Three-dimensional model of performance anxiety: Tests of the adaptive potential of the regulatory dimension of anxiety

ObjectivesTo predict the complex anxiety-performance dynamics, Cheng and associates (Cheng, Hardy, & Markland, 2009, 2011; Cheng, Hardy, & Woodman, 2011) proposed a three-dimensional model of anxiety that highlighted the adaptive potential of anxiety, and was supported with regard to cross-cultural factorial validity and predictive validity in the context of sports performance. In particular, this anxiety model included a regulatory dimension (reflected by perceived control) in addition to the conventional intensity-oriented dimensions of cognitive and physiological anxiety.DesignTo further examine the characteristics of the hypothesized adaptive potential of the regulatory dimension of anxiety, a series of three studies were conducted to investigate the relationship mainly between the regulatory dimension and three psychological variables proposed to be related to performance and stress, namely, perfectionism, self-talk and coping strategy.MethodChinese sports participants and dancers completed self-report measures. Hierarchical multiple regression was adopted for data analysis.ResultsThe findings showed that the regulatory dimension of anxiety was positively predicted by relatively adaptive dimensions of perfectionism (personal standards) and self-talk (motivational and instructional self-talk), and positively predicted approach coping.ConclusionsOverall, these data support the hypothesized characteristics of the adaptive potential underlying the regulatory dimension of anxiety. Future research and applied implications are suggested.     

Qualités psychométriques d’une version francophone du « Displaced Aggression Questionnaire »

IntroductionThe Displaced Aggression Questionnaire is currently the only self-report instrument to measure individual tendency to displace aggression. It is composed of three factors, which assess an affective dimension (angry rumination), a cognitive dimension (revenge planning) and a behavioral dimension (displaced aggression).ObjectiveTo adapt a French translated version of the Displaced Aggression Questionnaire and test the psychometrics.MethodIn this study, we recruited 191 adults in the community. The questionnaire has been adapted and validated with respects to guidelines for the process of transcultural adaptation and validation of self-report measures. A principal component analysis has been used to assess the structure of the French version of the questionnaire.ResultsAfter taking into account one item that has not loaded onto any of the three expected factors, the principal component analysis confirmed the hypothesized three-factor structure for the French version of the questionnaire according to the original structure of the scale. It has been named Questionnaire d’Agression Déplacée in French. Results showed good psychometric qualities for the internal consistency, the discriminant and concomitant validity and the reliability.ConclusionBased on these positive results, this version can already be used by French speaking researchers.     

The existential dimension in psychiatry: an enactive framework

ABSTRACT

In his paper Psychiatry and religion: Consensus reached!, Verhagen advocates the relevance of spirituality and religion for the “origins, understanding, and treatment of psychiatric disorders”. In this comment, I argue for the broader claim that the existential dimension is important for understanding psychiatric disorders – of which religion can, but must not necessarily be, part. The existential dimension refers to our ability to relate to ourselves, our experiences, and our situation. This evaluative relation can play an important role in psychiatry: it can co-constitute the disorder, be affected by the disorder, and/or modulate the course of the disorder. Given this importance, it makes sense to explicitly recognize the existential dimension in our explanatory model of psychiatric disorders. The biopsychosocial model goes a long way in providing an integrative model, but there is room for improvement, especially when it comes to integration of its aspects, and acknowledging the existential aspect. I briefly introduce the research paradigm of enactivism, and suggest that an enactive framework is well-suited to incorporate this existential dimension – along with the traditional dimensions of the biopsychosocial model.     

Logotherapy and Pastoral Counseling

SUMMARY

An intensive study of Frankl's logotherapy reveals its timely relevance for pastoral counseling. The paradigm of logotherapy recognizes the spiritual dimension as the inclusive and encompassing dimension for comprehending and integrating human phenomena. Its hermeneutical phenomenological analysis introduces an understanding of personhood which affirms one's capacity to find meaning in life, indeed, even in suffering and dying. It is this unique spiritual capacity which conveys a renewed awareness of self worth and human dignity and assists persons in understanding themselves as fashioned in the image of God. Logotherapy provides a helpful counseling theory for pastors and laity engaged in older adult ministry.     

High-field electrical conductivity in disordered systems

The electric field dependence of the tunnelling probability between localized states in a disordered solid is presented. The dc conductivity has been determined as a function of the dimension d of the system. We find that, at high fields ( E U 106Vcm-1), the conductivity decreases with increasing field as ln - E 1/2/ T, independently of the dimension of the system.     

Assessment of job stress factors in a context of organizational change

IntroductionResearch consistently showed that stress and organizational change are closely related.ObjectiveThis study was conducted to identify the psychosocial job characteristics that are responsible for psychological stress in a context of organizational change.MethodAn expanded 30-item version of the Job Content Questionnaire was used to measure psychological demands, decision latitude, supervisor support, coworker support, and organizational difficulties. Online survey responses from 973 employees from the university of Strasbourg were analyzed.ResultsConfirmatory Factor Analyses indicated a poor fit of the five-factor model based on 30 items but an acceptable to good fit of a reduced five-factor model based on 26 items. Results from a stepwise regression showed that the organizational difficulties dimension was the second most important predictor of psychological stress.ConclusionThe implications of these findings for further work on health outcomes of organizational changes closed this study.     

Somatic Complaints in Girls: A Longitudinal Perspective

This report presents results from a study of the dimensionality and longitudinal stability of some common self-reported somatic complaints in teenage girls. Data were supplied by the Swedish longitudinal research program “Individual Development and Adaptation”. At four age levels (age 10, 13, 15, and 16 years) a representative sample of approximately 500 girls filled out questionnaires on various adjustment problems, including some typical somatic complaints. A separate dimension of somatic complaints was identified at each age level through factor analysis of the questionnaire data. Correlational stability of somatic complaints was not high until middle adolescence. At this age fairly stable patterns of somatic complaints were also found at the individual level; different somatic complaints were not found to be interchangeable. The results support the interpretation of girls' somatic complaints as a single, meaningful dimension in late childhood and adolescence. This dimension may be hypothesized to constitute a psychological process, somatization, manifesting itself in fairly stable patterns at the individual level in middle adolescence.     

A French validation of the short Need For Affect scale

IntroductionThe way we interact with our environment depends on our spontaneous tendency to approach or to avoid emotional experiences triggered by that environment. This dimension of the emotional experience is called the need for affect, that is, the tendency of individuals to adopt approaching or avoidance behaviour with regard to emotional stimuli.MethodsThe Need For Affect (NFA) Scale has been the subject of numerous studies since the validation of the original version (Maio & Esses, 2001) and its short version (Appel et al., 2012). However, no validation of the latter scale has been conducted in French. We propose a French version of the short NFA scale on a student sample and a sample from the general population.ResultsWe found the structure of the original scale in a French translation (of the English version). In addition, invariance tests showed that this structure remained the same for both samples.ConclusionWe recommend the use of this version of the short NFA scale for studies conducted on French-speaking samples.     

Toward a three-dimensional conceptualization of performance anxiety: Rationale and initial measurement development

ObjectivesAn integrated three-dimensional model of performance anxiety was constructed to offer an alternative conceptualization that may contribute to understanding of the complex anxiety–performance relationship. In particular, the adaptive potential (producing positive effects) of anxiety was acknowledged explicitly by including a regulatory dimension. This model is characterized by five subcomponents, with worry and self-focused attention representing cognitive anxiety, autonomous hyperactivity and somatic tension representing physiological anxiety, and perceived control representing the regulatory dimension of anxiety. The overview of the conceptual framework and the underlying rationale are presented.DesignAs a necessary first step towards model testing, an initial measure was developed and the factorial validity of the model was investigated.MethodConfirmatory factor analysis was used in two independent samples (N = 286, 327) in a wide context of sports performance.ResultsA 25-item measure of performance anxiety was established. Findings of CFA revealed support for a three-dimensional first-order model.ConclusionsAlthough the present model of performance anxiety was best presented as a three-dimensional first-order structure, the integrity of the conceptual framework is considered intact as such a factor structure distinctly reflects the three major processes (i.e., cognitive, physiological and regulatory) that are proposed to be activated in the anxiety dynamics from a broad cognitive perspective.     

The Impact of Making Targeted Dimensions Transparent on Relations With Typical Performance Predictors

The research presented here investigated the impact of making targeted dimensions transparent to participants prior to their performance of a simulation exercise, on the level of dimension ratings and their correlations with typical performance predictors. Results from two studies, both employing between-subjects designs, showed that conceptually matched typical performance predictors were more positively associated with dimension ratings when targeted dimensions were not made transparent than when they were. In addition, only when targeted dimensions were not made transparent did conceptually matched typical performance predictors correlate more positively with dimension ratings than conceptually distinct typical performance predictors. Finally, those who were made aware of targeted dimensions received higher mean ratings in Study 1 but not in Study 2.     

Sexual interaction inventory

Abstract

Assessment of couple funtioning in any dimension of relationship interaction is rare indeed. Such assessment is complex and difficult, as personal experience has demonstrated (D'Augelli-Frankel, 1972; D'Augelli-Frankel     

Anxiety sensitivity as a predictor of panic disorder symptoms: a prospective 3-year study

Background and Objectives: Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is the fear of anxiety symptoms, a feature proven to be an important vulnerability factor for anxiety pathogenesis. The aim of this study was to examine whether AS (as well as its factors) predicts the onset of panic disorder symptoms when controlling for the contribution of trait anxiety.

Design: We conducted a prospective 3 year follow up study.

Methods: The participants, students at the Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb (N?=?1087), completed an Anxiety Sensitivity Index and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Trait form) and, after a period of three years, were asked to self-assess criteria for panic disorder (according to the DSM-5).

Results: The predictive validity of AS for the onset of panic disorder symptoms, regardless of trait anxiety, was confirmed. Furthermore, the physical concerns dimension of AS was the only significant predictor of panic disorder symptoms. The optimal cutoff score of 25 on the ASI provides poor to moderate accuracy indices in detecting participants who will manifest panic disorder symptoms in the next three years.

Conclusion: This study contributes to our current understanding of AS as a prospective risk factor for panic disorder symptoms.     

Self‐esteem and anomie: An integration of Adler and Merton as a theory of deviance

The purpose of this paper is to show that while anomie theory on the social level offers a valid explanation of deviance, in order to understand the phenomenon in its entirety, we must consider the individual level as well. The psycho‐dynamic dimension of individual action is a crucial component of deviant behavior and one which must be integrated into a broader theory of overall deviance. With this in mind we will attempt to integrate the social and the psychological by incorporating the Adlerian and Mertonian models in order to create a more dynamic theory of deviance.     

Multi-Modal CTL: Completeness,Complexity, and an Application

We define a multi-modal version of Computation Tree Logic (ctl) by extending the language with path quantifiers E ^δ and A ^δ where δ denotes one of finitely many dimensions, interpreted over Kripke structures with one total relation for each dimension. As expected, the logic is axiomatised by taking a copy of a ctl axiomatisation for each dimension. Completeness is proved by employing the completeness result for ctl to obtain a model along each dimension in turn. We also show that the logic is decidable and that its satisfiability problem is no harder than the corresponding problem for ctl. We then demonstrate how Normative Systems can be conceived as a natural interpretation of such a multi-dimensional ctl logic. Presented by Jacek Malinowski     

Disjunctive Concept Utilization in Preschool Children

Summary

Twenty-four children, eight each in three age groups, were asked to “play a game” which required them to utilize disjunctive concepts such as “blue or car.” The disjunctive concepts used were the nine which can be formed by combining one value from among three possibilities on the color dimension (green, blue, red) with one value from among three possibilities on the form dimension (car, boat, airplane). The task consisted of 18 five-choice trials with each of the nine disjunctive concepts represented twice—once with the color mentioned first and once with the form mentioned first. Ss were required to pick the positive instance card. All three groups performed significantly better than chance (ps. < .0001) on the task. A significant relation between age and performance on this task was found (Rho = .65, p < .05). There were no sex differences. The results are discussed in relation to task variables and an associative view of cognitive development.     

Differential activation of a central inhibition system by motion and colour distractors

ABSTRACT

The selection of relevant stimuli is partially achieved through inhibition of irrelevant distractors. Using the distractor induced blindness (DIB) paradigm, we investigated whether these inhibitory processes depend on the feature dimension that is used to define distractors. Following a pilot study that found motion and colour targets to be comparably salient, we analysed distractor effects of those two feature dimensions. In both feature dimensions, an inhibition effect depended on the number of distractors. Colour, however, was more sensitive to distractor episodes as compared to motion: The level of inhibition was more pronounced, and its activation required less distractors. The results of a control experiment provided further evidence that, in fact, the feature dimension -instead of design differences between tasks- is responsible for this observation. The dimension-sensitive bias in the activation of a central inhibition system may be attributed to a differential processing of visual signals, depending on their behavioural relevance.     

Review of “Toxic Divorce: A Workbook for Alienated Parents,” by Kathleen M. Reay

Abstract

The interrelationships between perceived family functioning, personality dimensions, life satisfaction, and self-concept were examined in 183 Australian adolescents. Moderate inverse relationships were obtained between Eysenck's Psychoticism dimension and perceived family health. Sociability was positively and moderately related to healthy family functioning. Eysenck's Neuroticism dimension demonstrated a significant, yet modest, relationship to a healthy balance of autonomy and intimacy in the family of origin. In comparison to Eysenck's personality dimensions, life satisfaction and self-esteem were much more strongly associated with perceived family functioning. These findings are discussed in the light of previous research, and some suggestions for future research are made.     

Aspects of Safe Attachment in the Recovery from Trauma

Abstract

The attachment capacities of trauma survivors were hypothesized to be positively related to their recovery from traumatic event(s). Recovery from psychological trauma is conceptualized as consisting of multiple criteria, and proceeding through a series of stages. The safe attachment dimension of the Multidimensional Trauma Recovery and Resiliency (MTRR) scale was examined through factor analyses, resulting in four factors or subscales. One hundred and twenty-six participants were rated according to recovery status and on the MTRR scale by clinicians from various clinical settings. Recovery status was positively correlated with the overall Safe Attachment dimension and with each of the four separate subscales. Implications for psychotherapeutic goals are discussed.     

Fractal growth of graphite nodules in iron

It has been found from a large number of statistical tests that graphite nodules in malleable iron grow with time according to a power law. The growth of the nodules and their fractal dimension have been investigated experimentally as a function of annealing time. Based on the assumption of carbon-diffusion-controlled growth in the initial stage, the growth equation is R _G = K ₁ t ^1/(D-1), where R _G is the radius of the graphite nodules, t the time, D the fractal dimension and K ₁ a constant. Assuming cementite-dissolution-controlled growth in the later stages of growth, the relation is R _G = K ₃ t ^3/D , where K ₃ is a constant. The fractal dimension, or the aggregate state of the graphite nodules, strongly influences the growth process.