Effect of concurrent visual feedback on acquisition of a weightlifting skill

Practice in front of a mirror is a common procedure for activities such as dance, gymnastics, and other sports. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect that performing with concurrent visual feedback from a mirror had on the acquisition of the power clean movement. 18 college-age males who had no prior experience with the power clean movement served as subjects who were assigned to one of two groups. One group had use of a mirror during the practice trials and the other practiced without the mirror. All subjects viewed an instructional videotape and had practice trials. All subjects were evaluated for proper technique on a pretest, a posttest without the mirror, and a posttest with the mirror. Analysis showed a significant difference between pre- and posttest performances for both groups and a significant difference between groups on the posttest performances with the mirror. Evidently the videotaped instruction was sufficient to allow both groups to improve in performance of the power clean. Differences in posttest performances with the mirror reflected the type of feedback (with or without the mirror) available during training.     

Attitudes toward sex, arousal, and the retention of contraceptive information

Previous research has suggested that women with a negative emotional orientation toward sexuality (i.e., erotophobia) have difficulty learning and retaining sexually relevant material such as contraceptive information. It has been hypothesized that these women become aroused by this material and that this arousal interferes with their ability to learn it. The importance of this issue led us to conduct the current study. Erotophobic and erotophilic women viewed presentations about contraception while their physiological responses were being monitored. In addition, they were tested on the information contained in the presentation before, immediately after, and again 4-6 weeks after the presentation. The results indicated that the erotophobic women knew less contraceptive information before the presentation and were more aroused by the presentation. This arousal, however, did not interfere with retention of the material. These results are discussed in terms of individual differences in reactions to sexual material and the ability to learn, retain, and use contraceptive information.     

The association between intelligence level and brain volume measures: a negative finding

Ratings of pre-morbid intelligence level, derived from the hospital charts of 26 chronic schizophrenics, were correlated with the post-mortem brain volume measures of cortex, white matter, central grey matter, and ventricles. Contrary to hypothesis, no significant correlations were found.     

A SURVEY OF MANAGEMENT TRAINING AND EDUCATION PRACTICES IN U.S. COMPANIES

A survey was systematically developed to assess issues related to management training and education, and it was sent to 1,000 randomly selected U.S. companies with at least 1,000 employees. Based on a 61% response rate, findings were obtained regarding issues such as needs assessment, management training and development approaches, reasons for selecting particular programs, characteristics of participants, how decisions are made regarding who will participate, preparation and follow-up of participants, evaluation of management training programs, future management training trends, and needed training content. Significant findings by company size and industry type also are reported.     

IES Arrow Dot performance and success in a cocaine detoxification program

The IES Arrow-Dot was administered to 41 cocaine detoxification patients. This group's scores indicated lower ego functioning and higher impulsivity and superego functioning than other clinical samples. No significant differences were noted between the Arrow-Dot scores of patients who successfully completed the program and those who did not.     

Heart-rate response to water-immersion isolation as a function of spatial orientation

The present study investigates the effect of spatial orientation of the body on heart rate during conditions of water-immersion sensory isolation. Two groups of three men and three women each were exposed to one of two isolation conditions. In one condition the subject was suspended in a buoyant but vertical attitude; in a second condition the subject was suspended in a buoyant but horizontal attitude. Heart-rate data were obtained continuously during each session. There was no significant difference in mean heart rate between the two conditions. The data were interpreted as providing support for the position that studies comparing recumbent subjects in air isolation with underwater subjects in a vertical suspension attitude are valid, at least for some measures, and are not an artifact of spatial bodily orientation. The possible importance of neutral buoyancy in accounting for the nonsignificant effect of body attitude on heart rate is discussed.