Effect of positive and negative dimensions of mental imagery and self-talk on learning of soccer kicking skill

Background and Study Aim. Mental imagery and self-talk are two important mental skills that are used for improvement of performance and learning of motor and sport skills. This study aimed to investigate the effect of positive/negative mental imagery and positive/negative self-talk on learning of soccer kicking skill. Material and Methods. Participants included 48 young soccer player students. Participants were soccer player students with mean age 18.44 and SD=.88 years. After selecting the sample and filling out the personal detail form, the imagery and self-talk instructions, the method of completing mental imagery questionnaire, Moore-Christine kick-skill test instructions, and principles of free kick at soccer were explained to participants. Then, the mental imagery test and kick-skill test were run in 4 blocks of 4 attempts and the results were recorded. Based on their pre-test scores, the participants were divided into 4 groups. The acquisition sessions were held for 3 weeks and 2 sessions per week, with 8 blocks of 4 trials (32 trials) per session. The data was analyzed using one-way ANOVA, mixed ANOVA, and two-way ANOVA tests at different learning stages (significance level= 0.05). Results. The results of data analysis showed that positive imagery and positive self-talk groups performed significantly better than negative imagery and negative self-talk groups. Also, due to the significance of interactive effect of imagery × training sessions, it was found that the positive imagery groups performed significantly better than negative imagery groups from the third session onwards. Conclusion. According to the results, it was recommended that trainers use this aspect of self-talk at early stages of training. Also, the positive imagery can be emphasized by increasing the training sessions in more skilled individual.

Affective Imagery Modifies Sweetness Sensitivity

Effects of vision on taste are well-documented phenomena. Yet the brain mechanism of such robust connection still remains unclear. It has been suggested that those stimulations which induce similar mood or pleasantness might be involved in the related cross-sensory and emotional neural circuit. In this article, the that the affective status of the brain might play the key role for such cross-sensory interaction. To test this hypothesis in this study, we use mental imagery as an affective primer to influence sweet sensitivity. The popular and well accepted emoticons with positive or negative meanings were applied as visual imageries. The results demonstrated that when the subjects recalled positive imagery, sweetness sensitivity increased significantly around sweetness threshold level. The sweetness sensitivity did not reduce significantly on recalling negative imagery. Such observation supports that affective status of the brain modifies sweetness sensitivity and underscores the need to further understand the role of emotion in cross-sensory integration.

A challenge to collective memory: Yitskhok Rudashevski’s "Diary of the Vilna Ghetto"

A challenge to collective memory: Yitskhok Rudashevski’s Diary of the Vilna GhettoThis article aims to analyse the diary of Yitskhok Rudashevski (1927–1943), the story of its writing and publication and the existing biographical material about the author. It attempts to answer the question of what is or could be the significance of this lieu de mémoire for the current developments in Holocaust memory culture in Lithuania. The adopted definitions of cultural and collective memory and sites of memory are based on the concepts proposed by Jan and Aleida Assmann and Pierre Nora. On the one hand, the diary written by a child in the Vilnius ghetto is of major documentary, moral and aesthetic significance and stimulates individual empathy. On the other hand, the text raises acute issues reflecting a conflict between different memory narratives and interpretations of history. Pro-Soviet sympathies of the author, negative imagery of Lithuanians and certain deheroisation of the ghetto community make the text a “problematic” memory site. These challenges of the diary are interpreted as indicators showing whether contemporary Holocaust narrative in Lithuania is already mature enough to accept the dialogical forms of cultural memory. Wyzwanie dla pamięci zbiorowej: Pamiętnik z wileńskiego getta Icchaka RudaszewskiegoTematem niniejszego artykułu jest analiza dziennika napisanego w getcie przez czternastoletniego Icchaka Rudaszewskiego (1927–1943), historia jego powstania, publikacji i zachowania dla przyszłych pokoleń, a także materiał biograficzny dotyczący postaci autora. Artykuł jest próbą odpowiedzi na pytanie, jakie jest i jakie mogłoby być znaczenie tego miejsca pamięci (lieu de mémoire) w kształtującej się obecnie na Litwie kulturze pamięci Holocaustu. Badania pamięci kulturowej i zbiorowej, a także miejsc pamięci, zostały oparte na koncepcjach badawczych Jana i Aleidy Assmanów oraz Pierre’a Nory. Z jednej strony, napisany przez dziecko w getcie wileńskim pamiętnik ma dla pamięci kulturowej Litwy ogromne znaczenie symboliczne, etyczne i estetyczne, wzmocnione przez silne uczucie empatii wobec autora. Z drugiej strony, tekst pamiętnika stawia wysokie wymagania badawcze wynikające z konfliktu różnych interpretacji historii II wojny światowej i narracji pamięci. Socjalistyczne i proradzieckie poglądy autora, negatywny obraz Litwinów i swoista deheroizacja społeczności getta przekształca ten tekst w „problematyczne” miejce pamięci. Powyższe wyzwania badawcze są interpretowane w artykule jako znaki, które mogą opisać stan współczesnej litewskiej narracji Holocaustu i odpowiedzieć na pytanie, czy jest ona na tyle dojrzała, by w drodze dialogu zintegrować różne warianty pamięci kulturowej.

Should psychiatrists write fiction?

SummaryThis paper looks at the relationship between fiction and psychiatry. Specifically, the idea of psychiatrists as fiction writers is explored, and reference is made to various fictional texts to illustrate the problems of stigma and negative imagery. These two main areas of focus are highlighted as ones that the practice of writing fiction might address, and some potential pitfalls are discussed. The paper suggests how psychiatrists might ameliorate the present problems by incorporating their unique clinical skills and knowledge into fictional narratives.Declaration of interestNone.

The effects of regulatory focus and mixed valence imagery and analytical attributes on product decisions

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of regulatory focus (promotion vs prevention) and mixed valence attributes (positive imagery and negative analytical vs negative imagery and positive analytical) on consumers’ evaluation and purchase intention for a product. Design/methodology/approach A pre-test followed by a single between subject’s experiment was conducted to test the major hypotheses in the study. Findings Results show that promotion (prevention) focus prefers the product when it is described in terms of positive imagery but negative analytical (positive analytical but negative imagery) attributes in terms of both evaluation and purchase intention. Research limitations/implications Future research may validate and extend the current findings with other product or service categories, and study the underlying processes that guide decision making. Practical implications Findings from this study will help managers devise a range of marketing strategies in the areas of advertising, segmentation and product positioning. Originality/value The current research is novel as it addresses lack of research that engages imagery and analytical attributes with different valences, and fills in a gap as to how regulatory focus will rely on imagery (analytical) attributes with different valences while making product decisions.

Voluntary and Involuntary Imagery in Social Anxiety

Background: Negative mental imagery is ubiquitous in cognitive models of social anxiety and in the social anxiety literature. Previous research has shown that it is causal of increased anxiety, lower social performance ratings and lower implicit self-esteem. Despite its prevalence, few studies have investigated this imagery directly. Aims: This study aimed to provide an in-depth analysis of the phenomenology of negative imagery experienced by socially anxious individuals, and to compare recurrent and intrusive images with images deliberately generated by participants during the study. Method: Thirty-eight undergraduate students screened to be above average in social anxiety scores completed a computerized imagery questionnaire adapted from previous qualitative work. Results: Thematic analyses revealed four major image themes for intrusive images and three for deliberately generated images including interacting with others and anxiety symptoms. Most intrusive images were based on negative episodic memories and were experienced at least fortnightly. Images were primarily visual, auditory and somatic but could involve any sensory modality. Depression anxiety stress scale (DASS-21) scores were higher in participants who experienced intrusive imagery and increased with the frequency of intrusions. Emotionality was generally higher in intrusive images than generated images. Conclusions: The phenomenology of negative imagery experienced by socially anxious individuals is idiosyncratic and may be inherently different from images generated for use in experimental research. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

There’s no sunshine: Spatial anguish, deflections, and intersectionality in Compton and South Central

Research on “territorial stigmatization” analyzes how residents of stigmatized spaces negotiate their blemished reputations. It reveals their distress, despondency, and resistance as they encounter the space’s negative imagery. Building on this research, this paper introduces the concept of spatial anguish to capture the shame and embarrassment residents feel because of their stigmatized space. To do so, it uses an intersectional analysis to show how anguished residents try to deflect the stigma through reinforcing racist and sexist imageries of their neighbors.