Quiet eye gaze behavior of expert, and near-expert, baseball plate umpires.

The quiet eye gaze behavior of 4 near-expert and 4 expert baseball umpires who called balls and strikes in simulated pitch-hit situations was assessed with a mobile eye cornea tracker system. Statistical analyses of the umpires' gaze behavior (fixation/pursuit tracking, saccades, and blinks)--onset, duration, offset, and frequency--were performed between and within 4 stages (pitcher's preparation, pitcher's delivery, ball in flight, and umpire call) by umpire's skill level. The results indicated that the quiet eye of expert umpires at onset of the pitcher's release point occurred earlier and was longer in duration than near-expert umpires.

Visual gaze behavior of near-expert and expert fast pitch softball umpires calling a pitch.

The purpose of this study was to examine the difference in visual gaze behavior between near expert (NE) and expert (E) umpires in a simulated pitch-hit situation in fast pitch softball. An Applied Science Laboratory mobile eye tracker was worn by 4 NE and 4 E fast pitch umpires and recorded their visual gaze behavior while following pitches (internal view). A digital camera located behind the pitcher recorded the external view of the pitcher, hitter, catcher, and umpire actions for each pitch.

Use of an occlusion paradigm to examine anticipation of accelerating and decelerating stimuli.

An occlusion paradigm was used to study the effects of intratrial accelerating, decelerating, and constant stimulus velocity on coincidence-anticipation timing. The Bassin anticipation timer was used to occlude the beginning, middle, and end locations of the stimulus traveling to a designated target area. The coincident anticipation responses of 64 college-age participants (32 men; 32 women) were measured for each intratrial stimulus velocity.

Effects of increasing and decreasing intratrial stimulus speed on coincidence-anticipation timing.

The effects of intratrial stimulus speeds on coincidence-anticipation timing was investigated. The Bassin Anticipation Timer was used to test 82 participants' response times when the intratrial stimulus speed decreased, was constant, or increased. Analysis showed a significant temporal directional bias with increased and decreased intratrial speed.

Recognition accuracy by experienced men and women players of basketball.

This study examined 30 experienced basketball players' recognition accuracy by sex, playing position (guard, forward, and center), and situations in the game of basketball. The study used a perceptual cognitive paradigm in which subjects viewed slides of structured and unstructured game situations and accurately recognized the presence or absence of the basketball. A significant difference in recognition accuracy by sex, players' position, and structure of the game situation was found.