An EEG study on perceptual decision making and susceptibility to deceptive movement in taekwondo expert and novice athletes

• Main Author: Tan, Shi Ying
• Other Authors: Kee Ying Hwa
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66483
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In the sporting context, even the smallest change in performance can make a difference between a win or loss. This notion eventually led to sporting professionals having increased interest in understanding the differences between expert and novice athletes and the neuroscience behind which leads to better performance. Here, the interplay of deception and decision making in Taekwondo Olympic sparring was investigated. More specifically, the study tested the hypothesis that expert taekwondo athletes are less susceptible to deceptive movement and use less cognitive effort while making decisions. Electroencephalographic (EEG) data and response times for decision making were recorded in 10 elite and 10 novice taekwondo athletes. In this two-choice prediction task, the expert and novice taekwondo athletes were shown video clips, each two to three seconds, from a point of view of a participant in a taekwondo sparring situation total lasting 10 to 12 minutes. Despite early promise, findings were however found to be insignificant at p >.05. A part of this may be because of a mismatch between the real sporting situation and laboratory testing. Novice athletes were also not confident of their choices and made many decisions by guessing which may not reflect their true abilities. After strict review of existing literature and outlining limitations, the benefits EEG technology can bring to sports neuroscience was highlighted. The study serves as a preliminary investigation and with improving technology, bringing EEG onto training fields can potentially facilitate better understanding of athlete’s brain-behaviour links.