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Researchers in sport and exercise psychology have shown an enduring interest in mood responses, the study of which relies on well-validated and culturally relevant measures. The current study was a...

Since its inception in mainstream scientific psychology, resilience has emerged as a popular, yet controversial, construct. As evidenced in the target article, this controversy can be attributed, at least in part, to current conceptual and methodological difficulties hampering understanding of the construct. Chief among these concerns is the discriminant validity of resilience with respect to conceptually similar individual differences constructs, such as hardiness, mental toughness, adaptability, and even the five-factor personality dimensions. Advances in research on resilience, and ultimately the utility of the construct in applied settings, hinge on its distinction from related concepts. In this commentary, we extend Britt, Shen, Sinclair, Grossman, and Klieger’s (2016) brief discussion of dimensional redundancy, maintaining that the demonstration of discriminant validity is a necessary first step toward the conceptual clarification of resilience.We first provide an overview of the “jangle” fallacy, which serves as a basis for discussing the importance of construct discrimination to construct validity. We thereafter briefly review existing literature on the distinction, or lack thereof, between resilience and conceptually analogous constructs. Our commentary closes with a reevaluation of the potential contribution of resilience to organizational science.

There have been very few theoretical models published to understand the relationship between workplace bullying and different outcome variables. Applying the Job Demands Control (JDC) model, this study analyzed workplace bullying alongside &lsquo, traditional&rsquo, job stressors of role overload and low job control to determine the relative associations of each with mental health and wellbeing. These relative associations have not been well documented. Data were obtained from an organizational climate questionnaire administered to 21 Australian Defence Force units (n = 3193). Results indicated that the correlations between bullying and psychological distress (r = 0.39), job satisfaction (r = &ndash, 0.28), and affective commitment (r = &ndash, 0.22) were all significant and for some outcomes greater than those involving the traditional job stressors. Furthermore, for each of these three outcomes, bullying contributed incremental variance after controlling for other job demands. These results support earlier claims that workplace bullying requires the same attention given to traditional work stressors. The JDC model provides a strong theoretical base to investigate workplace bullying. Testing against other stressors allows for consideration of the broader context of workplace bullying when managing the workforce.

The psychometric properties of the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R), the Sport Confidence Inventory (SCI), and the Carolina SCI (CSCI) were examined in a study involving 260 athletes. The study aimed to test the dimensional structure, convergent and divergent validity, and invariance over competition level of scores generated by these instruments. Exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) supported the measurement models for the SCI and CSCI but favoured a two-dimensional model for the LOT-R. ESEM analyses of the total pool of 33 items indicated satisfactory divergent validity among these optimism and sport confidence measures with the only overlap occurring between the LOT-R and CSCI measures of optimism. The SCI discriminated among athletes participating at different competitive levels and emerged as the most suitable instrument for measuring individual differences in sport confidence. The CSCI emerged as a better measure of optimism in a sporting context than the more general LOT-R.

The current study presents initial validation statistics for the Italian Mood Scale (ITAMS), a culturally- and linguistically-validated Italian version of the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS: Terry and Lane, 2010). The ITAMS was administered to 950 sport participants (659 females), who ranged in age from 16 to 63 years (M = 25.03, SD = 7.62). In the first stage of the validation process, statistical procedures in Mplus were used to evaluate the measurement model. Multigroup exploratory structural equation modeling supported the hypothesized 6-factor measurement model for males and females separately and for the combined sample. Analysis of the scale scores using SPSS provided further support for the construct validity of the ITAMS with hypothesized relationships observed between ITAMS scores and measures of depression and affect. The development and validation of the ITAMS opens the way for mood-related research and sport or exercise interventions requiring mood assessments, in an Italian-language context.

The purpose of this study was to track changes in athletic identity and life satisfaction of elite athletes over time as a function of retirement status and the voluntariness of retirement decisions. Sixty-two elite Australian athletes from 3 different phases of their athletic careers were surveyed 5 years apart. Athletic identity was shown to decrease as athletes approached retirement. Athletes who retired voluntarily reported an increase in life satisfaction post-retirement. These findings support the need for athlete career education programs that emphasize autonomy and career planning.

This paper examines relationships between the Big Five personality factors, time management, and grade-point-average in 556 community colleges students. A path model controlling for vocabulary, gender, and demographic covariates demonstrated that time management mediates the relationship between conscientiousness and students' academic achievement at community college. Separate modeling for part-time (n = 147) and full-time students (n = 409) showed that this mediation was moderated by enrollment status. Thus, time management was a significant mediator for part-time students but not for full-time students. The greater importance of time management for part- versus full-time students suggests that noncognitive constructs such as time management may be more critical for non-traditional students. These findings gather fresh currency as ever increasing numbers of students are enrolling part-time in post-secondary education across the globe.

Research examining the relationships between performance measures of emotional intelligence (EI), coping styles, and academic achievement is sparse. Two studies were designed to redress this imbalance. In each of these studies, both EI and coping styles were significantly related to academic achievement. In Study 1, 159 community college students completed the Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant coping scales. Collectively, the coping variables significantly mediated the relationship between EI and grade point average (GPA) for Emotion Perception, Emotion Facilitation of Thought and Emotion Management (but not for Emotional Understanding). Problem-focused coping was the only single significant mediator, mediating the relationship between emotion management and GPA (but not other branches and GPA). In Study 2, 293 middle school students completed the Situational Test of Emotion Management for Youths (STEM-Y) and scales measuring the same three coping strategies. In this study, the coping variables again significantly mediated the relationship between emotion management and GPA. Once again, problem-focused coping was a significant mediator. Collectively, these results suggest that better educational outcomes might be achieved by targeting skills relating to emotion management and problem-focused coping.

A common belief about elite athletes is that they invest so much effort into the pursuit of their athletic careers that they fail to develop good career decision-making skills. Recent findings challenge that belief. The present study investigated career decision-making difficulties among 117 elite Australian athletes. Participants completed adapted versions of the Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire, the Athlete Identity Measurement Scale, the Career Decision-Making Self-efficacy Short Form, and the Work Locus of Control Scale. These elite athletes showed no evidence of career decision-making difficulties. Combinations of this set of variables accounted for 35% of the variance in decision status and 20% of the variance in career decision-making difficulties. Career decision-making self-efficacy was a major contributor in both instances. Internal locus of control was also identified as a desirable characteristic in the context of career decision-making. The implications of these findings are discussed.

This study examines the effect of language background on the performance of healthy participants on a battery of cognitive measures. The study was conducted as part of a larger normative study: the Macquarie University Neuropsychological Normative Study (MUNNS). A comparison was made between the test performance of three language background groups: participants from a non-English-speaking background whose first language was other than English (NESB-OE, N = 42); participants from a non-English-speaking background whose first language was English (NESB-E, N = 34); and participants from an English-speaking background (ESB, N = 40). A number of tests used in clinical neuropsychological assessment were found to be sensitive to the background of the participant, and trends in the data suggest that two factors are operating independently. It is proposed that one factor is language or proficiency in English that impacts on verbal subtests and the other is a sociocultural factor that impacts on performanc...

Adult adoptees (n equals 100) and non-adoptees (n equals 100) were compared with regard to selfesteem, identity processing style, and parental bonding. While some differences were found with regard to self-esteem, maternal care, and maternal overprotection, these differences were qualified by reunion status such that only reunited adoptees differed significantly from nonadoptees. Moreover, hierarchical regression analyses indicated that parental bonding and identity processing style were more important than adoptive status per se in predicting self esteem. Implications for practitioners who work with adoptees are discussed.

A comparison is made between the career decision making of secondary school students who are also elite athletes and a sample of non-athlete students. The 226 athletes (111 females, 115 males) in the study were on sporting scholarships with the Australian Institute of Sport or state/territory institutions. Measures used included the Career Decision Difficulties Questionnaire and the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale. The non-athlete data were obtained from 272 secondary school students (149 females, 123 males). Only three athletes indicated a singular focus on a career in professional sport. There were significant relationships between athletic identity and career decision difficulties, especially in relation to dysfunctional myths, and there was only one difference between the difficulties reported by athletes and non-athletes. Tentative conclusions are drawn about the factors that impact on career decision making among elite athletes and possible directions for future research.

[Abstract]: When people are asked to make judgments about their own performance, either retrospectively or prospectively, they typically overestimate their level of performance, leading some researchers to claim that overconfidence is a pervasive metacognitive bias. Evidence for such a trait in sport has implications for the way we assess confidence and for our understanding of athletes' perceptions of their own abilities and their reactions to performance feedback. To gain a better understanding of this issue, we used the calibration paradigm to measure metacognitive bias in a sample of 54 male golfers varying widely in age (13 to 75 years) and ability level (1 to 27 handicap). Golfers were required to complete a putting task and a chipping task (20 trials each) after first estimating how well they would perform on each of the tasks. The exercise was repeated once. Results indicated that golfers tended to be reasonably well-calibrated on the putting tasks but slightly overconfident on the chipping tasks used in this study. They were also overconfident on a test of knowledge of golf rules. There was no effect for level of expertise. Golfers differed in their ability to use feedback on the first set of trials to achieve better calibration on a second set of trials. Discussion centres on the potential benefits of using the calibration paradigm in a range of sports as an adjunct to assessments and interventions by sports psychologists.

The main aim of the present study was to examine whether a primary imagery (IM) factor can be identified as a separate dimension of individual differences in the spatial ability domain. A sample of 213 participants was tested. The test battery comprised 26 markers of cognitive ability, 5 self-report visual imagery questionnaires, 7 experimental imagery tasks (accuracy and latency measures), and 2 creative imagery tasks. Confirmatory factor analysis of this data set supported a five-factor oblique model with latent dimensions corresponding to visualisation, speeded rotation, speed of closure, and visual memory spatial primaries, and a combined perceptual speed-closure flexibility factor. Principal axis factor analysis of the visual imagery data set indicated the existence of three first-order IM factors, labelled IM quality (defined by accuracy measures), IM self-report (defined by the self-report measures), and IM speed (defined by latency measures). A second-order confirmatory factor analysis of these constructs suggested that the visual imagery dimensions can be located within the spatial ability domain. The implications of these findings are discussed.

[Abstract]: Objectives: To extend the validation of the Profile of Mood States-Adolescents (POMS-A: J. Sports Sci. 17 (1999) 861–872) from adolescent to adult populations. Design: A strategy of assessing the invariance of the POMS-A factor structure among disparate samples and of testing relationships with concurrent measures was used. Methods: The POMS-A was administered to 2549 participants from four samples: adult athletes prior to competition (n=621), adult student athletes in a classroom (n=656), adolescent athletes prior to competition (n=676), and adolescent students in a classroom (n=596). A subset of 382 adult student athletes was used to test the criterion validity of the POMS-A. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the factorial validity of a 24-item, six-factor model using both independent and multi-sample analyses. Relationships between POMS-A scores and previously validated measures, that were consistent with theoretical predictions, supported criterion validity. Conclusion: Evidence was found in support of the psychometric integrity of the POMS-A when extended from adolescent to adult populations.

A number of factors influence the outcomes of computer skills training and the likelihood of successful transfer. The first empirical test of a conceptual model of training transfer sought to explain how trainees' perceptions of various in-training transfer-enhancing activities such as overlearning, fidelity, stimulus variability, principles-meaningfulness, self-management activities, relapse prevention, and goal setting would predict the self-efficacy and implementation intentions (rather than actual transfer outcomes) of computer skills trainees. As expected, posttraining self-efficacy and transfer enhancing activities both predicted transfer implementation intentions. Pretraining self-efficacy also significantly predicted posttraining self-efficacy, trainees' level of learning during training and transfer enhancing activities, providing support for the conceptual model of training transfer.

The present study developed and provided initial validation statistics for the Stellenbosch Mood Scale (STEMS), a dual‐language (Afrikaans and English) version of the Profile of Mood States‐Adolescents (POMS‐A: Terry, Lane, Lane, & Keohane, 1999). Following translation of the POMS‐A into Afrikaans using the translation‐back translation method, the STEMS was administered to 463 South African athletes (224 males, 239 females; age range = 18–36 yr. M = 20.3 yr., SD = 1.8 yr.) Confirmatory factor analysis provided support for a 24‐item, six‐factor measurement model using both independent and multi‐sample analyses. The measurement model remained invariant across language groups. Gender differences in mood responses were found. Females reported higher tension and fatigue and lower anger than males. The STEMS showed promising psychometric properties and may have several applications among both Afrikaans‐ and English‐speaking groups in South Africa.

The structure of the Career Decision-making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ, Gati, Osipow, & Krausz, 1996) was validated and compared across two age cohorts using Structural Equation Modelling. One hundred and twenty-one upper high school students (78 girls, 43 boys – mean age 15.92 years) participated in Study 1, while 127 adults (86 females, 41 males – mean age 33.44 years) completed the survey for Study 2. While the model confirmed the multidimensional structure of the CDDQ, five first-order factors provided a better fitting model than the three higher-order factors postulated by Gati et al. The model fitted both groups, suggesting that a common pattern of difficulties was experienced by people of different ages, although older career deciders reported fewer difficulties with Internal Conflicts and Conflicts with Others than did students.

The present study used a longitudinal design to test aspects of Kirby and Herrnstein's (1995) theory of time discounting. Specifically, the prediction that preferences reverse due to changes in delay was tested in a longitudinal study of career-path selections made by employees in a Hong Kong real estate consultancy. Over a 3-year period, 16 of 23 subjects reversed their career preference from a future senior managerial position to a lesser management role available earlier. Organizational and cultural factors that may have influenced these preference changes are discussed and areas of future research suggested. The study provides supporting evidence from the career selection perspective that preferences are not necessarily invariant across time.

The assessment of emotional disorders such as anger, depression and stress among people with an intellectual disability has traditionally used one of three methodologies: ratings by a significant other, a clinical interview or self-report. Despite the widespread use of all three methodologies, there is little research into their equivalence. This paper assesses the convergence among these three approaches for 147 people with a mild or moderate intellectual disability across the affective domains of anger, depression and stress. The results showed the overlap among the three methods to be consistently low, although limited convergence was found between self-report and clinical interview. Ratings by work supervisors discriminated least clearly between anger, depression and stress while self-report was the most discriminating between these three overlapping but conceptually distinct states. Suggestions are made for ongoing research into the methodologies of assessing affective states among people with an intellectual disability.

Fogarty and White (1994) found that Australian Aboriginal university students tend to be more collectively minded than their non-Aboriginal counterparts. Using the Values Survey developed by Schwartz (1992), the present study set out to replicate this finding and to determine whether observed value differences can help to explain the low achievement levels of Aboriginal students in a university setting. The differences noted by Fogarty and White (1994) were replicated in the present study where data gathered from a sample of Aboriginal students ( N = 202) over a six-year period indicated that they score more highly on the collectivist scales of Conformity, Tradition, and Security than a non-Aboriginal student cohort ( N = 194). Across the combined samples, however, scores on values were not strong predictors of academic success, with only Tradition ( r = −.28, p < .01) and Conformity ( r = −.28, p < .01) showing appreciable relations with a measure of academic performance. When Race was partialled out of these correlations, Achievement ( r = .16, p < .01) and Conformity ( r = −.15, p < .01) were the only variables to demonstrate any relationship with performance. These findings suggest that there are factors other than value systems that have a much greater impact on the problems experienced by Australian Aborigines in higher educational settings.

Four studies employed path analysis to examine how measures of occupational stressors, coping resources, and negative affectivity (NA) and positive affectivity (PA) interact to predict occupational strain. The Occupational Stress Inventory (Osipow & Spokane, 1987) was used to measure stress, strain, and coping. The Positive and Negative Affectivity Schedule (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) was used for the affectivity variables. The hypothesized model showed NA and PA as background dispositional variables that influenced relations among stress, strain, and coping while still allowing stress and coping to have a direct influence on strain. Goodness of fit indices were acceptable with the model predicting 15% of the variance in stress, 24% of coping, and 70% of strain. Study 2 replicated these findings. Study 3 added a positive outcome variable, job satisfaction (JSI: Brayfield & Rothe, 1951), to the model. The expanded model again fit the data well. A fourth study added a global measure of personality (NEO–FFI: Costa & McCrae, 1991) to the model tested in Study 3. Results indicated that personality measures did not add anything to the prediction of job satisfaction and strain in a model that already included measures of stressors, coping resources, NA, and PA. The series of four studies yielded a reliable structural model that highlights the influence of organizational and dispositional variables on occupational strain and job satisfaction.

The Interactions with Disabled Person's Scale (IDP; Gething, 1991b) is designed to measure attitudes towards people with a disability. Factor analysis of the 20-item scale has identified six relatively stable and correlated factors tapping different aspects of discomfort during contact with people with disabilities (Gething, 1992, 1994). The present study investigated the factor structure of the IDP scale using 2,850 pre-service teachers from six universities in Australia and South Africa. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the six-factor model fitted the data from both the Australian and South African samples. A two-factor solution reported by MacLean and Gannon (1995) was rejected. Further analysis of subscales formed from these factors showed that scores were weakly related to gender, previous contact with people with disabilities, and length of full-time employment prior to commencing study.

Choosing a response format is a problem when designing computerised tests. Programmers often solve this problem by highlighting a response option and allowing the user to select this option or choose another by using the cursor keys. It is possible that such well-meaning attempts to make computers more user-friendly may heighten response style tendencies. The two experiments to be reported in this study were designed to test the effect of cursor positioning in personality and ability tests. In the first experiment, sixty two Participants were randomly assigned to two groups and asked to complete computerised versions of Forms A and B of the Eysenck Personality Inventory. The position of the highlight was manipulated to produce a two-by-two factorial design with repeated measures on one factor. Results showed that there was evidence of a cursor effect but that it was confined to one of the conditions in the design. Experiment two employed the same sort of manipulation in a computerised version of the ACER Word Knowledge Test with another sample of 36 Participants. Here, no evidence was found for any effect of cursor positioning. Overall, it was concluded that the highlighting technique itself is unlikely to have any effect on measures of cognitive ability but that it may have some effect in the more subjective personality testing domain.

The short form of Entwistle's (1981) Approaches to Studying Inventory (ASI‐S) was administered to 503 mature‐aged students, most of whom identified themselves as disadvantaged and were returning to study after many years absence. Analysis of the 503 responses showed that internal consistency estimates for the seven subscales of the ASI‐S were generally low, but that confirmatory factor analysis could recover two major dimensions corresponding to deep and surface orientations to learning. To examine the predictive validity of the ASI‐S with this population, results for a mathematics unit which they were studying were regressed on factor scores. Results of the structural analysis indicated that the deep orientation was unrelated to academic progression in mathematics but that high scores on the surface orientation were associated with poor academic performance ( = 0.092). These findings indicate that broad learning orientations are fundamental and can be identified in a group of students returning ...

Individual differences in cognitive preferences were examined in analyzing the effects of imagery and self-talk training on the psychological skills and performance levels of amateur golfers. Thirty-two men and women participated in a series of four counterbalanced training workshops and activities conducted over 2 months at two golf clubs. A repeated measures MANOVA revealed significant improvement on five psychological and psychomotor skills measured by the Golf Performance Survey: negative emotions and cognitions, mental preparation, automaticity, putting skill, and seeking improvement. Participants’ responses to the Sport Imagery Questionnaire and ratings of their imagery and self-talk techniques increased significantly after training. Players also lowered their handicaps and performed significantly better on a Golf Skills Test after training. Imagery and self-talk training benefits were not linked to participants’ cognitive preferences. The cognitive flexibility displayed by these golfers signals the need for more research on processing preferences and has implications for practitioners working with athletes.

The present study investigated problem-solving behaviour in statistics by documenting differences between successful and unsuccessful students. Two methodological approaches were used. The first, based on studies by Chi, Glaser and Rees (1982), required students to identify key structural features of common problems. The second, based on further work by Chi, Bassok, Lewis, Reimann & Glaser (1989), used verbal protocol procedures to examine the processes employed when ‘Good’ and ‘Poor’ statistics students solve an ANOVA problem. It was expected that findings obtained by these earlier researchers in the domain of Physics would also apply in Statistics. Two groups of students in an undergraduate Psychology course were selected for the study. The first group (N=8) had performed well in a statistics unit, the second group (N=6) had failed that unit. In the first part of the study, no differences were found between groups on the task of identifying key structural features of common problems. In the second part of the study, protocol analyses showed that the ‘Good’ students engaged in more concept-oriented solution behaviour, displayed more monitoring/judging behaviour, and asked more questions about the problem itself. These findings are similar to those obtained in other abstract knowledge domains such as Physics and Mathematics and indicate quite fundamental differences in the way in which competent and incompetent Statisics students solve Statistics problems.

Buttsworth, Fogarty, and Rorke (1993) reported the construction of a battery of tonal tests designed to assess intonation abilities. A subset of the tests in the battery predicted 36% of final scores in an aural training subject in a tertiary music course. In the current study, the original battery of fourteen tests was reduced to six tests and administered three times throughout the academic year to a new sample (N = 87) of tertiary music students. Three research questions were investigated. Firstly, it was hypothesised that tests in the battery would discriminate among the different aural classes at the University of Southern Queensland, which were grouped according to ability level. The results from discriminant function analyses provided strong support for this hypothesis. Secondly, it was hypothesised that students should improve their performance on the pitch battery across the three administrations. A repeated measures analysis of variance failed to find evidence of overall improvement. Finally, it was hypothesised that there would be significant differences on the intonation tests between musicians of different instrumental families. Again, no overall differences were found. The results indicated that intonation tests appear to tap an ability that (a) is not significantly modified by training, (h) is more or less the same across different instrument families, and (c) is related to success in music training programmes.

This study examined the relation among nine measures of Holland′s concept of congruence and the relation of these measures and occupational stress. Holland′s Self-Directed Search (Holland, 1985b) and the Occupational Stress Inventory (Osipow & Spokane, 1987) were administered to 154 fully employed adults. Two correlated factors accounted for the pattern of correlations among the congruence measures. The first factor was defined by measures which made use of the hexagonal arrangement of types and the second was based simply on discrepancies between the letters representing the person′s type and the job environment. A number of markers for the second factor were related to stress and strain. Iachan′s M index (Iachan, 1984, 1990) was the best predictor, accounting for 7% of variance on total stress scores and 9% of variance on total strain scores. It is suggested that the relation between congruence and stress, like the relation between congruence and job satisfaction (Spokane, 1985), is significant but rather small and dependent on the measure of congruence used.

The Subjective Stress Scale (SSS) was developed by Bramston and Bostock (1994) to provide a sensitive measure of stress for people with intellectual disabilities. This study examined the underlying structure of the SSS by analysing responses of 221 intellectually disabled people to the questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis of the interitem correlation matrix yielded at least three solutions that were quite interpretable: a one-factor, a two-factor, and a four-factor solution. Factors in all three solutions bore a strong resemblance to stress dimensions reported for the general population using other stress measures. The results suggest that although the actual stressors vary, persons with mild intellectual disability are affected by the same major stress dimensions as the general population. The results also suggest that the SSS can be used as a much needed measure of subjective stress levels in people with mild intellectual disabilities.

Background: Parents consult with schools on how to help their children succeed, but schools rarely consult with parents, even though most parents have considerable expertise concerning their children's thoughts, feelings, and abilities. Aims: This study compares the prediction of academic achievement from self- and parent-ratings of feelings towards school (both positive and negative), life satisfaction, and the conscientiousness facet of industriousness for 357 adolescents. Sample: The student sample consisted of 383 participants (194 boys) mostly aged between 12 and 14. The parent sample consisted of 374 participants, 83% of whom were mothers. Method: Self-report and other-report scales measuring the above-mentioned constructs were administered to students and parents. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test hypotheses concerning the incremental validity of parent-ratings. Results: Self-ratings explained 28.6% of the variance in grade point average (GPA) with parent-ratings explaining an additional 12.1%. The incremental effect was strongest for industriousness. Conclusion: These results suggest that parent-reports are often more accurate than adolescent self-reports, but that both methods of assessment make unique contributions to the explanation of variance in school grades. Parental understanding constitutes a relatively untapped reservoir of knowledge available to teachers, school counsellors and administrators, education policy makers, and beyond. It makes sense to ask parents about their children when assessing those individual differences that contribute to better educational outcomes.

Selection of students for entry to tertiary music training programmes is a difficult task traditionally undertaken by painstaking individual auditions, perhaps under highly variable local conditions as the selection team moves from region to region. A number of musical aptitude batteries have been developed but do not appear to have been widely embraced largely because of poor predictive validity. In the present study, a battery of tests designed to assess aural skills, an important component of musical training, was developed by a team of psychologists and musicians at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). The battery consisted mostly of tests of pitch discrimination and intonation. All students (N = 91) currently enrolled in the Music Programme at USQ completed the musical tests. A regression model was then constructed using test scores as independent variables and students' end of semester aural training performance scores as the dependent variable. The resulting model accounted for 36% of the variance in scores on final exam results, a result well beyond chance expectations. Further testing with a revised version of the battery is under way.

[Abstract]: Of all the areas of Psychology, intelligence is probably the most controversial. At the same time, it is also one of the oldest areas of the discipline, dating back to the 1880's with the work of Francis Galton on individual differences in sensory functioning. It is impossible to capture in a single chapter the immense body of theorising and research that has been devoted to the topic of intelligence. The aims of this chapter are considerably more modest: a) to give a brief historical overview of the area; b) to show how developments in the field are tied to the methodologies used to study intelligence; c) to describe current approaches to intelligence; and d) to introduce the reader to some of the main controversies in the area. This chapter will trace the developments of the construct, from Spearman's (1904) early conceptions of intelligence as mental energy to the much broader conceptions of modern day theorists. The chapter will also deal with the wider social context and the implications of our understanding of intelligence for society in general. As will be seen, it is not an easy construct to understand but it cannot be ignored because, along with personality, it is one of the most fundamental aspects of the human psyche.

[Abstract]: The main aim of this chapter is to introduce the reader to the concept of testing and to the principles that underpin the practice of educational and psychological testing. The first part of this chapter is devoted to that aim. A second aim of the chapter is to examine applications of testing under the headings of educational, industrial, and clinical. Examples will be introduced from the author's own work to illustrate various applications. A final aim is to discuss some of the issues and controversies that surround the theory and practice of testing. By the end of the chapter, the reader should have an understanding of the techniques used in test validation and should be familiar with some of the main applications of educational and psychological tests.

Rehearsal speed has traditionally been seen to be the prime determinant of individual differences in memory span. Recent studies, in the main using young children as the participant population, have suggested other contributors to span performance. In the present research, we used structural equation modeling to explore, at the construct level, individual differences in immediate serial recall with respect to rehearsal, search, phonological coding, and speed of access to lexical memory. We replicated standard short-term phenomena; we showed that the variables that influence children’s span performance influence adult performance in the same way; and we showed that speed of access to lexical memory and facility with phonological codes appear to be more potent sources of individual differences in immediate memory than is either rehearsal speed or search factors.

Introduction: One dimension of self-identity that has received much attention in the psychological literature is athletic identity. The large amount of interest in this concept is unsurprising due to the rising level of professionalism in sport over the past two decades, especially in Australia. The Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS) is a popular tool used to assess this construct, comprising ten statements encompassing the strength and exclusivity of identification with the athletic role. The current study aimed to assess differences in levels of athletic identity among elite Australian athletes as a result of gender, age, and career status. Method: Principal axis factoring extracted three interpretable factors from the AIMS responses of 426 elite athletes (251 females) on sporting scholarships linked with the Australian Institute of Sport. These factors were identified as social identity, the degree to which individuals perceive themselves as occupying the athletic role, exclusivity, the degree to which individuals’ self-worth relies on the athletic role, and negative affectivity, the degree to which individuals react negatively when unable to participate in sport. These factors were consistent with those labelled by past research. Results/Discussion: Group differences were found in relation to gender, age, and career status. Significant differences were found with male athletes showing higher levels on the total AIMS than females, but not on negative affectivity. Older athletes showed decreased levels of athletic identity compared to younger athletes, and retired athletes showed low levels of exclusivity. Implications of these findings addressing the needs of elite athletes will be discussed. [Presented at the asics Conference of science and medicine in sport 2008]

The aim of this study was to develop a discomfort questionnaire to elicit the feelings and thoughts of people engaged in running activities. Ten runners who completed a particularly demanding 9-km run were asked to express their feelings and thoughts during the run they had just completed. These responses were recorded and later used as the first pool of items (k = 36). The questionnaire was then given to 171 runners in different distance races throughout the 1995 competitive season. These responses were analysed using exploratory factor analytic techniques and Rasch probabilistic analysis, as well as traditional reliability and validity procedures. The final version of the questionnaire consisted of 32 items divided into eight correlated subscales: proprioceptive symptoms, leg symptoms, respiratory difficulties, disorientation, dryness and heat, task completion thoughts, mental toughness, and head or stomach symptoms. These eight categories can be collapsed into three global categories suggested by researchers of pain: sensory-discriminative, motivational-affective and cognitive-evaluative. Rasch analysis suggested that the motivational-affective and cognitive-evaluative dimensions (i.e. the psychological) are the most experienced (i.e. rated highest). The eight subscales have ecological validity and were found to alter with the demands of different running distances.

There is a widespread belief that work related stress among teachers is serious, with implications for teachers' health status and performance. The difficulty with interpreting data on teacher stress is that the measuring instruments used are often neither standardised nor sometimes focused on stressors pertinent to the occupational roles of teachers. This study, therefore, uses a recently developed test instrument called the Occupational Stress Inventory (OSI) which concisely measures occupational stress, strain and coping resources. Data were obtained, using the OSI, from a group of vocational teachers and compared to a group of professional non-teachers. Overall the results showed a significantly higher level of teacher stress, although only one of 10 stress and strain measures contributed to this effect. The implications for teachers, in terms of occupational role, are discussed.

Introduction: Retirement from elite sport marks a time of re-evaluation for athletes in many areas of life. Much research to date has indicated that this transition can have a marked impact upon an individual both socially and psychologically, while other studies have found no correlation between retirement difficulties and overall life satisfaction. One topic that has attracted much attention in the career transition literature is that of athletic identity. Athletic identity refers to the extent to which individuals identify with an athletic role. Research findings in this area indicate that athletes who possess a strong and exclusive level of athletic identity take longer to adapt to their post-sport life, and are more prone to experiencing psychosocial and career identity difficulties later in life. The current study aimed to track and compare the athletic identity levels, life satisfaction and career decision-making difficulties reported by Australian elite athletes over a three year period.Method: The participants in the study were 64 athletes (45 females) on sporting scholarships linked with the Australian Institute of Sport, a group for whom the term “athletic identity” has strong relevance. Participants were surveyed using the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), Life Satisfaction Scale (LSS) and the Career Decision Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ) in 2003 and again in 2006. The entire initial cohort was able to be followed up in 2006. Of this original group, 30 participants had retired from elite sport at follow-up.Results/discussion: Non-parametric tests were used to investigate differences in athletic identity, life satisfaction and career decision-making difficulties overtime within and between the continuing athlete and retired athlete groups. Overall, the retired athletes’ levels of athletic identity were found to decrease significantly over the three years, whereas the continuing athletes were found to maintain the same level of athletic identity. Implications of these and other findings, related to levels of life satisfaction and career indecision, will be discussed in relation to the experience of the transition to retirement from elite sport.

The concept of a timesharing ability has been the subject of considerable interest in recent times. The present study set out to determine whether a timesharing factor can be identified when a number of competing tasks are presented in the midst of a range of single tests designed to sample a broad range of psychological dimensions. Evidence for the existence of such a factor would form an important addition to our knowledge of humann cognitive functioning. The framework for the study was provided by the theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence. A battery of single and competing tasks was presented to 126 subjects. The competing tasks represented a variety of within- and across-factor combinations from different levels of the (Gf/Gc) hierarchy. Modality of presentation was also varied in some combinations. On the basis of evidence presented in this study, it would be premature to seek to include a timesharing factor in the (Gf/Gc) model of intelligence.

It has been suggested that situations requiring the division of attention between competing activities can tap abilities which are central to cognitive functioning. This paper attempted to determine whether there are identifiable characteristics in the single tests that will help to predict changes in general factor loading when they are presented as components of competing tasks. The framework for the study was provided by the theory of fluid (Gf) and crystallized (Gc) intelligence. A battery of single and competing tasks was presented to 126 subjects. The competing tasks represented a variety of within and across factor combinations from different levels of the Gf/Gc hierarchy. Modality of presentation was also varied in some combinations. The results indicate that single and competing tasks measure the same broad ability of the Gf/Gc theory and that general factor loadings can decrease as well as increase in the competing task situation. There is also evidence that these tendencies depend, to some extent, on the degree to which the tasks require the same cognitive factors or use the same sensory modalities. Overall, it is assumed that competing tasks do make greater demands on general ability but that, unless the requirements of the single tests themselves are relatively small, performance breakdown, with an accompanying decrease in general factors loadings, is the likely outcome.

Companies used widely differing techniques to identify and promote individuals with managerial talent. The present study examined the predictive power of a new psychometric instrument as an indicator of managerial ability in an Australian business setting. The new test, a complex activity which requires the performance of two tasks presented simultaneously, measures the individual's capacity to deal with situations involving stress and high information load. The results obtained with 27 company employees indicate that competing tasks significantly improve the predictive power of the selection process. We recommend their use in this context.