Psychological Momentum

Psychological Momentum (PM) is a positive or negative dynamics of cognitive, affective, motivational, physiological, and behavioral responses to the perception of movement toward or away from either a desired or an undesired outcome. Such a perception can be fostered by any event or series of events that alters the perceived rate at which one is moving regarding the outcome in question. The history and the context in which such events are embedded determine the occurrence and intensity of PM more determining than the events per se. Therefore, PM is a process of extrapolation that builds upon experiences and extends to anticipated future outcomes (e.g., Hubbard, 2015). PM should not be confused with the “hot/cold hand” phenomenon, which refers to the belief that streaks of success/failure breed future success/failure. The occurrence of streaks is neither sufficient nor necessary to entail a perception of movement toward or away from a final outcome

Pink noise in rowing ergometer performance and the role of skill level

The aim of this study was to examine (1) the temporal structures of variation in rowers' (natural) ergometer strokes in order to make inferences about the underlying motor organization, and (2) the relation between these temporal structures and skill level. Four high-skilled and five lower-skilled rowers completed 550 strokes on a rowing ergometer. Detrended Fluctuation Analysis was used to quantify the temporal structure of the intervals between force peaks. Results showed that the temporal structure differed from random, and revealed prominent patterns of pink noise for each rower. Furthermore, the high-skilled rowers demonstrated more pink noise than the lower-skilled rowers. The presence of pink noise suggests that rowing performance emerges from the coordination among interacting component processes across multiple time scales. The difference in noise pattern between high-skilled and lower-skilled athletes indicates that the complexity of athletes' motor organization is a potential key characteristic of elite performance

Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy of Thermoresponsive Polymers in Aqueous Solution

The behavior of highly concentrated aqueous solutions of two thermoresponsive polymers poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) and poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PVCL) have been investigated by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). Measurements have been performed for concentrations up to 20 wt %, over a frequency range from 0.3 to 1.5 THz and for temperatures from 20 to 45 °C including the zone for lower critical solution temperature (LCST). THz-TDS enables the study of the behavior of water present in the solution (i.e., free or bound to the polymer). From these measurements, in addition to phase transition temperature, thermodynamic data such as variation of enthalpy and entropy can be inferred. Thanks to these data, further insights upon the mechanism involved during the dehydration phenomenon were obtained. These results were compared to the ones issued from dynamic light scattering, spectroscopy, or microscopy techniques to underline the interest to use THz-TDS as a powerful tool to characterize the behavior of thermoresponsive polymers in highly concentrated solutions

How psychological and behavioral team states change during positive and negative momentum

In business and sports, teams often experience periods of positive and negative momentum while pursuing their goals. However, researchers have not yet been able to provide insights into how psychological and behavioral states actually change during positive and negative team momentum. In the current study we aimed to provide these insights by introducing an experimental dynamical research design. Rowing pairs had to compete against a virtual opponent on rowing ergometers, while a screen in front of the team broadcasted the ongoing race. The race was manipulated so that the team’s rowing avatar gradually progressed (positive momentum) or regressed (negative momentum) in relation to the victory. The participants responded verbally to collective efficacy and task cohesion items appearing on the screen each minute. In addition, effort exertion and interpersonal coordination were continuously measured. Our results showed negative psychological changes (perceptions of collective efficacy and task cohesion) during negative team momentum, which were stronger than the positive changes during positive team momentum. Moreover, teams’ exerted efforts rapidly decreased during negative momentum, whereas positive momentum accompanied a more variable and adaptive sequence of effort exertion. Finally, the interpersonal coordination was worse during negative momentum than during positive momentum. These results provide the first empirical insights into actual team momentum dynamics, and demonstrate how a dynamical research approach significantly contributes to current knowledge on psychological and behavioral processes

MOTIVATION ET PRÉPARATION A LA PERFORMANCE SPORTIVE

National audienceIl est communément admis que pour atteindre un haut niveau de performance, quel que soit le domaine concerné, une très forte motivation est requise. Le contexte de la performance sportive n'échappe pas à cette règle. L'accès et le maintien d'un athlète parmi l'élite s'affranchit difficilement d'un engagement total de celui-ci dans la pratique de son sport. Aussi n'oserait-on imaginer un seul instant qu'un champion puisse ne pas être motivé par son activité. Pourtant, ce serait oublier un peu vite qu'accepter la pénibilité et la répétitivité de certains entraînements, sacrifier une partie de sa vie familiale, professionnelle ou ses loisirs, subir les conséquences des blessures et des échecs constituent autant de facteurs de découragement qui peuvent compromettre gravement la réussite d'une saison voire d'une carrière sportive. Devant le caractère capital que revêt le développement et l'entretien de la motivation dans la préparation à la performance, il apparaît nécessaire d'identifier précisément les processus motivationnels sollicités par les comportements les plus persévérants ainsi que les facteurs à l'origine de ses processus. Une telle identification devrait permettre ensuite de dégager les principes susceptibles de guider l'intervention de ceux qui ont en charge d'accompagner l'athlète et de l'aider à se maintenir au plus haut niveau