The Psychology Research Institute (INPSY) is a specialized research institute at the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University. Our research focus stems from a long-lasting interest in the topics of developmental, social and educational psychology, psychology of personality and psychology in the media. Strong methodological and statistical background allows us to perform quality basic and applied research and develop new psychodiagnostic methods.

We cooperate with the Department of Psychology at the FSS, Masaryk University. We participate in the teaching of students and at the same time, create conditions and opportunities for their involvement in existing research projects.

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News

How to interpret factor analysis? Let's ditch the simple rules

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Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) is one of the core tools of modern psychology, widely used to evaluate how psychological measurement instruments function. Despite its importance, CFA is often applied in an overly mechanical way. A new methodological study by Petr Palíšek and Edita Chvojka (INPSY), together with Anna Literová (IRTIS), warns that blind reliance on “magic” statistical cut-offs used to assess the quality of factor models – such as RMSEA or CFI – can lead to erroneous conclusions. In a clear and accessible tutorial, the authors demonstrate how model evaluation can be approached more thoughtfully and with a deeper understanding of what the data actually convey.

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How measuring progress during therapy changes the work of therapists – and why measurement in psychotherapy is not a matter of course

A meta-analysis conducted by Klára Jonášová, Michal Čevelíček, Petr Doležal, and Tomáš Řiháček from the Center for Psychotherapy Research provides the most comprehensive view to date of how therapists use routine outcome monitoring (ROM) directly during sessions. ROM is an effective tool for increasing the safety and effectiveness of psychotherapy – practical experience shows that the way it is integrated into sessions can take various forms and thus vary in effectiveness. An analysis of 47 qualitative studies shows that the benefits of measurement are not automatic, but are the result of careful integration into the therapeutic process.

NewsFor practitionersFor parents and teachersConferences, lectures, and collaboration

Lukas Blinka spoke at a conference on children's digital health and also participated in a round table discussion as an expert.

Lukas Blinka was invited to speak at the conference Digital Childhood and Adolescence: Challenges and Answers for Parents and Experts, organized by the Office of the Government together with the Addiction Clinic of the First Faculty of Medicine of Charles University, which took place on December 2, 2025, at the Liechtenstein Palace in Prague under the auspices of the wife of the President of the Czech Republic, Eva Pavlová, and Prime Minister Petr Fiala. The conference featured a presentation of a project led by the Addiction Clinic with financial support from the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, in which Lukas Blinka was involved. The project also resulted in the DigiRozcestník and iRodič projects, in which our members Natálie Macošková, Ondřej Musil, Veronika Gocieková, and Dita Siřínková participated. These projects, which were created with the support of the Czech Science Foundation, were presented at the conference.

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Gaming addiction across 12 countries: boys vs. girls, international differences, and the position of Czech adolescents

Almost every teenager plays video games today, and for most of them it is a form of entertainment, a place to meet friends, or a way to relax after school. For a smaller proportion of players, however, gaming can begin to affect their sleep, schoolwork, or relationships. But are there differences between boys and girls? And which symptoms appear most often in which country? A large international study led by Andrea Stašek and Lukas Blinka from the Institute for Psychological Research sought answers to these questions. The team compared unique data from more than 44,000 adolescents from 12 European countries and focused on how they manifest symptoms of problematic online gaming.

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Does civic participation benefit young people's mental well-being?

Civic participation is a way for people to address social issues and influence public decision-making. For this reason, young people's involvement in civic activities is often viewed positively, as it ensures that their voices are heard in society, strengthens their social relationships and networks, and reinforces their sense of identity, purpose, and self-confidence. However, research findings still disagree on how participation in civic activities affects the personal well-being of young people in the long term. Therefore, our INPSY members Honza Šerek and Michal Mužík decided to conduct longitudinal research with a diverse sample of young people to assess how civic engagement affects their mental well-being and how this relationship evolves over time.