Mental representation and learning: The influence of practice on the development of mental representation structure in complex action

ObjectivesRecent research has elicited distinct differences in mental representations between athletes of different skill levels. Such differences suggest that the structure of mental representations changes as a function of skill level. However, research examining how such mental representation structures develop over the course of learning is lacking. In the present study, we examine the effects of practice on the development of one's mental representation of a complex action during early skill acquisition.DesignFor this purpose, we created a controllable learning situation, using a repeated-measures design with a control group. More specifically, novice golfers were randomly assigned to either a practice group (n = 12) or a control group (n = 12). Both groups were tested before and after an acquisition phase of three days as well as after a three day retention interval.MethodsMental representation structures of the putt were recorded, employing the structural dimensional analysis of mental representation (SDA-M), which provides psychometric data on the structure and grouping of action concepts in long-term memory. In addition, outcome performance of the practice group was measured, using two-dimensional error scores of the putt.ResultsFindings revealed a significant improvement in task performance, as well as functional changes in the structure of the practice group's mental representation. In contrast, no functional adaptations were evident in the mental representation of the control group.ConclusionOur findings suggest that motor skill acquisition is associated with functional adaptations of action-related knowledge in long-term memory.     

Development of a career-enabler framework within a South African higher education institution

This study developed a preliminary career-enabler framework for use in a higher education setting. A quantitative survey was conducted with a sample of 1392 employees within a higher education institution in South Africa. Structural analysis was performed using exploratory factor analysis. The analysis yielded three enablers with acceptable psychometric properties, namely: self-transcendence, self-enhancement and self-conservation through work motives and needs. Interventions that focus on career-enablers within a higher education institution need to address these three factors.     

Positive Self‐regard and Claim to Leadership: Two Fundamental Forms of Self‐evaluation

The present article examines the common factor structure of various self‐evaluative personality constructs. Consistent with previous research, we found considerable redundancy between constructs. Two basic forms of self‐evaluation could be distinguished: Positive Self‐regard (PSR) reflects people's contentedness with themselves in comparison with their own standards. Constructs such as depression, self‐esteem and neuroticism have very high loadings on this factor. In contrast, Claim to Leadership (CTL) reflects the subjective conviction that one is called to take charge and lead others. This conviction is often called ‘narcissism’. PSR mainly reflects an intra‐personal kind of self‐evaluation, whereas CTL reflects an inter‐personal kind. Both forms of self‐evaluation independently predict intellectual self‐enhancement, but only one of them (PSR) also predicts self‐reported mental health. Moreover, the two forms of self‐evaluation are differentially associated with self‐reported and peer‐reported inter‐personal traits (Dominance and Affiliation). Finally, the concepts of ‘Grandiosity’ and ‘Vulnerability’ from narcissism research may easily be reframed in terms of CTL and PSR. The two‐dimensional framework may help overcome the conceptual confusion that exists around different forms of self‐evaluation and streamline the field for future research. Copyright © 2013 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Prism adaptation changes the subjective proprioceptive localization of the hands

Prism adaptation involves a proprioceptive, a visual and a motor component. As the existing paradigms are not able to distinguish between these three components, the contribution of the proprioceptive component remains unclear. In the current study, a proprioceptive judgement task, in the absence of motor responses, was used to investigate how prism adaptation would specifically influences the felt position of the hands in healthy participants. The task was administered before and after adaptation to left and right displacing prisms using either the left or the right hand during the adaptation procedure. The results appeared to suggest that the prisms induced a drift in the felt position of the hands, although the after‐effect depended on the combination of the pointing hand and the visual deviation induced by prisms. The results are interpreted as in line with the hypothesis of an asymmetrical neural architecture of somatosensory processing. Moreover, the passive proprioception of the hand position revealed different effects of proprioceptive re‐alignment compared to active pointing straight ahead: different mechanisms about how visuo‐proprioceptive discrepancy is resolved were hypothesized.     

Emotion Regulation Strategies,Secondary Traumatic Stress,and Compassion Satisfaction in Healthcare Providers

The aim of the present study is to examine the relationships between two emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression), secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction in a sample of 190 healthcare providers. Another aim of this study is to examine if the relations between emotion regulation strategies and traumatic stress symptoms are moderated by compassion satisfaction. The respondents volunteered to take part in the research and completed self-reporting measures describing the use of emotional regulation strategies, the symptoms of secondary traumatic stress, and the compassion satisfaction. The results revealed negative associations between cognitive reappraisal and secondary traumatic stress, while expressive suppression is positively associated with arousal. Moreover, cognitive reappraisal is positively related to compassion satisfaction, while secondary traumatic stress symptoms are negatively correlated with compassion satisfaction. Furthermore, the relationship between expressive suppression and intrusions is moderated by compassion satisfaction. The implications of these results for enhancing professional quality of life in the context of secondary exposure to traumatic life events are discussed.     

Is seeking bad mood cognitively demanding? Contra-hedonic orientation and working-memory capacity in everyday life

Hedonism, or wanting to feel good, is central to human motivation. At times, however, people also seek to maintain or enhance negative affect or to dampen positive affect, and this can be instrumental for the later attainment of their goals. Here, we investigate the assumption that such contra-hedonic orientation is cognitively more demanding than prohedonic orientation, above and beyond the effects of momentary affective experience. We provided 378 participants with mobile phones that they carried with them for 3 weeks while pursuing their daily routines. The phones prompted participants at least 54 times to report their current affect-regulation orientation and to work on two trials of a cognitively demanding working memory task. As expected, contra-hedonic orientation was substantially less prevalent than prohedonic orientation. It was reported in 15% of the measurement occasions. Participants who reported on average more contra-hedonic orientation showed lower average working memory performance throughout the study interval. Further, controlling for the effects of accompanying affective experiences, momentary occurrences of contra-hedonic orientation were associated with temporary declines in working memory performance within individuals, and this could neither be explained by lacking task compliance nor by other characteristics of the individual or the situation. Prohedonic orientation showed a considerably smaller association with working memory performance. These findings are consistent with the view that contra-hedonic orientation is accompanied by momentarily more diminished cognitive resources than is prohedonic orientation.     

On the Relationship Between Interoceptive Awareness and Alexithymia: Is Interoceptive Awareness Related to Emotional Awareness?

Interoceptive awareness (IA) is associated with emotional experience, the processing of emotional stimuli, and activation of brain structures that monitor the internal visceral and emotional state of the organism. Alexithymia is characterized by difficulties in identifying and describing one's emotions and externally oriented thinking (EOT) and reflects impairments in emotional awareness and the regulation of emotions. This study examined the relationship between alexithymia and IA in a healthy population of N=155 persons. A well-validated heartbeat perception task to measure interoceptive awareness, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and a depression questionnaire (BDI-2) were administered to 88 women and 67 men. IA was inversely associated with all features of alexithymia in the whole sample. When considering sex differences, IA turned out to be a relevant negative predictor for the EOT subscale only in men. This large sample investigation in a nonclinical population indicates that IA represents a relevant negative predictor for alexithymia.     

Affective norms for 380 Spanish words belonging to three different semantic categories

Emotional words are increasingly used in the study of word processing. To elucidate whether the experimental effects obtained with these words are due either to their affective content or to other semantic characteristics, it is necessary to conduct experiments with affectively valenced words obtained from different semantic categories. In the present article, we present affective ratings for 380 Spanish words belonging to three semantic categories: animals, people, and objects. The norms are based on the assessments made by 504 participants, who rated about 47 words either in valence and arousal, by using the Self-Assessment Manikin (Bradley & Lang, Journal of Behavioral Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 25, 49-59. 1994), or in concreteness and familiarity. These ratings will help researchers select stimuli for experiments in which both the affective properties of words and their membership to a given semantic category have to be taken into account. The database is available as an online supplement for this article.     

Self- and social perception of physical appearance in chest wall deformity

This study analyzes self- and social perception of physical appearance in patients with chest wall deformity (CWD), including both pectus carinatum and pectus excavatum. Self-perception of appearance in 76 patients with CWD and social perception of patients' appearance by 20 adult and 20 adolescent raters was assessed using the Appearance Rating Scale (Stangier et al., 2000) and evaluated for agreement and multivariate correlates. Results indicate no agreement between self- and social rating. Based on mean scores patients rated their appearance significantly more negatively than adult raters but only slightly different than adolescent raters. Adolescent raters' judgment of the patients' appearance was related to CWD characteristics, while self-rating rather seems to be related to psychosocial factors. Because adolescents are a relevant peer group for adolescent patients with CWD their evaluation of the appearance might influence patients' self-image and might affect their psychological functioning. Effective interventions focusing on social interactions are needed.