Mechanisms of the Quiet Eye

In the world of perception-action research, the "quiet eye" (QE) is a highly regarded phenomenon. The QE was first observed by Vickers (1996), who identified that expert female basketball players increased the fixation durations on the basket immediately before initiating a free-throw?. The functionality of the QE has since been supported by various reviews and meta-analyses (e.g., Klostermann & Moeinirad, 2019). In Bern, we have been researching this phenomenon for many years (see video). Through this extended investigation, we were not only able to demonstrate the causal relationship between QE duration and motor performance due to experimental QE manipulation (Klostermann et al, 2013), but also to put forth an accepted extension of existing explanations of the phenomenon (e.g., Gonzales et al, 2017) with the inhibition hypothesis (Klostermann et al, 2014). Furthermore, we empirically corroborated this hypothesis by observing both the prediction of longer QE durations due to an "especial skill" (Klostermann, 2019) and the predicted dependence of QE duration on motor selection demands (Klostermann, 2020).

Selected Publications:

Klostermann, A. (2019). Especial skill vs. quiet eye duration in basketball free throw: Evidence for the inhibition of competing task solutions. European Journal of Sport Science, 19(7), 964–971. 10.1080/17461391.2019.1571113

Klostermann, A. (2020). Perception and action in a far-aiming task: Inhibition demands and the functionality of the Quiet Eye in motor performance. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 50, 101736. 10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101736

Klostermann, A., Kredel, R. & Hossner, E.-J. (2013). The «Quiet Eye» and motor performance: Task demands matter! Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 39(5), 1270–1278. 10.1037/a0031499

Klostermann, A., Kredel, R. & Hossner, E.-J. (2014). On the interaction of attentional focus and gaze: The Quiet Eye inhibits focus-related performance decrements. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 36(4), 392–400. doi: 10.1123/jsep.2013-0273

Klostermann, A. & Moeinirad, S. (2019). Fewer fixations of longer duration? Expert gaze behavior revised. German Journal for Exercise and Sport Science, 50(2), 1–16. 10.1007/s12662-019-00616-y

Literature:

Gonzalez, C. C., Causer, J., Miall, R. C., Grey, M. J., Humphreys, G. & Williams, A. M. (2017). Identifying the causal mechanisms of the quiet eye. European Journal of Sport Science, 17(1), 74–84. 10.1080/17461391.2015.1075595

Vickers, J. N. (1996). Visual control when aiming at a far target. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 22(2), 342–354. 10.1037//0096-1523.22.2.342

Contact:

André Klostermann