Work-related goal appraisals and stress during the transition from education to work

People's personal goals interact with their life situations in many ways. This study examined the appraisals of personal goals during a transition from education to work and their interplay with stress in different domains of life. Finnish young adults (N = 265, 60% female) reported on their goals in the work domain, and related appraisals of importance, attainability, and progress, and the amount of stress they experienced with regard to economic situation, time, and work. The results showed that those individuals who appraised their work goals as important, attainable and progressing well, benefited from their goal striving as evidenced in less stress in all three domains. Moreover, individuals who initially experienced elevated stress levels due to their economic and work situation adapted their work-related goals, such that they later set goals which were more attainable and showed better progress. For these individuals, pursuing work goals remained highly important, whereas for others work goal importance declined.     

Object processing in visual perception and action in children and adults

We investigated whether 6- and 7-year-olds and 9- and 10-year-olds, as well as adults, process object dimensions independent of or in interaction with one another in a perception and action task by adapting Ganel and Goodale's method for testing adults (Nature, 2003, Vol. 426, pp. 664-667). In addition, we aimed to confirm Ganel and Goodale's results in adults to reliably compare their processing strategies with those of children. Specifically, we tested the abilities of children and adults to perceptually classify (perception task) or grasp (action task) the width of a rectangular object while ignoring its length. We found that adults process object dimensions in interaction with one another in visual perception but independent of each other in action, thereby replicating Ganel and Goodale's results. Children processed object dimensions interactively in visual perception, and there was also some evidence for interactive processing in action. Possible reasons for these differences in object processing between children and adults are discussed.     

Sport psychology group consultation using social networking web sites

A social networking Web site, Facebook, was used to deliver long-term sport psychology consultation services to student-athletes (i.e., soccer players) in 30- to 60-min weekly sessions. Additional short-term team building, group cohesion, communication, anger management, injury rehabilitation, mental toughness, commitment, and leadership workshops were provided. Cohesion and overall relationships between both the student-athletes and the sport psychology consultants benefited from this process. Social networking Web sites offer a practical way of providing sport psychology consulting services that does not require use of major resources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

EEG source imaging during two Qigong meditations

Experienced Qigong meditators who regularly perform the exercises "Thinking of Nothing" and "Qigong" were studied with multichannel EEG source imaging during their meditations. The intracerebral localization of brain electric activity during the two meditation conditions was compared using sLORETA functional EEG tomography. Differences between conditions were assessed using t statistics (corrected for multiple testing) on the normalized and log-transformed current density values of the sLORETA images. In the EEG alpha-2 frequency, 125 voxels differed significantly; all were more active during "Qigong" than "Thinking of Nothing," forming a single cluster in parietal Brodmann areas 5, 7, 31, and 40, all in the right hemisphere. In the EEG beta-1 frequency, 37 voxels differed significantly; all were more active during "Thinking of Nothing" than "Qigong," forming a single cluster in prefrontal Brodmann areas 6, 8, and 9, all in the left hemisphere. Compared to combined initial-final no-task resting, "Qigong" showed activation in posterior areas whereas "Thinking of Nothing" showed activation in anterior areas. The stronger activity of posterior (right) parietal areas during "Qigong" and anterior (left) prefrontal areas during "Thinking of Nothing" may reflect a predominance of self-reference, attention and input-centered processing in the "Qigong" meditation, and of control-centered processing in the "Thinking of Nothing" meditation.     

Moral Responsibility for Self-Deluding Beings

Philosophia - In this article, I argue for four theses. First, libertarian and compatibilist accounts of moral responsibility agree that the capability of practical reason is the central feature of...     

Size and Structure of the Holistic Milieu: A Comparison of Local Mapping Studies in Austria and Sweden

This article presents the results of two local mapping studies in Sweden and Austria that follow the methodological procedure of the British Kendal project. All practitioners offering courses, therapies or counseling in the areas of holistic spirituality and complementary health methods (such as yoga, Reiki, kinesiology, astrology, and shamanism) were mapped. A sub-sample of the mapped practitioners were contacted in person and asked about their professional situation and the number of their clients. On the basis of these data, the proportion of persons participating in the holistic milieu was estimated. The article discusses the similarities and differences between the two regions in regard to the supply of specific types of holistic activities, the professional situation of the practitioners, and the proportion of the population involved in holistic activities. The level of engagement in holistic activities in the Swedish, Austrian, and British mapping areas is also compared with the level of church attendance in the three countries.