Effects of different practice conditions on acquisition, retention, and transfer of soccer skills by 9-year-old schoolchildren

This study was designed to examine effects of three practice models, blocked, variable, and combined, on the acquisition, retention, and transfer of new motor skills. 67 subjects (M age = 9.5 yr., SD = .3) from the fourth year of primary school (31 boys and 26 girls) were assigned at random to three different practice groups (Blocked = 22, Variable = 23, Combined = 22) to study acquisition of two skills, dribbling a soccer ball and kicking a soccer ball at a stationary target using the dominant foot. All participants received a pretest and posttest, a transfer test, and a retention test 2 wk. later. Analysis showed significant improvement after practice of kicking skills by the three groups but not in the dribbling skills, for which only the combined practice group showed any notable improvement. At the end of acquisition, the combined practice group had significantly better performance on the dribbling task than the other two groups. However, the only differences noted in performance of kicking the ball with the dominant foot were by combined practice and blocked groups.     

The interplay between semantic and referential aspects of anaphoric noun phrase resolution: Evidence from ERPs

In this event-related brain potential (ERP) study, we examined how semantic and referential aspects of anaphoric noun phrase resolution interact during discourse comprehension. We used a full factorial design that crossed referential ambiguity with semantic incoherence. Ambiguous anaphors elicited a sustained negative shift (Nref effect), and incoherent anaphors elicited an N400 effect. Simultaneously ambiguous and incoherent anaphors elicited an ERP pattern resembling that of the incoherent anaphors. These results suggest that semantic incoherence can preclude readers from engaging in anaphoric inferencing. Furthermore, approximately half of our participants unexpectedly showed common late positive effects to the three types of problematic anaphors. We relate the latter finding to recent accounts of what the P600 might reflect, and to the role of individual differences therein.     

Effects of SB-205384, a positive modulator of alpha3-subunit-containing GABA-A receptors, on isolation-induced aggression in male mice

GABA-A receptors are involved in the control of aggressive behaviour. Various studies suggest a role for a1-containing GABA-A receptors in modulating aggression. However, the possible involvement of a3 subunit of GABA-A receptors has not been examined. In this study, we analysed the effect of SB-205384 (0.5-4 mg/kg, i.p), a positive modulator of GABA-A receptors containing a3 subunit, on agonistic behaviour elicited by isolation in male mice. Half of the mice were housed during 30 days and employed as experimental or control animals; the remainder were used as and were temporally rendered anosmic by zinc sulphate. Individually housed mice were exposed to anosmic opponents in a neutral area 30 minutes after the drug administration and encounters were videotaped and evaluated using an ethopharmacologically-based analysis. The results indicated that SB-205384 did not produce any significant behavioural changes, suggesting that GABA-A receptors which contain the a3 subunit may not be involved in the modulation of aggression.     

The International Affective Digitized Sounds (IADS): Spanish norms

The International Affective Digitized Sounds (IADS): Spanish Norms. The Spanish norms for the International Affective Digitized Sounds (IADS) are reported. The IADS is a standardized set of 110 digitalized sounds which are both reliable and valid for the experimental study of emotional processes. The construction of the IADS is based on Peter J. Lang's dimensional model of emotions. Participants were 1.716 university students (1.136 women) who assessed the sounds using the three scales of the Self-Assessment Manikin: affective valence, arousal, and dominance. The results show a distribution of the sounds, within the bidimensional plot defined by valence and arousal, similar to the North-American student population with a typical boomerang shape. No significant differences were found when comparing men and women nor when comparing the Spanish and North-American samples in the total set of sounds. The results are discussed in relation to the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). The norms for each of the 110 sounds are presented in an annexed table.     

Parenting styles

Parental educational styles constitute one of the key elements of family socialization. The aim of the present essay is to present the results of a research project carried out in the Principality of Asturias (Spain) among 2,965 families with children of infant and primary-school age (5-8 years old). This research attempts to analyse, among other aspects, parental behaviour tendencies in child upbringing. The analysis of the results obtained allows us to: 1) identify the most common attitudinal and behavioural tendencies of parents in the upbringing of their children; 2) determine how many people have a well defined parental style, and delimit their socio-educational characteristics. Lastly, we consider the need to change some parental behaviour patterns and stress the importance of family education programmes, with the aim of promoting appropriate parenting models and modifying or improving current practices.     

Family predictors of moral internalization in childhood

This study aimed to analyze the relationship between parents' affection, acceptance, emotional communication, the transmission of values and moral intervention, on the one hand, and children's moral emotions and behaviors on the other (empathy, guilt, internalized behavior and reparation). It also aimed to identify the family variables that influence moral internalization in children. The sample comprised 485 children (244 boys and 241 girls) aged between 6 and 8. The results showed that the principal variable to predict internalized behavior in girls was maternal affection, whereas for boys, the principal variables were maternal emotional communication and transmission of values. The family variables that explain moral internalization in extreme groups of children are basically parents' affection, emotional communication, the transmission of values and moral intervention.     

Cynicism: a differential coping strategy as a function of gender

The main objective of the present study is to analyse the role of cynicism as a coping strategy in the process of burnout, considering gender as a key variable in this process. The sample comprised 555 teachers from Spanish primary and secondary schools. A two-wave panel study was carried out: data were gathered during the first term and again during the third and last term of the academic year. Several t-tests for independent samples and moderated hierarchical regression analysis were carried out. Results showed that women have a higher level of exhaustion than men, whereas men have a higher level of cynicism than women. Furthermore, cynicism has a direct and positive effect on exhaustion for women. In the case of men, cynicism is not an effective coping strategy but it has some buffering effect on exhaustion. Thus, a high level of cynicism seems to lead to a lower increase of exhaustion. Results, contributions, and limitations of the present study are discussed.     

Alcohol drinking parties and consumption of alcohol and other drugs in youth

The main aim of this paper is to analyze the relationships of involvement in the "botellon" (meetings of youth in public places to drink, chat, etc.) with alcohol/other drug abuse and vandalism in young people. A school survey was performed in centres of Compulsory Secondary School (E.S.O.), high school, professional training and University education in Lugo, NW Spain. The sample (aged 12 to 30) was split into three groups according to alcohol use and botellon involvement; drug abuse, drug-related problems and vandalism were assessed in each group. Results indicate that regular botellon attendants display more problems with alcohol and other drugs, as well as higher involvement in vandalism; this relationship is stronger among young students. The increase in adolescent risk associated with the practice of the botellon is explained by peer group pressure to use drugs and the greater accessibility of alcohol/other drugs in these contexts.     

Design and power analysis: n and confidence intervals of means

In this study, we analyzed the validity of the conventional 80% power. The minimal sample size and power needed to guarantee non-overlapping (1-alpha)% confidence intervals for population means were calculated. Several simulations indicate that the minimal power for two means (m = 2) to have non-overlapping CIs is .80, for (1-alpha) set to 95%. The minimal power becomes .86 for 99% CIs and .75 for 90% CIs. When multiple means are considered, the required minimal power increases considerably. This increase is even higher when the population means do not increase monotonically. Therefore, the often adopted criterion of a minimal power equal to .80 is not always adequate. Hence, to guarantee that the limits of the CIs do not overlap, most situations require a direct calculation of the minimum number of observations that should enter in a study.