Video-based Test Research Articles

Should I Just Stick to the Wall? Evaluating the Social Acceptance and Preferred Driving Side of Wall Following

The need for safe, predictable, and reliable robot navigation is fundamental for mobile robots to move around in home and office environments. Shortest-path navigation is a popular robot navigation method that uses the most efficient path to get to the desired goal. This behaviour is not always easy to interpret, understand, and avoid in a congested hallway. Instead, more predictable navigation methods, such as a robot following a wall, can help increase social acceptance and help avoid the robot crossing the pedestrian path. If a robot follows along a wall, a key variable to consider is the preferred driving side of the robot (left or right) in areas such as in narrow passages, and its perceived impact on social acceptance. This international user study (n = 143) involved an online video-based test to compare robot evaluation and social acceptance for two types of mobile navigation (Wall-Following and Shortest Path), including the preferred driving side for Wall-Following. A Fetch robot navigated from start to goal position in a series of indoor scenarios with a pedestrian. Select scenarios included a hallway, doorway, and intersection. Independent Sample T-Tests results found that Wall-Following was rated significantly higher than Shortest Path for being perceived as more comfortable and predictable, regardless of robot driving side. The preference for the driver side of the robot did not match the country of residence, nor did it have a significant impact on robot ratings. There were significant interaction effects for comfort, safety and predictable scores across two timepoints. Given the popularity of Shortest Path navigation, the findings indicate that this approach might not be the most appropriate for human settings. Additional investigation into Wall-Following behaviours is recommended for social acceptance, even if the method compromises the efficiency of the robot to acheive its objective.

Mentalizing Abilities in Major Depressive Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder: Measuring Hypermentalization and Implicit Mentalization with the Hungarian Version of the MASC

IntroductionBorderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is the most common personality disorder in psychiatric care. BPD often co-occurs with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Both BPD and MDD are associated with various impairments of social functioning. Among these, mentalizing disturbances are the most extensively studied.ObjectivesThe Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC) is an ecologically valid video-based test, which is suitable for measuring both hypermentalization and implicit mentalization. Based on the literature, it is sensitive enough to detect mild deficits in mentalization capacities. In this study, we investigated mentalization deficits with a special focus on implicit mentalization and hypermentalization in patients with MDD and MDD+BPD with a set of well-established mentalization tests including MASC.MethodsWe examined patients with MDD (n=43) during the depressive episode. A subgroup of these patients was also diagnosed with BPD (MDD+BPD group; n=23), the other group had no comorbid personality disorder (MDD group; n=20). We assessed the patients’ mentalization abilities using the Hungarian version of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test, the Faux Pas test, and the MASC test. Additionally, symptom scales (measuring the severity of anxiety, and depression), WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale), the Childhood Trauma Scale, as well as scales measuring affect regulation and attachment were used during the assessment.ResultsThere were no differences between the two groups in terms of age, IQ, or the severity of depression and anxiety. The MDD+BPD group exhibited significantly poorer performance in the MASC total mentalization score (MW U=118, df=1,41, p< 0,001), as well as in the hypermentalization score (MW U=98,5, df=1,41, p< 0,001). The MDD+BPD group achieved significantly lower results on the emotion recognition and mentalization measures in the RMET test (t=2,883, df=1,41, p< 0,001). The MDD+BPD group performed significantly worse on the Faux Pas test measuring mentalization (MW U=144,5, df=1,41, p< 0,001). In the whole sample, MASC performance correlated with overall IQ.ConclusionsThe MASC, RMET, and Faux Pas tests show a consistent trend and indicate significant differences between the mentalization abilities of MDD+BPD and MDD patients. Our findings are in line with data in the literature: BPD patients’ implicit mentalization with a predominance of hypermentalization is impaired. This impairment is detectable when we compare their performance with MDD patients without BPD. In the future, a larger sample size, additional tests, and the inclusion of a control group are needed to further investigate MDD and MDD+BPD patients’ mentalizing deficits. However, our results emphasize the significance of mentalization-based therapies in the therapy of patients with BPD and depression.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Developing cognitive and motor decision-making skills through tactical principles and small-sided games in youth soccer

ABSTRACT This study aimed to verify the influence of 25 training sessions based on tactical principles and small-sided and conditioned games (SSCG) in developing cognitive and motor decision-making skills of U-12 soccer players. Participants were 25 U-12 elite male soccer players from a Brazilian first division national club. Perceptual-cognitive decision-making skills (quality and response time) were assessed with an objective video-based test (TacticUP®). Perceptual-motor decision-making skills (tactical efficiency) were assessed with the System of Tactical Assessment in Soccer (FUT-SAT). Both instruments were developed based on the same theoretical background (core tactical principles). The 25 training sessions were organised based on tactical principles and SSCG. The sessions were designed considering the individual needs to improve decision-making skills. Results showed improvements (p < .05) in: 1) perceptual-cognitive decision-making skills related to the decision-making time for both offensive and defensive actions and 2) perceptual-motor skills for defensive actions. We also found unexpected results for the quality of decision-making. It decreased for the defensive phase in post-test. We concluded that 25 training sessions based on core tactical principles and SSCG improved perceptual-cognitive related to decision time and perceptual-motor decision-making skills. Improvement of decision-making time apparently is related to improvement in tactical efficiency of U-12 soccer players.

Measuring pre-service teachers’ decision-making in classroom management: A video-based assessment approach

This study presents a video-based test instrument entitled CME-Decide that focuses on pre-service teachers' decision-making skills as part of their Classroom Management Expertise. A sample of 284 pre-service teachers viewed 12 short video clips of instructional practice and indicated after each how they would behave in this situation. Correlation and regression analyses revealed that the CME-Decide test was associated with perception/interpretation skills in classroom management, general pedagogical knowledge, teaching enthusiasm, and school-based learning opportunities but not with university-based learning opportunities in general pedagogy. These findings suggest that the CME-Decide test is appropriate for assessing pre-service teachers’ competence development.

From knowledge to performance in physical teacher education: A Delphi study and a pretest for the content validation of the test instruments

The basis for evaluating the effectiveness of interventions in the education and continuing professional development of physical education (PE) teachers involves valid, reliable, and objective instruments, which are largely lacking. Content validity is a necessary basis for the development of such instruments. Accordingly, this study presents the content validation of a test for the assessment of (classroom management-related) professional knowledge and the perception, interpretation, and decision-making (PID) of prospective PE teachers. The result is a content-validated knowledge test (110 test items) as well as a video-based test for the assessment of PID (ten vignettes, 217 items). In a next step, the instruments are empirically validated.

Mentalizing in a movie for the assessment of social cognition (MASC): the validation in a taiwanese sample

BackgroundThe present study evaluated the psychometrics properties of a sensitive video-based test used in the evaluation of mentalizing skills, that is, the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition-Taiwanese version (MASC-TW).MethodsWe recruited two independent samples of nonclinical participants (N = 167) and adult patients with schizophrenia (N = 41). The MASC-TW and two other social cognition measures, namely the Chinese version of Theory of Mind task (ToM) and the Taiwanese version of the Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy-2 (DANAV-TW-2), and an executive function measure of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), were administered to both groups.ResultsThe MASC proved to be a reliable measure of mentalizing capacity, high Cronbach’s α value of 0.87. The intraclass correlation coefficient for the MASC-TW total correct scores was 0.85 across three waves of data collection. Across the entire sample, the scores on the MASC-TW were significantly correlated with verbal and nonverbal scores for the ToM task and recognition of facial and prosodic emotion on the DANAV-TW-2. Both executive function and emotion recognition emerged as noteworthy predictors of mentalizing, indicating that these two variables might play crucial roles in the development of mentalizing capacities. Finally, a receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that in patients with schizophrenia, the MASC was the most accurate discriminator of diagnostic groups, highlighting the validity of the MASC.ConclusionsOverall, the MASC-TW is an ecologically valid and useful tool for assessing mentalizing abilities in a Taiwanese population.

A protocol for the development and validation of a virtual reality-based clinical test of social cognition

BackgroundImpairments in social cognition are common after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and may have severe negative consequences for patients and their families. Most tests of social cognition have limited ecological validity due to simplistic and contrived social stimuli with limited relevance to everyday social functioning. There is a need for measures of social cognition that reflect the dynamic, multimodal and contextualized nature of social situations and that predict real-world functioning. Three hundred sixty–degree (360°) Virtual Reality (VR) video can increase ecological validity through enhanced social presence, or a sense of “being there”. This paper describes the development and protocol design for validation of a Norwegian VR-version of The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT), which is a widely used video-based test of social cognition.MethodsDevelopment of VR TASIT included filming 61 short videos depicting social interactions in both VR and desktop format, using a 360° camera. Software for standardized test administration and collection of performance data was developed in Unity, for administration on both VR and desktop interface. The validation study will test the reliability and validity of VR TASIT in participants with TBI (n = 100) and healthy controls (n = 100). Half of the participants will perform the desktop version, and the other half the VR version. Analyses will include known groups validity, convergent and divergent validity, as well as test–retest reliability of VR TASIT. A comparison of the ability of TASIT VR and desktop versions to predict real-world functioning (ecological validity) will be explored using the Social Skills Questionnaire for TBI and La Trobe Communication Questionnaire. Finally, the levels of perceived social presence of the stimulus materials and prevalence of cybersickness after exposure to the virtual environment will be documented.DiscussionIt is expected that VR TASIT will have comparable or better psychometric properties than the desktop version, and that the hypothesized increased level of social presence experienced in a virtual environment will result in improved ecological validity. More broadly, benefits and limitations of using VR video as stimulus material in assessment of social cognition and considerations for future development and clinical validation are discussed.Trial registrationThe study protocol was pre-registered in ClinicalTrials (April 4th 2022, NCT05309005). The study was retrospectively registered in Open Science Framework (December 15th 2022, osf.io/2vem8).

JudgED: Comparison between Kickboxing Referee Performance at a Novel Serious Game for Judging Improvement and at World Championships

The particular responsibility of referees in combat sports lies in their decision-making to enforce the rules of the sport, which requires considerable experience and a multitude of skills, including perception, categorization, memory processing, and information integration. As a cost-effective alternative to in-tournament training, this research aims to evaluate the novel video-based serious game called “JudgED” to train martial arts referees’ decision-making processes through immediate feedback. The effectiveness of the JudgED game was assessed by (a) measuring decision accuracy and specific reaction time, (b) calculating a theoretical probability of correct scoring, and (c) comparing these results with real competition judging agreement data. A field study was conducted to analyze the performance of 16 kickboxing referees. The study involved two video-based tests in the serious game. The performance data for JudgED were obtained via a procedure that compares the players’ inputs in the serious game with expert-defined decisions. The results were compared to real-competition data gathered through qualitative analysis of kickboxing fights (n = 400 fights/1200 bouts) at the WAKO World Championships 2021. The findings showed an average decision accuracy of 43.011% and an average reaction time of 1.022 s. For further comparison, binominal distribution for the probability of correct final decisions (between 15.3% and 67.2%) in JudgED and Fleiss’ Kappa interrater reliability for JudgED (Ring: κ = 0.371; Tatami: κ = 0.398; p &lt; 0.001) and tournament decisions (by bout: κ = 0.114; by fight κ = 0.063; by outcome κ = 0.166; p &lt; 0.001) were calculated. The results suggest that more training is required to improve referee decision accuracy, and JudgED bears the potential to work as a suitable supporting system.

The relationship between deliberate practice, play, and futsal in childhood and adolescence and the development of different decision-making skills in professional female soccer players

Soccer players’ ability to make efficient and quick decisions has gained more importance due to the increase in game speed in the last few years. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationship between the engagement in previous developmental activities in soccer and futsal with the quality and speed of decision-making skills in different phases of sport development of elite female soccer players. The sample comprised 77 elite Brazilian professional female soccer players. Players’ decision-making skills were assessed based on an objective video-based test – TacticUP®. We used a retrospective questionnaire to collect information about previous participation in different developmental activities. The results showed that engagement in deliberate practice in soccer and futsal, especially during childhood and early adolescence, is related to a better quality of offensive decision-making skills, although showing small to medium effect sizes. We highlight that deliberate practice in futsal is associated only with offensive decision-making skills with the ball and near the ball. In turn, engaging in deliberate play in soccer, mainly in childhood and early adolescence, is related to quicker offensive and defensive decision-making skills, showing mostly medium effect sizes. To the best of our knowledge, it was the first study to measure the relationship of decision-making speed with developmental activities in soccer. It is concluded that deliberate practice in soccer and deliberate play in soccer are associated with different dimensions of decision-making skills.

Mathematics teachers’ professional noticing: Transfer of a video-based competence assessment instrument into teacher education for evaluation purposes

Teacher noticing has become widely accepted as a principal component of teacher competence; it is supported during university teacher education in many activities. However, only a few high-quality standardized measurement instruments exist that capture noticing and allow valid interpretations of how its development depends on factors within university teacher education. The present study is based on a video-based test instrument that has been developed to enable a standardized study of the noticing of practicing mathematics teachers—that is, their perception, interpretation, and decision-making skills—with respect to subject-specific and general pedagogical issues in secondary mathematics classrooms. This study examines how this instrument developed for in-service teachers can be used for pre-service teachers at the master’s degree level. Based on a sample of 313 pre-service mathematics teachers enrolled in six German universities, the study investigates (1) the instrument’s internal structure (scaling models based on item response theory) and (2) its association with relevant factors within university teacher education. The results reveal that a scaling model based on the three noticing facets (perception, interpretation, and decision-making) was superior to a one-dimensional scaling model. Opportunity to learn in mathematics education and average grades in final secondary school examinations were shown to be significant predictors of test performance. However, there was no effect for university-specific opportunity to learn in general pedagogy or pedagogical experiences outside teacher education. Overall, the results suggest that the measurement instrument can be used to assess pre-service mathematics teachers’ noticing in university teacher education.

Questioning the validity and reliability of using a video-based test to assess decision making among female and male water polo players

This study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of a water polo video-based test to assess decision making. Ninety-five female and male elite/tier 4 (T4) or highly trained/tier 3 (T3) athletes participated using their smartphones. Males repeated the test one week later for reliability analyses. Coaches assessed males’ in-water decision making and females were noted as selected or nonselected for the national team. Although response accuracy was significantly different between T3 and T4 athletes ( p &lt; .001) and correlated with age (rs(88) = 0.43), sex-specific analyses identified that the only significant differences in accuracy were between T3 females and the other three groups (T4 females, T3 males, and T4 males). There was no correlation between males’ accuracy and coach-rated decision making skill, and no difference in accuracy between selected and nonselected females. Reliability analyses comparing performance between weeks revealed an ICC of 0.75, a standard error of measurement of 3.41%, and a significant improvement from week 1 to week 2 among T4 males ( p = .018). Despite associations between accuracy and age, the test was not able to distinguish between more similar groups of athletes. Considering the nonrepresentative design of the test, the construct assessed was declarative game knowledge rather than decision making skill, with the results suggesting that the former is not critical for evaluating elite players. The performance improvement between weeks among T4 males reinforces that video-based designs should be used cautiously in high-performance sport. However, there may still be practical applications for video-based designs, such as in video review sessions or as a pedagogical tool.

Skilled deceivers are better action perceivers and vice versa

Skilled actors rely on deception to disrupt the perceptual ability of opponents who seek to anticipate action intentions. Common-coding theory (Prinz, 1997) purports that action and perception share common origins in the brain, and therefore it seems plausible that the ability to ‘see through’ a deceptive action would be associated with a capacity to perform the same action. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the ability to perform a deceptive action would be related to the ability to perceive the same type of action. Fourteen skilled rugby players performed deceptive (side-step) and non-deceptive actions while running towards a camera. The deceptiveness of those participants was determined by testing the ability of a separate group of eight equally skilled observers to anticipate the impeding running directions using a temporally occluded video-based test. Based on the overall response accuracies, participants were separated into high- and low-deceptiveness groups. These two groups then themselves took part in a video-based test. Results revealed that the skilled deceivers had a significant advantage in their ability to better anticipate the action outcomes of highly deceptive actions. The skilled deceivers’ sensitivity to discriminate deceptive from non-deceptive actions was significantly better than that of less-skilled deceivers when viewing the most-deceptive actor. Moreover, the skilled perceivers performed actions that appeared to be better disguised than those of the less-skilled perceivers. These findings suggest that, consistent with common-coding theory, the perception of deceptive and non-deceptive actions is associated with the capability to produce deceptive actions and vice versa.

Selected soccer players are quicker and better decision-makers in elite Brazilian youth academies

ABSTRACT Studies in talent identification and selection showed that more talented players usually possessed better decision-making skills. Nevertheless, studies on this topic have not yet been carried out: 1) assessing both decision-making time and quality based on offensive and defensive skills among selected and deselected youth soccer players; 2) neither assessed South American samples. This study aimed to compare the decision-making skills among selected and deselected players from Brazilian elite youth soccer academies. The sample comprised 317 Brazilian youth elite male soccer players (U-14, U-15, U-16, and U-17) from teams of the first national division in Brazil. Players’ decision-making skills, both quality and response time, were assessed with an objective video-based test (TacticUP®). Results showed that selected players, compared to those deselected, possessed advantages (p < 0.05) in every age group assessed on: 1) the decision-making time (U-16 and U-17); 2) the quality of decision-making (U-15); or 3) in both decision-making quality and time (U-14). Moreover, among all variables assessed (n = 72), the deselected players did not show any advantage compared to the selected ones. It is concluded that selected players by youth elite soccer academies in Brazil possess superior decision-making skills related to decision time and quality compared to those deselected.

DOES VIDEO BELONG IN L2 ACADEMIC LISTENING TESTS? STAKEHOLDERS’ PERCEPTIONS ABOUT TEST DIFFICULTY, AUTHENTICITY, AND MOTIVATION

ABSTRACT Whether visual information belongs in second language (L2) listening tests has long been a subject for scholarly debate, with L2 learners’ performance on and perceptions of video-based tests being the primary sources of evidence. The research into L2 teachers’ perceptions, however, is scarce, as is the research into stakeholders’ views of content visuals, such as a graph or diagram, in a listening assessment construct. This study sought to bridge these gaps by exploring stakeholders’ perceptions of audio-only vs. video-based academic listening tests, the latter featuring a combination of context (e.g. the speaker’s posture) and content (e.g. a graph) visuals. The questionnaire data from 143 English-as-a-second-or-foreign language (ESL/EFL) learners and 310 ESL/EFL teachers showed that both the learners and the teachers generally found video lectures to be less difficult, more motivating, more authentic, and suitable for high-stakes L2 academic listening tests. Although most stakeholders favored video-based lectures, wide variation among the learners’ and teachers’ perceptions suggests that some stakeholders had reservations about the role of videos in listening tests. These findings are discussed in the light of their implications for the assessment construct of L2 academic listening.

Contribution of deliberate practice, play, and futsal to the acquisition of decision-making skills in Brazilian professional female soccer players

ABSTRACT Previous research showed that deliberate practice and play contribute to developing decision-making skills in male soccer players. However, there is no evidence for female players. Therefore, this is the first study to analyse the contribution of deliberate practice, play, and futsal to develop decision-making skills in female soccer players. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to analyse whether elite Brazilian professional female soccer players with different levels of decision-making skills can be differentiated based on their engagement in various types and amounts of soccer activities during their development; (2) to discuss what sport's pathway in female soccer characterised the group with high decision-making skills. The sample comprised 77 Brazilian professional female soccer players. Decision-making skill was assessed based on a video-based test (TacticUP®). We used a retrospective questionnaire to collect information about previous participation in different soccer activities. We found differences among high skill (HS) and low skill (LS) decision-making groups regarding their participation in developmental activities in every period assessed (childhood, early, and late adolescence). In summary, we found that in every period set, the HS group accumulated more percentage time of their participation in soccer activities in practice compared to the LS group. Moreover, the HS group gathered more hours of practice in futsal and total practice (i.e., considering practice time in soccer and futsal) in early adolescence (13–15 years) compared to the LS group. We concluded that the specialised diversification pathway is the one that best characterises the sports involvement of better decision-makers during childhood.

Evaluating and developing teacher instructional practices in economics using a new video-based test

Teachers’ instructional practices are important for student learning. However, there are few tools for evaluating instructional practices in social studies. To this end, we present a video-based instrument with teacher-student interactions for assessing teaching practices in a high school economics course. We investigate, using an iterative design-based methodology, the adaptation and validation of a test originally developed in Germany for use in the United States. We found that experienced economics teachers and those with more content knowledge demonstrated higher-level instructional skills, and were more flexibile with their thinking. Inexperienced economics teachers and those with low content knowledge not only struggled with the test items, but also with the test format, the content, inter-cultural understanding, and with feeling overwhelmed. The test provides an opportunity for economics teachers to obtain feedback, practice, reflection, and improvement of their instruction in a way that has not previously been available. It also illustrates the possibilities and drawbacks of video-based testing in teacher training.

Visual Cognition and Experience Mediate the Relation between Age and Decision Making in Youth Volleyball Players.

Experts in different sports show superior decision-making skills compared with novices, but little is known about its development in youth players. This study shows that the age-related improvements in visual cognition and accumulation of sport-specific experience explain a considerable amount of the development in decision making in volleyball. The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating effects of visual cognition and volleyball experience on the relationship between age and decision making in youth volleyball players. A total of 171 female volleyball players aged 6 to 17 years performed a sport-specific, video-based test of decision making, as well as four different visual cognition tests. Using structural equation modeling, we examined if volleyball experience and a latent variable constructed from the four tests of visual cognition act as parallel mediators in the association between age and decision making. The parallel multiple mediation model for the association between age and decision making was supported in youth volleyball players. Moreover, significant indirect effects and a nonsignificant direct effect indicated that visual cognition and experience fully mediated the relation between age and decision making and together explain 38% of the variance in decision-making performance. The effects of both mediators were not significantly different, and there was no residual correlation between experience and visual cognition, which indicates that these mediators are unrelated to each other. Our findings demonstrate that visual cognition and volleyball experience mediate the relation between age and decision making independently, which indicates that they each influence different parts of the decision-making process. These results highlight the importance of the development of perceptual-cognitive skill in young players, and future research should further investigate the development of these skills as well as their underlying factors in different kinds of sports.

Do we agree on who is playing the ball? Developing a video-based measurement for Shared Mental Models in tennis doubles.

Sport teams work in complex environments in which each member's tasks are mutually dependent on those of the others. To function effectively, expert teams generate Shared Mental Models (SMMs) to help adapt their own behavior to that of the others and master upcoming actions. Although SMMs have been discussed in domains such as organizations, there is still little research in the context of sport. One reason for this is that measurement methods have failed to incorporate the dynamic nature of the sport context. This study reports on the development of a video-based measurement of SMMs in tennis doubles. It examined the quality criteria first in a pilot and then in a main study. The final video-based measurement consists of 35 tennis doubles video clips requiring decisions on ball-taking behavior in two conditions (Self and Partner). In the condition Self, participants reported their own responses; in the condition Partner, those of their partner. The main study analyzed 29 male tennis teams with a mean age of 34.57 years (SD = 12.25) and a mean of 22.79 years (SD = 10.49) tennis experience. SMMs were analyzed for each partner as the inter-player agreement (Self-Partner) and averaged for each team. After completing the video-based measurement, participants filled out questionnaires on SMMs, team trust, and demographics. Results indicated that not only the split-half reliability (r = .49), the content validity (ηp2 = .23), the inter-player agreement (r = .63), and the inter-player agreement and accuracy (r = .61), but also the feasibility of the measurement were good. However, no relationships to the proposed convergent or criterial validity measures were found. In sum, measuring SMMs with a video-based test is possible and a promising method. No relationship to the frequently used questionnaires was found, suggesting that the two target different parts of SMMs. Future research should carefully examine and choose the appropriate measurement.

Do youth soccer players with different tactical behaviour also perform differently in decision-making and visual search strategies?

ABSTRACT The study aimed to compare the decision-making and visual search strategies of young soccer players between two groups based on the results on-field specific tactical test. Ninety youth male soccer players (14.0 ± 1.06 years) affiliated to regional Brazilian clubs participated in this study (U-15 years). The tactical behaviour was assessed using the FUT-SAT assessment tool and players were grouped into two groups of tactical skill level: more skilled and less skilled. Video-based tests were used to assess decision-making, while visual search strategies were performed using the Mobile Eye-XG®. The results indicated that the more skilled showed better decision-making scores compared to the less skilled (p= 0.035. d= 0.57). The more skilled also performed a higher mean number of fixations per trial (p= 0.002; d= 0.99); and had a lower mean duration of fixation (p= 0.020; d= 0.73). No differences were found between groups in terms the percentage viewing time per locations. The results suggest that young soccer players who are more tactically skilled were also those with better decision-making and performed visual search strategies with more visual fixations of shorter duration in comparison to less skilled.

Development of Tactical Decision-making Skills in Youth Soccer Players: Macro- and Microstructure of Soccer Developmental Activities as a Discriminant of Different Skill Levels

ABSTRACT Decision-making in soccer is considered an important factor for soccer players achieve high-performance level. Studies in several sports indicated that tactical decision-making skills are necessary for skilful performance. We aimed to analyse whether soccer players with different levels of decision-making skills can be differentiated based on their engagement in various types and amounts of soccer activities during their development. The sample comprised 149 Brazilian youth male soccer players (M = 14.9, SD = 1.6 years). We examined the type and amount of soccer activities that contributed to distinguish players with different levels of offensive and defensive decision-making skills. Players’ tactical decision-making skills were assessed with an objective video-based test (TacticUP® video test for soccer). We used a retrospective questionnaire to collect information about previous participation in different soccer developmental activities. The main activities that differentiated high/low skill groups in the macrostructure activities were: i) team practice; and in the microstructure: ii) collective tactics; and iii) “high decision-making opportunities”. We concluded that previous soccer developmental activities discriminate youth soccer players with different levels of decision-making skills. The main activities that differentiated high/low groups were: 1) team practice; 2) collective tactics in team practice, and; 3) “high decision-making opportunities” in team practice.