Perceptual and Motor Skills

Men excel at motor tasks requiring aiming accuracy whereas women excel at different tasks requiring fine motor skill. However, these tasks are confounded with proximity to the body, as fine motor tasks are performed proximally and aiming tasks are directed at distal targets. As such, it is not known whether the male advantage on tasks requiring aiming accuracy is because men have better aim or is better in the proximal domain in which the task is usually presented. 18 men (M age = 20.6 yr., SD = 3.0) and 20 women (M age = 18.7 yr., SD = 0.9) performed 2 tasks of extrapersonal aiming accuracy (>2 m away), 2 tasks of aiming accuracy performed in near space (< 1 m from them), and a task of fine motor skill. Men outperformed women on both the extrapersonal aiming tasks, and women outperformed men on the task of fine motor skill. However, a male advantage was observed for one of the aiming tasks performed in near space, suggesting that the male advantage for aiming accuracy does not result from proximity.

Experienced athletes in sports with moving objects have shown greater skill when using visual information to anticipate the direction of a moving object than nonexperienced athletes of those sports. Studies have shown that expert athletes are more effective than novices in occlusion situations in the first stages of the sports sequence. In this study, 12 athletes with different competitive experience in sports with moving objects viewed a sequence of tennis ball launches with and without visual occlusion, launched by a ball-shooting machine toward different areas with respect to the participant's position. The relation among visual behavior, occlusion time, and the precision of the task is reviewed. The spot where the balls bounced was analysed by a digital camera and visual behavior by an Eye Tracking System. Analysis showed that the nonexperienced athletes made significantly more errors and were more variable in visual occlusion conditions. Participants had a stable visual search strategy.

We examined the association between month of birth and completed suicides among major league baseball players (N = 76). More than twice as many players born in August committed suicide (N = 19) than any other birth month. This association was statistically significant when birth month was corrected for differences in days of the month. The differences were even larger when expressed in terms of birth month for those committing suicides divided by number of major league players born in each month. The association between birth month and suicide raises the possibility that prenatal factors may influence the inclination for suicide later in life.

Although many body attitudes scales have been developed, none have been translated into Portuguese. This study aimed to translate the Ben-Tovim and Walker Body Attitudes Questionnaire and assess validity and reliability for a Brazilian sample. Women with (n = 39) and without (n = 57) eating disorders completed the scale, to assess discriminant validity. Convergent validity was assessed by the correlations between the scores and a measure of body dissatisfaction. The questionnaire was applied twice to controls after 1 mo. to evaluate reliability. Eating-disordered women had significantly higher mean scores on Feeling Fat, Disparagement, Salience and Lower Body Fatness, and lower scores on Attractiveness. No mean difference on Strength and Fitness was found. Most subscales were significantly correlated with the body-dissatisfaction measure. Test-retest coefficients ranged from .57 to .85. The translated version of the Body Attitudes Questionnaire seems to be a valid and reliable measure of body attitudes.

A sample of 73 Israeli students perceived current risks related to the disengagement plan but showed low awareness of Biblical civil wars and political assassinations. Attitude toward disengagement did not correlate with current perceived risks or awareness of Biblical violence. Left-leaning subjects were more supportive of disengagement and perceived greater risk of political assassination in its wake.

This study was done to test the psychometric properties of the modified version of the Sport Motivation Scale adapted for children in physical education. Participants were elementary school students (N = 452, M_age = 13.9 ± 1.04) who responded to the Sport Motivation Scale for Children. The scale assesses three types of motivation at the contextual level, namely, Intrinsic Motivation, Extrinsic Motivation, and Amotivation. Results supported the construct validity (CFI = .95), and internal consistency of the scale (Cronbach α>.65). Correlations indicated Sport Motivation Scale for Children simplex pattern exhibiting higher correlations among adjacent subscales than subscales farther apart. The concurrent validity, examined through correlations with scores on the Physical Self-description Questionnaire was satisfactory. Sex differences were examined to assess the discriminant validity. Boys were more intrinsically motivated than girls. Overall, the scale seems a useful one for assessment of motivation in physical education.

Students entering (N = 1,134) the U.S. Naval Academy class of 2000 were administered the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory on the first day of Plebe Summer, a 7-wk. nonacademic training program completed by all entering students in the summer prior to the freshman year. The mean score on Innovation cognitive style for this sample of plebes was approximately a standard deviation lower than those of five other undergraduate student samples from nonmilitary universities. Furthermore, the 98 plebes who voluntarily withdrew before completing the program scored higher on the average on Innovation than those who remained. Findings suggest that, in terms of Person-Organization fit, plebes with a more innovative cognitive style may, perhaps, be less compatible with the regimentation-style climate of the Academy than those with an Adaptive cognitive style. Further research, however, is needed to specify the relationship between Academy students' cognitive style and other important organizational outcomes.

A case study of DW, an 11-yr. old monolingual, English-speaking boy who exhibits stuttering, language delay, and ADHD is presented. DW experienced only limited improvement during stuttering therapy received in public schools, according to parents and the public school clinician. The purpose of this case study was to assess whether fluency treatment which incorporated Mediated Learning, Delayed Auditory Feedback, and Speech Motor Repatterning would enhance progress. Therapy was delivered in two treatments, with each treatment being 5 wk. of intense therapy, separated by one year. Treatment 1 of combined Mediated Learning and Delayed Auditory Feedback yielded improvement in fluency, judged by parents and the teacher to be clinically significant. The improved fluency was maintained for one year when DW was pretested for participation in Treatment 2, which combined Mediated Learning, Delayed Auditory Feedback, and Speech Motor Repatterning Exercises. As no conclusions are possible, further study is needed.

Writing problems are common in children with clinical disorders. However, there are significant intra-individual differences between the ability to spell words, construct sentences, and compose text. Therefore, achievement tests measuring different writing skills may not be consistent in identifying children who have these various writing disabilities. Our study compared scores on the Woodcock-Johnson Written Language subtests (which measure the ability to produce single words and single sentences) with scores on the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test Written Expression subtest (which assesses compositional writing skills) in 54 children referred by their teachers to a school psychologist for writing problems. The Woodcock-Johnson only identified 35% of children as having significant writing problems, whereas the Wechsler test identified 78%. Our study suggests that the latter is more likely than the Woodcock-Johnson to identify students who have problems in compositional writing.

To estimate the psychometric properties of the Physical Self-description Questionnaire for deaf high school students, a Greek version was administered to 125 deaf soccer layers and 108 nonexercisers. Confirmatory factor analysis showed adequate factorial structure for the original 11-factor model. Internal consistency and temporal stability were satisfactory for this sample. Also, the construct, discriminant, and predictive validity indices were adequate. These findings supported the use of the Greek version of the Physical Self-description Questionnaire for the assessment of the self-concept of deaf high school students.

The present study examined the relationship between directionality of drawing movements and the orientation of drawn products in right-handed adults and young children for 27 Japanese kindergartners and 29 Japanese university students who were asked to draw with each hand fishes in side view and circles from several starting points. Significant values of χ² for distributions of frequencies of orientation of the fish drawings and the direction of circular drawing movement indicated that adult right-handers drawing the fish facing to the left tended to draw a circle clockwise when they drew with the dominant hand, while there was no such significant relationship in young children's drawings. This result may suggest that the reading and writing habits may be implicated in the direction of drawing movements with the dominant hand, and this directional bias of drawing movement in the dominant hand can appear in the orientation of finished drawings.

A group of 39 persons (20 male and 19 female, 11.0 to 32.5 yr.) with developmental dyslexia and 42 controls (21 male and 21 female, 11.2 to 32.3 years) were compared on computerized tests of sight word reading, nonword decoding, and spelling recognition. The subjects with developmental dyslexia performed significantly slower and less accurately than controls on all tasks. Further, the effect size of the group differences was larger for the older group. Within-group analyses showed a significant difference by age group on accuracy. Only the control group showed a significant age difference between groups on response time. Mean accuracy and response times for the reading-disabled subjects resembled shifted versions of the control group means. These results agree with previous reports that phonological deficits persist for reading-disabled adults and suggest a test of whether the discrepancy between reading-disabled and typically achieving readers may actually increase across age groups.

Body-build peculiarities (49 body measurements) and psychophysiological properties (21 computerized tests) of 32 adolescent female volleyballers were studied to assess their significance in performance at competitions. Games were recorded by the original computer program Game, and an index of proficiency representative elements of the game was calculated for each player. Regression analysis was applied to predict the best psychophysiological and anthropometric models for serve, reception, block, feint, and attack. Seven tests of psychophysiological indices and 14 anthropometric variables explained 38–98% and 32–83% of skill performance, respectively. Consequently, to improve young volleyball players' performance, everyday coaching should be complemented by detailed assessment of their body build and psychophysiological characteristics.

The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that a session of summer camp would increase the self-esteem of economically disadvantaged, school-age children from New York's inner-city neighborhoods. This study was conducted at a small, coeducational residential summer camp in the Pocono Mountains designed for children ages 6–12 years from low-income areas of New York City. During each of four 12-day sessions, the Piers-Harris Children's Self-concept Scale was administered as a pretest and posttest to a sample of 68 children (36 boys and 32 girls; 33 African American, 34 Hispanic, and 1 Asian) of 742 attending camp for the summer. Children scored significantly higher on the measure of self-esteem at the end of camp than at the beginning. Positive descriptions and ratings of self on popularity increased significantly. Observations and interviews with children suggested physical and social environmental features, such as contact with nature and having the same counselor as a previous year, may support self-esteem. Findings are discussed within a framework for biophilia, an innate urge to affiliate with nature which unfolds from earliest childhood on.

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a test for the assessment of perceived motor competence in young children ages 4 to 6 years old. The structure of the Children's Perception of Motor Competence Scale was analyzed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis with 495 children between 4 and 6 years of age. A second-order model was selected and consisted of one scale of Perceived General Motor Competence and two subscales, Perceived Gross Motor Competence and Perceived Fine Motor Competence. The number of items was 22. This test showed acceptable internal reliability: global scale (α = .81), Perceived Gross Motor Competence (α = .80), and Perceived Fine Motor Competence (α = .65). Children manifested accuracy in the assessment of the competence. Perceived motor competence was related to actual motor competence as measured by the Movement ABC Test and by an observational scale used by Physical Education teachers. There were no sex differences. The Children's Perception of Motor Competence Scale could be considered an interesting assessment test for identifying current self-perceptions of motor competence in young children.

This study examined changes in perceptual response and preference for a specific category of architectural environment by age groups. Understanding relationships among age, perception, and preference is important in creating more appropriate environments. The hypothesis was that individuals who score field-dependent on an Embedded Figures Test would prefer architectural environments which support spatial orientation, while individuals who are field-independent would prefer environments without information on spatial organization or an object-oriented space. It was also hypothesized that children and elderly persons would score more field-dependent and prefer spatially orienting spaces. 64 subjects ages 4 to 85 years were recruited from local schools, various organizations for seniors and adults, given the Embedded Figures Test to measure field dependence, and were compared. Their scores were compared by preference for one of the two environments. Hypotheses were not supported for the spaces overall, however, clear patterns regarding seating preference were identified. Children and seniors had significantly more field-dependent preferences.

The present study examined the role of the developmental coordination disorder in 154 children's socialization and the expression of deviant behaviors in the context of Greek primary education. For assessment of their motor coordination, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children of Henderson and Sugden was used. The peer nomination method (sociogram) was used for the estimation of children's social status, and the expression of deviant behaviors was assessed via Conners' Teacher Questionnaire. Analyses showed that developmental coordination disorder was associated with poor socialization and the expression of deviant behaviors. These findings support the development of educational programs to include children with poor motor coordination.

To investigate response to an imagined negative body image, a sample of 29 men from an undergraduate university were given the Body Image Affect Scale of Campbell and Chow. Analysis showed more men, if they are experiencing a poor appearance, would try to cover up physical flaws and avoid approaching an individual in whom they were interested.

The purpose was to evaluate the effect of an infusion curriculum model on attitudes of physical education majors toward teaching students with disabilities. 91 undergraduate students (61 men, 30 women) matriculating through the core curriculum of physical education teachers were exposed to the infusion curriculum as part of each course during one academic year. Attitudes were assessed pre- (Fall) and posttest (Spring) on the Physical Educator's Attitude Toward Teaching Individuals with Disabilities III. Analysis indicated a significant positive change in attitudes toward teaching students with disabilities. Findings suggest, when exposed to issues of disability by infusion into course content, these students self-reported they would have increased confidence in teaching and an appreciation when teaching students with disabilities. An independent validation of this change would be valuable.

Self-report data were compared with actual recorded data on height, weight, and blood pressure during health examinations to check for validity. The subjects were 1,823 persons, ages 40–68 years. Pearson correlations for systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, height, weight, and Body Mass Index between data reported in 1993 and measurements made in 1991 were .63, .60, .96, .96, and .92, respectively. Pearson correlations for the same variables between the data reported in 1993 and the measurements made in 1992 were .73, .67, .97, .97, and .94, respectively. Self-reported values for height, weight, and Body Mass Index appear to be valid over 2 years or so.

This paper raises some methodological problems in the dual process explanation provided by Wada and Nittono for their 2004 results using the Wason selection task. We maintain that the Nittono rethinking approach is weak and that it should be refined to grasp better the evidence of analytic processes.

Observing somebody performing an action has been shown to elicit neuronal activity in the premotor cortex. This paper investigated physiological effect of observing an effortful action at the peripheral level. As Autonomic Nervous System responses reflect central nervous system processes such as movement planning and programming, it was expected that observing an action would elicit a pattern of ANS responses matching those recorded during actual movement. 12 male subjects, ages 23 to 28 years (M = 25.5, SD = 1.9), were selected as they were experienced in weight lifting. They were asked to observe a squat movement followed by returning to the upright position under 3 different conditions: (i) observation of actual movement performed by somebody else, (ii) observation of a video of the subject himself (first-person video), and (iii) observation of a video of somebody else performing the same movement (third-person video). Moreover, each movement was observed when performed at 50% and 90% of each participant's personal best mark (% of the highest weight which could be lifted). Three ANS parameters were continuously recorded: skin resistance, temperature and heart rate. ANS responses varied as a function of movement intensity: autonomic responses recorded during movement observation at 90% were significantly higher and longer than those recorded during movement observation at 50%. Thus, autonomic responses were linked to the amount of observed effort. Conversely, no difference was found among the three conditions of observation. ANS responses from observation of actual movement were shown to resemble those recorded under the two conditions of video observation.

Recent research on motor skills of golf have pointed to the usefulness of mental imagery. In golf, such training is rarely used as a teaching technique for beginners on the grounds that only top professionals stand to gain from mental imagery. This study tested whether mental imagery combined with physical practice can improve golf performance for the approach shot. 23 volunteer beginners, 8 women and 15 men, M age 23.4 yr. (SD = 3.7), enrolled in the University Physical and Sporting Activities Department, were divided into three groups, using a combination of physical practice of the approach shot plus mental imagery, physical practice only, and a third group engaging in various sporting activities instead of either mental or physical practice of the chip shot. Analysis showed that the beginners' approach shot performance improved most in the group combining physical practice and mental imagery when compared with the group just physically practising the approach shot. It seems mental training can be used effectively to improve performance even with beginners.

We applied a new microswitch-based stimulation procedure for eye-blinking responses with a young woman with profound multiple disabilities, and compared effects of this procedure on the eye-blinking responses and smiling with the effects of a caregiver-based stimulation condition. Analysis showed that the microswitch-based stimulation procedure, with stimulation occurring contingent on eye-blinking responses, increased the frequencies of these responses significantly above the levels recorded in baseline and caregiver-based stimulation conditions. No changes in smiling frequencies occurred. Implications of the findings in terms of alertness, learning, and quality of life are discussed.

Our study examined whether perception of novel emotions, as with perception of novel objects, elicits a cardiac orientation reaction. Using a habituation-dishabituation paradigm, data from 11 adult subjects showed that orientation to both novel emotions and novel objects elicited a heart-rate deceleration. Results suggest that the orientation reaction may be an integral part of perception of emotion. Perception of emotions, therefore, is a complex, multistep process that includes an early orientation reaction.

We examined a psychometric function of price judgment, comparing the mental ruler model, which predicted inverted S-shaped psychometric function, with a power function. Subjects, 102 citizens living in Japan, were asked to rate satisfaction with specified discounted prices. Analysis indicated that predictions of the mental ruler model gave a better fit than those of the power function.

We performed a cross-sectional study with three age groups (8, 14, and 17 years) to evaluate developmental differences in stereotyped beliefs about physical attractiveness and the value of this as perceived by the participants. Given the current importance of television in the development of social knowledge, television models were used. The children and adolescents were asked to evaluate, using bipolar open scales, the physical attractiveness, likeableness, generosity, intelligence, fun, and altruism of 12 television models of both sexes, previously selected by judges, as well as the desire to resemble or feel close to the models. Analysis showed developmental differences across age groups both in the concept of physical attractiveness and in stereotyped beliefs about this. As in other areas of social knowledge, the younger children's responses were bipolar, global, and much more stereotyped, while the adolescents introduced subtle distinctions and elaborated their responses. Nevertheless, physical attractiveness appeared a desirable characteristic for all age groups.

To study whether controlled breathing, known to ameliorate motion sickness, speeds habituation to nauseogenic motion when used in a novel accelerated training regime, 30 participants (13 men, 17 women, ages 18–51 years) were randomized to either a Breathing group or a Control group. Randomization was balanced for rotation tolerance measured during a first exposure to off-vertical axis rotation (OVAR 72°sec.⁻¹). Participants subsequently received four exposures to OVAR in 1-hr. (accelerated training). The Breathing group followed taped instructions to control their breathing during training and when retested the next day. There was overall habituation with stimulus repetition, shown by an increase in tolerance for motion, a reduction in symptoms, and speeded recovery times on retesting. There was a tendency for greater habituation with controlled breathing.

This study examined the relationship between participants' physique anxiety, eating behaviors, somatotype, and the preferred qualifications and body type of a fitness instructor. Subjects were 171 students attending fitness classes at a university. Analysis indicated that the women preferred a thinner fitness instructor than men and that enthusiasm, motivation, and being physically fit were considered the most important characteristics overall. No significant racial differences in key variables were found.

In van Tuijl's neon configurations, an achromatic line segment on a blue inducer produces yellowish illusory color in the illusory area. This illusion has been explained based on the idea of the complementary color induced by the blue inducer. However, it is proposed here that this illusion can be also explained by introducing the assumption that the visual system unconsciously interprets an achromatic color as information that is constituted by transparent and nontransparent colors. If this explanation is correct, not only this illusion, but also the simultaneous color contrast illusion can be explained without using the idea of the complementary color induction.

This study examined three assumptions of the theory of deliberate practice: that deliberate practice is perceived as relevant for improving performance and that it requires effort, but that it is not perceived as being inherently enjoyable. Of particular interest was the assumption of inherent enjoyment of practice since that has been questioned in previous research. 30 undergraduate and graduate students combined practiced a maze memorization and recall task and rated relevance of practice for improving recall, the practice effort, and inherent enjoyment of practice. The findings were consistent with three assumptions, but also suggested that perceptions about relevance, effort, and inherent enjoyment of practice may change with increasing experience and performance.

A 14-item test of Acrobatics and Balance was previously developed to assess gross motor skills of high school physical education students. This study examined the factor structure of an 8-item version of the test based on exploratory and confirmatory factor-analytic techniques. The 8-item short-form of the Acrobatics and Balance test was administered to 334 Italian boys, ages 14 to 16 yr. (M = 15.0, SD = .8), during physical education lessons. The sample was then randomly split into two groups of equal size. Data from Group 1 were subjected to principal components analysis followed by oblimin rotation. Two factors emerged without overlapping items, accounting for 65.6% of variance. Factors included items of Acrobatics and Balance, matching the scales of the whole version of the 14-item test. Confirmatory factor analysis on data from Group 2 confirmed the two factor structure of the 8-item test. The test had a Cronbach coefficient alpha of .84. The Balance and Acrobatics scales had Cronbach alphas of .84 and .78 for Group 1 and of .84 and .77 for Group 2. Findings provided preliminary support for the use of the 8-item test, especially when there is a need to shorten assessment time.

Previous work suggested that elongation, horizontal area, and the boundary material might influence impressions of enclosure. This article describes an experiment in which these three factors were crossed. Ratings of open/enclosed by 15 respondents on 16 plazas indicated that the elongation ratio (range: 1:1 up to 1:1.8) had the strongest effect on impressions of enclosure (18% of variance). Horizontal area (12.25 m² vs 49 m²) area accounted for 3% of variance. The amount of variance attributable to boundary material (plants vs walls) was an order of magnitude smaller (0.3%).

When analyzing categorical data, it is often important to assess the magnitude of variation, or consensus, among observations in unordered categories. Utilizing the theory of partitions, exact solutions for five commonly used measures of categorical variation are presented. When the number of partitions is very large, resampling methods provide close approximations to exact probability values.

Models of motor guidance that dynamically adjust to the availability and quality of sensory information are based on the observation that dexterous tasks are routinely performed using various combinations of visual and tactile inputs. However, a dynamic neural system that acquires and processes relevant visual and tactile information remains relatively uncharacterized in humans. In this study, whole-brain functional magnetic resonance images were acquired during a dexterous manipulation task, compression of the end caps of a slender spring prone to buckling, to investigate the neural systems associated with motor guidance under four visual and tactile guidance conditions: (1) eyes closed (no visual input), smooth end caps, (2) eyes closed, rough end caps, (3) eyes open and watching hand, smooth end caps, and (4) eyes open and watching hand, rough end caps. Performance of the dexterous task remained constant in all conditions. Variations in the two levels of visual input resulted in modulation of activity in the middle and inferior occipital gyrii and inferior parietal lobule, and variation in the two levels of tactile input during the task resulted in modulation of activity in the precentral (primary motor) gyrus. Although significantly active in all conditions, cingulate gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, postcentral gyrus, and cerebellum activities were not modulated by levels of either visual or somatosensory input, and no interaction effects were observed. Together, these data indicate that a fine-tuned motor task guided by varying visual and tactile information engages a distributed and integrated neural complex consisting of control and executive functions and regions that process dynamic sensory information related to guidance functions.

Robins' Single-item Self-esteem Inventory was compared with a single item from the Coopersmith Self-esteem. Although a new scoring format was used, there was good evidence of cross-validation in 83 current and former psychiatric patients who completed Harvey's adapted measure of stigma felt and experienced by users of mental health services. Scores on the two single-item self-esteem measures correlated .76 (p<.001), .76 and .71 with scores on the longer scales from which they were taken, and .58 and .53, respectively, with Harvey's adapted stigma scale. Complex and perhaps competing models may explain links between felt stigma and poorer self-esteem in users of mental health services.