Field dependence-independence in complex motor skills

This study analyzed the relationship between field dependence-independence and complex motor skills. According to the requirements of each sporting activity, subjects' motor system can be mainly controlled through exteroceptive or proprioceptive information. Sport performances require the athlete to disembed himself, other players, or the ball from the background, and decision-making appears to require cognitive restructuring. 26 athletes (13 men and 13 women) involved in acrobatic sports (gymnastics, trampoline, half-pipe snowboard, synchronized 3-m springboard, acrobatic rock, skateboard, and free skating) and 26 athletes (13 men and 13 women) involved in individual racket sports (tennis and table-tennis) completed the Group Embedded Figures Test. Participants (at least 10 years of practice) were from 16 to 35 years of age (M=22.0, SD=3.1). No significant difference among athletes on scores for field dependence-independence was evidenced given this expertise, sex, or age. Significantly higher scores were obtained by athletes in acrobatic sports, indicating that they tended to be predominately more field-independent whereas the lower scores were obtained by tennis and table-tennis players.     

Perceived anger profiles in table tennis players: Relationship with burnout and coping

ObjectivesThis study aimed to identify dispositional anger profiles in table-tennis players and examine whether participants from distinct profiles significantly differed on athlete burnout symptoms and coping.DesignA quantitative cross-sectional design was used in the present study.MethodA sample of 244 table tennis players (M_age = 31.29; SD = 9.72) completed a series of self-report questionnaires designed to assess anger (the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory; STAXI-2), coping (the Coping Inventory for Competitive Sport; CICS) and athlete burnout symptoms (the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire; ABQ).ResultsThree-profile solution showed best fit to data, to analyze them LPA models were run by first testing a one-class model and then exploring models with more classes in order to identify the anger profiles: The anger profiles were labelled as: (a) High anger profile comprising players with moderate scores of temperament, external expression, external control, reaction and high scores, internal expression and control (n = 91); (b) Overwhelmed anger profile comprising players with high scores on temperament, reaction, internal and external expression, and low scores of internal and external control (n = 13); and (c) Low anger profile comprising players with low levels of temperament, reaction, internal and external expression and high levels of internal and external control (n = 140). Results of BCH method revealed significant differences across profiles in athlete burnout symptoms and coping. In particular, table-tennis players from the high anger profile reported significant higher scores of physical and emotional exhaustion, sport devaluation, reduced sense of accomplishment, resignation, distancing and venting emotions than players belonging to the low anger profile.ConclusionsThree different anger profiles among table-tennis players emerged from the cluster analyses. Players from the overwhelmed anger profile were characterized by the worst psychological adjustment based on their scores of coping and athlete burnout symptoms. Thus, it would be interesting to develop empirically proven interventions designed to help such athletes modify their maladaptive anger profile in order to maximize their psychological adjustment to the inherent demands of table-tennis.     

The internal adaptation processes of professional boxers during the Showtime Super Six Boxing Classic: A qualitative thematic analysis

ObjectivesThe Super Six World Boxing Classic was conceived by Showtime Sports to feature the best six professional boxers in the super middleweight division (168 pounds) throughout a modified round robin tournament. The objective was to explore the adaptation and mal-adaptation processes of the tournament's original six tournament participants over time.DesignMedia data in the form of documentary episodes (n = 12 episodes, ～30 min each from the foregoing source were transcribed verbatim. Data included athletes' responses prior to their first bout and as each progressed or was eliminated. Boxers' post-bout explanations were also included.MethodThe original six contestants (mean age = 28.8 years at tournament start) from the tournament, with a record of 157 wins and 4 losses, were included within the project. Data were analyzed via thematic analysis (see Braun & Clarke, 2006).ResultsThe following themes were identified: (a) pre-conditions: moving into the tournament (subthemes: positive anticipation, uncertainty), (b) outcomes: moving through the tournament (subthemes: tournament progression, tournament regressions), and (c) consequences: moving out of the tournament (sub-themes: responses of the defeated, the king's adaptation).ConclusionsThis study highlights the adaptation processes of the six tournament contestants, demonstrating how one athlete adapted successfully and became champion through personal focus. The remaining athletes lost at least once, with pre-bout adaptation processes suggesting performance regression. These findings add to the adaptation literature, further contextualizing how adaptation meanings change and unfold over time.     

Match Madness: Probability Matching in Prediction of the NCAA Basketball Tournament1

Every year, billions of dollars are spent gambling on the outcomes of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. This study examines how individuals make predictions for tournament pools, one of the most popular forms of betting, in which individuals must correctly predict as many games in the tournament as possible. We demonstrate that individuals predict more upsets (i.e., wins by a higher seeded team) than would be considered rational by a normative choice model, and that individuals are no better than chance at doing so. These predictions fit a pattern of probability matching, in which individuals predict upsets at a rate equal to past frequency. This pattern emerges because individuals believe the outcomes of the games are nonrandom and, therefore, predictable.     

Mental time travel,memory and the social learning strategies tournament

The social learning strategies tournament was an open computer-based tournament investigating the best way to learn in a changing environment. Here we present an analysis of the impact of memory on the ability of strategies entered into the social learning strategies tournament (Rendell, Boyd, et al., 2010) to modify their own behavior to suit a changing environment. The tournament showed that a strategy's ability to remember the past and to predict the future were both key to its success. The possibility that a strategy needs to engage in an approximation of ‘mental time travel’ to succeed in the tournament strongly implies that investment in randomly timed social learning is not enough to guarantee success. A strategy must use social learning strategically with reference to both predicted future environmental states and past environmental states. We examine the two most successful strategies (DiscountMachine and Intergeneration) in terms of their use of memory and discuss the impact of their complex memory use on their ability to time learning moves strategically and track environmental change. The tournament suggests that the human capacity for mental time travel may have improved the efficiency of social learning and allowed humans to invest in more sophisticated social learning than is seen elsewhere in the animal kingdom.     

Automated system for ball launching,visual occlusion,and data acquisition in a ball-hitting task

Investigations of the mechanisms underlying visual-motor coordination traditionally have been limited to static situations or one-dimensional motions. Technical advances are required to determine whether experimental results from these restricted behavior domains generalize to dynamic action in three dimensions, such as ball-hitting. In this paper, we describe electromechanical devices, under computer control, for projecting a table-tennis ball, selecting monocular or binocular visual input, and recording ball-hitting performance. The automated system allows freedom of movement for the batter, can be used in a moderately sized laboratory, and can be made from easily obtainable, inexpensive parts.     

Motivational Profiles Among Young Table-Tennis Players in Intensive Training Settings: A Latent Profile Transition Analysis

This study aimed to (a) identify motivational profiles among a sample of 141 young table-tennis players involved in intensive training settings; (b) examine the consistency or change of motivational profiles for the same athlete over time; and (c) investigate differences between these profiles on burnout, coping, stress, and recovery. Latent profile transition analysis revealed 2 or 3 distinct profiles that are similar for the 3 measurement occasions: self-determined profile, moderate profile, and low profile. Motivational profiles exhibited both stability and changes over time from an intraindividual perspective. Athletes from the self-determined profile were characterized by the best psychological adjustment.     

Individual differences in chess expertise: a psychometric investigation

Starting from controversies over the role of general individual characteristics (especially intelligence) for the attainment of expert performance levels, a comprehensive psychometric investigation of individual differences in chess expertise is presented. A sample of 90 adult tournament chess players of varying playing strengths (1311-2387 ELO) was screened with tests on intelligence and personality variables; in addition, experience in chess play, tournament participation, and practice activities were assessed. Correlation and regression analyses revealed a clear-cut moderate relationship between general (and in particular numerical) intelligence and the participants' playing strengths, suggesting that expert chess play does not stand in isolation from superior mental abilities. The strongest predictor of the attained expertise level, however, was the participants' chess experience which highlights the relevance of long-term engagement for the development of expertise. Among all analysed personality dimensions, only domain-specific performance motivation and emotion expression control incrementally contributed to the prediction of playing strength. In total, measures of chess experience, current tournament activity, intelligence, and personality accounted for about 55% of variance in chess expertise. The present results suggest that individual differences in chess expertise are multifaceted and cannot be reduced to differences in domain experience.     

Home advantage in the Six Nations Rugby Union tournament

This study examined whether home advantage occurred in the Six Nations Rugby Union tournament. Data were gathered using the final championship standings from the tournament's inception in 2000 to the recently completed 2007 season. Home advantage for each championship season was defined as the number of points won by teams playing at home, expressed as a percentage of all points gained either at home or away. An analysis of home advantage for each of eight seasons of competition ranged from 53% (2005) to 70% (2006). There was an overall statistically significant home advantage of 61% for 120 matches played in the Six Nations tournament between 2000 and 2007. Also analysed were the percentage of points won at home by each country. Again, evidence supported home advantage amongst all competing nations regardless of the team's quality.     

Game outcome and elite Japanese women’s field hockey player’s experience of emotions and stress

Objectives: To measure the effects of game outcome on pleasant and unpleasant emotions and stress during elite-level competition.Design: Quasi-experimental repeated pre- and post-game measurement in a field setting.Methods: Participants were 16 members of the Japanese women’s field hockey team playing a world cup preliminary qualifying tournament in Trinidad. Players completed the Tension and Effort Stress Inventory (TESI), a measure of emotion and stress, at the seven games of the tournament (five wins, two losses).Results: The pattern of emotions after game 1 (a loss) were in sharp contrast to the results from the other six games (five wins, one loss). When compared to other games, significant increases in anxiety, humiliation and excitement pre- to post-game 1 were found, as were significantly higher scores in sullenness and lower scores in relaxation post-game 1. No significant decreases in external tension stress and somatic tension and effort stress pre- to post-game 1 were found. For the other games, athletes were significantly more relaxed and excited after games, increasing with each game in the tournament. Also, the unpleasant emotion and stress results, associated with game 1, significantly diminished as the team progressed to the tournament final. There was no evidence for a simple win/loss difference on post-game emotions and stress.Conclusions: The relationship between game outcome and emotional response is not straightforward. Other factors, such as cognition, may also play a role.     

Collective fit increases team performances: extending regulatory fit from individuals to dyadic teams

People experience “regulatory fit” when they pursue a goal in a manner that suits their chronic regulatory orientation. This regulatory fit impacts performance positively. The present research extends performance gains due to fit from individuals to dyadic team performance. Study 1 manipulated team fit of 32 table football participants (i.e., promotion vs. prevention orientation and offense vs. defense positions). Team fit significantly predicted team success in an experimental tournament beyond team skill level. Study 2 replicated this result with data from a real‐life tournament including 66 highly experienced competitors. These findings broaden the concept of regulatory fit from individual to dyadic teams, and suggest collective fit as a possible important predictor for team success.     

Participation in competitive amateur sports as a function of psychological androgyny

Previous research has indicated that women who participate in competitive sports tend to score low on traditional measures of femininity, and such women have been characterized as masculine (Harris, 1975). These studies used the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1974) to measure the degree of sex-typing in 25 male and 23 female competitors in a national racquetball tournament and 24 male and 27 female competitors in local badminton, squash, and handball tournaments. Results for the first study indicated that a larger percentage of androgynous women as compared to traditionally feminine or masculine women entered the racquetball tournament, whereas the largest percentage of male entrants were in the masculine role category. Results for the second study indicated that among contestants who cited a competitive reason for entering the tournament, a larger percentage of both men and women were sex-typed as androgynous or masculine rather than feminine. These results were subsequently reanalyzed according to an alternate procedure suggested by Bem (1977) in order to compare the behavior of subjects who score high on both masculinity and femininity and those who scored low on both. While the percentages of masculine, feminine, and androgynous subjects were changed by the new categorization procedure, there were no differences found between high—high and low—low scorers. Implications of these results for the traditional characterization of women participants in competitive sports and for the usefulness of the BSRI in predicting nonlaboratory behavior are discussed.Portions of this article are based on an honors thesis submitted by the senior author to the University of Winnipeg. The authors are indebted to Stephen Davis and Wayne Andrew for their comments on the data analysis and their constructive criticisms of an earlier draft of this article.     

Uncertainty and visual strategies in table tennis

Ball games are characterized by perceptual uncertainty and time-pressure. Of interest is the visual-search pattern carried out when these characteristics change. This is the case in table-tennis situations when comparing a drill situation, when one kind of stroke is constantly repeated, and a match situation, when the stroke is more often unpredictable. We analysed, during play, the visual-search pattern of five expert table tennis players to examine the effect of uncertainty on visual behavior. Direction of gaze was recorded by a video-oculographic recorder (NAC Eye Mark Recorder IV). Analysis showed that (i) visual fixations towards opponent player were only systematic in a match contrary to drill where they occurred less frequently. (ii) Whatever the situation, only the first part of the ball's trajectory was visually tracked. This occurred immediately after the opponent's release of the ball. Nevertheless, visual tracking was more frequent and of longer duration in a match. (iii) Analysis of motor behavior showed that the duration of the movement preparation was longer in a match while the duration of the execution phase was unchanged.     

Just a game? Changes in English and Spanish soccer fans’ emotions in the 2010 World Cup

Objectives

To explore English and Spanish fans’ emotional responses to team success and failure and resulting changes in social interaction and spending during the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Design

A between-group and within-group longitudinal design.

Method

Data on emotion, team identification, social interaction and spending were collected from 59 English fans (47 men, 12 women), and 32 Spanish fans (19 men, 13 women), before, during and after the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Results

Both English and Spanish fans displayed significant changes in emotional state after the success or failure of their respective teams during the Soccer World Cup. The positive emotional state associated with winning the tournament in the Spanish fans persisted for over four days, and the negative emotional state associated with the early exit from the tournament by the English fans did not. Four days after the tournament the Spanish Fans had a more positive emotional state than the English fans. The changes in emotional state were not associated with greater identification with the team assessed through the use of team identifying pronouns; nor were changes in behavior associated with changes in emotional state. After the tournament the Spanish fans reported spending more time socializing than English fans and also spending more money than usual compared with baseline.

Conclusion

These data provide evidence that group membership influences emotion and that the positive emotional experience associated with group success persist longer than the negative emotional experience associated with group failure.     

Variability in the collective behaviour of England fans at Euro2004: ‘Hooliganism’, public order policing and social change

This paper presents an analysis of collective behaviour among England football fans attending the European football championships in Portugal (Euro2004). Given this category's violent reputation, a key goal was to explore the processes underlying their apparent shift away from conflict in match cities. Drawing from the elaborated social identity model of crowd behaviour (ESIM) data were obtained using semi‐structured observations and interviews before, during and after the tournament. Qualitative analysis centres first on three key incidents in match cities where the potential for violence was undermined either by ‘self‐policing’ among England fans, or by appropriately targeted police intervention. These are contrasted with two ‘riots’ involving England fans that occurred in Algarve during the tournament. A phenomenological analysis of England fans' accounts suggests that the contexts created by different forms of policing helped bring to the fore different understandings of what constituted proper and possible behaviour among England fans, and that these changes in identity content underpinned shifts toward and away from collective conflict. The implications of this analysis for the ESIM, understanding public order policing, social change and social conflict are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Role of Perceived Demographic Dissimilarity and Interaction in Customer‐Service Satisfaction1

The purpose of the current study was to examine the influence of perceived demographic dissimilarity and interaction on customer‐service satisfaction. Data were collected from 301 spectators at a professional men's tennis tournament. Results indicate that perceived demographic dissimilarity was negatively associated with customer service satisfaction. Further, this relationship was moderated by the amount of interaction between the employee and customer, such that the negative relationship was strongest when interaction was high. Results are discussed in terms of the theoretical implications related to relational demography and practical implications in terms of the “business case” for diversity.     

THE USE OF AN ENHANCED SIMPLIFIED HABIT-REVERSAL PROCEDURE TO REDUCE DISRUPTIVE OUTBURSTS DURING ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE

An enhanced simplified habit-reversal procedure was used with a 14-year-old boy who presented with a long history of disruptive, angry outbursts during tennis matches. Initial treatment involved simplified habit-reversal procedures delivered in a multiple baseline design across settings. Modest results led to additional supporting contingencies, including response cost. Results showed elimination of disruptive outbursts during both nontournament and tournament matches and highlight the importance of adding additional supporting contingencies to simplified habit reversal for some self-control problems.     

An examination of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale using collegiate wheelchair basketball student athletes

The purpose was to examine the construct validity of the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES). The construct validity of the scale was examined by applying it to collegiate wheelchair basketball student athletes at an NCAA sanctioned wheelchair basketball tournament at a mid-sized university in the south central United States (N=68). In accordance with previous research on the scale, Cronbach alpha was .86; confirmatory factor analysis supported a one-factor structure. The scale is useful for measuring global self-esteem in collegiate wheelchair basketball student athletes.     

Inverted U-Shaped Function Between Flow and Cortisol Release During Chess Play

This study focused on the salivary cortisol level and its relation to the two components of flow (flow absorption and flow fluency) in tournament chess players exposed to one of the skill-demand-level manipulations (underload, fit, and overload). The aims of this study were to investigate how skill-demand-level manipulations affect cortisol release and how flow and cortisol release are related in the context of an engaging task. Specifically, the task involved fifty-seven tournament chess players playing chess against a software in one of the experimental groups. We assessed flow after chess playing for 25 min via questionnaire and collected saliva before chess playing (T1), right after chess playing (T2), and 10 min after T2 (T3). Our findings show that cortisol levels were affected by the skill-demand-level manipulations. At T3, participants in the overload group showed higher cortisol levels than participants in the fit and underload groups. There were no differences in cortisol release between the experimental groups at T2. In addition, we found the expected inverted U-shaped relation between cortisol release and flow absorption at T2. A moderate level of cortisol was associated with a higher level of flow absorption. In contrast, a higher level of cortisol was associated with a lower level of flow absorption. Against our expectations, flow fluency was not related to cortisol release. We discuss practical and theoretical implications of our results as well as potential for future research.