Keeping your eyes on the prize: The selective visual attention of ball sports and action video game players
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1
Department of Psychological Science, School of Health and Human Sciences, Southern Cross University, Australia
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2
Southern Cross University, Australia
Aim: Selective visual attention is the ability to ignore distractions whilst focusing on relevant stimuli. Engagement with visually demanding activities such as ball sports (BS) and action video game (AVG) play is associated with improved selective visual attention. It was hypothesised that BS and AVG players would have faster saccadic reaction time (SRT) and fewer oculomotor captures than a control group which play neither. Additionally, it was also hypothesised that those that play both BS and AVG would see improved selective visual attention compared participants which only play either BS or AVG. Method: Participants (N = 49) recruited from Southern Cross University and local sporting clubs reported their weekly hours of BS and AVG play. Participants then had eye movements recorded by an eye-tracking system whilst performing an antisaccade task and an oculomotor task. Results: BS players, AVG players, and players of both activities had shorter SRTs compared to a control group which had no experience with either activity. BS and AVG players also had shorter SRTs than those that played both BS and AVG, although the differences between these SRTs were not statistically significant. When performing the oculomotor capture task, BS and AVG players were less distracted by the salient distractor than the control group. Finally, participants that play either BS and AVG were also more accurate in the distracting condition than participants that played both BS and AVG. Conclusions: These data support the notion that BS and AVG players possess greater attentional control than those that play neither. However, playing both BS and AVG was not associated with further enhancement of attentional control as hypothesised. Further research is required to investigate the combined effect of BS and AVG play on selective visual attention.
Keywords:
Ball sports,
action video games,
eye tracking,
antisaccade task,
Oculomotor capture task
Conference:
15th Annual Psychology Honours Research Conference , Coffs Harbour, Australia, 4 Oct - 5 Oct, 2018.
Presentation Type:
Research
Topic:
Abstract for 15th Annual Psychology Honours Research Conference
Citation:
Goddard
SG,
Provost
S,
Smith
S and
Bowling
A
(2019). Keeping your eyes on the prize: The selective visual attention of ball sports and action video game players.
Front. Psychol.
Conference Abstract:
15th Annual Psychology Honours Research Conference .
doi: 10.3389/conf.fpsyg.2018.74.00007
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Received:
18 Sep 2018;
Published Online:
27 Sep 2019.
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Correspondence:
Mr. Scott G Goddard, Department of Psychological Science, School of Health and Human Sciences, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour, Australia, s.goddard.11@student.scu.edu.au