Pistol shooting performance under pressure: Longitudinal changes in gaze behavior of male and female Army cadets

We found evidence that Army cadets improved their gaze behavior and performance across time under high and low pressure in a shooting task. The purpose of the study was to determine if male and female cadets developed an optimal quiet eye (QE) onset, a longer QE duration, and decreased pupil diameter variability (PDV) over time under low (LP) and high pressure (HP) conditions. The study was carried out over four sessions, with intervals of 4.5 months. During each session, 16 men and 12 women, first-year cadets of The Brazilian Army Academy, performed ten pistol shots under counterbalanced LP and HP conditions. The cadets shot in the upright position and wore an eye-tracker. Shooting accuracy improved and did not differ for men and women in the LP condition, however during HP the women performed more poorly than the men in session 1 but improved to a level similar to the men in session 4. QE duration Pre (aiming) did not differ during LP, while during HP QE Post (execution) increased across the session for men and women. QE onset 2 (execution) occurred earlier for the men than women during LP, while during HP the women improved to a level similar to the men in sessions 3 and 4. PDV declined across sessions for men and women with the lowest values in sessions 3 and 4. The findings are discussed within social facilitation theory, which states the context of training affects the rate at which improvements in motor skills occur. The results show that women cadets can improve their shooting performance, quiet eye duration, quiet eye onset and pupil diameter variability to a level similar to men if three to four LP and HP training sessions are scheduled across approximately 12–18 months.