Using game theory to examine incentives in influenza vaccination behavior

The social good often depends on the altruistic behavior of specific individuals. For example, epidemiological studies of influenza indicate that elderly individuals, who face the highest mortality risk, are best protected by vaccination of young individuals, who contribute most to disease transmission. To examine the conditions under which young people would get vaccinated to protect elderly people, we conducted a game-theory experiment that mirrored real-world influenza transmission, with "young" players contributing more than "elderly" players to herd immunity. Participants could spend points to get vaccinated and reduce the risk of influenza. When players were paid according to individual point totals, more elderly than young players got vaccinated, a finding consistent with the Nash equilibrium predicting self-interested behavior. When players were paid according to group point totals, however, more young than elderly players got vaccinated-a finding consistent with the utilitarian equilibrium predicting group-optimal behavior-which resulted in higher point totals than when players were paid for their individual totals. Thus, payout structure affected whether individuals got vaccinated for self-interest or group benefit.     

Initiating and Sustaining Emotional Abuse in the Coach–Athlete Relationship: An Ecological Transactional Model of Vulnerability

The purpose of this study was to explore the process by which emotional abuse occurs and is often sustained in sport. Methods were established in congruence with the iterative nature of grounded theory. In total, 18 retired elite athletes participated in the study. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with each participant, and data were coded using open, axial, and selective coding techniques. Data were interpreted to suggest that the perpetration of emotional abuse in the coach–athlete relationship is closely tied to ambitions and philosophies of athlete development. Based on the findings, an ecological transactional model of vulnerability to emotional abuse in the coach–athlete relationship is proposed. Recommendations are made for future prevention and intervention initiatives.     

Where is Safeguarding in Sport Psychology Research and Practice?

Recent cases of sexual abuse of athletes have drawn significant concern amongst stakeholders in sport and the public at-large. The fact that the perpetrators in many cases of athlete abuse had numerous victims over the span of several years raises questions of who might have known or suspected that athletes were being harmed. Sexual abuse cases should serve as an impetus for all of us in sport psychology to interrogate our roles and responsibilities as consultants and researchers in the protection of athletes. We propose that future research in applied sport psychology and education of consultants address maltreatment and safeguarding.

Lay Summary: In the following article, we propose that more attention in the research and practice of sport psychology should be devoted to understanding maltreatment of athletes and ways to protect athletes from harm.     

Conceptualizing Excellence: Past,Present, and Future

While an historical glance through the sport psychology literature reveals an interest in performance excellence since its beginning, a focus of personal excellence has been a more recent trend. This review will address the relationships between performance and personal excellence. More specifically, we question whether performance excellence in high-level sport, by virtue of the exceptional demands on the elite athlete, occurs at the expense of development in personal excellence or whether performance excellence is possible only through personal excellence. Furthermore, we propose that the field may reconcile these ideals in the future through an athlete-centered sport model. This model is defined by the philosophy that developmentally appropriate sport can be used as a vehicle for enhancing overall well-being and the acquisition of lifelong skills. Performance excellence, therefore, co-exists in the same environment as personal excellence. The implications of implementing an athlete-centered sport system for athletes and coaches and for the research and practice of those in sport psychology will be addressed.     

Ask,Answer, and Announce: Three stages in perceiving and responding to discrimination

Discrimination towards members of low-status groups takes a variety of forms, and results in a variety of negative consequences for its victims. Furthermore, discrimination may influence its targets either directly (for instance, when housing discrimination makes insurance, mortgage rates, or rents higher for African Americans than for whites) or indirectly, that is via perceptions on the part of the stigmatised. In the latter case the outcomes are caused or amplified by perceptions on the part of the victim that he or she is the target of discrimination. This chapter focuses on current research concerning factors that influence the perception of discrimination and its indirect influence on individuals. We review work from our own lab as well as from the field more broadly, focusing on research that attempts to explain contextual and individual variability in how events that are potentially due to discrimination are initially perceived, subsequently interpreted, and then publicly reported or withheld.     

The Effects of Athlete Retirement on Parents

It is often parents who introduce their children to competitive sports and parents who then provide remarkable emotional and material support across their children's athletic careers (Bloom, 1985 Bloom, B., ed. 1985. Developing talent in young people, New York: Ballantine Books.  [Google Scholar]; Côté, 1999 Côté, J. 1999. The influence of the family in the development of talent in sport. The Sport Psychologist, 13: 395–417. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Considerable research documents athletes’ retirement experiences (Baillie, 1993 Baillie, P. 1993. Understanding retirement from sports: Therapeutic ideas for helping athletes in transition. The Counseling Psychologist, 21: 399–409.  [Google Scholar]; Baillie & Danish, 1992 Baillie, P. and Danish, S. J. 1992. Understanding the career transition of athletes. The Sport Psychologist, 6: 77–98. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Svoboda & Vanek, 1982 Svoboda, B. and Vanek, M. 1982. “Retirement from high level competition”. In Mental training for coaches and athletes, Edited by: Orlick, T., Partington, J. and Salmela, J. 166–175. Ottawa: Coaching Association of Canada.  [Google Scholar]; Werthner & Orlick, 1982 Werthner, P. and Orlick, T. 1982. Retirement experiences of successful Olympic athletes. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 17: 337–363.  [Google Scholar]), yet none explores the effects of retirement on parents. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of athletes’ disengagement from sport on parents. In-depth interviews were conducted with six parents of former female elite gymnasts who had been retired for three to five years and the data analyzed inductively (Côté, Salmela, Baria, & Russell, 1993 Côté, J., Salmela, J., Baria, A. and Russell, S. 1993. Organizing and interpreting unstructured qualitative data. The Sport Psychologist, 7: 127–137. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Lally & Kerr, 2005 Lally, P. S. and Kerr, G. 2005. The career planning, athletic identity and student role identity of intercollegiate student-athletes. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 76: 275–285. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Miller & Kerr, 2002 Miller, P. S. and Kerr, G. 2002. The athletic, academic, and social experiences of intercollegiate student-athletes. Journal of Sport Behavior, 25: 346–367.  [Google Scholar], 2003 Miller, P. S. and Kerr, G. 2003. The role experimentation of intercollegiate student-athletes. The Sport Psychologist, 17: 197–220.  [Google Scholar]). Their daughters’ withdrawal from gymnastics and their own immediate disengagement from the world of elite sport had a tremendous impact on the participants’ personal and social relationships, leaving them struggling with weighty self-doubts over their failure to intervene with abusive coaches.     

Exploring Adolescents’ Talk About Bullying on an Online Message Board: Broadening and Complicating Understandings of Victimization

Current definitions of bullying, crafted by policymakers and researchers, raise questions about the ways in which adult constructions of bullying reflect, or fail to reflect, the lived realities of adolescents. In particular, the narrow scope of “bullying,” as currently defined, may over-simplify adolescents’ experiences with relational aggression, which often sit in the space between bullying, discrimination, and harassment. This study investigates adolescents’ talk about bullying on an online message board, as one effort to better understand whether adolescents’ constructions of bullying are aligned with those of researchers and policymakers, and where these youth constructions may overlap with ideas about discrimination and harassment. Conducting a content analysis of data from an online, teen message board, we find that participants frequently use the term bullying to describe adult or familial aggression, and often describe bullying behaviors in ways that reflect elements of discrimination and harassment. We conclude with suggestions for future research and practical approaches that might better bridge gaps between research and practice.     

Connect: an effective community-based youth suicide prevention program

Youth suicide prevention is an important public health issue. However, few prevention programs are theory driven or systematically evaluated. This study evaluated Connect, a community-based youth suicide prevention program. Analysis of pre and posttraining questionnaires from 648 adults and 204 high school students revealed significant changes in knowledge and attitudes about suicide, increased belief in the usefulness of mental health care, and reduction of stigma associated with seeking help. Adults' preparedness to help also increased significantly as did the likelihood that youth participants would seek adult assistance if they were concerned about a peer. Implications of findings are discussed.