Task Switching Effects in Anticipation Timing

Abstract

In an effort to devise a simple but effective test to indicate the overall volleyball playing ability of high school boys, a thorough review of published tests was made. From this review, it was determined that there were four important aspects of a wall-volley test. Preliminary studies investigated each of these aspects and, as a result, a test similar to Brady's test was devised.

Data regarding the finalized form of the test were gathered by administering it to three classes of grade 10 and 11 boys (total N=71). The test for validity produced a correlation coefficient of .767. The reliability test yielded a coefficient of .817.

It was concluded that the test gave evidence of being worthy of further experimentation and use in its present form.     

Evaluierung von unterschiedlichen Trainingsmodellen bei berufstätigen Freizeitläufern

The aim of the study was to examine the effects of three different training models on aerobic power and body composition in recreationally active runners. According to their preferences 54 subjects (female=?27, male?=?27) were assigned to the following groups: (a) weekend group (WE), who performed two sessions of continuous endurance training weekly, (b) after-work group (FE) who carried out four sessions of high intensity training as well as an additional endurance run and (c) STAR group (STAR), who took part in a training with exercise telemetry monitors based on the heart rate variability. Over the 12-week study period the mean training volume was approximately 2 h 15 min per week. Of the participants 47 successfully completed the training study and all 3 groups showed significantly improved aerobic power (p?<0.001); however, the FE group (d?=?1.15) showed increased VO_2max superior to WE (d?=?0.48) and STAR (d?=?0.66) groups. Significant improvements in body mass (p?<?0.001), body fat (p?<?0.001) and visceral fat (p?<?0.001) were found in the WE, FE and STAR group. All groups completed the half marathon with no significant differences in performance. Based on a similar training volume, short, intensive endurance training sessions of about 30 min were found to elicit the greatest improvements of VO2max in recreationally active runners.     

Social Problems as a Basis for a Vitalized Arithmetic Curriculum

Ninety-six high-achieving fourth-graders performed a memory task before which either positive or negative expectancy statements were made by an adult and after which either positive or negative feedback statements were given. The resulting dissonant or consonant expectancy-feedback combinations were delivered over a four-day period. Results indicated that for high IQ children, performance was higher for those given discrepant rather than consonant combinations of expectancy-feedback statements. However, for low IQ children, performance was higher when given negative rather than positive feedback regardless of expectancy. The results are discussed in light of an uncertainty theory of motivation and arousal.     

Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Cognitive Performance Among Young Adults in a Higher Education Setting

Purpose: Acute benefits of aerobic exercise on executive functioning have been reported frequently under laboratory conditions. However, to date, a beneficial effect on long-term memory has been less well supported and no data are available regarding nonlaboratory conditions in young adults. The aim of the current study was to investigate acute effects of aerobic exercise on cognitive functioning in a university classroom setting. Method: Using a cross-over design, 51 participants performed a bout of moderately intense running (RUN) and read an article while seated (CON). Afterwards, they completed free-recall tests, followed by a Flanker task and an n-back task. Results: Participants in the RUN condition compared with those in the CON condition showed shorter reaction time on the inhibition task, F(1, 50) = 5.59, p = .022, η² = .101, and recalled more words in the immediate- and delayed-recall tests, F(1, 50) = 8.40, p = .006, η² = .144. Conclusion: The present findings suggest that a moderately intense bout of aerobic exercise benefits verbal short-term and long-term memory as well as inhibitory control among students in a classroom setting.     

Value orientations and studying in school–leisure conflict: A study with samples from five countries

The relations between students' value orientations and experiences of motivational interference during studying following conflicts between learning and leisure activities were investigated in a self-report study. Overall, 1075 adolescents, mostly from Catholic schools, in Bosnia–Herzegovina (n = 203), India (n = 200), Paraguay (n = 96), Spain (n = 442), and the US (n = 134), participated. The samples varied substantially in terms of modern and postmodern value orientations, experience of motivational interference during studying, and time invested in studying. By controlling for age, gender, and economic capital, postmodern value orientation was positively related to conflict frequency and experience of motivational interference during learning, and negatively related to time investment. For modern value orientation, the relations were almost reversed. Despite the considerable differences between the sample means, the study revealed some consistency in the relations between the variables across the samples, which indicates that most of the relations can be generalized.     

Sport activities differentiating match-play improvement in elite youth footballers – a 2-year longitudinal study

This study examined contributions of different types of sport activities to the development of elite youth soccer performance. Match-play performance of 44 German male players was assessed by expert coaches twice, 24 months apart (age 11.1–13.1 years), based on videotaped 5v5 matches. Player pairs were matched by identical age and initial performance at t₁. Each player was assigned to a group of either “Strong” or “Weak Responders” based on a higher or lower subsequent performance improvement at t₂ within each pair (mean Δperformance 29% vs. 7%). A questionnaire recorded current and earlier amounts of organised practice/training and non-organised sporting play, in soccer and other sports, respectively. Group comparison revealed that “Strong Responders” accumulated more non-organised soccer play and organised practice/training in other sports, but not more organised soccer practice/training. Subsequent multivariate analyses (multiple linear regression analyses (MLR)) highlighted that higher resultant match-play performance at t₂ was accounted for R²_adj = 0.65 by performance at t₁, together with more non-organised soccer play and organised engagement in other sports, respectively, and greater current, but less earlier volume of organised soccer. The findings suggest that variable early sporting experience facilitates subsequent soccer performance development in German elite youth footballers.     

Actors who can’t play in the sports film: exploring the cinematic construction of sports performance

The sports film often focuses upon character psychology and narrative in the cinematic capturing and construction of sport and sports performance. However, the limited attention given to the role of the actor’s body threatens to compromise this seamless dramatic structure of the narrative, not to mention viewer identification with the protagonist, thus leading to inadequate sporting technique that fails to achieve verisimilitude. This paper looks to address the limitations in the actor’s bodily performance, by rethinking the relationship between the actor’s physical portrayal and their cinematic construction. I argue that cinematic techniques should function as an extension of the actor’s body, thus creating a more seamless fusion between the two. Adopting such a method would facilitate a more heightened representation of sports performance, while contributing to the unfolding of the plot through the bodily interactions between the actors during the spectacle of sports sequences.