Quiet eye facilitates sensorimotor preprograming and online control of precision aiming in golf putting

The present research examined the immediate impact of challenge and threat states on golf performance in both real competition and a laboratory-based task. In Study 1, 199 experienced golfers reported their evaluations of competition demands and personal coping resources before a golf competition. Evaluating the competition as a challenge (i.e., sufficient resources to cope with demands) was associated with superior performance. In Study 2, 60 experienced golfers randomly received challenge or threat manipulation instructions and then performed a competitive golf-putting task. Challenge and threat states were successfully manipulated and the challenge group outperformed the threat group. Furthermore, the challenge group reported less anxiety, more facilitative interpretations of anxiety, less conscious processing, and displayed longer quiet eye durations. However, these variables failed to mediate the group–performance relationship. These studies demonstrate the importance of considering preperformance psychophysiological states when examining the influence of competitive pressure on motor performance.

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Multifractality in postural sway supports quiet eye training in aiming tasks: A study of golf putting

Human Movement Science ◽

10.1016/j.humov.2020.102752 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 102752

Author(s):

Noah Jacobson ◽

Quinn Berleman-Paul ◽

Madhur Mangalam ◽

Damian G. Kelty-Stephen ◽

Christopher Ralston

Keyword(s):

Postural Sway ◽

Golf Putting ◽

Quiet Eye

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On the Interaction of Attentional Focus and Gaze: The Quiet Eye Inhibits Focus-Related Performance Decrements

Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology ◽

10.1123/jsep.2013-0273 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 36 (4) ◽

pp. 392-400 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

André Klostermann ◽

Ralf Kredel ◽

Ernst-Joachim Hossner

Keyword(s):

High Performance ◽

Alternative Hypothesis ◽

Large Body ◽

Attentional Focus ◽

Focus Of Attention ◽

Causal Chain ◽

Gaze Behavior ◽

Golf Putting ◽

Quiet Eye

To date, despite a large body of evidence in favor of the advantage of an effect-related focus of attention compared with a movement-related focus of attention in motor control and learning, the role of vision in this context remains unclear. Therefore, in a golf-putting study, the relation between attentional focus and gaze behavior (in particular, quiet eye, or QE) was investigated. First, the advantage of an effect-related focus, as well as of a long QE duration, could be replicated. Furthermore, in the online-demanding task of golf putting, high performance was associated with later QE offsets. Most decisively, an interaction between attentional focus and gaze behavior was revealed in such a way that the efficiency of the QE selectively manifested under movement-related focus instructions. As these findings suggest neither additive effects nor a causal chain, an alternative hypothesis is introduced explaining positive QE effects by the inhibition of not-to-be parameterized movement variants.

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The quiet eye supports error recovery in golf putting

Psychology of Sport and Exercise ◽

10.1016/j.psychsport.2017.03.012 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 31 ◽

pp. 21-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

R.M. Walters-Symons ◽

M.R. Wilson ◽

S.J. Vine

Keyword(s):

Error Recovery ◽

Golf Putting ◽

Quiet Eye

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The Quiet Eye Provides Preplanning and Online Control Support for Interceptive Task Performance

Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology ◽

10.1123/jsep.2016-0012 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 38 (5) ◽

pp. 458-469 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Guoxiao Sun ◽

Liwei Zhang ◽

Samuel J. Vine ◽

Mark R. Wilson

Keyword(s):

Task Performance ◽

Online Control ◽

Causal Role ◽

Moving Target ◽

Knowledge Gap ◽

Subsequent Performance ◽

Control Processes ◽

Quiet Eye

Longer quiet eye (QE) periods are associated with better performance across a range of targeting and interceptive tasks. However, the direction of this relationship is still unclear. The two studies presented aimed to narrow this knowledge gap by experimentally manipulating QE duration—by delaying its onset or by truncating its offset—in an aiming interceptive task. In Experiment 1, the early trajectory was occluded, causing significantly shorter QE durations and worse subsequent performance. In Experiment 2, both early and/or late trajectory were occluded. Performance was degraded by the occlusion of either early or late information, and the worst performance occurred when both the early and late trajectory were occluded. Taken together, the results suggest that QE is not a by-product of performance but instead plays a causal role in supporting the interception of a moving target through a combination of preprogramming and online control processes.

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