Jongil Lim and Led G. Carlton
Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, IL, USA
The effects of spatial and temporal target motion characteristics on the far moving target interception were investigated. Gaze control and interception accuracy was examined under known and repeated target speed presentation and compared to unknown and random presentation conditions. Target speed and spatial path were also varied from highly predictable to less predictable patterns. Point of gaze distribution, eye fixation time and outcome accuracy were measured while participants (N = 24) attempted to intercept a moving target by throwing a dart to a projection screen. Spatial and temporal accuracy were inversely related to each other. The variation in aimed location in laboratory space was significantly influenced by target motion predictability, but not influenced by target speed. Point of gaze data also indicated that participants tended to track the moving target more rather than look at the anticipated interception location, as target motion became less predictable, The faster target speed increased the use of predictive control of gaze. These data support the association between target motion and gaze control in moving target interception.
Keywords: Accuracy, Anticipation, Gaze control, Interception
Martin J. Turner, Jamie B. Barker and Matthew J. Slater
Centre for Sport, Health and Exercise Research, Staffordshire University, UK
The extant literature reveals an increasing use of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) with athletes. Recently, a single REBT education workshop was shown to reduce the irrational beliefs of athletes in the short-term. This paper reports the effects of multiple REBT education workshops (REBT program) on season- long irrational beliefs in elite soccer academy athletes. To assess the season-long effect of the REBT program, a quasi-experimental single-case A-B with follow-up design was used, so that immediate and long-term changes in irrational beliefs from pre-test levels could be examined. Visual analysis of data indicated that for the REBT program all irrational beliefs reduced at intervention onset and need for achievement and demand for fairness remained reduced long-term. Social validation data indicated perceived psychological and performance benefits underpinned by shifts in irrational beliefs. Results are discussed with reference to mechanisms of change, study limitations, and recommendations for using REBT in sport.
Keywords: Applied Sport psychology, Control group, Single-case design, Soccer, Youth sport.
Ruperto Menayo, A. Encarnación, G.m. Gea and P.j. Marcos
Faculty of Sports Sciences and Physical Activity, Catholic University, Murcia, Spain
Differential training considers fluctuations in motor patterns as decisive variables able to explain the adaptations generated in the learner’s technical execution of motor skills. Variable practice allows the athlete to explore his motor-perceptive landscape in search of new coordination patterns that would lead him to find the most adequate technique to develop the motor response. The aim of this research was to identify the effects of unipedal support on postural stability by differential training with BOSU® Balance Trainer versus traditional training routines on stiff surfaces. 13 people took part in this study and they were randomly distributed into two training groups: i) stiff surface training group (N=7) and ii) BOSU® Balance Trainer training group (N=6). Dynamical stability indices, obtained by a force-platform that registered the ground reaction forces, were analysed at five points of time : pre-test, post-test -carried out after 16 training sessions- and 3 retention-tests, applied in the short, medium and long term. Both training methods showed a trend towards improvement in the post-tests. However, the results show significant differences (p≤.05) in the dynamic indices of postural stability in the retention tests in favour of the group that trained over a stiff surface versus BOSU®. These results can be related to the absence of stimuli similar to the ones provided by the soft-ball training in everyday movements.
Keywords: Differential training, unipedal balance, dynamic postural index
Roberta Antonini Philippe *, Marc-André K. Lafrenière **, Yvan Paquet *** and Denis Hauw *
(*) Institute of Sport Sciences,University of Lausanne, Switzerland
(**) Department of Psychology,University of Maryland, USA
(***) Departement of Physical Activity and Sports Science, University of La Réunion
Vallerand and colleagues (2003) developed a dualistic model of passion, wherein two types of passion are proposed: harmonious and obsessive passions that predict adaptive and less adaptive interpersonal outcomes, respectively. The present study examined the mediating role of team cohesion between passion and relationship satisfaction and interpersonal conflict with teammates. We hypothesized that harmonious and obsessive passions would be positively and negatively related to team cohesion, respectively, which, in turn should be associated with high relationship satisfaction and low interpersonal conflict with teammates. Ski mountaineers (N = 559) participating in the “Patrouille des Glaciers” completed an initial questionnaire assessing harmonious and obsessive passions for ski mountaineering and team cohesion before the race. After the race, a second questionnaire was completed and assessed participants’ relationship quality with teammates and team conflict during the race. Results from path analyses supported the hypothesized model. Future research directions are discussed in light of the dualistic model of passion and team cohesion literature.
Keywords: Passion, Relationship, Ski Mountaineering, Team Cohesion
Wei-Ting Hsu *, Yi-Hsiang Pan **, Hung-Shih Chou **, Wei-Ping Lee ** and Frank Jing-Horng Lu **
(*) Fo Guang University, Taiwan
(**) National Taiwan Sport University,Taiwan
Based on the findings of previous research (Li, Wright, Rukavina, & Pickering, 2008; Watson, Newton, & Kim, 2003; Wright & Craig, 2011), the purpose of this study was to develop an instrument for measuring students’ responsibility in physical education through a three-tiered qualitative and quantitative approach. Participants in this study included 551 high school students currently taking physical education classes. For the first study, interviews were conducted in order to produce an item bank for use in the Students’ Responsibility in Physical Education Scale (SRIPES), while the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the second study revealed that SRIPES included a total of six factors (effort, self-direction, following class rules, respect for others, helping others, and cooperation). For the third study, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and criterion-related validity analyses provided additional psychometric evidence regarding the instrument. Overall, the results of this study showed that SRIPES was valid and reliable for its intended use.
Keywords: Physical education, Scale development, TPSR, Youth social development