Journal of Sports and Motor Development and Learning
Scientific Journal

The Effects of the Müller-Lyer Goalkeepers’ Illusion on Perceptions and Location of Throws of Penalty Takers

Document Type : Research Paper I Open Access I Released under CC BY-NC 4.0 license

Authors

Hamid Salehi 1
Zahra Zareie 2
Parisa Kalantari 3

1 Associate Professor of Motor Behavior, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

2 MSc in Motor Behavior, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

3 MSc in Sport Biomechanics, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22059/jmlm.2018.239434.1286
Abstract
The main aim of the present study was to investigate whether the goalkeepers’ postures that mimic the Müller–Lyer illusion can influence penalty-takers’ perceptions and the location of throws. A representation of a goalkeeper was projected onto a blank screen (without goalposts and crossbar). The goalkeeper was displayed in arms-up (45 degrees above horizon), arms-out (horizontal, as control), and arms-down (45 degrees below horizon) postures. Participants (11 young male handball players) performed two tasks. They stood in front of the screen at a distance of 5 m and observed the goalkeeper displayed in one of the three postures. The participants were asked either to throw a tennis ball, or aim a laser pointer at, the horizontal position of the goalkeeper’s hand. The horizontal distances of throwing and aiming locations were measured from the midline of the body of the goalkeeper model. The goalkeeper postures affected the locations of the throwing and aiming. The participants’ aiming and throwing tasks were found to be significantly farther from and closer in the arms-up and arms-down postures compared with the arms-out posture respectively. The experiment demonstrated that a goalkeeper adopting Müller–Lyer postures can influence his opponent’s perception of maximum reach and his motor behavior.

Keywords

action
goalkeeper
perception
visual pathways
1.   Masters RSW, van der Kamp J, Jackson RC. Imperceptibly off-center goalkeepers influence penalty-kick direction in soccer. Psychological science. 2007;18(3):222-3.
2.   Weigelt M, Memmert D, Schack T. Kick it like ballack: The effects of goalkeeping gestures on goal-side selection in experienced soccer players and soccer novices. Journal of Cognitive Psychology. 2012;24(8):942-56.
3.   Goodale MA, Milner AD. Separate visual pathways for perception and action. Trends in neurosciences. 1992;15(1):20-5.
4.   Milner AD, Goodale MA. Two visual systems re-viewed. Neuropsychologia. 2008;46(3):774-85.
5.   Müller-Lyer FC. Optische urteilstauschungen. Archiv Fur Anatomie und Physiologie Physiologische Abteilung. 1889;2:263–70.
6.   Bruno N, Franz VH. When is grasping affected by the müller-lyer illusion?: A quantitative review. Neuropsychologia. 2009;47(6):1421-33.
7.   Morikawa K. An application of the müller–lyer illusion. Perception. 2003;32(1):121-3.
8.   van der Kamp J, Masters RSW. The human muller-lyer illusion in goalkeeping. Perception. 2008;37(6):951-4.
9.   Smeets JB, Brenner E. 10 years of illusions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. 2006;32(6):1501-4.
10. van der Kamp J, van Doorn H, Masters RSW. A judd illusion in far-aiming: Evidence of a contribution to action by vision for perception. Experimental brain research. 2009;197(2):199-204.
11. Caljouw SR, van der Kamp J, Savelsbergh GJP. Visual illusions and the control of ball placement in goal-directed hitting. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. 2010;81(4):410-5.
12. Caljouw SR, van der Kamp J, Lijster M, Savelsbergh GJP. Differential effects of a visual illusion on online visual guidance in a stable environment and online adjustments to perturbations. Consciousness and Cognition. 2011;20(4):1135-43.
13. Flanagan JR, Beltzner MA. Independence of perceptual and sensorimotor predictions in the size–weight illusion. Nature Neuroscience 2000;3(7):737-41.
14. Flanagan JR, Bittner JP, Johansson RS. Experience can change distinct size-weight priors engaged in lifting objects and judging their weights. Current Biology. 2008;18(22):1742-7.
15. SimulCam™technology. Dartfish connect prosuite. 7 ed. GA: Alpharetta; 2015.
16. Gonzalez C, Ganel T, Whitwell R, Morrissey B, Goodale MA. Practice makes perfect, but only with the right hand: Sensitivity to perceptual illusions with awkward grasps decreases with practice in the right but not the left hand. Neuropsychologia. 2008;46(2):624-31.
17. Bruno N, Bernardis P, Gentilucci M. Visually guided pointing, the müller-lyer illusion, and the functional interpretation of the dorsal-ventral split: Conclusions from 33 independent studies. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 2008;32(3):423-37.
18. van Doorn H, van der Kamp J, Savelsbergh GJP. Grasping the müller-lyer illusion: The contributions of vision for perception in action. Neuropsychologia. 2007;45(8):1939-47.
19. van der Kamp J, Rivas F, Van Doorn H, Savelsbergh G. Ventral and dorsal system contributions to visual anticipation in fast ball sports. International Journal of Sport Psychology. 2008;39:100-30.
Journal of Sports and Motor Development and Learning
Volume 11, Issue 1
Spring 2019
Pages 71-86

  • Receive Date 02 October 2017
  • Revise Date 23 May 2019
  • Accept Date 10 September 2018

Home

Publication Ethics

Guide for Authors

Submit Manuscript

Contact Us