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This study identified a range of pedagogies developed to promote global citizenship within a university Latin American dance unit. It implemented changes to teaching and learning approaches in the unit using the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) 5E Instructional Model, supporting learning that privileges transcultural connections to Latin America. The action research used a range of dance teaching pedagogies that were adapted, and evaluated, using the Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO) taxonomy, to support a culturally enriched student learning experience. The findings challenge traditional dance teaching pedagogies through meaningful engagements with the local Latin American dance community and a range of student and teacher reflective approaches.

The purpose of this study was to determine students' perceptions of team-building activities within a university Latin dance course. Students (N = 30) completed an evaluation of the team-building activities and wrote reflective essays about their experiences in the course. The course consisted of twenty 90-minute classes. In the third class students were provided an information sheet describing the research. In the fourth class the students completed a demographics questionnaire. In classes 10-14 team-building activities took up roughly the first third of each class. In class 16 the students completed the evaluation. The reflective essays were submitted two weeks after the last class. Students agreed that the team-building activities helped to bond class members, and felt it was valuable for these activities to be included in the unit in the future. The reflective essays indicated the students felt the team-building activities improved interpersonal, dance, and personal mental skills.

When sport psychology researchers from the mainstream work with people from marginalized cultures, they can be challenged by cultural differences as well as mistrust. For this article, researchers born in mainstream North America partnered with Canadian Aboriginal community members. The coauthors have worked together for 5 years. What follows is our story of how positive cross-cultural relations developed in stages and how we modified our focus from solely academic dissemination to a project that adheres more closely with the American Psychological Association's multicultural guidelines. Recommendations are offered for those interested in developing reflexive cultural sport psychology research while building positive cross-cultural relations.

Surveyed university students who had just experienced self- and peer-feedback in one of their courses. Findings indicated that students felt that they benefited from the exercise; views revealed eight general dimensions, including "gained better understanding of marking"; "developed empathy"; and "productive." (EV)

Pain acceptance contributes significantly to the effectiveness of pain treatment outcomes. Nevertheless, little research has been conducted to examine whether a decrease in acceptance contributes to a deterioration in post treatment functioning. The aim of this study was to assess the role of pain acceptance in relation to process and outcome variables in the six-months following the conclusion of a pain program. Adults with chronic pain (N = 120) completed assessments at the completion of a 3-week multidisciplinary treatment program and 6-months post-treatment. Process measures included the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire-8 (CPAQ-8); the catastrophizing scale of the Pain Response Self-Statement Scale; the coping cognitions scale of the Pain Response Self-Statement Scale; and the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia. Outcome measures included the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire; the depression scale of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale; and two measures of physical functioning. Deterioration in acceptance of pain was significantly associated with deterioration in depression and disability, even when catastrophizing cognitions and kinesiophobia were accounted for. Decrease in acceptance was the strongest predictor of reliable deterioration in depression and disability. Results indicated the CPAQ-8 has utility as a measure for monitoring patient functioning post-treatment. Keywords Chronic pain * Post-treatment * Processes of change * Acceptance * Cognitions, Introduction Cognitive behavioral treatment for chronic pain improves depression and reduces disability (e.g., Morley et al., 1999; Eccleston et al., 2009; Williams et al., 2012). A number of recent studies [...]

Studies addressing success/failure biases in attributions for sport performance have produced equivocal results. The traditional hypothesis that success will be internalized and failure externalized has been supported in some studies but not in others. A few investigations have indicated that winners do, however, make more stable and controllable attributions than losers. This study examined the generality of this effect among 110 players, coaches, and spectators in recreational basketball competitions. Results indicated that winning outcomes were indeed attributed to more stable and controllable causes than losing outcomes. These findings were consistent across all categories of involvement (players, coaches, spectators) and were not affected by outcome margin (game close, game not close). Discussion focuses on the operation of situational norms in sport that may have contributed to these effects.

Trait activation theorists suggest that situational demands activate traits in (pressure) situations. In a comparison of situational demands of private (monetary incentive, cover story), mixed (monetary incentive, small audience), and public (large audience, video taping) high-pressure situations, we hypothesized that situational demands of private and mixed high-pressure conditions would activate self-focus traits and those of a public high-pressure condition would activate self-presentation traits. Female handball players (N = 120) completed personality questionnaires and then performed a throwing task in a low-pressure condition and one of three high-pressure conditions (n = 40). Increased anxiety levels from low to high pressure indicated successful pressure manipulations. A self-focus trait negatively predicted performance in private and mixed high-pressure conditions, and self-presentation traits positively predicted performance in the public high-pressure condition. Thus, pressure situations differed in their trait-activating situational demands. Experimental research investigating the trait-performance relationship should therefore use simulations of real competitions over laboratory-based scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LifeMatters is a 10-session life skills program implemented with youth that uses mental skills training and games to meet the three basic psychological needs of relatedness, autonomy, and competence. Forty disengaged students (20 experimental, 20 control) 16–17 years of age from a YMCA vocational school completed self-report measures before and after the intervention period. The school focuses on services for adolescents who find it difficult to gain an education through mainstream education due to behavioral and developmental issues. Mixed between-within subjects analyses of variance showed that there was a significant decrease in social anxiety, Wilks's λ =.84, F(1, 26) = 5.07, p =.03, partial η2 =.16, and a significant increase in relatedness Wilks's λ =.87, F(1, 26) = 4.2, p =.05, partial η2 =.14, over time for the experimental group compared to the control group. Analyses of covariance showed no significant difference between the two groups in change on social anxiety levels, F(1, 25) = 1.34, p =.26, partial η2 =.05, when controlling for relatedness, and no significant difference between the two groups in change in relatedness levels, F(1, 25) = 1.34, p =.26, partial η2 =.05, when controlling for social anxiety. This study provides insight into the potential effectiveness of using games and mental skills training to increase relatedness and decrease levels of social anxiety in disengaged students. Lay Summary: LifeMatters is a life skills program combining mental skills training and physically active games. Disengaged students who took part in the program reported lower levels of social anxiety and higher levels of relatedness compared to students who did not take part. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People who live in the villas (i.e., slums) of Buenos Aires are confronted with poverty, poor and dangerous living conditions, and discrimination. Ten weeks were spent in the villas delivering a program designed to enhance life satisfaction and sell-worth through games and the development of mental skills. The purpose of this paper is not to report on the content or the effectiveness of the program, but rather to explore the variables within Argentina and the villas as well as my own cultural biases that may have influenced the delivery of a psychological intervention program. Argentine factors include a high prevalence of psychologists and a psychoanalytic locus. Characteristics of the villas include environmental factors (e.g., transportation issues, sanitation), logistical issues (e.g., venues, access to writing implements), and psychological matters (e.g., hopelessness, different perceptions of confidence). Practitioner concerns included limited familiarity with life in the villas and having values that might be different from those of the participants. The discussion includes recommendations for others who are considering working in similar cultural and contextual situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to research the experiences of four injured athletes during their rehabilitation from ACL injuries and to examine the potential usefulness of an adapted ACT intervention in addressing individuals' adherence to rehabilitation protocols and their general psychological well-being. We investigated the usefulness of a brief, 4-session ACT program adapted for educational purposes and presented data as case studies. The case studies suggested that (a) the injured athletes experienced a multitude of private events immediately following injury, throughout their recovery, and when approaching a full return to sport; (b) the injured athletes typically avoided these private events and engaged in emotion driven behaviors; (c) an adapted ACT approach for educational purposes could be useful on at least a basic level to help injured athletes accept private events, commit to rehabilitation behaviors, and have some certainty about returning to sport; and (d) more could be done to address the needs of injured athletes beyond the structure of our 4-session educational intervention. We concluded that the ACT-based intervention, to a certain extent, educated injured athletes about how to meet the challenges of their recoveries and how to commit to their rehabilitations, as well as to exhibit behaviors that would potentially permit their successful reentries to sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the properties of the Athens Insomnia Scale (Soldatos et al., 2000), the Fatigue Severity Scale (Krupp et al., 1989), and subscales of the SLEEP-50 Questionnaire (Spoormaker et al., 2005) in elite Australian athletes, to determine their appropriateness for this population. Fifty-nine athletes (29 male, 30 female, M = 21.86 yrs, SD = 7.44) from elite basketball, rowing, netball, beach volleyball, and sailing squads completed measures. A subset (n = 20) completed measures again at a 1-month interval, and a further subset (n = 5) were interviewed about their thoughts regarding the measures and their understanding of sleep. All scales and subscales displayed high internal consistency, apart from that which contained items not theoretically related, and all displayed good 1-month test-retest reliability. All measures were significantly correlated, demonstrating convergent validity. Athletes reported few sleep problems, but moderate fatigue. Athletes stated the measures produced accurate reflections of their sleep and fatigue, but also suggested improvements. Research limitations and implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of structured self-reflection in community dance classes would influence achievement goal orientations, levels of intrinsic motivation, or perceived dance performance. The Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) and the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) were modified slightly to reflect involvement in salsa dancing rather than sport and then were administered to 139 Latin dance students at the beginning and end of an 11-week term. The dance classes were divided into control and intervention groups, balanced in terms of sample size and level of instruction. The intervention group completed a salsa self-reflection form during or after class for 9 weeks. At the posttest all students rated their salsa performance and the intervention group evaluated the self-reflection process. Results indicate that although achievement goal orientations were not affected, structured sell-reflection is perceived to be a positive tool and may be a useful technique to enhance perceived performance and maintain effort and perceived importance. The participants' perceptions of the self-reflection process were positive, with no negative effects of engaging in the process reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A group of students from the Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts participated in a mental skills training program that focused on goal setting, selfconfidence development, and team building. There were 13 two-hour sessions held over a 20-week period. The participants, cultural issues, and the basic structure of the program are described. The author's observations regarding competition, displays of affection, collective values, and the importance of family and nature are provided. The participants qualitatively evaluated the program. Conclusions related to group process, program structure, and diversity are presented. These conclusions should be of value in terms of shaping future group mental skills training programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a paper which examines the factors which should be considered when working with athletes with disabilities. Common concerns for athletes with specific disabilities; Use of mental skills and possible modifications for disabled athletes; Description of techniques that may be employed to counteract various types of disabilities.

Examines the effects of a specific cognitive race plan on a 100m sprint performance. Request for runners to reveal their specific thought content in race trials; Mean improvement among sprinters who used thought content during the race; Evidence leading to the participants' support of the use of a specific race plan.

This paper presents the development and implementation of a psychological skills training program for blind athletes. The structure of the program was based on the personal accounts of successful athletes and the results of studies using sighted athletes. Skills designed to give insight to the body/mind relationship, raise or lower arousal levels, maintain motivation, prepare for competition, and improve problem-solving abilities were introduced to the athletes. Participants completed a self-assessment of psychological skills to determine the skill areas they had strengths in and therefore should take advantage of as well as those mental skill areas in which they could improve. A qualitative evaluation of the program is presented and recommendations for future programs are discussed. Overall, few changes were needed to accommodate for the athletes' visual impairments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field hockey players (n=39) assessed their own psychological strengths and weaknesses by rank-ordering various mental skills. Coaches (n=5) who had daily contact with these athletes ranked the same skills on the basis of their perception of the players' strengths and weaknesses. Comparisons indicated that the specificity of the skills being ranked influenced the amount of agreement between the responses of players and coaches. When general categories of skills were ranked, there was very little consistency between the groups. When specific skills within the general categories were ranked, there was considerable consistency between the groups. The results are discussed in relation to the nature of the questions asked when designing mental training programs. It is suggested that consultants should take care to identify potential problems in terms of specific skills rather than general categories. By doing so, they may increase the likelihood of agreement about mental training needs and increase their effectiveness. The issue of conducting self-assessments via rating-scale and rank-order formats is also addressed. Problems that the consultant may encounter in the use of a rating-scale format are noted, and the potential advantages of a rank-order format are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]