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Little is known about how social participation can be facilitated among older adults in group physical activity and its psychosocial benefits that contribute to successful aging. This study aimed to understand older adults’ experiences with social participation in group physical activity programs. Using interpretive description methodology, 16 observations, eight focus groups, and two interviews with participants unable to attend focus groups were conducted with adults 55 years and older attending programs across four recreation facilities. Group programs were found to influence social participation through (a) a meaningful context for connecting and (b) instructors’ expectations of social interaction. Social participation in these programs addressed psychosocial needs by (c) increasing social contact and interaction, (d) fostering social relationships and belonging, and (e) promoting regular engagement. Training for instructors should include balancing the physical aspects of program delivery with the social, while also considering older adults’ diverse needs and preferences for social interaction.

Previous research has shown that the highs and lows of sport fandom are more extreme for fans with strong levels of obsessive passion. The authors tested if this amplification effect applied to how hockey fans felt throughout a National Hockey League (NHL) playoff series. Fans of the Winnipeg Jets (N = 57) reported levels of harmonious and obsessive passion prior to the start of the 2019 NHL playoffs and then reported their feelings the day after each game of the first playoff round. The results supported the amplification hypothesis by showing that the impact of game result on both positive and negative feelings the day after a game was more extreme for fans with high obsessive passion. This moderating effect, however, appeared to be driven primarily by responses to losses.

To better understand exercise-related cognitive errors (ECEs) from a dual processing perspective, the purpose of this study was to examine their relationship to two automatic exercise processes. It was hypothesized that ECEs would account for more variance than automatic processes in predicting intentions, that ECEs would interact with automatic processes to predict intentions, and that exercise schema would distinguish between different levels of ECEs. Adults (N = 136, M _age = 29 years, 42.6% women) completed a cross-sectional study and responded to three survey measures (ECEs, exercise self-schema, and exercise intentions) and two computerized implicit tasks (the approach/avoid task and single-category Implicit Association Test). ECEs were not correlated with the two implicit measures; however, ECEs moderated the relationship between approach tendency toward exercise stimuli and exercise intentions. Exercise self-schema were differentiated by ECE level. This study expands our knowledge of ECEs by examining their relationship to different automatic and reflective processes.

Effective anticipation skills in sporting cognition have been shown to facilitate expertise in sports. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has shown to improve motor and cognitive functioning. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the assistive effects of tDCS on the action observer network in both novice and expert gamers during an occlusion task, as well as the related electroencephalographic spectral power response. Twenty-three novice and 23 expert video gamers received either sham or active tDCS with a right parietal anode and left frontal cathode. Only experts demonstrated a significant improvement in predicting ball direction for the overall and early occlusions after tDCS. Spectral power results revealed significant changes in theta, high-gamma, and delta frequencies. The findings indicate that tDCS was able to modulate anticipatory behavior and cortical activity in experts compared with novice participants, suggesting a facilitatory role for tDCS to improve anticipatory effects and assist as a neurocognitive training technique.

Whistleblowing against doping misconduct represents an effective deterrent of doping use in elite competitive sport. The present study assessed the effects of social cognitive variables on competitive athletes’ intentions to report doping misconduct. A second objective was to assess whether the effects of social norms on whistleblowing intentions were mediated by actor prototype evaluations and group identification and orientation. In total, 1,163 competitive athletes from Greece, Russia, and the United Kingdom completed a questionnaire on demographics, past behavior, social cognitive variables, and intentions toward whistleblowing. Regression analyses showed that whistleblowing intentions were associated with different social cognitive variables in each country. Multiple mediation modeling showed that attitudes and subjective norms were associated with whistleblowing intentions indirectly, via the effects of anticipated negative affect and group identification and orientation, respectively. The findings of this study are novel and have important implications about the social, cognitive, and normative processes underlying decision making toward reporting doping misconduct.

This study examines the influence of wearing and perceiving colors in a cycling setting while also examining cortisol, heart rate, estimated maximum oxygen consumption, and subjective performance ratings. A total of 99 individuals completed the study, consisting of cortisol measurements, which compared baseline values to those after changing into a red or blue outfit, and a maximum cycling task performed wearing the same outfit while competing against a video opponent in red or blue. Each participant completed the protocol twice on separate days. Wearing a colored outfit showed no influence on cortisol levels. Regarding the cycling task, the participants wearing red had higher maximum heart rate values than when wearing blue. In addition, the results revealed increased maximum heart rate and maximum oxygen consumption values when perceiving an opponent in blue, especially when the participant also wore blue. No differences were found for the median heart rate or performance ratings.

The authors explored how sport structure predisposed a team to subgroup formation and influenced athlete interactions and team functioning. A season-long qualitative case study was undertaken with a nationally ranked Canadian track and field team. Semistructured interviews were conducted with coaches (n = 4) and athletes (n = 11) from different event groups (e.g., sprinters, jumpers) at the beginning and at the end of the season. The results highlighted constraints that directly impacted athlete interactions and predisposed the group to subgroup formation (e.g., sport/event type, facility/schedule limitations, team size/change over time). The constraints led to structural divides that impacted interactions but could be overcome through team building, engaging with leaders, and prioritizing communication. These findings underline how structure imposed by the design of sports impacts teammate interactions and how practitioners, coaches, and athletes can manage groups when facing such constraints. The authors describe theoretical and practical implications while also proposing potential future directions.