bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparing Spatial Abilities of Collegiate Athletes in Different Sports
Authors: Lord Thomas R. , Garrison Jill
Published: August 2011

Researchers indicated that androgen enhances spatial ability in women but inhibits it in men. Since studies also indicate that athletes have higher than normal levels of androgen, whether spatial perception scores differed for men and women in different sports was examined. Spatial tests (visualization and orientation) were given to 150 men and 150 women collegiate athletes in different varsity sports. Analysis showed the women scored significantly higher than the men. In basketball, a sport common to both sexes, women did significantly better but this was not found in the other mixed-sex sports (baseball, swimming, and track).
Fixing the Blame When Research Fails
Authors: Masling Joseph
Published: August 2011

Issues in accounting for failed hypotheses are listed and illustrated by recent work by Malik, Apel, Nelham, Rutkowski, and Ladd.
A Version to Women Who Work and Perceived Discrimination among Euro-Americans and Mexican-Americans
Authors: Valentine Sean , Mosley Gordon
Published: August 2011

Perceptions of discrimination based on sex are presented for groups of Mexican-American men and women and Euro-American men and women. A measure of aversion to women who work is introduced and attitudes for the four groups are presented. Based on present significant differences and current demographic trends, discrimination based on sex will continue, and cultural attitudes may in fact perpetuate that.
Combined Effects of Goal Setting and Performance Feedback on Performance and Physiological Response on a Maximum Effort Task
Authors: Theodorakis Yannis , Laparidis Kostas , Kioumourtzoglou Efthimis , Goudas Marios
Published: August 2011

A laboratory experiment was conducted ( N = 40 subjects) to examine whether goal setting would be associated with reduced heart rate on an endurance task. Participants performed an endurance task on an ergometer bicycle. One week later when participants performed the task again half of them set a specific personal goal for an increase in performance. Analysis indicated that subjects who set a goal showed significant improvement in comparison with the control group. Moreover, subjects in the goal group had a significantly lower mean heart rate during the test and had a higher mean heart rate at the end of the test than on the first trial. Results are discussed in terms of combining cognitive and physiological explanations for the beneficial effects of goal setting on performance.
Interferon Beta 1-B in Verbal Memory Functioning of Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Selby Michael J. , Ling Naomi , Williams J. Michael , Dawson Amanda
Published: August 2011

The effects of interferon Beta 1-b (Betaseron) on verbal memory functioning was examined in 167 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and 112 matched normal controls. Subjects were administered 10 verbal memory tests from the Memory Assessment Scales and the Verbal subtests from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. Analysis showed subjects treated with Betaseron ( n = 73) did not perform significantly better on measures of verbal memory or verbal ability than subjects not receiving the drug ( n = 94), although the mean performance of treated subjects was higher across all verbal memory tests. Both groups of patients performed significantly worse on verbal memory subtests measuring list acquisition, delayed list recall, delayed cued recall, and the immediate and delayed recall of names and faces than control subjects. Although patients had lower performance scores across all memory tests than the control subjects, their scores were not within the impaired range. These results do not permit a clear conclusion about the effects of Betaseron on verbal memory for any effect is probably obscured by the relatively preserved cognitive functioning of this outpatient sample.
Connection between Synchronization of Oscillatory Activities at Early Stages and a Final Stage in the Visual System
Authors: Sohmiya Seiyu , Sohmiya Kazuko , Sohmiya Tamotsu
Published: August 2011

Singer's group and we found synchronized oscillatory responses at early stages and at a final stage in visual processing, respectively. However, the former occurs on a millisecond time scale and the latter on a second time scale. We have considered that this results from a difference in scale of something which takes part in the oscillations. From this viewpoint, here we first find suppression effects on both figure and ground of a pattern and on only the ground in a binocular-rivalry situation and then examine, using the effects of two steps, what oscillates and synchronizes at the last stage for form. Finally, we conclude that the synchronous neuronal oscillations depend on firing patterns of neurons at early stages in the visual system and the psychophysical ones on configurations of the spread effect of strength of pattern involved closely in whole processing of the visual system and the latter originates in the former.
Exact Probabilities for First-Order, Second-Order, and Third-Order Interactions in 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 Contingency Tables
Authors: Mielke Paul W. , Berry Kenneth J.
Published: August 2011

A FORTRAN program to calculate exact probabilities for first-, second-, and third-order interactions in 2×2×2×2 contingency tables with fixed marginals is presented. Computational speed and accuracy are assured with the use of an arbitrary constant for the initial table and recursively defined values for all subsequent tables.
Cognitive Strategies and Recall of Pace by Long-Distance Runners
Authors: Takai Kazuo
Published: August 2011

The purpose of this study was to examine whether long-distance runners with high or low performance of recalling running pace differed in their use of cognitive strategies in a race Recalling pace means the accuracy which runners have to approach their self-set target pace in a race. 60 male competitive runners who participated in a 20-km intercollegrate race were categorized as either runners with high recall of pace (accurate) or the runners with low recall of pace (inaccurate) on the basis of the discrepancy between a self-set target time and actual time. Analysis showed that the 30 accurate recallers used the attention strategies more frequently for recalling running pace, used the strategy of following other runners less frequently, and set a more appropriate finish time in accordance with their running ability than the 30 inaccurate recallers. The accurate recallers, who monitored their running pace and fatigue by using attention strategies, would reproduce more accurate self-set target times in accordance with their running ability.
Auditory Processing Skills and Hearing Aid Satisfaction in a Sample of Older Adults
Authors: Givens Gregg D. , Arnold Trina , Hume W. Garrett
Published: August 2011

The present study investigated the relationship between central auditory processing skills and satisfaction with hearing aids in a hearing-impaired geriatric sample of 58 adult wearers of hearing aids who were between the ages of 65 and 91 years. Analysis suggests the importance of adding central auditory tasks such as compressed speech or dichotic listening tasks to the evaluation of candidacy for hearing aids. This could lead to the better understanding of satisfaction with amplification by the geriatric population.
Issues in Oral History: Elaboration of Traumatic Events
Authors: Krus David J. , Nelsen Edward A. , Webb James M.
Published: August 2011

Two cases of allegorical elaboration of traumatic events were scrutinized. The described observations suggest that elaboration of real events and the possibility of their subsequent distortions should be considered when interpreting narratives pertaining to issues viewed by society as undesirable.
Subjective Organisation in the Recall of Abstract Body Movements
Authors: Longstaff Jeffrey Scott
Published: August 2011

Subjective organisation is a well known characteristic of verbal free recall in that items are recalled in groupings known as “chunks” or “clusters.” This organisation is indicative of a memory strategy and has been used to derive the cognitive structure of particular areas of knowledge. Clustering might also occur in the free recall of body movements. Subjects attempted to learn unfamiliar abstract body movements over five learning and recall trials. Analysis showed that subjective organisation occurred and increased with additional recall trials. This extends the clustering effect to the free recall of body movements. It is suggested that this effect can be used to probe the cognitive structure of motor memory.
Judging the Sex and Age of Suicide Note Writers
Authors: Lester David
Published: August 2011

Six expert judges were able to guess the age of suicide note writers better than chance but were less successful in guessing the sex.
“Subclinical” Dosages of Lithium and Pilocarpine that Do Not Evoke Overt Seizures Affect Long-Term Spatial Memory but Not Learning in Rats
Authors: Cook L. L. , Persinger M. A.
Published: August 2011

After training in an automated radial maze, 11 male rats were injected with either “subclinical” dosages of lithium and pilocarpine or saline and then tested 5 days or 4 months later. When employed as their own controls or when compared with a saline-injected reference group, the rats that had received the lithium and pilocarpine displayed memory deficits but not learning deficits after the longest of the two delays (effect size was 41%). These results suggest that subtle disruptions in memory but not learning to criterion could be associated with “subclinical electrical seizures” or the micromorphological changes associated with this activity.
Pressure, Velocity, and Time in Speeded Drawing of Basic Graphic Patterns by Young Children
Authors: Lange-Küttner C.
Published: August 2011

Bender Gestalt cards of Pascal and Suttel, simplified by the author, and basic graphic patterns used in neuropsychological assessment by Mai and Marquardt were used in a speeded copying task. Children between 4 and 6 years were drawing with a wireless pen on a pressure-sensitive graphic tablet Jinked to a computer. Hand pressure, velocity of hand movements, drawing time, and penlifts were measured by a CS handwriting analyses software package. Planned comparisons were carried out between developmentally earlier emerging graphic forms and patterns that are mastered later in development. It was shown that for 6-yr.-olds pressure was increased which might indicate a generally higher tension when drawing. Specifically, angular forms were copied with more pressure, but needed less drawing time than round forms. Moreover, children needed more time for penlifts to adjust for a starting point that changed from left to right when drawing vertical lines than horizontal ones. Reduced speed of drawing was more important when copying open forms than closed shapes. In denotation of spatial position no differences were found. It is concluded that the analysis of psychophysical measures of drawing gives important clues about the specific problems produced by relatively basic graphic patterns.
Visual and Kinesthetic Control of Goal-Directed Movements to Visually and Kinesthetically Presented Targets
Authors: Laufer Y. , Hocherman S.
Published: August 2011

The study investigated the contribution of kinesthetic and visual input to the performance of reaching movements and identified rules governing the transformation of information between these two sensory modalities. The study examined the accuracy by which 39 subjects reproduced locations of five targets in a horizontal plane. Mode of target presentation and feedback during reproduction of a target's location was either visual, kinesthetic or a combination of both modalities. Thus, it was possible to examine performance when target presentation and reproduction involved feedback from the same sensory modality (intramodal) as well as from different sensory modalities (intermodal). Errors in target reproduction were calculated in terms of distance and systematic biases in movement extent. The major findings of the study are (1) Intramodal reproduction of a target's location on the basis of kinesthetic feedback is somewhat less accurate than intramodal reproduction on the basis of visual feedback. (2) Intermodal performance is significantly less accurate than intramodal performance. (3) Accuracy of performance does not depend on the direction of information transfer between sensory modalities. (4) Intermodal performance is characterized by systematic biases in extent of movement which are dependent on the direction of information transfer between modalities. (5) When presentation of the target's location is bimodal, reproduction is adversely affected by the conflicting input. The results suggest that transformation rules, used to combine input from various sensory modalities, depend on environmental conditions and attention.
Geophysical Variables and Behavior: LXXXIV. Quantitative Increases in Group Aggression in Male Epileptic Rats during Increases in Geomagnetic Activity
Authors: St. Pierre L. S. , Persinger M. A.
Published: August 2011

Over a 24-day period the magnitude of the average, 24 hr., global geomagnetic activity was significantly correlated ( r and rho about .40) with the average numbers of agonistic (biting) responses between midnight and 0100 hr. in a group of four male epileptic rats. Geomagnetic activity was not significantly correlated with quantitative measures of boxing, mounting, eating, grooming, or drinking. Partial correlations, which also controlled for a weak serial correlation, indicated that the index of geomagnetic activity was only associated with the biting (partial r = .54) behaviors. The results replicated previous studies and suggest that the relationship between group aggression and geomagnetic activity is specific and not an artifact of a generalized increase in multiple domains of behavior.
Comparison of Male and Female Nurses' Attitudes toward Obesity
Authors: Garner C. M. , Nicol G. T.
Published: August 2011

The Attitudes Toward Obesity Scale was administered to 23 male and 45 female caregivers and 55 patients. There were no sex differences in reported negative feelings of caregivers, but the obese patients reported significantly more negative attitudes of caregivers than did the nonobese patients.
Reliability of Two Measures of Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Pfennings Lilian , Cohen Leo , Van Der Ploeg Henk , Polman Chris , Lankhorst Gustaaf
Published: August 2011

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic neurological disease which can cause a variety of symptoms (motor and sensory impairment, visual problems, bladder and bowel problems, sexual dysfunction, and decline in cognitive function). Both the Medical Outcome Study Short Form-36, a generic questionnaire regarding health-related quality of life, and the Disability and Impact Profile, a similar questionnaire developed for people with chronic diseases, are used regularly to assess patients with multiple sclerosis. Over a 6-mo. interval 187 patients with multiple sclerosis completed these questionnaires twice. Internal consistency of both questionnaires at Times 1 and 2 was .60 or above for all eight scales of the Medical Outcome Study Short Form—36 and five scales of the Disability and Impact Profile. Estimates of test-retest reliability for three scales of the Medical Outcome Study Short Form—36 were below .60, but for all scales of the Disability and Impact Profile were .60 or higher. The two questionnaires appeared to be reliable for our sample of patients with multiple sclerosis.
Reinterpreting Telepathy as Unusual Experiences of Empathy and Charisma
Authors: Donovan James M.
Published: August 2011

Telepathy is often dismissed because it is judged to be contrary to the accepted facts of social psychology. This article argues that what is called telepathy may require nothing more than empathy and charisma and is reducible to these sociopsychological constructs. Two studies explore this hypothesis. In the first the proposed relationship is used to explain the sheep-goat effect. In the second study scores on charisma and empathy are used as direct predictors of telepathy scores. The results in combination support the interpretation of telepathy as phenomenologically impressive social psychological events which in Jess dramatic instances are termed empathy and charisma.
Human Classical Conditioning of Visual Compound Stimuli in Paired-Associate Tasks
Authors: Harris L. J. , Amundson Jeffrey C.
Published: August 2011

College students in introductory psychology participated in four experiments to investigate the salience of color versus figure elements of paired associates. The study also reviewed the process of learning paired associates within the context of first-order simultaneous classical conditioning. In Exp. 1, four separate classes received different treatments concerning the position and type of stimulus element (color of figure) they were instructed to recall. There were seven trials with a 30-min. delay between the sixth and seventh trials. The results indicated that the groups who were required to remember the figure element of the pairs, significantly out-performed the color groups and also learned the pairs much faster. Also, there was a sharp rise in mean correct responses remembered after a 30-min. delay for the group required to recall the color element of the paired associates. Exp. 2 was a within-subjects comparison of the effectiveness of the color and figure elements as stimuli. Again, the figures elicited more correct responses than colors. Exp. 3 tested the effectiveness within subjects of the stimulus elements as response factors. As responses, however, there were no significant differences in the number of correct answers when recalling color or figure elements until the 30-min. delay between Trials 6 and 7. As expected in Exp. 4, figures elicited significantly more functional descriptions than did colors, suggesting that figures possess a logographic nature which acts as a mnemonic device aiding in the memory of stimuli and responses.
Focus of Attention and Sport Spectators: Beliefs about Causation
Authors: Wann Daniel L. , Brewer Keri R. , Carlson Jeffrey D.
Published: August 2011

Two studies tested the hypothesis that sport spectators' perceptions of cause are a function of their focus of attention. In Study 1, attentional focus was examined from a subject's perspective, i.e., subjects' own attentional preferences were used to predict perceptions of causation. Study 2 examined attentional focus as a true independent variable by assigning subjects to a specific condition manipulating focus of attention. Both studies provided strong support for the hypothesis.
Self-Esteem and Injury in Competitive Field Hockey Players
Authors: Kolt Gregory S. , Roberts Peter D. T.
Published: August 2011

A volunreer sample of 50 competitive field hockey players completed the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory at pre- and postseason and prospectively collected injury data over a 20-wk. season. Multiple regression analysis showed no relationship between scores on Self-esteem and the number of injuries, the participation time affected due to injury, and sex of players. Further multiple regression analysis showed that frequency of the more severe injuries significantly predicted scores on Self-esteem. This finding can be interpreted as evidence of the relationship between low self-esteem and injury in sport.
Do Monkeys Choose the More Skillful Hand in Manual Problem-Solving?
Authors: Kinoshita Masanari
Published: August 2011

To investigate the relationship between manual skills and hand preference in 4 female Japanese monkeys ( Macaca fuscata), the technique of concurrent investigation of manual skills and hand preference was introduced. 4 female Japanese monkeys were required to take food out of a pipe using the left hand and right hand alternately. The performance time and the number of deviations from alternate sequence were recorded as measure of manual skills and hand preference. In the result, the preferred hand was not always consistently the skillful one; however, only one subject tended to choose the more skillful hand in problem-solving, and another subject learned the alternate sequence of reaching. The performances of two subjects indicated discrimination of both hands in Japanese monkeys is possible.
Dissociation between Specific Personal Episodes and other Aspects of Remote Memory in a Patient with Hippocampal Amnesia
Authors: Hirano Mikio , Noguchi Kazuhito
Published: August 2011

In this paper, we describe some features of remote memory in a single-case, Y.K., with amnesic syndrome. His ability to access remote memory was investigated through a variety of tests and then analyzed in terms of specific aspects of remote memory, i.e., public events, personal semantic memory, and specific personal episodes. Although Y.K. showed relatively good performance in recalling public events, personal semantic memory, and general personal events, he was not able to recall specific personal episodes over his entire life span. That is, there appears a clear dissociation between recalling specific personal episodes and other aspects of remote memory. This suggests he lacks “richness” in his remote memory, which is probably necessary to maintain one's own identity.
Chinese and American College Students' Body-Image: Perceived Body Shape and Body Affect
Authors: Chen Weiyun , Swalm Ricky L.
Published: August 2011

This study examined the differences in the measures of perception of body shape and body affect among Chinese and American college male and female students. 289 Chinese students in China and 180 American students in the United States voluntarily completed the Body-image Questionnaire, comprised of four categories: (a) anthropometric data, (b) self-perception of body shape, (c) body affect, and (d) desired body shape. American students were significantly more likely than Chinese students to perceive their body shapes as being larger, but both Chinese and American students tended to perceive their body shapes accurately. For body affect, both Chinese and American female students who perceived themselves as thin had positive feelings about their bodies, while both groups of female students who perceived themselves as heavy had negative feelings about their bodies. American women were more likely than Chinese women to have negative feelings about their bodies. American students also placed high value on muscular firmness as part of their ideal female body shape, while Chinese students added plumpness as another component for judging ideal female body shape. Both Chinese and American men valued physical strength as a major component for body satisfaction.
Presleep Autonomic Arousal as a Distinguishing Factor in Type of Sleep Pattern
Authors: Sexton-Radek Kathy
Published: August 2011

A subsample of 33 subjects classified by interview as unusual sleepers were asked to record their sleep in the morning and stress and heart rate at bedtime (index of physiological arousal). Increased physiological activity was expected in long sleepers because they had been identified as worriers, i.e., show activated physiological arousal. These data were recorded for a month, but no statistically significant differences for the long sleepers were noted.
Video Modeling and Imaging Training on Performance of Tennis Service of 9- to 12-Year-Old Children
Authors: Atienza Francisco L. , Balaguer Isabel , García-Merita María L.
Published: August 2011

The purpose of this work is to analyze, in a pilot study, the effects of video modeling and imagery training over 24 weeks on tennis service performance. Three groups of 9- to 12-yr.-old tennis players participated: (a) a physical practice group, who received physical training, (b) a physical practice + video group who received physical training plus watched a video modeling mental training, and (c) a physical practice + video + imagery group who received physical training plus video modeling and imagery mental training. The results for the intragroup pre-posttest comparisons showed that tennis performance did not significantly improve for the physical training group. The groups given mental training showed improvement from pre- to postintervention. Finally, the posttest comparison between groups indicated that diere were significant differences between the group given physical training only compared to the groups given mental training but that the latter two did not differ significantly from each other.
Putative Perception of Rotating Permanent Magnetic Fields following Ingestion of LSD
Authors: Persinger M. A.
Published: August 2011

While sitting alone in complete darkness, 3 participants who had ingested psychotropic concentrations of lysergic acid diethylamide reported diffuse blobs of white, purplish, or greenish-yellow lights as two horseshoe magnets rotated at 0.5 Hz. The experiences were not reported when the magnets were stationary or removed from the apparatus. The estimated peak-to-peak variation in field strength at the distance of perception was between 50 and 500 nanoTesla. An association between these results and possible ergot-induced perceptions of “magnet light” reported during the last century by von Reichenbach (1851) is suggested.
Quantitative Electroencephalogram of Posterior Cortical Areas of Fluent and Stuttering Participants during Reading with Normal and Altered Auditory Feedback
Authors: Rastatter Michael P. , Stuart Andrew , Kalinowski Joseph
Published: August 2011

In the left and right hemisphere, posterior quantitative electroencephalogram Beta band activity (13.5–25.5 Hz) of seven adult participants who stutter and seven age-matched normal controls was obtained while subjects read text under three experimental conditions of normal auditory feedback, delayed auditory feedback, and frequency-altered feedback. Data were obtained from surface electrodes affixed to the scalp using a commercial electrode cap. Electroencephalogram activity was amplified, band-pass analog-filtered, and then digitized. During nonaltered auditory feedback, stuttering participants displayed Beta band hyperreactivity, with the right temporal-parietal lobe region showing the greatest activity. Under conditions of delayed auditory feedback and frequency-altered auditory feedback, the stuttering participants displayed a decrease in stuttering behavior accompanied by a strong reduction in Beta activity for the posterior-temporal-parietal electrode sites, and the left hemisphere posterior sites evidenced a larger area of reactivity. Such findings suggest than an alteration in the electrical fields of the cortex occurred in the stuttering participants under both conditions, possibly reflecting changes in neurogenerator status or current dipole activity. Further, one could propose that stuttering reflects an anomaly of the sensory-linguistic motor integration wherein each hemisphere generates competing linguistic messages at hyperreactive amplitudes.
Head Orientation Involvement in Assessment of the Subjective Vertical during Whole Body Tilt
Authors: Guerraz Michel , Poquin Didier , Luyat Marion , Ohlmann Theophile
Published: August 2011

The aim of this research was to investigate the involvement of head tilt in the assessment of the subjective vertical during whole body tilt. For inclinations up to 28°, it appears that the whole body tilt gives rise to more important deviations towards its direction (A-effect) than when the tilt was restricted to the head. A multiple regression analysis shows that errors in head-tilt condition partially account for the global errors observed in condition of whole body tilt. Other factors (relative to the degree of inclination) also played a role in the determination of the subjective vertical in whole body tilt but were Jess important than head tilt. These results are highly compatible with the assumption of head orientation as the major determinant in roll-tilt effects.
Anxiety-Performance Relationships in Cricketers: Testing the Zone of Optimal Functioning Hypothesis
Authors: Thelwell Richard C. , Maynard Ian W.
Published: August 2011

This study extended Hanin's 1980 Zone of Optimal Functioning hypothesis by assessing both intensity and direction components of competitive state anxiety. 20 volunteer semiprofessional cricketers responded to the modified Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 prior to ten matches. For each game, players' performances were intraindividually evaluated by three qualified cricket coaches using subjective criteria. Separate Cognitive Anxiety and Somatic Anxiety ‘below,’ ‘in,’ and ‘above’ zones for Intensity and Direction of state anxiety were identified via repeated empirical assessments. Two two-way analyses of variance were computed for Intensity and Direction of anxiety (Cognitive Anxiety Zone Level x Somatic Anxiety Zone Level) with standardized performance scores as the dependent variable. A significant interaction was found between the zone levels for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety Direction and performance scores. Examination of the Zone of Optimal Functioning hypothesis that focuses on the interactions between Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety and in particular the directional elements of the modified inventory seems warranted.
An Informal Look at Left-Turning Traffic
Authors: Trinkaus John
Published: August 2011

Based on a total of 56 hours of observation of the traffic-light controlled left-turn lanes of a relatively busy road intersection, analysis showed lead vehicles of multiple vehicle queues generally took approximately 0.8 sec. to move out on a green arrow as contrasted with 0.5 sec. when the first vehicle was the only vehicle in the que.
Explanatory Style among Elite Ice Hockey Athletes
Authors: Davis Henry , Zaichkowsky Leonard
Published: August 2011

‘Mentally tough’ athletes show resilience and an ability to compete during adverse conditions. The present study investigated mental toughness and assessed causal explanations for positive and negative reactions to imagined events using Seligman's Attributional Style Questionnaire Pessimistic Explanatory style on this scale is a risk factor for negative affect and behavior following negative events. 38 elite athletes in ice hockey were rated for mental toughness by the National Hockey League's scouts on consensually derived criteria. The comparison of players above and below the median split on mental toughness showed composite explanations for negative events that were more internal, stable and global for players above the median Contrary to predictions, these results suggest that a Pessimistic Explanatory style may benefit hockey performance.
Effects of a Three-Month Active Rehabilitation Program on Psychomotor Performance of Lower Limbs in Subjects with Low Back Pain: A Controlled Study with a Nine-Month Follow-up
Authors: Kuukkanen Tuna , Mälkiä Esko
Published: August 2011

Proper psychomotor performance is needed in work and in activities of daily living, but among subjects with low back pain this area has been studied Little. The present purpose was to evaluate the effect and permanence of a 3-mo. physical exercise program on the psychomotor performance of lower limbs in subjects with low back pain. The associations between psychomotor performance and intensity of low back pain and subjective disability were also evaluated. 90 subjects with nonspecific, subacute low back pain were assigned to one of the three groups: one given three months intensive training, one home exercise, or the control group. Four measurement sessions were made during the 1-yr. study. Psychomotor speed of lower limbs was analyzed with Choice Reaction Time, Movement Time, and Total Response Time. Flight Time of a vertical static jump was also measured. Muscle strength was assessed with conventional methods from trunk, lower limbs, and hand. Intensity of Current Back Pain was analyzed with the Borg scale. Subjective disability was evaluated with the Oswestry Index. Analysis showed that muscle strength and back pain intensity had associations with psychomotor performance but subjective disability or physical activity did not affect it noticeably. There were no changes in Choice Reaction Time, but Total Response Time and Movement Time decreased and Flight Time increased for all subjects. In the first postintervention measurement the home exercise group had significantly lower Movement Time than the intensively trained group. Back Pain Intensity decreased in both exercise groups for those subjects whose psychomotor performance values were below the mean value for the sample.
Ratings of 830 Jobs on 45 Characteristics: Factor and Cluster Analyses into Age-Enhanced, Age-Neutral and Age-Counteracted, and Age-Impaired Categories
Authors: Chi Chia-Fen , Lin Yu-Tang
Published: August 2011

The current study measured the critical elements of jobs and characterized the jobs' suitability for aging workers based on ratings of those elements. The sample consisted of 830 job tides collected by the Employment and Vocational Training Administration in Taiwan. For each job the ratings of 45 specific variables, falling into three major classes, were factor analyzed, using principal components analysis with varimax rotation. A nine-factor solution explained 50.1% of the variance. Using a nonhierarchical clustering procedure, 830 jobs were classified into three homogeneous clusters which were significantly different on nine factors except for Manual Dexterity. Mapping the ratings on the 9 factors and the characteristics of aging workers, the four job clusters were defined as Age-enhanced, Age-neutral, and Age-counteracted, and Age-impaired to describe the suitability for aging workers.
Signs of Latent Handedness in Families
Authors: Reiss Michael , Reiss Gilfe
Published: August 2011

Luria argued that several behaviors suggested a “latent” handedness. He suggested that such things as the way in which one crossed one's arms or clasped one's hands might reflect a latent preference for the left hand. Arm-folding refers to the preferential tendency for individuals to fold one forearm over the other, whereas hand-clasping refers to the preferential tendency for individuals to clasp the hands together. We investigated hand-clasping and arm-folding in 292 families (mother, father, and offspring). In this study about 55% of the population are left-hand-claspers, 44% are right-hand-claspers, and the remaining 1% report that they have no preference or are indifferent. About 54% of the population are left-arm-folders, 42% are right-arm-folders, and the remaining 4% report that they have no preference or are indifferent. Familial data suggest that hand-clasping and arm-folding may be under genetic control: although the data do not fit any straightforward recessive or dominant Mendelian model, they are compatible with the type of model invoking fluctuating asymmetry which has been used to explain the inheritance of handedness. It is possible that hand-clasping and arm-folding as well as leg-crossing may be idiosyncrasies due to or influenced by physical bilateral differences in the hands or arms. All family data including others and mine together (arithmetical sum) suggest a genetic contribution, although environmental influences are also evident.
Split-Half Reliability of Two Facial Imagery Questionnaires
Authors: Mc Kelvte Stuart J.
Published: August 2011

Nine estimates of split-half reliability were calculated for two self-report facial imagery questionnaires. The mean values of .78 and .70 were judged to be only marginally acceptable. This may partly account for the previously reported weak relationship between the facial imagery and face recognition-memory performance.
Action and Imagination in the Formation of Images
Authors: Corriss David , Kose Gary
Published: August 2011

This study examined the influence of motor enactment on the formation of mental images. Following a procedure originally used by Piaget and Inhelder in 1971, 5-yr.-old children were assigned to one of four treatments. They visually examined block configurations, imagined the construction of the configurations, imagined enacting the construction, or carried out the actual construction. When the original configurations were removed, the children were asked to reconstruct them from memory. Analysis showed that the children in the imaginary enactment and actual construction conditions were more accurate than those in the other conditions. The findings are discussed as supporting an action-based understanding of imagination.
Subjectivity of Forces Associated with Manual-Muscle Test Grades of 3+, 4-, and 4
Authors: Knepler Caryn , Bohannon Richard W.
Published: August 2011

This study examined the subjectivity of forces applied by 10 testers during simulated manual-muscle testing. Individual testers were able to modify appropriately the forces they applied for muscle test grades of 3+, 4-, and 4, that is, the forces rose concomitantly with the grades. Testers were consistent between trials in the forces they applied for each grade while testing each specific action. They varied, however, in the forces they applied for each grade during the testing of the two different muscle actions Moreover, testers differed significantly from one another in the forces they applied for each manual muscle test grade (3+, 4-, and 4). If an individual's strength is to be monitored using manual-muscle testing, grades obtained by a single tester are recommended.
Further Validation of the Sports Spectator Identification Scale
Authors: Gayton William F. , Coffin Julie L. , Hearns Joseph
Published: August 2011

Scores on the Sports Spectator Identification Scale gave a self-identification of how strongly a person is a fan of a team for 50 men, with a mean age of 24.2 yr., were negatively correlated with subjects' estimates of the number of calls that referees correctly made and positively correlated with the number of calls referees should have made correctly.
Effect of Music and Auditory Stimuli on Secretory Immunoglobulin a (IGA)
Authors: Charnetski Carl J. , Brennan Francis X. , Harrison James F.
Published: August 2011

This study investigated the effects of music and an auditory stimulus on immunoglobulin A (IgA). Groups of college students ( N = 66) were exposed to one of four conditions: a 30-min. tone/click presentation; 30 min. of silence; 30 min. of a Muzak tape referred to as “Environmental Music”; and a 30-min. radio broadcast comparable in musical style. Saliva samples collected before and after each 30-min. treatment were assayed for IgA. Analysis indicated significant increases in IgA for the Muzak condition ( n = 20) but not for any of the other conditions. Possible mechanisms of action and implications for immunocompetence are discussed.
An Interpretive Table for the Visual Form Discrimination Test
Authors: Caplan Bruce , Schultheis Mama T.
Published: August 2011

The capacity to analyze complex visual stimuli is susceptible to several forms of brain dysfunction. The Visual Form Discrimination test is a 16-item multiple-choice measure requiring visual discrimination and matching. Published normative observations provide frequency counts of various raw scores but lack certain critical information, e.g., standard deviations, needed for clinical interpretation of performance in individual cases. The purpose of this study was to improve the clinical utility of the test by (1) reporting the standard deviation of the normative sample and (2) using this index to create a table to foster interpretation in single cases. We provide T scores, percentile equivalents, and clinical descriptors for various raw scores, permitting clinicians to make more precise use of the Visual Form Discrimination.
Effects of Alcohol on Perceptual Speed
Authors: Jones Marshall B. , Chronister Judith L. , Kennedy Robert S.
Published: August 2011

In moderate to heavy doses, alcohol adversely affects performance on many tasks, and perceptual speed is a component in most performance tasks. Nevertheless, studies of alcohol's effects on perceptual speed have been largely limited to critical flicker frequency and backward masking. The present study extends these limits. 16 men and 12 women were administered four temporal-factors tests before and after the ingestion of alcohol. The four tests were Simultaneity, Apparent Movement, Bistable Stroboscopic Motion, and Backward Masking. At the first postalcohol testing (mean BAC = 0.111), all four tests showed pre-posttest changes indicating slowed perceptual speed. Perceptual speed was still slowed when BAC decreased to .096. When mean BAC decreased to .076, however, only Simultaneity and Backward Masking were still significantly slowed. At moderate BACs and possibly at lower ones, the effects of alcohol on task performance appear to be mediated in part by slowed perceptual speed.
Primary and Secondary Reinforcers in Performance of a 1.0-Mile Walk/Jog by Adolescents with Moderate Mental Retardation
Authors: Taylor J. , French R. , Kinnison L. , O'Brien T.
Published: August 2011

Based on visual inspection of data, reinforcement procedures, namely, use of verbal praise and verbal praise plus token exchange, were at least mildly influential in improving performance of 5 youth with moderate mental retardation compared to their initial performance without reinforcers. These findings suggest specific reinforcement may improve the time for aerobic activity by adolescents with moderate mental retardation.
The First Rule of Experimentation
Authors: Walk Richard D.
Published: August 2011

The first rule of experimentation is that, if one takes care of one's subjects, they will take care of you.
Autonomic Physiological Activity in Mental Rotation Tasks
Authors: Kalamas Alicia D. , Gruber Amanda L. , Rypma Bart
Published: August 2011

The electrodermal response (EDR) during a mental rotation (MR) task performance was investigated. For 6 males and 8 females (16–25 years old) there was a progressive increase in the number of EDRs as the angle of rotation (complexity) of the task was increased. These results support previous findings that autonomic physiological activity varies with the amount of information processing or its difficulty.
The Lost Letter Technique and the 1996 Presidential Election
Authors: Bridges F. Stephen , Williamson C. Bennett , Scheibe Jennifer J. , Graves B. Sue
Published: August 2011

Two field studies were conducted in Escambia and Broward Counties in Florida. A total of 900 letters and 726 postal cards were “lost” in selected voting precincts in these counties. More letters were returned than postal cards. The technique was not effective in reflecting gross differences of public opinion toward major and minor presidential candidates. County conditions seemed to influence the return of postal cards but not letters. The technique consistently did not predict trends in the outcome of the 1996 presidential election for major and minor candidates. Limited power may have been a factor in the return mail associated with addressees' affiliations, but less important when data for the letters and cards were compared with election outcomes.
Scotopic Sensitivity/Irlen Syndrome and the Use of Coloured Filters: A Long-Term Placebo-Controlled Study of Reading Strategies Using Analysis of Miscue
Authors: Robinson G. L. , Foreman P. J.
Published: August 2011

This study investigated the long-term effects of using coloured filters on the frequency and type of errors in oral reading. A double-masked, placebo-controlled crossover experimental design was used, with subjects being assessed over a period of 20 months. There were three experimental groups (Placebo tints, Blue tints, and Diagnosed tints) involving 113 subjects with reading difficulties, ranging in age from 9.2 yr to 13.1 yr. The 35 controls (ranging in age from 9.4 yr. to 12.9 yr.) had reading difficulties but did not require coloured filters. There was a significant improvement for all groups in the accuracy of miscues over the period, although experimental groups over-all did not improve at a significantly different rate than the control group. The failure to find significantly greater improvement for the experimental groups over the control group for the total period, despite subjects' reports of improved print clarity, may be partly related to the lack of effective letter-sound analysis and synthesis skills and to the use of a word-identification strategy of guessing based on partial visual analysis.
Contribution of Stimulus Attributes to Errors in Duration and Distance Judgments—A Developmental Study
Authors: Matsuda Fumiko , Lan Woei-Chen , Tanimura Ryo
Published: August 2011

In Matsuda's 1996 study, 4- to 11-yr.-old children ( N=133) watched two cars running on two parallel tracks on a CRT display and judged whether their durations and distances were equal and, if not, which was larger. In the present paper, the relative contributions of the four critical stimulus attributes (whether temporal starting points, temporal stopping points, spatial starting points, and spatial stopping points were the same or different between two cars) to the production of errors were quantitatively estimated based on the data for rates of errors obtained by Matsuda. The present analyses made it possible not only to understand numerically the findings about qualitative characteristics of the critical attributes described by Matsuda, but also to add more detailed findings about them.
Sensorimotor Performance as a Function of Eye Dominance and Handedness
Authors: Coren Stanley
Published: August 2011

Performance on a speeded target striking task was significantly associated with eye dominance and handedness for a sample of 30 subjects. They showed the expected higher performance with the dominant hand but also showed an effect of eye of input. Highest performance was obtained with binocular viewing, next best used the dominant eye, and poorest performance the nondominant eye. Effects were additive with no interaction between hand and eye dominance.
Body-Size Estimations in Children Six through Fourteen: A Longitudinal Study
Authors: Gardner Rick M. , Friedman Brenda N. , Stark Kim , Jackson Natalie A.
Published: August 2011

Estimates of perceived and ideal body size were collected in 216 boys and girls ages 6 through 14 years. Video methodology was used to adjust the width of a life-size frontal image of the children. Longitudinal data were collected annually for three years, beginning at ages 6, 9, and 12. Three psychological methods were used, including the method of adjustment, staircase method, and adaptive probit estimation technique which permitted separate measures of the children's point of subjective equality and just noticeable difference values. The point of subjective equality is the body size which is subjectively equal to the child's perception of self. The just noticeable difference is the amount of change in body size necessary to detect the difference 50% of the time. Acceptable size boundaries were also measured, using the method of adjustment. Over-all, children were accurate in estimating their body width, with average overestimation of less than 2%. Overestimation decreased within each age group during the three years of the study. There were no differences between ages or sexes. Both point of subjective equality and just noticeable difference values decreased significantly during the three years of the study. The latter values significantly decreased as children became older. Body dissatisfaction (the discrepancy between perceived and ideal size) remained low for boys in all age groups. Girls' body dissatisfaction significantly increased across ages, beginning at age 9. Test-retest consistency of both perceived and ideal size judgments at intervals of one and two years were low. Acceptable boundaries in body width were similar between sexes and across age cohorts.