This chapter analyses the representation of Polish voters by political parties, dissecting party stability and voter allegiance over recent years. It finds that the electoral connection has strengthened: a clear majority of voters in 2019 consistently voted for similar ideological parties compared with a minority in 2001. However, the picture regarding ideological congruence and representation is complex. Despite growing alignment between voters and their preferred parties along the Left–Right spectrum, it is unclear whether or not this signifies ideological representation. Discrepancies surface when delving into more explicit ideological dimensions such as European integration and sociocultural and economic issues, in which there are shifting patterns of congruence influenced by party stances. Furthermore, party performance appears to influence representation, with ideological congruence becoming a stronger determinant of voting during successful periods. This suggests that voters’ perceptions of success may be more integral than ideological kinship to their sense of being represented by a party.
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Temporal landmarks - such as the beginning of a week or a month - may help individuals overcome present bias and promote delayed gratification in health-related decision-making. Drawing on the concept of negative discounting, wherein delayed consumption gains value through anticipation and imagination, this study investigates whether temporal landmarks function as psychological anchors that facilitate the initiation of real-life dietary change. We analyzed nearly one million orders from 27 diet catering companies in Poland (2022–2023), supplemented by detailed monthly data from August 2024. The results reveal that consumers systematically align the initiation of dietary changes with temporal landmarks. As confirmed by the yearly data analysis, they tend to place orders just before or just after the start of a new month or week. Additionally, there was a strong preference for Monday as the first delivery day, regardless of the length of the catering plan. These findings provide large-scale behavioral evidence supporting the role of negative discounting in health-related consumer behavior. They also demonstrate how temporal landmarks can be strategically leveraged to encourage long-term dietary change. The study offers practical insights for designing interventions that align with natural temporal rhythms to promote healthier eating habits.
This paper analyses the critical responses to the official Chinese Communist Party narratives of scientific progress and social harmony found in Han Song's 韩松 2016 novel Hospital (医院, Yiyuan) and Cao Fei's 曹斐 2019 film Nova (新星, Xin xing). Both works challenge the state's vision of a technologically determined, utopian future. The study explores how these texts subvert the official discourse by critically examining four thematic areas: the relationship between past and future, China and the outside world; the personal dimension of the quest for scientific progress; the disconnect between state-level achievements and the livelihood of ordinary citizens; and the concept of personal freedom and happiness. Both works depict a relentless pursuit of progress that leads to the erosion of individual agency, transforming citizens into objects of (bio)technological experimentation. By offering counter-narratives to the state's sociotechnical imaginary, Han Song and Cao Fei provide an ambivalent vision of China's future, one rooted in the anxieties of its present.
Although honesty is vital for trust and stability, individuals in romantic relationships may sometimes favor deception over harsh truths. This study examines the relationship between relationship satisfaction, resilience, and the preference for hearing prosocial lies from a romantic partner. We hypothesized that prosocial lies may be positively linked to relationship satisfaction, especially for less resilient individuals who rely on positive feed- back to manage stress. First, we piloted scenarios depicting prosocial and egoistic lies in romantic relationships. Next, individuals (N = 672) chose whether they preferred their partner to lie or tell the truth. Results showed that lower relationship satisfaction was associated with a greater preference for hearing prosocial lies. This association was mediated by perceiving truth as harmful at mean and high levels of emotional resilience, indicating that prosocial lies are less desired in satisfying relationships but preferred in strained ones.
The article analyses the attitudes and expectations of young Europeans towards the democratic system in the context of declining trust in political institutions. The aim of the discussion is to identify the reasons for the observed criticism and to examine the extent to which the solutions proposed by young people (recommendations for policymakers and the education sector) focus on deepening participation and increasing the transparency of decision-making processes. The article presents the results of the Youth Democracy Labs workshops organised as part of the ActEU project (“Towards a new era of representative democracy: Activating European citizens’ trust in times of crises and polarisation”), which served to examine the attitudes of young Europeans towards the democratic system and to develop the aforementioned recommendations. Based on 17 workshops conducted in 10 European Union countries, including Poland, the main areas in which changes should be made were identified. The results indicate that young Europeans, although critical of institutions, remain committed to democratic values and willing to participate actively in public life, provided that mechanisms conducive to this are created. An analysis of the recommendations also reveals the specific local context, e.g. the strongly emphasised need in Poland for civic education and the development of digital tools to facilitate civic participation.
