Perceptual-cognitive processes underlying creative expert performance in soccer.

Creativity is one of the key parts of expert performance in sport and other domains. The aim of this study was to determine the underlying perceptual and cognitive processes that underpin creative expert performance in the sport of soccer. Forty skilled adult soccer players participated. In the experimental task, they interacted with representative video-based 11 vs. 11 attacking situations whilst in possession of a ball. Clips were occluded at a key moment and participants were required to play the ball in response to each presented scenario as they would in a real-game situation. Moreover, they were required to name other additional actions they could execute for each situation. Their solutions on the task were measured using the three observation criteria for creativity of originality, flexibility, and fluency of decisions. Using these criteria, players were categorized into either high- or low-creative groups. Visual search and cognitive thought processes were recorded during the task using a portable eye-movement registration system and retrospective verbal reports. The creativity-based between-group differences in decision making were underpinned by differences in visual search strategy. Compared to the low-creative group, the high-creative players made more fixations of shorter duration in a different sequential order and to more task-relevant locations of the display, indicating a broader attentional focus. They also generated a greater number of verbal reports of thoughts related to the assessment of the current task situation and planning of future decisions when compared with the low-creative players. Our findings highlight the perceptual-cognitive processes that underlie creative expert performance in a sport-specific domain.

The association between perceptual-cognitive processes and response time in decision making in young soccer players.

In soccer, it is relevant to understand the roles of Systems 1 (intuitive) and 2 (deliberative) in perceptual-cognitive processes and how they influence response time when making decisions. The aim of this study was to analyse how response time in decision making managed by Systems 1 and 2 is associated to the perceptual-cognitive processes of young soccer players. Ninety young soccer players participated. Perceptual-cognitive processes were assessed through visual search strategies, cognitive effort, and verbal reports. Participants wore a mobile-eye tracking system while viewing 11-a-side match play video-based soccer simulations. Response time in decision making was used to create two sub-groups: faster and slower decision-makers. Results indicated that players with faster response time in decision making employed more fixations of shorter duration, displayed less cognitive effort, as well as a greater number of thought processes associated with planning. These results reinforce that there are differences in the way of using the perceptive-cognitive processes from the priority system in the decision-making process. It is concluded that faster decision making, managed by System 1, implies greater ability to employ visual search strategies and to process information, thus enabling increased cognitive efficiency.

How does mental fatigue affect soccer performance during small-sided games? A cognitive, tactical and physical approach.

OBJECTIVES: We examine how mental fatigue (MF) influences peripheral perception, tactical behaviour, and physical performance of soccer players during a standardized small-sided game. METHODS: Eighteen male university first-team soccer players participated. A modified Stroop task and the Vienna Test System were employed to induce MF and to evaluate players' peripheral perception, respectively. The FUT-SAT test was used to assess participants' tactical behaviour and physical performance was quantified using GPS technology. RESULTS: MF decreased players' visual field (pre-test = 189.9° and post-test = 181.6°). Additionally, MF constrained players to more frequently perform actions related to the tactical principles of penetration, depth mobility, and defensive unity, and less frequently perform actions of defensive coverage and balance. During MF, players showed decreased accuracy in actions related to the principles of offensive coverage, width and length, offensive unity, delay, balance, concentration, and defensive unity. Finally, under MF players covered higher total distance and at more moderate speed. CONCLUSIONS: MF decreased players' peripheral perception, making them prioritize actions towards the opposing goal and protecting their own goal, while displaying more errors for most tactical actions. In summary, MF impaired several aspects of players' cognitive and tactical behaviours, causing a compensatory increase in physical performance.

The modulation of event-related alpha rhythm during the time course of anticipation.

Anticipation is the ability to accurately predict future actions or events ahead of the act itself. When attempting to anticipate, researchers have identified that at least two broad sources of information are used: contextual information relating to the situation in question; and biological motion from postural cues. However, the neural correlates associated with the processing of these different sources of information across groups varying in expertise has yet to be examined empirically. We compared anticipation performance and electrophysiological activity in groups of expert (n = 12) and novice (n = 15) performers using a video-based task. Participants made anticipation judgements after being presented information under three conditions: contextual information only; kinematic information only; and both sources of information combined. The experts responded more accurately across all three conditions. Stronger alpha event-related desynchronization over occipital and frontocentral sites occurred in experts compared to the novices when anticipating. The experts relied on stronger preparatory attentional mechanisms when they processed contextual information. When kinematic information was available, the domain specific motor representations built up over many years of practice likely underpinned expertise. Our findings have implications for those interested in identifying and subsequently, enhancing the neural mechanisms involved in anticipation.

Why do bad balls get wickets? The role of congruent and incongruent information in anticipation.

Skilled anticipation is underpinned by the use of kinematic and contextual information. However, few researchers have examined what happens when contextual information suggests an outcome that is different from the event that follows. We aimed to bridge this gap by manipulating the relationship between contextual information and final ball location in a cricket-batting task. We predicted that when contextual information is congruent with the eventual outcome then anticipation would be facilitated. In contrast, when contextual information is incongruent, this would lead to a confirmation bias on kinematic information and result in decreased anticipation accuracy. We expected this effect to be larger in skilled performers who are more able to utilise context. Skilled and less-skilled cricket batters anticipated deliveries presented using a temporally occluded video-based task. We created conditions whereby contextual information and event outcome were either congruent or incongruent. There was a significant skill by condition interaction (p < 0.05). The skilled group anticipated significantly more accurately than the less-skilled group on the congruent trials. Both groups anticipated less accurately on incongruent trials, with the skilled participants being more negatively affected. Skilled performers prioritise contextual information and confirmation bias affects the use of kinematic information available later in the action.

The effect of consistent and varied follow-through practice schedules on learning a table tennis backhand.

In table tennis the follow-through action after a shot is an important part of skill execution. In this experiment, we aimed to extend literature around the contextual interference effect by investigating whether the way the follow-through is organised in practice affects learning of the backhand shot in table tennis. Thirty unskilled participants were allocated to blocked-variable practice, random-variable practice or a control-constant group and aimed backhand shots towards a target following ball projection from a machine. Each group completed these shots in a pre-test, a training phase with follow-through manipulations, a post-test, and a retention test. The random-variable group improved their shot accuracy from pre-test to post-test and from pre-test to retention test (both P < 0.01, d = 1.03), whereas neither the blocked-variable nor the control-constant group displayed any change in shot accuracy. Practising the follow-through in a random-variable fashion enhanced learning of the preceding shot compared with blocked-variable practice or no follow-through instructions. The benefits of learning motor skills under conditions of high contextual interference also apply to how follow-through actions are organised. The findings are valuable to coaches and suggest that instructions related to the follow-through action should be considered as well as the primary skill itself.

Creative decision making and visual search behavior in skilled soccer players.

The ability to produce creative solutions is a key part of expert performance. The aim of this study was to identify the visual search behaviors that underpin superior creative performance of skilled soccer players during simulated 11-a-side match play. Players (N = 44) were required to interact with a representative life-size video-based simulation of attacking situations whilst in possession of the ball. Clips were occluded at a key moment and they were required to play the ball in response to each situation presented. Moreover, they were required to name other additional actions they could execute for each situation. Creative performance on the task was measured using the three criteria of originality, flexibility, and fluency of decisions. Visual search behaviors were examined using a portable eye-movement registration system. Players were classified as most- (n = 11) or least-creative (n = 11) based on their performance on the representative task. The most-creative players produced more appropriate, original, flexible, and fluid decisions compared to least-creative players. The creativity-based differences in judgment were underpinned by differences in visual search strategy. Most-creative players employed a broader attentional focus including more fixations of shorter duration and towards more informative locations of the display compared with least-creative players. Moreover, most-creative players detected teammates in threatening positions earlier in the attacking play. Creative performance is underpinned by different underlying visual processes when compared to less-creative performance, which appears to be crucial in facilitating more creative solutions.

The effects of anxiety and situation-specific context on perceptual-motor skill: a multi-level investigation.

We examined the effects of anxiety and situation-specific contextual information on attentional, interpretational, and behavioural processes underpinning perceptual-motor performance as proposed by Nieuwenhuys and Oudejans (Psychological Research 76:747-759; Nieuwenhuys, Oudejans, Psychological Research 76:747-759, 2012) using an in situ task. Twelve skilled cricket batsmen played against a skilled spin bowler under conditions manipulated to induce low and high levels of anxiety and the presence of low and high levels of situation-specific context. High anxiety decreased the number of good bat-ball contacts, while high levels of situation-specific context increased the number of times the ball was missed. When under high anxiety, participants employed significantly more fixations of shorter duration to more locations, but the effects of anxiety were restricted to the attentional level only. Situation-specific context affected performance and behavioural measures but not anxiety, cognitive load or perceptual-cognitive processes, suggesting that performance is influenced through different mechanisms from anxiety that are independent of working memory load.

Contextual information and perceptual-cognitive expertise in a dynamic, temporally-constrained task.

Skilled performers extract and process postural information from an opponent during anticipation more effectively than their less-skilled counterparts. In contrast, the role and importance of contextual information in anticipation has received only minimal attention. We evaluate the importance of contextual information in anticipation and examine the underlying perceptual-cognitive processes. We present skilled and less-skilled tennis players with normal video or animated footage of the same rallies. In the animated condition, sequences were created using player movement and ball trajectory data, and postural information from the players was removed, constraining participants to anticipate based on contextual information alone. Participants judged ball bounce location of the opponent's final occluded shot. The 2 groups were more accurate than chance in both display conditions with skilled being more accurate than less-skilled (Exp. 1) participants. When anticipating based on contextual information alone, skilled participants employed different gaze behaviors to less-skilled counterparts and provided verbal reports of thoughts which were indicative of more thorough evaluation of contextual information (Exp. 2). Findings highlight the importance of both postural and contextual information in anticipation and indicate that perceptual-cognitive expertise is underpinned by processes that facilitate more effective processing of contextual information, in the absence of postural information. (PsycINFO Database Record

Capturing and testing perceptual-cognitive expertise: a comparison of stationary and movement response methods.

Numerous methods have been used to study expertise and performance. In the present article, we compare the cognitive thought processes of skilled soccer players when responding to film-based simulations of defensive situations involving two different experimental conditions. Participants either remained stationary in a seated position (n = 10) or were allowed to move (n = 10) in response to life-size film sequences of 11 versus 11 open-play soccer situations viewed from a player's perspective. Response accuracy and retrospective verbal reports of thinking were collected across the two task conditions. In the movement-based response group, participants generated a greater number of verbal report statements, including a higher proportion of evaluation, prediction, and action planning statements, than did participants in the stationary group. Findings suggest that the processing strategies employed during performance differ depending on the nature of the response required of participants. Implications for behavioral methods and experimental design are discussed.

Perceptual-cognitive skills and their interaction as a function of task constraints in soccer.

The ability to anticipate and to make decisions is crucial to skilled performance in many sports. We examined the role of and interaction between the different perceptual-cognitive skills underlying anticipation and decision making. Skilled and less skilled players interacted as defenders with life-size film sequences of 11 versus 11 soccer situations. Participants were presented with task conditions in which the ball was located in the offensive or defensive half of the pitch (far vs. near conditions). Participants' eye movements and verbal reports of thinking were recorded across two experiments. Skilled players reported more accurate anticipation and decision making than less skilled players, with their superior performance being underpinned by differences in task-specific search behaviors and thought processes. The perceptual-cognitive skills underpinning superior anticipation and decision making were shown to differ in importance across the two task constraints. Findings have significant implications for those interested in capturing and enhancing perceptual-cognitive skill in sport and other domains.

Developmental activities and the acquisition of superior anticipation and decision making in soccer players.

We examined whether soccer players with varying levels of perceptual-cognitive expertise can be differentiated based on their engagement in various types and amounts of activity during their development. A total of 64 participants interacted with life-size video clips of 11 versus 11 dynamic situations in soccer, viewed from the first-person perspective of a central defender. They were required to anticipate the actions of their opponents and to make appropriate decisions as to how best to respond. Response accuracy scores were used to categorise elite players (n = 48) as high- (n = 16) and low-performing (n = 16) participants. A group of recreational players (n = 16) who had lower response accuracy scores compared to the elite groups acted as controls. The participation history profiles of players were recorded using retrospective recall questionnaires. The average hours accumulated per year during childhood in soccer-specific play activity was the strongest predictor of perceptual-cognitive expertise. Soccer-specific practice activity during adolescence was also a predictor, albeit its impact was relatively modest. No differences were reported across groups for number of other sports engaged in during development, or for some of the key milestones achieved. A number of implications for talent development are discussed.

Identifying the processes underpinning anticipation and decision-making in a dynamic time-constrained task.

A novel, representative task was used to examine skill-based differences in the perceptual and cognitive processes underlying performance on a dynamic, externally paced task. Skilled and less skilled soccer players were required to move and interact with life-size, action sequences involving 11 versus 11 soccer situations filmed from the perspective of a central defender in soccer. The ability of participants to anticipate the intentions of their opponents and to make decisions about how they should respond was measured across two separate experiments. In Experiment 1, visual search behaviors were examined using an eye-movement registration system. In Experiment 2, retrospective verbal reports of thinking were gathered from a new sample of skilled and less skilled participants. Skilled participants were more accurate than less skilled participants at anticipating the intentions of opponents and in deciding on an appropriate course of action. The skilled players employed a search strategy involving more fixations of shorter duration in a different sequential order and toward more disparate and informative locations in the display when compared with the less skilled counterparts. The skilled players generated a greater number of verbal report statements with a higher proportion of evaluation, prediction, and planning statements than the less skilled players, suggesting they employed more complex domain-specific memory representations to solve the task. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications are discussed.