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Keeping an Eye on Noisy Movements: On Different Approaches to Perceptual-Motor Skill Research and Training

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Abstract

Contemporary theorizing on the complementary nature of perception and action in expert performance has led to different emphases in the study of movement coordination and gaze behavior. On the one hand, coordination research has examined the role of variability in movement control, evidencing that variability facilitates individualized adaptations during both learning and performance. On the other hand, and at odds with this principle, the majority of gaze behavior studies have tended to average data over participants and trials, proposing the importance of universal ‘optimal’ gaze patterns in a given task, for all performers, irrespective of stage of learning. In this article, we discuss new lines of inquiry with the aim of reconciling these two distinct approaches. We consider the role of inter- and intra-individual variability in gaze behaviors and suggest directions for future research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK

    Matt Dicks

  2. School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Chris Button

  3. Centre for Sports Engineering Research, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, England, UK

    Keith Davids

  4. Physical Education and Sports Science, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Jia Yi Chow

  5. Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, MOVE Research Institute Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    John van der Kamp

  6. Institute of Human Performance, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR

    John van der Kamp

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  1. Matt Dicks
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  2. Chris Button
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  4. Jia Yi Chow
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  5. John van der Kamp
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Correspondence to Matt Dicks.

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No sources of funding were used to assist in the preparation of this review.

Conflict of interest

Matt Dicks, Chris Button, Keith Davids, Jia Yi Chow, and John van der Kamp have no conflicts of interest relevant to the content of this review.

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Dicks, M., Button, C., Davids, K. et al. Keeping an Eye on Noisy Movements: On Different Approaches to Perceptual-Motor Skill Research and Training. Sports Med 47, 575–581 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0600-3

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