The effect of athletic expertise and trait emotional intelligence on decision-making

The quality of decision and assessment of risk are key determinants of successful sport performance. Athletes differ fundamentally in their decision-making ability according to their athletic expertise level. Moreover, given the influence of emotions on decision-making, it is likely that a trait reflecting emotional functioning, trait emotional intelligence, may also influence decision-making. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the respective contribution of athletic expertise and trait emotional intelligence to non-athletic decision-making. In total, 269 participants aged between 18 and 26 years with a range of athletic experience i.e. none (n?=?71), novice (n?=?54), amateur (n?=?55), elite (n?=?45) and super-elite (n?=?44), completed the Emotional Intelligence Scale and the Cambridge Gambling Task. Regression modelling indicated a significant positive relationship of athletic expertise and trait emotional intelligence with the quality of decision-making, and a negative relationship with deliberation time and risk-taking. Cognitive skills transfer may explain the higher decision-making scores associated with higher athletic expertise, while individuals with higher trait emotional intelligence may anticipate better the emotional consequences linked with a gambling task, which may help individuals make better decisions and take less risks.     

A comparison of role concepts between public and parochial school teachers

This study seeks to determine if the same five bipolar factors that appear for the ideal role concepts of public school teachers also appear for parochial school teachers. Subjects included 185 teachers from a Catholic diocese. The data were factor analyzed by means of a principal axis analysis with varimax rotation. An analysis of variance was used to compare the factor analyses. The results indicated that parochial and public school teachers have similar factor structures. When comparing factor scores of the two groups, there were significant differences on several factors, indicating that parochial school teachers adopt a more facilitating role than do public school teachers.     

Assessment of multiple behavioral procedures on academic and social classroom behavior

A set of behavioral procedures focusing on the academic and social behavior problems of a group of adolescent students was incorporated within the context of a regular school program. The procedures, which involved manipulating type and delay of reinforcement, teaching desirable behaviors that were self-reinforcing or that others would readily reinforce, and training in several skills that are prerequisite to selfcontrol, were implemented in several classrooms through an independent grouporiented contingency system. These students performed significantly better than a matched control group with respect to grade-point average, class grades, school attendance, and length of time absent due to suspension. Changes in the contingency system throughout the year yielded differential effects on three behavioral measures: class attendance, assignments completed, and classroom behavior. The significance of these findings is discussed, and suggestions are made for future research efforts.     

Recognition of emotions in facial expressions by emotionally disturbed and nondisturbed children

Groups of emotionally disturbed and nondisturbed elementary and junior high subjects were tested for ability to recognize primary emotions in facial expressions. Emotionally disturbed groups were found to be significantly less proficient both for overall emotion recognition ability and for several individual emotions. On the whole, the junior high groups were found to be better identifiers of emotion than the younger groups, but precise relationships between emotion recognition ability and age and also intelligence were unclear. Several possible interpretations of these findings and their implications for educational planning are discussed, and suggestions for additional research are presented.     

The AVOM: A model-derived,age-limited,and modality-related test of intellectual functioning

The current status of intellectual assessment is reviewed. Traditional psychometric techniques are criticized for yielding only a single score that purports to measure the individual's intellectual ability. Such a unified score gives no indication of what specific deficit is present, nor does it suggest a strategy for remediation. The AVOM Test is presented as a potentially useful device. This experimental test measures performance in two input channels, auditory and visual, and two output channels, oral and manual. AVOM was administered to over 200 elementary school students. Scores increased with age, and the other results were supportive of the potential utility of the device.