Precise Visual Target Information and Throwing Accuracy in Adults

Abstract

In an initial study of visual guidance on throwing, it was hypothesized that precise visual information about the target's center would improve accuracy. Precise information was provided by a small red dot in the center of a large white target. In two experiments, equal numbers of men and women ( N = 40) threw chalked tennis balls from a distance of 11 m with and without the dot. Accuracy was determined as the mean absolute and variable radial error. Women especially benefitted from the presence of the dot which supported the hypothesis. In Exp. 2, instructions to focus on the dot throughout the throw had no effect on throwing accuracy for either men or women. Further analysis indicated that skill was not significant in subjects' use of precise information to guide throwing, as might have been predicted from the literature. Consistent with the literature, large gender differences in both absolute and variable errors were found.