Influence of instruction on velocity and accuracy of overarm throwing

This study investigated the influence of instruction on the ball velocity and accuracy of a goal-directed overarm throw. 9 experienced Norwegian male team handball players executed a throwing task randomly seven times under 5 different instructions varying from emphasizing speed to accuracy. When instructions increasingly emphasized accuracy, velocity decreased. However, accuracy did not improve when subjects were instructed to focus on it. A possible explanation for this finding could lie in the specific subject group. The subjects were highly experienced team handball players with an average of 12 years in the sport. Thus, the accuracy they demonstrated at high velocity might actually be already extremely high and difficult to improve upon when reducing throwing velocity. Further, the velocity of throwing when instruction emphasized accuracy was approximately 85% of the maximal velocity, indicating that experienced team handball players are trained to throw accurately at relatively high velocity.     

Changing commuters’ behavior using rewards: A study of rush-hour avoidance

In a 13-week field study conducted in The Netherlands, participants were provided with daily rewards – monetary and in-kind, in order to encourage them to avoid driving during the morning rush-hour. Participants could earn a reward (money or credits to keep a Smartphone handset), by driving to work earlier or later, by switching to another mode or by teleworking. The collected data, complemented with pre and post measurement surveys, were analyzed using longitudinal techniques and mixed logistic regression. The results assert that the reward is the main extrinsic motivation for discouraging rush-hour driving. The monetary reward exhibits diminishing sensitivity, whereas the Smartphone has endowment qualities. Although the reward influences the motivation to avoid the rush-hour, the choice how to change behavior is influenced by additional factors including education, scheduling, habitual behavior, attitudes, and travel information availability.     

The effect of layout and pacing on learning from diagrams with unnecessary text

Although the presentation of extraneous (i.e., irrelevant or unnecessary) information hinders learning, it is unclear whether and how layout and pacing influence this effect. In two experiments, participants learned how the heart functions using four different layouts: a diagram presented without unnecessary text (diagram only), with unnecessary text separated from the diagram (separated) or integrated into the diagram (integrated), or with separated unnecessary text and the instruction to integrate (integration instruction). In Experiment 1, study time was self‐paced for half of the participants and system paced for the other half. There were no effects of layout and of pacing on learning, although system pacing was more effortful than self‐pacing. In Experiment 2, which was system paced and employed eye tracking, the integrated condition showed worse learning outcomes than the separated condition. Moreover, in the integrated condition, participants made more integration attempts between the unnecessary text and the diagram than in the separated condition.     

Effect of physical fatigue on motor control at different skill levels

The purpose of this experiment was to explore the effect of fatigue on motor coordination, and of prospective adjustment strategies to compensate for fatigue in a multijoint movement. Two male groups (N = 8) participated in the experiment: Highly skilled table tennis players (M age = 27 yr., SD = 2.3, n = 4) and Recreational table tennis players (M age = 25.9 yr., SD = 0.04, n = 4). The task was an attacking forehand drive towards a scaled target on the opposite side of the net. The Highly skilled players adjusted their movement patterns and preserved the task requirements in terms of spatial accuracy under the condition of fatigue by using opportunistic movement coordination. The Recreational players did not adjust their forehand drive, and spatial accuracy deteriorated. The current results support the notion that expertise enhances potential to adjust motor coordination strategies as a reaction to induced physical fatigue.     

Influences of Affect Associated with Routine Out-of-Home Activities on Subjective Well-Being

A survey of a random sample of 1,330 Swedish residents assessed the relationships between affect associated with performance of routine out-of-home activities, mood, and judgments of life satisfaction (cognitive subjective wellbeing, CSWB). Regression analyses showed that sociodemographic variables accounted for most variance in CSWB (7%) and least in mood (2%). In agreement with previous research, CSWB increased with income, employment, and cohabiting with a spouse, and had a U-formed relationship with age. Affect associated with routine activities accounted for more variance than the socio-demographic variables in mood (30%) and in CSWB (13%). Mood partially mediated the effect on CSWB of affect associated with the activities. The results suggest that future policy-related research should consider the possibility that community-provided resources that facilitate performance of routine out-of-home activities would increase life satisfaction.     

With task experience students learn to ignore the content,not just the location of irrelevant information

Presentation of irrelevant additional information hampers learning. However, using a word-learning task, recent research demonstrated that an initial negative effect of mismatching pictures on learning no longer occurred once learners gained task experience. It is unclear, however, whether learners consciously suppressed attention to the content of the mismatching pictures. Therefore, we examined the effects of a picture location change towards the end of the learning phase: for half of the participants, the picture location was changed after they gained task experience. If participants only ignore the location of mismatching pictures, word learning in the mismatched condition should be hampered after the location change. Changing the location of the mismatching pictures did not affect recall in the mismatched condition, but, surprisingly, the location change did hamper learning in the matched condition. In sum, it seems that participants learned to ignore the content, and not just the location of the irrelevant information.     

Effects of age, task, and frequency on variability of finger tapping

The goal was to assess whether prior studies might have overestimated performance variability in older adults in dual task conditions by relying on primary motor tasks that are not constant with aging. 30 younger and 31 older adults performed a bimanual tapping task at four different frequencies in isolation or concurrently with a secondary task. Results showed that performance of younger and older adults was not significantly different in performing the tapping task at all frequencies and with either secondary task, as indicated by mean tapping performance and low number of errors in the secondary tasks. Both groups showed increased variability as tapping frequency increased and with the presence of a secondary task. Tapping concurrently while reading words increased tapping variability more than tapping concurrently while naming colours. Although older participants' performances were overall more variable, no interaction effects with age were found and at the highest frequencies of tapping, younger and older participants did not differ in performance.     

Existential loneliness and end-of-life care: A systematic review

Patients with a life-threatening illness can be confronted with various types of loneliness, one of which is existential loneliness (EL). Since the experience of EL is extremely disruptive, the issue of EL is relevant for the practice of end-of-life care. Still, the literature on EL has generated little discussion and empirical substantiation and has never been systematically reviewed. In order to systematically review the literature, we (1) identified the existential loneliness literature; (2) established an organising framework for the review; (3) conducted a conceptual analysis of existential loneliness; and (4) discussed its relevance for end-of-life care. We found that the EL concept is profoundly unclear. Distinguishing between three dimensions of EL—as a condition, as an experience, and as a process of inner growth—leads to some conceptual clarification. Analysis of these dimensions on the basis of their respective key notions—everpresent, feeling, defence; death, awareness, difficult communication; and inner growth, giving meaning, authenticity—further clarifies the concept. Although none of the key notions are unambiguous, they may function as a starting point for the development of care strategies on EL at the end of life.     

The role of planning for intention-behavior consistency

Two studies investigated how planning affects intention-behavior consistency. In Study 1 an experimental group and control group which each consisted of 14 undergraduates were requested in computerized interviews to indicate which activities they intended to perform on the following day. Subjects in the experimental group were also requested in a second phase of the interviews to specify when and where they intended to perform the activities. The results showed that activities for which time and place had been specified were more likely to be performed. In Study 2 another 75 undergraduates volunteered to participate in an experiment in which they were requested to perform an activity (reporting mood effects of reading a prose excerpt) by themselves on one of three following days. One group of subjects only agreed to perform the activity, another group agreed to perform the activity as well as indicated when and where they would do it, and a third group in addition to this indicated which other activities they would perform on the same day. In support of the hypothesis that planning an activity increases the likelihood that it will be performed, the results showed that subjects who indicated other activities more frequently performed the target activity. More efficient time management resulting from planning may account for the findings, although further research is needed to show this conclusively.