The Perception & Action Podcast

Is fear in a performer a debilitating problem that must be overcome? Or can freezing from fear actually improve our ability to perceive and act?   Articles: Ready and waiting: Freezing as active action preparation under threat Simulated self-motion alters perceived time to collision Freezing promotes perception of coarse visual features Seeing fearful body language rapidly freezes the observer's m...

A look at perceptual-motor development from the ecological perspective.  If it’s not pre-programmed by our genetics, how does a child’s pattern of movements emerge from the dynamical constraints of their environment? And how does movement shape perceptual discovery?   Articles/links: Motor Development: A New Synthesis Infant bouncing: The assembly and tuning of action systems Crawling versus walki...

A discussion Andrew Wilson from Leeds Beckett. We discuss ecological psychology ideas like motor abundance, functional equivalence and degeneracy, Andrew’s recent study on task dynamics and information in throwing, his work on affordances and throwing prehistoric stones, and the current and future state of the ecological approach.   More information about my guest: http://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/st...

A look at perceptual-motor development from an information processing, stage-based perspective.  What is the relative importance of genetics and early experience? Are their critical periods in which perceptual and motor skills must develop? What is an efference copy?   Articles/links: What Is Motor Development? The Lessons of History Infancy and Human Growth Effects of visual deprivation on morpho...

Thinking aloud about some sports science issues as I prepare for my first 50K ultra.  What is the optimal focus of attention for a runner and how does it change as you switch from road to trail?  How can one best acquire the skill of downhill running?  Does it depend on where you look?   Articles/links: My training log: https://www.strava.com/athletes/17201121 Race I am doing: http://www.aravaipar...

A discussion with Kylie Steel Senior Lecturer in the School of Science and Health at Western Sydney University in Australia. In the interview we discuss biological motion: what is it and how can we apply it to sport, how important is it to be able to quickly recognize a teammate on the field or court, do compression garments work and if so how, and how are skilled acquisition professionals viewed...

What is stereotype threat and how can it affect sports performance? Is it possible that being challenged by a statement like “girls can’t play sports” could make a female athlete perform better in some situations?   Articles: On the causal mechanisms of stereotype threat: can skills that don't rely heavily on working memory still be threatened? “Girls should cook, rather than kick!” – Female socce...

A discussion with Joe Baker, Professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science at York University in Canada. Topics include: how good are we at identifying talent, early specialization vs diversification, designing effective learning environments, retention and transfer of sports skills, and are sports good for our long term health?   More information about my guest: http://www.yorku.ca/ba...

A look at the unique perceptual and cognitive issues associated with uninhabited air vehicles (UAVs) and helicopters. Are fully automated drones a good idea? What are some of the technologies that have been developed to improve performance with these alternative forms of flight? -Knowing when not to act in sports (Time 19:36)   Articles/links: Human Factors Implications of UAVs in the National Air...

A discussion with Costas Karageorghis, Reader in Sport Psychology from Brunel University and author of the new book “Applying Music in Exercise and Sport”. We discuss topics including how music can make athletes perform better and for longer, how music effects an athlete’s attentional focus and perceived effort, how to choose the best music for a particular sport or activity, when not to use music...

News: What type of feedback do coaches give to boxers between rounds? Does the attentional focus, level of autonomy and valence of the feedback relate to winning and losing? How do the inherent capabilities of a performer (i.e., skill level) interact with their momentary capabilities?   Articles/links: http://sports-biometrics-conference.com/ Coaching cues in amateur boxing: An analysis of ringsid...

A discussion with Amit Katwala, senior writer for Sport Magazine and author of the new book: The Athletic Brain: How Neuroscience is Revolutionizing Sport and Can Help You Perform Better.  we discuss topics including how the brains of elites athletes are different than normal people, some methods teams are using to short cut this process with brain training, ways you can trick yourself into having...

A look at some of the developments in cockpit technology. Do “glass cockpits” really lead to better flying performance? Can Head-Up Displays and Highways in the Sky reduce pilot workload? Has automation in aviation lived up to its promise? -Why does having a “quiet eye” resulting in better sports performance? (Time 20:45)   Articles/links: Learning to fly glass cockpits requires a new cognitive mo...

Does the advantage of being relatively older (i.e., being born in Jan, Feb or March) hold up when the highest levels of sport are examined?  Why might this effect reverse, giving a clear advantage to the relatively young underdogs?   Articles: Annual age grouping and athlete development: A meta-analytical review of relative age effect in sport No Relative Age Effect in the Birth Dates of Award Win...

News: A look at a couple recent motor learning studies. How can we build on basic concepts such like contextual interference and extrinsic feedback to speed skill acquisition?   Articles: The Effect of Gradual Increase in Contextual Interference on Acquisition, Retention and Transfer of Volleyball Skills More Feedback Is Better than Less: Learning a Novel Upper Limb Joint Coordination Pattern with...

One of the greatest challenges those of us working in sports currently face is how to keep athletes healthy and on the field.  Should we take a conservative approach, giving them more rest days and not pushing them so hard in practice?  Or should we believe what doesn’t kill them will only make the stronger?  Is there a way we can use analytics, biomechanics or movement analyses to predict when an...

A discussion of the history of flight training with an emphasis on flight simulation. What makes a good simulator? Should it really perfectly re-create the real world? Can we identify effective pilots through screening tests? -Part vs whole training in sport (Time 21:01)   Articles/links: The Link Trainer Naive Realism: Misplaced Faith in Realistic Displays Motion in depth: Adequate and inadequate...

What are conditional probabilities and how can they be used to help you draft and set you weekly lineup for a fantasy football team? More About the Analysis: http://perceptionaction.com/bayesintro   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podcast Facebook page (videos, pics, etc)   Credits: The Flamin' Groovies - Shake Some Action...

A few thoughts on the “Seeing the forest and the trees: Theoretical and practical issues in sport expertise” workshop held in conjunction with Annual Meeting of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSA) on June 14, 2016. http://naspspa.com/2016-naspspa-conference-workshops/ More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my...

An analysis of some of the most serious plane crashes that were caused by human error with a goal of understanding what happened in terms of perceptual-motor and cognitive processes. What can we learn from these unfortunate incidents so that they never happen again?  -Some famous errors on the sports field (Time 23:48)   Articles/links: http://www.planecrashinfo.com/cause.htm Human Factors in Avia...

How do pilots use all the information from the outside environment, instruments and air traffic control to make decisions and act?  Does their ability to sample information depend on experience?  What are some of the common decision making errors that can occurs? -Why do performers learn better when they can control when feedback is received? (Time 24:10)   Articles: Priority and organization of i...

How does a pilot know which way is up or whether they are banking left or right? Sounds easy, but maintaining spatial orientation is one of the most difficult challenges in aviation.  What visual and vestibular information can be used to orient oneself and what illusions cause spatial disorientation? -Can showing an athlete their opponent’s strengths lead to ironic errors under pressure? (Time 21:...

What visual information can a pilot use to land a plane? What misperceptions can occur and how can they lead to crashes?  What is the Black Hole Illusion? -What is the best way to train an athlete: start easy or start hard?(Time 22:19)   Articles: Aviation Visual Perception: Research, Misperception & Mishaps Optic flow and visual analysis of the base-to-final turn Visual judgments in motion A...

How effective is driver training and education?  Is it helping to reduce accidents? Which countries have the most difficult driver’s tests?  Can simulation help improve training and licensing procedures? -What is the most unbreakable record in sports? (Time 17:56).   Articles/Books: Understanding Driving Driver Education Task Analysis The effectiveness of driver training as a road safety measure:...

How good are drivers at detecting the risks and dangers that lurk around the corner? What is the best way to assess this ability?  Do people actually want some risk when driving?  Is the desire for risk going to counteract our efforts to making make the road safer through interventions? -How does glare effect sports performance and do products like eye black actually work? (Time 22:03). Articles/B...