The Quiet Eye durations of air pistol shooting athletes

Abstract

Background: The Focusing the attention during the preparation period undergone immediately before carrying out a motor performance is vitally important for success. Visual ability, Quiet Eye and focusing the attention on the appropriate area play a critical role in achieving successful performance in branches of sport. Quiet eye (QE) is defined as the final fixation of the pupil on a location or object for a specific motor task. Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the durations of effective and final focusing (quiet eye) carried out during the process of taking aim at the target by air pistol shooting athletes with their eyes immediately before taking a shot. Methods: A total of 8 right-handed male licensed pistol shooting athletes (4 novice and 4 elite) participated in the research. A total of 320 shots -160 dry (unscored) and 160 live (scored) shots were taken by the novice and elite athletes. For the purpose of recording pupil movements and quiet eye durations during the shots taken by the athletes, an eye-tracking device attached to the head was used. The recorded data were examined with iMotions computer software, which can perform biometric analysis. The athletes’ quiet eye durations occurring when taking aim at the target were examined according to athletes’ characteristics (novice and elite) and the type of shot carried out (scored and unscored) by means of the independent samples t-test. Results: The findings of the study revealed that the athletes had 25.3% longer quiet eye durations when firing scored shots than when firing unscored shots (p = .000). Especially, novice athletes exhibited 37.8% longer periods of focusing behaviour when firing scored shots than when firing unscored shots (p = .000). Elite athletes displayed 21.26% longer periods of focusing behaviour when firing unscored shots compared with novice athletes (p = .005). Conclusion: According to the results of the research, it can be said that in the sport of air pistol shooting, giving priority to dry shooting training and conducting special exercises for developing quiet eye (QE) duration can contribute positively to the development of novice athletes’ shooting skills. Keywords: Quiet eye, eye tracking, air pistol, shooting, motor skill, cognitive processes