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Background: There is evidence that prisoners have the highest rate of problem gambling in any population, but little is known about the nature of in-prison gambling, the motives for it or how it relates to prior gambling behaviour. Aims: To investigate the prevalence and type of gambling prior to prison and the prevalence, type, and reasons for gambling in prison. Methods: Two hundred and eighty-two male volunteers in a Category B male prison in England completed a questionnaire which included the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI). Results: One hundred and twenty-six (45%) reported gambling in prison, with eighty-one (30%) of participants reporting that gambling was a normal part of prison life. Pre-prison behaviour, whether type of index offence or prior gambling, had little relationship to in-prison gambling. Frequency of gambling in prison increased with increasing PGSI risk category. The most common types of gambling in prison were card/dice games, sports and ball games, while the most common motives were entertainment, excitement or sense of challenge and to win prizes, with significant differences in motive between PGSI risk categories. Prison canteen items formed the most common currency gambled. People within the higher PGSI risk category were more likely to have borrowed items from other prisoners. Conclusions: Our research has added to existing literature by identifying high rates of gambling in prison and showing that prisoners' perceptions of gambling are as a normal part of prison life. Findings suggest that screening and support should be available to manage gambling in prison, including support to reduce gambling-related debt, particularly given associations between debt and violence in prison. Relief from boredom and need for excitement were among the most common reasons for gambling in prison, indicating that there is a need to provide a more appropriately stimulating prison environment.

There is evidence that engagement with tangible heritage is linked to improvements in well‐being. However, experimental tests of this association, as well as theoretical accounts explaining this relationship, are lacking. The present study aims to compensate for this gap by developing a theoretical framework based on the social identity approach that explains the effect of community‐based heritage engagement on well‐being, and testing this effect in a quasi‐experimental field study in the context of community test pit archeological excavations. In line with the predictions, the results demonstrate that excavation participants (but not participants in the control condition) report improvements on a number of psychological outcomes after (as compared to before) participation in a 2‐day excavation program (including well‐being, self‐efficacy, and perceived community support). The findings offer implications for community‐based approaches to enhancing well‐being, as well as the practice of conducting community‐based archaeological excavations.

This study examined whether the phenomenology (vividness, absorption, sexual arousal) and plausibility of sexual fantasies are associated with behavioural motivation and enactment. An online sample (N = 254) completed a working memory capacity (WMC) questionnaire. They then envisioned an unenacted sexual fantasy and rated its phenomenological characteristics and their motivation to enact it. Next, a questionnaire measuring deliberate sexual fantasising, spontaneous sexual thoughts, behavioural enactment, and content plausibility was completed. Phenomenological characteristics were unrelated to WMC, but positively associated with motivation. Deliberate fantasising was associated with behavioural enactment for both non-paraphilic and paraphilic content. Spontaneous thoughts were associated with the plausibility of non-paraphilic and paraphilic content, while deliberate fantasising was only associated with plausible non-paraphilic content. Plausibility mediated the relationship between sexual thinking and behaviour for both types of content. The results suggest that the phenomenology and plausibility of sexual fantasises are important factors for understanding the sexual fantasy-behaviour link.

This study examined whether the attitudinal responses toward child sexual abuse (CSA) differ due to the person’s relationship with the victim (intrafamilial vs. extrafamilial) and/or proximity to the victim (close vs. distant). An online sample of 292 participants completed a measure assessing pre-existing attitudes toward people who commit sexual offenses, before being randomly presented with a vignette describing a CSA case committed by a biological father, biological uncle, babysitter, stranger, or stepfather. Participants then rated the perpetrator’s level of dangerousness and pedophilic interest, their own feelings of disgust, and their punitive judgments. Controlling for pre-existing attitudes, the extrafamilial cases (stranger and babysitter) were perceived to be more dangerous (large effects; ds > .50) and more pedophilic than the stepfather (large effects; ds > .60). Also, participants reported greater levels of disgust toward the stranger than both the babysitter and uncle (medium effects ; ds > .30). The findings demonstrate the need to account for the established heterogeneity of men who commit CSA when studying the public’s attitudinal responses. Methodological limitations and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Cognitive distortions play a key role in offending but have not been researched in relation to burglary. Using the literature on offence-related cognition as a guide (which is primarily focused on sexual offending), the present two studies aimed to develop and validate the Burglary Cognitive Distortions Scale (BCDS). Drawing upon the burglary literature, an initial pool of 36-items was produced. Two online studies using community-based participants were then conducted. Each study involved administering the BCDS, along with measures of burglary proclivity, general criminal beliefs, empathy, and human needs. In Study 1 (N1 = 306), an exploratory factor analysis of the BCDS produced two factors: (1) Acquisitive Entitlement, and (2) Survive by any Means. In Study 2 (N2 = 266), confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the two-factor structure and helped refine the item pool. In each study, the 24-item CFA version of the BCDS was found to be associated with general criminal beliefs and burglary proclivity. Factor 1 of the BCDS, as well as general criminal beliefs, independently predicted proclivity scores. Future research should now aim to validate the BCDS using a sample of people who have committed burglary, as it holds promise for use in forensic settings and research.

Professional philosophy has received increased attention as a topic of research and applied interest. A professional philosophy is believed to develop during the early years of consulting and evolve as a function of experience, advanced education and training, reflective practice, and supervision. To systematically investigate this proposed transition, this study sought to analyze novice and expert mental performance consultants’ (MPCs) professional philosophies using Poczwardowski et al. 's (2004) hierarchical structure of professional philosophy as a guiding framework. Additionally, this study aimed to explore perceptions of how a professional philosophy might improve consultant effectiveness. Eighteen participants (9 novice MPCs, 9 expert MPCs) were interviewed about the various components of their professional philosophy. Findings revealed key similarities and differences between the types of philosophies which novice and expert MPCs adopted in their practice. Novice and expert consultants exuded their values in the relationships with their clients, however, experts modeled their values through their behaviors. While both groups used their chosen theoretical paradigm to guide their work with clients, expert MPCs specifically mentioned using this to aid their case conceptualization. Benefits of understanding one’s unique philosophy to providing sport psychology services were also highlighted by both groups. Findings help to further highlight the importance of developing a consulting philosophy as a novice consultant. Furthermore, understanding one’s philosophical approach to practice could be important for ensuring seasoned consultants are providing effective services to clients.

Background and aims: New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) have affected prison populations, threatening the safety of prisoners and staff. We investigated the prevalence of substance use within a prison in the United Kingdom, focusing on NPS and its links with violence and impulsivity. Method: Cross-sectional questionnaire of 158 male category C prisoners with a mean age of 34.82 years (SD = 8.78). During their current sentence, 23% reported NPS use (NPS), 11% “traditional substances” (TD), 23% both, and 43% no substance use (ND). Lifetime use was reported as 62% NPS, 20% TD, and 18% ND. Findings: More participants used NPS exclusively than participants using TD exclusively, although the definition of NPS is problematic. The odds of violence against other prisoners, staff, and property were higher for NPS users and they were more likely to be impulsive compared to other groups. However, there was no significant interaction between NPS use and impulsivity in participation in violent acts. Conclusion: NPS use is a complex term and is prevalent in the prison, impacting on levels of violence and influenced by impulsivity. The findings emphasise the need for tailored treatment and prevention initiatives for NPS users.

Children's spatial cognition abilities are a vital part of their learning and cognitive development, and important for their problem-solving capabilities, the development of mathematical skills and progress in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) topics. As many children have difficulties with STEM topic areas, and as these topics have suffered a decline in uptake in students, it is worthwhile to find out how learning and performance can be enhanced at an early age. The current study is the first to investigate if dog-assisted and relaxation interventions can improve spatial abilities in school children. It makes a novel contribution to empirical research by measuring longitudinally if an Animal-Assisted Intervention (AAI) or relaxation intervention can boost children's development of spatial abilities. Randomized controlled trials were employed over time including dog intervention, relaxation intervention and no treatment control groups. Interventions were carried out over 4 weeks, twice a week for 20 min. Children were tested in mainstream schools (N = 105) and in special educational needs (SEN) schools (N = 64) before and after interventions, after 6 weeks, 6 months and 1 year. To assess intervention type and to provide advice for subsequent best practice recommendations, dog-assisted interventions were run as individual or small group interventions. Overall, children's spatial abilities improved over the year with highest increases in the first 4 months. In Study 1, typically developing children showed higher scores and more continuous learning overall compared to children with special educational needs. Children in the dog intervention group showed higher spatial ability scores immediately after interventions and after a further 6 weeks (short-term). Children in the relaxation group also showed improved scores short-term after relaxation intervention. In contrast, the no treatment control group did not improve significantly. No long-term effects were observed. Interestingly, no gender differences could be observed in mainstream school children's spatial skills. In study 2, children in SEN schools saw immediate improvements in spatial abilities after relaxation intervention sessions. No changes were seen after dog interventions or in the no treatment control group. Participants' pet ownership status did not have an effect in either cohort. These are the first findings showing that AAI and relaxation interventions benefit children's spatial abilities in varied educational settings. This research represents an original contribution to Developmental Psychology and to the field of Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) and is an important step towards further in-depth investigation of how AAI and relaxation interventions can help children achieve their learning potential, both in mainstream schools and in schools for SEN.

Prolonged or excessive stress negatively affects learning, behavior and health across the lifespan. To alleviate adverse effects of stress in school children, stressors should be reduced, and support and effective interventions provided. Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) have shown beneficial effects on health and wellbeing, however, robust knowledge on stress mediation in children is lacking. Despite this, AAIs are increasingly employed in settings world-wide, including schools, to reduce stress and support learning and wellbeing. This study is the first randomized controlled trial to investigate dog-assisted interventions as a mediator of stress in school children with and without special educational needs (SEN) over the school term. Interventions were carried out individually and in small groups twice a week for 20 minutes over the course of 4 weeks. We compared physiological changes in salivary cortisol in a dog intervention group with a relaxation intervention group and a no treatment control group. We compared cortisol level means before and after the 4 weeks of interventions in all children as well as acute cortisol in mainstream school children. Dog interventions lead to significantly lower stress in children with and without special educational needs compared to their peers in relaxation or no treatment control groups. In neurotypical children, those in the dog interventions showed no baseline stress level increases over the school term. In addition, acute cortisol levels evidenced significant stress reduction following the interventions. In contrast, the no treatment control group showed significant rises in baseline cortisol levels from beginning to end of school term. Increases also occurred in the relaxation intervention group. Children with SEN showed significantly decreased cortisol levels after dog group interventions. No changes occurred in the relaxation or no treatment control groups. These findings provide crucial evidence that dog interventions can successfully attenuate stress levels in school children with important implications for AAI implementation, learning and wellbeing.

Recent advances in software and hardware have allowed eye tracking to move away from static images to more ecologically relevant video streams. The analysis of eye tracking data for such dynamic stimuli, however, is not without challenges. The frame-by-frame coding of regions of interest (ROIs) is labour-intensive and computer vision techniques to automatically code such ROIs are not yet mainstream, restricting the use of such stimuli. Combined with the more general problem of defining relevant ROIs for video frames, methods are needed that facilitate data analysis. Here, we present a first evaluation of an easy-to-implement data-driven method with the potential to address these issues. To test the new method, we examined the differences in eye movements of self-reported politically left- or right-wing leaning participants to video clips of left- and right-wing politicians. The results show that our method can accurately predict group membership on the basis of eye movement patterns, isolate video clips that best distinguish people on the political left–right spectrum, and reveal the section of each video clip with the largest group differences. Our methodology thereby aids the understanding of group differences in gaze behaviour, and the identification of critical stimuli for follow-up studies or for use in saccade diagnosis.

Ironic enjoyment occurs when people enjoy music despite or because of it being evaluated as bad. Although initial qualitative results suggest that this phenomenon fulfills a variety of self-regulatory functions that are also found in enjoyed music, to date no research has experimentally tested how important these functions are in ironically enjoyed music, in comparison to naturally enjoyed music. In two between-subjects experiments, participants ( N = 216 and N = 143) were instructed to think back to a recent occasion in which they listened to a piece of music which they either enjoyed ironically or enjoyed naturally. They then answered questions on the effects this had on them (Studies 1 and 2) and on the subjective qualities of the music (Study 2). The results suggested that ironically enjoyed music had less effect on personal identification and on managing positive or negative moods and was also appreciated less and judged as less novel than naturally enjoyed music. Differences in mood-management functions were associated with lower levels of subjective qualities of ironically enjoyed music, especially appreciation. Novelty was especially related to positive mood enhancement for ironically enjoyed music. Participants mentioned humor as an additional function of ironically enjoyed music listening.

Deciding whether two different face photographs or voice samples are from the same person represent fundamental challenges within applied settings. To date, most research has focussed on average performance in these tests, failing to consider individual differences and within‐person consistency in responses. Here, participants completed the same face (Experiment 1) or voice matching test (Experiment 2) on two separate occasions, allowing comparison of overall accuracy across the two timepoints as well as consistency in trial‐level responses. In both experiments, participants were highly consistent in their performances. In addition, we demonstrated a large association between consistency and accuracy, with the most accurate participants also tending to be the most consistent. This is an important result for applied settings in which organisational groups of super‐matchers are deployed in real‐world contexts. Being able to reliably identify these high performers based upon only a single test informs regarding recruitment for law enforcement agencies worldwide.

Accurate self-assessment of body shape and size plays a key role in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of both obesity and eating disorders like anorexia nervosa. These chronic conditions cause significant health problems, reduced quality of life, and represent a major problem for health services worldwide. Variation in body shape depends on two aspects of body composition: adiposity and muscularity. However, most self-assessment tools are unidimensional. They depict variation in adiposity only, typically quantified by the body mass index (BMI). This limitation can lead to substantial, and clinically meaningful, errors in estimates of body shape and size. To solve this problem, we detail here a method of creating biometrically valid body stimuli. We obtained high-resolution 3D body shape scans and body composition measures from 397 volunteers (aged 18-45 years) and produced a statistical mapping between the two. This allowed us to create 3D computer-generated models of bodies, correctly calibrated for body composition (i.e., muscularity and adiposity). We show how these stimuli, whose shape changes are based on change in composition in two dimensions, can be used to match the body size and shape participants believe themselves to have, to the stimulus they see. We also show how multivariate multiple regression can be used to model shape change predicted by these two-dimensional outcomes, so that participants’ choices can be explained by their measured body composition together with other psychometric variables. Together, this approach should substantially improve the accuracy and precision with which self-assessments of body size and shape can be made in obese individuals and those suffering from eating disorders.

Somnophilia is an under-researched paraphilia. Consequently, there are discrepancies in its definition and conceptual understanding. Also, literature regarding the sexual interest in being asleep during sexual activity (dormaphilia) is even more limited. As such, there is a need to understand these paraphilias more deeply. This study recruited 232 participants online to discuss the content, origin, sexual appeal, emotional appraisal, and behavioural enactment of their somnophilic and dormaphilic interests and fantasies. A Thematic Analysis led to the identification of four main themes: (1) Relevance of Sleep State; (2) Roles within Sleep Sex; (3) Enactment of Sleep Paraphilia and (4) Lack of Consent and Awareness. These four themes spanned across both those reporting somnophilic and dormaphilic fantasies. The Discussion explores the multi-faceted nature of the interests, and implications for the understanding of somnophilia and dormaphilia. This study provides the first qualitative exploration of sleep-related paraphilias, opening avenues for future research and practice.

Performance profiling is a theory-driven, client-led assessment method utilized by sport psychology professionals to help uncover important physical, psychological, technical, and tactical factors associated with a client's sport. This holistic technique has been shown to influence a number of psychological constructs important to performance, such as self-awareness and intrinsic motivation. Different variations of the performance profile are available for professionals to use in practice. The aims of this paper are to overview performance profiling and its underpinning theory, provide sport psychology professionals with applied guidelines to implement each version, and discuss practitioner experiences when using different variations of the tool.

Even though pedophilia is not synonymous with child sexual abuse, it remains a highly stigmatized phenomenon. As such, non-offending pedophilic individuals are judged as being dangerous, abnormal, amoral, and in need of punishment. It is unknown, however, whether a pedophilic individual would be judged more harshly than a heterosexual individual and a homosexual individual in relation to a nonsexual, nonviolent offense. This was the aim of the present study. A final sample of 309 participants were recruited online and allocated to one of three sexual orientation conditions. Participants read the same hypothetical crime report (breaking and entering) followed by a suspect profile that was identical across conditions except for sexual orientation. They then provided sentencing and moral character judgements of the suspect. Participants also completed a punitive attitudes scale pertaining to pedophilia. Results showed that the pedophilic individual received harsher judgments relative to the opposite-attracted individual, but only at higher levels of pre-existing punitive attitudes. These findings suggest that anti-pedophilia stigma can bias judgments about offenses that are not sexual. We argue that this is due to a ‘reverse halo effect’. However, we consider an alternative explanation based on the idea of interpreting information in a schema-consistent manner. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Investigations of face identification have typically focussed on matching faces to photographic IDs. Few researchers have considered the task of searching for a face in a crowd. In Experiment 1, we created the Chokepoint Search Test to simulate real‐time search for a target. Performance on this test was poor (39% accuracy) and showed moderate associations with tests of face matching and memory. In addition, trial‐level confidence predicted accuracy, and for those participants who were previously familiar with one or more targets, higher familiarity was associated with increased accuracy. In Experiment 2, we found improvements in performance on the test when three recent images of the target, but not three social media images, were displayed during searches. Taken together, our results highlight the difficulties inherent in real‐time searching for faces, with important implications for those security personnel who carry out this task on a daily basis.

Practicing sports, as well as physical activity in general, contributes to a healthy lifestyle, helps to prevent numerous chronic diseases, and plays a therapeutic role in addressing a number of cognitive and psychological disorders (such as depression, distorted body image and self-perception, low self-esteem). As regards students, freshmen with higher physical capabilities can better adapt to new college environment, which in turn influences their well-being, psychological state and ability to study. The aim of our study was to detect the level of emotional burnout and individual psychological characteristics of the university students, engaged in amateur sports. It was shown that the group of amateur sportsmen demonstrated higher level of arousal and mobility of neural processes, and lower level of neuroticism, lower level of neurotization, anxiety, psychic tension and depression. This allows us to conclude that the type of nervous system may define the disposition towards the physical activity, and the strength of nervous system determines the ability to achieve success in sports. Our data indicate that practicing sports prevents development of burnout, reduces the negative impact of daily emotional stress, and provides a socially acceptable way to express aggression. Keywords: amateur sportsmen, typological and personality traits, burnout

Automatic facial recognition technology (AFR) is increasingly used in criminal justice systems around the world, yet to date there has not been an international survey of public attitudes toward its use. In Study 1, we ran focus groups in the UK, Australia and China (countries at different stages of adopting AFR) and in Study 2 we collected data from over 3,000 participants in the UK, Australia and the USA using a questionnaire investigating attitudes towards AFR use in criminal justice systems. Our results showed that although overall participants were aligned in their attitudes and reasoning behind them, there were some key differences across countries. People in the USA were more accepting of tracking citizens, more accepting of private companies’ use of AFR, and less trusting of the police using AFR than people in the UK and Australia. Our results showed that support for the use of AFR depends greatly on what the technology is used for and who it is used by. We recommend vendors and users do more to explain AFR use, including details around accuracy and data protection. We also recommend that governments should set legal boundaries around the use of AFR in investigative and criminal justice settings.

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link. Emotions play an important role in overeating, yet there is little research looking at practical strategies to reduce overeating in response to a negative mood. In three different experimental studies, we tested if exposure to music can reduce food consumption in a negative mood. Female undergraduates (N = 120-121 in each study) completed a measure of emotional eating and reported baseline hunger. Mood ratings were taken at baseline, post-mood induction and post-eating. All participants were given a mood induction (sadness for study 1, stress for studies 2 and 3) and allocated to one of three music conditions (self-chosen in study 3) or a silent (control) condition. Music was selected from three pieces reported by each participant as being listened to regularly when experiencing the negative mood being examined (sadness or stress) in order to provide solace (comforting music), diversion (distracting positive music), or discharge (angry and/or sad music). Participants were provided with several snack foods to consume whilst completing a mock taste test and intake (in grams) was compared between conditions. In study 1 participants in the music for discharge condition consumed less than those in the control condition. Moreover, participants with high levels of self-reported EE ate more crisps in the control than in the distraction condition. In study 2 participants in the solace condition consumed less than those in the control and discharge conditions. In study 3 most participants chose music for diversion; this did not, however, lead to lower consumption, despite a reduction in reported stress. Overall, the results of these studies indicate that listening to certain types of music might reduce emotion-related eating after controlling for hunger using a standardized pre-session snack.

Although deviant sexual fantasizing has been found to be an etiological factor for sexual offending, not all deviant sexual fantasies increase risk equally. The aim of the present overview is to provide readers with an introduction to key terminology, a primer on central clinical theories, and a summary of the research literature on “high risk” sexual fantasies over the past 50 years. First, the important difference between “sexual fantasy” and “sexual fantasizing” is described. Second, the link between sexual fantasizing and sexual offending is discussed, with a focus on principle moderators such as physiological reaction, personality profile, and offense-supportive beliefs. Third, the different methods used to assess sexual fantasies are discussed. Fourth, the principles and techniques behind four evidence-based approaches to treating “high risk” sexual fantasies are discussed: (1) the behavioral approach, (2) the cognitive approach, (3) the imagination approach, and (4) the mindfulness-based approach. Finally, a call is issued for practice-based quantitative and qualitative research to further explore this clinical phenomenon. The findings of such investigations would advance the field’s understanding of assessment, management, and monitoring best practices for this important forensic population.

To resolve the hard problem of consciousness, we propose a systems-level theory of syner- gistic processes to account for sentience, consciousness, and mind. Subjectivity arises from interactive network processes within and between nature’s entangled, relational, and iter- ative elements. Searches for the physical cause or locus of consciousness and subjectivity are misguided given that consciousness emerges from processes with no single source. To account for the evolution and phenomenology of mind, our synergistic network account of consciousness (SNAC) dispenses with mind–body dualism, it weakens boundaries between the material and the non-material, between the internal and the external, and emphasises synergistic processes and functionalities over outcome. The theory challenges psychology to abandon its cause–effect categorisations and implied mind–body dualism in favour of functional systems-level analyses to better account for relational processes and functions which unfold synergistically within and sustain nature’s complex networks of entangled elements.

The use of music for discharge (for releasing anger or sadness through music that expresses these same emotions) is a commonly used strategy for people who engage in emotional eating (EE; eating to cope with stress). It is unknown, however, if this is a good alternative to EE. Emotional and avoidance coping strategies have been found in past research to relate to worse mental health, but are also likely associated with both EE and discharge when coping with stress. Therefore, it was predicted that the links between stress and EE, stress and the usage of music for discharging emotion, and EE and using music for discharge, would be at least partially mediated by these coping styles. The results of self-reported, cross-sectional, data from 570 adults indicated that the relationship between EE and the usage of music for discharge was fully mediated by higher levels of emotion-oriented coping. The relationships between stress and EE and between stress and music for discharge was partially mediated by emotion-oriented coping. None of these relationships were explained by avoidance coping, however. This suggests that using music for discharge and EE share a common relationship with using emotions to cope. Potential implications for reducing EE and future research directions are discussed.

Recent research suggests a high prevalence rate of Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) amongst the homeless population. Although, it is well-documented that autistic people experienced many barriers to accessing health services, little is known about their challenges in accessing homeless services. Thus, the present study aimed to measure prevalence of high levels of autistic traits, and to identify barriers that prevent autistic people accessing homeless services. Participants recruited from homeless services (n=65) completed the Autism Quotient-10 (AQ-10) alongside a questionnaire regarding perceived accessibility of homeless services. Results revealed that 18.5% of participants scored Above the Clinical Threshold of the AQ-10 (ACT-AQ). Moreover, the ACT-AQ group reported that encountering big groups in shared accommodation represent a significant barrier to engaging with homeless services. Further research is needed to identify the full degree of ASC representation and the factors that might prevent autistic homeless people accessing homeless services, and thus overcoming homelessness.

We investigated the effect of wearing glasses and sunglasses on the perception of social traits from faces and on face matching. Participants rated images of people wearing no glasses, glasses and sunglasses on three social traits (trustworthiness, competence and attractiveness). Wearing sunglasses reduced ratings of trustworthiness. Participants also performed a matching task (telling whether two images show the same person or not) with pairs of images both wearing no glasses, glasses or sunglasses, and all combinations of eyewear. Incongruent eyewear conditions (e.g., one image wearing glasses and the other wearing sunglasses, etc.) reduced performance. Further analysis comparing performance on congruent and incongruent eyewear trials showed that our effects were driven by match trial performance, where differences in eyewear decreased accuracy. For same-eyewear-condition pairs, performance was poorer for pairs of images both wearing sunglasses than no glasses. Our results extend and update previous research on the effect of eyewear on face perception.

There is an increasing trend for online sports betting to be identified in gambling treatment services as the principal gambling activity that leads to harmful consequences. The structure of sports betting in online settings has changed extensively in the last 5 years in response to developing information technology, and these changes appear to have increased the inherent risk associated with online sports betting. There is a current need to understand disordered patterns of sports betting in online settings, in order to commence the development of strategies to identify and, where possible, mitigate harm. Therefore, a systematic grounded theory study was conducted, utilising behavioural data and in-depth interviews with a sample of 19 online sports bettors who met the criteria for problem gambling, to produce a substantive outline of the salient sources of harmful participation in modern online sports betting. The core category to emerge was an Online Sports Betting Loop that was facilitated by new structural features of modern online sports betting such as live betting, cash out, micro-event betting and instant depositing. In addition, participants indicated that the immediate accessibility and the ubiquity of online sports betting marketing made it challenging to control sports betting involvement. The emergent findings demonstrate that attention must be directed towards creating mechanisms to reduce patterns of continuous online sports betting by increasing breaks in play in the structure of the activity and enabling customers to restrict usage of features that are associated with disordered play, such as live betting.

Face masks present a new challenge to face identification (here matching) and emotion recognition in Western cultures. Here, we present the results of three experiments that test the effect of masks, and also the effect of sunglasses (an occlusion that individuals tend to have more experienced with) on (i) familiar face matching, (ii) unfamiliar face matching and (iii) emotion categorization. Occlusion reduced accuracy in all three tasks, with most errors in the mask condition; however, there was little difference in performance for faces in masks compared with faces in sunglasses. Super-recognizers, people who are highly skilled at matching unconcealed faces, were impaired by occlusion, but at the group level, performed with higher accuracy than controls on all tasks. Results inform psychology theory with implications for everyday interactions, security and policing in a mask-wearing society.

Background An estimated 30% of women in Sub-Saharan Africa suffer from soil-transmitted helminth infection during pregnancy (SHIP), which has been shown to increase risk of pre-term birth, low birth weight, and maternal anemia. A previous study in Benin found that SHIP was associated with impaired cognitive and gross motor development scores in 635 one-year-old children. The objective of the present study was to follow children prospectively to investigate whether the association between SHIP and child neurocognitive and behavioral development persisted at age six. Principal findings Our prospective child cohort included 487 live-born singletons of pregnant women enrolled in the Malaria in Pregnancy Preventive Alternative Drugs clinical trial in Allada, Benin. SHIP was assessed at three antenatal visits (ANVs) through collection and testing of stool samples. Neurocognitive and behavioral development was assessed in six-year-old children by trained investigators using the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children 2nd edition and the parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Multiple linear regression models generated coefficients and 95% confidence intervals and potential mediating factors were tested. Prevalence of SHIP was 13% at the 1st ANV, 9% at the 2nd ANV, and 1% at delivery. SHIP was not associated with low neurocognitive scores in children at six years. Higher SDQ internalizing scores, indicating increased emotional impairments in children, were associated with helminth infection at the 2nd ANV/delivery 1.07 (95% CI 0.15, 2.00) and at least once during pregnancy 0.79 (95% CI 0.12, 1.46) in adjusted models. Mediation analysis did not reveal significant indirect effects of several mediators on this association. Conclusions Our study shows that while SHIP is not associated with impaired long-term neurocognitive development, infections may have significant negative impacts on emotional development in six-year-old children. SHIP remains a critical public health issue, and adequate prevention and treatment protocols should be enforced in low- and middle-income countries., Author summary Soil-transmitted helminth infections impact 1.5 billion individuals, primarily in low- and middle- income countries, each year and contribute to malnutrition, anemia, and impaired neurocognitive development in children. However, these infections in pregnancy and their impact on offspring have been less studied. One previous study found associations between soil-transmitted helminth infection during pregnancy and impaired cognitive functioning in offspring one year after birth. The current study aimed to follow these children prospectively until six years in order to confirm whether these associations persisted or not. Infections during pregnancy were no longer associated with cognitive or motor functioning in children; however, infections were associated with impaired behavioral development. Animal-based models have hypothesized maternal inflammation and poor birth outcomes to be the mechanisms behind this relationship; however, our findings did not support these mechanisms. This is one of very few prospective cohort studies in Sub-Saharan Africa to investigate these associations, and more research is needed to corroborate results. Limitations include limited power and the possibility that results are due to chance from multiple statistical tests. Adequate and accessible prevention and treatment efforts in pregnancy and childhood should be provided to populations in low- and middle- income countries at high risk of infection.

Speed of play has been identified as a key structural characteristic in gambling behaviour, where games involving higher playing speeds enhance the experience of gambling. Of interest in the present study is the consistent finding that games with higher event frequencies are preferred by problem gamblers and are associated with more negative gambling outcomes, such as difficulty quitting the game and increased monetary loss. The present study investigated the impact of gambling speed of play on executive control functioning, focusing on how increased speeds of play impact motor response inhibition, and the potential mediating role arousal and dissociative experience play in this relationship. Fifty regular non-problem gamblers took part in a repeated-measures experiment where they gambled with real money on a simulated slot machine across five speed of play conditions. Response inhibition was measured using an embedded Go/No-Go task, where participants had to withhold motor responses, rather than operating the spin button on the slot machine when a specific colour cue was present. Results indicated that response inhibition performance was significantly worse during faster speeds of play, and that the role of arousal in this relationship was independent of any motor priming affect. The implications of these findings for gambling legislation and gambling harm-minimisation approaches are discussed.

Performance profiling is a client-led assessment tool that enables athletes to uncover strengths and weaknesses associated with their sporting performance. Initially designed to increase client commitment to a training program, the performance profiling technique presents an opportunity for the athlete to play an active role and contribute to the initial needs analysis process. This evidenced-based method of assessment has been shown to help clients increase their self-awareness, identify areas they can improve, and serve as a basis for goal setting. The tool also permits both client and practitioner to monitor and track progress over time. Although predominantly adopted for those providing psychological support to athletes, the performance profile may be beneficial for strength and conditioning coaches. This paper aims to highlight the potential benefits of performance profiling within the field of strength and conditioning, provide guidelines with completed examples for strength and conditioning practitioners to integrate into their work with clients, and present a brief overview of the theory underpinning the technique.

Performance profiling is a theory-driven technique commonly employed by sport psychology professionals to enhance various psychological outcomes within athletes and teams. Over time, empirical and anecdotal evidence have advocated the applied use of this technique and several adaptations of the original profiling procedure have emerged. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the original and revised performance profile (PP) techniques compared to a didactic active control condition on self-awareness, intrinsic motivation, basic psychological need satisfaction, and commitment. A standardized intervention protocol was developed for each performance profiling procedure and utilized to guide implementation of the interventions. Using a randomized design, 117 collegiate athletes from different sports were allocated to a(n) original PP (n = 41), revised PP (n = 42), or didactic PP (n = 34) condition to examine the pre-post impacts of a single session delivered in a team setting. Two-way mixed ANOVAs and MANOVAs were used to analyze the pre to post changes across intervention conditions for the outcome variables. Paired comparisons using two-way mixed ANOVAs were used to determine which intervention was most effective. Results revealed that self-awareness significantly increased for the original and revised condition, however, no differences in improvement were seen between the groups. Furthermore, those in the original group reported significantly higher scores on numerous intrinsic motivation subscales from pre to post intervention, while significantly elevated scores for commitment were reported in the revised condition.