Decoding deception: The impact of expertise and prior information on sports anticipation through computational...

This study investigates cognitive processes in sports anticipation, specifically the influence of deceptive versus genuine actions on evidence accumulation and the roles of athletic expertise and prior information.

Two experiments with 61 participants assessed anticipation in soccer, comparing genuine and deceptive dribbling actions. Study 1 lacked prior information; study 2 incorporated it. The Hierarchical Drift Diffusion Model (HDDM) analyzed reaction times and decision accuracy, focusing on differences in DDM parameters.

Deceptive actions significantly affected decision thresholds (a), non-decision time (t), starting point (z), and drift rate (v), leading to longer reaction time (RT) and lower accuracy. While no overall accuracy or reaction time differences were observed between experts and novices, experts exhibited longer non-decision times, suggesting deeper perceptual processing. Prior information improved accuracy for genuine actions but reduced it for deceptive ones, by changing starting points.

The study highlights profound differences in cognitive processing between deceptive and genuine actions, emphasizing non-decision time as a key differentiator between experts and novices. Prior information selectively enhances decision accuracy, underscoring the complexity of sports anticipation and suggesting the potential for targeted performance interventions.