Induced motion of a fixated target: influence of voluntary eye deviation.

Induced motion (IM) was observed in a fixated target in the direction opposite to the real motion of a moving background. Relative to a fixation target located straight ahead, IM decreased when fixation was deviated 10 degrees in the same direction as background motion and increased when fixation was deviated 10 degrees opposite background motion. These results are consistent with a "nystagmus-suppression" hypothesis for subjective motion of fixated targets: the magnitude of illusory motion is correlated with the amount of voluntary efference required to oppose involuntary eye movements that would occur in the absence of fixation. In addition to the form of IM studied, this explanation applies to autokinesis, apparent concomitant motion, and the oculogyral illusion. Accounts of IM that stress visual capture of vection, afferent mechanisms, egocenter deviations, or phenomenological principles, although they may explain some forms of IM, do not account for the present results.     

Career writing: Creative,expressive and reflective approaches to narrative identity formation in students in higher education

This study investigates whether creative, expressive, and reflective writing contributes to the formation of a narrative career identity that offers students in higher education a sense of meaning and direction. The contents of writing done by students who participated in 2 two-day writing courses before and after work placements and of a control group were compared. Employers were also asked to evaluate students' performance. Writing samples were analyzed using the Linguistic Index Word Count program and an instrument based on Dialogical Self Theory. Work-placement self-reports were gathered, examined, and used as anecdotal evidence presented in the form of case studies. The results show that career writing can promote the development of career identity and holds promise as a narrative career guidance approach.     

Dreams of Glory: Narcissism and Politics

The arena of politics provides a natural environment for individuals with significant narcissistic personality traits, individuals who are consumed by dreams of glory. This article first reviews developmental pathways to the wounded self, using the example of Saddam Hussein, whose traumatic background led to the defensive adaptation of a fixated grandiose self. It also considers individuals who were raised to be special, such as President Woodrow Wilson and General Douglas MacArthur, and who were the vehicles of their parents’ success. The article then addresses the psychology of charismatic leader–follower relationships, where there is a natural fit between the mirror-hungry leader, seeking adulation, and his ideal-hungry followers, who feel incomplete unless they are attached to a great other. The chapter emphasizes the impaired interpersonal relationships of narcissistic characters, and how this can contribute to an imperfect evaluation of political reality, as the leadership circle tells the leader what he wants to hear rather than what he needs to hear.     

Factors Related to Play Therapists' Social Justice Advocacy Attitudes

The authors used a correlational research design to examine how belief in a just world, political ideology, socioeconomic status of family of origin, and percentage of racial minority clients were related to social justice advocacy attitudes among play therapists. A multiple regression was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that belief in a just world and political ideology were related to social justice advocacy. Implications for play therapy training and future directions for research are discussed. Los autores emplearon un diseño correlacional de investigación para examinar cómo la creencia en un mundo justo, la ideología política, el estatus socioeconómico de la familia de origen y el porcentaje de clientes de minorías raciales estaban relacionados con actitudes de apoyo de la justicia social entre consejeros que usan terapia de juego. Se empleó una regresión múltiple para analizar los datos. Los resultados indicaron que la creencia en un mundo justo y la ideología política estaban relacionadas con la defensa de la justicia social. Se discuten las implicaciones para formación en terapia de juego y direcciones futuras para investigación.     

The Effects of Imagery Training on Swimming Performance: An Applied Investigation

A multiple-baseline design was used to examine the influence of an imagery intervention on the performance of swimmers’ times on a thousand-yard practice set. Performance times for four swimmers were collected over a 15-week period during preseason training. The intervention took place over a 3-week period and was introduced after the fourth week of the study. The results revealed that three out of four participants significantly improved their times on the one thousand-yard practice set after being introduced to the imagery intervention. The results are discussed in terms of the implications of using imagery to improve athlete's performance on continuous tasks.     

Effects of Visual Information and Task Constraints on Intersegmental Coordination in Playground Swinging

The authors investigated how and to what extent visual information and associated task constraints are negotiated in the coordinative structure of playground swinging. Participants (N = 20) were invited to pump a swing from rest to a prescribed maximal amplitude under 4 conditions: normal vision, no vision, and 2 visual conditions involving explicit phasing constraints. In the latter conditions, participants were presented with a flow pattern consisting of a periodically expanding and contracting optical structure. They were instructed to phase the swing motion so that the forward turning point coincided with either the maximal size (enhanced optical flow) or the minimal size (reduced optical flow) of the presented flow pattern. Removal of visual information clearly influenced the swinging behavior, in that intersegmental coordination became more stereotyped, reflecting a general stiffening of the swinger. The conditions involving explicit phasing requirements also affected the coordination, but in an opposite way: The coordination became less stereotyped. The two phasing instructions had differential effects: The intersegmental coordination deviated more from normal swinging (i.e., without phasing constraints) when optical flow was enhanced than when it was reduced. Collectively, those findings show that visual information plays a formative role in the coordinative structure of swinging, in that variations of visual information and task constraints were accompanied by subtle yet noticeable changes in intersegmental coordination.