Exploring the perceived effectiveness of a life skills development program for high-performance athletes

The purpose of this study was to explore attitudes towards, experiences of, and perceived effectiveness of a life-skills programme for high-performance young athletes from multiple perspectives, including the athletes, coaches, parents, programme facilitators, and sport administrators. Six focus groups were conducted with 54 high-performance athletes from six sports: squash, softball, baseball, netball, triathlon, and surfing. Three focus groups were conducted with parents (n = 8) of athletes and a further eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with coaches (n = 4) and lead facilitators (n = 4) of the life-skills programme. Four semi-structured interviews were also held with representatives from State Sporting Associations (SSAs) from the sports involved. Thematic content analysis revealed seven main themes: achieving balance and managing stress, time management, goal setting, confidence and control, information overload and repetition, credible role-models, coach reinforcement and follow-up. The programme was perceived to be moderately successful in developing adaptive behaviours and motives including better engagement in training and in adopting time management and planning skills in contexts outside of sport such as homework and academic study. The programme also fostered the development of skills, attitudes, and motives important for sport success such as goal setting and having confidence to succeed. To improve the effectiveness of such programmes, more emphasis should be placed on the practice of, and engagement with, applied techniques to develop skills with less emphasis on information giving and theory. Facilitators of programmes should also be more pro-active in involving parents and coaches as a way to improve continuity and provide post-program reinforcement and support.     

Test of the Ratio Judgment Hypothesis

The hypothesis that we are capable of judging ratios of subjective intensities is widely used in psychology. Here, experimental results are reported that more stringently verify prior findings that people respond to sensory intensity differences while they execute the task of judging sensory intensity ratios. This verification was made on brightness and heaviness and for verbal and matching responses, suggesting that the results may be general for both sensory intensive dimensions and response systems. The results have implications for the comparisons of scores on evaluation scales based on ratio judgment.     

Predictability influences whether outcomes are processed in terms of original or relative values

Previous studies have provided insights into the representations of original and relative values and the influence of predictability on decision making. However, whether the predictability of outcomes can influence the processing manner of outcomes (i.e. whether the outcomes are processed in terms of original or relative values) is still unknown. To investigate this issue, we had participants perform a monetary decision task which resulted in two outcomes with the same relative values but different original values in either a predictable or unpredictable condition, while recording event-related potentials (ERP). ERP results showed that the outcome processing in the unpredictable condition elicited more positive deflections in the time window of 300–500 ms (P300) than did those in the predictable condition. More importantly, the outcome with high original value elicited a greater P300 component than did that with low original value in the unpredictable condition even though these two outcomes had the same relative values, while in the predictable condition no significant difference was observed between ERPs elicited by the two outcomes even though their original values were different. These results suggest that the outcomes might be processed in terms of relative values in the predictable condition but original values in the unpredictable condition.     

Therapeutic activities and the assimilation model: A preliminary exploratory study on the Insight stage

The assimilation model describes the process of change assuming that the self is enriched when there is a dialogue between nondominant voices or problematic experiences and the dominant voices. This dialogue is best seen in the Insight stage. The aim of this paper is to study the Insight stage during the assimilation process in relation to the main therapeutic activities performed by the therapist. All the Insights from the assimilation process of a patient, María, were analysed. In assimilation terms, María could be described through the nondominant voices of “dizziness,” “tiredness,” and “inability to cope with daily demands,” and through the dominant voices of “control,” “overcome and solve,” and “why something is happening.” María showed a successful assimilation of her problematic experiences. The therapeutic context was the Linguistic Therapy of Evaluation (LTE), a kind of cognitive therapy based on the theory of General Semantics. María was considered a good outcome case in the LTE sample. Results showed that there were some general therapeutic activities related to these Insights. A high percentage of activities pointed to one of the main issues of LTE: the development of an extensional orientation. At the same time, some of these activities were related to María’s voices. Results are discussed in relation to the relevance of the development of an extensional orientation for the assimilation process; how voices are recognized or challenged in therapy, and to the importance of considering relationship issues during the assimilation process.     

Practice‐based evidence in school‐based counselling

Aims: Counsellors are becoming commonplace within the support structures of secondary schools. To date, research findings from practice‐based outcome studies suggest this is a positive move. There are, however, numerous limitations to this work, and this project aims to develop this existing body of literature. Method: Nine 13–15 year olds attending counselling in six school‐based services participated in the project – one individual withdrew. A standardised self‐report questionnaire (YP‐CORE) was collected at four intervals: (1) the point of referral; (2) the onset of counselling; (3) the completion of counselling; and, (4) a two‐month follow‐up. The change indicated in each of these phases is examined and reported here. Additionally, YP‐CORE was completed during each session. Findings: The YP‐CORE indicates an improvement in the well‐being of this small sample, while waiting for and attending therapy. Further examination of session‐by‐session data also highlights how pre‐ and post‐outcome data should not necessarily be viewed as linear in nature. Discussion: This is a small‐scale investigation and further work is needed in this area. It does, however, raise a number of issues regarding the complexity inherent in conducting outcome research that warrant further investigation.     

宋代学者论“轻重”

和前代相比,宋代学者对《管子》＂轻重＂内容的分析,更为深入细致;对＂轻重＂的总体评价与年代作者的认识,也发生了变化。宋代学者对＂轻重＂近乎一致的否定评价,受到当时理学思想的直接影响;他们对＂轻重＂著作年代与作者的辨伪,与当时的疑古思潮密切相关。     

利他惩罚中的结果评价—— ERP研究

利他惩罚是指个体为惩罚违反社会规范的人, 自愿支付成本。前人研究发现利他惩罚行为激活了背侧纹状体等与奖赏有关的脑区, 因此可以认为利他惩罚的结果是一种相当于金钱奖赏的正性结果, 不惩罚结果则是一种负性结果。本研究利用事件相关电位技术考察了被试在多次信任博弈游戏中观察“利他惩罚结果”和“不惩罚结果”的脑电成分, 结果发现被试产生了明显的反馈相关负波(feedback related negativity, FRN), 且负性程度更大的“不惩罚”结果其FRN波幅大于负性程度更小的“惩罚”结果。因为FRN是对负性反馈结果敏感的一个脑电成分。可见个体并非把利他惩罚结果知觉为一种正性结果, 因此FRN反映了对社会结果的情绪动机意义的评价。     

Possession attachment: Individual differences in the endowment effect

The endowment effect suggests that people become attached to objects that are in their possession, and they demand a higher price to sell an object they own than they would be willing to pay to buy the same object. The results of four experiments support the suggestion that “possession attachment” is related to adult attachment styles in close relationships. Measures of attachment style in close relationships significantly predicted both actual and hypothetical selling prices moderating the endowment effect (Study 1), and significantly correlate with ratings of possession attachment (Study 2). Specifically, attachment anxiety is positively correlated with the selling prices of objects, while attachment avoidance shows no significant relation with object evaluation. The third and fourth experimental studies further demonstrated that attachment anxiety enhances possession evaluation and inhibits trades. The studies used real commodities and real money, and therefore, they have implications for everyday decisions as well as for the development of theories to better understand decisions about trades, negotiations, and choice of goods. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of goal activation on the evaluation of hybrid products1

A hybrid product (i.e. a multifinal means) is connected with goals relevant to the key functionalities best served by the product categories constituting the product. Given that single‐ or multiple‐category inference for a hybrid product can be elicited in individuals, we propose that single‐ (vs. multiple‐) category inference can lead to a relatively higher preference for the hybrid product if only one of the key focal goals that the hybrid product can satisfy is activated. We also explore whether the evaluation of a hybrid product in single‐category inference will reflect valuation and/or devaluation effects if only one of multiple key focal goals attached to the hybrid product is active.     

Overpredicting and Underprofiting in Pricing Decisions

This research examines sellers' price‐setting behavior and discovers a naturally occurring mismatch between sellers and buyers: Sellers who make a price decision often consider alternative prices and engage in the joint evaluation mode, whereas buyers who make a purchase decision see only the finally set price and are in the single evaluation mode. This mismatch in evaluation modes leads sellers to overpredict buyers' price sensitivity and underprice their products. However, these effects apply only to products unfamiliar to buyers and without salient reference prices and can be alleviated if sellers are encouraged to mimic single evaluation when making pricing decisions. These propositions are empirically tested and verified. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.