How do skilled performers process information and make fast, accurate decisions under pressure?
Explain information processing, reaction time and attention, and how decision making is refined under competitive pressure
A focused answer to the WACE Year 12 Physical Education Studies Unit 4 dot point on decision making. Information processing models, reaction and response time, selective attention and anticipation, and performing skill under pressure.
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What this dot point is asking
WACE wants you to explain how the brain turns information into action and why experts decide better under pressure. You should describe an information processing model, explain reaction time and the factors that affect it, and explain how attention, anticipation and memory improve decision making. Marks reward applying these to fast, open game situations.
Information processing
Information processing models describe performance as a flow from input to output. A simple model has three stages. Input (stimulus identification) is the gathering of information from the display through the senses, with selective attention filtering the relevant cues from the irrelevant. The decision-making stage (response selection) chooses the correct response by comparing the situation against the memory of past experiences. Output (response programming) sends the motor program to the muscles to execute the movement. Feedback then loops back, both intrinsic (from the senses) and extrinsic, to inform the next cycle.
Memory is central. The short-term sensory store briefly holds all incoming sensory information; selective attention passes the relevant cues to short-term (working) memory, which has limited capacity and duration; long-term memory stores well-learned motor programs and past experiences and has effectively unlimited capacity. Experts have a richer store of motor programs to draw on.
Reaction time, movement time and response time
Reaction time is the interval from the onset of a stimulus to the start of the response. Movement time is from the start to the completion of the movement. Response time is reaction time plus movement time. Reaction time lengthens as the number of possible choices increases (Hick's law: more choices mean a longer reaction time). The psychological refractory period explains why a fake or dummy works: a second stimulus arriving while the performer is still processing the first is delayed, because the first response must finish processing before the second can begin.
Anticipation and improving decision making
Anticipation is predicting what will happen before it does, which effectively reduces reaction time by allowing the response to be prepared in advance. Spatial anticipation predicts what will happen (where the ball will go); temporal anticipation predicts when. Experts anticipate using advance cues (an opponent's body shape and run-up) and pattern recognition built from extensive experience stored in long-term memory. Correct anticipation gives a huge time advantage; incorrect anticipation can leave the performer badly wrong-footed, which is the risk a feint exploits.
Performing under pressure
Pressure raises arousal and anxiety, which narrows attention. Moderate arousal can sharpen selective attention onto the relevant cues, but excessive arousal can cause attention to narrow too far (missing important cues) or, with high anxiety, to jump distractingly between cues. Highly learned (autonomous) skills are more robust under pressure because they need little conscious attention, which is why over-thinking a well-learned skill ("paralysis by analysis") can disrupt it.
How this maps to the exam
Expect a fast open-play or reaction scenario. Identify the processing stages, use the correct terms (reaction time, response time, selective attention, anticipation), and explain how the expert decides faster using advance cues, memory and anticipation. Link arousal to attentional focus where the scenario mentions pressure.