Peripheral perception in multiple-object tracking

Peripheral perception – the ability to perceive objects or movements without looking directly at them – is crucial in sports. Constantly challenged to make decisions under time pressure, athletes must distribute attention to several moving objects, such as teammates and opponents. Therefore, we conducted several fundamental experiments that adapted a multiple-object tracking paradigm to sport-specific requirements (e.g., large field of view) (see video). Here, we demonstrated that both when tracking multiple objects (Vater et al., 2016) and in dual tasks (Vater et al., 2017a,b), the use of peripheral perception is functional. Specifically, this functionality is influenced by: the angle of gaze to the peripheral objects (Vater et al., 2017a,b), visual clutter around these objects (crowding effect: Vater et al., 2017b), and executed eye movements (Vater et al., 2020). While providing a suitable context for empirical investigations, the multiple-object tracking paradigm cannot be recommended for sport-specific perceptual training (Vater et al., 2021).

Selected Publications:

Vater, C., Gray, R. & Holcombe, A. O. (2021). A critical systematic review of the Neurotracker perceptual-cognitive training tool. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 28(5), 1458–1483. 10.3758/s13423-021-01892-2

Vater, C., Klostermann, A., Kredel, R. & Hossner, E.-J. (2020). Detecting motion changes with peripheral vision: On the superiority of fixating over smooth-pursuit tracking. Vision Research, 171, 46–52. 10.1016/j.visres.2020.04.006

Vater, C., Kredel, R. & Hossner, E.-J. (2016). Detecting single-target changes in multiple object tracking: The case of peripheral vision. Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics, 78(4), 1004–1019. 10.3758/s13414-016-1078-7

Vater, C., Kredel, R. & Hossner, E.-J. (2017a). Detecting target changes in multiple object tracking with peripheral vision: More pronounced eccentricity effects for changes in form than in motion. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 43(5), 903–913. 10.1037/xhp0000376

Vater, C., Kredel, R. & Hossner, E.-J. (2017b). Disentangling vision and attention in multiple-object tracking: How crowding and collisions affect gaze anchoring and dual-task performance. Journal of Vision, 17(5):21, 1–13. 10.1167/17.5.21

Contact:

Christian Vater

Ernst-Joachim Hossner