Trait self-esteem and claimed self-handicapping motives in sports situations

Abstract

We examined the relationship between physical self-esteem and claimed self-handicapping among athletes by taking motives into consideration. In Study 1, 99 athletes were asked to report their tendency to engage in claimed self-handicapping for self-protective and self-enhancement motives (trait measures). Low self-esteem athletes reported a higher tendency to engage in claimed self-handicapping for these two motives compared with high self-esteem athletes. Neither low nor high self-esteem athletes reported a preference for one motive over the other. In Study 2, 107 athletes participated in a test that was ostensibly designed to assess high physical abilities – and thus to encourage self-handicapping for self-enhancement motives (success-meaningful condition) – or to assess low physical abilities, and thus to encourage self-handicapping for self-protective motives (failure-meaningful condition). Before starting the test, athletes were given the opportunity to claim handicaps that could impair their performance. Low self-esteem athletes claimed more handicaps than high self-esteem athletes in both conditions. Findings suggest that low physical self-esteem athletes engage more in claimed handicapping regardless of motives, relative to high physical self-esteem athletes.     

Trauma-related impairment in children—A survey in Sri Lankan provinces affected by armed conflict

ObjectivesThe present study examined traumatic experiences, PTSD, and co-morbid symptoms in relation to neuropsychological and school performance in school children affected by two decades of civil war and unrest.MethodThe epidemiological survey of children's mental health included a representative sample of 420 school children. Local teachers were trained to administer a translation of the UCLA-PTSD Index Form. The instrument and the epidemiological findings were validated by assessment through clinical expert interview, school grades, and neuropsychological testing in a subsample (N = 67).ResultsNinety-two percent of the children surveyed had experienced severely traumatizing events such as combat, bombing, shelling, or witnessing the death of a loved one. Twenty-five percent met the criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD. Traumatized children reported lasting interference of experiences with their daily life, which was corroborated by memory testing, scores in school performance and ratings of social withdrawal. Depressive symptoms and poor physical health were frequent in these children. The majority of trained teachers achieved valid results in the structured interviews.ConclusionPerformance and functioning in children are related to the total load of traumatic events experienced. An important component of psychosocial programs in post-conflict areas should include increasing community-based awareness of the consequences of traumatic stress, both as a preventative measure and as a way of decreasing stigmatization of affected individuals.     

Long-Term Relations Between Children’s Language,the Home Literacy Environment,and Socioemotional Development From Ages 3 to 8

Research Findings: This study investigated the long-term interrelations among children’s language competencies, their home literacy environment (HLE), and 3 aspects of socioemotional development from ages 3 to 8, controlling for characteristics of the child and family. For this sample of 547 typically developing German children, parents and teachers reported on cooperative behavior, physical aggression, and emotional self-regulation. Language was assessed using established test instruments. HLE was operationalized by the number of books in the household, the frequency of shared book reading, and an observation during shared book reading. Path analyses supported effects of language and HLE at age 3 on all 3 indicators of socioemotional development over the 5-year period. An additional mediational analysis revealed different patterns of results depending on the aspect of socioemotional competency under study. Although the effect of early language and HLE at age 3 on cooperative and (low) aggressive behavior at age 8 was partially mediated by language at age 5, children’s early language at age 3 was the best predictor of the development of emotional self-regulation. Practice or Policy: Findings identify a rich HLE and proper language skills as protective factors for socioemotional development in not-at-risk children; these factors should be further established in social skills training.     

GraphoGame SI: the development of a technology-enhanced literacy learning tool for Standard Indonesian

Early intervention programs are generally considered the most efficient and beneficial approach to providing support to struggling beginning readers. This paper discusses the theoretical background, development, and design of, as well as the first results obtained with, GraphoGame for Standard Indonesian, a technology-enhanced learning environment that trains the basic skills of reading by high but playful exposure to grapheme-phoneme coupling. The results of the pilot study assessing the usability of the program in 69 first-graders show that the more the students with low pre-test phonological skills were exposed to the game, the better their post-test performance on reading and decoding fluency became. Although large-scale, randomized controlled studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of GraphoGame SI, these promising first results may offer a stepping stone for the development of additional language versions and future systematic comparisons of the method’s results in different languages and populations.     

In Memoriam

SEYMOUR MARTIN LIPSET On December 31, 2006, Seymour Martin Lipset, co-founder andeditor of the International Journal of Public Opinion Research,passed away at the age of 84 after a long and difficult illness.It is with deep sorrow and immense gratitude that we rememberour dearly departed friend, to whom     

E-Rogenous Zones: Positioning Pornography in the Digital Economy

Electronic commerce offers immense opportunities to the producers of pornographic products and services. Although this sector generates significant revenues, it is almost invisible in academic literature on the information society and the digital economy, where it is both little discussed and undertheorized. We suggest that a social shaping of technology framework may help explain current moves by stakeholders in the industry to achieve legitimacy, and that this approach may assist future analyses of commercial dynamics in the online pornography sector.     

An actor‐network theory reading of change for children in public care

The education of children in public, or Local Authority (LA), care, known in the United Kingdom (UK) as looked‐after children (LAC), is supported by government initiatives to reduce the attainment gap that exists between LAC and their non‐LAC peers. These children often find remaining in education a challenge, are twice as likely to be permanently excluded, and three times more likely to receive a fixed‐term exclusion than other school‐age children. A high proportion (61%), have been labelled as having special educational needs (SEN) (DfE, 2015a ). In the UK, the Virtual School (VS) has a statutory role in the education of LAC (DfE, 2014a) and aims to encourage more stringent monitoring and intervention for pupils. This is partly achieved through the creation of a personalised education plan (PEP) for each LAC pupil, which outlines progress, strategies intended to accelerate attainment, and resources needed for doing so. The process involves the pupil, their social worker and the designated teacher (responsible for the welfare of LAC pupils) of the school attended. The current study uses Actor‐Network Theory (ANT, e.g. Latour, 1999 ) as a lens through which to conceptualise change for LAC pupils during the PEP process. The focus is upon three PEP meetings in one LA setting, in order to explore the people and things that are active in driving forwards change for LAC, with a view to examining the efficacy of the process and the roles of those involved. The analysis made visible the importance of the role of the designated teacher in the PEP process, in contrast to the relative inactivity of social workers and of pupil voice.     

A multidimensional approach to examine student interdisciplinary learning in science and engineering in higher education

Preparing science and engineering students to work in interdisciplinary teams necessitates research on teaching and learning of interdisciplinary thinking. A multidimensional approach was taken to examine student interdisciplinary learning in a master course on food quality management. The collected 615 student experiences were analysed for the cognitive, emotional, and social learning dimensions using the learning theory of Illeris. Of these 615 experiences, the analysis showed that students reported 214, 194, and 207 times on, respectively, the emotional, the cognitive, and the social dimension. Per learning dimension, key learning experiences featuring interdisciplinary learning were identified such as ‘frustrations in selecting and matching disciplinary knowledge to complex problems’ (emotional), ‘understanding how to apply theoretical models or concepts to real-world situations’ (cognitive), and ‘socially engaging with peers to recognise similarities in perceptions and experiences’ (social). Furthermore, the results showed that students appreciated the cognitive dimension relatively more than the emotional and social dimensions.