Identification of visual stimuli is improved by accompanying auditory stimuli through directing eye movement: an investigation in perceptual-cognitive skills
摘要
This study investigated the effect of sound-related signals (auditory) whose onset was concurrent with the eye movement, a transparent red patch (visual), and their combination together (audio-visual) when used to orient attention toward the key areas of the body during the sport of badminton. The results revealed that each of these stimuli alone improved perceptual-cognitive skills. Eye-movement sound decreased decision times for identification of shot direction with no expense to anticipation. The sound helped participants find the main spatial locations essential for the anticipation of shot direction. Moreover, the facilitation role of the sound was observed in gaze behavior characteristics. These results were not changed by altering the test environment from a video-based to an actual situation one with existing anxiety. We assume that the sound-related signal may guide attention to main locations and may advance attentional `disengagement' which, as a result, participants can recognize the badminton shot direction with more speed and accuracy.