To Pass or Not to Pass: A Mathematical Model for Competitive Interactions in Rugby Union

ABSTRACT. Predicting behavior has been a main challenge in human movement science. An important step within the theory of coordination dynamics is to find out the rules that govern human behavior by defining order parameters and control parameters that support mathematical models to predict the behavior of a system. Models to describe human coordination have been focused on interlimb coordination and on interpersonal coordination in affiliative tasks but not on competitive tasks. This article aims to present a formal model with two attractors to describe the interactive behavior on a 2v1 system in rugby union. Interpersonal distance and relative velocity critical values were empirically identified and were included as task constraints that define the attractor landscape. It is shown that using relative velocity as a control parameter the model offers reasonable prediction concerning the decision-making process. The model has the plasticity to adapt to other settings where interpersonal distances and relative velocities amongst system components act as significant task constraints.     

A Direct Study of Halo Effect

Five individuals were evaluated on a 7-point scale from strongly dislike (1) to strongly like (7). A week later the same people were rated on 16 relatively distinct traits, such as carefulness, sense of humor, fairness, and sociability. For three of the rated individuals, there were no extreme ratings on the general impression (liking) scale by raters, and the correlations between those scores and mean trait ratings were .26, .32, and .36. For the other two, there were sharp and extreme ratings on the general liking scale, and correlations between those scores and mean trait ratings were .60 and .76. This method provides a more appropriate and more meaningful index of halo effect than other methods because it is based more directly on Thorndike's (1920) original concept.     

Validación del Cuestionario de Conflicto Interpersonal en el Trabajo (CIT) en empleados españoles

Resumen

El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo la validación a la población española de un instrumento de medida de conflictos interpersonales en el trabajo (CIT) en sus dos dimensiones (conflicto de tareas vs. conflicto de relaciones). Para ello, realizamos dos tipos de análisis con una muestra de 209 trabajadores provenientes de diferentes organizaciones españolas. El objetivo del primero fue la confirmación de la estructura factorial del cuestionario (AFC) y la demostración de su fiabilidad. El objetivo del segundo fue demostrar la validez predictiva de ambas dimensiones. La versión en español de conflictos interpersonales en el trabajo (CIT) mostró niveles aceptables de consistencia interna. Los resultados mostraron un mejor ajuste del modelo ante la existencia de una estructura bifactorial (conflicto de tareas y conflicto de relaciones) frente a un modelo unifactorial (conflicto interpersonal general) siendo diferente la relación entre ambos tipos de conflictos y las variables consecuentes de bienestar psicológico y clima de apoyo, respectivamente. Estos hallazgos apoyan la validez de constructo y la fiabilidad de la versión en español de conflictos interpersonales en el trabajo (CIT) para evaluar los distintos tipos de conflictos en muestras de habla hispana.     

The social side of shame: approach versus withdrawal

ABSTRACT

At present, the consequences and functions of experiences of shame are not yet well understood. Whereas psychology literature typically portrays shame as being bad for social relations, motivating social avoidance and withdrawal, there are recent indications that shame can be reinterpreted as having clear social tendencies in the form of motivating approach and social affiliation. Yet, until now, no research has ever put these alternative interpretations of shame-motivated behaviours directly to the test. The present paper presents such a test by studying the extent to which shame motivates a preference for social withdrawal versus a preference for social approach. Two studies (N?=?148 and N?=?133) using different shame inductions both showed people experiencing shame to prefer to be together with others (social approach) over being alone (social withdrawal). In addition, the preference for a social situation was found to be unique for shame; it was not found for the closely related emotion of guilt. Taken together, these findings provide direct empirical support for the idea that shame can have positive interpersonal consequences.     

The development of a brief group intervention (Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy) for patients with medically unexplained somatic symptoms: a pilot study

The primary aim of this equivalence study was to compare the outcome of a brief group therapeutic intervention, based on the principles of dynamic interpersonal therapy (DIT) with an intervention based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in patients suffering from medically unexplained somatic symptoms (MUSS). Participants were 89 patients (aged 18 to 62) who were offered 20 sessions of either DIT or CBT, as central part of a treatment package, consisting of art therapy, psychomotor therapy, social therapy and physical therapy. Measurements were conducted at baseline, 10 weeks and 20 weeks, using self-rating scales measuring the level of anxiety and depression, the severity of medically unexplained symptoms and quality of life. Results showed that CBT and DIT were comparable. The conclusion was that it is recommended to design a larger scale randomised controlled trial to further elaborate the short-term and long-term effects of this novel psychodynamic group therapy for MUSS patients.     

‘Characters’ in psychoanalytic and interpersonal therapy: A comparison

In this paper the author considers how the therapist might listen to the characters talked about by his or her patients. In psychoanalytic therapy the emphasis is on listening to the patient's characters as though they are located in psychic reality and as representatives of the transference relationship, whereas in interpersonal therapy (IPT) the patient's characters are taken as inhabiting the realm of external reality. It is argued that clinical thinking in IPT would be enhanced by taking more account of psychic reality, which will make clearer the quality of external reality in which the patient's characters are located. It is also argued that both therapies share an interest in enabling the patient to find characters which can serve as holograms of previously unexpressed affective experience.     

Rethinking ‘Don't Blame the Victim’

SUMMARY

The psychology of victims and the dynamics of victimhood have been largely ignored by scholars and clinicians. While in past years the tendency has been to blame victims, more recently the tide has turned. It is now politically incorrect to explore the role of victims in violent systems, as exploring the psychology of victims has become synonymous with blaming the victim. While shying away from blame, this article will explore the familial and cultural origins of victimhood, victims' characteristics, their relationships with the perpetrators, and it will offer a victim typology. As we move from btame to a more complex understanding of violent systems, the perpetuation of these systems in our culture, and the role victims play in these systems, we provide ourselves with better tools to predict and prevent further victimization.     

Dissimilar effects of task‐relevant and interpersonal threat on independent–interdependent self‐construal in individuals with high self‐esteem

Previous research has indicated that individuals with high trait self‐esteem (HSEs) become more independent and less interdependent after experiencing a task‐relevant threat. However, these studies have not investigated other sources of ego threats, such as interpersonal threats. Therefore, the moderating effects of the degree of trait self‐esteem on task‐relevant and interpersonal ego threats were investigated in relation to independent, or interdependent self‐construal. It was predicted that in HSEs, the level of task‐relevant stress would be positively–negatively related to their independence–interdependence, whereas the level of interpersonal stress would be negatively–positively related to their independence–interdependence. In individuals with low trait self‐esteem (LSEs), the two types of stresses and independent–interdependent self‐construal may not have a significant relationship. We conducted a questionnaire survey with undergraduates. Correlational analysis of the results indicated that in HSEs, greater task‐relevant stress was related to heightened independence, whereas greater interpersonal stress had the opposite effect, indicating lower independence and heightened interdependence. However, these stresses were not related to the self‐construal of LSEs. These findings suggest that task‐relevant and interpersonal threat could have differential effects on independent and interdependent self‐construal for HSEs, but not in LSEs.     

Community Engagement as Liberal Performance,as Critical Intellectualism and as Praxis

This article aims to illustrate that engagement is a dynamic and evolutionary process, moulded by contesting ideological, social actor and contextual forces. For purposes of illustration, I draw on a university-affiliated, participatory enactment of community engagement as a case example. The case illustrates that community engagement may assume a form of action, critical intellectualism and praxis. As action, community engagement is oriented towards performance of liberal democracy. Community engagement, as shaped by the critical intellectualism of the Black Consciousness philosophy, reflects community self-affirmation, autonomy and intellectual independence. Community engagement as praxis may be characterised by reflexivity, vision-making and the building of interpersonal relationships. Community engagement is marked by a dynamic interplay between race, power and counter-hegemonic ideology.     

Perceptions of Self and Relationship with Parents in Aggressive and Nonaggressive Rejected Children

This study examined the perceptions of self and the attachment relationship to parents in aggressive and nonaggressive rejected children, as compared to children with an average or popular sociometric status. Participants were 216 children from grades 3 and 4. They completed peer nomination measures, the Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC), and the Security Scale (mother and father form). Results generally confirmed the assumption that only the nonaggressive rejected children perceive themselves as less competent and worthy as a person than the more popular children. Aggressive rejected children did not report lower feelings of global self-worth or competence, although they did report lower levels of social acceptance. Furthermore, rejected-nonaggressive children perceived the relationship with their father (but not with their mother) as less secure than did the more popular children. Logistic regression analyses suggested that the linkage between felt security with father and rejected-nonaggressive status was mediated by children's self-worth. Implications for attachment theory and for the hypothesized heterogeneity among rejected children are discussed.