Information Processing and Selective Attention in Sport

Course Overview and Learning Objectives

• Subject: Sport, Exercise and Health Science (Pre-IB).
• Focus Area: Information Processing and Selective Attention.
• Learning Objectives:
  • Describe a simple model of information processing.
  • Describe Welford's model of information processing.
  • Explain the signal detection process.
  • Discuss the relationship between selective attention and memory in experienced and novice athletes.
  • Distinguish between the characteristics of the short-term sensory store (STSS), short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM).

Term 2 Assessment Structure

• Data Analysis: Worth $10\%$ of the final grade (scheduled for Week 3).
• Workbook: Worth $10\%$ of the final grade (scheduled for Week 5).
• Exam: Worth $80\%$ of the final grade (scheduled for Week 7 or 8).

The Black Box Model of Information Processing

• General Concept: Information processing is primarily explained through models depicted in flow diagrams.
• The "Black Box" Explanation: The Central Nervous System (CNS) is referred to as the "Black Box" because early psychologists did not presume to know the internal mechanics of what occurred between receiving an input and executing a response.
• Components of the Model:
  • Input: Refers to the environmental stimuli that a performer can see, hear, or feel. In sports, this is often called the "display" or "stimulus." In practice, it involves several simultaneous stimuli rather than a single one.
  • Central Nervous System (CNS): Comprises the brain and spinal cord, representing the internal processing of the person.
  • Output: The action performed by the individual, also known as the "response." For example, in tennis, the response is the specific shot played to return the ball and the resulting success or failure of that shot.

Welford's Model of Information Processing (1968)

• Historical Context: AT Welford (1968) was one of the first researchers to attempt to explain the specific internal processes occurring within the CNS.
• Procedural Steps in Welford’s Model:
  1. Sensory Intake: Information is taken in through the senses and held in a temporary store.
  2. Sorting: All inputs are temporarily stored before being sorted.
  3. Selection: Inputs deemed relevant to the decision-making process are stored in the short-term memory (STM).
  4. Decision-Making: A decision is reached by comparing the information currently in the STM with previous experiences stored in the long-term memory (LTM).
  5. Execution: Once the required action is determined via LTM, the decision is carried out.
  6. Storage: The action and its results are stored in the LTM for future reference.
  7. Feedback Loop: The entire process begins again for the next cycle of movement or information.

Sensory Input and Sensation Systems

• The Role of Senses: Senses relay environmental information to the brain. This data is interpreted based on past experiences held in the LTM.
• Classification of Receptors:
  • Exteroceptors: Provide information from outside the body. The primary exteroceptors in sports are vision (sight) and audition (hearing).
  • Interoceptors: Monitor internal stimuli such as chemical changes, tissue stretch, and temperature. They are responsible for sensations like pain, discomfort, hunger, and thirst. Examples include internal viscera, blood vessels, and the skin.
  • Proprioceptors: Also known as the "sixth sense" or kinaesthesia, these provide information about body position, movement, and the position of limbs. They consist of mechanosensory neurons in muscles, tendons, and joints.

Proprioception Mechanics

• Specific Proprioceptors in Sport:
  • Vestibular Apparatus: Provides information regarding balance.
  • Joint Receptors: Monitor limb position.
  • Muscle Spindles: Monitor stretch and velocity within muscles.
  • Golgi Tendon Organs: Monitor load and tension on a limb.
• Function: Proprioceptors advise the brain of body movements by monitoring stretch and limits within the organs that contain these receptors. They encode information regarding limb velocity, movement, load, and limits.

Signal Detection Theory (SDT)

• Detection–Comparison–Recognition (DCR) Process:
  • Detection: The brain identifies that a stimulus is present.
  • Comparison: The brain attends to the sensed information and compares it to existing information in the LTM.
  • Recognition: Occurs when the incoming code matches a code already stored in the LTM.
• Swets (1964) Theory: Individuals receive over $100,000$ pieces of information per second from internal and external environments. Distilling an important signal from this volume of data is problematic.
• Signal vs. Noise:
  • Signal: The important piece of information to be perceived.
  • Noise: Background, non-essential information. This includes auditory noise (spectators) but also visual distractions or internal mental noise (e.g., anxiety or worry about failure).
• Mathematical Variables in Detection:
  • $d'$ (d-prime): Represents an individual's sensitivity to a signal. It depends on the efficiency of sense organs (e.g., eyes) and the individual's experience (familiar signals are detected more easily).
  • $C$ (Criterion): Represents the effect of a person's bias on detection. This is heavily influenced by arousal levels.

Impact of Arousal and Noise on Detection

• Probability of Detection: Depends on the intensity of the signal compared to the intensity of the background noise.
• Arousal Levels:
  • Low Arousal: Leads to missing the signal, known as an error of omission.
  • High Arousal: If detection is seen as too high a priority, the individual may perceive a signal that does not exist, known as an error of commission.
• Optimization: Proficiency is improved through optimal arousal levels and effective selective attention.

Memory Systems

• Definition of Memory: Tulving (1985) defines memory as the "capacity that permits organisms to benefit from their past experiences."
• Short-Term Sensory Store (STSS):
  • All incoming information is held here briefly.
  • Information is lost after approximately $0.5$ seconds unless it is attended to.
  • Requires rehearsal/attention to pass into short-term memory.
• Short-Term Memory (STM):
  • Approximately $90\%$ of information entering STM is lost within $10$ seconds.
  • Retention and transfer to LTM require mental or physical rehearsal.
  • Capacity: Limited to $7 \pm 2$ bits of information (Miller, 1956).
• Long-Term Memory (LTM):
  • Potentially limitless capacity.
  • Issues generally relate to retrieval (difficulty recalling stored information) rather than storage space.

Selective Attention

• Role: selective attention is the mechanism used to overcome the limited capacity of the STM by focusing on relevant information and ignoring irrelevant stimuli.
• Broadbent’s Model (1956):
  • All information enters the brain, but we filter out unselected stimuli.
  • Selected stimuli are compared to LTM information to decide on actions.
  • Broadbent suggested filtering occurs after entry into STM, but modern views suggest decisions on what to process can happen before information even enters the STM.
• Influencing Factors:
  • Past Experience: Allows performers to search specific areas of the environment for relevant information based on similar historical situations.
  • Involuntary Attention: Certain stimuli, like a sudden loud noise or a bright flash of light, attract attention automatically as a subconscious safety factor.