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Article History

Received: 30 May 2025

Accepted: 12 July 2026

First Online: 5 August 2026

Ethics

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval: This research was conducted in accordance with the principles of the WMA Declaration of Helsinki (2013) and the Ethical Code of the Italian Psychology Association (AIP). The research was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Bari 'Aldo Moro'; approval was granted on the 20th of May 2024 under protocol number ET-24-14. The approval covers the recruitment of minor participants through collaborating Italian secondary schools, the administration of a computer-based web-app task in school computer laboratories, the collection of anonymised response data, and the storage and analysis of that dataset for scientific dissemination.

Informed consent: Because the participants were minors, all procedures for obtaining consent adhered to Italian regulations for research with underage participants. Written informed consent was obtained from the legal guardians of all student participants between May and June 2024. Consent forms, prepared by the research team, were distributed by classroom teachers and returned to research assistants before any data collection began. The consent covered: (i) voluntary participation in the computer-based session, (ii) the anonymized use, long-term storage, and publication of the data in aggregated form, and (iii) the right to withdraw at any time without consequence. Immediately before the task, each student gave verbal assent and was again reminded that participation was optional, anonymity was assured, and no foreseeable risks were associated with taking part. No participant or legal guardian declined participation or withdrew during the study.