DIFFERENTIATION OF CHARACTER NEUROSIS AND SYMPTOM NEUROSIS ON THE BASIS OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TWO SERIAL EXPERIMENTS

The difference between two serial tests as regards signs of hysteria and obsession-compulsion is compared with differences in number of symptoms reported by the patient. Signs in the more formal colour-word test, measuring habitual behaviour patterns, correspond to fewer symptoms than signs in a tachistoscopic test revealing more of the perceptual representation (content) of behaviour disorders. This difference is supposed to reflect important aspects of the difference between character neurosis and symptom neurosis.     

SUCCESSIVE INTERVALS SCALING WITH UNEQUAL VARIANCES AND COVARIANCES

The paper describes a solution for scale values in successive intervals scaling which does not assume equal covariances and variances. A more restrictive distribution assumption is made, however. Advantages and disadvantages of the method are discussed in relation to the two available conventional scaling techniques for scaling with unequal variances.     

THE LAW OF COMPARATIVE JUDGMENT: A case not assuming equal variances and covariances

S jöberg , L. The law of comparative judgment: a case not assuming equal variances and covariances. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1962, 3 , 219–225.—Anew case of the law of comparative judgment is described. It utilizes information contained in the tetrachoric correlations between pairs of stimuli. A multivariate normal distribution of subjective values is assumed. A second assumption is that covariances are unaffected by changes in 'surrounding' stimuli. The computational work is rather heavy but programs for two Swedish computers are now available in Algol code.     

Performing great and the purpose of performing better than others: on the recursiveness of the achievement goal adoption process

The purpose of the present research is to complement and extend previous achievement goal research by emphasizing that great performance may serve as an antecedent of performance‐approach goal adoption, that is, the wish to outperform others. A consistent finding across the three studies is, indeed, that great (perceived) performance and high performance expectancies are associated with the adoption of performance‐approach goals. It is concluded that the process of goal adoption is a dynamic, recursive process in which performance attainment is most likely to operate as both an antecedent and a consequence of goal adoption. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Go with the flow: conforming to others in the face of existential threat

In three studies we investigate the impact of mortality salience on conformity and show that people have a greater preference to conform to the opinions of others when mortality is salient. Study 1 shows that mortality salience increases the degree to which judgments of abstract drawings are influenced by the majority's opinion. Study 2 shows that mortality salience causes people to change their opinions towards societal issues, so that these fit the attitudes they think others have. Study 3 replicates the findings of the first study and additionally shows that people do not conform to the attitude of outgroup members. Our findings extend previous Terror Management Theory research and suggest that conforming to the group is a means to buffer the fear that may otherwise arise in existentially threatening situations. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Expectancy-Value Approach to Determinants of Trust

An expectancy-value model was used to test determinants of trust in 5 Swedish organizations. Trust was conceptualized as an attitude, dependent on respondents' beliefs about and evaluations of the organization with respect to attributes of trustworthiness. A survey was sent out to a representative sample of the Swedish population ( N  = 347; response rate = 55.5%). It was found that the model was powerful in explaining trust in 3 of the 5 organizations. Values correlated more with observed trust in all organizations. It is discussed whether these findings could be explained by trust ratings based on ideologies. Since the expectancy-value approach was insufficient to account for data, a double-denial model ( Sjöberg & Montgomery, 1999 ) was needed.     

Retention of Quiet Eye in Older Skilled Basketball Players

There is mounting research to suggest that cognitive and motor expertise is more resistant to age-related decline than more general capacities. The authors investigated the retention of skills in medium-aged skilled (n = 14) and older-aged skilled (n = 7) athletes by comparing them with medium-aged less skilled (n = 15) and older-aged less skilled (n = 15) participants. Participants performed basketball free throws and dart throws as a transfer task under standardized conditions. Motor performance (accuracy) and perceptual performance (quiet eye) were examined across the four groups. There were significant differences between skill groups and age groups in throwing accuracy on both throwing tasks. Skilled players outperformed less skilled and medium-aged players outperformed older-aged players in basketball and dart throws. There were no significant differences in quiet eye duration across the skill or age groups in either task. These results indicate expertise in a perceptual motor task such as the basketball free throw can be retained in older athletes and that present models of skill maintenance should be re-evaluated to consider the issue of transfer.     

Achievement goal orientations,beliefs about sport success and sport emotions as related to moderate to vigorous physical activity of adolescents

Abstract

This study examined the relationships between achievement goals, beliefs about sport success and sport emotions with moderate to vigorous physical activity of Estonian adolescents. Three hundred and seventy five adolescents, aged 13–14 years, completed the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire and 7-day physical activity recall. Measures of the adolescent's orientation to work avoidance, focus on cooperation, beliefs about the causes of success and degree of satisfaction/interest specific to the context of sport and games were also included. Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) quartiles were determined and psychological measures for extreme activity groups were compared. A one-way ANOVA indicated that active males scored significantly higher in task orientation, motivation/effort, ability and enjoyment/interest whereas active females showed higher scores for cooperation and exercise enjoyment and lower deception and boredom compared with low activity groups. Correlation analysis revealed that in males, MVPA was related with task orientation, reported ability and motivation/ effort. For females, cooperation, and enjoyment of sport were positively and the amount of boredom was negatively associated with MVPA scores. Multiple regression analysis revealed that psychological measures explained only 14% (females) and 19% (males) of the variance in MVPA. It is concluded that for adolescent males and females, different psychological measures predicted MVPA behavior.