Psychology

Positive coaching techniques are gaining prominence in the sport of Gymnastics. Coaches are focusing on positive reinforcement, encouragement, and constructive feedback rather than relying solely on traditional, more authoritarian coaching methods. Furthermore, technology is being used to enhance coach-athlete relationships. Video analysis tools and performance tracking software allow for more detailed feedback and communication between coaches and gymnasts. Previous research has shown that sensory feedback, and physical cues and guidance impact both motor learning and motor skill performance. Spotting is a form of physical guidance (touch) that may be used by gymnastics coaches during both the learning phase of a skill and during performance, even after mastery. This research has examined whether and how spotting with touch influences the athlete's skill performance and confidence. The current study explored how spotting affects both skill performance and self-confidence of participants as they performed a basic skill (a backward jump onto a specified target) they have already mastered. We asked Intermediate-level gymnasts to perform a backward jump from height under two levels of landing difficulty, while being spotted with and without touch. Their confidence was measured in each condition using a brief survey. The timing, accuracy and precision of their landing was measured from video recordings of their performance. We evaluated the relationship between touch and skill performance to determine if it is affected by athlete self-confidence. It was hypothesized that physical guidance in the form of spot with touch would improve the accuracy and precision of the jump landing and that athletes would report higher levels of self-confidence in the touch versus no touch condition. We found no significant differences in skill performance and landing stability as assessed by rate of force development and peak force. We found that participants reported significantly higher levels of self-confidence when receiving spot with touch in the easy landing condition.

Author Keywords: gymnastics, physical guidance, self-confidence, skill performance, spotting, touch

Stress during adolescence has profound effects on psychological, behavioral, and neurobiological outcomes in adulthood. This study investigates the impact of adolescent stress on safety learning, anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors, and associated neurocircuitry using a rat model. Adolescent male Long Evans rats underwent an unpredictable intermittent stress regimen, followed by behavioral testing and immunohistological analyses in adulthood. It was confirmed that stress impaired safety learning and increased fear generalization. Behavioral assays revealed heightened anxiety- and depressive-like phenotypes in stressed rats, evidenced by reduced open-arm exploration in the elevated plus maze and increased immobility in the forced swim test, although limited changes in sucrose preference were noted during habituation. Immunohistological findings showed reductions in hippocampal neurogenesis (DCX+ cells) and disruptions in GABAergic interneuron plasticity (PV+/PNN+ populations) within the medial prefrontal cortex. These alterations suggest that adolescent stress leads to long-term changes in brain regions associated with emotional regulation and stress resilience.

Author Keywords: Adolescencent Stress, Anxiety-like Behaviour, Hippocampus, Medial Prefrontal Cortex, Neuroplasticity, Safety Learning

AbstractOral Language and the Approximate Number System – A Preliminary Study Janice Shewen The approximate number system (ANS) involves the processing of rudimentary quantity and is thought to be an innate developmental building block for mathematics and its sister construct, the symbolic system. The conventional belief is that the ANS is language independent; however, this notion is questioned and explored in the current study, which represents a preliminary investigation into the concurrent and longitudinal relations between different aspects of oral language and the ANS in 4-year-old children and one year later when they were 5. A sample of 26 children (13 boys;13 girls) with average intelligence completed standardized measures of oral language and verbal memory, and a computerized quantity discrimination task that required children to accurately discern between two visually presented quantities. Correlational analysis showed concurrent and longitudinal relations between different aspects of language and quantity discrimination. This suggests that different aspects of language predict quantity discrimination over a one-year period and challenge the current and accepted theory that the ANS is a language independent system. The findings also have implications for early childhood education – avenues to strengthen a child's ANS via targeted oral language instruction, curricula, and subsequent provision of experiences. The findings also support early oral language screening to monitor or provide opportunities for improving quantity approximation skills. This early intervention could impact later symbolic processing and mathematic success. Keywords: Non-symbolic system, approximate number system, quantity discrimination, symbolic system, oral language, morphology, syntax, semantics, relational concepts.

Author Keywords: Approximate Number System, Non-symbolic system, oral language, quantity discrimination, symbolic system

Previous researchers have linked lower levels of stress and greater ability to mobilize energy toward a goal (self-motivation); confidence in their ability to complete/achieve a particular task or goal (self-efficacy), and ability to willfully control their thoughts, emotions and behaviour (self-control) to regular physical activity (PA). In an effort to provide further insight into the processes underlying regular PA researches have begun to explore the interplay among stress and multiple self-regulatory variables when predicting level of PA (i.e., intensity and duration). In line with this integrated approach the present study aimed to examine the interplay among self-motivation, self-efficacy, and self-control when predicting daily PA. The study was a correlational design with cross-sectional data on trait self-motivation and self-efficacy collected at baseline, and longitudinal data collected on stress, PA, state self-control, self-motivation and self-efficacy over a 2 day period. The results from the regression model (n = 418) revealed a negative indirect effect of stress on participants level of PA through its negative relationship with state multifactor self-regulation. This mediation effect appeared to be moderated by trait SE and SM. In conclusion, these results support the notion of a stress related depletion effect acting on individuals state self-regulatory resources which was associated with lower levels of PA (i.e. intensity and duration). However, the negative effect of stress appeared to be buffered by high levels of trait SE and SM.

Author Keywords: exercise, physical activity, self-control, self-efficacy, self-motivation, self-regulation

The crucial role of parents in shaping child development has been widely recognized, with extensive research focusing on various aspects such as parenting styles, attachment relationships, and specific parenting practices. Mind-mindedness, defined as a parent's ability to recognize and understand their child's mental states, is emerging as an important factor in child development. The present study sought to investigate cross-cultural differences in maternal mind-mindedness, parenting practices, and their relationship to child compliance in China and Canada. The participants included 136 Chinese mother-child dyads and 83 Canadian mother-child dyads, with children ranging from ages 4 to 7. Maternal mind-mindedness, parenting practices, and child compliance were coded through observational method. Results suggest that while Canadian mothers were more mind-minded, Chinese mothers were more power assertive. Moreover, maternal parenting practices mediated the relationship between mind-mindedness and child compliance in China. This study cultivated a culturally sensitive understanding of the parent-child relationship.

Author Keywords: Child Compliance, Culture, Maternal Involvement, Mind-Mindedness, Parenting, Power Assertion

An athlete's psychological response to a sports-related concussion may influence thesuccess of recovery and return to play. This exploratory study explored how athletes psychologically respond to concussion, using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to examine the role of psychological flexibility in recovery and return to play. Thirty athletes who experienced a concussion in the past three months completed online surveys measuring symptom severity, sport confidence, psychological strain, anxiety, depression, and psychological flexibility. Depression significantly predicted symptom severity (β = .615, p = .015). Psychological flexibility improved from pre- to post-return to play (p = 0.032, d = 0.45) and was correlated with greater confidence (pre: r = –0.451; post: r = – 0.577) and lower psychological strain (r = 0.471). These findings suggest that increasing psychological flexibility may enhance recovery by reducing distress and building confidence. Return-to-play protocols should include psychological recovery measures.

Author Keywords: Concussion, Injury Recovery, Psychological Flexibility, Return to Play

Pharmacological cognitive enhancement is the use of prescription drugs to improve cognitive functioning in healthy individuals. Multiple ethical concerns have been raised by such use. The purpose of this project was to develop a reliable and valid measure to assess public attitudes about this issue. Participants were university students in Studies 1 (N = 465), 2 (N = 580) and 3 (N = 156). In Study 1 principal components analysis reduced the 90-item Attitudes Toward Pharmacological Cognitive Enhancement Scale to 42 items that loaded onto four components: Cheating/Unfairness, Motivation, Expected Benefits and Safety. Subscale scores differentiated users and nonusers. In Study 2 confirmatory factor analyses supported the model and statistically significant associations were found with related constructs such as attitudes toward performance-enhancing drugs, and prescription drug expectancies. In Study 3 test-retest reliability over a 3-week interval was above .70 for 3 of 4 subscales. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Author Keywords: attitudes, cognitive enhancement, nonmedical use of prescription drugs, scale development, smart drugs

Damage to the hippocampus (HPC) causes retrograde amnesia for some memories, but spaced learning mitigates this. Contextual fear conditioning (CFC) studies in rats demonstrate that distributing conditioning over multiple sessions makes a memory less vulnerable to HPC damage, and it has been suggested this occurs through incremental strengthening of the memory outside the HPC via separate bouts of cellular consolidation. To explore this, we examined the number of, and temporal intervals between, spaced CFC sessions required to make a memory less vulnerable to HPC damage. Experiment 1 established six sessions spaced over three days as sufficient to create a memory no longer requiring the HPC. Experiments 2 and 3 found that spacing those six sessions in a single day also created a memory no longer requiring the HPC, but only when the sessions were separated by an interval believed to be sufficient for separate bouts of cellular consolidation to occur.

Author Keywords: consolidation, context fear, hippocampus, memory, retrograde amnesia, spaced learning

Social scientists have debated whether religious involvement is associated with differences in deviant behaviours for over a century. Religious practices and beliefs are often associated with less deviant behaviours in young adults, such as less frequent drug use and law-breaking. Empirical results on these associations, though, have been mixed, possibly due to heterogenous measures. Recent literature has begun teasing apart religious practices (e.g., attending church) from spiritual beliefs (e.g., believing in higher powers) and exploring their unique associations with different outcomes. The present study tested the independent and interactive effects of religion and spirituality in predicting deviance. Religion was negatively associated with some types of deviance, the relationship remained significant even after controlling for covariates. Spirituality was not reliably associated with deviance. There was an interaction between religion and spirituality, where the combination of the two was associated with the lowest level of deviance. Further findings and implications are discussed.

Author Keywords: deviance, religion, spirituality, youth

Social anxiety involves negative thoughts and self-focused attention during social interactions. This self-evaluation can involve reflections regarding the body or body image, which may have an impact on social experiences. Body image is experienced in a negative (body dissatisfaction) and positive (body appreciation) way. The present study investigated the relation between symptoms of social anxiety and various aspects of body image in older adolescents and young adults. Quantitative results demonstrated considerable overlap between social anxiety and body image, with the qualitative results further supporting the rationale that symptoms consistent with social anxiety occur within those with body image concerns. Seven themes emerged and they were physical attributes, societal influence, appearance-driven coping strategies, impact on social life and relationships, discomfort with appearance, social avoidance, and appearance monitoring.