Are positive interventions always beneficial?

Can people improve their lives by smiling more, trying to have a better posture, and by thinking about good memories? Can individuals become more successful by deliberatively engaging in positive actions and thoughts? Do people feel better by following recommendations from naïve psychology? In the present article we discuss these questions, noting that although some popular interventions thought to be universally beneficial (e.g., inductions of happiness, self-affirmation, empowerment, self-distancing) can sometimes yield positive outcomes, at other times the outcomes can also be negative. Taking an empirical approach based on experimental evidence, we postulate that understanding the underlying processes discovered in the science of persuasion is the key for specifying why, when, and for whom these practical initiatives are more likely to work or to backfire

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Validación de un cuestionario para medir las necesidades psicológicas de los deportistas (CNPD 15) / Validation of a test to evaluate the psychological needs of sportmen and women (PNST 15) / Validação de um questionário para medir as necessidades psicológicas dos esportistas (QNPE 15)

El estudio de las variables psicológicas en el deporte es un punto clave para entender los diferentes comportamientos y resultados en el mundo del deporte, así como para desarrollar diferentes estrategias de intervención psicológica para mejorar el rendimiento. Recoger información de variables psicológicas de una forma sencilla y práctica nos permitirá conocer, en mayor profundidad, el campo de la psicología deportiva. Por ello, el objetivo del presente estudio fue reducir y validar el Cuestionario de Necesidades Psicológicas del Deportista (CNPD) de Dosil (2005) de 30 ítems que se dividen en 4 factores: Concentración, Activación, Confianza y Motivación. Se recogió una muestra de 327 deportistas de 18 deportes diferentes y con edades comprendidas entre los 11 y los 54 años (M = 18.47 ; DT = 7.1). Los resultados de los análisis psicométricos mostraron una buena validez y una alta fiabilidad, obteniendo un instrumento reducido a 15 ítems y 4 factores, adecuado para su aplicación en el ámbito del deporte

The studying of psychological factors is a key element for understanding different behaviours and results in the Sports world, and also for developing different strategies of psychological intervention in order to improve the performance. Collecting data of psychological factors in a simple and practical way will allow us to have a deeper understanding of the Sports Psychology field. Therefore, the goal of this study was to simplify and validate a Cuestionario de Necesidades Psicológicas del Deportistas (CNPD) by Dosil (20015), composed of 30 items, and divided in 4 factors: focus, activation, confidence and motivation. In order to do that, we collected a sample of 327 sportsmen and women of 18 different sports, with ages ranging between 11 and 54 (M = 18.47 ; DT = 7.1). The results of the psychometric analysis showed a good validity and a high reliability, yielding an instrument reduced just to 15 items and 4 factors, which is suitable for the Sports scope

O estudo das variáveis psicológicas no esporte é um ponto chave para perceber os diferentes comportamentos e resultados do mundo do esporte assim como para desenvolver diferentes estratégias de intervenção psicológica e para melhorar o rendimento. Recolher informação de variáveis psicólogas de um jeito simples e prático permitirá conhecer com maior profundidade o ramo da psicologia esportiva. Por isto, o objetivo deste estudo foi reduzir e validar el Cuestionario de Necesidades Psicológicas del Deportista(CNPD) de 30 itens que são divididos em 4 fatores: Foco, ativação, confiança e motivação. Para isso foi realizada uma amostra de 327 esportistas de 18 esportes diferentes e com idades entre 11 e 54 anos(M= 18.47 ; DP= 7.1). Os resultados das análises psicométricas mostraram validez e alta fiabilidades obtendo assim um instrumento reduzido a 15 itens e 4 fatores, adequado ao ramo da Psicologia Esportiva

Positivity effect in healthy aging in observational but not active feedback-learning.

The present study investigated the impact of healthy aging on the bias to learn from positive or negative performance feedback in observational and active feedback learning. In active learning, a previous study had already shown a negative learning bias in healthy seniors older than 75 years, while no bias was found for younger seniors. However, healthy aging is accompanied by a 'positivity effect', a tendency to primarily attend to stimuli with positive valence. Based on recent findings of dissociable neural mechanisms in active and observational feedback learning, the positivity effect was hypothesized to influence older participants' observational feedback learning in particular. In two separate experiments, groups of young (mean age 27) and older participants (mean age 60 years) completed an observational or active learning task designed to differentially assess positive and negative learning. Older but not younger observational learners showed a significant bias to learn better from positive than negative feedback. In accordance with previous findings, no bias was found for active learning. This pattern of results is discussed in terms of differences in the neural underpinnings of active and observational learning from performance feedback.