Effects of achievement goals on self-regulation of eating attitudes among elite female athletes: An experimental study

Introduction

The influence of achievement goals on eating attitudes has mainly been examined through correlational studies (e.g., [De Bruin et?al., 2009] and [Duda and Kim, 1997]), and none of the studies to date has focused on the self-regulation of eating attitudes in athletes. The present study experimentally tested the effects of achievement goals on both self-reported (Study 1) and behavioral indices (Study 2) of the self-regulation of eating attitudes in female figure skaters.

Method

Elite female figure skaters (Study 1: n = 44; Study 2: n = 54) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions designed to induce specific goal involvement (performance-approach, mastery-approach, performance-avoidance, and mastery-avoidance) or a control condition (no goal induction). The participants in Study 1 completed the Self-Regulation of Eating Attitudes in Sport Scale (SREASS, Scoffier, Corrion, Paquet, & Arripe-Longueville, 2010) and those in Study 2 completed a virtual behavioral measure of self-regulation of eating attitudes (VSSR; Scoffier, 2009).

Results

Variance analyses indicated that induced mastery-approach goals and performance-avoidance goals resulted in higher scores for self-regulation of eating attitudes than induced performance-approach goals and mastery-avoidance goals. The relationships were the same at both self-reported and behavioral levels.

Discussion

This experimental study confirms the findings of previous correlational works and shows that achievement goals contribute to the causal processes of self-regulation of eating attitudes. These findings might help to prevent eating disorders in female athletes by providing guidance for the development of adapted motivational strategies.     

The Affect Misattribution Procedure: hot or not?

The Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP; Payne, Cheng, Govorun, & Stewart, 2005) is an important tool in implicit social cognition research, but little is known about its underlying mechanisms. This paper investigates whether, as the name implies, affect-based processes really underlie the AMP. We used a modified AMP that enabled us to separate the influence of affective and nonaffective processes. In three studies, evidence for the implication of nonaffective processes was consistently found. In contrast, there was no evidence for affect-based processes. Thus, the AMP rather seems cold than hot. The generalizability of the results obtained with the modified AMP is discussed.     

Physical self-concept and disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors in French athlete and non-athlete adolescent girls: direct and indirect relations

This study aims to investigate the direct and indirect associations between physical self-subdomains, physical self-worth, global self-worth, and disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors among French non-elite athlete and non-athlete adolescent girls. A sample of adolescent girls including 50 ballet dancers, 41 basketball players, and 47 non-athletes was used in this study. Data obtained from the ballet dancer and basketball player subsamples revealed significant, sample-specific as well as common, direct relations between global and physical self-perceptions and disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors, as well as significant indirect relations (via global self-worth and physical self-worth) between specific physical self-perceptions and disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors. In contrast, no association was found between global and physical self-perceptions in the sample of non-athlete adolescent girls.     

Automaticity for numerical magnitude of two-digit Arabic numbers in children

This paper examines the automatic processing of the numerical magnitude of two-digit Arabic numbers using a Stroop-like task in school-aged children. Second, third, and fourth graders performed physical size judgments on pairs of two-digit numbers varying on both physical and numerical dimensions. To investigate the importance of synchrony between the speed of processing of the numerical magnitude and the physical dimensions on the size congruity effect (SCE), we used masked priming: numerical magnitude was subliminally primed in half of the trials, while neutral priming was used in the other half. The results indicate a SCE in physical judgments, providing the evidence of automatic access to the magnitude of two-digit numbers in children. This effect was modulated by the priming type, as a SCE only appeared when the numerical magnitude was primed. This suggests that young children needed a relative synchronization of numerical and physical dimensions to access the magnitude of two-digit numbers automatically.     

The cocktail party problem: what is it? How can it be solved? And why should animal behaviorists study it?

Animals often use acoustic signals to communicate in groups or social aggregations in which multiple individuals signal within a receiver's hearing range. Consequently, receivers face challenges related to acoustic interference and auditory masking that are not unlike the human cocktail party problem, which refers to the problem of perceiving speech in noisy social settings. Understanding the sensory solutions to the cocktail party problem has been a goal of research on human hearing and speech communication for several decades. Despite a general interest in acoustic signaling in groups, animal behaviorists have devoted comparatively less attention toward understanding how animals solve problems equivalent to the human cocktail party problem. After illustrating how humans and nonhuman animals experience and overcome similar perceptual challenges in cocktail-party-like social environments, this article reviews previous psychophysical and physiological studies of humans and nonhuman animals to describe how the cocktail party problem can be solved. This review also outlines several basic and applied benefits that could result from studies of the cocktail party problem in the context of animal acoustic communication.     

On the social nature of global self-esteem: a replication study

Few researchers have considered the relationship between global self-esteem and the reflected appraisal of others in one's life, or how reflected appraisals and global self-esteem may change as a result of interpersonal feedback. In this study, the authors collected data from 110 undergraduate students on (a) their global self-esteem and the reflected appraisals of multiple others in their lives and (b) how these dimensions changed in hypothetical interpersonal-feedback situations. Results showed that participants' global self-esteem was related to the reflected appraisals of their fathers, teachers, and friends. The results also indicated that others' reflected appraisals and the individual's global self-esteem fluctuated according to the nature (i.e., positive vs. negative) of the hypothetical interpersonal feedback. Overall, the findings emphasize the social nature and regulation of global self-esteem.     

Likelihood ratio, optimal decision rules, and correct response probabilities in a signal detection theoretic, equal-variance Gaussian model of the observer in the 4IAX paradigm

This article provides a synthetic account of the likelihood ratio, optimal decision rules, and correct response probabilities in a signal detection theoretic model of the observer in the dual-pair comparison, or four-interval AX (4IAX), paradigm. The model assumes a static sampling process, resulting in four, equal-variance normally distributed (i.e., Gaussian) observations on each trial First, a likelihood ratio equation allowing for an arbitrary degree of correlation between observations is provided. Specific solutions for the cases of independent and highly correlated observations are then derived. It is shown that these solutions, and the associated decision rules, correspond to those provided independently in earlier publications. A modified 4IAX paradigm involving, as a standard, an additional stimulus (C) located medially between the A and the B stimuli is also considered. It is shown that the optimal (static, equal-variance, Gaussian) decision model for this paradigm is unaffected by correlation between observations and is equivalent to the standard 4IAX with highly correlated observations. Finally, we consider how, under the considered (static, equal-variance, Gaussian) model, the proportion of correct responses in the different versions of the 4IAX paradigm is related to d', and a solution for the case of independent observations is provided.     

On feeling in control: a biological theory for individual differences in control perception

This review aims to create a cross-disciplinary framework for understanding the perception of control. Although, the personality trait locus of control, the most common measure of control perception, has traditionally been regarded as a product of social learning, it may have biological antecedents as well. It is suggested that control perception follows from the brain's capacity for self regulation, leading to flexible and goal directed behaviours. To this account, a model is presented which spans several levels of analyses. On a behavioural level, control perception may be a corollary of emotion regulation, executive functions, and social cognition. On a neural level, these self-regulatory functions are substantiated in part by the dorsolateral and ventral prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex. In addition, a possible role of subcortical-cortical dopamine pathways underlying control perception is discussed.