Personality and performance in real-world competitions: Testing trait activation of fear of negative evaluation,dispositional reinvestment,and athletic identity in the field

ObjectivesBased on the trait activation principle, researchers have tested whether personality traits are capable of predicting sport performance (under pressure). Typically, however, these investigations followed experimental approaches in the laboratory and only rarely in the field. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to test for the generalizability of findings gained in these experimental studies and to investigate potential trait activation for real-world performance in competitions. Based on prior studies on the prediction of performance under pressure, the selected personality traits involved fear of negative evaluation, dispositional reinvestment, and athletic identity.DesignPersonality traits were used as predictors for low-pressure and high-pressure basketball free-throw performance.MethodFirst, 53 basketball players completed trait questionnaires. Second, directly prior to performance assessments, participants reported on perceived importance, their somatic and cognitive state anxiety, and confidence. Third, free-throw performance was assessed in a low-pressure condition (i.e., successful free-throw percentage for 30 attempts) and repeatedly in 12 high-pressure conditions within real basketball matches (i.e., successful free-throw percentage for total attempts).ResultsTwo main findings were identified: First, none of the traits predicted performance under low pressure. Second, under high-pressure, only fear of negative evaluation as well as state anxiety were significantly negatively associated with performance in competitions.ConclusionThese results extend existing literature and add applied and ecologically valid empirical support for the relevance of anxiety-related traits (i.e., fear of negative evaluation) and states for performance under pressure in real-world competitions, emphasizing the importance of self-presentational considerations in athletes when the stakes are high.     

Prospective conceptual model of Tomatis® method effects on students’ self-regulation

This study aimed to develop a preliminary conceptual model that explains the perceived effect of the Tomatis® method on university students’ self-regulation for study course learning. Seven beginning graduate students (6 female; 3 black, 4 white) with a large South African university completed a Tomatis® method programme student learning support intervention. The students participated in focus group discussion and brief survey on their Tomatis® method programme student learning support experiences. Thematic analysis identified five themes that define Tomatis® method programme self-regulation effects on students: i) being self-aware and enhanced environmental sensitivity; ii) improved study concentration per time frame; iii) perspective taking, willingness, and ability to listen to others’ opinions; iv) self-reflection or enhanced inward learning experience; and v) boldness, creativity and open-mindedness. Findings support a conceptual working model of the Tomatis® method for the promotion of learner self-regulation and behavioural change in a university setting.     

Using Storytelling to Heal Trauma and Bridge the Cultural Divide Between Veterans and Civilians

There is a growing disconnect between the Veteran and civilian communities related to their understanding of war-related trauma, postdeployment reintegration difficulty, and the experience of Memorial Day. A therapeutic way to bridge this divide is through community storytelling. This paper describes a program development project at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center that was created to increase the connection between these communities. Using storytelling, six Veterans shared their personal experiences with a civilian audience in honor of Memorial Day. Qualitative data on the impact of the program is reported, and suggestions for future application and research are discussed.     

From Resistance to Buy-In: Experiences of Clinicians in Training Using Feedback-Informed Treatment

In this qualitative research study, the authors use grounded theory analysis to examine the experiences of clinicians in training and use client feedback to inform treatment. Twenty-six marriage and family therapy graduate students in their first or second semester of clinical practicum participated in this study. Participants were trained in eliciting and responding to client feedback at the end of every therapy session. At the end of the semester, participants reflected on their learning experience. Participant experiences reflected a developmental learning process beginning with significant challenges followed by positive clinical changes and positive clinician changes, culminating in overall buy-in regarding the importance of client feedback for nearly all clinicians. The results support the literature that client feedback directly informs the therapeutic process while suggesting important recommendations for training new clinicians in learning to use client feedback.     

Who Benefits from Couple Relationship Education? Findings from the Largest German CRE Study

In evaluation studies on couple relationship enhancement (CRE) programs, researchers are encouraged to also investigate which couples benefit from program participation. The authors qualified 104 university students to offer an evidence-based CRE program. Up to a 15-month follow-up, the participating couples (N = 234) reported a significant decrease in unsolved relationship conflicts. A 2-day-long intensive training led to better results compared with a weekly format regarding dropouts. Couples with lower pretest satisfaction ratings reported significant improvements over time, whereas couples with initial higher ratings reported no change or a deterioration. Further predictors were identified. The findings should be taken into account in future research.     

Exploring the Non-objectified Character of Dao in the Laozi: A Modem Articulation

This article focuses on the interpretation of heng dao 恆 道 (sometimes translated as "the constant dao") and its fundamental character in the Laozi.It argues against the prevailing interpretation of dao as an unchanging metaphysical substance or reality,and maintains that the fundamental feature of heng dao is both dynamic and eternal.Heng dao is beyond language because of its dynamic character,but the Laozi nevertheless strives to express it in three aspects:1) its flexibility and adaptability as represented in the metaphor of water;2) its movement of reversal and return;3) and in its existential significance as a guide for life.Heng dao can be called the non-objectified dao,which produces law,principle,rule,method,and so on.Looked at in this way,the dynamic character of heng dao can be called non-objective.     

Ji Kang on Nourishing Life

Ji Kang's "An Essay on Nourishing Life" has,for much of its history,been overshadowed by his more famous work "Sound is without Grief or Joy." Be that as it may,"An Essay on Nourishing Life" is also an important text in that it delves into the interdependence of the heart-mind,spirit,and vital breath,and into how harmony between them is the key to ensuring physical longevity.In addition to investigating this aspect of his thought,this paper will also discuss Ji Kang's attention to the vicissitudes of knowledge and desire and to the need to temper them with tranquility and stillness."An Essay on Nourishing Life" can thus be read as an extension of classical Daoist theories of self-cultivation while at the same time elaborating upon them by bringing together their disparate components into a coherently unified doctrine.     

自动化情绪调节中存在积极效应吗:来自ERPs的证据

采用线索Go/Nogo任务,运用ERPs技术考察了老年人和青年人在自动化情绪调节上的差异。ERPs结果显示:⑴愉快面孔比中性面孔诱发的Go-N2波幅较小,潜伏期较短;Nogo-P3波幅较大,潜伏期较短,表明情绪面孔比中性面孔更能吸引注意;⑵在愉快面孔上,老年组比青年组的Go/Nogo-P3波幅大、潜伏期差异不显著;在悲伤面孔上,老年组比青年组的Go/Nogo-P3波幅大,Nogo-P3潜伏期长,说明老年组比青年组更加抑制对悲伤面孔的反应,老年人在自动化情绪调节中表现出一定程度的积极效应。     

Global-local processing impacts academic risk taking

Research has shown that academic risk taking—the selection of school tasks with varying difficulty levels—affords important implications for educational outcomes. In two experiments, we explored the role of cognitive processes—specifically, global versus local processing styles—in students’ academic risk-taking tendencies. Participants first read a short passage, which provided the context for their subsequent academic risk-taking decisions. Following which, participants undertook the Navon’s task and attended to either global letters or local letters only, i.e., were either globally or locally primed. The effects of priming on academic risk taking were then assessed using a perception-based measure (Experiment 1) and a task-based measure (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 provided preliminary evidence, which Experiment 2 confirmed, that globally focused individuals took more academic risk than did locally focused individuals after controlling for participants’ need for cognition (how much they enjoy effortful cognitive activities). Additionally, the inclusion of and comparisons with a control group in Experiment 2 revealed that locally focused participants drove the observed effects. The theory of predictive and reactive control systems (PARCS) provides a cogent account of our findings. Future directions and practical applications in education are discussed.     

Executive functions and processing speed in children with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities and externalizing behavior problems

Several studies suggest impaired executive functions (EFs) in children with externalizing behavior problems and average intelligence (e.g., IQ > 85). Even though children with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities (MBID) are at higher risk of developing externalizing behavior problems compared to children with average intelligence, it is not yet clear if impaired EFs are also associated with the occurrence of externalizing behavior problems in children with MBID. In the current study, we therefore assessed three EF components (inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and working memory) as well as processing speed in children with MBID and externalizing behavior problems (n = 71) versus children with MBID with no such problems (n = 70). This was accomplished using a well-established computerized test battery. Even after IQ was controlled for, the children with MBID and externalizing behavior problems showed more impaired working memory performance. Differences for inhibition performance and processing speed were also found but less consistent across the tasks used to measure these aspects of EF. Cognitive flexibility was not more impaired in children with both MBID and externalizing behavior problems relative to children with MBID only. Our findings highlight working memory as a potential target to enhance the treatment of children with MBID and externalizing behavior problems.