Perceptual and Motor Skills

The current naturalistic study examined whether sensorimotor therapy utilizing the training program, Retraining for Balance, might be an appropriate technique for sensorimotor proficiency. The 232 children (181 boys, 51 girls), whose mean age was 9.3 yr. (SD = 2.7), presented attentional and motor difficulties (according to the School Health Care) as indicated by their parents before starting therapy. The children were divided into three groups, i.e., a younger group (7 yr. old or younger, n = 65), a middle group (8 to 10 yr. old, n = 91), and an older group (11 yr. old or older, n = 76). The program has seven parts, including fetal and neonatal movements, vestibular and auditory perceptual stimulation, and gross motor movements, among others. The treatment period was close to 3 yr. on the average. Analyses in a repeated-measures design indicated significant improvement of sensorimotor skills among the three age groups, but the older children performed better than the others on several tests. There were only a few sex differences. Retraining for Balance may be a functional technique for training children and youth with sensorimotor difficulties and might constitute a complement to regular treatment of Developmental Coordination Disorder, Learning Disability, and ADHD, but controlled studies are necessary before more decisive conclusions can be drawn.

The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to investigate the relations of anthropometric variables with scores on basic and specific motor tests for 133 young male handball players. These Estonian boys were divided into four age groups: 10–11 years (n = 34), 12–13 years (n = 39), 14–15 years (n = 39), and 16–17 years (n = 21). The anthropometric parameters were body height, sitting height, height with outstretched hands, arm span, leg length, and body mass. Body Mass Index (kg · m²) was calculated. Basic motor ability tests were 30-m run from standing position, vertical jump with hands on hip and with arm swing, medicine ball (1 kg) overhand throw with dominant hand from sitting position, and handgrip strength. Specific motor ability tests were 4- × 10-m shuttle-run, slalom dribble test, 30-m dribbling test, handball throw with dominant hand from sitting position, vertical jump from one step run-up on dominant leg, and passing the handball on speed and precision. Relatively few anthropometric parameters were significantly associated with scores on basic motor tasks in a stepwise multiple regression analysis, but sitting height was significantly associated with scores on all measured basic motor tests for the 14- to 15-yr.-old group (16.5–52.4%; R² × 100) and also with specific motor tests for 12- to 13-yr.-olds and 14- to 15-yr.-olds (13A–41.6%; R² × 100). The anthropometric parameters are then relatively poor predictors for basic and specific motor ability test scores of young handball players.

The effects of sociodemographic variables on dream recall frequencies were investigated in a representative sample. Analysis indicated that age, sex, social class, and the size of the place of residence showed small but significant effects on the frequency of positively toned and neutral dreams. Women and inhabitants of large cities tended to report dreams more often than men and residents of small towns. There was also a decline in dream-recall frequency across age groups. The statistical analysis for the recall frequency of negatively toned dreams which were recalled less often showed less pronounced effects.

This study analyzed the mediating role of interpersonal relations between intrinsic motivation and sportsmanship. Athletes (98 men, 97 women), ages 11 to 43 years, completed measures of intrinsic motivation toward sports, self-concept of social and family relations, and sportsmanship orientation. A structural equation model indicated that self-concept of interpersonal relations mediated the relation between intrinsic motivation and sportsmanship. Also, intrinsic motivation was directly and positively associated with self-concept of interpersonal relations, which, in turn, was positively and significantly related to sportsmanship. Variances explained by self-concept of interpersonal relations and by sportsmanship were 32 and 56%, respectively. The motivational interaction between the context of interpersonal relations and the sports context proposed in the hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation was discussed.

Participants high and low in competitiveness completed a reaction-time task with a warning stimulus designed to elicit contingent negative variation, competing on reaction speed with a visible or invisible opponent to identify what affects contingent negative variation amplitude under more critical competitive situations. For participants low in competitiveness, contingent negative variation was larger and reaction time (RT) was shorter when winning a trial and competing with a visible opponent. For those high in competitiveness, contingent negative variation was larger under competitive situations with a visible opponent than with an invisible one, although no difference was found in RT. These findings suggest that contingent negative variation amplitude under competitive situations reflects not only motor preparation but also other psychological processes such as awareness of an opponent.

Two experiments refine the incidental learning hypothesis of incongruent items during color-naming. In Exp. 1, the size of the incongruent item set was manipulated in a manual Stroop task. In Version 4, four different incongruent items were presented; in Version 8, eight different incongruent items were presented; and in Version 12, 12 different incongruent items were presented. Analysis showed color-naming response time was roughly equivalent for neutral and incongruent items in Version 4. Conversely, the Stroop effect not only was manifest but also was equivalent in Versions 8 and 12. In Exp. 2, the role of the phonological loop in the Stroop effect was investigated using Version 4 of Exp. 1. The Experimental group repeated aloud the syllable “LA” during the Incongruent color-naming condition. Articulatory suppression resulted in a significant increase in Incongruent color-naming response time. Implications for the interpretation of Stroop data are discussed.

The present study was an initial evaluation into the reliability and validity of a novel clinical measure of reaction time that consists of a vertical cylinder that is released and caught as quickly as possible. 65 healthy adults performed clinical and computerized reaction time tasks (RT_clin and RT_comp) under simple and dual-task conditions. RT_clin demonstrated excellent test-retest and interrater reliabilities and was significantly correlated with the criterion standard RT_comp. RT_clin increased with increasing age and when tested under dual-task conditions. These preliminary results suggest that RT_clin is a reliable and valid measure of reaction time.

The relations between perceived support of autonomy from coaches, characteristics of personal goals, and emotional well-being from the perspective of self-determination theory was examined among 95 elite athletes (59% men; M = 21.6 yr., SD = 6.1) from Track and Field, Greco-Roman Wrestling, Taekwondo, and Power Lifting. Elite athletes were those representing their country in their sport. It was hypothesized that having autonomous reasons for goals would mediate the positive associations between perceived autonomy support and intrinsic goal content with subjective positive emotional well-being, and that controlled reasons for goals would mediate the association between extrinsic goal content and subjective negative emotional well-being. An idiographic approach to measures of personal goals and the autonomous and controlled reasons and intrinsic and extrinsic contents were performed. Perceived autonomy support from the coach was assessed with the Sport Climate Questionnaire and subjective emotional well-being was assessed with the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. All hypotheses were supported by path analyses using LISREL.

This study tested the concurrent and construct validity of a newly developed OMNI–Kayak Scale, testing 8 male kayakers who performed a flatwater load-incremented “shuttle” test over a 500-m course and 3 estimation-production trials over a 1,000-m course. Velocity, blood lactate concentration, heart rate, and rating of perceived exertion (RPE), using the OMNI–Kayak RPE Scale and the Borg 6–20 Scale were recorded. OMNI–Kayak Scale RPE was highly correlated with velocity, the Borg 6–20 Scale RPE, blood lactate, and heart rate for both load-incremented test (rs = .87–.96), and estimation trials (rs = .75–.90). There were no significant differences among velocities, heart rate and blood lactate concentration between estimation and production trials. The OMNI–Kayak RPE Scale showed concurrent and construct validity in assessing perception of effort in flatwater kayaking and is a valid tool for self-regulation of exercise intensity.

Several previous studies have shown that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is common in children with Restless Legs Syndrome and ADHD is more common in adults with this syndrome. This pilot study examined the prevalence of Restless Legs Syndrome in adults with ADHD, showing six of 30 adult ADHD participants (20%) had Restless Legs Syndrome. This estimate exceeds the prevalence (7.2%) for a previously published control group. These six adults had more severe ADHD symptomatology than those without Restless Legs Syndrome based on the overall Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scale. Such results suggest that symptoms of Restless Legs Syndrome may occur often in adults with ADHD and might worsen the symptoms of ADHD. Replication with a larger sample size is in order.

Reasons and motives for sanctions imposed on players and coaches in youth soccer were examined to evaluate frequency and type of infraction by competition category (Under 12, 13–14, 15–16, and 17–18 years). Analysis of the first 30% of competitions yielded 1,202 sanctions of 340 teams with 6,120 players and 340 coaches. For older groups, the number of sanctions for aggressive conduct by the players was significantly higher; frequency of sanctions imposed on the coaches for disrespect also was significantly higher, and those for aggression were higher although not significantly so; the number of sanctions for disrespect by players was not different. Transgressions of the game rules recorded by officials are a valid representation of a pedagogical factor important for coaches and players. Implementing informative programs for knowledge and conduct of rules is suggested.

Bilateral hand-grip strength was studied in 21 male volunteers (M age = 25.6 yr., SD = 5.2). All were assessed before and after five practice sessions of 20 min. duration: right-nostril yoga breathing, left-nostril yoga breathing, alternate-nostril yoga breathing, breath awareness, and a no-intervention session. Data were analyzed with analyses of variance and an analysis of variance using the no-breath awareness control condition as a covariate. There were no significant changes. The left-hand-grip strength reduced after left-nostril yoga breathing. However, findings were not considered significant, so methodological issues in yoga research which could contribute to null findings and even mask actual changes were discussed.

The effect of previous exposure on discrimination of two flavored solutions sharing a common taste was investigated in a pilot experiment. These solutions were at the limit of discrimination and the pre-exposure and test phases took place on different days. The results showed that mere pre-exposure (i.e., in absence of feedback) facilitates subsequent discrimination of same or different pairs of solutions. This result is in some aspects opposite to those reported recently by Dwyer and colleagues. This discrepancy is discussed analyzing the procedural differences observed between these studies.

This study examines the effect of the points system on home advantage in the two top Spanish professional football divisions between the 1980–1981 and 2006–2007 seasons. From 1980–81, teams were awarded 2 points for a win. This was increased to 3 points starting in 1995–1996. Lower home advantage was expected with the 3-point system as a consequence of encouraging more attacking play from away teams. The results of an analysis of 20,992 games showed no significant differences in home advantage values between the First Division (66.3% before and 62.1% after the 3-point system) and the Second Division (65.6% before and 59.5% after). Nevertheless, there was a significant decrease in home advantage in both the First and Second Divisions after the introduction of the 3-point system. The results were compared with two similar studies of professional football in England.

In this study, reliability and construct validity of the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) and of a revised version, the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire-2 (VVIQ–2) were assessed with a total of 279 undergraduate psychology students who were also administered other measures of imagery. Cronbach α reliabilities for both the VVIQ and the VVIQ–2 were high. A Pearson correlation between scores on the two versions of the questionnaire was high and similar to correlations with other measures of imagery. Estimates of internal consistency reliability and construct validity were similar for the two versions. New lines of research involving both imagery questionnaires are proposed.

Researchers in a variety of disciplines have found that participants take less time and generate less diversity of responses when judging stimuli towards the ends of a scale than when judging those near the center. Three types of models, connectionist, exemplar, and anchor models, can account for these inverted-U effects. Anchor models assume that stimuli near the ends of the scale are used as anchors to compare with the other stimuli, implying that anchor representations are activated for each judgment. Therefore, participants should learn the anchors better than the other stimuli. Participants were 40 students from the Department of Psychology at McGill University (5 men; M age = 20.5 yr.; SD = 1.7). The experiment involved two tasks: first participants judged facial gender and then performed a recognition task. The results showed no correlation between the position on the gender scale and recognition accuracy. Several hypotheses were offered to explain these results.

Drivers' fatigue contributes to traffic accidents, so drivers must maintain adequate alertness. The effectiveness of audio alarms in maintaining driving performance and characteristics of alarms was studied in a virtural reality-based driving environment. Response time to the car's drifting was measured under seven conditions: with no warnings and with continuous warning tones (500 Hz, 1750 Hz, and 3000 Hz), and with tone bursts at 500 Hz, 1750 Hz, and 3000 Hz. Analyses showed the audio warning signals significantly improved driving. Further, the tones' spectral characteristics significantly influenced the effectiveness of the warning.

To study intermanual temporal and force differences during contractions of adductor thumb muscles, the force-time history during isometric contraction of both hands was recorded and analysed for temporal phases including initiation of force, moments of maximum acceleration and velocity of force development, and period to peak force. 36 strongly right-handed young participants (18 women, 18 men) were instructed to use their thumbs to push buttons bimanually in response to 20 separate 35-db sound signals in each of four sessions. Sessions 1 and 2 were preceded with a “strong” instruction to “react as strongly as possible” (Strong Reaction task). Sessions 3 and 4 were preceded with a “speed” instruction to “react as quickly as possible” (Speed Reaction task). Lateral differences between magnitudes of forces developed by left and right thumbs and asynchrony between defined temporal parameters in bilateral force-time histories were significantly greater for Strong Reaction tasks. This departure from bilateral correlation observed between identical phases of isometric pushing action may suggest that participants' thumbs operate more independently under instructions that focus attention on force. Thus, specific instructions given to participants may have a profound effect on performance. It was also found that intermanual temporal differences for women were significantly smaller than for men, especially on Strong Reaction tasks. This phenomenon may be partly explained by a lower lateralization in women.

The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of parent-initiated motivational climate in young Portuguese swimmers. 244 participants (130 boys, 114 girls; M age = 13 yr., SD = 2), involved in advanced swimming programs (n = 88) or competition (n = 156), responded to the Portuguese version of the Parent-Initiated Motivational Climate Questionnaire. Age did not significantly affect the perceptions the young swimmers had of their parents' initiated motivational climate, but a main effect for sex and an interaction of sex and level of practice interaction were found. Boys in advanced swimming programs perceived a stronger Success-without-effort Climate created by both their father and their mother than did girls at the same level of practice. Boys and girls in both categories had higher perceptions of a Learning/Enjoyment Climate.

The aim of this study is to compare the visual-motor perceptual skills of children who have a developmental articulation and phonological disorder, with children who do not have such disorders. A group of 21 children between the ages 5:6 and 9:1 yr. (13 boys, 8 girls) was compared to a control group of 21 children matched on sex, age, and socioeconomic level using the Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test. Children with disorders had significantly more Bender errors.

The performance on velocity, agility, and flexibility after six months of specific handball training or a mainstream physical education program was examined in participants (handball, n = 51; physical education, n = 70) who engaged in 3 sessions per week (60 min./sesson) including ball-handling exercises, horizontal and vertical jump shots, fast breaks, and several defensive skills. Statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups on velocity, agility, and flexibility with differences favouring the handball group. Handball training could significantly improve préadolescents' physical performance.

The present article extends work on Ponterotto and Ruckdeschel's Reliability Matrix for estimating the adequacy of internal consistency measures. Specifically, it uses statistical tests to determine whether a calculated coefficient alpha is equal to or greater than the hypothesized population coefficient alpha identified in the Reliability Matrix. The Feldt, Woodruff, and Salih (1987) confidence interval test and Bonett's (2002) approximate z-test and N formula are applied. Select guidelines on reliability assessment and conducting statistical tests to determine adequacy of coefficient alpha are presented.

This paper describes a pilot study investigating an assessment for Chinese handwriting performance. In an attempt to computerize the existing Tseng Handwriting Problem Checklist (Tseng Checklist), this study employed MATLAB to develop a computer program entitled the Chinese Handwriting Assessment Program (CHAP) to be used for the evaluation of handwriting performance. Through a template-matching approach, the program processed each character by using size-adjustable standard models to calculate the two-dimensional cross-correlation coefficient of a template and a superimposed handwritten character. The program measured the size control, spacing, alignment, and the average resemblance between standard models and handwritten characters. The results of the CHAP's test-retest reliability showed that the high correlation coefficients (from .81 to .94) were statistically significant. Correlations between each CHAP and Tseng Checklist item were statistically significant. As these assessment tools for handwriting performance are required for quantitative and qualitative aspects, the integration of the two tools is a promising means for accomplishing a handwriting performance assessment.

This study examined the effect of bilateral transfer and performance variation on 10 trials of a pursuit-rotor task. 95 right-handed healthy men (M age = 21.0 yr., SD = 3.6) were randomly divided into Right-Left (R-L: n = 50) and Left-Right (L-R: n = 45) groups. The former performed the task with the right hand first and the latter group used the left hand first. Target contact times on the pursuit-rotor task improved at about the same rate. Contact times by the left hand after using the right hand were longer than those when the left hand was used first. Although variation of contact times converged with repeated trials, when the left hand was used first, the performance variation remained large for right-handed participants.

It is not well understood how posture (nonfocal joints) is stabilized during rapid joint movements. Interaction torque arising at the joints due to the movement of the adjacent joints will disturb the nonfocal joint unless it is compensated by muscle torque. The aim of this study was to clarify the mechanism underlying the incomplete stabilization of nonfocal posture during two types of fast single-joint flexion tasks, i.e., elbow flexion and shoulder flexion, with and without a hand-held weight. Participants were 5 men and 4 women (M age = 22.2 yr., SD = 4.8). The relationship between interaction torque and muscle torque and between angular displacement and torque components of the nonfocal joints were examined. The anticipatory muscle activity at the nonfocal joint produced compensatory muscle torque during the early phase of the rapid movement. However, nonfocal joints displayed a consistent displacement pattern, i.e., an initial extension followed by a flexion during the movement. The initial extension was in the direction of the interaction torque and its magnitude was related to the onset delay of the muscle torque against the interaction torque. The flexion movement of the nonfocal joints during the task was in the direction of the overcompensating muscle torque against interaction torque. This mechanism may have certain implications for anticipatory postural adjustment problems.

Previous research has suggested that language comprehension routinely involves dynamic mental representations. Mental representations of temporal information about successive events stored in memory were investigated. Three experiments were conducted using a sentence-probe-recognition task in which the sentence events and the probe events were designed to reflect either a chronological time orientation or a reversed time orientation. The implicit time shift between events also was manipulated. Chronological events were more accessible than the reversed-time events, even for events involving a scenario shift. However, when the sentence events and the probe events differed by level within a hierarchical structure, the effect of temporal orientation disappeared. The results suggest that readers continue to track mentally an event's temporal structure and anticipate the upcoming event in a dynamic representation until another event emerges on a different level within a hierarchical structure.

The relation of leg preference and muscular strength in elite fencers was examined. The dominant and nondominant extensor and flexor muscles of 30 elite fencers (M age = 18.2 yr., SD = 2.0 yr.; M height = 173 cm, SD = 7.4 cm; M weight = 62.7 kg, SD = 8.9 kg), who were members of the Greek national team, and 14 healthy, young, sedentary adults (8 men, 6 women; M age 23.4 yr., SD = 1.9; M height = 169 cm, SD = 10.5 cm; M weight = 66.3 kg, SD = 9.9) were tested for concentric isokinetic contraction at slow (30 to 60°/sec.) and fast (240°/sec.) angular velocities. Significant multivariate differences were found between groups for knee extension, angle of knee extension, knee flexion, and flexor/extensor peak torque ratio. In contrast, no significant difference was found between the dominant and nondominant legs. There was no significant difference in the flexor/extensor peak torque ratio among any of the concentric angular velocities tested. These findings suggest that long-term training in fencing influences the strength characteristics of the lower limbs.

Drummers achieve impressive musical performance by using drumsticks. The present study investigated the effect of drumstick use on rapid unimanual tapping performance. 17 drummers tapped a force transducer as fast as possible for 10 sec. with a finger and a drumstick. No significant difference between finger and stick tapping was found for tapping speed and variability of peak force, but there were significant differences in contact time with the tapping surface, mean peak force, and intertap interval variability: Stick tapping had a shorter contact time, a larger peak force, and more stable intertap interval than did finger tapping. Thus, stick use makes it possible to produce a larger impact force and enhances the ability to control timing during rapid manual movement, allowing drummers to play drums powerfully and stably, which is clearly important for the role they have in controlling or enhancing musical rhythm.

The goal was to examine the differences in visual search strategies between expert and nonexpert baseball batters during the preparatory phase of a pitcher's pitching and accuracy and timing of swing judgments during the ball's trajectory. 14 members of a college team (Expert group), and graduate and college students (Nonexpert group), were asked to observe 10 pitches thrown by a pitcher and respond by pushing a button attached to a bat when they thought the bat should be swung to meet the ball (swing judgment). Their eye movements, accuracy, and the timing of the swing judgment were measured. The Expert group shifted their point of observation from the proximal part of the body such as the head, chest, or trunk of the pitcher to the pitching arm and the release point before the pitcher released a ball, while the gaze point of the Nonexpert group visually focused on the head and the face. The accuracy in swing judgments of the Expert group was significantly higher, and the timing of their swing judgments was significantly earlier. Expert baseball batters used visual search strategies to gaze at specific cues (the pitching arm of the pitcher) and were more accurate and relatively quicker at decision making than Nonexpert batters.