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Skilled deceivers are better action perceivers and vice versa
Ryan Raffan1, David L Mann2, Geert J P Savelsbergh3
1Department of Human Movement Science, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa; Department of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Movement Sciences and Institute Brain and Behavior Amsterdam (iBBA), The Netherlands.
Human Movement Science
|April 26, 2023
Summary
Skilled deceivers in sports excel at both performing deceptive actions and perceiving them in others. This suggests a link between an athlete's ability to deceive and their ability to anticipate an opponent's actions.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Motor Control
Background:
- Skilled athletes use deception to hinder opponents' ability to predict actions.
- Common-coding theory proposes shared neural origins for action and perception.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between performing deceptive actions and perceiving them.
- To determine if the ability to deceive is linked to the ability to perceive deception in sports.
Main Methods:
- Fourteen skilled rugby players performed deceptive (side-step) and non-deceptive actions.
- A separate group of observers rated the deceptiveness of these actions.
- Participants were categorized into high- and low-deceptiveness groups based on observer accuracy.
Main Results:
- Skilled deceivers accurately anticipated outcomes of deceptive actions better than less-skilled deceivers.
- Skilled deceivers showed superior discrimination between deceptive and non-deceptive actions.
- High-deception performers executed actions that were harder to anticipate.
Conclusions:
- The ability to perform deceptive actions is linked to the ability to perceive them, supporting common-coding theory.
- Expertise in deception involves both producing convincing fakes and accurately reading opponents' intentions.
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