The United Kingdom and Scottish governments instigated a societal lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, many experienced substantial lifestyle changes alongside the stresses of potentially catching the virus or experiencing bereavement. Stressful situations and poorer health behaviors (e.g., higher alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet, poorer sleep quality, physical inactivity) are frequently linked to poor mental health. Our objective was to examine changes in health behaviors and their relationship with negative mood during COVID-19 lockdown. We also considered associations between health behaviors and socio-demographic differences and COVID-19-induced changes. 399 participants completed a questionnaire asking about their personal situation and health behaviors during lockdown as well as a negative mood scale. The significance threshold for all analyses was α = 0.05. Poorer diet was linked to more-negative mood, and to changes to working status. Poorer sleep quality was linked with more-negative mood, and with ‘shielding’ from the virus. Being less physically active was related to more-negative mood and student status, whereas being more physically active was linked to having or suspecting COVID-19 infection within the household. Increased alcohol consumption was linked to living with children, but not to negative mood. Changes to diet, sleep quality, and physical activity related to differences in negative mood during COVID-19 lockdown. This study adds to reports on poor mental health during lockdown and identifies lifestyle restrictions and changes to health behaviors which may, to some extent, be responsible for higher negative mood. Our data suggests that it is advisable to maintain or improve health behaviors during pandemic-associated restrictions.

A word's frequency of occurrence and its predictability from a prior context are key factors that determine how long the eyes remain on that word in normal reading. Past reaction-time and eye movement research can be distinguished by whether these variables, when combined, produce interactive or additive results, respectively. Our study addressed possible methodological limitations of prior experiments. Initial results showed additive effects of frequency and predictability. However, we additionally examined launch site (the distance from the pre-target fixation to the target word) to index the extent of parafoveal target processing. Analyses revealed both additive and interactive frequency × predictability effects on target fixations, with the nature of the interaction depending on the quality of the parafoveal preview. Target landing position and pre-target fixation time were also considered. Results were interpreted in terms of models of language processing and eye movement control. Our findings with respect to parafoveal preview and fixation time constraints aim to help parameterize eye movement behavior. Keywords:reading; eye movements; word frequency; contextual predictability; launch site; landing position; parafoveal-on-foveal processing; additive; interactive; models of eye movement control 3 Two key variables that influence the amount of time a reader spends fixating a word in reading are its frequency of occurrence and its predictability from the prior text. Past research has been somewhat equivocal on whether these two factors are additive or interactive. Our study explores the relationship between frequency and predictability on eye movement behavior during normal reading. In contrast to prior studies, we additionally examine the effect of launch site, that is, the distance between the target word and the location of the pre-target fixation. Launch distance can determine how much information is obtained from the target parafoveally, prior to its subsequent fixation. We believe this approach provides a more dynamic account of how frequency and predictability interact as a function of the reader's initial viewing distance.During normal reading, a series of discrete eye fixations are made through text and individual word meanings are activated and integrated on-line into a developing discourse representation. Measuring eye movements during fluent reading is an established technique that is sensitive to on-line perceptual and cognitive aspects of lexical processing (Rayner, 1998;Sereno & Rayner, 2003). As a response measure, fixation time possesses certain advantages over traditional behavioral measurements -namely, there is no secondary task involving overt decisions, and fixation times are shorter than, for example, naming or lexical decision latencies.Eye movement reading research over the past three decades has revealed that reading behavior can be accurately assessed by measuring the position, duration, and sequence of eye fixations in text (for reviews, see Rayner, 1998;Rayner, 2009).One v...

Studies examining the effect of social isolation on cognitive function typically involve older adults and/or specialist groups (e.g., expeditions). We considered the effects of COVID-19-induced social isolation on cognitive function within a representative sample of the general population. We additionally considered how participants 'shielding' due to underlying health complications, or living alone, performed. We predicted that performance would be poorest under strictest, most-isolating conditions. At five timepoints over 13 weeks, participants (N = 342; aged 18-72 years) completed online tasks measuring attention, memory, decision-making, time-estimation, and learning. Participants indicated their mood as 'lockdown' was eased. Performance typically improved as opportunities for social contact increased. Interactions between participant sub-groups and timepoint demonstrated that performance was shaped by individuals' social isolation levels. Social isolation is linked to cognitive decline in the absence of ageing covariates. The impact of social isolation on cognitive function should be considered when implementing prolonged pandemic-related restrictive conditions.

BackgroundRape is underreported, potentially because individuals self-blame and/or are blamed by others. Research predominantly illustrates male-perpetrated stranger-rape of females; thus, there may be a perception that rape-myth acceptance (RMA) and victim-blaming are most prevalent in males. The purpose of this rapid evidence assessment was to investigate the availability of high-quality research into the effects of Just World Beliefs, perpetrator/victim gender, and stranger-and acquaintance/marital-rape scenarios on victim-blaming and RMA. MethodsSeveral electronic databases were searched for empirical papers using terms including:'victim blame', 'rape myth acceptance', 'Just World Beliefs', 'type of rape' and 'gender'.Gough's ( 2007) weight of evidence framework was used to assess quality prior to inclusion. FindingsStudies retained after filtering and quality assessment suggested that RMA was predictive of victim-blaming with both male and female 'victims'. Rape-myth acceptance is more prevalent in males even in male 'victim' scenarios, and Just World Belief was positively associated with RMA. Greater victim-blaming was attributed in stranger-vs. acquaintancerape scenarios. DiscussionThere are no absolute conclusions regarding the role of gender or situational factors and rapesupportive/victim-blaming attitudes. Further empirical research is required to understand the prevalence of RMA in perceptions of marital rape and, particularly, homosexual marital rape.

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