CASCon 2021 Program

Conference program and abstracts for the College of Arts & Sciences (CASCon) faculty presentations held September 29, 2021 in the Martire Center at Sacred Heart University. More than 40 faculty members participated in this year’s conference, representing multiple disciplines: languages and literature, psychology, biology, mathematics, government, Catholic studies, art and design, communications, chemistry and physics, history, theatre arts, theology/religious studies, media and sociology. There were 30 talks that covered various topics, such as the civil war, theatre, body image and Foodstagrams (Instagram posts about food)

Eye quietness and quiet eye in expert and novice golf performance: an electrooculographic analysis

Quiet eye (QE) is the final ocular fixation on the target of an action (e.g., the ball in golf putting). Camerabased eye-tracking studies have consistently found longer QE durations in experts than novices; however, mechanisms underlying QE are not known. To offer a new perspective we examined the feasibility of measuring the QE using electrooculography (EOG) and developed an index to assess ocular activity across time: eye quietness (EQ). Ten expert and ten novice golfers putted 60 balls to a 2.4 m distant hole. Horizontal EOG (2ms resolution) was recorded from two electrodes placed on the outer sides of the eyes. QE duration was measured using a EOG voltage threshold and comprised the sum of the pre-movement and post-movement initiation components. EQ was computed as the standard deviation of the EOG in 0.5 s bins from –4 to +2 s, relative to backswing initiation: lower values indicate less movement of the eyes, hence greater quietness. Finally, we measured club-ball address and swing durations. T-tests showed that total QE did not differ between groups (p = .31); however, experts had marginally shorter pre-movement QE (p = .08) and longer post-movement QE (p < .001) than novices. A group × time ANOVA revealed that experts had less EQ before backswing initiation and greater EQ after backswing initiation (p = .002). QE durations were inversely correlated with EQ from –1.5 to 1 s (rs = –.48 - –.90, ps = .03 - .001). Experts had longer swing durations than novices (p = .01) and, importantly, swing durations correlated positively with post-movement QE (r = .52, p = .02) and negatively with EQ from 0.5 to 1s (r = –.63, p = .003). This study demonstrates the feasibility of measuring ocular activity using EOG and validates EQ as an index of ocular activity. Its findings challenge the dominant perspective on QE and provide new evidence that expert-novice differences in ocular activity may reflect differences in the kinematics of how experts and novices execute skills

Depression in Student Athletes: A Particularly At-Risk Group? A Systematic Review of the Literature

Mental health initiatives are being implemented based on collegiate athletes being a high risk subculture for a variety of health behaviors that correlate directly to depression. This literature review used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method to investigate the association between depression and student athletes. An initial search of the research databases yielded 807 articles. After applying additional delimiting criteria, 30 articles were considered relevant for the critical review and 11 for the systematic review. Results showed that student athletes are actually less likely to be depressed when compared to their non-athlete peers due to protective factors including levels of self-esteem and confidence, social support, and connectedness. However, there were distinct differences among collegiate athletes in how depression manifests and factors that serve as barriers to treatment. It is important for coaches, parents, teachers, peers, and those working with athletes to be able to recognize factors that may influence depression among this population as well as barriers that may instigate the adoption of risky health behaviors and inhibit them from seeking help

Exploring Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology Practitioners’ Attitudes on Attire

Research has revealed that attire has an influence on one’s self-perceptions, self and socially prescribed adjective traits and behavior (Adam & Galinsky, 2012; Lubker et. al, 2008; Peluchette & Karl, 2007). The present study aims to explore the influence of attire on perceptions, attitudes, and experiences of SEPP (Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology) practitioners during their applied work. Specifically, these factors were investigated through various demographic lenses such as gender, experience level, and age in order to describe the population. SEPP graduate students (n = 49) and early career professionals (n = 82) were asked to participate in a questionnaire, based on previous research, that was created by the author for this specific study to assess the above variables. The study is exploratory and descriptive in nature. Results revealed that participants\u27 view of their attire was important in influencing their self and social perceptions. Specifically, attire influenced how professional, confident, and approachable participants felt. Participants agreed that the way they look is important to them and that dressing like their clients and colleagues helps them fit in. Open-ended question responses revealed the implications of attire on the experiences of SEPP practitioners during their applied work

Coaching style preferences of soccer athletes in successful Division III college teams

This study investigated the coaching style preferences of soccer athletes on Northeastern, Division III, successful teams. A qualitative phenomenological research design was utilized to assess the coaching style preferences of these athletes. [This is an excerpt from the abstract. For the complete abstract, please see the document.