Coaching the quiet: Exploring coaches’ beliefs about shy children in a sport context

Organized sports may enhance the social skills and peer relationships of shy children. Interactions with coaches may be critical determinants of these benefits. Thus, our goal was to explore coaches’ beliefs, attitudes, and responses to shy children. Participants were 447 undergraduate students (343 female; M_age = 19.39 years, SD = 2.12) with coaching experience. Participants indicated their anticipated behaviours, emotions, and perceived implications in response to hypothetical children exhibiting shy, unsociable, and verbally exuberant behaviours in a sport context. Coaches viewed shy behaviour more problematically than both verbally exuberant and unsociable behaviours, anticipating the most negative implications for shy children’s peer relationships, development, and team performance and supporting the use of differential coaching strategies. However, despite reporting the most worry about shyness, coaches were less likely to intervene in response to shyness compared to exuberance. We discuss the implications that our results may have for the adjustment of shy children.     

What can boys and girls do? Preschoolers’ perspectives regarding gender roles across domains of behavior

Previous research has examined at what age and in what contexts males and females develop gender-congruent stereotypes. Research indicates that social experience may provide a great influence on the presence of such stereotypes, but this is likely influenced by the development of gender schemas. The current study interviewed 99 children (3–6.5 years) in a sub-rural Midwestern university community. Females (N = 51, M _age = 4.6, SD = 0.73) and males (N = 48, M _age = 4.6, SD = 0.82) were individually asked who—boys, girls, or both—can do particular (1) occupations, (2) activities, (3) aggressive behaviors, and (4) prosocial behaviors. Generally, males tended to express holding no stereotypic beliefs, indicating gender-congruent expectations for only 2 items in one of the domains; however, females expressed multiple stereotypic beliefs for each of the four contexts. Social and cognitive explanations for these phenomena are discussed. The current study is an important addition to the existing literature in that preschool teachers and parents alike might be able to assist children to better develop activities and behavioral habits such that gender-related stereotypes fail to develop.     

What characterizes early adolescents with a positive body image? A qualitative investigation of Swedish girls and boys

The aim of the present study was to investigate positive body image during adolescence. Semi-structured interviews, centring on three body image domains (satisfaction with own appearance, views on exercise, and influence from family and friends) were conducted with 30 early adolescent Swedish girls and boys who at age 10 and 13 had shown the highest level of body satisfaction in a large longitudinal sample. The data were analyzed thematically. Results revealed that the adolescents’ satisfaction with their own appearance was characterized by a functional view of the body and an acceptance of the bodily imperfections that they perceived that they had. The vast majority of the adolescents were physically active and found exercise joyful and health-promoting. Finally, although some of the adolescents had received negative comments about their appearance from family and friends, such comments were not given any importance.     

Disordered eating behaviors and body image in a longitudinal pilot study of adolescent girls: What happens 2 years later?

We assessed the prospective association of risk factors for eating and body image disturbances after a 2-year follow-up in a community sample of Spanish adolescent girls. The participants included 128 Spanish girls aged 12–14, who took part in a 28-month prospective study. Aspects assessed were eating attitudes (Eating Attitudes Test), influence of the body shape model (questionnaire on influences of the aesthetic body shape model), extreme weight-control behaviors (Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire), body image (Body Image Questionnaire) and Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI, extreme weight-control behaviors and body image problems emerged as potential predictors of an increase in eating disturbances. An increased influence of the thinness model was significantly associated with reduced body satisfaction and body image problems. Preventive programs are needed to contribute reducing the impact of sociocultural influences with regard to thinness, the use of extreme weight-control behaviors and overweight in adolescents.     

What’s in a Purse? Maybe a Woman’s Reputation

Does a woman’s reputation suffer when others discover condoms in her possession? Fifty-two male and female predominantly white undergraduates from a small, private, Catholic university in the northeast USA examined the contents of a purse to formulate an impression of its owner. Unflattering inferences were drawn about the character of the target when her purse contained condoms. A follow-up study with 55 comparable participants confirmed that these inferences were indeed uncomplimentary. The results are discussed in terms of the multi-dimensional price women pay when assuming responsibility for their sexual health.     

What to do with a forecast?

In the literature one finds two non-equivalent responses to forecasts; deference and updating. Herein it is demonstrated that, under certain conditions, both responses are entirely determined by one’s beliefs as regards the calibration of the forecaster. Further it is argued that the choice as to whether to defer to, or update on, a forecast is determined by the aim of the recipient of that forecast. If the aim of the recipient is to match their credence with the prevailing objective chances, they should defer to the forecast; if it is to maximize the veritistic value of their beliefs, they should update on the forecast.     

Does Barbie make girls want to be thin? The effect of experimental exposure to images of dolls on the body image of 5- to 8-year-old girls

The ubiquitous Barbie doll was examined in the present study as a possible cause for young girls' body dissatisfaction. A total of 162 girls, from age 5 to age 8, were exposed to images of either Barbie dolls, Emme dolls (U.S. size 16), or no dolls (baseline control) and then completed assessments of body image. Girls exposed to Barbie reported lower body esteem and greater desire for a thinner body shape than girls in the other exposure conditions. However, this immediate negative impact of Barbie doll was no longer evident in the oldest girls. These findings imply that, even if dolls cease to function as aspirational role models for older girls, early exposure to dolls epitomizing an unrealistically thin body ideal may damage girls' body image, which would contribute to an increased risk of disordered eating and weight cycling.     

What works in secondary schools? A systematic review of classroom-based body image programs

Governments, schools, and curriculum authorities are increasingly recognizing that body image during adolescence is a public health issue that warrants attention in the school setting. After 30 years of eating disorder prevention research, and given the current interest in this area, it seems timely to review the research on interventions to improve body image in schools. We reviewed universal-selective, classroom-based programs that have been conducted since the year 2000, among adolescents, and found 16 eligible intervention programs. Seven of these programs were effective in improving body image on at least one measure, from pre to post test, though effect sizes were small (d = 0.22–0.48). These effective programs were conducted among younger adolescents 12.33–13.62 years, and included activities focusing on media literacy, self esteem, and the influence of peers. Implications for school personnel and curriculum authorities are discussed, and we provide recommendations for a strategic approach to future research in this area.     

Body image and disordered eating prevention in girls’ sport: A partner-driven and stakeholder-informed scoping review of interventions

Despite the evidenced benefits of participating in organized sport, adolescent girls consistently report lower rates of sport participation, worse sport experiences, and higher dropout rates, compared to boys. Body image concerns have been linked to this gender disparity and established as a critical predictor of disordered eating, thus necessitating effective prevention efforts to mitigate the negative impacts of body image concerns and disordered eating for adolescent girls. In partnership with the National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC; Canada), the present scoping review was conducted to examine the nature and characteristics of sport-specific body image and disordered eating interventions for adolescent girls. Fourteen studies were identified through various search strategies. Over half of the studies demonstrated modest yet worthwhile effects on various body image and disordered eating outcomes. Intervention characteristics (i.e., frequency, modes of delivery, topics, material, outcomes measured) varied across initiatives. Fifty-nine national, provincial, and local sport system representatives were consulted as stakeholders and provided practical input to the results of the scoping review. Sport stakeholders favoured the delivery of a multidimensional, multicomponent program, with a combination of evidence-based techniques. This synthesis of knowledge will shape the development and dissemination of future programs, and contribute to the development of equitable sport participation opportunities for Canadian girls.     

What’s Going to Happen to Me? Prognosis in the Face of Uncertainty

Topoi - Reasoning in medicine requires the critical use of a clinical methodology whose validity must be evaluated as well as its limits. In the last decade, an increasing amount of evidence has...     

What’s in a Name? Two Approaches to Evaluating the Label Feminist

Across two studies, we employed unique approaches to investigating the meaning of the label feminist using a sample of undergraduates from a large Northeastern university in the U.S. In Study 1 (N = 60), we utilized an impression formation paradigm to investigate the meaning of the label feminist when applied to typical college student. The results revealed that feminist males were rated less favorably than nonfeminist males and feminist females were rated more favorably than nonfeminist females. In Study 2 (N = 112), we examined the context-free associations that people have with the label feminist using two implicit attitude measures. Females reported positive implicit associations with the label feminist while males expressed neutral to slightly negative implicit associations with feminists.     

What’s to be done?

All of culture, philosophy included, is a huge trick on nature, and nature will eventually catch on and reassert itself. But for right now, if one lives in a free society, it's a wonderful time to be a philosopher: so much to read, so much to think and write about.     

What’s in a name, what’s in a place? The role of verbal labels in distinct cognitive tasks

The effects of congruent and incongruent labelling on two simple cognitive tasks, sequence learning and place learning, were investigated. The results of both studies indicate the greater cognitive importance of information derived from the object compared to information derived from the verbal label.     

What to Do with a Second Chance in Life? Long-Term Experiences of Non-carriers of Huntington’s Disease

Little is known about how people’s lives are influenced when going from a 50% risk status of Huntington’s disease (HD) to no risk after performing predictive testing. In this study, 20 interviews were conducted to explore the long-term (>?5 years) experiences after receiving predictive test results as a non-carrier of HD. The results showed a broad variety of both positive and negative reactions. The most prominent positive reaction reported was feelings of relief and gratitude, of not carrying the HD mutation for themselves and for their children. Also, the non-carrier status promoted in some individuals’ significant life changes such as a wishing to have (more) children, pursuing a career or breaking up from an unhappy relationship. However, negative reactions on their psychological well-being were also described. Some had experienced psychological pressure of needing to do something extraordinary in their lives; others expressed feelings of guilt towards affected or untested siblings, resulting in sadness or clinical depression. The new genetic risk status could generate a need of re-orientation, a process that for some persons took several years to accomplish. The results of the present study show the importance of offering long-term post-result counselling for non-carriers in order to deal with the psychological consequences that may follow predictive testing.     

What’s in a voice? Dolphins do not use voice cues for individual recognition

Most mammals can accomplish acoustic recognition of other individuals by means of “voice cues,” whereby characteristics of the vocal tract render vocalizations of an individual uniquely identifiable. However, sound production in dolphins takes place in gas-filled nasal sacs that are affected by pressure changes, potentially resulting in a lack of reliable voice cues. It is well known that bottlenose dolphins learn to produce individually distinctive signature whistles for individual recognition, but it is not known whether they may also use voice cues. To investigate this question, we played back non-signature whistles to wild dolphins during brief capture-release events in Sarasota Bay, Florida. We hypothesized that non-signature whistles, which have varied contours that can be shared among individuals, would be recognizable to dolphins only if they contained voice cues. Following established methodology used in two previous sets of playback experiments, we found that dolphins did not respond differentially to non-signature whistles of close relatives versus known unrelated individuals. In contrast, our previous studies showed that in an identical context, dolphins reacted strongly to hearing the signature whistle or even a synthetic version of the signature whistle of a close relative. Thus, we conclude that dolphins likely do not use voice cues to identify individuals. The low reliability of voice cues and the need for individual recognition were likely strong selective forces in the evolution of vocal learning in dolphins.     

A qualitative study of preadolescent boys’ and girls’ body image: Gendered ideals and sociocultural influences

This qualitative study examined preadolescent boys’ and girls’ body ideals, and peer and media factors that shape these ideals. Sixty-eight children aged 8–10 participated in semi-structured interviews: 19 boys and 17 girls in individual interviews and 16 boys and 16 girls in eight group interviews. Techniques from grounded theory were used to analyze the data. Findings demonstrated that fitness was an important element of boys’ and girls’ body ideals. For boys the emphasis was on sport, and this was promoted by their peer interactions and the sportsmen they admired. For girls the focus was on looking good, and this was reinforced by their peer conversations, and the actresses and singers they admired. Focus groups further highlighted how peers both reinforced media messages, yet also helped children critique media messages. Implications are discussed for prevention programs that need to be specifically tailored for boys and girls.     

What’s Ignored in Itō Jinsai’s Interpretation of Mencius?

This article discusses the 17^th century Japanese Confucian Itō Jinsai’s interpretation of Mencius. It is argued that Itō Jinsai grinds the Mencius with an axe of Japanese “practical learning.” In his representation of Mencius, the government of “Kindly Way” is upheld as the core value in Mencius’ thought. Although there is a clear spirituality in his own philosophy, he stressed the political aspect of Mencius’ thought at the expense of the transcendental aspect of his theory of human mind and nature.     

Homelessness: What is a psychologist to do?

Contrasts person-centered and structural explanations for homelessness. Methodological problems in studies of homeless people tend to exaggerate the role of individual deficits as causes of homelessness. A review of data on the distribution of poverty and of inadequate and unaffordable housing, with special emphasis on families, suggests the importance of structural causes. Data from 700 families requesting shelter and 524 families randomly drawn from the public assistance case load in New York City provide more support for a structural than for an individual deficit model. Individual demographic factors are also important. Implications are drawn for research and action by psychologists.