Paul Ward

Anticipation and visual search behaviour in expert soccer goalkeepers

A novel methodological approach is presented to examine the visual search behaviours employed by expert goalkeepers during simulated penalty kick situations in soccer. Expert soccer goalkeepers were classified as successful or unsuccessful based on their performance on a film-based test of anticipation skill, thereby allowing an intra-group comparison of visual search behaviour on the task. The anticipation test required participants to move a joystick in response to penalty kick situations presented on a large screen. The proportion of penalties saved was assessed as well as the frequency and time of initiation of joystick corrections. Visual search behaviour was examined using a portable eye movement registration system. The successful experts were more accurate in predicting the height and direction of the penalty kick, waited longer before initiating a response and appeared to spend longer periods of time fixating on the non-kicking leg compared with the non-successful experts.

The road to excellence: deliberate practice and the development of expertise

The relative contribution of domain‐specific and non‐domain‐specific activities to the development of soccer expertise was examined using a retrospective cross‐sectional design. Elite and sub‐elite players aged between 9 and 18 years of age completed a participation history questionnaire under supervision. Weekly and accumulated hours spent in soccer team practice most consistently discriminated between skill levels across age cohorts. Elite players spent more time in decision‐making activities during team practice, possessed higher levels of motivation and had greater parental support. Maturational indices, time spent in playful activities, sporting diversity and time at which specialization occurred did not differentiate between groups. Engaging in activities deliberately designed to improve performance rather than mere experience within the domain or experience of related activities is likely to lead to elite status.

Capturing the Naturally Occurring Superior Performance of Experts in the Laboratory Toward a Science of Expert and Exceptional Performance

Expertise researchers have traditionally shied away from studying the highest levels of achievement in favor of studying basic cognitive processes, such as memory and categorization. In this article, we present a different approach that is focused on capturing superior (expert) performance on representative tasks that reveal the essential characteristics of expertise in a given domain. In domains where expert performance is measurable, acquisition is gradual and the highest levels are only attained after 10 years of intense preparation—even for the most “talented.” Analyses of reproducibly superior performance show that it is mediated by physiological adaptations and cognitive skills acquired as a result of the cumulative effects of special practice activities (deliberate practice). It appears that the genes necessary to attain such adaptations and expert skills can be activated in healthy children—the only clear exceptions to date being genes that control body size and height. Our knowledge of how experts acquire their superior skills provides insights into the potential for human adaptation and skill acquisition and has important implications for theories of the structure of general and expert cognition, as well as for training interventions in applied psychology and education.

The role of deliberate practice and play in career progression in sport: the early engagement hypothesis

Experts acquire domain‐specific skills as a result of the activities in which they participate throughout their development. We examine the domain‐specific activities in which two groups of elite youth soccer players participated between six and 12 years of age. Our goal was to examine early participation differences between those who progressed to professional status at 16 years of age and those who did not. Data were contrasted to a control group of recreational‐level players and examined in the context of the Developmental Model of Sport Participation, which supports the importance of late specialization and early diversity between six and 12 years of age. The elite players who went on to attain professional status accumulated more hours per year in soccer play activities, but not in soccer practice, competition or other sports, between six and 12 years of age, compared with those who did not progress. The two elite groups averaged more hours per year in soccer practice compared with recreational‐level players, but not soccer play, competition or other sports. We propose the “early engagement hypothesis” to explain our results. Accordingly, practice and play in the primary sport between six and 12 years of age contributes to the development of expert performance in English soccer.

The relative effectiveness of various instructional approaches in developing anticipation skill.

The relative effectiveness of explicit instruction, guided discovery, and discovery learning techniques in enhancing anticipation skill in young, intermediate-level tennis players was examined. Performance was assessed pre- and postintervention, during acquisition, and under transfer conditions designed to elicit anxiety through the use of laboratory and on-court measures. The 3 intervention groups improved from pre- to posttest compared with a control group (n = 8), highlighting the benefits of perceptual-cognitive training. Participants in the explicit (n = 8) and guided discovery (n = 10) groups improved their performance during acquisition at a faster rate than did the discovery learning (n = 7) group. However, the explicit group showed a significant decrement in performance when tested under anxiety provoking conditions compared with the guided discovery and discovery learning groups. Although training facilitated anticipation skill, irrespective of the type of instruction used in this experiment, guided discovery methods are recommended for expediency in learning and resilience under pressure.

The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance: Simulation for Performance and Training

Keywords: Simulation, Expert Performance, Training, Skill Acquisition, Aviation, Sport, Surgery. Introduction Many methods have been used to study experts. Traditionally, researchers have dissected performance into its constituent parts to isolate basic underlying mechanisms. Although this provides experimental control, task simplification and the use of novel and artificial tasks are antithetical to reproducing the “real-world” demands faced by actual domain experts. Changing the nature of the phenomenon under investigation may lead to a reduction, if not eradication, of the expert advantage. Cognitive anthropologists (see Clancey, Chapter 8) and Naturalistic Decision Making researchers (see Ross et al., Chapter 23), on the other hand, have argued that the most useful method of examining expertise is to capture performance as it occurs in the “natural” environment. However, critics have claimed that although this type of approach allows “real-world” performance to be described, only minimal explanation is possible with regard to the underlying cognitive processes (e.g., Yates, 2001). Brehmer and Dorner (1993) concluded that field examination may not permit any definite conclusions to be drawn, whereas laboratory tasks are often too simplistic to reach any conclusions of interest. This leaves us in the invidious position that what is interesting is not explained and what is explained is not interesting. Simulation in its many guises may offer an excellent compromise. The range and type of possible simulation environments is vast. Some are referred to as Computer-Aided Virtual Environment (CAVE) systems. Others include high fidelity simulations of complex systems (e.g.

Training perceptual-cognitive skills: Can sport psychology research inform military decision training?

In military and sports tasks, individuals are often required to perform in a complex and dynamic environment and obtain a tactical advantage over an opponent even when only partial or incomplete information is available. Successful performance in both domains is typically dependent upon the ability to work both independently and as a team in an effective manner by combining perceptual, cognitive, motor, and social skills, often under stressful circumstances. Despite these similarities, and the extensive literature bases amassed on training in each field, there has been little, if any, cross-fertilization or collaboration. We offer a synopsis of perceptual-cognitive and decision skills training research from the fields of sport psychology, expert performance, human factors, and Military Psychology with a view toward highlighting commonalities and differences in approach to training. Attention is drawn to the experimental designs and interventions employed, as well as methodological shortcomings and how these have been addressed. In addition, we highlight the differences in how training recommendations have been derived, discuss questions that have been raised in developing and validating training programs, and, in particular, emphasize the need for evidence-based practice. Our aim is to offer conclusions from the sport psychology literature that can inform the design, structure, content, and implementation of future military decision training.

Tracing the process of expertise in a simulated anticipation task

Skilled perceptual-cognitive performance is assumed to require superior anticipation, yet few researchers have explored how individual differences in processing measures mediate superior performance, particularly when characteristics of the task are systematically changed from trial to trial. This study examined how advance cue information influences anticipation using a simulated cricket batting task. Skilled (n = 10) and less skilled (n = 10) batters moved in response to life-size video images of 36 deliveries by fast and spin bowlers. Skilled participants (mean 37.3, SD 2.8 mm) were significantly more accurate at anticipating ball position as it passed through the strike zone than less skilled batters (mean 48.9, SD 5.9 mm, p < 0.05). Skilled batters fixated on central areas of the body and searched more locations (p < 0.05). Batters used fixations of longer duration and focused more on the ball and hand when viewing spin compared to fast bowlers (both p < 0.05). Visual behaviour is constrained by the task parameters and participant skill level. An analysis of immediate retrospective reports and eye fixations indicated that skilled batters search and encode scenes at a richer and more sophisticated level than less skilled players.

A commentary on "team cognition and expert teams: emerging insights into performance for exceptional teams".

Abstract This article offers a critical evaluation of the team cognition and performance literature and, in particular, the concepts, ideas, and research discussed by the authors contributing to this special issue. We begin by examining how some of the terms introduced have been defined previously and assess the appropriateness of and theoretical rationale for their use. Next, the concept of “sharedness” is considered. We specifically focus on the role of planning or plan sharing in becoming an “expert team.” Following this, we discuss the relationship between those concepts introduced and performance. We pay particular attention to the underlying mechanisms responsible for superior performance, at both the individual and team level, with a special consideration given to understanding if and why this relationship is important. Finally, we consider the added value of adopting this approach and how the research on teams might be used in improving the approaches, methods, and paradigms currently adopted in sports science and beyond. Although we play devils advocate throughout this commentary—primarily to offer a constructive introduction of this research to the sport science community and to provide the best feedback to the I/O community from the perspective of researchers from sport psychology and motor behavior—we assert that each field can benefit enormously from research collaborations and constructive debate on research topics held in common

The relationship between knowledge and clinical performance in novice and experienced critical care nurses.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to measure directly the knowledge and performance of novice and experienced critical care nurses in a simulated task environment. METHODS Nurses were required to control the physiologic deterioration of patients with respiratory compromise in 4 scenarios and were also tested on their knowledge of the constructs present in the scenarios. RESULTS The results indicate that experienced nurses possessed highly superior knowledge when compared with novice nurses (P < .001). The results further demonstrated a lack of reliable differences in actual clinical performance when nurses were considered solely on the basis of their term of experience. Group differences in performance were demonstrated only when nurses who had achieved board certification in critical care nursing were compared with the remaining participants. CONCLUSION The results demonstrate the lack of linkage between knowledge and clinical performance, which calls into question the supposition by many in nursing that knowledge and performance are inextricably linked.