This study used an online survey methodology looking at all levels of archers and coaches to understand their perceptions of the shooting process and Mental Game importance. The survey asked about the archer's skill level and their training style, as well as their perception of the importance of each step in the shooting process and the different parts of the Mental Game. The study also processed the impact of performance of an archer based on their perception of importance of the different steps of the shooting process and the Mental Game. Depending on if the archer has ever had a coach, certain steps of the shooting process and certain parts of the Mental Game was impacted by having a coach at one time. While, the level of coach also impacts how the Mental Game is perceived. Throughout this study, imagery was the most impacted by the level of coach the participant is, if the participants have ever had a coach, and how the participants perform.

Color as a communication medium plays an important role in conveying meaning. It has been identified as a major element in marketing and advertising, and has shown to influence consumer's emotions (Labrecque & Milne, 2012). Despite the large volume of color-centered research, the literature on the subject remains largely abstract and unreliable. Academic research on the impact of color on brand personality it is still in its early stages of investigation, and therefore fragmented and inadequate. The goal of this study is to identify and visually represent patterns of association between colors and specific brand personality traits. We hypothesized that such patterns exist, although the exact associations are difficult to predict. If such patterns are found, they can assist in creating a valuable design tool with wide range of applications in product design, manufacturing, and marketing.

This study set out to determine how students perceive writing quality in the presence of specific errors. Error pattern was a within-subjects variable with four levels: no errors, superficial (mechanical) errors, substantive (conceptual) errors, and both types of errors. All participants assessed a randomized selection of four essays containing each of the four error patterns. Overall ratings of writing quality decreased with the presence of errors; superficial errors had a significantly larger impact than substantive errors. In addition, participants rated traits about the author of the essays lower with the presence of errors in a similar pattern to writing quality.

Previous research has shown that an individual's bias can have a negative impact on behavior. One proposed method of modifying such behavior is vicarious (observational) learning. In the current study, the researcher explored the possibility of using vicarious learning to create an effective training video on LGBT bias. The researcher predicted that a vicarious learning video would be more effective at reducing negative LGBT bias than an informationally-equivalent control video. Participants completed the Explicit Attitudes of Sexuality questionnaire (EASQ), were randomized into one of two groups (vicarious or control), watched the assigned training video, and then completed the EASQ again to measure any changes in LGBT bias. The results of the study indicated that the vicarious video was no more effective in reducing negative LGBT bias when compared to the control. Additionally it was found that the vicarious training video was significantly more effective in eliciting new knowledge when compared to the control. The researcher discusses these findings in relation to Social Cognitive Theory for Personal and Social Change by Enabling Media. The researcher also explains how findings of insignificance could have been caused by a selection bias, self-report bias, and/or not enough treatment dosage.

Young adults do not know basic emergency preparedness skills. Although there are materials out there such as printed and online materials form Center for Disease Control, it is unlikely that college-age people will take the time to read them. Some individuals have addressed the issue of young adults not wanting to read materials by creating a fun interactive game in the San Francisco area, but since the game must be played in person, a solution like that can only reach so far. Studies suggest that virtual worlds are effective in teaching people new skills, so I have created a virtual world that will teach people basic emergency preparedness skills in a way that is memorable and appealing to a college-age audience. The logic used to teach players the concepts of emergency preparedness is case-based reasoning. Case-based reasoning is the process of solving new problems by remembering similar solutions in the past. By creating a simulation emergency situation in a virtual world, young adults are more likely to know what to do in the case of an actual emergency.

In sports, athletes reach new levels every day and are truly masters of their own bodies. Yet, when placed under pressure, the pin-point accuracy and elite level of performance can begin to wane.  Despite plentiful literature investigating the effects of pressure on performance, the underlying mechanisms behind decreased performance in sport are not yet clear.  The current research discusses possible theories for “choking under pressure”, the specific mechanisms through which pressure has its effects, and methods to prevent “choking.”  Fourteen current and former basketball players shot free throws with two primary predictor variables: the presence/absence of performance pressure and the restriction
on-restriction of movement during the pre-shot routine. Results were analyzed using 2x2 Within-Subjects Analysis of Variance. For shooting performance, there was an interaction (approaching significance) such that participants were more affected by pressure when allowed to execute their pre-shot routine. For kinematic variables, significant interactions between pressure and movement restriction were found for elbow-knee cross correlations and there were significant main effects of variability of the acceleration of both the elbow and knee angles. In all kinematic measures, participants exhibited more “novice-like” patterns of movement under pressure when movement was not restricted during the pre-shot routine. Primary results indicate promising evidence that motor control may be a mediating variable between pressure and performance and bring into question the value of a pre-shot routine in basketball.

In 2013, 1.8 million US drivers were responsible for rear-end collisions with other vehicles (NHTSA 2014), for which driver distraction has been identified as the main factor (Campbell, Smith & Najm, 2003; Knipling, Mironer, Hendricks, Tijerina, Everson, Allen & Wilson 1993; Wang, Knipling & Goodman, 1996). The ubiquity of cell phones and their use behind the wheel has played a major role in distracting these drivers. To mitigate this, some manufacturers are equipping vehicles with forward collision warning (FCW) systems.

Generally, warnings that are perceived as being urgent produce lower response times. One technique for increasing perceived urgency of a warning is called looming, where the signal increases in or more dimensions over time. Looming warning signals have been shown to produce low response times, likely because the recipient perceives the signal as a potential approaching threat, prompting defensive reactions (Graziano and Cooke, 2006).

The present study evaluates the effect of veridical (intensity increases at the rate of closure with the lead vehicle) and high urgency (intensity increases at a rate of Time to Collision minus 0.5 seconds) looming FCW, as well as a static FCW, on drivers’ brake reaction times in the presence of a secondary texting task. Participants’ brake reaction times were recorded as they followed a lead car in a driving simulator, encountering multiple sudden-braking events across the five conditions (a control condition as well as four counterbalanced conditions using a secondary texting task). In the four conditions with a secondary task, participants received no FCW, static FCW, veridical FCW, and high-urgency FCW, respectively. Performance data was analyzed using a repeated measures ANOVA, and a series of pairwise comparisons were then made using Bonferroni corrected pairwise t-tests.

The presence of a visually and manually distracting secondary task (texting) seems to diminish the performance of the looming signals as compared to previous studies that did not use a distraction component. While looming FCW do seem to effectively lower BRTs when the driver is distracted, it is recommended that further research investigate the relationship between secondary task types and their respective levels of distraction, and the effectiveness of auditory looming FCW.

Learners' attitudes and beliefs during the initial stages of learning have a profound impact on their future decisions, practice habits, and persistence. In music education, however, surprisingly little research has explored how physical equipment design might influence novices' attitudes and beliefs. The current study addresses this gap by examining how novices' motivation and perception differ based on the physical design of the musical instrument they interact with while learning. Fifty-two adult participants completed an online survey measuring their expectancies (e.g., confidence), value beliefs (e.g., enjoyment, interest, and social merit), and anticipated persistence while attempting to learn the electric guitar. Afterward, participants attempted to learn and perform several beginner-level tasks while using a conventionally designed or ergonomically designed guitar. The conventionally designed guitar was a commercially available model marketed toward beginner and intermediate-level guitarists. In contrast, the ergonomic guitar was a custom model based on expert design recommendations to improve ease of use, comfort, and user experience. Participant learning expectations and values were assessed before and after a one-hour practice session. Results revealed that novices who used the ergonomic guitar reported significant gains in anticipated learning enjoyment. Alternatively, novices who used the conventional guitar exhibited no such change. Beyond this relationship however, the ergonomic guitar was not found to meaningfully affect participants' confidence, interest, physical discomfort, and task difficulty perceptions. Additionally, the ergonomic guitar did not have a statistically significant influence on learning persistence ratings. One important implication extracted from this study is that a single practice session may not provide enough time or experience to affect a novices' attitudes and beliefs toward learning. Future studies may seek to remedy this study limitation by using a longitudinal design or longer practice task trials. Despite this limitation however, this exploratory study highlights the need for researchers, music educators, and instrument manufacturers to carefully consider how the physical design of a musical instrument may impact learning attitudes, choices, and persistence over time. Additionally, this study offers the first attempt at extending the equipment design literature to music education and Expectancy-Value Theory.