When competition merges people's behavior: Interdependency activates shared action representations

Previous research suggests that friendly, cooperative situations cause one to integrate a co-actor's actions into one's own action system. Departing from an interdependency perspective, we predict the activation of shared action representations even in hostile, competitive situations as a result of attending to the intentions of the co-actor. To test this, in Experiment 1 we manipulated the interdependency between actor and co-actor in a joint Simon task and observed a stronger activation of shared action representations in a cooperative as well as competitive context compared to an independent context. Experiment 2 replicated the competitive context effect on activation of shared action representations and provided additional evidence for the mediating role of attending to others’ intentions by taking into account the individual tendency to attend to others’ intentions. Together, our findings suggest that interdependency merges people's behavior even in competitive contexts, which we argue encourage actors to attend to others’ intentions.     

Psychopathy in a forensic sample – the factor structure of the PCL:SV in a Danish forensic sample

The research literature reveals an ongoing debate regarding the most appropriate conceptualization of psychopathic personality disorder. Specifically, it is discussed to what degree antisocial behavior is part of the conceptualization of the psychopathy construct and what constitutes the best factor model of the Psychopathy Checklist scales. The aim of the present study is to consider the underlying factor structure of the PCL:SV (Psychopathy Checklist Screening Version) in a Danish sample as well as considering the role of antisocial behavior in the psychopathy construct. Data from a Danish forensic patient sample (N = 225) was used and item response theory (IRT), aonfirmatory factor analyses (CFA) and structural equations model (SEM) analyses were carried out. Overall, the findings suggest appropriate item and model fit for the PCL:SV as well as superiority of the three‐factor model over the four‐factor model. The results are discussed in relation to the broader concept of personality disorder as well as clinical practice in regards to violence risk assessments and treatment of psychopathy.     

The 5C’s Model of Successful Partnerships in Elite Beach Volleyball Dyads

An athlete–athlete partnership is a form of athletic dyad in which both members equally share power and responsibility. Although research on the coach–athlete relationship is prevalent, research on the unique interpersonal dynamics of athlete–athlete partnerships in elite sport is sparse, particularly in beach volleyball. The purpose of the present study was to explore the interpersonal components of successful, elite athlete–athlete beach volleyball partnerships through the lens of interdependence theory and Jowett and colleagues’ 3?+?1C’s theory of coach–athlete relationships. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was applied to semistructured interviews with four Olympic-level beach volleyball players (3 male, 1 female). Results revealed 5 higher order themes: (a) compatibility, (b) commitment, (c) complementarity, (d) coorientation, and (e) closeness, which became the key constructs in the proposed 5C’s model of the successful athlete–athlete partnership. Interpersonal awareness, interpersonal maturation, and context were identified as 3 overarching meta-themes, whereas interdependence connected all interpersonal components. For example, in consultation, increasing athlete individual and interpersonal awareness (e.g., in the areas of personal and dyadic philosophy, personal and shared values, and individual and dyadic coping) requires careful contextualization and thoughtful implementation. Future studies need to examine diverse samples of athlete–athlete dyads to advance interpersonal theory in sport and add to emerging theories of performance behavior and expertise in sport.

Lay Summary: Successful beach volleyball partnerships share a philosophy and commitment to their sport. Desired partners are supportive and adaptive, are compatible, depend on one another, and continually appraise and reflect on their relationship to grow as individuals and as teammates.     

Psychological impact of colorectal cancer screening.

This article examines the psychological impact of participating in sigmoidoscopy screening for colorectal cancer prevention. The 1st study examined psychological well-being at 3 months, in relation to screening outcome, in 4,153 individuals. The 2nd study used longitudinal data to examine changes in psychological functioning from before to after screening in relation both to screening outcome and baseline indicators of vulnerability. There were few psychological differences between those who had received negative results or had polyps detected. These findings were confirmed in the longitudinal study, which also found no evidence for vulnerability to adverse effects among those who were initially most anxious or who perceived their risk of cancer to be higher. The longitudinal data suggested that screening might produce transient positive effects.     

Nonresident Suicides in England: A National Study

Little is known about the numbers and characteristics of people who travel away from home before dying by suicide. Therefore, this studied attempts to identify the sociodemographic characteristics, location, and method of suicide in people who died distant from home, in a national sample. Data were collected on all English suicides and a patient population; nonresident suicides resided in one Health Authority but died in a different one. Twelve percent of suicides were nonresident and features of these included: young age, social adversity, and severe mental illness. In conclusion, both individual‐ and area‐based factors are likely to contribute to suicide away from home.     

The processing of affectively valenced stimuli: The role of surprise

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that the surprise mechanism activates a threat detection system that prioritises the processing of threat-related stimuli. In Experiment 1, participants responded to a dot that appeared during the presentation of two words. In the critical trial, one of the two words was either pleasant or unpleasant. In Experiment 2, depending on the condition, the participants had to decide whether at least one of two simultaneously presented pictures depicted either a pleasant or an unpleasant stimulus. In the critical trial, both a pleasant and an unpleasant picture appeared. In both experiments, the stimuli in the critical trial were presented either during routine behaviour or in the context of a surprising event. The results showed that during routine behaviour unpleasant stimuli received more attentive resources than pleasant stimuli only if the affective valence of the stimuli was action-relevant (Experiment 2). In contrast, in the context of surprise, unpleasant words engaged more attentive resources than pleasant words although they were action-irrelevant (Experiment 1). In addition, in the context of surprise, the decision time increase was more pronounced in the pleasant than in the unpleasant experimental group. This finding was interpreted as evidence that the threat detection system of the surprise mechanism initially searches for a threat-related stimulus.     

Method of Suicide in the Mentally Ill: A National Clinical Survey

Comparisons of psychiatric patients who die by suicide using different methods are scarce. We aimed to establish the methods of suicide used by those who are currently or have recently been in contact with mental health services in England and Wales (N = 6,203), and describe the social and clinical characteristics of suicides by different methods. We found that hanging, self‐poisoning, and jumping (from a height or in front of a moving vehicle) were the most common methods of suicide, accounting for 79% of all deaths. The implications of these and other findings are discussed.