Effect of three levels of work intensity on performance of a fine motor skill.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of three levels of work intensity on the performance of a fine motor skill during steady-state exercies. Subjects were administered a progressive bicycle ergometer test to exhaustion in order to determine maximum heart rate (HRmax). Following practice sessions on the pursuit rotor, subjects performed 3 different rides on a bicycle ergometer at 60, 75, and 90% of HRmax. The order to test administration was varied randomly in an attempt to control for sequential effects. Analysis of variance with repeated measures was used to determine differences in pursuit rotor performance by days and by levels of work intensity. No confounding of learning was noted. A significant F ratio (p less than .001) between work intensities showed that fine motor performance during steady-state exercise is affected by levels of work intensity.     

Children's understanding of motives for deception

This study examines the problem of why some motives are understood at an earlier age than others. Currently, the accepted explanation for this is that general cognitive level constrains children's reasoning in the social domain. An alternative explanation is that an important process in understanding others is projection. To investigate this young boys and girls from two age groups were presented with cartoon stories depicting situations involving altruistic deception and self-centred deception. Pairs of matched cartoon stories, each of which came in two versions, differing only in motive type were constructed. As predicted, self-centred deception was understood earlier than altruistic deception. These results are congruent with the idea that the underlying process in understanding others is projection.     

On the tunnel effect

The experiments described in this paper consist of presenting observers with two similar objects in successive movement in the same plane but of which the end of the first and the beginning of the second are hidden by a screen (tunnel). Under proper experimental conditions the impression received is one of continuous and uniform movement by a single object passing behind the screen.

The hidden phase of this movement assumes all of the characteristics of true, visible movement for its entire extent, and any lengthening of the duration of the invisible phase gives the impression of a momentary halt behind the screen at a definite point. A modification of the position or of the relative orientation of the visible portions of the trajectory influences the apparent form of its invisible portion. This form can be made to assume the aspects of complicated curves which are sketched and described by different observers with remarkable consistency.

All these phenomena are dependent upon the objctive conditions: the speed of the objects while they are visible, the length of the tunnel, the duration of the invisible phase, the relative position of the visible portions of the trajectory; and they vary systematically with these conditions. As one or other of these conditions is varied, the impression of continuity may give way to one of a simple succession of independent movements.

It is thought that the absence of sensory qualities justifies the use of the term “amodal data” to describe the way in which the hidden movement phase makes itself known to the observer. These “amodal data” form the bridge between the modal phases and become an integral part of the total sensory experience. These properties are determined by the nature of the complex system of excitations in the same way as those of the modal phases and one can thus consider this amodal aspect of the combined experience as a truly perceptual phenomenon.     

A reexamination of body build stereotypes

Using semantic differential and discriminant analysis techniques, the study sought to determine (a) the existence of body build stereotypes, (b) the extent of identification with these stereotypes, and (c) the effect of identification upon the child's self-evaluation. The subjects were 406 children in Grades four to eight from a midwestern community. All subjects were white and had predominantly middle-class backgrounds. Subjects completed the Piers-Harris Children's Self Concept Scale, semantic differential ratings of the Global self-concept, and the body build concepts of “SKINNY GIRL,” “FAT GIRL,” “SKINNY BOY,” and “FAT BOY,” and the situationally specific self-concepts of “MYSELF IN THE CLASSROOM,” “MYSELF AT LUNCH/RECESS,” and “MYSELF WHEN LOOKING IN A MIRROR,” Measures of weight and height were obtained using a standard weighing scale and wall chart. Fat child and skinny child stereotypes were found to be invariant across age and sex groups and did not appear to be gender specific. Actual fatness was found to be generally related to identification with the body build stereotypes, but not strongly so. Low self-esteem was a concomitant of identification with the fat child stereotype. The majority of children identified with the average child in all settings.     

Preferred organizational climates of Type A individuals

In this study, the relationship of Type A behavior to organizational climate preferences was investigated. Respondents were 118 male and female students of administration who would soon be undertaking full-time employment. Each completed the Jenkins Activity Survey, a widely used paper-and-pencil measure of Type A behavior, and indicated their preferences for nine organizational climates. Type A behavior scores were related in consistent and meaningful ways to work climates characterized by high performance standards, spontaneity, ambiguity, and toughness. These results indicate that individuals are attracted to jobs and organizational climates which match their own stable behavioral and attitudinal propensities.     

Explaining the surprisingly weak relationship between organizational constraints and job performance

Organizational constraints are contextual factors that interfere with task performance. Study 1 was a meta-analysis of constraints-performance studies that found a smaller than expected relationship. Two additional studies were designed to understand why constraints fail to relate as expected to performance. Study 2 found support for the rater-bias hypothesis that raters take constraints into consideration when rating performance. Study 3 showed that constraints were both a challenge and a hindrance, and the two components tend to cancel one another. Two important conclusions that arise are that the constraints–performance relationship observed in field studies using raters is an underestimate of the true relationship, and constraints are not simply a hindrance, but can have a challenging effect that enhances motivation, as well.     

Negative emotional responses to motherhood-related support receipt during pregnancy predict postpartum depressive symptoms

Background and Objectives: Prenatal stress increases risk for postpartum depression. While social support availability may attenuate this risk, little research has examined support receipt during pregnancy, which has been linked to increased distress in other domains. This study assesses the implications of motherhood-related and motherhood-unrelated support receipt for daily distress during pregnancy and tests whether negative responsiveness to motherhood-related support predicts postpartum depression risk. Design and Method: Thirty-one pregnant women were recruited from the community for a 3-wave study (beginning at approximately 26 weeks gestation, 34 weeks gestation, and 4 weeks postpartum). Each wave included a survey of general characteristics (e.g. depressive symptoms) and a two-week diary period measuring mood, stress, and support. Results: A multilevel model analysis suggested that motherhood-related support predicted greater increases in daily distress than motherhood-unrelated support. Follow-up regression analysis showed that those who responded more negatively to motherhood-related support reported higher postpartum depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Although preliminary due to the sample size, the results suggest that how women interpret and respond to support may contribute to postpartum depression risk. Future research should focus on how mothers can more positively construe the support they receive in addition to how to increase the support available to them.