An international survey of perceptions of the 2014 FIFA World Cup: National levels of corruption as a context for perceptions of institutional corruption

The Issue of Unconscious Bias in Referee Decisions in the National Rugby League

Referees are appointed to be impartial sporting figures. They are trained to provide leadership and guidance, interpret infractions, adjudicate rules, all while maintaining the highest levels of objectivity and sense. However, when decisions are driven by individual heuristics, limited information, context, goal motivations, emotions, time pressures and cognitive load, it can be difficult to discern how and why particular referee judgements are made. In this paper, we draw on data from the major Rugby League competition in Australia between the years 1978 to 2019 to examine whether clubs fare significantly better or worse under particular National Rugby League referees. We examine potential causes that might contribute to the referee effect and ask why, after years of specialist training and game assessments, are rugby league referees, even at the elite professional level, still processing information in preferential ways.

Comparing daily physiological and psychological benefits of gratitude and optimism using a digital platform

Gratitude and optimism are positive psychological dispositions associated with beneficial outcomes. To examine their associations with physiological and psychological experiences in daily life, we examined data from an Ecological Momentary Assessment study (N = 4,825), including blood pressure, heart rate, and reports of stress, health behaviors, and thoughts. Trait gratitude and trait optimism both predicted lower heart rate and blood pressure, better sleep quality, more exercise, less stress, more positive expectations and reflections, and greater feelings of appreciation toward others. However, gratitude and optimism were not completely overlapping constructs: Gratitude was a stronger predictor of felt appreciation toward others and pleasantness when reflecting on the best part of the day, whereas optimism was a stronger predictor of sleep quality, lower stress, and lower unpleasantness when reflecting on the worst part of the day. These associations reveal both similar and differential influences of positive dispositions on psychological and physiological outcomes that provide insight into health consequences. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).