bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Upper and Lower Body Strength in Relation to Underhand Pitching Speed by Experienced and Inexperienced Pitchers
Authors: Pugh Steven F. , Kovaleski John E. , Heitman Robert J. , Pearsall Albert W.
Published: August 2011

The relation of legs, arms, shoulders, and grip strength with underhand pitching speed of experienced and inexperienced female pitchers was investigated. For 16 experienced female underhand pitchers and 16 inexperienced women with no softball experience (control group) leg and arm strength were measured using a Hydrafitness exercise machine. Grip strength was measured with a handgrip dynamometer. Underhand throwing speed was measured with a radar gun. Regression analysis showed arm and grip strength correlated with throwing speed ( p ≤ .05) for the experienced group. For the inexperienced control group, the only correlate of throwing speed was arm strength ( p≤ 05) There was a significant difference between the two groups on all measures of strength and ball speed in favor of the experienced group ( p ≤.05).
Contrast Effect in Evaluating Palatability of Beverages
Authors: Sakai Nobuyuki , Kataoka Fusami , Imada Sumio
Published: August 2011

This study aimed to clarify the contextual effect in evaluation of the pleasantness of beverages. Participants were presented a test stimulus and were then asked to rate how much they liked it before and after presentation of a contextual stimulus. Specifically, after participants were exposed to a Jess palatable beverage, they evaluated the test beverage as being more palatable than when their judgment of a test drink occurred after presentation of a neutral or palatable beverage (a positive contrast effect). This contextual effect can be explained by the reasoning that participants were affectively adapted to the palatability (less palatable) of a less palatable stimulus after repeated exposure; thus, they evaluated the test stimulus as more palatable. This study suggests that the evaluated value of the contextual stimuli affects evaluation of the test stimulus. The authors also suggest that these context effects are probably found in everyday life.
Remembering More Nouns Than Verbs in Lists of Foreign-Language Words as an Indicator of Syntactic Phonetic Symbolism
Authors: Langenmayr Arnold , Gözütok Mine , Gust Jasmin
Published: August 2011

In lists with words from languages not known to the subjects (students of the University of Essen, Germany, and in one experiment Polish teachers in North Poland), nouns were remembered more often than verbs, and the effect was not dependent on the length of the words. The effect was clearer with languages with a strong (Swahili) or medium (Hungarian, Turkish) tendency to marcation and less with languages with a tendency for weak marcation (Japanese). We interpreted this effect as influenced by syntactic phonetic symbolism, assuming there is a phonologic and prosodic difference between nouns and verbs
Epidemiologic Study of Sleep Disorders in Kuwaiti Adolescents
Authors: Abdel-Khalek Ahmed M.
Published: August 2011

A sample of 2,574 volunteer Kuwaiti boys ( n = 1,309) and girls ( n = 1,265) in secondary schools were recruited. Their ages ranged from 14 to 18 years. 13 items were used to assess prevalence of insomnia, hypersomnia, nightmares, sleepwalking, sleep terror, and narcolepsy. Participants were requested to respond according to the past month on a 5-point scale. The summation of responses in the last two options, i.e., “Much” and “Very much” was considered as the point prevalence rates. Girls had significantly higher mean ratings than boys on the following items: difficulty initiating sleep, fitful and disturbed sleep, waking up several times, nightmares, and sleep terror, while boys had significantly higher mean ratings on sleepwalking and “watching TV causes naps or sleep.” The point prevalence on all the items for boys ranged from 4.6% to 35.2%, and that for girls ranged between 1.0% and 37.5%. One should keep in mind that the present sample was not a clinical one.
Sex-Specific Finger-Length Patterns Linked to Behavioral Variables: Consistency across Various Human Populations
Authors: Peters M. , Tan Ü. , Kang Y. , Teixeira L. , Mandal M.
Published: August 2011

In humans, as in nonhuman primates, the digits of the hands are similar in length during early fetal development. Subsequently, differentiation leads to a patter of unequal finger lengths, described by George as the finger-length pattern. Recent work by Manning and colleagues suggested that digit length patterns are due to early influences of sex hormones. Most importantly for psychology, such patterns might also relate to cognitive activities that are influenced by early organizing actions of sex hormones. The exciting possibility of having an easily measurable indicator of early action of sex hormones that relates to behavior led us to examine the universality of digit length patterns. With samples from Brazil, Canada, India, Turkey, and Korea, we showed that patterns of distal extent of finger tips are similar across different human populations. Consistent sex differences were found across the samples, showing that the index finger in males extends less far distally relative to the middle finger than is the case for females and that the difference in distal extent between index and ring fingers, relative to the middle finger, is smaller in females than in males.
Female Laryngectomees' Satisfaction with Communication Methods and Speech-Language Pathology Services
Authors: Smithwick Lynn , Davis Priscilla , Dancer Jess , Hicks Gretchen Spring , Montague Jim
Published: August 2011

132 female laryngectomees responded to a questionnaire regarding satisfaction with their communication methods as postlaryngectomees and speech-language pathology services. Respondents were satisfied overall with their primary communication selection; however, most would like to try a method that produced a more feminine-sounding voice. 68% were satisfied with their speech-language pathology services.
Age-Related Susceptibility to the Müller-Lyer and the Horizontal-Vertical Illusions
Authors: Brosvic Gary M. , Dihoff Roberta E. , Fama Jessica
Published: August 2011

Participants between the ages of 3 and 20 years adjusted the Müller-Lyer illusion and the inverted-T form of the Horizontal-Vertical illusion. Perceptual error was quantified using signal detection and nonparametric measures of sensitivity and responsivity. Significant changes in sensitivity and responsivity were found for each illusion across participants' ages. No effect of sex of participant was found. Sensitivity and responsivity were largely asymptotic between the ages of 13 to 15 years for the Müller-Lyer illusion and between the ages of 11 to 15 years for the Horizontal-Vertical illusion.
Pseudofluency in Adults Who Stutter: The Illusory Outcome of Therapy
Authors: Dayalu Vikram N. , Kalinowski Joseph
Published: August 2011

The majority of therapy programs for people who stutter are aimed at modifying the entire speech output by using techniques that reduce the overt signature events. Use of these techniques for extended time periods are thought to induce true fluency that is automatic, natural, and effortless. It is proposed that the present form of therapeutic intervention induces pseudofluency rather than true fluency. Pseudofluency is the speech posttherapy of persons who stutter, free of the discrete signature events of stuttering, but replaced by cognitively mediated gestures that are embedded as continuous prolongation or masked stuttering events throughout the speech act. This may account for the high rate of relapse and the problems associated with the maintenance, stability, and naturalness of speech after stuttering therapy.
Courtship Communication and Perception
Authors: Moore Monica M.
Published: August 2011

Although ethologists have detailed courtship rituals for many species, courting behavior of humans has not received extensive study from an ethological standpoint. Yet there are clearly facial expressions and gestures that are commonly labeled “flirting behaviors.” These nonverbal signals have been documented recently by several investigators in field studies, but the receptivity of nonverbal courtship signals is still in question. The current research project attempted to assess the perceptual skill of naive male and female observers who were presented videotaped samples of females' nonverbal courtship and rejection behaviors and asked to rate their intensity. The results showed that overall, men rated invitational behaviors more positively than women. In contrast, signals of rejection were seen by men as sending a less potent message than that perceived by women. Evolutionary theory may offer a framework for understanding these results.
Effects of Speakers' Augmented Characteristics and Listeners' Sex on Intelligibility and Acceptability of Synthesized Speech
Authors: Ellis Lee W. , Spiegel Bernard , Benjamin Barbaranne
Published: August 2011

16 women and 16 men as listeners provided magnitude estimation scaling responses for the intelligibility and acceptability of synthesized speech transmitted by two different individuals using a voice output communication aid (VOCA). Listeners rated the samples when presented by a physically disabled nonspeaking male and when presented by a nondisabled speaking male. Analysis indicated no significant difference in listeners' judgments of the intelligibility or acceptability of the samples transmitted by the two VOCA users regardless of sex of the listener or speaking ability of the presenter.
Influence of Sleep Deprivation and Auditory Intensity on Reaction Time and Response Force
Authors: Włodarczyk Dariusz , Jaśkowski Piotr , Nowik Agnieszka
Published: August 2011

Arousal and activation are two variables supposed to underlie change in response force. This study was undertaken to explain these roles, specifically, for strong auditory stimuli and sleep deficit. Loud auditory stimuli can evoke phasic over-arousal whereas sleep deficit leads to general underarousal. Moreover, Van der Molen and Keuss. (1979, 1981) showed that paradoxically long reaction times occurred with extremely strong auditory stimuli when the task was difficult, e.g., choice reaction or Simon paradigm. It was argued that this paradoxical behavior related to reaction time is due to active disconnecting of the coupling between arousal and activation to prevent false responses. If so, we predicted that for extremely loud stimuli and for difficult tasks, the lengthening of reaction time should be associated with reduction of response force. The effects of loudness and sleep deficit on response time and force were investigated in three different tasks: simple response, choice response, and Simon paradigm. According to our expectation, we found a detrimental effect of sleep deficit on reaction time and on response force. In contrast to Van der Molen and Keuss, we found no increase in reaction time for loud stimuli (up to 110 dB) even on the Simon task.
Do Professional Golfers “Choke”?
Authors: Clark Russell D.
Published: August 2011

A study involving results of the PGA Tour, Senior PGA Tour, and the LPGA Tour investigated whether “choking under pressure” occurs among professional golfers. Players were individuals who either were leading going into the final round or within five strokes of the lead. It was hypothesized that players who were one stroke from the lead and to a lesser extent players who were leading should have higher final round scores than those players who were two or more strokes from the lead (“choking”). However, the results did not support the choking hypothesis. Players who were leading going into the final round won the majority of the time.
Age-Related EMG Variables during Maximum Voluntary Contraction
Authors: Yamada Hiroshi , Masuda Tadashi , Okada Morihiko
Published: August 2011

We studied the neuromuscular adaptation that occurs with aging by comparing changes in surface electromyography (EMG) variables from the tibialis anterior muscle in 12 young (21.4 ± 1.7 yr. old) and 13 older subjects (70.8 ± 3.0 yr. old). EMG variables such as the muscle fiber conduction velocity, median frequency, and averaged rectified value were calculated during maximum voluntary contraction for 5-sec, isometric contractions. The dorsiflexion force, muscle fiber conduction velocity, median frequency, and average rectified value during maximum voluntary contraction were significantly smaller in the older than in the younger group ( p <.05). These results suggested char the neuromuscular system in older subjects is affected by the selective atrophy of fast twitch fibers and differences in motor unit firing statistics. Our results suggest the utility of applying the EMG observed during maximum voluntary contraction to the noninvasive evaluation of neuromuscular function in elderly persons.
Differences among African Americans and Euro-Americans in Reasons for Sports Participation
Authors: Philipp Steven F. , Brezina Sherie
Published: August 2011

Findings from 829 respondents from the southern United Slates (323 African American, 506 Euro-American adults) in 64 nonschool leisure locations participating in 19 different sports showed that the African American and Euro-American groups differed significantly on the importance given to 2 of 6 reasons offered for their sports participation, “socializing with others” and “improving skills.” Both reasons were rated as of greater importance by African-American respondents. These findings have implications for designing, marketing, and evaluating adult sports opportunities.
Relation of Perceived Fitness with Health Changes and Physiological Changes in Women Exercisers
Authors: Annesi James J.
Published: August 2011

Perceived fitness and health changes were not significantly correlated with corresponding physiological changes in 26 formerly sedentary women during a 16-wk. moderate cardiovascular exercise.
Perceptions of Competence, Implicit Theory of Ability, Perception of Motivational Climate, and Achievement Goals: A Test of the Trichotomous Conceptualization of Endorsement of Achievement Motivation in the Physical Education Setting
Authors: Cury F. , Fonséca D. Da , Rufo M. , Sarrazin P.
Published: August 2011

To test and extend the conceptualization of the endorsement of achievement goals in the physical education setting Mastery, Performance-approach, and Performance-approach goals, Perception of the physical education competence, Implicit theory about sport ability, and Perception of the motivational climate were assessed among 682 boys attending five French schools. Analysis indicated that (1) Performance-approach goals were positively associated with perception of physical education Competence, Entity beliefs about sport ability, the Performance dimension of the motivational climate, and negatively associated with Incremental beliefs about sport ability. (2) Mastery goals were positively associated with perception of physical education Competence, Incremental beliefs about sport ability, the Mastery dimension of the motivational climate, and negatively associated with the Performance dimension of the motivational climate. Also, (3) Performance-avoidance goals were positively associated with Entity beliefs about sport ability and the Performance dimension of the motivational climate; these goals were negatively associated with Incremental beliefs about sport ability and perception of physical education Competence. These results clearly attested to the validity of the trichotomous model in the physical education setting.
Workload, Error Detection, and Experienced Stress in a Simulated Pharmacy Verification Task
Authors: Reilley Sean , Grasha Anthony F. , Schafer John
Published: August 2011

The relationships among workload, stress, and performance efficiency are topics of applied interest and theoretical importance to researchers concerned with human performance. Such interest extends to a variety of occupational areas including inpatient, outpatient, and community pharmacies. In that context, these relationships have become a consumer health issue given concerns that workload contributes to job stress and a significant decline in dispensing accuracy. In the present study, 102 trained college-aged individuals evaluated simulated pharmacy prescriptions for errors under conditions of either low workload (72 orders over 120 min. on task) or high workload (120 orders over 120 min. on task) in a high-fidelity simulated pharmacy environment. Overall, cumulative and detection theory indices of error detection were compatible with estimates from pharmacy field studies. When rates of sensitivity and specificity for detection were examined, substantial variations in the identification of errors (sensitivity) and difficulties with detection of data-entry mistakes were observed in the high workload condition, but only modest effects emerged for the low workload condition. Although increases in objective workload were associated with modest declines in detection accuracy, objective workload did nor significantly affect negative mood (Mood Adjective Checklist) or perceived workload (NASA-Task Load Index) as expected.
Modeling of Human Posturokinetic Movements by a Linear Feedback System: Relations among Feedback Coefficients
Authors: Roux Karen , Gentil Christian , Grishin Alexander
Published: August 2011

This study describes a method of modeling human trunk and whole body backward bending and suggests a possible neural control strategy. The hypothesis was that the control system can be modeled as a linear feedback system, in which the torque acting at a given joint is a function of the state variables (angular positions and angular velocities). The linear system enabled representation of the feedback system by a gain matrix. The matrix was computed from the kinematics recorded by a movement analysis system and from the joint torques calculated by inverse dynamics. To validate the control model, a comparison was made between the angular kinematics yielded by the model and the experimental data. Moreover, for all subjects, the same relationships between feedback coefficients were found although gain values were different. The study showed that the feedback system is an appropriate model of the strategy from performing an accurate controlled trunk or whole body backward bending in the sagittal plane.
Differences in Kata Performance Time and Distance from a Marker for Experienced Shotokan Karateka under Normal Sighted and Blindfolded Conditions
Authors: Layton Clive , Avenell Leon
Published: August 2011

10 experienced Shotokan karateka were tested on performance time and distance from a marker on the five Heian kata under normal sighted and blindfolded conditions. Whilst each kata's line of movement is different, it is the intention to start and finish at the same location. Analysis showed that despite an average of 16.8 yr. of training, whilst timing was not significantly affected on four of the kata by subjects being deprived of the visual sense, the group's mean change in distance from an original marker was significant for performances on three of the kata.
Canadian Coaches' Perceptions of the 1980 Olympic Boycott
Authors: Crossman Jane , Lappage Ron
Published: August 2011

This paper examined Canadian coaches' perceptions of the 1980 boycott of the Moscow Olympic Games and effects on their lives and coaching careers, gathered by in-depth telephone interviews with 24 coaches of the Olympic team. Most of the 25 interview questions were asked earlier of athletes and now rephrased for coaches. In general, the coaches were more concerned about the welfare of their athletes than themselves, directing their energy towards helping their athletes cope with the boycott and, in some cases, to prepare for alternate competitions. The coaches' reactions were more subdued than those of the Canadian athletes affected by the boycott.
The Mozart Effect May Only Be Demonstrable in Nonmusicians
Authors: Twomey A. , Esgate A.
Published: August 2011

The “Mozart effect” is the tendency to score higher on spatiotemporal IQ subscales following exposure to complex music such as Mozart's Sonata K.448. This phenomenon was investigated in 20 musicians and 20 nonmusicians. The trion model predicts increased synchrony between musical and spatiotemporal centres in the right cerebral hemisphere. Since increased left-hemispheric involvement in music processing occurs as a result of music training, predictions deriving from the possibility of increased synchrony with left-hemispheric areas in musicians were tested. These included improved performance on language as well as spatiotemporal tasks. Spatiotemporal, synonym generation, and rhyming word generation tasks were employed as was the Mozart Sonata K.448. A Mozart effect was demonstrated on the spatiotemporal task, and the facilitatory effect of exposure to Mozart was greater for the non-musician group. This finding adds to the robustness of the Mozart effect since novel tasks were used. No Mozart effect was found for either group on the verbal tasks, although the musicians scored higher on rhyming word generation. This new finding adds to the number of nonmusical tasks apparently showing long-term benefits from music training. However, no systematic link was found between performance on any task and number of years spent in music training. The failure to induce a Mozart effect in the musician group on verbal tasks, as well as that group's limited facilitation on spatiotemporal tasks, may be associated with either a ceiling effect due to the long-term effects of music training or from methodological factors. Both possibilities are discussed.
Effect of Frequency on Human Unipedal Hopping
Authors: Austin Gary P. , Tiberio David , Garrett Gladys E.
Published: August 2011

All mature forms of locomotion involve periods of unilateral stance. Unipedal hopping may provide useful information about the neuromuscular and biomechanical capabilities of a single lower extremity in adults. This study investigated whether hopping influenced vertical stiffness and lower extremity angular kinematics during human unipedal hopping. Vertical force and two-dimensional kinematics were measured in 10 healthy males hopping at three frequencies: preferred, +20%, and −20%. At +20%, compared to preferred, vertical stiffness increased 55% as hip flexion, knee flexion, and ankle dorsiflexion decreased, while at −20% vertical stiffness decreased 39.4% as hip flexion, knee flexion, and ankle dorsiflexion increased. As in bipedal hopping, the force-displacement relationship was more springlike at the preferred rate and +20% than at −20%. Given the prevalence of unilateral stance during walking, running, and skipping, findings related to unipedal hopping may be useful in the rehabilitation or conditioning of lower extremities.
Frequency of Public Laughter in Relation to Sex, Age, Ethnicity, and Social Context
Authors: Chapell Mark , Batten Michael , Brown Jael , Gonzalez Elisa , Herquet Gabrielle , Massar Christopher , Pedroche Beverly
Published: August 2011

This study investigated the frequency of public laughter in a total of 10,419 children, adolescents, young adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults. Females laughed significantly more than males, and younger people generally laughed more than older people.
Practice Effects on Reaction Time for Peripheral and Central Visual Fields
Authors: Ando Soichi , Kida Noriyuki , Oda Shingo
Published: August 2011

The present study examined whether EMG-RT (KT) for a key press to stimulus in peripheral and central visual fields decreases with practice. 16 male students were divided into two groups, one practicing using peripheral vision, the other practicing using central vision. Before and after practice, RT was measured for peripheral and central visual fields. Each group practiced three blocks of 25 trials five days a week for three weeks. RT for peripheral and central visual fields decreased with practice. Practice effects on RT for the peripheral visual field extended to RT for the central visual field, and vice versa. It is suggested that the transfer may reflect the decrease in the central nervous system's processing time in common between two RT tasks.
Students' Learning through Hypermedia
Authors: Rehbein Lucio , Hinostroza Enrique , Ripoll Miguel , Alister Isabel
Published: August 2011

This study assessed the effectiveness of hypermedia software in the learning and retention, association, and structuring of biological knowledge by using fifth grade students (ages 9 to 11 years) from three urban schools in Southern Chile. Four groups of 24 subjects each were exposed to either hypermedia software presentation on basic functions of the human body (Group 1), the same information in linear, electronic book mode (Group 2), the same information on a printed brochure (Group 3), or no experimental treatment but exposure (as were students in the other three groups) to regular lectures and materials (control group or Group 4). Six students from each school were randomly assigned to the treatment and control groups; thus 24 students from each school ( N = 72) participated. Students in all groups increased their retention of information. They also improved their performance on remote concept associations and on consttuction of conceptual maps. However, the groups who used the software presentation obtained significantly better scores on remote association of concepts. There were correlations for the users' hypermedia navigational patterns with the richness of the students' conceptual maps, and the students' remote association. In general, results support the use of similar software in education wherein the goals are remote associations and rich conceprual maps, and, more specifically, they indicate that the students' navigational pattern through information could serve them better to structure and relate conceptual information.
Influence of Contextual Stimuli on Line Bisection
Authors: Chieffi Sergio , Ricci Mariateresa
Published: August 2011

The influence of contextual stimuli on line-bisection performance was investigated. Subjects were required to bisect lines flanked at one end by one pair of solid black rectangles. Bisection was performed along three orthogonal axes (horizontal, radial, vertical). The results showed the presence of a bisection bias in the direction opposite to the location of flanking rectangles. This finding suggests that the presence of rectangles beside one end of a line interfered with representation of the line as a whole and induced the subjects to neglect the flanked part of the line.
Rorschach Measures during Depth Hypnosis and Suggestion of a Previous Life
Authors: Ferracuti Stefano , Cannoni Eleonora , de Carolis Antonella , Gonella Angelo , Lazzari Renato
Published: August 2011

Using a procedure with suggestions to prompt false memories from an alleged previous Life, we hypnotized 16 normal subjects and collected Rorschach data before and during the hypnotic induction. During hypnosis 9 subjects produced memories that they claimed to remember from a former life. The Rorschach findings bore no resemblance to the available data for other dissociative disorders. Rorschach variables during hypnotic trance remained almost unchanged from baseline. These results indicate that the Rorschach poorly reflects hypnotic trance.
Hand Preference and Spring-Summer vs Fall-Winter Seasonal Affective Disorder
Authors: Mirabile Charles S. , Teicher Martin H.
Published: August 2011

Left- and right-handed patients with seasonal affective disorder were compared for seasonal patterns of depression and good spirits. Spring-summer depression and fall-winter good spirits were more evident among 9 left-handers. The reverse pattern was observed for the 9 right-handers.
Possible Disruption of Remote Viewing by Complex Weak Magnetic Fields around the Stimulus Site and the Possibility of Accessing Real Phase Space: A Pilot Study
Authors: Koren S. A. , Persinger M. A.
Published: August 2011

In 2002 Persinger, Roll, Tiller, Korea, and Cook considered whether there are physical processes by which recondite information exists within the space and time of objects or events. The stimuli that compose this information might be directly detected within the whole brain without being processed by the typical sensory modalities. We tested the artist Ingo Swann who can reliably draw and describe randomly selected photographs sealed in envelopes in another room. In the present experiment the photographs were immersed continuously in repeated presentations (5 times per sec.) of one of two types of computer-generated complex magnetic field patterns whose intensities were less than 20 nT over most of the area, WINDOWS-generated but not DOS-generated patterns were associated with a marked decrease in Mr. Swann's accuracy. Whereas the DOS software generated exactly the same pattern, WINDOWS software phase-modulated the actual wave form resulting in an infinite bandwidth and complexity. We suggest that information obtained by processes attributed to “paranormal” phenomena have physical correlates that can be masked by weak, infinitely variable magnetic fields.
Ventilatory Thresholds in Arm and Leg Exercises with Spontaneously Chosen Crank and Pedal Rates
Authors: Dekerle Jeanne , Caby Isabelle , Marais Gaëlle , Lavoie Jean Marc , Dupont Ludovic , Vanvelcenaher Jacques , Pelayo Patrick
Published: August 2011

The present study assessed whether the first and the second ventilatory thresholds (VT1 and VT2) were dependent on the muscle groups solicited when spontaneously chosen crank and pedal rates are used. 20 physical education male students (22 ± 2.2 yr.) performed two maximal incremental tests randomly assigned using an increment of 15 and 30 W every minute for arm and leg exercises, respectively. These tests were used to measure the maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) and to identify VT1 and VT2. The absolute oxygen uptake (VO2) values measured at VT1, VT2, and at maximal workload were significantly ( p<.05) lower during arm and leg exercises. However, VT1 and VT2 expressed in percent of VO2 max were not significantly different between arm and leg exercises (54.1 ± 8.2 vs 57.2 ± 11.4%; and 82.5 ± 6.4 vs 84.6 ± 5.1% at VT1 and VT2, respectively). In addition, at the two thresholds, none of the variables measured during arm and leg exercises were significantly correlated with the exception of spontaneously chosen crank and pedal rates ( p<.01; r=.75 and r=.69 for VT1 and VT2, respectively). Probably due to the different training status and skill level, no extrapolation can be made to specify the arm thresholds from the leg. These results underline the need to specify the ventilatory thresholds from specific arm ergometer measures obtained from tests performed with spontaneously chosen crank and pedal rates and, thus, close to sport and recreational activities, when they are used for training and rehabilitation programs.
Susceptibility to Illusions and Cognitive Style: Implications for Pharmacy Dispensing
Authors: Tranum Diane , Grasha Anthony F.
Published: August 2011

Response distributions for five cognitive illusions and one visual illusion were examined in two samples, college students ( n = 134) and pharmacists ( n = 51). These illusions were selected for study on the basis of pharmacists' judgments about associations of illusions to common dispensing errors. Participants were categorized as Illusion-prone or Illusion-resistant, and distributions of such tendencies for the six stimuli used varied within samples. Significant differences between the two samples on illusion-proneness and resistance were observed for the “Moses' Ark” and “Fcount” illusions. Associations of Illusion-prone and Illusion-resistant responses to field-dependence, psychological type, and the cognitive orientations derived from Psychological Type Theory were examined. Field-independence–field-dependence was the only cognitive dimension associated with Illusion-prone and Illusion-resistant responding. Implications of the data for developing measures based upon visual and cognitive illusions to identify people with error-prone tendencies were discussed.
Effect of Metaphorical Verbal Instruction on Modeling of Sequential Dance Skills by Young Children
Authors: Sawada Misako , Mori Shiro , Ishii Motonobu
Published: August 2011

Metaphorical verbal instruction was compared to specific verbal instruction about movement in the modeling of sequential dance skills by young children. Two groups of participants (Younger, mean age 5:3 yr., n = 30; Older, mean age 6:2 yr., n = 30) were randomly assigned to conditions in a 2 (sex) x 2 (age [Younger and Older]) x 3 (verbal instruction [Metaphorical, Movement-relevant, and None]) factorial design. Order scores were calculated for both performance and recognition tests, comprising five acquisition trials and two retention trials after 24 hr., respectively. Analysis of variance indicated that the group given metaphorical instruction performed better than the other two instructions for both younger and older children. The results suggest that metaphorical verbal instruction aids the recognition and performance of sequential dance skills in young children.
Fantasy Proneness, Creative Capacity, and Styles of Creativity
Authors: Lack Susanna A. , Kumar V. K. , Arevalo Salvador
Published: August 2011

The Creativity Styles Questionnaire–Revised was used to measure graduate psychology students' ( N = 173) self-perceptions of creative capacity and styles of creativity (beliefs about and strategies for going about being creative). Participants also completed the Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imaginings, a self-report measure of Fantasy Proneness. The Self-perceived Creative Capacity and Fantasy Proneness scores were significantly correlated ( r = .36, p<.001), and these scores were positively correlated with the styles subscale scores of Belief in Unconscious Processes, Use of Techniques, Use of Senses, and negatively correlated with Final Product Orientation. Also, the Fantasy Proneness scores were positively correlated with the Superstition scores and the Environmental Control and Behavioral Self-regulation scores.
Psychopathological Correlates of Contextualized Images in Dreams
Authors: Levin Ross , Basile Robert
Published: August 2011

A contextualized image is a powerful central image in a dream which provides a picture context for the dominant emotion of the dreamer. This study examined the psychopathological correlates of both dream and nightmare contextualized images in a community-based sample of 378. As predicted, mean nightmare contextualized image scores were significantly higher than mean dream scores. In addition, while dream contextualized images were unrelated to psychopathology, nightmare contextualized images were significantly associated with elevated scores on three SCL-90-R subscales and the General Symptom Distress Index.
Judgments of Speech Intelligibility and Speech Annoyance by Mothers of Children Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Authors: Ellis Lee W. , Pakulski Lori
Published: August 2011

14 mothers of children who were deaf or hard of hearing provided magnitude estimation scaling responses for the speech intelligibility and speech annoyance of narrative speech samples produced by children who were deaf or hard of hearing. Analysis indicated that listeners scaled intelligibility and annoyance the same. As samples became more difficult to understand, they also became more annoying to these listeners. Implications for further research are discussed.
College Students' Choices of Study Strategies
Authors: Carrier L. Mark
Published: August 2011

For a closed-book examination, study strategies that could promote deep processing correlated positively with scores but were not likely to be used by the 46 students. For an open-book, open-note examination, strategies that might have led to confusion regarding the locations of material in the textbook and lecture notes correlated negatively with scores, although they were not likely to be used by the 58 students.
Effect of Yoga-Based and Forced Uninostril Breathing on the Autonomic Nervous System
Authors: Raghuraj P. , Telles Shirley
Published: August 2011

Some reports have described the effects of forced uninostril breathing on autonomic activity as sex-specific, while other reports described selective effects of breathing through a specific nostril on the two divisions of the autonomic nervous system, irrespective of sex. There are also yoga breathing techniques which involve voluntary uninostril breathing. These techniques also influenced the autonomic activity based on the patent nostril rather than sex. These descriptions were in line with experiential observations of the ancient sages described in classical yoga texts. This paper summarizes these perspectives on uninostril breathing.
The Plural Self
Authors: Lester David
Published: August 2011

In a sample of 61 psychology students, unity in the subjective structure of the self was associated with having a Taoist orientation.
Use of Self-Reports of Physical Fitness as Substitutes for Performance-Based Measures of Physical Fitness in Older Adults
Authors: Schuler Petra B. , Marzilli Thomas S.
Published: August 2011

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the association between self-reported physical fitness and performance-based measures of physical fitness in older adults. The specific components of physical fitness evaluated included aerobic endurance, muscular strength, and flexibility. Adults (25 men and 47 women) ranging in age from 56 to 92 years ( M age = 75 yr.) were recruited from the local community. Generally, the associations between self-reported and performance-based measures of physical fitness were low to moderate ( r = .30–.01). Based on these findings, self-reports of physical fitness should not be used as substitutes for performance-based measures of physical fitness in older adults. Furthermore, present findings suggest that older adults, when asked to rate subcomponents of physical fitness, may not do so but rather evaluate a more general concept of physical fitness with aerobic endurance as the dominant factor.
Interest and Attention in Facial Recognition
Authors: Burgess Melinda C. R. , Weaver George E.
Published: August 2011

When applied to facial recognition, the levels of processing paradigm has yielded consistent results: faces processed in deep conditions are recognized better than faces processed under shallow conditions. However, there are multiple explanations for this occurrence. The own-race advantage in facial recognition, the tendency to recognize faces from one's own race better than faces from another race, is also consistently shown but not clearly explained. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that the levels of processing findings in facial recognition are a result of interest and attention, not differences in processing. This hypothesis was tested for both own and other faces with 105 Caucasian general psychology students. Levels of processing was manipulated as a between-subjects variable; students were asked to answer one of four types of study questions, e.g., “deep” or “shallow” processing questions, while viewing the study faces. Students' recognition of a subset of previously presented Caucasian and African-American faces from a test-set with an equal number of distractor faces was tested. They indicated their interest in and attention to the task. The typical levels of processing effect was observed with better recognition performance in the deep conditions than in the shallow conditions for both own- and other-race faces. The typical own-race advantage was also observed regardless of level of processing condition. For both own- and other-race faces, level of processing explained a significant portion of the recognition variance above and beyond what was explained by interest in and attention to the task.
The Inappropriate Smile and Zygomatic Muscle Activity
Authors: Azuma Tukasa , Shimizu Akira , Yamashita Koh , Iwase Masao , Kajimoto Osami , Tatsumoto Yoshihiro , Sumitsuji Noboru
Published: August 2011

Long-term recording of activity of the zygomatic muscle, the most important mimic muscle involved in smiling, was performed in 22 disorganized type schizophrenic patients with inappropriate smiles and 15 normal subjects in two separate experiments. During inappropriate smiles, the zygomatic muscle exhibited waxing and waning bursts of activity with an amplitude of 75 to 120 μV, which could not be distinguished from the activity observed during usual smiling in normal subjects. However, the duration of such activity tended to be longer when compared to that in usual smiling by normal subjects as well as by schizophrenic patients. In contrast to usual smiles, inappropriate smiles decreased with personal contact. When asked about their thoughts during smiling shortly after inappropriate smiles, more patients reported that they thought of nothing at all or something not necessarily pleasant rather than something pleasant that would be expected to induce smiling.
Expressive Writing Disorders: An Analysis of Theoretical Views
Authors: Bowers Thomas G. , DeMulder Jodie , Struck Donna Marie , Bedard Brian
Published: August 2011

Three prominent theories of writing were found in a literature review of Psychlit, educational journals and Medline, and a fourth global theory relating writing to intact cerebral integrity was also hypothesized. These theories were then tested by attempting to predict writing scores among a sample of 44 individuals with academic difficulties. Significant support was found for a memory and attention model, the dysgraphia model, and an abstract sequential analysis model. Surprisingly, measures of the overall cortical integrity were not significantly related to writing behavior in this sample, but this finding may reflect excluding brain damaged subjects in this study. Also, the abstract sequential analysis model appeared to function differently than expected. The results indicate it is important to assess the cognitive contributions of writing difficulties to guide remediation. Larger scale research on the sources of writing disorders is also recommended.
Test of the Effect of Attention on Judged Length of a Line
Authors: Masin Sergio C.
Published: August 2011

Studies to assess experimentally whether attention affects the judged length of a line have produced discordant results. This paper reports the results of a test designed to avoid factors that were not controlled in previous studies. Stimuli were either two vertical lines or two horizontal lines of equal physical length presented briefly on opposite sides of a fixation cross. Subjects were asked to direct their attention to one line when the arm of the cross pointing to the line changed in luminance. This arm was used either as a precue or as a postcue. Subjects judged lines to be longer when a precue preceded the line than when a postcue followed the line.
Assessing Handwriting Speed of Children Biliterate in English and Chinese
Authors: Chow Susanna M. K. , Choy Sze-Wai , Mui Siu-Kei
Published: August 2011

The assessment of multiliterate handwriting performance is rarely reported despite increased globalization. The present study describes the psychometric properties of a handwriting speed test developed for children who are biliterate in English and Chinese. This included interrater reliability, test-retest reliability, interitem correlation, construct validity, and concurrent validity. The test's reliabilities between two raters and over a 1-wk. interval were high with ICCs ranging from .89 to .99. Interitem correlation between the English and Chinese items was .87. The presence of age trends but not sex differences was a positive indicator of the test's validity. Correlations of .91 and 1.00 between the Chinese and the English items of the Handwriting Assessment Tool with the Chinese Handwriting Speed Test and Handwriting Speed Test, respectively, provided evidence of concurrent validity. These preliminary results showed the Handwriting Assessment Tool is reliable and is a potentially useful handwriting test for children biliterate in English and Chinese. The feasibility of assessing biliterate handwriting speed performance with the same set of scoring criteria for different writing systems was supported.
Spatial Heterogeneity Not Homogeneity of the Magnetic Field during Exposures to Complex Frequency-Modulated Patterns Facilitates Analgesia
Authors: Martin L. J. , Persinger M. A.
Published: August 2011

24 young (4 mo.) and 24 old (8 mo.) male Wistar rats were exposed for 30 min. on two consecutive days to either a sham-field or to a frequency-modulated magnetic field applied through a pair of solenoids (spatially heterogeneous strength) or a Helmholtz coil (spatially homogeneous strength). The maximum field strength was about 2 microTesla. The rats exposed to the spatially heterogeneous magnetic field but not the homogeneous magnetic field exhibited strong analgesia to thermal stimuli applied to the Footpads immediately after the treatment and 30 min. later. The effect accommodated 38% of the variance in the latency to respond to the thermal stimuli. These results suggest that the practice by many researchers in bioelectromagnetism to design coils to generate maximum spatial homogeneity of intensities within the exposure volume when applying complex weak magnetic fields may actually diminish any biological effects.
Are Temporal Characteristics of Fast Repetitive Oscillating Movement Invariant?
Authors: Gutnik B.J. , Nicholson J. , Go W. , Gale D. , Nash D.
Published: August 2011

Validation of the proportional duration model was attempted using very fast single joint repetitive horizontal abductive-adductive movements of the stretched upper extremity with minimal cognitive input. Participants drew oscillating horizontal lines during 20 sec. over relatively short distances as quickly as possible without visual feedback. Spatial, temporal, and kinetic parameters were analysed. The amplitude and the time spent accelerating, decelerating, and reversing in both directions of each experimental line were recorded and related to the centre of gravity of the upper extremity. The accelerations of the centre of mass of ihe upper extremity were calculated and used to calculate the forces involved. The ratios of durations were compared and intercorrelated for the two fastest, two average, and two slowest cycles from each participant. Results exhibited significant standard deviations and variability of temporal and kinetic parameters within individual trials. The number of significant coefficients of correlation within individual trials was small despite the controlling influence of the same generalised motor program. The proportional duration model did not hold for our data. Peripheral factors (probably the length tension relationship rule for skeletal muscles and viscosity of muscle) may be important in this type of action.
Effects of Illumination, Viewing Distance, and Lighting Color on Perception Time
Authors: Lin Chin-Chiuan
Published: August 2011

A laboratory study was carried out to investigate the effects of illumination, viewing distance, and lighting color on perception time with center high-mounted stop lamps comprised of light-emitting diodes. Analysis indicated that illumination, viewing distance, and Lighting color are significant factors in perception time. Low illumination resulted in shorter perception time than high illumination. A viewing distance of 20 m resulted in shorter perception time than 40 m. The perception time was shorter for blue than for red or yellow light. The interaction of illumination and lighting color was significant. Mean difference in perception time among lighting colors was not significant under low illumination, but was significantly shorter for blue light under high illumination. Based on the results, blue light seemed to be the optimal lighting color for center high-mounted stop lamps comprised of light-emitting diodes.