. Published as a data paper in Data in Brief, this resource is now openly accessible to the global community.

USC researchers have uncovered new insights into how brain wiring differs in children and young adults with autism, pointing to more precise ways of understanding the condition. The study, published in Cerebral Cortex, analyzed brain scans from 365 participants between the ages of 5 and 24. Using advanced imaging and informatics methods, the team mapped tiny structural differences in the brain’s white matter, the “communication highways” that connect different regions of the brain. Traditional imaging studies have suggested differences in white matter in autism, but results have been inconsistent. To address this, the team applied new computational tools that allow for fine-scale mapping along individual fiber bundles. They found that, on average, autistic participants showed localized changes across many major tracts that link the brain’s hemispheres and connect regions involved in language, social behavior, and sensory processing.