Psychological Profile and Competitive Performance in Group Aesthetic Gymnastics

The objective of the research was to evaluate the perceptions about the psychological variables of cohesion and motivational climate that AGG gymnasts have about the context created by the coaches in their teams and to analyze in the different categories the optimism and competitive anxiety they face in competitive situations. In an attempt to clarify the psychosocial training patterns in this sport and the influence they have on the well-being of its practitioners, competitive anxiety, motivational climate, team cohesion and level of optimism were taken as dependent variables. The sample was made up of 98 national and international junior and senior athletes in the aesthetic gymnastics group aged 13 to 27 (M = 17.1; SD = 2.8). The Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire for motivational climate, the Sport Anxiety Scale-2 for competitive anxiety, the Group Environment Questionnaire for cohesion and the Revised Life Orientation Test for optimism were used in the evaluation. The results obtained show a positive and statistically significant correlation between anxiety and ego involvement, while, for task involvement, high levels of cohesion are associated with high levels of optimism (p = 0.005). In conclusion, the data confirm that high levels of cohesion are associated with high levels of optimism, in addition high scores on task involvement show high scores on cohesion and optimism, however high scores on ego involvement are associated with low scores on cohesion and optimism.

Foreground stimuli and task engagement enhance neuronal adaptation to background noise in the inferior colliculus of macaques

Auditory neuronal responses are influenced by maskers and distractors. However, it is still unclear whether the neuronal sensitivity to the masker stimulus is influenced by task-dependent factors. Our study represents one of the first attempts to investigate how task involvement influences the neural representation of background sounds in the subcortical, midbrain auditory neurons of behaving animals.

“Digging Deep”: Using the Task Involvement Load Hypothesis to analyse textbooks for vocabulary learning potential

In the process of vocabulary acquisition, the extent to which tasks require depth of processing, termed ‘task-induced involvement’ by Laufer and Hulstijn (2001), and the potential effects of this on subsequent vocabulary retention, deserve greater attention. Laufer and Hulstijn (2001) claim that when ‘need’, ‘search’ and ‘evaluation’ are required in order to complete a task, learners engage with words more deeply, thus optimizing potential for successful vocabulary retention. This study was designed to ascertain the extent to which tasks, in commonly used reading textbooks and integrated skills course books, induce ‘deep’ involvement with vocabulary, thus facilitating vocabulary retention. Tasks in 10 reading textbooks and 10 integrated skills course books were analysed in terms of the elements identified by Laufer and Hulstijn (2001). The results were then compared between the two types of textbooks in order to determine whether one is more effective than the other for vocabulary retention. The study found that the frequency of exposure to target vocabulary was insufficient for vocabulary acquisition. It was also found that many of the vocabulary activities investigated required little task-induced involvement, and more specifically, very few productive activities were found. Keywords: task-induced involvement, depth of processing, vocabulary acquisition, vocabulary retention, vocabulary learning

End users’ purchasing task involvement, power and influence strategies in organizational buying

Purpose End users are often involved in organizational buying, but very little is known about the role that they play and how they influence purchasing decisions. This study aims to explore the factors behind end users’ attempts to influence purchasing and the strategies they use. Design/methodology/approach The research draws on the concept of purchasing task involvement, which describes the feelings of personal relevance that a buying center member has for a specific organizational purchasing decision. This concept is used to gain a deeper understanding of users’ influence in organizational purchasing and link it to sources of power and the corresponding influence strategies. The study is based on 90 in-depth interviews with buyers, drivers and sellers of heavy trucks. Findings End users’ purchasing task involvement is only marginally determined by the product’s performance or technical features. Purchasing task involvement leads to influence when there are specific power relationships between the buyer and the user and under specific circumstances. Originality/value This is the first study that links end users’ purchasing task involvement, power and influence strategies in organizational buying.

Unequal involvement, unequal attainment? A theoretical reassessment and empirical analysis of the value of motivation in the labor market

Inequality has often been explained by stable individual traits or by the structural features of labor markets. This study argues that we also should consider task involvement when we account for labor market inequality. Three mechanisms derived from experimental research link task involvement to performance: individuals involved in tasks are more focused on the work process, are more dedicated to mastery and problem-solving, and have stronger product quality perseverance. Despite the significance of task involvement as a motivation, its potential implication for labor market inequality is so far rather unacknowledged. We aim to develop its theoretical implications in the labor market context and test the expectation that task involvement is related to wage attainment by analyzing representative data for Sweden (LNU) and Europe (ESS). We theoretically locate our account within relational sociology, emphasizing that wage inequality is determined by interactions between worker attributes and the features of work organizations.

External Control of Knowledge of Results: Learner Involvement Enhances Motor Skill Transfer

Providing the learner control over aspects of practice has improved the process of motor skill acquisition, and self-controlled knowledge of results (KR) schedules have shown specific advantages over externally controlled ones. A possible explanation is that self-controlled KR schedules lead learners to more active task involvement, permitting deeper information processing. This study tested this explanatory hypothesis. Thirty undergraduate volunteers of both sexes, aged 18 to 35, all novices in the task, practiced transporting a tennis ball in a specified sequence within a time goal. We compared a high-involvement group (involvement yoked, IY), notified in advance about upcoming KR trials, to self-controlled KR (SC) and yoked KR (YK) groups. The experiment consisted of three phases: acquisition, retention, and transfer. We found both IY and SC groups to be superior to YK for transfer of learning. Postexperiment participant questionnaires confirmed a preference for receiving KR after learner-perceived good trials, even though performance on those trials did not differ from performance on trials without KR. Equivalent IY and SC performances provide support for the benefits of task involvement and deeper information processing when KR is self-controlled in motor skill acquisition.