Social Sciences

Abstract: The influence of SNSs on individuals has become a central topic in contemporary research. Yet prior work has predominantly focused on private platforms while largely neglecting pro-fessional networks such as LinkedIn. Addressing this gap, the present study investigates whether passive LinkedIn use—defined as the non-interactive consumption of content—contributes to social media fatigue, a state of psychological exhaustion associated with social media engagement. Beyond examining this relationship, the study also advances the field methodology by introducing a behavioral report of LinkedIn use, the LinkedIn Activity Questionnaire (LAQ). The present study focuses specifically on the passive use of LinkedIn. Drawing on an online sample (N = 137) and validated measurement instruments, correlation analyses and parallel mediation models were employed to test the roles of both communica-tion overload and information overload as underlying mechanisms. The findings revealed a significant indirect effect via communication overload, whereas information overload did not serve as a mediator. Notably, both forms of overload were significantly associated with social media fatigue, while no direct relationship between passive LinkedIn use and fatigue emerged. These findings offer new insights into the mechanisms linking professional social network use and well-being. Finally, the findings are discussed including study limitations and future research directions.

Abstract: This paper explored how Individual personality traits influence student’s acceptance and response to the various digital learning systems. In addition it identified the benefit and potential risks of integrating AI system to personalized learning. AI systems in higher education can integrate personality factors to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. Instructional approach based on personality traits can improve learning experiences by adapting AI tools. AI tools that recognize students difference for example in terms of pace, interaction style, and type of emotional support can hasten effective and creative learning environment. To strength participation within the academic community; the advantages of personality-driven adaptive learning must be carefully balanced with ethical and human-centered implementation. The misuse of these tools can lead to privacy violations, bias, or stereotyping. However implementing proactive ethical and pedagogical safeguards are crucial to reduce these potential risks. In addition, it is significant to ensure that such AI supports are not replaces human educators. Instead it complements human teaching by promoting self-regulation, well-being, and community belonging.

Abstract: Remote viewing, also called anomalous cognition in much of the laboratory literature, has generated a substantial but controversial body offree-response experiments, operational reports, and theoretical interpretations. Yet the field still lacks a viable source–receiver mechanism that can explain how target-correlated information could arise, how it could be transduced by the body, and why successful reports often appear as fragments, sketches, shapes, textures, gestalts, and nonanalytic impressions rather than as literal transmitted pictures. This paper proposes a conditional source–receiver hypothesis. The target is modeled not as a semantic transmitter but as a structured physical system whose geometry, entropy gradients, chirality, motion, temporal modulation, and boundary conditions may shape a weak source-correlatedperturbation. The receiver is modeled as an active biological system in which weak spin-dependent or connection-like perturbations could bias phase-sensitive biochemical processes, especially radical-pair singlet–triplet dynamics in chiral hydrated molecular environments. Redox feedback, chromatin and hydration dynamics, and larger body/brain state variables could then amplify microscopic phase biases into changes of embodied state. Conscious report is treated as a template-resonance output: the receiver reconstructs weak state shifts through learned geometric, somatic, symbolic, and perceptual templates. The framework is not offered as proof of remote viewing, nor as a claim that torsion or any particular exotic field has been established. Rather, it is a testable architecture that motivates three experimental paradigms to try and bring a clearer picture: Fourier-holographic target tests, geometric-masker tests, and dot/dash numerical-carrier tests. It also motivates retrospective corpus analyses of archived remote-viewing sessions for entropy direction, local ordering, drawing morphology, and geometric primitives that were not always emphasized in earlier scoring systems.

Abstract: Background/Objectives: Iraq's the rate of neonatal is still high amid international efforts to improve child survival. Reversing the trend is determined by caregivers' ability to spot newborn danger signs (NDSs) early on, concentrating on the "first delay" in the care-seeking procedure. The objectives of this research were to evaluate parents' basic understanding of NDSs in Al-Hilla, Iraq, and identify the particular sociodemographic variables that impact these awareness levels. Methods: We performed a multicenter, cross-sectional study at seven primary care centers. Our sample included 383 parents of babies (ages 0–12 months), selected sequentially. Data were collected by structured in-person interviews using the validated Arabic Questionnaire for Neonatal Danger Signs (AQ-KNDS). Knowledge was evaluated on a scale of 0 to 28 and classified as poor, moderate, or good. Binary logistic regression with SPSS v.26 identified significant characteristics associated with high-level knowledge (p < 0.05). Results: The survey found that 73.6% of respondents had "good" knowledge, with a mean of 23.31 ± 3.71. Important clinical gaps were noted: only 22.2% correctly recognized the absence of an anal opening as a surgical crisis and 36.6% correctly identified the startle reflex as a normal biological response, despite nearly everyone (99.2%) recognizing acute symptoms such as fever and difficulty breathing. Prior neonatal risk training (AOR = 2.85, 95% CI: 1.18–6.87, p = 0.020), maternal gender (AOR = 2.81, 95% CI: 1.54–5.10, p = 0.001), and a history of hospital admission for a child (AOR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.18–3.39, p = 0.010) were the strongest independent predictors of adequate knowledge. Conclusions: In Al-Hilla, parental awareness is characterized by a "crisis-driven" approach to health literacy, with knowledge often gained through medical trauma rather than proactive education. Due to large gaps in the recognition of neurological and congenital symptoms, a comprehensive change toward nursing-led, family-centered counseling is required. NDS modules should be integrated into routine immunization schedules to improve infant survival rates and shorten recognition times.

Abstract: Personality research has traditionally focused on stable trait differences, but emerging perspectives suggest that personality coherence, as the degree of integration versus heterogeneity across trait dimensions, may represent a critical aspect of self-functioning, with implications for behavioral regulation. The present study examined whether intraindividual variability in Big Five traits, operationalized as the within-person standard deviation across trait scores (iSD), is associated with problematic digital engagement in young adults. A sample of 316 completed the Big Five Inventory and selected subscales of the Behavioral Addiction Questionnaire assessing smartphone and internet use. Pearson correlations and independent samples t-tests were conducted to evaluate associations between personality structure and digital behaviors. Results showed that higher iSD, reflecting lower personality coherence, was significantly associated with greater problematic smartphone (r = .335, p = .021) and internet use (r = .383, p = .006). Participants in the problematic smartphone use group exhibited significantly higher iSD than those in the moderate-risk group. Accordingly, a less coherent personality structure may reflect increased internal instability, leading individuals to rely more on digitally mediated environments such as external regulatory systems providing predictability and reinforcement. Overall, the study highlights the importance of considering intraindividual personality configuration as a complementary dimension to traditional trait-based approaches.

Abstract: Connection to nature is typically a good thing, with benefits for mental health and wellbeing, as well as an association with environmentally sustainable behavior. However, it could also increase vulnerability to negative emotions associated with environmental degradation. This paper investigates the possible downside of a strong nature connection in two ways: by exploring the nature of climate-related moral distress, and by examining the relationship between nature relatedness and a range of moral and emotional responses to climate change. Data from an online study of 250 U.S. residents showed a positive correlation between relatedness to nature and moral distress associated with climate change, as well as with general anxiety, and replicated previous findings of a correlation between connection to nature and climate anxiety. There was some evidence that nature relatedness could protect against depression among those who are experiencing climate-related distress. These findings are discussed within a context of a generally positive relationship between nature connection and wellbeing, and possible moderators of the relationship are considered. Although both climate anxiety and connection to nature are associated with more sustainable behavior, the implications for mental health deserve further exploration.

Abstract: In the healthcare sector, burnout has become a critical concern due to the combination of high job demands and sustained emotional strain. The present study aims to analyze whether emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between psychosocial risk factors, namely working values conflict and burnout among healthcare professionals. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 205 healthcare professionals. Measurement instruments included the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT-23) to assess burnout dimensions; the Health and Work Survey (ERPS_INSAT) to evaluate psychosocial risk factors; and the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS-P) to assess emotional intelligence. A moderation analysis using the PROCESS macro (model 1) was conducted to examine whether emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between psychosocial risk, working values factor, and burnout among healthcare professionals. The results show that the psychosocial risk-work values dimension was a significant positive predictor of burnout (total scale: B = 0.27, p < 0.001; Exhaustion: B = 0.33, p < 0.001; Mental distance: B = 0.32, p < 0.001; cognitive Impairment: B = 0.14, p < 0.001; emotional Impairment: B = 0.30, p < 0.001), indicating that higher perceived risk was associated with higher burnout symptoms. Emotional intelligence did not significantly predict burnout on its own (total scale: B = 0.07, p > 0.05; Exhaustion: B = 0.09, p > 0.05; Mental Distance: B = 0.11, p > 0.05; Cognitive Impairment: B = 0.11, p > 0.05; Emotional Impairment: B = -0.04, p > 0.05). The interaction term (psychosocial risk: work values × emotional intelligence) was not significant, suggesting that emotional intelligence does not moderate the relationship between working values and burnout. These findings highlight the central role of psychosocial risk factors in the development of burnout among healthcare professionals, but emotional intelligence does not seem to have a protective effect against burnout. Such findings point to the need for organizational interventions that reduce workplace risks and demand a more in-depth analysis of organizational context determinants, with particular attention to the impact of working values conflict as a critical driver of burnout.

Abstract: Background: Social-cognition assessment often relies on endpoint measures such as accuracy, which provide limited information about how social stimuli are visually sampled. Eye-tracking can capture visual-sampling processes, but the meaning of gaze metrics depends on task structure. Objective: To examine the feasibility and preliminary informativeness of eye-tracking during two computerized social-cognition tasks in healthy adults. Methods: Nineteen healthy adults completed a full-face facial emotion-recognition task (TREC) and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) while gaze was recorded. Measures included fixation count, cumulative fixation duration, and reaction time. TREC analyses examined gaze allocation across the eyes, nose, mouth, and facial hemifields. Analyses were exploratory and hypothesis-generating. Results: In the TREC, gaze was mainly allocated to the eyes and nose, with less sampling of the mouth. Higher TREC performance was accompanied by greater eye-region and left-hemiface viewing. Negative expressions elicited more fixations, and older participants showed greater eye-region sampling. In the RMET, participants showed higher fixation count, longer cumulative fixation duration, and longer response time than in the TREC, but gaze metrics were not clearly associated with demographic or performance variables. Conclusions: Eye-tracking was feasible and yielded coherent, task-dependent visual-sampling patterns in this small pilot sample. Full-face stimuli enabled spatially resolved gaze characterization, whereas eye-region stimuli mainly provided global inspection metrics. Findings are preliminary and should inform larger studies testing the clinical or mechanistic value of gaze-derived measures.

Abstract: This study investigated the relationships between ambivalent sexism, social roles, and body compassion in Albanian and Italian women. The participants were 251 Albanian and 280 Italian women who completed validated measures assessing hostile and benevolent sexism, social roles transcendence and link to social roles, and three subdimensions of body compassion (defusion, common humanity, and acceptance). Path analyses indicated excellent model fit across samples. In Albanian women, hostile sexism negatively predicted social roles transcendence and positively predicted a link to social roles, both of which were associated with lower body compassion. Benevolent sexism was positively associated with social roles transcendence, which in turn was related to higher body compassion. In contrast, Italian women showed a different pattern: benevolent sexism positively predicted a link to social roles, while social roles transcendence and link to social roles were both negatively related to defusion. Age positively predicted defusion and acceptance, highlighting a possible protective effect. Explained variance was higher in the Italian sample, particularly for the link to social roles. Overall, findings suggest that sexist attitudes and adherence to stereotyped social roles influence women’s body compassion differently across cultural contexts, revealing ambivalent and sometimes contradictory associations. The study highlights the need for culturally sensitive approaches in promoting positive body image.

Abstract: Soccer performance depends on multiple interacting factors, including physical, technical, tactical, and psychological components. Among the psychological factors associated with optimal performance are athletes’ emotional states, their regulation, and executive functions. These processes support attention to relevant external stimuli and enable players to plan, adapt, and regulate their behavior during gameplay. Although executive functions and emotional states have been widely studied in sport settings, research examining the relationship between these variables in athletes is limited, particularly in female soccer players. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between emotional states, emotional regulation, and performance on cognitive tasks in female players from the Mexican soccer league. Twenty-eight players participated in two individual assessment sessions in which anxiety and depression levels, emotional regulation, and executive functions—planning, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility—were evaluated using psychological and neuropsychological tests. Results indicated a relationship between aspects of decision-making and players’ emotional regulation abilities, as well as between depression levels and onset latency in a working memory task. These findings support the existence of an association between emotional processes and cognitive functioning in female soccer players.

Abstract: Objectives: The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) generally operates as unidimensional but demonstrates invariance issues. This study aimed to examine the construct validity and stability of various SWLS across age and gender groups. Methods: Employing a convenience sample of community-dwelling European adults (N = 7531, median age = 26 (22-28) years, 51.1% females), this instrumental study investigated the structure and stability of SWLS through exploratory/confirmatory factor analysis (EFA/CFA) and multigroup CFA in SPSS and JASP. Results: EFA in 30% of the sample (n = 2246, KMO (0.86), Bartlett’s test of sphericity χ² (10) = 4561.84, p = 0.001) revealed a single factor with an eigenvalue of 3.12, which explained 62.35% of the variance. The unidimensional and two bidimensional structures (present/past life satisfaction; achievement/acceptance) expressed excellent fit (χ² (4-5) = 92.60-106.14, ps = 0.001; all CFIs = 0.994, ; TLI = 0.985-0.987, ; RMSEA = 0.052-0.056, ; SRMR = 0.013-0.014). Bifactor and second-order structures based on both two factor-structures did not converge. The three structures were invariant at the configural metric, scalar, and strict levels across age (<26, ≥26 years) while only the unidimensional SWLS was invariant at all levels across genders. Achievement/acceptance SWLS converged only in males while present/past life satisfaction converged only in females—the fit of both models was excellent, and the fit of the latter slightly improved when the errors of items 2 and 4 correlated. Conclusions: The findings support the use of the SWLS as a single-factor instrument for comparative purposes. SWLS components (cognitive or experiential) are interpreted uniformly among different age groups while gender-specific convergence patterns suggest meaningful gender-related nuances in its dimensional expression—males and females differently conceptualize SWLS components. Research should explore theoretical mechanisms underlying differential structuring of life satisfaction and examine whether these gender-specific dimensional patterns replicate across cultures and longitudinal designs.

Abstract: Background/Objectives: The present study aimed to examine the relationship between Dark Triad personality traits (narcissism, psychopathy, and machiavellianism) and conspiratorial thinking. Additionally, it sought to investigate whether perceived social support acts as a mediator in this relationship, potentially serving as a protective factor against the adoption of conspiracy beliefs. Methods: The sample consisted of 620 participants (N = 620), including 523 women and 97 men, aged 18 to 69 (M = 35.74; SD = 11.36). Data were collected through an online survey using the Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale (GCBS), the Dirty Dozen Scale, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Results: Statistical analyses using Pearson’s correlation coefficient did not indicate a statistically significant co-occurrence between conspiratorial thinking and Dark Triad personality traits. Furthermore, the mediation models did not show significant values for mediating effects, suggesting that perceived social support—including its dimensions of support from a significant person, family, and friends—did not alter the relationship between personality traits and conspiracy thinking in this sample. Conclusions: The findings contradict several earlier reports, contributing to the ongoing debate regarding the dispositional roots of conspiracy beliefs. The results suggest that conspiratorial ideation may not be rooted in stable aversive personality traits, but instead may be driven by specific neurocognitive processes such as uncertainty processing and threat reactivity, aligning with current brain-based models of belief evaluation. Future research should integrate neuroscientific perspectives with social psychology to develop more comprehensive models of conspiratorial ideation.

Abstract: With contemporary social movements related to civil rights, personal freedoms, and tensions in higher education institutions around academic freedom, ideological open-mindedness has become an increasingly popular research topic in recent decades. Such openness has been defined as a disposition to engage meaningfully with novel ideas that may conflict with one’s own, and to accommodate or disregard such views with delicacy, precision, and care (Cormier et al., 2026; Kwong, 2023). Findings on effective interventions to reduce ideological polarization remain limited, highlighting the need for a cohesive review. This review catalogued and analyzed findings on individual differences related to ideological open-mindedness through an exploratory research question: Are there measured individual differences (psychological and demographic variables such as personality traits, political beliefs, and gender) that relate meaningfully to ideological open-mindedness? The search process retained 152 records. Results showed associations between ideological open-mindedness and personality traits, age, gender, sexual orientation, culture, language, political standing, socioeconomic status, religious beliefs, education level and type, personal past experience, competence, personal beliefs and interests, and emotional tendencies. Considering varied associations between individual characteristics and differences in ideological open-mindedness, this review serves as a guide towards better understanding this complex construct as precursor to informing effective interventions.

Abstract: Transition to higher education represents a critical period marked by academic, emotional, and social challenges that can affect students’ well-being. Although social and emotional competence (SEC) and self-care practices have been identified as protective factors of well-being, there is a gap in understanding how these concepts intersect within higher education. In a two-phase mixed-methods study, we began by exploring the main challenges perceived by higher education students in adapting to university and which SEC and self-care practices they perceived as most relevant to promoting their personal and academic well-being. Building on these insights, we then investigated the mediating role of self-care practices in the relationship between students’ SEC and their well-being. In the first stage of the study, 16 higher education students (81.3% female, M = 22.19 years) participated in semi-structured interviews; additionally, 204 higher education students (77.9% female, M = 22.10 years) responded to an online survey. Qualitative findings suggested that the most significant challenges in the adaptation to university were of a social and emotional nature, related to emotional challenges, interpersonal relationships, and personal organization. To overcome these, students primarily valued intrapersonal competencies such as self-awareness and self-regulation. Participants predominantly described using personal self-care practices, focusing on psychological and emotional care. Generalized linear model-based mediation analysis sustained that both personal and academic self-care practices mediated SEC effects on students’ personal well-being. However, only academic self-care practices mediated SEC effects on their academic well-being. Self-regulation competencies had the strongest effect on students’ personal and academic well-being. This research contributes to a strengthened theoretical understanding of the interplay between higher education students’ SEC, self-care practices, and well-being, offering new empirical evidence on how these relate.

Abstract: This study examined the mechanisms linking cognitively activating mathematics instruction to self-efficacy via metacognition. A sequential mediation model was tested whereby cognitive activating instruction measured via mathematical reasoning and mathematical argumentation was specified to predict metacognitive self-regulation, which in turn was estimated to predict mathematics performance and self-efficacy. The data of 6403 adolescents (49.76% females) from the Greek PISA 2022 were utilized. Latent variables were constructed from the student questionnaire items to capture cognitive activation, metacognitive self-regulation, and self-efficacy. Structural equation modelling showed that cognitive activation was positively associated with metacognitive self-regulation, which, in turn, was substantially associated with mathematics self-efficacy. Sequential mediation analysis indicated that cognitive activating instruction was also directly linked to mathematics self-efficacy and indirectly through mathematics performance, supporting the role of performance as a source of mastery experiences. In brief, the findings imply that engaging students with cognitively activating activities could potentially enhance metacognitive self-regulation skills which is a promising pathway for improving adolescents’ mathematics self-efficacy via the formation of mastery experiences in mathematics.

Abstract: Interdisciplinary collaboration is crucial for addressing complex, real-world challenges, particularly in high-stakes fields such as nuclear research. The UK’s Zero-Power Reactor Project exemplifies this approach, aiming to develop innovative reactor technology that supports the nation’s net-zero carbon objectives. The project brought together a culturally diverse, interdisciplinary team of researchers, whose collaboration was central to its progress. Reflecting on the team’s journey, we sought to understand the dynamics that shaped their experience. This led us to ask: What were the experiences of the Zero-Power team, and what factors enabled or hindered their collaboration? We employed a qualitative methodology combining constructivist grounded theory with collaborative autoethnography, enabling a deep exploration of the lived experiences of team members. Reflections were gathered at the project’s conclusion to examine how the team functioned, learned, and evolved. Through iterative cycles of inductive, deductive, and abductive reasoning as well as using constant comparative analysis, we identified key patterns in how individuals build trust, overcome disciplinary and cultural differences, and co-create a productive team environment. Three overarching themes emerged: psychological safety, including belonging and value, learning and self-reflection, team spirit and motivation, and Innovation and discovery. Additionally, strategies for team building and addressing challenges and uncertainty were discussed. This study contributes to empirical evidence of existing knowledge and suggests actionable insights for cultivating high-performing teams in complex scientific environments and real-world challenges by demonstrating a role model of ‘interscience’.

Abstract: AI-enabled coaching is increasingly used in career development, yet limited attention has been paid to how such tools should be designed for women, particularly in male-dominated contexts. This study examines which AI-enabled career coaching use cases experts consider appropriate and what design and governance conditions should guide their responsible development. Sixteen multidisciplinary experts across career development, coaching, organisational development, women’s health, AI coaching, AI ethics, and DEI participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Five themes were identified: integrated expert lenses; the biopsychosocial context of women’s careers; AI intervention mechanics; the human–AI coaching relationship; and governance and agency risks. Experts supported AI use conditionally, primarily for bounded functions such as structured reflection, scoped psychoeducation, and behavioural support. They cautioned against reproducing an-drocentric assumptions, individualising structural barriers, and substituting for human empathy, contextual judgement, or professional accountability. The study proposes an agency-centred framework specifying requirements for conceptual alignment, ecosystem attunement, intervention design, and governance. These findings suggest that AI-enabled career coaching is most credible as a constrained, developmental support tool. Future research should examine these use cases with women end-users across career stages and contexts.

Abstract: Background/Objectives: Promoting psychological well-being is a central goal in healthy aging research. While leisure has been widely recognized as an important contributor to well-being in later life, the underlying psychological mechanisms remain insufficiently understood. This study aims to examine the relative roles of cognitive and experiential mechanisms in shaping psychological well-being among older adults. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 200 older adults participating in community-based leisure programs in South Korea. Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. A dual-pathway model was tested, in which leisure attitude represents a cognitive mechanism and leisure satisfaction reflects an experiential mechanism. Results: Leisure attitude significantly influenced both leisure satisfaction and psychological well-being, while leisure satisfaction also had a positive but comparatively weaker effect on well-being. Mediation analysis confirmed that leisure satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between leisure attitude and psychological well-being. Notably, the direct effect of leisure attitude (β = 0.368) was substantially stronger than that of leisure satisfaction (β = 0.150), supporting an asymmetrical du-al-pathway structure. Conclusions: These findings highlight the dominant role of cognitive appraisal in shaping well-being in later life and suggest a shift from experience-centered to cognition-centered frameworks in aging research. Interventions aimed at promoting healthy aging should therefore focus not only on improving the quality of leisure experiences but also on fostering positive cognitive orientations toward leisure.

Abstract: Why does research on Neanderthals attract public attention far beyond its immediate scientific relevance? Such fascination reflects not merely intellectual curiosity but the activation of deep symbolic structures, what Carl Gustav Jung termed the collective unconscious. Neanderthals occupy a psychologically distinctive position as an "incorporated other": an extinct human lineage that remains genetically present in the genomes of non-African modern humans, collapsing intuitive boundaries between self and other, past and present, familiarity and extinction. This symbolic ambiguity is intensified by ancient pathogen evidence and the largely genomic but morphologically invisible presence of Denisovans. Integrating perspectives from evolutionary biology, ancient genomics, paleoanthropology, and analytical psychology, I address a question Jung did not explicitly pose: when, along the human evolutionary lineage, did the collective unconscious originate? I argue that this structure did not emerge suddenly. Homo erectus established the cognitive floor, providing basic universal schemas of fear, group cohesion, and hierarchy, without strong evidence of symbolic elaboration. Homo heidelbergensis, the common ancestor of both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, is the strongest candidate for the emergence of proto-archetypal structures, given its enlarged brain, complex social behavior, and early funerary practice. The symbolic system was operational in Neanderthals and archaic Homo sapiens and became fully and unambiguously visible only with the Upper Paleolithic explosion approximately 40,000 to 50,000 years ago. Neanderthals are therefore not merely objects of curiosity; they are co-inheritors of the same deep symbolic architecture still operating in every modern mind that encounters them.

Abstract: Proficient second language (L2) reading relies on complex neurocognitive processes. Neuroimaging studies have identified key brain regions recruited during L2 reading, including the left inferior parietal lobule (LIPL) and the calcarine cortex (CAL). The LIPL has been suggested to be involved in phonological decoding during L2 reading, whereas the CAL has been implicated in early-stage visual processing. However, given the cor-relational nature of neuroimaging techniques, it remains unclear whether these regions play causal roles in L2 reading or are merely epiphenomenal. To address this issue, the present study used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to modulate neural activity in these regions and eye-tracking technology to assess subsequent reading performance in Chinese-English bilinguals. Specifically, ninety-seven participants were randomly assigned to one of three offline TMS conditions: LIPL, CAL or vertex (as a control site) stimulation, after which they performed a natural sentence reading task in English. The results showed that, compared to the control condition, TMS over the LIPL significantly reduced first fixation duration, whereas no significant effects emerged on gaze duration, regression path reading time, or total reading time. TMS over the CAL produced no significant effects on any eye movement measures. These findings suggest that the LIPL plays a causal role in L2 reading for early-stage lexical processing through phonological decoding. Overall, this study is the first to employ TMS and eye-tracking to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying natural L2 reading.