Journal of Research in Rehabilitation Sciences

Effect of the Quiet Eye Training on Motor Learning of Pistol Shooters

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

1 PhD Student, Department of Motor Behavior, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Motor Behavior, Sport Science Research Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Motor Behavior, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran

4 Professor, Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, School of Physical Education and Sport Science, Imam Hossein University, Tehran, Iran

10.22122/jrrs.v16i0.3485

Abstract

Introduction: A quiet eye is a key predictor in the efficient implementation of the inhibitory tasks and targeting. This study aims to investigate the effect of quiet eye training on improving the performance of pistol shooters.Materials and Methods: This was a controlled clinical trial study in which the participants included 20 male and female shooters with an average age of 22 years and a record between 545 and 555 m. The subjects were purposively selected from among 60 male and female shooters who participated in the 10-meter pistol race and in the country’s top competitions. Ater completing the consent form, the subjects were classified from the highest score to the lowest score based on the pre-test scores and were placed in two groups as one in between (ABBA method) (10 in quiet eye training and 10 in technical training). The participants performed 10 attempts at each of the pre-test, post-test, and retention tests. The training protocol of the quiet eye group was in accordance with the pattern obtained from the elite shooter pattern along with the verbal instruction for 8 sessions and in 6 blocks of 10 consecutive shoots. Data was analyzed through the independent t-test, repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Bonferroni post-hoc test in the SPSS software (version 20, IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA) at the level P < 0.050. Results: The repeated measures ANOVA results of the study groups (from pre-test to retention) showed that these changes were significant for the quiet eye training group (P ≤ 0.001). According to the results of the Bonferroni post-hoc test, the quiet eye training group had a better shooting function in the post-test (P ≤ 0.010) and retention (P ≤ 0.020) stages compared to the pre-test. The results of the independent t-test indicated that there was a significant difference between the quiet training and technical groups in the pos-test (P ≤ 0.007) and retention phases (P ≤ 0.004).Conclusion: The findings suggested that the quiet eye training can improve the learning of pistol shooting skills through external guidance of visual attention.

Keywords

  1. Vickers JN. Advances in coupling perception and action: The quiet eye as a bidirectional link between gaze, attention, and action. Prog Brain Res 2009; 174: 279-88.
  2. Vickers JN. Perception, cognition, and decision training: The quiet eye in action. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 2007.
  3. Nagano T, Kato T, Fukuda T. Visual behaviors of soccer players while kicking with the inside of the foot. Percept Mot Skills 2006; 102(1): 147-56.
  4. Klostermann A, Hossner EJ. The quiet eye and motor expertise: Explaining the "Efficiency Paradox". Front Psychol 2018; 9: 104.
  5. Vickers J, Williams A. Performing under pressure: The effects of physiological arousal, cognitive anxiety, and gaze control in biathlon. J Motor Behav 2007; 39(5): 381-94.
  6. Wilson MR, Causer J, Vickers JN. Aiming for excellence: The quiet eye as a characteristic of expertise. In: Baker J, Farrow D. Routledge handbook of sport expertise. New York, NY: Routledge/Taylor and& Francis Group; 2015. p. 22-37.
  7. Land MF. Vision, eye movements, and natural behavior. Vis Neurosci 2009; 26(1): 51-62.
  8. Thilo KV, Santoro L, Walsh V, Blakemore C. The site of saccadic suppression. Nat Neurosci 2004; 7(1): 13-4.
  9. Vickers JN. Visual control when aiming at a far target. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 1996; 22(2): 342-54.
  10. Williams AM, Singer RN, Frehlich SG. Quiet eye duration, expertise, and task complexity in near and far aiming tasks. J Mot Behav 2002; 34(2): 197-207.
  11. Moran A. Cognitive psychology in sport: Progress and prospects. Psychology of Sport and Exercise 2009; 10(4): 420-6.
  12. Causer J, Holmes PS, Williams AM. Quiet eye training in a visuomotor control task. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2011; 43(6): 1042-9.
  13. Rienhoff R, Hopwood MJ, Fischer L, Strauss B, Baker J, Schorer J. Transfer of motor and perceptual skills from basketball to darts. Front Psychol 2013; 4: 593.
  14. Rodrigues ST, Vickers JN, Williams AM. Head, eye and arm coordination in table tennis. J Sports Sci 2002; 20(3): 187-200.
  15. Piras A, Vickers JN. The effect of fixation transitions on quiet eye duration and performance in the soccer penalty kick: Instep versus inside kicks. Cogn Process 2011; 12(3): 245-55.
  16. Vine SJ, Moore LJ, Wilson MR. Quiet eye training: the acquisition, refinement and resilient performance of targeting skills. Eur J Sport Sci 2014; 14(Suppl 1): S235-S242.
  17. Amini A, Vaezmousavi M, Naji M. The effect of internal and external attention focus on quiet eye characteristics of military elite shooters. Ebnesina. 2018; 20(3): 30-8. [In Persian].
  18. Causer J, Bennett SJ, Holmes PS, Janelle CM, Williams AM. Quiet eye duration and gun motion in elite shotgun shooting. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2010; 42(8): 1599-608.
  19. Wilson MR, Miles CA, Vine SJ, Vickers JN. Quiet eye distinguishes children of high and low motor coordination abilities. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2013; 45(6): 1144-51.
  20. Moore LJ, Vine SJ, Cooke A, Ring C, Wilson MR. Quiet eye training expedites motor learning and aids performance under heightened anxiety: The roles of response programming and external attention. Psychophysiology 2012; 49(7): 1005-15.
  21. Vine SJ, Wilson MR. The influence of quiet eye training and pressure on attention and visuo-motor control. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2011; 136(3): 340-6.
  22. Vickers J. The quiet eye: Origins, controversies, and future directions. Kinesiol Rev 2016; 5: 119-28.
  23. Miles CA, Wood G, Vine SJ, Vickers JN, Wilson MR. Quiet eye training facilitates visuomotor coordination in children with developmental coordination disorder. Res Dev Disabil 2015; 40: 31-41.
  24. Gonzalez CC, Causer J, Miall RC, Grey MJ, Humphreys G, Williams AM. Identifying the causal mechanisms of the quiet eye. Eur J Sport Sci 2017; 17(1): 74-84.
  25. Causer J. The future of Quiet Eye research - comment on Vickers. Current Issues in Sport Science 2016; 1: 103.
  26. Klostermann A, Panchuk D, Farrow D. Perception-action coupling in complex game play: Exploring the quiet eye in contested basketball jump shots. J Sports Sci 2018; 36(9): 1054-60.
  27. Moore LJ, Vine SJ, Smith AN, Smith SJ, Wilson MR. Quiet eye training improves small arms maritime marksmanship. Mil Psychol 2014; 26(5-6): 355-65.
  28. Vine S, Wilson M. Quiet eye training: effects on learning and performance under pressure. J Appl Sport Psychol 2010; 22: 361-76.
  29. Piras A, Lobietti R, Squatrito S. Response time, visual search strategy, and anticipatory skills in volleyball players. J Ophthalmol 2014; 2014: 189268.
  30. Miles CAL, Vine SJ, Wood G, Vickers JN, Wilson MR. Quiet eye training improves throw and catch performance in children. Psychol Sport Exerc 2014; 15(5): 511-5.
  31. Miles CA, Wood G, Vine SJ, Vickers JN, Wilson MR. Quiet eye training aids the long-term learning of throwing and catching in children: Preliminary evidence for a predictive control strategy. Eur J Sport Sci 2017; 17(1): 100-8.
  32. Alder D, Ford PR, Causer J, Williams AM. The coupling between gaze behavior and opponent kinematics during anticipation of badminton shots. Hum Mov Sci 2014; 37: 167-79.
  33. Wilson MR, Richards H. Putting it together: skills for pressure performance. In: Collins D, Button A, Richards H, editors. Performance Psychology. Edinburgh, UK: Churchill Livingstone; 2011. p. 337-60.
  34. Mann DT, Coombes SA, Mousseau MB, Janelle CM. Quiet eye and the Bereitschaftspotential: visuomotor mechanisms of expert motor performance. Cogn Process 2011; 12(3): 223-34.
  35. Wulf G, Shea C, Lewthwaite R. Motor skill learning and performance: A review of influential factors. Med Educ 2010; 44(1): 75-84.
  36. Nagano T, Kato T, Fukuda T. Visual behaviors of soccer players while kicking with the inside of the foot. Percept Mot Skills 2006; 102(1): 147-56
  37. . Wilson MR, Pearcy RC. Visuomotor control of straight and breaking golf putts. Percept Mot Skills 2009; 109(2): 555-62.
  38. Williams AM, Davids K, Burwitz L, Williams JG. Visual search strategies in experienced and inexperienced soccer players. Res Q Exerc Sport 1994; 65(2): 127-35.
  39. Goldberg JH, Wichansky AM. Eye tracking in usability evaluation: A practitioner's guide. In: Hyona J, Radach R, Deubel H, editors. The mind's eye. Amsterdam, Holland: North-Holland; 2003. p. 493-516.
  40. Vickers JN. Mind over muscle: the role of gaze control, spatial cognition, and the quiet eye in motor expertise. Cogn Process 2011; 12(3): 219-22.
  41. Behan M, Wilson M. State anxiety and visual attention: The role of the quiet eye period in aiming to a far target. J Sports Sci 2008; 26(2): 207-15.
  42. Klostermann A, Kredel R, Hossner EJ. The "quiet eye" and motor performance: task demands matter! J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 2013; 39(5): 1270-8.
  43. Taghizadeh F, Hosseini FS, Behnam M. The effect of quiet eye training on learning skills of table tennis. Motor Behavior 2019; 11(37): 53-68. [In Persian].
  44. Aliasghari-ToyehM, GhadiriF, ArshamS, YaaliR. Comparison of the effect of quiet eye training and anticipation training on the performance of hockey goalkeepers. J Res Rehabil Sci 2017; 13(6): 334-40. [In Persian].
  45. YazdaniM, ShahbaziM, Fazel-KalkhoranJ, ArabameriE. The effect of different types of quiet eye training on kicking skill in children with high motor proficiency. J Res Rehabil Sci 2018; 14(2): 101-8. [In Persian].
Journal of Research in Rehabilitation Sciences
Volume 16, Issue 1 - Serial Number 1
April 2020
Pages 9-16