Athletes in the Zone May See the World Differently

Aug. 5, 2008 — -- Want to know why Tiger Woods is so good at golf? It may be becausewhen his game is on, he sees the hole as bigger than it really is.

At least that's one implication in a study of how perception affectsperformance -- or possibly the other way around, how performance affectsperception.

Jessica Witt, a research psychologist at Purdue University and aworld-class athlete herself, is the lead author of a report on theresearch in the current issue of Psychonomic Bulletin and Review.Conventional wisdom holds that perception is based chiefly on visualcues that come into the eye, but Witt thinks that's only part of thestory.

Her research, both on golfers and softball players, indicates thatactual performance plays a key role in how athletes see theirenvironment. Some of the cues are coming from their performance, nottheir eyes.

Witt and her fellow researchers, Sally A. Linkenauger, Jonathan Z.Bakdash and Dennis R. Proffitt of the University of Virginia,Charlottesville, conducted three experiments involving bothexperienced golfers and duffers, to see if playing well, or badly,affected their perception of the size of the hole.

The results showed that only the players who were playing wellperceived the hole as being bigger than it really is.

"Only actual performance affected the recalled sizes of the golf cup,"the study says. The players who thought they were playing well, butreally were not, did not see the hole as bigger.

So, does that mean perception affects performance, or is it the otherway around?

"At this point it's completely up in the air," said Witt, a member ofthe U.S. Frisbee team that won the 2005 gold medal at the World Games."If I were to speculate, I would say it's probably both ways. If yousee a bigger hole you are going to be more confident, and that mayactually make you putt better." But she can't rule out the possibilitythat you see a bigger hole because you are putting better. Confusing,eh?

It may sound like much ado about nothing, but there's a serious sideto the research, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. Ifperception affects performance, it may be possible for people toimprove their performance by mastering their perception. Witt saidthat's what she's working on now.

All this began when Witt noticed that a lot of media reports quotedathletes who saw the size of the golf cup, or the size of a soft ball,as different, based on their performance.

"Golfers have said that when they play well the hole looks as big as abucket or basketball hoop, and when they do not play well they've beenquoted as saying the hole looks like a dime, or the inside of adonut," she said. In previous studies she found that softball playerswho played exceptionally well saw the ball as bigger than playerswhose performance left much to be desired.

In the first of three experiments, 46 golfers were asked to estimatethe size of the hole after playing a round of golf. The golfersselected from a poster with nine black holes that ranged from nine to13 centimeters. Those who played better than their handicap judged thehole to be larger than its 10.8 centimeters. Those who played belowtheir handicap judged the hole to be smaller.

Two subsequent studies found the same pattern when the hole was nolonger in view, and when they could still see the hole, thus rulingout the role of memory. And again, the results were consistent,achievers saw it as bigger, losers saw it as smaller.

Witt thinks this optical illusion could play a role in streaks and slumps.

"Does the perception that the hole was bigger, or smaller, than itreally is persist?" she asked. "Does it perpetuate itself? Thenperhaps it's linked to streaks and slumps."

Even the best golfers experience periods when they are hot, or cold.Could it be because the hole appears larger over an extended period oftime, or smaller?

Of course, the golf cup is only one of many obstacles on the course,but Witt think the perception of size extends to other parts of thegame.

"Putting is where you score, so I think the hole is a big factor," shesaid. "But I think you would find similar effects on other parts ofthe course. The green probably looks a lot farther away if you arehaving trouble getting it there, and the fairway probably looks somuch more narrow if you are slicing the ball, and the sand trapprobably looks a lot bigger."

"So I think this effect is probably prevalent throughout the whole round."

And it probably has an impact in all sports, she added, although insome cases it's harder to measure.

Wind can be a demon in her favorite sport of Frisbee, she said, "so ifsomebody is upwind they probably look farther away compared to someonewho is downwind." Now she would like to figure out how to use thatinformation to her advantage.

"It's possible that by using this information we can develop variousways to improve performance, based on what we know about perception,"she said. "We're actually working on some things right now to makethat happen. If it works, we'll let you know."

Lee Dye is a former science writer for the Los Angeles Times. He now lives in Juneau, Alaska.