The ‘Quiet Eye’ and Motor Performance: A Systematic Review Based on Newell’s Constraints-Led Model

Abstract

Despite the robust research on the value of the quiet eye, several gaps in current knowledge exist regarding the mechanism of the quiet eye effect.

A study of quiet eye's phenomenon in the shooting section of “laser run” of modern pentathlon

“…Specifically, these studies took into account some features of this phenomenon provided in different sports disciplines, that is golf (Vickers, ), basket (De Oliveira, Huys, Oudejans, Van De Langenberg, & Beek, ; Oudejans, Koedijker, Bleijendaal, & Bakker, ; Vickers, , ), billiard (Williams et al, ), rifle shooting (Janelle et al, ), clay target pidgeon (Causer et al, ; Causer, Holmes, & Williams, ; Causer, Holmes, Smith, & Williams, ), and biathlon (Vickers & Williams, ). As evidenced by these studies and by several reviews on this topic, an earlier QE onset and a longer Quiet Eye Duration (QED) and RQED correlated with a higher performance and/or a higher level of the athletes' expertise (Fegatelli, Giancamilli, Mallia, Chirico, & Lucidi, ; Lebeau et al, ; Rienhoff, Tirp, Strau, Baker, & Schorer, ).…”

What could an ecological dynamics rationale offer Quiet Eye research? Comment on Vickers

“…October 2016 I Article 104 I 2 Vickers (2016;see also 2007), and Rienhof et al (2015) have pointed to the relevance of a constraints-based approach (Newell, 1986) to QE, suggesting how tasks, sport disciplines, individual characteristics and environmental features may shape QE parameters. Williams, Jannelle and Davids (2004) originally proposed this approach to understanding visual search patterns more generally, arguing that they need to be framed and studied as emergent behaviours continually shaped by interacting constraints.…”

“…Williams, Jannelle and Davids (2004) originally proposed this approach to understanding visual search patterns more generally, arguing that they need to be framed and studied as emergent behaviours continually shaped by interacting constraints. Rienhof et al (2015) located 581 published papers on QE, identifying 51 papers construed as investigating efects of constraints on QE. This body of work focused mainly on the categories of person, task and environmental constraints to describe efects on QE outcomes.…”

“…This body of work focused mainly on the categories of person, task and environmental constraints to describe efects on QE outcomes. Rienhof et al (2015) commendably concluded that further work is needed to study the QE phenomenon from the perspectives of ecological psychology and nonlinear dynamical systems, theoretical approaches that we have integrated into an 'ecological dynamics' framework for studying emergent behaviours in sport and physical activity (Araújo, Davids & Hristovski, 2006).…”

Tackling Quiet Eye issues on a functional level – comment on Vickers

“…As elaborated by Vickers (2016), this phenomenon highlights the relevance of the tight coupling between perception and action for superior motor behaviour. The QE´s functionality has been shown for a large range of motor tasks like dart throwing and golf putting (for a recent overview, see Rienhoff, Tirp, Strauss, Baker, & Schorer, 2016); and, first and foremost, Joan Vickers has a large share in unravelling this phenomenon (Vickers, 2007). However, a number of recent studies revealed that the relation between the QE and performance is not as monotonic as suggested (for recent overviews, see Gonzales et al, 2015, Wilson, Causer, & Vickers, 2015.…”