Therapist Directiveness and Client Reactance in the Administration of Homework in Therapy with College Students

The present study used an analog design with three vignettes portraying homework administrations at three levels of therapist directiveness (low, medium, and high) and the Therapeutic Reactance Scale to measure participant reactance. Participants (N = 436) read the vignettes and completed the Homework Completion Scale (HCS), Counseling Continuation Scale (CCS), Counselor Rating Form-Short (CRF-S) Attractiveness and Expertness subscales. A repeated measures analysis of variance revealed significant differences between low and high reactant groups on the HCS and CCS for the High and Medium directiveness homework administrations. These results suggest that therapist directiveness does interact with client reactance in the administration of homework.     

3D technology of Sony Bloggie has no advantage in decision-making of tennis serve direction: A randomized placebo-controlled study

This study aimed at exploring whether 3D technology enhances tennis decision-making under the conceptual framework of human performance model. A 3 (skill-level: varsity, club, recreational)?×?3 (experimental condition: placebo, weak 3D [W3D], strong 3D [S3D]) between-participant design was used. Allocated to experimental conditions by a skill-level stratified randomization, 105 tennis players judged tennis serve direction from video scenarios and rated their perceptions of enjoyment, flow, and presence during task performance. Results showed that varsity players made more accurate decisions than less skilled ones. Additionally, applying 3D technology to typical video displays reduced tennis players’ decision-making accuracy, although wearing the 3D glasses led to a placebo effect that shortened the decision-making reaction time. The unexpected negative effect of 3D technology on decision-making was possibly due to participants being more familiar to W3D than to S3D, and relatedly, a suboptimal task-technology match. Future directions for advancing this area of research are offered.

Highlights

• 3D technology augments binocular depth cues to tradition video displays, and thus results in the attainment of more authentic visual representation. This process enhances task fidelity in researching perceptual-cognitive skills in sports.

• The paper clarified both conceptual and methodological difficulties in testing 3D technology in sports settings. Namely, the nomenclature of video footage (with/without 3D technology) and the possible placebo effect (arising from wearing glasses of 3D technology) merit researchers' attention.

• Participants varying in level of domain-specific expertise were randomized into viewing conditions using a placebo-controlled design. Measurement consisted of both participants' subjective experience (i.e., presence, flow, and enjoyment) and objective performance (i.e., accuracy and reaction time) in a decision-making task.

• Findings revealed that wearing glasses of 3D technology resulted in a placebo effect that shortened participants' reaction times in decision-making. Moreover, participants' decision-making accuracy decreased when viewing video scenarios using 3D technology. The findings generated meaningful implications regarding applying 3D technology to sports research.

     

Effect of loading on peak power of the bar, body, and system during power cleans, squats, and jump squats

Nine males (age 24.7 ± 2.1 years, height 175.3 ± 5.5 cm, body mass 80.8 ± 7.2 kg, power clean 1-RM 97.1 ± 6.36 kg, squat 1-RM = 138.3 ± 20.9 kg) participated in this study. On day 1, the participants performed a one-repetition maximum (1-RM) in the power clean and the squat. On days 2, 3, and 4, participants performed the power clean, squat or jump squat. Loading for the power clean ranged from 30% to 90% of the participant's power clean 1-RM and loading for the squat and jump squat ranged from 0% to 90% of the participant's squat 1-RM, all at 10% increments. Peak force, velocity, and power were calculated for the bar, body, and system (bar + body) for all power clean, squat, and jump squat trials. Results indicate that peak power for the bar, body, and system is differentially affected by load and movement pattern. When using the power clean, squat or jump squat for training, the optimal load in each exercise may vary. Throwing athletes or weightlifters may be most concerned with bar power, but jumpers or sprinters may be more concerned with body or system power. Thus, the exercise type and load vary according to the desired stimulus.     

Our Designs and the Social Agendas They Carry

Although the work of learning scientists and instructional designers has brought about countless curricula, designs, and theoretical claims, the community has been less active in communicating the explicit and implicit critical social agendas that result (or could result) from their work. It is our belief that the community of learning scientists is well positioned to build transformative models of what could be, to develop learning and teaching interventions that have impact, and to advance theory that will prove valuable to others. This potential, we argue, would be significantly heightened if we as a community embrace the critical agendas that are central to so many discussions in anthropology, philosophy, or even curriculum development more generally. Instead of simply building an artifact to help individuals accomplish a particular task, or to meet a specific standard, the focus of critical design work is to develop sociotechnical structures that facilitate individuals in critiquing and improving themselves and the societies in which they function, and then we use our understanding of participation with these structures to advance theory. As an example of critical design work, we describe the Quest Atlantis project and the methodology used in its creation.

The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it. (Karl Marx, 1845/1998)