2,803 research outputs found
Examining the relationship between psychological skills and confidence in goalkeepers
This study examined the relationships that exist between psychological skills and confidence. Analysis of the relationship took place with ice hockey, lacrosse and soccer goalkeepers. Participants (N = 1927) completed measures of psychological skills (ACSI-28) and confidence (CSCI) online. Participants deemed psychological skills as important, but rarely used them to enhance performance. Goalkeepers (N = 412) scored higher on both the personal coping resource score (M = 50.82, SD = 9.24) and confidence (M = 41.88, SD = 5.66) than non-goalkeepers on the personal coping resource score (M = 47.48, SD = 9.60) and confidence (M = 41.84, SD = 5.69). Multiple MANOVAs identified significant differences between goalkeeper and non-goalkeepers on five of seven ACSI-28 subscales. Goalkeepers scored significantly higher on the ACSI-28 subscales coping with adversity; peaking under pressure; goal setting/mental preparation; concentration; and confidence and achievement motivation. A correlational analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between personal coping resource and confidence scores. A significant correlation exists. This study indicates goalkeepers possess a different set of psychological skills and confidence level than their counterparts
Endophenotypes of executive functions in obsessive compulsive disorder? A meta-analysis in unaffected relatives.
Endophenotypes are mediator traits between genetic influences and clinical phenotypes. Meta-analyses have consistently shown modest impairments of executive functioning in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) patients compared to healthy controls. Similar deficits have also been reported in unaffected relatives of OCD patients, but have not been quantified. We conducted the first meta-analysis combining all studies investigating executive functioning in unaffected relatives of individuals with OCD to quantify any deficits. A search of Pubmed, Medline and PsychInfo databases identified 21 suitable papers comprising 707 unaffected relatives of OCD patients and 842 healthy controls. Effect sizes were calculated using random effects models. Unaffected relatives displayed a significant impairment in global executive functioning. Analyses of specific executive functioning subdomains revealed impairments in: planning, visuospatial working memory and verbal fluency. Deficits in executive functioning are promising endophenotypes for OCD. To identify further biomarkers of disease risk/resilience in OCD, we suggest examining specific executive functioning domains
Facial emotion processing in schizophrenia : a non-specific neuropsychological deficit?
Original article can be found at : http://journals.cambridge.org/ Copyright Cambridge University PressBackground: Identification of facial emotions has been found to be impaired in schizophrenia but there are uncertainties about the neuropsychological specificity of the finding. Method: Twenty-two patients with schizophrenia and 20 healthy controls were given tests requiring identification of facial emotion, judgement of the intensity of emotional expressions without identification, familiar face recognition and the Benton Facial Recognition Test (BFRT). The schizophrenia patients were selected to be relatively intellectually preserved. Results: The patients with schizophrenia showed no deficit in identifying facial emotion, although they were slower than the controls. They were, however, impaired on judging the intensity of emotional expression without identification. They showed impairment in recognizing familiar faces but not on the BFRT. Conclusions: When steps are taken to reduce the effects of general intellectual impairment, there is no deficit in identifying facial emotions in schizophrenia. There may, however, be a deficit in judging emotional intensity. The impairment found in naming familiar faces is consistent with other evidence of semantic memory impairment in the disorder.Peer reviewe
Valuing Distributed Energy Resources for Non-Wires Alternatives
Distributed energy resources (DER) as non-wires alternatives, regardless of
owner, have the potential to reduce system operating costs and delay system
upgrades. However, it is difficult to determine the appropriate economic signal
to incentivize DER investors to install capacity that will benefit both the DER
investors and the system operator. In an attempt to determine this co-optimal
price signal, we present a bilevel optimization framework for determining the
least cost solution to distribution system over-loads. A key output of the
framework is a spatiotemporal price signal to DER owners that simultaneously
guarantees the DER owners' required rate of return and minimizes the system
operation costs. The framework is demonstrated with a case by which the system
operator considers utility owned battery energy storage systems, traditional
system upgrades, and energy purchase from DER owners. The results show that by
valuing DER for non-wires alternatives the utility owned storage system sizes
can be reduced, less hardware upgrades are necessary, and upfront capital costs
as well as operating costs are reduced.Comment: under revie
Assessing the Effects of Voluntary Mental Imagery Skills on Memory and Other Cognitive Functions
Aphantasia is a new name for an old concept: people that are unable to form clear mental images voluntarily. In this study, we attempted to verify and support some of the claims made in the relatively few published studies available on the topic. We were successful in doing so, as well as finding new significant correlations with other types of memory not previously studied
Effective temperatures and radii of planet-hosting stars from IR photometry
In this paper we present and analyse determinations of effective temperatures
of planet-hosting stars using infrared (IR) photometry. One of our goals is the
comparison with spectroscopic temperatures to evaluate the presence of
systematic effects that could alter the determination of metal abundances. To
estimate the stellar temperatures we have followed a new approach based on
fitting the observed 2MASS IR photometry with accurately calibrated synthetic
photometry. Special care has been put in evaluating all sources of possible
errors and incorporating them in the analysis. A comparison of our temperature
determinations with spectroscopic temperatures published by different groups
reveals the presence of no systematic trends and a scatter compatible with the
quoted uncertainties of 0.5-1.3%. This mutual agreement strengthens the results
of both the spectroscopic and IR photometry analyses. Comparisons with other
photometric temperature calibrations, generally with poorer performances, are
also presented. In addition, the method employed of fitting IR photometry
naturally yields determinations of the stellar semi-angular diameters, which,
when combined with the distances, results in estimations of the stellar radii
with remarkable accuracies of ~2-4%. A comparison with the only star in the
sample with an empirically determined radius (HD 209458 -- from transit
photometry) indicates excellent agreement.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication as a letter in A&
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