A meta-cognitive approach to doping in sports: The effects of thought validation on attitudes related to doping

ABSTRACT

To better understand doping-related attitude change, it is important to consider not only the amount of thinking (i.e., elaboration) done by message recipients, but also the favourability of their thoughts in response to the proposal, as well as the perceived validity in their thoughts. The main goal of the present study was to analyse the effects of a meta-cognitive process (i.e., thought validation) on attitudes related to doping. Thus, we randomly assigned participants to read a message either against or in favour of legalising several doping behaviours. Participants listed their thoughts regarding the proposal and indicated the perceived validity in their thoughts, then reported their attitudes. As hypothesised, the message against legalisation elicited more unfavourable thoughts and attitudes than the message in favour of legalisation. Most relevantly, the effects of the message direction on attitudes were greater for participants with higher (vs. lower) levels of thought validity. Furthermore, consistent with the thought validation process, results revealed that thought favourability was a better predictor of attitudes for participants with higher (vs. lower) perceived thought validity, indicating that perceiving one’s thoughts as valid plays an important role in persuasion. These findings provide novel insights for research and interventions regarding doping in sports.     

Learner Characteristics that Influence the Treatment Effectiveness of Early Literacy Interventions: A Meta‐Analytic Review

The purpose of this article was to systematically review the available research on learner characteristics that influence the treatment effectiveness of early literacy interventions. Meta‐analytic procedures were applied to a total of 30 studies that met the inclusionary and exclusionary criteria. Mean average effect sizes were computed for seven primary learner characteristic categories: (1) rapid naming, (2) alphabetic principle, (3) phonological awareness, (4) problem behavior, (5) memory, (6) IQ, and (7) demographic. The primary learner characteristics that influenced the treatment responsiveness of early literacy interventions were, in order of magnitude, rapid naming, problem behavior, phonological awareness, alphabetic principle, memory, IQ, and demographics. With the exception of the demographic category, the obtained effect sizes for the primary learner characteristics were moderately large. The demographic primary learner characteristic (i.e., disability, ethnicity, grade‐level status) of children was not statistically (p < 0.05) distinct from zero. The findings, limitations, and future research needs are discussed.     

Interactive Storytelling: From the Book of Genesis

Keith Park, advisory teacher for Sense (the National Deafblind Rubella Association) in Greenwich and Lewisham, London, has written about his approach to interactive storytelling for BJSE before. This article describes a series of poetry workshops based on chapters 37 to 45 of the Book of Genesis (the story of Joseph and his family) using the text of the King James Bible of 1611. The workshops took place at Charlton School in Greenwich between September and November 2002. The full text of the Genesis workshops, with a clear exposition of their implementation, is provided here but the article begins with a restatement of the principles of interactive storytelling. The importance of developing curriculum access for pupils with multi-sensory impairments while simultaneously supporting staff who work with these young people in schools is emphasised. Keith Park discusses the relevance of the circle concept in storytelling and the strong focus, in the poetry workshops, on rhythm. He goes on to evaluate the impact of the workshops, both in terms of staff confidence and through examples of the pupils' responses mapped against the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) framework for recognising the attainments of pupils with learning difficulties. The article concludes with some indications of further developments in this exciting and innovative area of practice.     

Graduate Programs That Prepare Educational Measurement Specialists

What are typical requirements in graduate measurement programs? How d o programs in measurement and research methods differ?