Repeating head fakes in basketball: Temporal aspects affect the congruency sequence effect and the size of the head-fake effect.

Abstract

The head fake in basketball is used to hinder the anticipation performance of an opponent. During a head fake, a player turns the head into one direction, but passes the ball to the opposite direction. Several studies showed that responses to the pass direction are slower when a basketball player applies a head fake, which is known as the head-fake effect. While this effect in general is very robust, some studies showed a modulation by the trial sequence, signified by a reduced or eliminated effect when two head fakes are performed in succession. The present study examined the question how this so-called congruency sequence effect (CSE) is influenced by different timings. To this end, the interval between the response to the previous target and the onset of the next target (response-stimulus interval [RSI]; Experiment 1) and the interval between two targets (interstimulus interval [ISI]; Experiment 2) were manipulated. Results revealed a CSE for the short ISI (500 ms), and even a reversed effect for the short RSI (500 ms). Interestingly, the intermediate (2,000 ms) and long (5,000 ms) ISIs and RSIs did not show a CSE, but also no head-fake effect. Results are discussed regarding practical demands and theoretical implications. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).