Skilled anticipation relies on the coupling of vision with action

Abstract

PURPOSE: Skilled performers in time-stressed sports learn to use kinematic information resultant from body movements to overcome the high-speed constraints inherent in such tasks. Traditional tests rely on verbal responses or representative movements, failing to truly represent the perception-action (PA) coupling inherent in performance. The aim of this study is to examine whether systematic increases in the coupling between vision and action elicit changes in anticipatory skill. METHODS: Twelve skilled and 11 novice cricket batters predicted the direction of balls bowled towards them. Four counterbalanced conditions of increasing PA coupling were used; a verbal response, a lower-body only representative movement, a whole body (with no bat) representative movement and a full-body (with bat) movement condition. To test anticipatory skill, participants wore PLATO liquid crystal goggles that on selected deliveries occluded vision when the bowler released the ball. Participants verbalised, moved towards or attempted to hit the ball; with the percentage of correct predictions in ball direction (forced choice ‘off’ or ‘leg’ side) representing anticipatory skill. RESULTS: A significant interaction occurred between PA coupling and skill for deliveries occluded at ball release (F[3,63] = 4.35, p < 0.01). Skilled batters significantly improved anticipatory skill from the verbal to lower-body representative movement (p < 0.05) and from full-body representative to the full-body with bat condition (p < 0.05). Novices responded at chance levels across all four conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Coupling between perception and action is essential when looking to examine anticipatory skill in time-stressed tasks. The expectation of interception may be an important factor in truly engaging the visual-motor system, on which skilled performers rely in interceptive tasks.