Perceptual and motor skills
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Little is known about the effects of exercise on cognitive function, but in a biathlon it is known that intense skiing exercise decreases shooting performance. So the present study was designed to assess the cognitive origin of this decrease by examining the influence of skiing exercise on perceptual estimation and short-term verbal recall of shooting performance in a biathlon. 10 elite biathletes (6 men, 4 women) performed five trials of five shots in standing position in two conditions, at rest and after a standardised skiing exercise. At the end of each trial, the shooting performance was investigated by measuring the actual shooting performance and the perceptual estimation of the shooting performance. ⋯ Further, only .01% of the nonestimated shots after exercise missed the target, i.e., 3 out of 250. The results suggest that the perceptual estimation of the shooting is not significantly affected by skiing exercise and do not explain the decrease in shooting performance observed after intense exercise. However, intense exercise could increase the difficulty of recall shooting performance and may force biathletes to use their memory selectively.
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This study asked high school athletes what kinds of desirable traits or styles they would like to see in coaches when they provided correct feedback. High school athletes (M age=14.5 yr., SD=2.1), 43 girls and 70 boys, in both individual and team sports were recruited from 2 junior high and 2 senior high schools. ⋯ The survey covered several characteristics of feedback style: character, timing, frequency, precision, intent, informational style versus controlling style, descriptive versus prescriptive, and context. Analyses of variance, performed on responses to each question to assess the effects of sex, age, and sport, indicated high uniformity in responses to the qualities of feedback style, with no significant differences for sex, age, or sport.
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In the 1940s and 1950s many people in the United States appear to have thought they dreamed in black and white. For example, Middleton (1942) found that 70.7% of 277 college sophomores reported "rarely" or "never" seeing colors in their dreams. The present study replicated Middleton's questionnaire and found that a sample of 124 students in 2001 reported a significantly greater rate of colored dreaming than the earlier sample, with only 17.7% saying that they "rarely" or "never" see colors in their dreams. Assuming that dreams themselves have not changed over this time period, it appears that one or the other (or both) groups of respondents must be profoundly mistaken about a basic feature of their dream experiences.
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The menstrual cycle has been reported to alter pain perception but the patterns differ among studies. It has been reported that estrogens may influence somatic sensory processes. The present aim was to investigate whether the perception of pain varies by phases of the menstrual cycle. 20 women with chronic low pain volunteered to participate and were asked to rate their pain each day during three successive menstrual cycles. ⋯ Regardless of whether the menstrual cycle was divided into four or five phases, women rated pain significantly higher in the menstrual and premenstrual phases than in the midmenstrual and ovulatory phases. This is consistent with other studies showing less pain sensitivity during phases of the menstrual cycle associated with high estrogen. Women with high pain frequency reported more frequently a passive coping style and catastrophizing thoughts.
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Investigations of the influence on team performance of team composition, in terms of task-related attributes, e.g., personality traits, cognitive abilities, often assumes this relation to be mediated by the strength (intensity) of the interpersonal relations (social cohesion) among team members. However, there has been little empirical examination of how much social cohesion actually affects team outcomes. ⋯ A significant correlation was found between the perceptions of social cohesion and the results of the soccer matches, indicating a link between team social cohesion and team performance. Implications of the results, as well as the study's limitations, are discussed, and avenues for research are suggested.