Les effets des activités auto-descriptives sur la clarté du concept de soi : le rôle modérateur des variables sociodémographiques

This research questions the possibility of inducing the development of self-concept clarity (SCC), through a self-describing activity. A test-retest device comprises three groups: neutral (no intermediate activity), control (logical-cognitive activity), experimental (self-describing activity). The results indicate that the self-describing activity generates the largest effect, but become significantly stronger when individuals start with a low CCS, which is often the when belonging to less values socio-demographic categories. We reinterpet these process in terms of “remediation” et we explore possibilities to measure and develop professional orientation practices for this purpose.     

Post-traumatic stress disorder and health risk behaviour among persons 15 years and older in South Africa

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and health risk behaviours among persons 15 years and older in South Africa. We analysed data from the South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (SANHANES-1, 2012) (N = 15 201; mean age = 36.9 years, SD = 16.5; 2.1% with PSTD, 4.0% with partial PTSD). The survey included questions from validated measures of the following health risk behaviours: problem drinking, current tobacco use, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, vegetable consumption, and fast food and frequent soft drinks consumption. In adjusted logistic regression analysis, only self-reporting with PTSD was associated with problem drinking. The data did not yield significant association between PTSD status and any of the other health risk behaviours (tobacco use, low physical activity, and fast food consumption).     

The immediate and sustained effects of acute exercise on planning aspect of executive function

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to clarify the immediate and sustained effects of an acute bout of exercise on the planning aspects of executive function.DesignThis study used a 2 × 4 true experimental design.MethodForty participants were randomly assigned to either the exercise or control groups and completed the Tower of London task prior to, immediately following, 30 min after, and 60 min after cessation of a 30 min, moderate intensity cycling exercise.ResultsAcute exercise positively impacted the total move score, which reflects planning efficiency, immediately after the cessation of exercise. Acute exercise also led to longer total initiation times, which were linked to better response inhibition of planning at 30 and 60 min after the cessation of exercise.ConclusionAcute exercise benefits planning, and the types of planning and the time points at which they were assessed modulate the relationship between acute exercise and executive function. Exercise-induced physiological and biological fluctuations have been proposed to explain the effects present immediately after exercise, and the mechanisms of such effects warrant further exploration.     

The effect of video observation on warmth and competence ratings of individuals with a disability

ObjectivesThis study examined whether a video featuring an adult with a physical disability engaging in either sport, exercise, or an activity of daily living (ADL) can mitigate negative stereotypes of disability held by people without a disability.DesignThis study used a pre-post design, involving three participant groups.MethodsParticipants (n = 212) read a vignette describing an adult with a disability (target). Consistent with the stereotype content model, participants judged the target's warmth and competence. One week later, participants viewed a video of the target participating in sport, exercise, or an ADL and judged the target's warmth and competence.ResultsJudgements of competence but not warmth changed over time. The greatest increases occurred in the sport condition. At follow-up, the typical high warmth low competence stereotype of disability was reversed; the character was judged as being more competent than warm especially in the sport condition.ConclusionVideos of adults with a disability engaging in physical activity, particularly sport, have potential to mitigate negative stereotypes of disability.     

Theoretical underpinnings of a need-supportive intervention to address sustained healthy lifestyle changes in overweight and obese adolescents

ObjectivesRecent figures indicate that nearly a quarter of Australian adolescents are overweight or obese. Despite the well-established role of physical activity and healthy eating in reducing prevalence of obesity, there remains a lack of effective interventions that promote sustained behavior engagement. This paper aims to describe the theory-based integration and implementation of self-determination theory and goal setting theory in a family-based lifestyle intervention. Although these theories have been shown to independently predict motivation for behavior, a limited number of studies have described behavior-change techniques at a level to allow for effective evaluation and replication, and no studies have combined the theories in a healthy lifestyle behavior intervention.MethodsBehavior change techniques and the associated change mediators are described in relation to need-supportive environments provided by instructors and extended to parents in the home environment. Methods for motivating and promoting sustained engagement in adolescent physical activity and healthy eating and parent behaviors to support these lifestyle changes are discussed within the context of need-satisfaction and goal setting.ConclusionsThis study will contribute to understanding processes for developing and implementing behavior-change techniques based on the integration of two theories of motivation. Future interventions aimed at promoting maintenance of physical activity and healthy eating behaviors in overweight and obese adolescents will benefit by being informed of which techniques are effective at enhancing motivation within the intervention context and home environment.     

Qualitative elicitation of affective beliefs related to physical activity

ObjectivesBased on previous research that has identified affective attitude as a distinct predictor of physical activity (PA) behavior, the purpose of this pilot study was to elicit affective beliefs toward physical activity using qualitative data generated through specific open-ended questions.MethodsA sample of 126 undergraduate students participated in this study. Four open-ended questions based on the theory of planned behavior were posed to elicit affective beliefs. A content analysis was used to categorize and code data by theme based on common responses that emerged in the elicitation. A frequency count of the responses falling into each category was then conducted to establish which affective beliefs were the most common. The themes were established by two researchers and reviewed for internal homogeneity and external heterogeneity by a third party.ResultsThe results highlight key beliefs related to affective attitude. In descending rank order; Social Involvement, Pleasant Body States, Esteem, Improved Psychological Outcome, and General Enjoyment were the most common affective beliefs for PA involvement. Feelings arising from Time Issues/Conflict, Physical Unpleasantness, PA Environment, and Necessity/Obligation were the most common negative affective beliefs.ConclusionsThe results suggest that promoting enjoyment rather than necessity of PA and encouraging variety in PA may be effective. Addressing the importance of aesthetically pleasing environments and highlighting social interaction as a strategy rather than merely a norm or a form of support in behavioral research may be important.     

Developmental Timescale of Rapid Adaptation to Conflicting Cues in Real‐Time Sentence Processing

Children and adults use established global knowledge to generate real‐time linguistic predictions, but less is known about how listeners generate predictions in circumstances that semantically conflict with long‐standing event knowledge. We explore these issues in adults and 5‐ to 10‐year‐old children using an eye‐tracked sentence comprehension task that tests real‐time activation of unexpected events that had been previously encountered in brief stories. Adults generated predictions for these previously unexpected events based on these discourse cues alone, whereas children overall did not override their established global knowledge to generate expectations for semantically conflicting material; however, they do show an increased ability to integrate discourse cues to generate appropriate predictions for sentential endings. These results indicate that the ability to rapidly integrate and deploy semantically conflicting knowledge has a long developmental trajectory, with adult‐like patterns not emerging until later in childhood.     

The dynamic mechanism of a novel stochastic neural firing pattern observed in a real biological system

In the experimental neural pacemaker of a rat, a novel firing pattern has been discovered. This pattern was generated between the period 2 firing pattern and the period 3 firing pattern during the periodic adding bifurcation and inverse periodic adding bifurcation. The pattern was observed and analyzed in the present investigation. The composition of this novel firing pattern could be regarded as a transition between a string of period 2 burst and a string of period 3 burst without single period 2 or period 3 burst, which was different from those chaotic and stochastic neural firing patterns in previous reports. It was identified to be stochastic by the inter-event intervals (IEIs) analysis, although it exhibited chaos-like characteristics with the results of the inter-spike intervals (ISIs) analysis. The numerical simulation suggested that the new pattern observed in the real biological system could be simulated in the stochastic Chay model but not in the deterministic model. With the signal to noise ratio (SNR) analysis and bifurcation analysis, this novel firing pattern was considered to be generated by stochastic resonance under the influence of noise near the periodic adding (inverse) bifurcation point. The probability analysis of transformed binary chain further confirmed that the origin of stochastic and chaos (deterministic)-like characteristics of this novel firing pattern.