Do sedentary motives adversely affect physical activity? Adding cross-behavioural cognitions to the theory of planned behaviour

The purpose of this study was to explore whether sedentary behavior cognitions explain physical activity (PA) intention and behavior when integrated within the theory of planned behavior framework (TPB). A random community sample of 206 adults and a sample of 174 undergraduate students completed measures of the TPB pertaining to PA and four popular leisure-time behaviors (TV viewing, computer use, sedentary hobbies, and sedentary socializing) and an adapted Godin Leisure-Time Exercize Questionnaire (community sample = cross-sectional, undergraduate sample = 2-week prospective). Results using ordinary least squares regression provided evidence that TV viewing intention explains additional variance in PA behavior, and affective attitude (community sample) and perceived behavioral control (undergraduate sample) towards TV viewing explains additional variance in PA intention even after controlling for PA-related TPB constructs. These results underscore the potential value of adding sedentary control interventions in concert with PA promotion.     

Psychometric Properties of the Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SSRQ) in a South African Context

Self-regulation (SR), an important construct within the psychological well-being context, involves the ability to monitor behaviour, to contrast it with reference values and to introduce adjustments where necessary. A lack of validated measures of SR in the South African context has contributed to the current caveat in our knowledge of the potential importance of this construct. This investigation aimed to establish the utility of the Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SSRQ; Carey, Neal & Collins, 2004) in a South African context. This short version of the original Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ; Brown, Miller & Lawendowski, 1999) was completed by a group of 385 undergraduate psychology students. Factor analysis produced 7 factors, all of which showed significant positive correlations with other measures of psychological well-being. This first step toward establishing the importance of SR in non-Western cultures reflected positively on the potential use of the SSRQ in large epidemiological studies.     

Altered working memory capacity for social threat words in high versus low social anxiety

ABSTRACT

Background and objectives: Differences in working memory capacity (WMC) have been suggested in individuals with high levels of social anxiety (SA). Specifically, these individuals may preferentially maintain socially threatening material in working memory.

Design and methods: We adapted the digit span task to a series of word span tasks. We assessed WMC for lists of words that varied in terms of their threat-relatedness, in individuals either high or low in SA.

Results: Experiment 1 revealed reduced WMC for socially threatening words in those with high compared to low SA. Importantly, this relative reduction in WMC was driven by the low SA group showing expanded capacity for socially threatening words relative to neutral or generally threatening words. Furthermore, reductions in WMC for social threat were uniquely predicted by SA, and not by other theoretically related constructs such as state general anxiety, trait general anxiety, or depression. Experiment 2 showed that the semantic similarity of the words within each list was not responsible for the differences in WMC between list type or SA group.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that individuals high in SA may fail to upregulate WMC for social information due to the activation of, or rumination upon, socially threatening concepts.     

An Island in a Sea of Development: An Examination of Place Attachment,Activity Type,and Crowding in an Urban National Park

ABSTRACT

As more people move to urban areas there will be increased pressure on existing green spaces to offer places for recreation, contemplation, historic interpretation, exercise, and nature appreciation. Development and a rise in population has led to too few public recreation sites available in many regions of the world resulting in unsustainable pressure being applied to parks. The objective of this study was to examine how place attachment may be related to type and frequency of park use and management issues regarding crowding. Data for this study were obtained via intercept survey of a random sample of visitors (N = 1088) at a park in the Metro Atlanta area, Georgia. Results suggest that place attachment had a significant relationship with frequency of visits and types of activities that visitors engaged in. There was, however, no significant relation between place attachment and crowding. First-time visitors and less frequent visitors felt most crowded, which may support the idea that the most frequent visitors expect it to be crowded and are, therefore, less sensitive to it. This study sheds light on how visitors to an urban park view their experience while recreating, and may inform policies and regulations that will help mitigate the unique management situations that urban parks present.     

Males' Reactions to Participating in Research on Dating Violence Victimization and Childhood Abuse

Childhood abuse and dating violence victimization are prevalent and devastating problems. Although there has been an abundance of research on these topics in recent years, researchers and institutional review boards often struggle with determining whether asking respondents questions on previous violence will result in increased emotional distress or other negative research outcomes. Empirical data are therefore needed that examine the research reactions of individuals who participate in research on childhood abuse and dating violence. This study examined this topic among a sample of male college students (N?=?193). Results showed that victims of childhood sexual abuse had more negative emotional reactions and victims of physical dating violence had more negative perceived drawbacks to research participation than nonvictims. However, victims and nonvictims did not differ on positive research reactions. These findings suggest that there are few differences between victims and nonvictims on research reactions.     

Does prospective memory influence quality of life in community-dwelling older adults?

Older adults commonly experience declines in prospective memory, which describes one’s ability to “remember to remember,” and can adversely affect instrumental activities of daily living and healthcare compliance. However, the extent to which prospective memory failures may influence quality of life in typically aging older adults is not well understood. One-hundred and four community-dwelling older Australians (aged 50 to 82 years) were administered a comprehensive, neuropsychological battery that included the Memory for Intentions Screening Test (MIST), Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (IADLQ), and World Health Organization Quality of Life-8 (WHOQOL-8). Multiple regressions controlling for negative affect, medical comorbidities, and other neurocognitive functions revealed an interaction between prospective memory and instrumental activities of daily living in the concurrent prediction of quality of life. Among the 39 older adults who reported multiple problems on the IADLQ, lower performance-based prospective memory (MIST) and higher self-reported prospective memory failures in daily life (PRMQ) were significantly associated with lower quality of life (WHOQOL-8). Conversely, no significant associations were observed between prospective memory and quality of life in the 65 participants without IADL problems. Prospective memory difficulties adversely impact quality of life in community-dwelling older adults who experience problems independently managing their instrumental activities of daily living. These findings extend prior literature showing that prospective memory plays a unique role in the real-world outcomes of older adults and clinical populations and highlight the need to develop effective strategies to enhance prospective memory functioning in these vulnerable groups.     

Psychological Well-Being and the Metabolic Syndrome in African and Caucasian Women in South Africa

This study explored the association between comprehensive psychological well-being and the metabolic syndrome (MS), as well as whether women without MS markers differ significantly from women with MS (three or more markers) on specific facets of psychological well-being. African (N=102) and Caucasian (N=115) women completed self-report questionnaires on psychological well-being, and biological markers for MS were determined. Results indicated a significant association between comprehensive psychological well-being and the MS in Caucasian women, but not in the case of African women. Caucasian women without MS had higher levels of perceived support from friends and family, environmental mastery, purpose in life, sense of coherence, affect balance and positive relationships than those with MS. African women without MS had higher levels of positive relationships and an optimistic explanatory style, but lower levels of perceived support from family. Further research is indicated.     

Induction when rats lick for 1% liquid-sucrose reinforcement

Previous research reported that rats responding for 1% liquid-sucrose reinforcement when 32% sucrose reinforcement is upcoming will decrease their response rate (contrast) if licking is the dependent measure and increase their response rate (induction) if pressing a lever is the dependent measure. The present study investigated whether induction could be observed when licking served as the dependent measure and whether induction in lever pressing and contrast in licking behaviour could be concurrently observed. Experiment 1 found induction when rats licked to earn the rewards but consumed them at a location separate from the spout licked to earn them. Experiment 2 also found induction when rats earned (and consumed) rewards by licking the same spout throughout the session. Experiment 3 separately measured instrumental lever pressing for sucrose rewards and licking the sucrose during the reward period. We found that both measures increased for 1% sucrose when 32% sucrose reinforcement was upcoming. The present results indicate that the type of response is not the sole determinant of whether contrast or induction is observed. Rather, they suggest that other procedural details, such as the location of reinforcer delivery, influence which effect is observed. The results also indicate that associative processes underlie the appearance of induction in responding for 1% sucrose.