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A coach's nonverbal communication (NC) plays a central role in the construction of the coach–athlete relationship. Moreover, perceived NC and its effect on communication ability and coaching evaluation may differ according to the athletes' demographics. This study explored the impact of perceived NC on coaching evaluation and overall communication among different genders and age groups. The study recruited 233 athletes from five high schools and seven university teams in Japan. The coaches' NC, communication ability, and coaching evaluations were assessed. Negative and positive NC directly influenced coaching evaluation in female athletes. Specifically, negative NC directly impacted coaching evaluation in high school athletes, whereas positive NC directly influenced coaching evaluation in university athletes. Positive NC consistently influenced communication ability regardless of demographics. The findings promote talent development and team management in the coaching context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online experimental methods are used in psychological studies investigating the perceptions and impressions of facial photographs, even without substantial evidence supporting their reliability and validity. Although, the quality of visual stimuli is more difficult to control remotely, the methods might allow us to obtain a large amount of data. Then the statistical analysis of a larger volume of data may reduce errors and suggest significant difference in the stimuli. Therefore, we analyzed the reliability and validity of online surveys in investigating the perceptions (shine, red, and dark) and impressions (attractiveness, trustworthy, and so on) of facial photographs created from averaged faces with skin tones modified using computer graphics (CG). In this study, we conducted online (Online1) and laboratory experiments with well-controlled conditions (Control). For each experiment, 50 participants (men and women in Japan, age: 20–59years) completed the same questionnaire regarding their impressions of the same 28 CG facial photographs. The results showed significant correlations between the two experiments for all 19 items in the questionnaire. SD in the Online1 compared to the Control from the stimuli and individual differences were 56–84 and 88–104% in each questionnaire items, respectively. Moreover, the rates of mismatching perceptual evaluations to the corresponding physical features demonstrated in the photographs were 4.9–9.7% on average in an additional online survey of another 2,000 participants (Online2). These results suggest that online surveys can be applied to experiments to investigate impressions from CG facial photographs instead of general laboratory experiment by obtaining an appropriate number of participants to offset larger statistical errors that may result from the increased noise in the data from conducting the experiment online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Japan, psychiatrists have noted two different types of depression, traditional/melancholic depression and ‘modern-type’ depression (MTD). Although both the modern and the traditional types of depression overlap in regard to symptoms, these are two distinct syndromes, which can lead to confusion for Japanese people. Aims: This study aims to examine impressions of two types of depression using vignettes and clarify the differences in perceptions of the two types. Methods: The participants, 206 Japanese undergraduates, were presented with two vignettes, one describing a patient with traditional-type depression and the other describing a patient with MTD, and then were asked to answer questions regarding their perceptions of the patient. In order to control covariates (i.e. perceived severity and dysfunction of depression), analyses of covariance with repeated measures were administered. Results: People generally had more negative perceptions of the patient with MTD. For example, when the protagonist was the patient with MTD, people were more likely to avoid and less motivated to support the patient. Large differences were also found in causal attribution to internal and controllable causes. Conclusion: Negative impressions of the patient with MTD may be partly explained by causal attribution to internal and controllable factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]