The future of Quiet Eye research – comment on Vickers

The Quiet Eye (QE) phenomenon has a robust literature base. However, the specific mechanisms by which the QE enables athletes to be more accurate are still not fully understood. Furthermore, QE has been shown to negate the negative effects of anxiety, but similarly, the specific role it plays is unknown. A more systematic and strategic approach to future research is needed to delineate the different theories and develop a stronger, more concrete understanding. There is also the question of QE training, which appears to have a significant impact on performance in a relatively short time period. Limitations to current studies as well as suggestions for future projects are outlined. Technological advances are also discussed in relation to enabling researchers to better understand the neural underpinnings of the QE advantage

The Use of Patterns to Disguise Environmental Cues During an Anticipatory Judgment Task

A number of novel manipulations to the design of playing uniforms were used to try to disguise the actions of penalty takers in soccer. Skilled and less-skilled soccer goalkeepers were required to anticipate penalty kick outcome while their opponent wore one of three different uniform designs that were intended to disguise the availability of potentially key information from the hip region. Variations of shapes/patterns were designed to conceal the actual alignment of the hips. Three occlusion points were used in the test film: -160 ms, -80 ms before, and at foot-ball contact. Skilled individuals reported higher accuracy scores than their less-skilled counterparts (p .05); however, the skilled group decreased their accuracy on the experimental conditions compared with the control (p < .05). Findings highlight the potential benefits of designing playing uniforms that facilitate disguise in sport

Quiet Eye Training in a Visuomotor Control Task

Introduction: Several researchers have reported the importance of maintaining a longer final fixation on the target (termed the quiet eye period, QE) prior to performing an aiming task. We present an innovative, perceptual training intervention intended to improve the efficiency of gaze behavior (i.e., QE) in shotgun shooting. Methods: A sample of 20 International-level, skeet shooters were assigned equally to one of two, matched-ability groups based on their pre-test shooting scores. A perceptual training group participated in a 4-step, pre-shot routine, alongside three video feedback sessions involving their own gaze behaviors and those of an expert model in an effort to influence positively QE behaviors. A control group received video feedback of performance, but without the addition of feedback on QE behaviors. Participants completed pre- and post-tests along with an 8-week training intervention. Results: The perceptual training group significantly increased its mean QE duration (397 cw 423 ms), employed an earlier onset of QE (257 cw 244 ms), and recorded higher shooting accuracy scores (62 cw 70 %) from pre- to post-test. Participants in the perceptual training group significantly reduced gun barrel displacement and absolute peak velocity on the post- compared to the pre-test, even though neither variable was overtly trained. A transfer test, based on performance during competition, indicated that perceptual training significantly improved shooting accuracy pre- to post-intervention. No pre- to post-test differences were observed for the control group on the measures reported. Conclusion: The results demonstrate the effectiveness of QE training in improving shooting accuracy and developing a more efficient visuo-motor control strategy. Findings have implications for future research on training visuo-motor behaviors, attention and gaze orientation during the performance of aiming tasks

Anxiety, Movement Kinematics, and Visual Attention in Elite-Level Performers

We tested the predictions of Attentional Control Theory (ACT) by examining the effect of anxiety on attention control and the subsequent influence on both performance effectiveness and performance efficiency within a perceptual-motor context. A sample (N = 16) of elite shotgun shooters was tested under counterbalanced low (practice) and high (competition) anxiety conditions. A head-mounted, corneal reflection system allowed point of gaze to be calculated in relation to the scene, while motion of the gun was evaluated using markers placed on the barrel which were captured by two stationary cameras and analyzed using optical tracking software. The quiet eye (QE) duration and onset were analyzed along with gun barrel displacement and variability; performance outcome scores (successful vs. unsuccessful) were also recorded. QE (Vickers, 1996) is defined as the final fixation or tracking gaze that is located on a specific location/object in the visual display for a minimum of 100 ms. Longer QE durations have been linked to successful performance in previous research involving aiming tasks. Participants demonstrated shorter quiet eye durations, and less efficient gun motion, along with a decreased performance outcome (fewer successful trials) under high compared with low anxiety conditions. The data support the predictions of ACT with anxiety disrupting control processes such that goal-directed attention was compromised, leading to a significant impairment in performance effectiveness

Identifying the causal mechanisms of the quiet eye

Scientists who have examined the gaze strategies employed by athletes have determined that longer quiet eye (QE) durations (QED) are characteristic of skilled compared to less-skilled performers. However, the cognitive mechanisms of the QE and, specifically, how the QED affects performance are not yet fully understood. We review research that has examined the functional mechanism underlying QE and discuss the neural networks that may be involved. We also highlight the limitations surrounding QE measurement and its definition and propose future research directions to address these shortcomings. Investigations into the behavioural and neural mechanisms of QE will aid the understanding of the perceptual and cognitive processes underlying expert performance and the factors that change as expertise develops

The coupling between gaze behavior and opponent kinematics during anticipation of badminton shots

Purpose: We examined links between the kinematics of an opponent’s actions and the visual search behaviors of badminton players responding to those actions. Method: A kinematic analysis of international standard badminton players (n = 4) was undertaken as they completed a range of serves. Video of these players serving was used to create a life-size temporal occlusion test to measure anticipation responses. Expert (n = 8) and novice (n = 8) badminton players anticipated serve location while wearing an eye movement registration system. Results: During the execution phase of the opponent’s movement, the kinematic analysis showed between-shot differences in distance traveled and peak acceleration at the shoulder, elbow, wrist and racket. Experts were more accurate at responding to the serves compared to novice players. Expert players fixated on the kinematic locations that were most discriminating between serve types more frequently and for a longer duration compared to novice players. Moreover, players were generally more accurate at responding to serves when they fixated vision upon the discriminating arm and racket kinematics. Conclusions: Findings extend previous literature by providing empirical evidence that expert athletes’ visual search behaviors

Contextual information influences diagnosis accuracy and decision making in simulated emergency medicine emergencies

Background: It is well documented that adaptations in cognitive processes with increasing skill levels support decision making in multiple domains. We examined skill-based differences in cognitive processes in emergency medicine physicians, and whether performance was significantly influenced by the removal of contextual information related to a patient's medical history. Method: Skilled (n=9) and less skilled (n=9) emergency medicine physicians responded to high-fidelity simulated scenarios under high- and low-context information conditions. Results: Skilled physicians demonstrated higher diagnostic accuracy irrespective of condition, and were less affected by the removal of context-specific information compared with less skilled physicians. The skilled physicians generated more options, and selected better quality options during diagnostic reasoning compared with less skilled counterparts. These cognitive processes were active irrespective of the level of context-specific information presented, although high-context information enhanced understanding of the patients' symptoms resulting in higher diagnostic accuracy. Conclusions: Our findings have implications for scenario design and the manipulation of contextual information during simulation training

The role of error processing in the contextual interference effect during the training of perceptual-cognitive skills

The contextual interference (CI) effect refers to the learning benefits that occur from a random compared to blocked practice order. In this paper, the cognitive effort explanation for the CI effect was examined by investigating the role of error processing. In two experiments, a perceptual-cognitive task was used in which participants anticipated three different tennis skills across a pre-test, three practice sessions, and retention test. During practice, the skills were presented in either a random or blocked practice order. In Experiment 1, cognitive effort was examined using a probe reaction time task. In Experiment 2, cognitive effort was manipulated for two groups by inserting a cognitively demanding secondary task into the inter-trial interval. The CI effect was found in both experiments as the random groups displayed superior learning in the retention test compared to the blocked groups. Cognitive effort during practice was greater in random compared to blocked practice groups in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, greater decrements in secondary task performance following an error were reported for the random group when compared to the blocked group. The suggestion is that not only the frequent switching of tasks in randomized orders causes increased cognitive effort and the CI effect, but it is also error processing in combination with task switching. Findings extend the cognitive effort explanation for the CI effect and propose an alternative hypothesis highlighting the role of error processing

The effect of stimulus intensity on response time and accuracy in dynamic, temporally constrained environments

The ability to make accurate judgments and execute effective skilled movements under severe temporal constraints are fundamental to elite performance in a number of domains including sport, military combat, law enforcement, and medicine. In two experiments, we examine the effect of stimulus strength on response time and accuracy in a temporally constrained, real-world, decision-making task. Specifically, we examine the effect of low stimulus intensity (black) and high stimulus intensity (sequin) uniform designs, worn by teammates, to determine the effect of stimulus strength on the ability of soccer players to make rapid and accurate responses. In both field- and laboratory-based scenarios, professional soccer players viewed developing patterns of play and were required to make a penetrative pass to an attacking player. Significant differences in response accuracy between uniform designs were reported in laboratory- and field-based experiments. Response accuracy was significantly higher in the sequin compared with the black uniform condition. Response times only differed between uniform designs in the laboratory-based experiment. These findings extend the literature into a real-world environment and have significant implications for the design of clothing wear in a number of domains

Expertise differences in anticipatory judgements during a temporally and spatially occluded dynamic task

There is contradictory evidence surrounding the role of critical cues in the successful anticipation of penalty kick outcome. In the current study, skilled and less-skilled soccer goalkeepers were required to anticipate spatially (full body; hip region) and temporally (–160 ms, –80 ms before, foot–ball contact) occluded penalty kicks. The skilled group outperformed the less-skilled group in all conditions. Both groups performed better in the full body, compared to hip region condition. Later temporal occlusion conditions were associated with increased performance in the correct response and correct side analysis, but not for correct height. These data suggest that there is enough postural information from the hip region for skilled goalkeepers to make highly accurate predictions of penalty kick direction, however, other regions are needed in order to make predictions of height. These data demonstrate the evolution of cues over time and have implications for anticipation training