Effects of Attentional Strategies on Novice Dart Throwing, Quiet Eye Duration and Pupillary Responses

Basketball free-throw training with augmented reality-based optimal shot trajectory for novice shooters

We propose an augmented reality (AR)-based training system for basketball free-throws. The optimal shot trajectory for free-throws is projected by a head-mounted display according to the shooter's release point. The efficacy of the training system was assessed in novice shooters by comparing changes in success rates and eye-gaze behavior (quiet eye [QE]) between AR-training and control-training groups. The success rate during the AR training with the optimal trajectory did not differ from the pre-training rate; however, in post-AR training, i.e., after removal of the optimal trajectory, the success rate increased. Additionally, AR training increased the QE duration (QED) compared with that recorded during pre- and post-training blocks. In contrast, the control group showed no change in the success rate or QED. These findings imply that our AR training system affected QE behavior and improved free-throwing shooting performance after training. Thus, our system is expected to enhance basketball free-throw shooting performance.

The Effect of Large Visual Illusion and External Focus of Attention on Gaze Behavior and Learning of Dart Throw Skill

Research has shown that large visual illusions and an external focus of attention can improve novice’s motor learning. However, the combined effects of these approaches and the underlying mechanisms have yet to be studied. Therefore, the present study examined the effects of a large visual illusion and an external focus on the learning of a dart throwing task in novices and measured the perceptual mechanisms underpinning learning using quiet eye. Forty novice participants were randomly divided into four groups: large visual illusion, external focus of attention, combined large visual illusion and external focus of attention, and control group. The study consisted of a pretest, a practice phase, an immediate retention test, a 24-hr retention test, and a transfer test. Results revealed that all groups increased throwing accuracy and quiet eye duration from pretest to immediate retention. In the immediate retention, 24-hr retention, and transfer test, large visual illusion had greater accuracy and longer quiet eye duration than the control group. In addition, there were no significant differences between the visual illusion and external focus groups for throwing accuracy and quiet eye duration. The findings suggest that combining large visual illusion and external focus can independently improve motor learning but combining these manipulations does not have additive benefits.