The relationship between high performance and knowledge about how to master cooperation situations

This paper applies the expertise approach to cooperation settings and examines high performers' knowledge about cooperation situations. We argue that high performers know more about how to address cooperation situations than do moderate performers. Specifically, we assume that they know more about problem analysis, about how to address the task, the cooperation partner and the cooperation partners' task approach. We report findings of two empirical studies in which study participants responded to scenario situations. The first study based on a sample of 39 software professionals showed that high performers were superior with respect to overall knowledge and specific knowledge aspects. The second study based on a sample of 62 engineers partially replicated these findings. High performers' better knowledge of cooperation situations could not be explained by years of experience or perspective taking. However, situation‐specific experiences partially accounted for the relationship between performance level and knowledge. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceiving musical individuality: performer identification is dependent on performer expertise and expressiveness, but not on listener expertise

Can listeners distinguish unfamiliar performers playing the same piece on the same instrument? Professional performers recorded two expressive and two inexpressive interpretations of a short organ piece. Nonmusicians and musicians listened to these recordings and grouped together excerpts they thought had been played by the same performer. Both musicians and nonmusicians performed significantly above chance. Expressive interpretations were sorted more accurately than inexpressive ones, indicating that musical individuality is communicated more efficiently through expressive performances. Furthermore, individual performers' consistency and distinctiveness with respect to expressive patterns were shown to be excellent predictors of categorisation accuracy. Categorisation accuracy was superior for prize-winning performers compared to non-winners, suggesting a link between performer competence and the communication of musical individuality. Finally, results indicate that temporal information is sufficient to enable performer recognition, a finding that has broader implications for research on the detection of identity cues.     

“Seeing is believing”: The effects of facial expressions of emotion and verbal communication in social dilemmas

In social dilemmas, verbal communication of one's intentions is an important factor in increasing cooperation. In addition to verbal communication of one's intentions, also the communication of emotions of anger and happiness can influence cooperative behavior. In the present paper, we argue that facial expressions of emotion moderate verbal communication in social dilemmas. More specifically, three experiments showed that if the other person displayed happiness he or she was perceived as honest, trustworthy, and reliable, and cooperation was increased when verbal communication was cooperative rather than self‐interested. However, if the other person displayed anger, verbal communication did not influence people's decision behavior. Results also showed interactive effects on people's perceptions of trustworthiness, which partially mediated decision behavior. These findings suggest that emotion displays have an important function in organizational settings because they are able to influence social interactions and cooperative behavior. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

PAY SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS AND QUIT PATTERNS OF GOOD, AVERAGE, AND POOR PERFORMERS

The relationship between pay dispersion and the quits patterns of good, average, and poor performers was explored among a sample of motor carriers. Results showed that under high pay system communication, pay dispersion was negatively related to good performer quits when performance-based pay increases were emphasized, and positively related when they were not. The results for seniority-based pay increases were different. Under high pay system communication, pay dispersion was negatively related to average performer quits when seniority-based pay increases were emphasized, and the relationship was attenuated when they were not. Contrary to expectation, pay dispersion was not consistently related to quit patterns when pay system communication was low. Predictions regarding quit patterns of poor performers were not supported. Implications of the research are addressed and future research directions identified.     

音乐情感交流研究中的透镜模型

介绍了研究音乐情感交流的透镜模型和透镜模型等式及其在音乐教育中的应用。透镜模型旨在解释演奏者如何通过多种或然且部分过剩的线索表达情感,听者如何使用这些线索识别演奏者表达的情感。透镜模型等式（LME）将演奏者和听者线索利用的回归模型联系起来。以透镜模型为理论基础,LME为数学基础产生了用于改善音乐演奏中的情感交流的认知反馈法（CFB）,即在演奏者演奏结束之后,向演奏者反馈其线索利用与欣赏者的线索利用相比较的结果,以提高演奏者与听者线索利用的一致性     

The social context of musical success: A developmental account

This paper brings together extensive data from 257 children to explore the relative importance of social‐environmental factors during critical periods of children's musical development. The paper also presents preliminary findings from a follow‐up of 20 of the most musically successful children 8 years later to determine which childhood factors predict differences in success as adult performers. Those children who continued to play an instrument started at an early age, had higher parental support in lessons, and had first teachers who were friendly but not too technically able. However, these factors alone were not sufficient to predict relative success in childhood. Successful childhood musicians also appear to need teachers who are ‘not too relaxed’ and also ‘not too pushy’ and they also need to do substantial amounts of practice. The follow‐up study suggested, though, that successful adult performers were not those who did the most practice; rather, the successful adults were those who took part in more concert activities in childhood, did more improvisation, and who had mothers at home in their early years. The results are discussed in relation to theories of musical development and the changing influences of parents, teachers and peers.     

The Role of Resonance in Performance Excellence and Life Engagement

This article presents a concept underlying excellence called resonance , which was developed based on research interviews and consulting practice with high-level performers from all walks of life. Findings suggest that many high-caliber performers follow a typical process as they become experts in their chosen field. They have a dream , which represents how they want to feel in their daily pursuits. They also engage in extensive preparation, which includes activities that enable them to live their dream. All of the participants faced obstacles, but they developed strategies to revisit their dream before they actually engaged in more preparation. This cyclical process that guided their performance and life has been termed resonance , which occurs when there is a seamless fit between their internal self and their external environment. It is captured in the resonance performance model (RPM), a heuristic model devised to guide the practice of consultants. The article also includes a discussion of the RPM in relation to other performance-related concepts such as flow, presents some recent and future research with resonance, and considers practical application for consultants who may be interested in using the RPM.     

Cue utilization in communication of emotion in music performance: relating performance to perception

This study describes the utilization of acoustic cues in communication of emotions in music performance. Three professional guitarists were asked to perform 3 short melodies to communicate anger, sadness, happiness, and fear to listeners. The resulting performances were analyzed with respect to 5 acoustic cues and judged by 30 listeners on adjective scales. Multiple regression analysis was applied to the relationships between (a) the performer's intention and the cues and (b) the listeners' judgments and the cues. The analyses of performers and listeners were related using C. J. Hursch, K. R. Hammond, and J. L. Hursch's (1964) lens model equation. The results indicated that (a) performers were successful at communicating emotions to listeners, (b) performers' cue utilization was well matched to listeners' cue utilization, and (c) cue utilization was more consistent across different melodies than across different performers. Because of the redundancy of the cues, 2 performers could communicate equally well despite differences in cue utilization.     

Empathic Blushing in Friends and Strangers

Three volunteers watched a previously recorded video of one of them singing, as cheek sensors monitored their blushing. When performers watched videotapes of their performance, they blushed significantly more than strangers, but not more than their own friends, watching with them. Friends and strangers did not differ significantly in blushing, however. Skin conductance arousal responses of performers and friends, but not performers and strangers, or friends of performers and strangers, were correlated. In a second experiment, strangers who sang before watching another person sing blushed more than strangers who did not sing first, or who sang and then watched a neutral video. This suggests that performing the embarrassing act may have predisposed people to blush, perhaps empathically, later. No gender differences were seen in blushing. Embarrassability questionnaire scores did not correlate with blushing. Empathic accuracy, and associative learning, are proposed to account for the results.     

The distance effect and level of expertise: Is the optimal external focus different for low-skilled and high-skilled performers?

Focusing attention on a movement effect that is farther away from the body (distal external focus) has been shown to result in more effective motor performance or learning than focusing on an effect that is in greater proximity to the body (proximal focus). The present study examined whether the distance of the external focus impacts the performance of relatively inexperienced and experienced performers differently. Low-skilled and high-skilled volleyball players passed a volleyball continuously to a target. In the proximal focus condition they were asked to concentrate on the “platform,” whereas in the distal focus condition they were instructed to concentrate on the target. The high-skilled group's accuracy scores were higher in the distal relative to proximal focus condition. However, low-skilled players' accuracy scores was greater in the proximal relative to distal focus condition. We argue that the optimal distance of the external focus depends on the level of expertise when the skill requires a specific movement technique. An external focus on that technique seems to be more advantageous for low-skilled performers. In contrast, when the movement pattern has become more automatic (high-skilled performers), a focus on the overall movement effect is more beneficial.     

The transition to high school for academically promising, urban, low-income African American youth

In nine urban Ohio school systems, low-income minority students identified as academically promising in sixth grade are eligible to participate in an intervention program. In the present study, twenty-two African American students in the program were asked to provide their perceptions of the transition to ninth grade. Specifically, the role of motivating factors, peers, school, teachers, parents, and neighborhood were examined. These students faced similar stressors, yet some were more able to achieve academic success. Results highlight the salience of mothers, the challenges of the ninth-grade curriculum, and adjustment to a bigger, more complex school environment for high and low performers. The implications for improving cooperation between school and family are discussed.     

家校合作对青少年学业成绩的影响：一个有调节的中介模型

本研究基于广州市基础教育质量监测项目,以2380名初中生及其家长为被试,构建一个有调节的中介模型,考察了家校合作对青少年学业成绩的影响机制。研究发现：（1）家校合作对青少年学业成绩具有显著的正向预测作用;（2）在家校合作对青少年学业成绩的影响中,亲子沟通发挥了部分中介作用;（3）独生状况调节了家校合作→亲子沟通→学业成绩的后半段,即相对于非独生子女而言,独生子女亲子沟通对学业成绩的促进作用更为显著。     

家校合作对青少年学业成绩的影响：一个有调节的中介模型

本研究基于广州市基础教育质量监测项目,以2380名初中生及其家长为被试,构建一个有调节的中介模型,考察了家校合作对青少年学业成绩的影响机制。研究发现：（1）家校合作对青少年学业成绩具有显著的正向预测作用;（2）在家校合作对青少年学业成绩的影响中,亲子沟通发挥了部分中介作用;（3）独生状况调节了家校合作→亲子沟通→学业成绩的后半段,即相对于非独生子女而言,独生子女亲子沟通对学业成绩的促进作用更为显著。     

Student Attitudes Regarding Gender Bias in Performance Evaluations of Salespeople

This study examined how students believe salesperson gender impacts evaluations of salesperson performance. Students reviewed job performance information about either male or female salespeople. The information had purportedly been prepared by the salesperson's supervisor and indicated the level of performance as high or low. Students were asked how they thought the salesperson's supervisor might respond to the performance in terms of rewards (promotion, pay increases) for high performers and corrective measures (termination, counseling) for low performers. The results indicated that students believe that supervisors would more readily reward high performing males than females with identical performances. In contrast, students believed that supervisors would react more punitively toward low performing males than females with identical performances.     

超扫描视角下的社会互动脑机制

超扫描技术可同时记录多名被试在同一认知活动中的脑活动,并通过分析脑间活动同步及其与行为指标间的关系描述社会互动的群体脑机制。本文总结了近十多年超扫描研究在合作与竞争、动作和行为同步、人际交流等领域的成果,在已有研究基础上指出脑间活动同步可刻画社会互动中感觉运动、思维决策以及信息传递等三大层面上的互动情况,可能成为社会互动活动的神经标记,并阐述了超扫描技术研究的局限性及其研究展望与应用潜能。     

The use of anticipatory visual cues by highly skilled tennis players

The authors examined 13 skilled and 12 novice tennis performers' ability to use visual information of an opponent's movement pattern to anticipate and respond. In Experiment 1, skilled and novice players anticipated the type of stroke and the direction in which the ball was hit in a highly coupled perception-action environment. Both groups of players correctly anticipated at greater than chance levels. Skilled players were significantly more accurate than novices with live and video displays but not with point-light displays. In Experiment 2, the reaction latencies of 10 expert performers were significantly faster when they returned balls hit by a live opponent than when they returned balls projected from a cloaked ball machine. The findings indicate that experts are able to use movement-pattern information to determine shot selection and to use that information to significantly reduce their response delay times. The findings are discussed in terms of perception-action coupling in time-stress activities.     

The Impact of Feedback Diagnosticity and Performance Expectations on Feedback Seeking Behavior

Research suggests that the decision to engage in feedback seeking behavior will depend both on the expected diagnosticity of the feedback message and on the seeker's expectations about his or her performance level. An experi- ment was conducted in which both of these factors were manipulated. It was predicted that poor performers would seek diagnostic feedback (feedback that could be used to improve future performance) more frequently than non- diagnostic feedback, whereas good performers would seek feedback regard- less of diagnosticity. The results suggest that individuals will be most likely to seek feedback when they expect it to be both diagnostic and favorable. Impli- cations of this finding are discussed.     

Utilitarians Are Not Always Fair and the Fair Are Not Always Utilitarian: Distinct Motives for Cooperation1

This paper investigates the effect of utilitarianism and fairness motives on cooperative behavior in a real‐life, large‐scale social dilemma while also looking at the moderating effect of various situational factors on this relationship. Perceived criticality of the situation and high‐efficacy beliefs are shown to increase cooperation of utilitarians more than they increase cooperation of those with a fairness motive. Ownership of the problem and the expected cooperation of others on the other hand are shown to increase cooperation of those with a fairness motive more so than they increase cooperation of utilitarians. Implications of these findings for increasing cooperation in social dilemmas are discussed.     

Maturity of personality and family communication

The psychodynamic and the communication/systemic perspectives are commonly considered as two entirely different approaches to psychopathology. The current study is an effort to bridge these opposing perspectives empirically. Maturity of personality, measured according to psychoanalytic principles by the Consensus Couples Rorschach, and relationship control in family communication, as measured by a new coding system (RCC) in an observational study, were related. The results indicate that low level of maturity is associated with egocentric and self-disqualifying communication in situations of conflict, but not in situations involving no or moderate conflict. Additionally, mature wives were prone to react to situations involving perceptual conflict by communicating dominantly, whereas immature wives communicated in more submissive ways. Reversely, the more mature the husbands were, the more they displayed a submissive style of communicating when in conflict.     

Sex differences on use of associative and dissociative cognitive strategies among male and female athletes

This study assessed whether men and women differed in using associative and dissociative cognitive strategies during athletic performance. Athletes (31 men, M age = 23.2 yr., SD = 3.9 and 29 women, M age = 22.9 yr., SD = 4.3) who practiced endurance activities (running, swimming, and cycling) were considered high-level performers because they participated in national or international competition. The athletes were interviewed, and Schomer's 1986 method of measurement was used to evaluate and quantify two cognitive strategies. Most specifically, categories of association concerned the way the athlete paid close attention to bodily signals, and categories of dissociation described how the athlete shunned sensory inputs. Analysis of variance and the t test showed that women tend to be more dissociative than men and men more associative than women. The results suggest that pain perception in these sports may be a function of sex.