Role of action observation and action in sequence learning and coding

A complex sequence learning task was used to determine if the type of coding acquired through physical practice (PP), observation of the stimulus (Obs-S), or observation of stimulus and action (Obs-SA) differs between conditions and whether the type of observation influences subsequent learning of the task when physical practice was permitted. Participants in the Obs-S group were permitted to watch the sequentially illuminated stimuli on the screen. In the Obs-SA group participants could see both flexion-extension movements of the model's arm performing the sequence and the sequentially illuminated stimuli on the screen. Participants in the PP group actually performed the 16-element sequence with their dominant right arm. Delayed retention tests and two inter-manual transfer tests were completed following each of two acquisition sessions. First, the data indicated that learning the sequence structure, as revealed by response time per element, occurred similarly irrespective of the initial practice condition. Secondly, the movement sequence appeared to be coded in abstract visual-spatial coordinates resulting in effector-independent performance. Finally, observing the model's action and sequential stimuli allows participants to transfer the perceived aspects of the movement sequence into efficient coordination patterns when additional physical practice is permitted.     

Ageing and secondary-distinctiveness-based effects: The orthographic distinctiveness effect is more robust than the bizarreness effect

Differences related to ageing were investigated in two cases of secondary-distinctiveness-based effects: the bizarreness effect and the orthographic distinctiveness effect. A secondary distinctiveness effect means that items that are unusual compared to one's general knowledge stored in permanent memory are better remembered than common items. Experiment 1 confirmed that ageing diminishes the facilitative effects of bizarreness in a mixed list design with equal numbers of bizarre and common images. We suggest that the impaired bizarreness effect in older adults (above age 70) may be due to reduced attentional resources, since no bizarreness effect was observed for younger adults in the divided attention condition. Experiment 2 studied the orthographic distinctiveness effect in ageing for the first time. Contrary to our expectations, an orthographic distinctiveness effect was observed for all participants including older adults and younger adults in a divided attention condition. Because reduced attentional resources due to normal ageing or to experimental manipulation did not impact the facilitative effects of orthographic distinctiveness, our findings suggest that the orthographic distinctiveness effect may be mediated by more automatic processing.     

Motivational profiles and achievement: A prospective study testing potential mediators

The purpose of the study was to examine students’ motivational profile at the beginning of a College program and to test whether these profiles were associated with students’ achievement through their relations with behaviors adopted during the semester. A prospective design with two time points of data collection was conducted in first-year students enrolled in a French University. Motivations were assessed at the beginning of the semester (510 participants at Time 1), and study strategies and temporal resources devoted to academics at the end of it (301 participants at Time 2). Administrative records were used to check for persistence in the program and to assess achievement. Cluster analyses revealed five distinct profiles: additive; self-determined; moderate; low; non self-determined. Furthermore, motivational profile was linked to final grade through the partial mediation of the percentage of classes attended. As a whole, students with a self-determined profile demonstrated the best academic adjustment, whereas those with a low or non self-determined profile displayed the poorest outcomes.     

Association of personality with physical,social, and mental activities across the lifespan: Findings from US and French samples

Despite evidence for its health‐related benefits, little is known on the psychological predictors of the participation in leisure activities across the lifespan. Therefore, this study aimed to identify whether personality is associated with a variety of different types of activities, involving physical, cognitive, and social components. The samples included individuals from the second wave of the National Study of Midlife in the United States (N = 3,396) and community‐dwelling French individuals (N = 2,917) aged between 30 and 84. Both samples completed measures of the five‐factor model of personality. To create an activity index, we combined the physical, social, and cognitive (games and developmental) activities performed at least once a month. In both samples, individuals who scored higher on extraversion and openness were more likely to engage in a variety of activity types. The findings were consistent across two samples from different western societies and suggest that extraversion and openness contribute to social, cognitive, and physical functioning across the lifespan.     

Coping with examinations: Exploring relationships between students' coping strategies,implicit theories of ability,and perceived control

Background Relatively little is known about the contribution of students' beliefs regarding the nature of academic ability (i.e. their implicit theories) on strategies used to deal with examinations. Aims This study applied Dweck's socio‐cognitive model of achievement motivation to better understand how students cope with examinations. It was expected that students' implicit theories of academic ability would be related to their use of particular coping strategies to deal with exam‐related stress. Additionally, it was predicted that perceived control over exams acts as a mediator between implicit theories of ability and coping. Sample Four hundred and ten undergraduate students (263 males, 147 females), aged from 17 to 26 years old (M = 19.73, SD = 1.46) were volunteers for the present study. Methods Students completed measures of coping, implicit theories of academic ability, and perception of control over academic examinations during regular classes in the first term of the university year. Results Multiple regression analyses revealed that incremental beliefs of ability significantly and positively predicted active coping, planning, venting of emotions, seeking social support for emotional and instrumental reasons, whereas entity beliefs positively predicted behavioural disengagement and negatively predicted active coping and acceptance. In addition, analyses revealed that entity beliefs of ability were related to coping strategies through students' perception of control over academic examinations. Conclusions These results confirm that exam‐related coping varies as a function of students' beliefs about the nature of academic ability and their perceptions of control when approaching examinations.     

“What a Match!”: The Specific Role of Resources in the Relation Between Demands and Vigour in Elite Sport

The triple-match principle, as outlined by the Demand-Induced Strain Compensation (DISC) Model, states that resources are most effective when they match particular demands. The present study investigates the role of match in elite sport with regard to the relation between sport-related demands, sport-related resources, and vigour (i.e., physical strength, cognitive liveliness, and emotional energy). We hypothesised that moderating effects of resources on the relation between demands and vigour are most likely when there is a triple-match between demands, resources and vigour, followed by double-match and non-match. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted among 118 semi-professional and professional athletes (70 females, 48 males, M_age= 24.7, SD = 6.5). Physical resources moderated (i.e., strengthened) the positive relation between physical demands and physical strength, whereas emotional resources moderated (i.e., buffered) the negative relation between emotional demands and emotional energy. Moderating effects of sport-related resources on the relation between sport-related demands and vigour occurred more often when there was a triple-match compared to when there was less match or no match at all. These findings indicate that, also in the domain of elite sport, resources do not randomly moderate the relation between demands and well-being. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.     

On the cognitive basis of observational learning: Development of mechanisms for the detection and correction of errors

It has been proposed that observation of a model practising a motor skill results in the observer developing mechanisms for the detection and correction of errors that are similar to those acquired during physical practice. Results of a first experiment indicated that prior observation of a model permitted participants to estimate their errors as efficiently as those who had physically practised the task. Similarly, results of a second experiment indicated that observation of a model receiving biased knowledge of results during practice resulted in similarly biased reference and error detection/correction mechanisms for the observers and for the models. These results suggest that observation engages one in cognitive processes similar to those occurring during physical practice.     

The relation between risk perceptions and physical activity among older adults: A prospective study

Past studies have found that risk perceptions of suffering from diseases play an important role in the development of intentions to perform physical activity (PA). According to the behaviour motivation hypothesis, perceived risk could be positively and directly related to PA, but this possibility has been ignored and/or underestimated. Accounting for recent methodological developments on the importance of study design and risk perception assessment, the purpose of the present study was to examine the risk-perceptions–PA relationship among older adults. Participants (N?=?143) aged from 61 to 70 years initially underwent measurement of risk perceptions, baseline PA, socio-demographic and health factors. Six months later, they were asked about their PA participation. Multiple regression analyses revealed that perceived risk of suffering from diseases and conditions without regular PA participation was an independent positive predictor of later PA, over and beyond baseline behaviour, socio-demographic and health variables. This study fills a gap in the existing literature on the PAs of older adults and reveals that risk perceptions are directly linked to their participation. In addition, it extends existing knowledge in health psychology on the behaviour motivation hypothesis, and emphasises the necessity of methodological adjustments when assessing the risk-perception–behaviour relationship.     

Saving-enhanced performance: saving items after study boosts performance in subsequent cognitively demanding tasks

ABSTRACT

By saving and storing information, we use digital devices as our external memory stores, being able to offload and temporarily forget saved contents. Storm and Stone [2015. Saving-enhanced memory: The benefits of saving on the learning and remembering of new information. Psychological Science, 26(2), 182–188] showed that such memory offloading can be beneficial for subsequent memory performance. Saving already encoded items enhanced recall of items encoded after saving. In the present study, we did not only replicate saving-enhanced memory but found saving-enhanced performance for unrelated cognitively demanding tasks. Participants solved more modular arithmetic problems when they were able to offload a previously studied word list, compared to trials without the possibility to offload. Thus, saving of recently encoded items entailed a general benefit on subsequent cognitive performance, beyond encoding and retrieving word lists. We assume that offloading frees participants from the need to maintain offloaded items. Gained resources can then be used for subsequent tasks with high cognitive demands. In a nutshell, memory offloading can help to reduce the amount of information that has to be processed at a given time, efficiently delegating our limited cognitive resources to the most relevant tasks at hand while currently irrelevant information are safely stored outside our own memory.