Using self-determination theory to explain sport persistence and dropout in adolescent athletes

Motivational characteristics are influential in shaping adolescents' desire to persist in sport or to discontinue their sport participation. Self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000) was utilized as the theoretical framework for this study. This theory examines whether sustained participatory involvement, defined as continued participation in the sport through the next year, was influenced by individuals' self-determined motivation and by the fulfillment of the three basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Four hundred ninety two soccer players between the ages of 13 and 17 years comprised the sample. Results indicated sport dropout was explained by higher levels of amotivation, external regulation, and introjected regulation and by lower satisfaction of relatedness and autonomy needs. The findings of this study contribute to the knowledge base on sport dropout as they supported many of self-determination theory.     

Expert-novice differences in cognitive and execution skills during tennis competition

This study deals with decision and execution behavior of tennis players during competition. The study is based on the expert-novice paradigm and aims to identify differences between both groups in the decision-making and execution variables in serve and shot actions in tennis. Six expert players (elite Spanish tennis players) and six novice players (grade school tennis players) took part in this study. To carry out this study, the observation protocol defined by McPherson and Thomas in 1989, in which control, decision-making and execution variables were included, was used, where it was applied to the performance of the tennis player in a real match situation. In the analysis, significant differences between experts and novices in decision-making and execution variables are found wherein it can be observed that experts display a greater ability to make the appropriate decisions, selecting the most tactical responses to put pressure on the opponent. Expert tennis players were also able to carry out forceful executions to their opponent with greater efficiency, making the opponent's response to a large extent more difficult. These findings are in accordance with those of McPherson and colleagues.     

Job Experience and Big Five Personality Dimensions

Using a sample of engineers (N=80), the correlation between job experience and the personality dimensions was estimated. The results showed very small correlations. Based on these results, we suggest that composites created with job experience and personality measures can be useful for personnel selection.     

Patterns and personality disorders in persons with cocaine dependence in treatment

The aim of the present study is to determine patterns and personality disorder in subjects under cocaine dependence treatment using MCMI-II, and their relationship with sociodemographic variables and consumption characteristics. We assess 102 subjects under cocaine dependence treatment in Drug Abuse Centers in Galicia (Spain). The results indicate that the most prevalent basic scales of personality are the passive-aggressive, antisocial, narcisism and histrionic. Borderline and paranoid scales are the most prevalent with regard to the pathological personality scales. These results coincide with other international and national studies. We conclude pointing out the necessity to carry out studies with wider cocaine dependence samples in treatment, and the specific inclusion criteria should be established in the study. We also indicate the importance of carrying out a previous assessment of all demanding treatment subjects to design the objectives of the mentioned treatment.     

Systemic and local administration of estradiol into the prefrontal cortex or hippocampus differentially alters working memory

The influence of estradiol on learning and memory is dependent on a number of factors. The effects of physiological levels of estradiol on the acquisition of a spatial working memory task mediated by the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the hippocampus were examined in Experiment 1. Ovariectomized Long-Evans rats received daily injections of estradiol or vehicle were tested on the win-shift version of the radial arm maze. A high dose of estradiol benzoate (5 microg) enhanced acquisition of the task, whereas a low dose of estradiol (0.3 microg) increased the number of errors committed over 17 days of testing. Experiment 2 was conducted to examine site-specific influences of estradiol on spatial working memory in well-trained rats. Saline and estradiol cyclodextrin (0.1 and 0.9 microg) were infused into the prelimbic region of the PFC or dorsal hippocampus 40 min prior to testing on the win-shift task. Infusions of estradiol into both brain areas attenuated saline-infusion disruptions in working memory. Specifically, the higher dose of estradiol facilitated working memory when infused into the PFC, whereas the lower dose of estradiol facilitated performance when infused into the dorsal hippocampus. Moreover, working memory was significantly impaired 24 h after infusions of estradiol into the dorsal hippocampus but not the PFC. These data provide further evidence for the notion that estradiol can dose-dependently alter memory processes and suggest that facilitation or disruptions of working memory by estradiol are site- and time-specific.     

No negative semantic priming from unconscious flanker words in sight

In replicating 1 of the within-language conditions of E. Fox's (1996) Experiment 1, the authors confirmed that unattended words presented 2.4 degrees above and below fixation are mostly unavailable to awareness. However, no negative semantic priming was observed in a lexical decision on a probe letter string appearing about 1 s later, which does not replicate Fox's finding. These results are compatible with the hypothesis underlying the present study, according to which positive semantic priming, if any, rather than negative semantic priming is expected in Fox's situation. The reason is that unavailability to awareness of the parafoveal words is not achieved by means of an act of selective inhibition combined with attentional diversion through masking but is achieved simply by means of perceptual degradation.     

Segregation or Integration? Immigrant Self-Employment in Switzerland

This article investigates whether immigrant self-employment is related more to segregation in the labour market than work as an employee (making it justifiable to speak of ethnic business) or whether, on the contrary, it reflects equality with the self-employment by the Swiss. The distinctive features of this research design are the comparison of ethnic segregation in the labour market with gender-specific segregation and the fact that, apart from migrants of the first generation, members of the second generation are also taken into consideration. The analyses show, firstly, that large differences exist between the various groups of migrants and that three patterns in immigrant self-employment become apparent. While for one person self-employment brings greater adjustment to the Swiss in comparison with working as an employee, for another it is associated with greater segregation. The third pattern reveals that self-employment can be an expression of “superstratification” (Überschichtung). Secondly, the analyses indicate that, for the self-employed, gender-specific horizontal and vertical segregation tends to be smaller than for employees. However, in the upper positions of the social space, greater gender-specific inequalities can be observed than in the lower positions, thus making “class” and “gender” intersect as structural categories of social inequality.     

Psicobiología del síndrome de Down

Resumen

En este artículo revisamos los conocimientos que existen en la actualidad sobre el síndrome de Down, atendiendo a todos aquellos aspectos que, por su relevancia, facilitan una mejor comprensión de esta cromosomopatía. Después de una breve reseña histórica, y tras definir lo que se entiende por síndrome de Down, pasamos a ocuparnos de la alteración genética que lo determina, así como de los factores que parecen estar relacionados con su origen. A continuación estudiamos las alteraciones específicas que acompañan a este síndrome, considerando principalmente los aspectos morfológicos externos, el problema de la hipotonía muscular y otros trastornos biomédicos, el retraso mental y las diversas anomalías neuroanatómicas y neurofisiológicas que presentan los sujetos afectados. Por último, indicamos las nuevas perspectivas que se abren en el estudio de esta alteración genética.     

Motivating Grade 1 Children to Read: Exploring the Role of Choice,Curiosity, and Challenge in Mobile Ebooks

A pre-experimental case study design was used to explore the value of intrinsic motivation in mobile eBook reading among 30 Grade 1 child participants. Data collection comprised pre- and post-test motivation questionnaires and researcher field notes. Child participants' enjoyment of mobile eBooks corresponded to 3 motivational aspects of intrinsic motivation: curiosity, choice, and challenge. Post-test results indicated that most child participants enjoyed answering eBook comprehension questions and preferred eBooks to print books. Child participants' reading behaviors related to iPads' accessibility features and inherent reader-friendliness. The motivating features of using mobile devices for eBook reading and enhancing reader motivation are described.