Exploring athletes' perceptions of the relationship between mental toughness and dispositional flow in sport

ObjectivesDespite considerable scholarly attention over the last two decades, little is known about the influence of dispositional attributes on flow in sport. In achievement settings, mental toughness (MT) is a personal capacity supporting the process of high performance. Based on common overlaps with peak performance, confidence, control, concentration, and thriving in demanding situations, the present research aimed to explore the relationship between MT and dispositional flow and elucidate the psychological variables underlying dispositional flow.DesignA mixed method explanatory participant-selection design was adopted, whereby a quantitative approach was used to identify individuals for a qualitative follow-up phase to explore the relationship between MT and dispositional flow.MethodAn intensity sampling strategy was used to identify individuals with higher/lower MT and dispositional flow. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 athletes (M age = 25, SD = 3.24; female n = 10; male n = 6). An inductive content analysis was undertaken to interpret data.ResultsSeven general dimensions describing the psychological attributes related to dispositional flow in athletes with higher and lower MT emerged. Specifically, differences in confidence, perfectionism, goal orientation, coping mechanism selection, locus of control, optimism and concentration were apparent and could account for differences in dispositional flow.ConclusionWhile all athletes experienced flow, there were differences in dispositional flow and the processes involved in entering, maintaining and restoring flow between higher and lower MT subgroups. Findings are discussed in relation to the existing literature, and recommendations for future research into the MT-flow relationship are outlined.     

Secularity and Irreligion in Cross‐National Context: A Nonlinear Approach

As part of the conversation about the characteristics and scope of secularization in contemporary society, the implications of low levels of self‐defined atheism and explicit rejection of religion in nations with low levels of religious beliefs are not yet sufficiently explored. In response, this study uses aggregated data from the World Values Survey, the European Values Study, and Cross‐National Socio‐Economic and Religion Data from the Association of Religion Data Archives to investigate the relationships between nonbelief, atheism, and lack of confidence in churches or religious organizations. Regression findings show a concave curvilinear relationship between secularity (measured as the percentage of the population that does not believe in God) and irreligion (measured as (1) the percentage of self‐defined atheists in a country and (2) the percentage of individuals in a country who have no confidence at all in religious organizations). In other words, this study suggests that nonbelief is associated with an increase in self‐defined atheism and the lack of confidence in religious organizations, but that this effect wanes the more secular a society is. The findings further highlight the complexity of nonreligiosity and imply that a linear association cannot be assumed between measures of secularization, secularity, and irreligion.     

“儿童认知发展水平诊断工具”动态测验的初步编制与应用

本研究旨在将“儿童认知发展水平诊断工具” (Inventory of Piaget’s Developmental Task, IPDT)中的守恒与关系领域分测验改编成动态测验, 并应用于不同程度学业成绩儿童当中以探查其认知发展的潜在水平。在实验研究基础上结合以往动态测验的编制技术, 把动态施测过程分为“前测—干预—迁移—后测”4个阶段, 分别确定各阶段的测题并构建了6等级提示系统。在中等学业成绩儿童(n = 33)和低学业成绩儿童(n = 35)中的应用发现, 动态测验测得的能力获得变量对儿童的学业成绩具有重要的预测作用, 证实了所改编测验的有效性; 动态测验情境下中、低学业成绩儿童的潜在认知水平基本相同, 所改编的动态测验有助于发掘儿童的潜在认知发展水平。     

医学人性化的现实思考

当前,在医学领域尤其是临床医疗领域存在着严重的“人性淡漠”趋势,严重阻碍医学自身的健康发展,而且产生恶劣的社会影响。从医患关系、医学与人性的关系以及医学人性化的需求,深入剖析了医学人性化的重要性。     

美国贝克斯特测谎系统在我国法庭科学中的应用

该文简介了美国贝克斯特测谎系统的基本原理及其在我国法院的首次应用情况。在我国这一系统不仅被用于刑事案件,也被用于民事案件,实践证明,测谎技术起到了其他手段所起不到的作用,成为法院办案过程有力的辅助工具和支持系统。为使本系统具有更高的效力和适合中国的国情,需要对贝克斯特测谎系统进行修订,该文也介绍了有关修订和检验的情况。     

Application of Sequential Interval Estimation to Adaptive Mastery Testing

In this paper, we apply sequential one-sided confidence interval estimation procedures with β-protection to adaptive mastery testing. The procedures of fixed-width and fixed proportional accuracy confidence interval estimation can be viewed as extensions of one-sided confidence interval procedures. It can be shown that the adaptive mastery testing procedure based on a one-sided confidence interval with β-protection is more efficient in terms of test length than a testing procedure based on a two-sided/fixed-width confidence interval. Some simulation studies applying the one-sided confidence interval procedure and its extensions mentioned above to adaptive mastery testing are conducted. For the purpose of comparison, we also have a numerical study of adaptive mastery testing based on Wald's sequential probability ratio test. The comparison of their performances is based on the correct classification probability, averages of test length, as well as the width of the “indifference regions.” From these empirical results, we found that applying the one-sided confidence interval procedure to adaptive mastery testing is very promising.     

表演式学习──表演理论对“最近发展区”的发展

美国当代心理学家、剧作家、表演理论的创始人弗雷德·纽曼（FredNewman）及其同事致力于在实践中发展维果茨基的理论,从表演的维度探讨了zpd的概念,并以此为核心提出了表演式学习的概念,以区别于在当今社会大行其道的工具性学习,即以获取知识和技能为目的的学习。表演理论通过对工具性学习的消极影响的批判及对表演式学习的倡导,在人的教育和发展方面提出了独到见解。     

A lower bound to the probability of choosing the optimal passing score for a mastery test when there is an external criterion

Recently there has been interest in the problem of determining an optimal passing score for a mastery test when the purpose of the test is to predict success or failure on an external criterion. For the case of constant losses for the two error types, a method of determining an optimal passing score is readily derived using standard techniques. The purpose of this note is to describe a lower bound to the probability of identifying an optimal passing score based on a random sample ofN examinees.The work upon which this publication is based was performed pursuant to a grant [contract] with the National Institute of Education, Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Points of view or opinions stated do not necessarily represent official NIE position or policy.     

Secular or nonreligious? Investigating and interpreting generic ‘not religious’ categories and populations

In research dealing with religious affiliation, generic nonreligious categories – ‘no religion’, ‘not religious’, ‘nonreligious’, ‘nones’ – are frequently used to measure secularity and secularisation processes. Analysis of these categories is, however, problematic because they have not received dedicated methodological attention. Using qualitative research conducted in the UK, this article investigates what nonreligious categories measure and, specifically, whether they indicate non-identification or disaffiliation as assumed or an alternative form of cultural affiliation. Findings suggest that generic nonreligious categories are sometimes used to express substantive positions and public identities, and that these are diverse. These findings flatten distinctions between religious and nonreligious categories as ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ respectively and indicate problems therefore in using nonreligious identification to measure secularity and secularisation. They suggest nonreligious identification is, however, a useful indicator of the advance of nonreligious cultures and the ‘nonreligionisation’ of societies.     

Quantifying drivers’ comfort-zone and dread-zone boundaries in left turn across path/opposite direction (LTAP/OD) scenarios

The aim of this study is to quantify drivers’ comfort- and dread-zone boundaries in left-turn-across-path/opposite-direction (LTAP/OD) scenarios. These scenarios account for a large fraction of traffic fatalities world-wide. The comfort zone is a dynamic spatiotemporal envelope surrounding the vehicle, within which drivers feel comfortable and safe. The dread zone, a novel concept, describes a zone with a smaller safety margin that drivers will not voluntarily enter, but can push themselves into when conditions provide additional motivation (e.g., when hurried). Quantifying comfort- and dread-zone boundaries in the context of turning left before or after an oncoming vehicle has the potential to inform and improve both the design and driver acceptance of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles.Using a within-subject design, a test-track experiment was conducted with drivers turning an instrumented vehicle left across the path of an oncoming vehicle. The oncoming vehicle was a self-propelled full-sized computer-controlled balloon vehicle going straight at a constant speed (50 km/h). The driver assumed full control of the instrumented vehicle approximately 20 m before the intersection and had to make the decision to turn left before or after the oncoming balloon vehicle. There were two experimental conditions, comfortable driving and hurried driving. Measures for each turn included post-encroachment time (PET), lateral acceleration, and self-reports of comfort and risk. Drivers consistently accepted shorter time gaps and higher lateral accelerations when hurried. We interpret these findings to suggest that drivers invoke two dynamic, contextually-defined safety margins. The first is the comfort-zone boundary, a limit which drivers do not voluntarily cross without extra motives. The second is the dread-zone boundary, a more distant limit which drivers do not voluntarily cross even with extra motives. Grouping the responses (high/low) to the driver behavior questionnaire (DBQ) improved the ability to predict the dread-zone boundary PET given the comfort-zone boundary PET.