Shock preexposure and the reduced effectiveness of shock

In three experiments experience with shock was shown to reduce the effectiveness of shock as a reinforcer or motivator. In Experiment 1 rats were given signaled shock in a box separate from the runway where they were subsequently punished. These rats were less suppressed by shock punishment than rats that had no previous shock experience. In Experiment 2 preshocked rats were less suppressed by punishment and were slower to learn an escape-avoidance response than nonpreshocked rats, whether the preshock was signaled or unsignaled. In Experiment 3 as number of CS-shock pairings increased, fear of the CS decreased as did fear of the context. These results suggest that some central adaptation process produced by experience with shock reduces the effectiveness of shock as a reinforcer whenever shock is used repeatedly. This is independent of other effects, such as context blocking, that can affect responding after shock preexposure.     

互联网——心理学研究的新工具

互联网作为一种新的工具,在心理学研究中得到越来越多的使用。文章介绍了基于互联网的心理学研究的历史和现状,并分析了这种新研究工具的优点,如更高的效度,多样化的被试,操作更方便更高效,费用更低廉等。同时也客观地指出了新研究工具的局限性,如并不是所有的心理学研究都可以在互联网上实现,控制不够严格等。但是作为一种新的研究工具,互联网应该得到心理学工作者更多的重视。     

Maternal Psychological Absence and Toddlers' Social‐Emotional Development: Interpretations From the Perspective of Boundary Ambiguity Theory

The current study tests a novel latent construct reflecting psychological absence and examines its relations with maternal depression, mother–toddler interactions, and toddlers' social‐emotional outcomes in a low‐income sample (N = 2,632). Structural equation modeling confirmed a psychological absence construct and revealed that psychological absence, measured at the child's 36‐month birthday‐related assessment, is a significant predictor of children's social‐emotional development at 36 months, mediated by mother–child interaction. Results are interpreted within a boundary ambiguity framework.     

Predicting sports performance from well-being: A mapping of professional athletes’, amateur athletes’ and non-athletes’ positions

IntroductionPrediction of performance and well-being are two essential keys in sports performance.ObjectiveThe study aimed to map different positions regarding the way in which individuals integrated mentally five elements of eudaimonic well-being (relatedness, autonomy, competence, mental vitality and physical vitality) for predicting the degree of performance at the beginning of a match.MethodTwenty-four non-athletes, 44 amateur athletes and 26 professional athletes indicated their prediction of performance in 32 scenarios constructed from the combination of these elements of well-being. Cluster analysis, ANOVAs, and chi-square test have been done.ResultsTwo positions on prediction of performance were found. The first cluster was called “Sometimes Performance Prediction” and the second cluster was named “Seldom Performance Prediction”. The five elements had a positive effect on the prediction of performance. The composition of both clusters was linked to the level of involvement in sport.ConclusionOffering athletes a “well-being environment” may lead to predict the sports performance.     

Deciding whether to work after retirement: The role of the psychological experience of aging

Due to the graying of the global labor markets, post-retirement employment is becoming increasingly important in the 21st century. To better understand older people's decisions to engage in post-retirement employment, the current study investigated the role of the psychological experience of aging. Two dimensions that capture positive aging experience (i.e., personal growth and gaining self-knowledge) and two dimensions that capture negative aging experience (i.e., physical loss and social loss) were differentiated and their relations to post-retirement employment were hypothesized. We argue that aging experience may influence the decision to work after retirement by generating both, approach and avoidance responses. Longitudinal data from the German Aging Survey (N = 551) were used to test the hypotheses. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that retirees who experienced aging as social loss and as personal growth were more likely to engage in post-retirement employment a decade later, while retirees who experienced aging as gaining self-knowledge were less likely to engage in post-retirement employment. Theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed.     

Goal contents,motivation, psychological need satisfaction,well-being and physical activity: A test of self-determination theory over 6 months

ObjectivesThis investigation examined how Goal Contents Theory, Organismic Integration Theory, and Basic Psychological Needs Theory collectively explain well-being and behavioral outcomes related to physical activity over 6 months. Specifically we examined a model whereby changes in relative intrinsic goal contents → changes in motivation → changes in psychological need satisfaction → well-being and physical activity.Methods and designParticipants were 203 adults from the general population (68.00% female; M_age = 32.57 years, SD = 15.73). Two identical questionnaire packages containing assessments of goal contents, motivational regulations, basic psychological need satisfaction, indicators of well-being and physical activity behavior, separated by six months were given to participants. Residualized change scores were analyzed with path analysis.ResultsResults supported the hypothesized sequence of SDT. Changes in psychological need satisfaction mediated the relationship between changes in autonomous motivation and well-being. A more complex pattern of results emerged for the indirect effects of motivation and psychological need satisfaction between relative intrinsic goals → well-being. Changes in competence satisfaction mediated the relationship between autonomous motivation and physical activity behavior. Moreover, changes in autonomous motivation through competence satisfaction mediated the relationship between relative intrinsic goals and physical activity.ConclusionsFindings support a model based on 3 mini-theories of SDT and suggest that psychological need fulfillment during physical activity could be a key mechanism that facilitates increased well-being and behavior. Findings also highlight the importance of examining competence, autonomy, and relatedness independently (rather than as a composite).     

Self-talk and softball performance: The role of self-talk nature,motor task characteristics,and self-efficacy in novice softball players

ObjectivesTo determine the effect of self-talk on softball throwing performance. Additionally, two moderators, nature of self-talk and type of motor task, as well as a potential mediator of self-efficacy were examined.DeignAn experimental, within-subjects, and counterbalanced design.MethodsForty-two senior high students (mean age = 17.48 ± 0.55) were instructed to use instructional, motivational, and unrelated self-talk with counterbalanced order prior to softball throwing for accuracy and distance tasks.ResultsBoth instructional and motivational self-talk conditions had better performance than unrelated self-talk on softball throwing accuracy, whereas motivational self-talk had better performance than both instructional and unrelated self-talk in softball throwing for distance. Results for self-efficacy were similar, with self-efficacy for accuracy performance higher in both instructional and motivational self-talk conditions than with unrelated self-talk, while self-efficacy was highest in the motivational self-talk condition and lowest with unrelated self-talk. Significant correlations between self-efficacy and motor performance were also found with both tasks.ConclusionThese findings partially support the task-matching hypothesis, confirm the moderator role of type of self-talk and task type, suggest that self-efficacy has a mediator role, and provide direction for self-talk effectiveness.     

Introspective reports of reaction times in dual-tasks reflect experienced difficulty rather than timing of cognitive processes

Reports of introspective reaction times (iRTs) have been used to investigate conscious awareness during dual-task situations. Previous studies showed that dual-task costs in RTs (the psychological refractory period, PRP, effect) are not reflected in participants’ introspective reports. This finding has been attributed to conscious awareness of Task 2 being delayed while Task 1 is centrally processed. Here, we test this Temporal model and compare it to an alternative that assumes participants base their iRTs on experienced difficulty. We collected iRTs and difficulty estimates after each trial of a PRP paradigm in which the perceptual difficulty of either Task 2 (Experiment 1) or Task 1 (Experiment 2) was manipulated. Our results largely support the difficulty-based account, suggesting that in a dual-task situation, iRTs do not reflect timing of cognitive processes but are strongly influenced by the experience of difficulty.     

Distorted subjective reports of stimulus onsets under dual-task conditions: Delayed conscious perception or estimation bias?

We investigated whether selecting a response for one task delays the conscious perception of another stimulus (delayed conscious perception hypothesis). In two experiments, participants watched a revolving clock hand while performing two tasks in close succession (i.e. a dual-task). Two stimuli were presented with varying stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA). After each trial, participants separately estimated the onsets of the two stimuli on the clock face. Across two experiments and four conditions, we manipulated response requirements and assessed their impact on perceived stimulus onsets. Results showed that (a) providing speeded responses to the stimuli did lead to greater SOA-dependent misperceptions of both stimulus onsets as compared to a solely perceptual condition, and (b) that response grouping reduced these misperceptions. Overall, the results provide equivocal evidence for the delayed conscious perception hypothesis. They rather suggest that participants’ estimates of the two stimulus onsets are biased by the interval between their responses.