Detection of Task-Relevant Cues in Field Hockey

Coaches and participants are well aware that effective performance in complex sport situations requires perceptual as well as physical skill. The relationship between skill level and perception of sport or game-relevant cues has been investigated in several settings (e.g., Allard, Graham, & Paarsalu, 1980; Chase & Simon, 1973; deGroot, 1965). Chase and Simon (1973) and deGroot (1965, 1966) have demonstrated that skilled chess players recall the positions of chess pieces on a briefly presented display better than do unskilled players only when displays present arrangements of the playing pieces that normally occur in the game of chess. When the displays present random patterns of playing pieces, skilled players recall the display no better than do unskilled players. Allard et al. (1980) found the critical interaction between skill level and structure of the presented information when subjects were asked to recall the positions of players in photographic slides of basketball games. It has been inferred from the interaction of skill level and game structure that experienced participants have developed effective perceptual strategies through their participation. The apparent ability to use game structure as an aid to perception has not been evident in all investigations of percepiion in sport and games, however. Allard and Starkes (1980) compared the speed and accuracy of signal detection of volleyball players and nonplayers. Players were as accurate as and much more rapid than nonplayers at the task of detecting the presence of the volleyball in photographic slides of volleyball situations. However, the advantage of the experienced player was evident regardless of the degree of game structure present in the displayed slides. More recently, Saariluoma (1985) tested the role of experience in the detection of task-relevant cues by chess players. Players of all three skill levels were faster at detecting and classifying game positions than random positions. No interaction between experience and structure was noted.