Abstract
The human visual system has developed into an important social tool and survival aid. Using neurological and cognitive tools, the brain can accurately identify the characteristics of other humans, even when only presented with limited information. This study will test the ability of athletic people and non-athletic people to identify obscure and uncommon motion. I hypothesized that athletes would have an advantage because of their experience with observing and creating different kinds of motion. The stimulus for the experiment consisted of AVI videos with point-light characters performing actions while masked by point-light noise and AVI videos with just the point-light noise. After being shown each video, subjects were asked if they could see a point-light character. The data was processed using between-subjects and within-subjects ANOVA tests as well as a basic correlation. There was no significant difference between the two groups. It was also determined that the more sports the subjects watched, the more likely they were to make errors.
Advisor
Neuhoff, John
Department
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Fink, Colin F., "Perception of Point-Light Biological Motion in Athletes and Non-Athletes" (2007). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 3768.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/3768
Publication Date
2007
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2007 Colin F. Fink