Perceptual and motor skills
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In the last years, actigraphy has been used more often for clinical research and research evaluation of sleep disorders. Compared to polysomnography, actigraphy is cheap and less time-consuming. ⋯ Although the algorithms to score sleep and wake based on motions measured by actigraphy are still being improved, we believe that the role of actigraphy in the clinical evaluation of sleep in insomnia is limited. Instead of using actigraphy to distinguish a wakeful state from sleep in insomnia, we might better use the activity plots which the actigraph provides to get more insight into the physiological hyperarousal or restfulness of insomnia patients.
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Comparative Study
Firearm availability and the use of firearms for suicide and homicide.
In a sample of 36 nations circa 1993, a measure of firearm availability based on the percentages of suicides and homicides using firearms gave better evidence for an association between firearm availability and their use for suicide and homicide than did the accidental firearm mortality rate.
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Among 107 male and 166 female college students, the present study examined sex differences in involvement with sports as spectators. A 14-item Likert-type scale was used to measure the subjects' emotional, cognitive, and behavioral involvement in sports as spectators. Confirming prior findings, male subjects exhibited higher involvement with sport spectating than did females. The current data also provide support for the unidimensionality, reliability, and validity of the Sport Spectator Involvement Scale.
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38 male and 55 female college students rated digitized color facsimiles of 40 paintings that varied in artistic period (Renaissance, Rococo, Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, 20th Century) and subject matter (portrait, landscape, still life, behavior depiction) on 12 7-point semantic differential scales, e.g., simple-complex. Women judged the content of Rococo and Impressionist paintings as more pleasing than did men and Impressionist paintings evoked greater feelings of pleasure and relaxation among women than among men. In addition, paintings that depicted behaviors evoked more pleasure and alertness among women than among men. The results were interpreted in terms of underlying differences between men and women in perceptual style and emotional sensitivity.
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Comparative Study
Are pain tolerance of female runners and use of pain coping strategies related to the experience of childbirth?
Experimental ischaemic pain tolerances were compared for 10 female runners who had given birth and 10 female runners who had not given birth. In both groups pain tolerances were positively correlated with the spontaneous use of pain coping strategies. No differences were found between the groups in pain tolerances, use of coping strategies, or estimates of pain intensity at tolerance; however, athletes who had experienced childbirth reported tolerating greater pain during their normal training sessions.