Jamie Arndt’s research while affiliated with University of Arizona and other places

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Publications (170)


Mediational Pathways of Hope regarding COVID-19 on Meaning in Life via Total Health Behaviors, Study 1. Note. N = 639; Indirect effect b(SE) = 0.04(0.01), 95% CI [0.02, 0.07]
Mediational Pathways of Hope Regarding COVID-19 on Meaning in Life via each Health Behavior Subscale, Study 1. Note. N = 361; Total indirect effect b(SE) = 0.06(0.02), 95% CI [0.02, 0.11]
Mediational Pathways of Hope for Overall Health on Meaning in Life via Total Health Behaviors, Study 2. Note. Indirect effect b(SE) = 0.11(0.02), 95% CI [0.07, 0.16]
Mediational Pathways of Hope for Overall Health on Meaning in Life via each Health Behavior Subscale, Study 2. Note. Indirect effect via eating well, b(SE) = 0.06(0.02), 95% CI [0.01, 0.10]. Indirect effect via exercising, b(SE) = 0.05(0.03), 95% CI [0.01, 0.10]
Mediational Pathways of Hope for Overall Health on Meaning in Life via Total Health Behaviors, Study 3. Note. Total health behaviors were behavioral intentions. X1 compares hope to neutral (neutral = hopeless = 0, hope = 1) X2 compares hopeless to neutral (neutral = hope = 0, hopeless = 1)

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Hope for your health improves meaning in life by promoting relevant health behaviors
  • Article
  • Publisher preview available

June 2025

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6 Reads

Motivation and Emotion

Megan E. Edwards

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Patrick Ferland

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Jamie Arndt

While hope is related to greater meaning in life, how hope promotes meaning has been under-explored. One pathway may be that hope motivates behaviors that help us reach our hoped-for goal, which in turn increases a sense of meaning. The current studies test this process in the domain of health. Two correlational studies show that hope for one’s health promotes related behaviors and in turn, greater meaning. Study 1 examines this relation under the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which posed a large threat to meaning, thus, hope was a particularly relevant resource for meaning during this time. Study 2 aimed to examine this relation in domains widely applicable to everyday life: exercise and nutrition. In Study 3, participants randomly assigned to write about being hopeful (vs. hopeless) about their health reported greater healthy eating/exercising intentions, which in turn, led to greater meaning. The studies inform how working towards one’s hoped-for goals can be impactful on meaning in life.

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Why Life Moves Fast: Exploring the Mechanisms Behind Autobiographical Time Perception

November 2024

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32 Reads

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1 Citation

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

We investigate why individuals commonly perceive time as passing quickly when reflecting on past periods of their lives. A traditional cognitive account proposes that routine experienced during a period decreases the number of memorable events, making that period appear short in retrospect. A motivational account derived from self-determination theory proposes that a period remembered as lacking self-determined growth feels unsatisfying or wasted, and thus seems to pass quickly. Two exploratory studies ( N = 999) did not consistently support these accounts, although in Study 2 remembered routine predicted faster perceived pace, as hypothesized. Contrary to our motivational account, remembered growth positively, rather than negatively, predicted pace. Interpreting this unexpected finding, we conducted two pre-registered studies ( N = 965) exploring how satisfaction with, and nostalgic longing for, periods of growth contribute to the perception of time passing quickly. Our findings have implications for encouraging productive responses to the subjective pace of life.


The Role of Moral Concerns and Institutional Trust in Conspiratorial Thinking

July 2024

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15 Reads


Isolated But Not Necessarily Lonely

Previous research points to social/affiliative needs as playing an important role in orienting people towards conspiratorial thinking. Yet no research to date has compared the relative contribution of different forms of subjective interpersonal isolation to general conspiracist ideation (CI). Four studies (N = 2,452) compare the associations between three forms of subjective isolation (loneliness, existential isolation, alienation/anomie) and CI. Results from Studies 1–3 indicate that existential isolation and alienation, but not loneliness, independently predict higher CI over and above other relevant predictors. Study 4 found that after controlling for relevant covariates, only anomie predicted CI. Exploratory analyses revealed that unique effects of existential isolation on CI emerged when the breakdown of the leadership subdimension of anomie was excluded from the model. Implications of the four studies are discussed.


Feeling too isolated to be vaccinated? The contributing role of subjective interpersonal isolation factors towards COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and resistance

March 2023

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12 Reads

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6 Citations

Social Science & Medicine

Objective: The present research examines how different forms of subjective isolation predict COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and resistance with two online studies conducted in the U.S. Methods: Study 1 (n = 695), conducted before COVID-19 vaccines were available, tested if different forms of subjective isolation predicted lower trust in potential COVID-19 vaccines. Study 2 (n = 674), conducted almost a year after COVID-19 vaccines were available, tested if different forms of subjective isolation predicted not being vaccinated. Results: In Study 1, existential isolation and alienation predicted lower trust in potential COVID-19 vaccines, while loneliness did not. In Study 2, existential isolation and alienation, but not loneliness, predicted not getting vaccinated. Conclusion: Existential isolation and alienation are associated with negative attitudes and behavior towards vaccines and may contribute to decreased participation in public health-related behaviors.


Figure 1. Existential isolation (EI) and perceived threat were each associated with worse subjective well-being. Error bars represent standard error.
COVID-19-related threat, existential isolation, and well-being

February 2023

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151 Reads

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3 Citations

Clinical Psychologist

Objective Prior work suggests perceived COVID-19-related threat and existential isolation (EI) would be associated with greater anxiety and depression, worse subjective health and well-being, and lower hope. However, it was unclear whether such concerns might have additive effects (no interaction, two independent main effects) or interact (one effect modifies the other). Method Two studies collected data via MTurk during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study 1 (N = 110) measured perceived COVID19-related threat, EI, anxiety and depression, subjective well-being, and hope. Study 2 (N = 2,673) measured perceived COVID19-related threat, EI, anxiety, subjective health, and hope. Results In general, perceived COVID19-related threat and EI were associated with anxiety and depression, worse subjective health and well-being, and reduced hope. On one outcome (hope, Study 2), an interaction was observed: perceived threat was associated with lower hope among those with high EI, but higher hope among those with low EI. However, on most outcomes (6 of 7), across both studies, additive effects were observed: greater cumulative existential stress (perceived COVID-19-related threat, EI) was associated with worse anxiety and depression, subjective health and well-being, and hope. Conclusion Discussion highlights theoretical considerations, practical implications, and the therapeutic value of addressing existential concerns in mental health.


The Impact of Awe on Existential Isolation: Evidence for Contrasting Pathways

January 2023

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250 Reads

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10 Citations

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

We propose that awe has multifaceted relations with existential isolation, a feeling of separation between the self and others or the world. Three studies examined the relation between awe and existential isolation via feelings of small self (vastness, self-size, self-perspectives) and a sense of connectedness. Awe (vs. a control topic) was induced either using virtual reality (Study 1) or a recall task (Studies 2 and 3) and was indirectly associated with higher and lower levels of existential isolation through differing pathways. Awe was associated with lower feelings of existential isolation via an increased sense of vastness, which in turn predicted greater connectedness; whereas awe was associated with higher feelings of existential isolation via increased sense of feeling small, which in turn predicted lower connectedness. This work advances understanding of the complex nature of awe-revealing its competing effects on the self and the social connectedness pathways through which awe can influence existential isolation.


Racial Prejudice Predicts Police Militarization

October 2022

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40 Reads

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6 Citations

Psychological Science

In the United States, police are becoming increasingly militarized. Whereas the racialized nature of police militarization has been documented, the relationship between racial prejudice and police militarization is less understood. We assessed the link between racial prejudice against Black and Native Americans and police militarization at individual and regional levels. Study 1 ( N = 765) recruited a nationally representative sample of White Americans and found a positive association between racial prejudice and support for police militarization. Study 2 ( N = 3,129,343) sourced regional aggregates of prejudice among White Americans from Project Implicit and policing data from the Defense Logistics Agency and found that police departments in states higher in prejudice acquired greater amounts of militarized equipment. Together, these studies demonstrate that, in terms of attitudes and policies, racial prejudice predicts police militarization.


A Phenomenological Divide: Reference Group Consequences for Existential Isolation

October 2022

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45 Reads

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2 Citations

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

An apparent phenomenological divide between majority and minoritized groups exists in contemporary America in terms of feelings of social connection. Drawing on recent findings relating to existential isolation (i.e., the sense that one is alone in one’s subjective experience), three studies compare these feelings toward one’s in-group and out-group. Study 1 assesses whether Black and White participants vary in their self-reported existential isolation when referencing their own or another racial group. Results reveal Black Americans feel as though other Black Americans share their perceptions more than do White Americans. In contrast, White Americans report similarly shared perceptions by both racial groups. Study 2 (preregistered) assessed these effects with a concealable identity: sexual orientation. Study 3 further replicates these effects and finds effects among Black Americans to significantly differ from a neutral control condition. Implications and future directions for epistemic (in)validation are discussed.


Divergent effects of social media use on meaning in life via loneliness and existential isolation during the coronavirus pandemic

June 2022

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321 Reads

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22 Citations

Stay-at-home orders issued to combat the growing number of infections during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 had many psychological consequences for people including elevated stress, anxiety, and difficulty maintaining meaning in their lives. The present studies utilized cross-sectional designs and were conducted to better understand how social media usage related to people’s subjective isolation (i.e., social loneliness, emotional loneliness, and existential isolation) and meaning in life (MIL) during the early months of the pandemic within the United States. Study 1 found that general social media use indirectly predicted higher MIL via lower existential isolation and social isolation. Study 2 replicated these patterns and found that social media use also predicted lower MIL via higher emotional loneliness, and that the aforementioned effects occurred with active, but not passive, social media use. Findings suggest social media use may be a viable means to validate one’s experiences (i.e., reduce existential isolation) during the pandemic but may also lead to intensified feelings concerning missing others (i.e., increased emotional loneliness). This research also helps to identify potential divergent effects of social media on MIL and helps to clarify the relationships among varying types of subjective isolation.


Citations (89)


... It is crucial to distinguish between duration estimation and PoTj. Duration estimation is the objective gauging of a time interval's length, influenced by emotional and cognitive factors (Droit-Volet et al., 2013;Gable et al., 2022;Hallez et al., 2023), while PoTJ is the subjective feeling of how quickly or slowly time flows (Kosak et al., 2019;Kosak & Kuhbandner, 2021;Ryu et al., 2024). For durations longer than a minute, as is the case in our study, the relationship between those two concepts strengthens (Droit-Volet et al., 2017, Droit-Volet & Hallez, 2022. ...

Reference:

Sensation of Time Passing During Meals and Risk of Eating Disorders: A Pilot Study in a Non-Clinical Sample
Why Life Moves Fast: Exploring the Mechanisms Behind Autobiographical Time Perception
  • Citing Article
  • November 2024

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

... Indeed, other scholars have pointed to this discrepancy (Cohen-Chen et al., 2014;Edwards et al., 2024;Luo et al., 2020), suggesting that agency and pathways are not a comprehensive measure of hope. Therefore, in the current studies, we aimed to measure hope in a more comprehensive manner (adapting from Cohen-Chen et al., 2014;Vail et al., 2023) rather than just agency/pathways. ...

COVID-19-related threat, existential isolation, and well-being

Clinical Psychologist

... In this work, we investigate whether awe, a mixed valance emotion defined by vastness and need for accommodation; Shiota et al., 2007), has the potential to promote self-compassion. Though awe research has often focused on its interpersonal benefits (e.g., prosocial behaviors; Bai et al., 2017;Piff et al., 2015), there is a more recent, but rapidly growing, line of research that suggests awe relates to intrapersonal outcomes as well, such as meaning in life, existential isolation, self-worth, self-concept clarity, global self-continuity (i.e., a sense of continuity among past, present, and future selves), and authentic self-pursuit (Edwards et al., 2024;Jiang & Sedikides, 2022;Pan & Jiang, 2022;Rivera et al., 2020;Shiota et al., 2007;Yuan et al., 2023;Zhang & Lin, 2023). Thus, another aim of the present work is to extend this growing body of research by investigating awe's potential to promote self-compassion. ...

The Impact of Awe on Existential Isolation: Evidence for Contrasting Pathways
  • Citing Article
  • January 2023

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

... (Ekstrom et al., 2022;Hehman et al., 2018;Jimenez et al., 2022;Stelter et al., 2022), connections with public policy (Leitner et al., 2018;Ofosu et al., 2019), health (Leitner et al., 2016;Orchard & Price, 2017), and historical migratory patterns (Payne et al., 2019;Vuletich et al., 2024), among others (for review, see Calanchini et al., 2022). Research incorporating regional analyses is growing quickly due to connections with real-world outcomes that are highly valued by the public and policymakers alike. ...

Racial Prejudice Predicts Police Militarization
  • Citing Article
  • October 2022

Psychological Science

... In other words, it could be argued that EI is experienced differently by clinical populations, or that EI affects clinical samples differently. Indeed, theorists have long proposed EI to be a salient psychological concern for clients in psychotherapy (Yalom, 1980;May and Yalom, 1989;Helm et al., 2022a), and empirical studies have shown that people belonging to underrepresented backgrounds are especially vulnerable to feelings of EI (Helm et al., 2022b;Pinel et al., 2022). Despite this, there remains little discussion around the application of EI to clinical samples with more diverse backgrounds. ...

A Phenomenological Divide: Reference Group Consequences for Existential Isolation
  • Citing Article
  • October 2022

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

... During the COVID-19 pandemic, social media platforms played a crucial role in shaping global responses and adaptations [3]. This importance was underscored by a notable surge in social media activity, with Facebook experiencing nearly a 30% increase in traffic in early 2020 following the WHO declaration of the pandemic [4,5]. More broadly, there was a 9.9% rise in the global number of social media users [6], indicating a growing reliance on social media for connectivity during this health crisis [7]. ...

Divergent effects of social media use on meaning in life via loneliness and existential isolation during the coronavirus pandemic

... In contrast, only a handful of studies (Foxworth and Boulding 2022) have focused on public attitudes towards Native Americans, and when they do, the focus is usually on public opinion in relation to the mascots of college and professional sports teams (Williams 2007). Jimenez et al. (2023), for instance, found that prejudicial attitudes towards Native Americans increased substantially after Cleveland's major league baseball team decided to retire its Native American mascot, Chief Wahoo. ...

Prejudicial reactions to the removal of Native American mascots
  • Citing Article
  • December 2021

Group Processes & Intergroup Relations

... co/), a research platform that enables researchers to recruit and collect data from registered members. Prolific has been used in previous cancer survivorship research [14,15]. Recent study also found that Prolific participants produced higher quality data and are more diverse than other crowdsourcing platforms [16]. ...

Neuroticism, cancer mortality salience, and physician avoidance in cancer survivors: Proximity of treatment matters
  • Citing Article
  • November 2021

Psycho-Oncology

... Acknowledging misinformation creates a precarious navigation for college educators. The profound use of stereotypes to depict the U.S.-Mexico border in political discourse and the wider mediascape, especially those associating immigrants with increased criminality, has promoted anti-immigrant bias and enhanced support for restrictive, isolationist policies (Jimenez, Arndt, and Landau 2021). It has also increased support for border militarization (Nasuto, Rowe, and Lee 2024). ...

Walls Block Waves: Using an Inundation Metaphor of Immigration Predicts Support for a Border Wall

Journal of Social and Political Psychology

... Perceiving that cancer is unavoidable if it is predestined enhances misperceptions about the population prevalence of cancer (Klein et al., 2014). Besides, the belief that a cancer diagnosis is a death sentence was prevalent among cancer fatalists (Moser et al., 2021). When they think about cancer, they could automatically think about death (Kobayashi & Smith, 2016;Paige et al., 2021), which is an evident sign of the fatalists' overrated severity perception of cancer. ...

Perceptions of Cancer as a Death Sentence: Tracking Trends in Public Perceptions from 2008 to 2017
  • Citing Article
  • November 2020

Psycho-Oncology