Enhancing the Learning of Sport Skills Through External-Focus Feedback

The authors examined how the effectiveness of feedback for the learning of complex motor skills is affected by the focus of attention it induces. The feedback referred specifically either to body movements (internal focus) or to movement effects (external focus). In Experiment 1, groups of novices and advanced volleyball players (N = 48) practiced “tennis” serves under internal-focus or external-focus feedback conditions in a 2 (expertise) × 2 (feedback type) design. Type of feedback did not differentially affect movement quality, but external-focus feedback resulted in greater accuracy of the serves than internal-focus feedback during both practice and retention, independent of the level of expertise. In Experiment 2, the effects of relative feedback frequency as a function of attentional focus were examined. A 2 (feedback frequency: 100% vs. 33%) × 2 (feedback type) design was used. Experienced soccer players (N = 52) were required to shoot lofted passes at a target. External-focus feedback resulted in greater accuracy than internal-focus feedback did. In addition, reduced feedback frequency was beneficial under internal-focus feedback conditions, whereas 100% and 33% feedback were equally effective under external-focus conditions. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of effect-related, as opposed to movement-related, feedback and also suggest that there is a need to revise current views regarding the role of feedback for motor learning.     

Company Norms Affect Which Traits are Preferred in Job Candidates and May Cause Employment Discrimination

This study investigated a possible mechanism behind employment discrimination. Participants completed a recruitment task where emphasis on cohesion (employees should “fit in”) versus fairness (everybody should be treated equally) was manipulated by describing the norms of a fictitious company differently. There was a comparatively stronger preference in the cohesion condition for traits and interview questions related to social competence (e.g., friendliness, gregariousness, empathy). Furthermore, participants in the cohesion condition primarily pictured socially competent employees, whereas those in the fairness condition primarily pictured employees possessing productivity-related characteristics (e.g., education, experience, and talent). The norm effect was moderated by participants’ awareness of the applicants’ ethnicity. When expecting applicants with foreign backgrounds, participants in the cohesion condition showed increased preference for selection methods related to social competence. Implications for recruitment practices are discussed.     

Hedonic Intensity of Disappointment and Elation

This research is an investigation of the hedonic intensities of elation and disappointment following the outcomes of risky gambles using two principles: disappointment aversion and the principle of limited emotion processing. Disappointment aversion implies a stronger impact of disappointment compared with elation; the principle of limited emotion processing predicts a smaller impact of elation if it occurs with a real gain, and a smaller impact of disappointment if it occurs with a real loss. Both principles support each other in the gain domain but operate against each other in the loss domain. It was predicted that disappointment would outweigh elation in the gain domain. For the loss domain, this question was left open to empirical scrutiny. Participants were provided with hypothetical gambles and were required to imagine having won, not won, lost, or not lost, money. Results supported the prediction for the gain domain; mixed results emerged for the loss domain. The model adds to the understanding of the cognitive and emotional processes following the outcomes of risky events.     

Crafts as Leisure-Based Coping: Craft Makers’ Descriptions of Their Stress-Reducing Activity

The goal of this study was to explore how crafts help women, who do crafting as a leisure activity, cope with stress. This qualitative study is based on the narratives of 15 textile craft makers aged 27–57 who were reporting stress in work and non-work settings. The participants reported that their crafting varied depending on the specific life circumstances they encountered. The analysis revealed that crafts provided recreation, satisfaction, optimism, positive relationships, and support as well as helped participants to cope with negative feelings. Crafts served as a leisure-coping resource and a leisure-based coping strategy.     

A quality assurance programme for psychotherapy — The finnish experience

In many respects the status of psychotherapy in public health-care systems is similar to that of alternative medicine. The roots of training are outside universities. Legitimation and public funding have been non-existent or insufficient as compared with other fields of health care. Also a great deal of mysticism is attached to both. It is therefore relevant to study the role of psychotherapy from the frame of reference given by research into alternative health care.

Formal health care is characterised by (1) legalised status, (2) access to public funding and (3) integration in the formal medical curriculum. On the other hand there are several treatment philosophies which remain as outsiders from the point of view of formal health care. Informal health care approaches are characterised by (1) lack of legalised status, (2) no access to public funding and (3) no integration in the medical curriculum. Alternative medicine is a term usually attached to forms of informal health care like acupuncture, Spa-culture etc.

Psychotherapy in the public health sector lies somewhere between formal and informal health care. While it has no legalised status, anyone may call himself ‘psychotherapist’. Its definition remains obscure and its public accountability poor.

In this paper I have tried to show how one country — Finland — has tried to grapple with this problem as it attempted to set up psychotherapy services whose quality could be properly monitored — ‘Quality Assurance’ — allowing for public accountability. Now that psychotherapy is well established as a valuable treatment in the field of mental health it is possible to consider future expansion as a cost-effective way to improve the general mental health of the country.     

Elevated disgust sensitivity in blood phobia

In order to demonstrate elevated disgust sensitivity and facilitated disgust learning in patients suffering from blood injection injury phobia, 23 phobics and 20 controls underwent an evaluative conditioning experiment. They were presented with picture pairs consisting of affectively neutral pictures (CS), which were followed by either disgust-inducing, fear-inducing, pleasant, or neutral scenes (US). During the presentation we recorded the electromyogram (EMG) of the musculus levator labii as a specific disgust indicator. Affective ratings for the pictures were determined before and after conditioning. Also, CS-US contingency verbalisation (CV) was assessed. Phobics reported a greater overall disgust sensitivity, experienced stronger feelings of disgust, and showed greater EMG responses while viewing disgust-eliciting scenes than control subjects. Evaluative conditioning occurred equally in both groups and depended on CV.     

The time course of resource allocation in spider-fearful participants during fear reactions

The dynamics of resource allocation to pictures of spiders and other animals in spider-fearful participants was investigated. The task of the participants was to respond rapidly and accurately to various probe stimuli superimposed on pictures of different animals. These were arguably fear relevant (spiders, snakes, and wolves) and fear irrelevant (beetles, turtles, and rabbits). The probes were shown with different stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) from picture onset to address the dynamics of resource allocation. A larger allocation of resources to spider pictures than to pictures of all other animals, with no difference between the latter regarding resource allocation was found. For the task that demanded more resources the fear-related physiological responses decreased, suggesting that controlled processing modulates fear responses.     

The effects of physical exercise on psychophysiological reactions under stress

Abstract

The effects of moderate physical exercise during a 20-minute anticipation period of a public speech were investigated. Mood before the anticipation period was manipulated as an additional stress factor. As a third experimental factor the subjects were given the opportunity for task preparation or not. Besides cardiovascular variables and self-reports of bodily symptoms, mood reports served as dependent variables and as indicators of general well-being. Eighty female students took part in the study. Moderate exercise was associated with strongly increased activation and reports of related bodily symptoms. The reported mood changes as a function of exercise included a decrease in anxiety and an increase in self-reliance. This mood repair effect of exercise was especially apparent when the subjects entered the anticipation period in a negative emotional state. The exercised subjects spoke with greater calmness. The task preparation during anticipation led to slightly increased activation and to reports of bodily symptoms as well as increased anxiety and less self-reliance. The prepared subjects made fewer pauses in their speeches.     

The role of cognitive appraisal in media-induced presence and emotions

In the present study, we applied Valins’ (1966) bogus bodily feedback paradigm to investigate the roles of cognitive appraisal (tele)presence, and emotion in the context of media usage. Participants (N=30) viewed short sequences of a TV show, whereby false heart rate feedback was provided. In line with Valins’ paradigm, the manipulation we used in this study included two levels: high vs. low false heart rate feedback. We assessed presence, enjoyment, and the real heart rate. Participants reported stronger experiences of presence and enjoyed the clips more when they wrongly believed that they had been aroused. Since bogus feedback increases the sensation of presence, the results indicate that presence—like emotions—can be influenced by cognitive appraisals. It is likely that the false heart rate feedback was attributed to the stimulus, which in turn enhanced the sensation of presence.     

It Only Looks the Same From a Distance: How U.S., Finnish,and Irish Schools Support Struggling Readers

This study examined how U.S., Finnish, and Irish educators identified and supported struggling readers. Using Johnston's (2011) framework for evaluating reading interventions and activity theory (Engeström, 1999), we interviewed educators in four U.S., three Irish, and three Finnish schools. In the United States, the adoption of three beliefs—reductionist reading philosophy, difficulties as cognitive and remediated through instruction, and reading problems as unexpected phenomena—reinforced a skills-driven approach. Irish and Finnish educators adopted a more holistic view of reading, and teachers used formative assessment to support struggling students over extended periods while working collaboratively with other staff. Discussion focuses on how these beliefs influenced divisions of labor, roles and responsibilities, and the urgency with which difficulties were addressed.