Active relaxation counteracts the effects of ego depletion on performance under evaluative pressure in a state of ego depletion

We tested the assumption that active relaxation following an ego-depletion task counteracts the negative effects of ego depletion on subsequent performance under evaluative pressure. N = 39 experienced basketball players were randomly assigned to a relaxation condition or to a control condition, and then performed a series of free-throws at two points of measurement (T1: baseline vs. T2: after working on a depleting task and either receiving active relaxation or a simple break). The results demonstrated that performance remained constant in the relaxation condition, whereas it significantly decreased in the control condition. The findings are in line with the notion that active relaxation leads to a quicker recovery from ego depletion.

Heiligenspielrezeption in der Schweiz 1929: Das Bruderklausenspiel von Oskar Eberle

Based on Hansjürgen Linke’s study about the history of the reception of religious and secular medieval plays in twentieth-century Germany, the paper examines the respective situation in Switzerland. It focusses on the Bruderklausenspiel (1929), written and staged by Oskar Eberle. The director and scholar Oskar Eberle, and the Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Theaterkultur (SGTK) were the most influential supporters of the reception of religious plays in twentieth-century Switzerland. While in Germany the revival of medieval theatre emphasized a Renaissance of a former national importance, in Switzerland, the situation was very different. The revival of religious plays had a certain confessional background, and the political idea was to strengthen national self-confidence, and to confirm the nation’s historical neutrality concerning foreign affairs.