Prayer as a cause of recovery from illness

This research aimed to examine the developmental trajectory of the beliefs about the power of prayer to aide recovery from illness. One hundred and sixty children and young adults divided in four age groups participated in the study. Participants were interviewed with vignettes presenting two sick individuals who differed in terms of prayers that they received from their friends in order to recover from their illness. The results showed that children and pre-adolescents strongly believe in the power of prayer to recover from illness while only about half of the university students share this belief. Thus, contrary to the framework theory approach, children, adolescents, and young adults did not replace these beliefs (as naive explanations), with the scientific explanations. Instead, they continue to hold these beliefs in parallel to their scientific explanations.     

Sources of autonomy support,subjective vitality and physical activity behaviour associated with participation in a lunchtime walking intervention for physically inactive adults

ObjectivesBased on Basic Needs Theory (BNT: Deci & Ryan, 1985), this study examined longitudinal relationships between autonomy support from two sources, psychological need satisfaction, subjective vitality and self-reported physical activity during a walking intervention for physically inactive adults. We proposed that autonomy support provided via a walk leader and the overall programme would independently predict change in subjective vitality and physical activity from baseline to week 16 (post-intervention) and at four month follow-up. Further, we proposed that direct relationships among sources of autonomy support and outcomes would be mediated by autonomy, relatedness, and competence need satisfaction.DesignA longitudinal examination.MethodsParticipants (N = 69; n = 63 females, n = 6 males) from a 16-week walking programme completed a multi-section questionnaire measuring the aforementioned variables at three time points, including a four month post-intervention follow-up.ResultsBoth hypotheses were partly supported. Autonomy support from the walk leader positively predicted changes in subjective vitality from baseline to week 16 and in physical activity from baseline to follow-up. Autonomy support from the programme positively predicted changes in subjective vitality from baseline to week 16. Finally, autonomy gained from the walk leader mediated the relationship between autonomy support and subjective vitality, and between perceived autonomy support and physical activity.ConclusionsFindings indicate that autonomy support from both a walk leader and wider programme can predict psychological need satisfaction, subjective vitality and physical activity. Clinicians and researchers implementing future walking interventions may increase physical activity and subjective vitality by facilitating psychological need satisfaction through autonomy support from both sources.     

情绪Stroop效应：威胁驱动还是反应偏差？

为了考查情绪Stroop效应的产生机制是威胁驱动还是反应偏差,本研究进行了两个实验.实验一用一般负性情绪词语和中性词语作为实验材料,实验二用威胁性的情绪图片和中性图片作为实验材料.每个实验均要求一组被试做按键反应,另一组被试做摇杆反应.结果发现,当实验材料为词语时,未出现情绪Stroop效应;当实验材料为威胁性图片时,无论是趋向性反应方式还是回避性反应方式,都出现了情绪Stroop效应.本研究结果支持威胁驱动机制.     

Correlates of youth sport attrition: A review and future directions

ObjectivesThis review aims to (a) identify correlates of youth sport attrition, (b) frame correlates within a multilevel model of youth sport participation (i.e., biological, intra-personal, inter-personal, institutional, community, and policy levels), and (c) assess the level of evidence for each correlate.DesignReview paper.MethodsSystematic review method.ResultsEntering relevant search terms into PubMed, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus and Web of Knowledge databases identified 23 articles with a total of 8345 participants. Satisfactory articles largely examined sport-specific attrition and sampled youth from western countries (e.g., Canada, France, Spain, United States). Of the 141 correlates examined, most were framed at the intrapersonal (90) and inter-personal levels (43). The level of evidence for each correlate (i.e., high, low, insufficient) was systematically assessed based on the quantity and quality of supporting articles. In total, 11 correlates were categorized as having a high quality level of evidence and 10 as having a low quality. High quality correlates included, among others, age, autonomy, perceived competence, relatedness, and task climate.ConclusionsOverall, established correlates of youth sport attrition are largely social in nature. Future directions surrounding (a) the need to examine correlates at lower (i.e., biological level) and higher (i.e., institutional, community, policy) analytic levels, (b) to sample participants from more culturally diverse societies and (c) to examine sport-general attrition are offered.     

Mental imagery increases self-determined motivation to exercise with university enrolled women: A randomized controlled trial using a peer-based intervention

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a peer-based mental imagery intervention on the self-determined motivation and cardio-respiratory fitness of university enrolled women.DesignRandomized controlled trial.Method43 University enrolled women were randomized to peer-mentored or peer-mentored plus mental imagery conditions while 32 completed three meetings with peer-mentors and post-testing (M^age = 19.91; SD = 1.70).ResultsSignificant improvements in cardio-respiratory endurance, ratings of perceived endurance, and self-determined motivation to exercise were observed across both study conditions. Participants assigned to the peer mentored plus mental imagery condition reported significantly greater increases in self-determined motivation to exercise at post-test compared to those in the peer-mentored condition.ConclusionsPeer-based interventions are a viable way to improve fitness and health outcomes while mental imagery appears to be associated with increases in autonomous forms of exercise motivation.     

Need fulfillment and motivation in physical education predict trajectories of change in leisure-time physical activity in early adolescence

ObjectivesWe examined (1) how psychological need fulfillment and motivation in physical education and leisure-time physical activity change during early adolescence, and (2) the degree to which need fulfillment and motivation predict trajectories of change in physical activity.DesignLongitudinal survey.MethodsStudents (N = 134, ages 10–13 years) completed surveys assessing perceived competence, autonomy, relatedness, intrinsic motivation, and identified, introjected, and external regulations in physical education, and leisure time physical activity each semester in school for 3 years.ResultsUnconditional growth models showed an average increase in physical activity. Competence also increased, while autonomy and relatedness, and identified and introjected regulation decreased. Conditional models showed that students with higher levels of autonomy, relatedness, intrinsic motivation, and identified regulation had higher levels of physical activity at baseline and throughout the study. Students with lower levels of autonomy, relatedness, intrinsic motivation, and identified regulation experienced significantly greater increases in physical activity, but these effects were very small.ConclusionsNeed fulfillment and motivation variables positively predict physical activity. While youth with lower levels of need fulfillment and motivation have lower levels of physical activity, they also tend to increase physical activity levels more across early adolescence. These associations highlight how physical education experiences in early adolescence may influence change in physical activity, and suggest efforts to foster need fulfillment and autonomous regulation in physical education may promote physical activity.     

Followership at a distance: Follower adjustment to distal leadership during COVID-19

Leader distance theory has received scant empirical attention in the extant literature; however, the “work from home” orders associated with COVID-19 have made this theory and its empirical findings highly relevant for organizations. Our study integrates leader distance theory and followership theory to understand how follower role beliefs affect follower effort, performance, and withdrawal under physical leader distance and varying conditions of leader interaction frequency. Using a three-wave survey methodology with 260 adults working remotely, our study finds that followers' levels of effort, performance, and withdrawal were contingent on leader interaction frequency. Specifically, followers with a coproduction role orientation, who see their role as more collaborative, reported higher levels of effort under conditions of high leader interaction. Furthermore, the indirect effect of coproduction on follower performance and withdrawal via effort was moderated by leader interaction frequency. The results for followers with passive role orientations, however, were in the opposite direction. These followers reported less effort when leader interaction was high, and the mediational chain predicting performance and withdrawal was contingent on leader interaction frequency. Our study contributes to the ongoing conversation about the positive and negative effects of leader distance and positions followership characteristics as important boundary conditions of distal leadership.     

At the core of cyberaggression: A group-based explanation

In this study, prototypicality of the aggressor was tested as a group-level factor predicting social media users’ active participation in cyberaggression. Participants were exposed to a fictitious conversation, in which either a prototypical versus non-prototypical user posted an aggressive comment as a reply to a provocative comment. In line with self-categorization theory, we hypothesized that bystander participants would post an aggressive comment and rate the aggression as acceptable to a greater extent in the prototypical than in the non-prototypical condition. Furthermore, we predicted that perceived normativity of aggression would mediate the effect of prototypicality. Results supported these predictions and showed that prototypical members affect the extent to which collective aggressive behaviors in online interactions are approved and enacted. These findings highlight the importance of group-level factors in the study of cyberaggression and provide important information for understanding the psychological underpinnings of collective forms of online aggression.     

分段是视频学习的有效方式吗?

教育心理学中的分段原则认为,将视频学习材料分割成几个小片段进行学习的效果更好。以往关于分段的研究通过两个角度的操纵考察了分段在学习中的作用,一方面是交互性角度,学习者自己控制的分段及系统分段;另一方面是结构性角度,分段是在任意时间点划分和有意义时间点上划分。通过对以往研究结果的整理发现,大部分研究证明分段学习相较于连续学习的成绩更好,并且能降低学习者在学习过程中的感知难度, 提高积极的情感状态,但是对心理努力的影响比较微弱。研究者们从事件分割理论和认知负荷理论的视角对分段的效果做出了解释。未来研究需要继续关注分段的边界条件、拓宽研究的范围、探究分段的认知神经基础等不断完善分段原则在教学中的应用。