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

ASIC Commercialization Analysis: Technology Portfolios and the Innovative Performance of ASIC Firms during Technology Evolution

We examine the relationship between application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) firms’ technology portfolios and their innovative performance. This relationship is complex, and we hypothesize that it changes according to the stage of ASIC technology evolution. We test our hypotheses using a longitudinal dataset of 67 firms from the ASIC industry over the period 1986–2003. We find that ASIC technology evolution negatively moderates the effects of the size and diversity of the internal technology portfolio on ASIC firms’ innovative performance. This implies that, in earlier phases of ASIC technology evolution, successful ASIC firms developed large and diverse portfolios to cope with technological uncertainty. During later phases of ASIC technology evolution, they tend to have relatively smaller and less diverse portfolios, and they focus on unique, protectable, and exploitable advantages

Perceiving affordances in sports through a momentum lens

In this experimental study, we tested whether athletes’ judgments of affordances and of environmental features vary with psychological momentum (PM). We recruited golf, hockey, and tennis players, who were assigned to a positive or negative momentum condition. We designed a golf course on which participants made practice putts, after which they were asked to place the ball at their maximum “puttable” distance and to judge the hole size. Next, participants played a golf match against an opponent, in which the first to take a lead of 5 points would win the match. Participants were told that they could win a point by making the putt or by being closest to the hole. They wore visual occlusion goggles to prevent them from seeing the actual result, and the experimenter manipulated the scoring pattern to induce positive or negative PM. Participants in the positive momentum condition came back from a four-point lag to a four-point lead, whereas those in the negative momentum condition underwent the opposite scenario. We then asked the participants again to indicate their maximum puttable distance from the hole and to judge the hole size. After the manipulation, participants judged the maximum puttable distance to be longer in the positive momentum condition and shorter in the negative momentum condition. For the hole-size judgments, there were no significant effects. These results provide first indications for the idea that athletes’ affordances change when they experience positive PM compared to negative PM. This sheds a new light on the dynamics of perception-action processes and PM in sports

Postprandial apoE isoform and conformational changes associated with VLDL lipolysis products modulate monocyte inflammation.

ObjectivePostprandial hyperlipemia, characterized by increased circulating very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) and circulating lipopolysaccharide (LPS), has been proposed as a mechanism of vascular injury. Our goal was to examine the interactions between postprandial lipoproteins, LPS, and apoE3 and apoE4 on monocyte activation.Methods and resultsWe showed that apoE3 complexed to phospholipid vesicles attenuates LPS-induced THP-1 monocyte cytokine expression, while apoE4 increases expression. ELISA revealed that apoE3 binds to LPS with higher affinity than apoE4. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy of site-directed spin labels placed on specific amino acids of apoE3 showed that LPS interferes with conformational changes normally associated with lipid binding. Specifically, compared to apoE4, apoE bearing the E3-like R112→Ser mutation displays increased self association when exposed to LPS, consistent with a stronger apoE3-LPS interaction. Additionally, lipolysis of fasting VLDL from normal human donors attenuated LPS-induced TNFα secretion from monocytes to a greater extent than postprandial VLDL, an effect partially reversed by blocking apoE. This effect was reproduced using fasting VLDL lipolysis products from e3/e3 donors, but not from e4/e4 subjects, suggesting that apoE3 on fasting VLDL prevents LPS-induced inflammation more readily than apoE4.ConclusionPostprandial apoE isoform and conformational changes associated with VLDL dramatically modulate vascular inflammation

Electrochemistry of potentially bioreductive alkylating quinones : Part 1. Electrochemical properties of relatively simple quinones, as model compounds of mitomycin- and aziridinylquinone-type antitumour agents

The influence of methyl-, hydroxy and amino substituents on the electrochemical behaviour of simple 1,4-naphtho-and 1,4-benzoquinones, model compounds of many quinoid antitumour agents, in aqueous media was studied. Significant changes in electrochemical behaviour were observed, potentially the result of a change in the electron density of the quinone moiety, pre- or post-protonation of substituents, hydrogen bond formation, tautomerization reactions and steric interactions between the quinone moiety and substituents. The information obtained was of benefit in the elucidation of the reduction mechanisms of quinoid antitumour agents such as aziridnylquinones and mitomycins

Psychological momentum in sport:Toward a complex and dynamical perspective

Psychological momentum (PM) is a social phenomenon that has triggered the curiosity of sport psychologists since the early 1980s. From early to recent conceptualizations, PM has been considered as a complex construct, inherently related to variations in sport performance. Over the past 30 years, several models have been proposed to untangle how PM is triggered, which psychological changes are involved in PM experiences, and how PM relates to performance. While linear (causal) models have dominated past research on PM, researchers have recently found that PM can change nonlinearly, depending on the performance history of the competition. This systematic review aims to provide an overview of different PM models that have been proposed in the past to increase insights into the complexity of PM, including the transition from linear causal models to nonlinear dynamical models. Moreover, based on the current state of affairs, perspectives for future research are provided. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS on behalf of Societe francaise de psychologie

Visualizing individual dynamics:The case of a talented adolescent

Research on talent and performance development has primarily focused on inter-individual differences. However, research suggests that performance and the underlying determinants change over time, in an individual-specific dynamic way. This chapter illustrates a method to measure, understand, and visualize the performance- and psychosocial dynamics of a talented adolescent athlete. During one season, a talented tennis player filled out an online diary questionnaire twice a week. We visualized the results using R-scripts that we made openly available. This facilitated the interpretation of the athlete’s performance- and psychosocial dynamics, which are influenced by particular events in the athlete’s life. Altogether, the current study provides insight into how the adolescent and the context interact and mutually affect each other in successive iterations