A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Coaches’ Observed Emotion-Behavior Profiles and Adolescent Athletes’ Self-Reported Developmental Outcomes

This investigation explored the relationship between coaches’ emotions and adolescent athletes’ psychosocial development. Participants were 9 male soccer coaches and their female athletes (N = 134, M_age = 14.54). Systematic observation was used to assess coaches’ emotions during practice and athletes completed questionnaires evaluating developmental outcomes. Cluster analyses revealed 2 groups: “calm, inquisitive coaches” (n = 6) and “intense, hustle coaches” (n = 3). Athletes of calm, inquisitive coaches reported significantly more prosocial behaviors and less antisocial behaviors directed toward opponents than athletes of intense, hustle coaches. Thus, coaches’ emotions during practice may be associated with young athletes’ moral behaviors.     

Psychometric Properties of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form: A Study of Portuguese Speaking Children/Youths

The development of measures of children and adolescents’ subjective well-being is crucial to the conceptualization and evaluation of positive mental health. The aim of this study was to investigate the factorial structure and invariance of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF—adolescents) across children and youths. Participants were from two different samples: 208 elementary school children (sample 1) and 216 middle school youths (sample 2). Results confirmed the three-dimensional structure of subjective well-being in both samples. The three sub-scales of the MHCSF yielded high internal consistency and results from the HTMT85 indicated discriminant validity. Measurement invariance testing across three different age groups (7–8, 9–10 and 11–14 years) confirmed the full metric and approximate scalar invariance of the MHC-SF. Full scalar invariance was achieved across gender. The study also compared the latent means for mental well-being in the three age groups, and found that the younger groups showed significantly higher levels of wellbeing. The present research study strongly suggests that the MHC-SF (adolescents) is an appropriate instrument to measure the positive mental health and well-being of children and pre-adolescents as multidimensional construct.     

Macaques can predict social outcomes from facial expressions

There is widespread acceptance that facial expressions are useful in social interactions, but empirical demonstration of their adaptive function has remained elusive. Here, we investigated whether macaques can use the facial expressions of others to predict the future outcomes of social interaction. Crested macaques (Macaca nigra) were shown an approach between two unknown individuals on a touchscreen and were required to choose between one of two potential social outcomes. The facial expressions of the actors were manipulated in the last frame of the video. One subject reached the experimental stage and accurately predicted different social outcomes depending on which facial expressions the actors displayed. The bared-teeth display (homologue of the human smile) was most strongly associated with predicted friendly outcomes. Contrary to our predictions, screams and threat faces were not associated more with conflict outcomes. Overall, therefore, the presence of any facial expression (compared to neutral) caused the subject to choose friendly outcomes more than negative outcomes. Facial expression in general, therefore, indicated a reduced likelihood of social conflict. The findings dispute traditional theories that view expressions only as indicators of present emotion and instead suggest that expressions form part of complex social interactions where individuals think beyond the present.     

Comparing species decisions in a dichotomous choice task: adjusting task parameters improves performance in monkeys

In comparative psychology, both similarities and differences among species are studied to better understand the evolution of their behavior. To do so, we first test species in tasks using similar procedures, but if differences are found, it is important to determine their underlying cause(s) (e.g., are they due to ecology, cognitive ability, an artifact of the study, and/or some other factor?). In our previous work, primates performed unexpectedly poorly on an apparently simple two-choice discrimination task based on the natural behavior of cleaner fish, while the fish did quite well. In this task, if the subjects first chose one of the options (ephemeral) they received both food items, but if they chose the other (permanent) option first, the ephemeral option disappeared. Here, we test several proposed explanations for primates’ relatively poorer performance. In Study 1, we used a computerized paradigm that differed from the previous test by removing interaction with human experimenters, which may be distracting, and providing a more standardized testing environment. In Study 2, we adapted the computerized paradigm from Study 1 to be more relevant to primate ecology. Monkeys’ overall performance in these adapted tasks matched the performance of the fish in the original study, showing that with the appropriate modifications they can solve the task. We discuss these results in light of comparative research, which requires balancing procedural similarity with considerations of how the details of the task or the context may influence how different species perceive and solve tasks differently.     

Early-extinction effects on a force response of humans

Humans were used to investigate changes in response force occurring soon after reinforcement was eliminated. In Experiment 1, in a 300-s baseline phase, 10 participants received a point for holding down a pressure sensor set to operate at a force equal to 85% of the maximum force the participants exerted during a pretest. Following this, during a 600-s extinction phase, criterion responses had no consequence. In Experiment 2, 6 participants worked on the same task, but (a) points were exchangeable for money and (b) after extinction, the reinforcement baseline phase was reinstated. In Experiment 3, 6 participants completed the same task as in Experiment 2, but the required minimum force was 60% of the maximum force exerted during the pretest. In each experiment, increases in response force relative to the mean and peak force exerted during the last 100 s of baseline were observed in most participants when force responses were aggregated into short sample intervals, but less so with longer ones. The increases, however, were not systematic across or within participants, questioning the generality of and the criteria for demonstrating an extinction burst.     

Effects of Threat on Police Officers' Shooting Behavior: Anxiety,Action Specificity,and Affective Influences on Perception

In the current study, we investigated the impact of threat and response mode on police officers' distance perception and shooting behavior in relation to a suspect that approached with a knife. To manipulate threat and increase anxiety, the suspect carried either a plastic knife (low threat) or an electrical knife (high threat). Regarding the manipulation of response mode, officers provided either an actual shooting response or indicated their shot verbally. In both cases, perceptual judgments of shooting distances were assessed through visual matching. Results show that high threat led to earlier shooting, but only for actual shooting responses. Although high threat generally induced more anxiety, perceptual judgments remained unaffected by threat and indicated systematic underestimations of the distance to the suspect. It is suggested that in the online control of action, increased anxiety does not affect distance perception but alters the functional relationship between distance and perceived threat, thereby causing officers to shoot the approaching suspect at an earlier stage. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding team coordination in doubles table tennis: Joint analysis of first- and third-person data

ObjectivesThis study sought to determine whether combining first- and third-person methodologies would provide insight into team coordination.Design and methodsWe studied the activity of a table tennis doubles team during an official match. We collected and processed the verbal data according to a procedure defined for course-of-experience analysis, but we also included a video-based field study of the partners' interactions during the breaks between points. We then conducted a joint analysis of the two players' lived experience and behaviors during these short breaks.ResultsThe results showed both the difficulties and the empirical richness of this approach. For example, the joint analysis of first- and third-person data on doubles table tennis revealed how the players' behaviors during the short breaks between points had a key role in shaping the understanding shared by the two partners.ConclusionsThe combination of first- and third-person data seems to be a promising approach for improving our understanding of the coordination processes in sports teams. In our study, the joint analysis of these data enabled us to describe in great detail how the respective behaviors of the partners contributed to the dynamics of constructing/deconstructing shared understanding between them.     

Teaching Fourth and Fifth Graders to Evaluate Information Sources During Text Comprehension

In two experiments, we examined fourth and fifth graders' comprehension of the source of information in texts presenting controversial issues. In Experiment 1, participants read short texts in which two people presented different arguments regarding an issue. Participants identified who said what and evaluated each source's knowledge of the issue. Most students correctly identified the source of information but failed to take into account each source's characteristics when determining who was most knowledgeable. In Experiment 2, we implemented an intervention on students' evaluations of information sources. Less skilled students in the intervention group assessed source knowledge more accurately than those in a control group. We conclude that elementary school students' comprehension of who says what in a text can benefit from training sessions that involve practice, feedback, explanations, and discussions. We consider the implications for document-based learning in elementary and secondary education.     

Posture-movement responses to stance perturbations and upper limb fatigue during a repetitive pointing task

Localized muscle fatigue and postural perturbation have separately been shown to alter whole-body movement but little is known about how humans respond when subjected to both factors combined. Here we sought to quantify the kinematics of postural control and repetitive upper limb movement during standing surface perturbations and in the presence of fatigue. Subjects stood on a motion-based platform and repetitively reached between two shoulder-height targets until noticeably fatigued (rating of perceived exertion = 8/10). Every minute, subjects experienced a posterior and an anterior platform translation while reaching to the distal target. Outcomes were compared prior to and with fatigue (first vs. final minute data). When fatigued, regardless of the perturbation condition, subjects decreased their shoulder abduction and increased contralateral trunk flexion, a strategy that may relieve the load on the fatiguing upper limb musculature. During perturbations, kinematic adaptations emerged across the trunk and arm to preserve task performance. In contrast to our expectation, the kinematic response to the perturbations did not alter in the presence of fatigue. Kinematic adaptations in response to the perturbation predominantly occurred in the direction of the reach whereas fatigue adaptations occurred orthogonal to the reach. These findings suggest that during repetitive reaching, fatigue and postural perturbation compensations organize so as to minimize interaction with each other and preserve the global task characteristics of endpoint motion.     

Perceived Responder Legitimacy and Group Identification Predict Cooperation and Compliance in a Mass Decontamination Field Exercise

Emergency responders' failure to communicate effectively during decontamination following a chemical or biological incident has been associated with increased public anxiety and reduced public compliance. In this study we applied the social identity approach to evaluating a field exercise that involved mass decontamination. Questionnaires were collected from 115 volunteers, who participated in the exercise as simulated casualties. Volunteers' perceptions of effective responder communication predicted increased self-reported compliance with decontamination, mediated by perceived responder legitimacy and identification with other group members. Developing effective communication strategies using a social psychology perspective could improve the way in which incidents are managed.