The role of sense of presence in expressing cognitive abilities in a virtual reality task: an initial validation study.

There is a raised interest in literature to use Virtual Reality (VR) technology as an assessment tool for cognitive domains. One of the essential advantages of transforming tests in an immersive virtual environment is the possibility of automatically calculating the test's score, a time-consuming process under natural conditions. Although the characteristics of VR can deliver different degrees of immersion in a virtual environment, the sense of presence could jeopardize the evolution of these practices.

Anxiety, Motives, and Intention for Physical Activity during the Italian COVID-19 Lockdown: An Observational Longitudinal Study.

Background: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic led governments to adopt strict containment measures to avoid spreading the virus. These essential measures led to home confinement that influenced both the physical and mental health of populations. Physical activity plays a key role in preventing chronic diseases and promoting protective psychological factors.

The Psychometric Properties of the Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-3): Factorial Structure, Invariance and Validity in the Italian Context.

Background: Motivation to engage in physical activity plays a central role in ensuring the health of the population. The present study investigated the psychometric properties and validity in Italy of the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-3), a widely used instrument for assessing individuals' motivation to exercise based on self-determination theory (SDT).

Methods: A large sample (N = 2222; females = 55.

High-Pressure Game Conditions Affect Quiet Eye Depending on the Player's Expertise: Evidence from the Basketball Three-Point Shot.

Research on attention in sport using eye-tracking methodology has highlighted that the highest levels of expertise and performance are characterized by a specific gaze behavior consisting of a perception-action variable named quiet eye. The present study aimed to understand the role of quiet eye during the three-point shot, especially in game conditions in which even a single point may determine victory or defeat. Twenty-one basketball players (twelve competitive elites and nine semi-elites) with a high-shooting style performed three-point shots in four game scenarios different from each other for the time available (time pressure) and the relevance of the score (performance pressure).

Emotional Reactions and Adaptation to COVID-19 Lockdown (or Confinement) by Spanish Competitive Athletes: Some Lesson for the Future.

The Coronavirus Covid 19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has produced terrible effects in the world economy and is shaking social and political stability around the world. The world of sport has obviously been severely affected by the pandemic, as authorities progressively canceled all level of competitions, including the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. In Spain, the initial government-lockdown closed the Sports High-performance Centers, and many other sports facilities.

Psychosocial variables and quality of life during the COVID-19 lockdown: a correlational study on a convenience sample of young Italians.

Background: In 2020, to limit the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), many countries, including Italy, have issued a lengthy quarantine period for the entire population. For this reason lifestyle has changed, bringing inevitable repercussions to the Quality of Life (QoL). The present study aims to identify which psychosocial variables predict behaviors capable of affecting the QoL during the lockdown period, potentially highlighting factors that might promote well-being and health in the Italian population during the epidemic.

A Psychometric Validation of the Decisional Conflict Scale in Italian Cancer Patients Scheduled for Insertion of Central Venous Access Devices.

Background/aim: In oncological settings, high-quality decision-making takes place when an adaptive pattern of cognitive and behavioural processes occurs, potentially limiting post-decisional regret and leading to an increment of adherence to the final decision. An example of a choice that requires a patient's involvement in the decision-making during cancer treatment occurs when the insertion of Central Vascular Access Device (CVAD) is proposed for chemotherapy administration. The aim of the current study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of an Italian version of the Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS), including its factorial structure and its accuracy in discriminating the level of uncertainty in a sample of cancer patients during their decision-making process for the insertion of a CVAD for intravenous (IV) chemotherapy administration.

COVID-19 Outbreak and Physical Activity in the Italian Population: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Underlying Psychosocial Mechanisms.

Italy is one of the first European epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic. In attempts to hinder the spread of the novel coronavirus disease, Italian government hardened protective measures, from quarantine to lockdown, impacting millions of lives dramatically. Amongst the enacted restrictions, all non-essential activities were prohibited as well as all outdoor activities banned.

Virtual Reality for the Assessment of Everyday Cognitive Functions in Older Adults: An Evaluation of the Virtual Reality Action Test and Two Interaction Devices in a 91-Year-Old Woman.

Performance-based functional tests for the evaluation of daily living activities demonstrate strong psychometric properties and solve many of the limitations associated with self- and informant-report questionnaires. Virtual reality (VR) technology, which has gained interest as an effective medium for administering interventions in the context of healthcare, has the potential to minimize the time-demands associated with the administration and scoring of performance-based assessments. To date, efforts to develop VR systems for assessment of everyday function in older adults generally have relied on non-immersive systems.

A study of quiet eye's phenomenon in the shooting section of "laser run" of modern pentathlon.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of the Quiet eye (QE) phenomenon on performances during the shooting section of "Laser Run" of Modern Pentathlon, in two samples of athletes (novices and experts). The "Laser Run" consists of running and shooting activities. The study involved 18 experienced athletes of the Italian National Team of Modern Pentathlon (i.