An exploratory study of aging and perceptual-motor expertise in handball goalkeepers.
Few studies have examined the effect of age on skilled perception. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the perceptual-motor abilities of highly skilled performers in dynamic, time-constrained sports exhibited the same pattern of age-related decline seen in other areas. The sample for this study involved five age-specific groups of handball goalkeepers. Each participant completed an eye-tracking task, a temporal occlusion task, and an eight-choice reaction time task. Results revealed age-related declines in motor performance but not perceptual performance. Skilled perception appears resistant to normal age-related declines over time through the use of compensatory mechanisms.
Schorer
Jörg
J
Institute for Sport Science, Westfalian Wilhelms-University Munster, Munster, Germany. joerg@schorer.eu
Baker
Joseph
J
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009048:Motor Skills; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013177:Sports / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014796:Visual Perception