Do scores on a tachistoscope test correlate with baseball batting averages?

BACKGROUND: Millions of dollars are spent each year by individuals seeking to improve their athletic performance. One area of visual training is the use of the tachistoscope, which measures inspection time or visual recognition time. Although the potential of the tachistoscope as a training tool has received some research attention, its use as a means of measurement or predictor of athletic ability in sports has not been explored. The purpose of this pilot study is to assess the potential of the tachistoscope as a measurement instrument by determining if a baseball player's ability to identify a tachistoscopically presented picture of a pitch is correlated with hitting performance as measured by batting average. METHODS: Using sport-specific slides, 20 subjects-all non-pitching members of the Pacific University Baseball Team-were administered a tachistoscopic test. The test consisted of identifying the type of pitch illustrated in 30 randomly ordered slides depicting a pitcher throwing four different baseball pitches. Each slide was presented for 0.2 sec. The results of the test were compared with the athlete's previous season's batting average. RESULTS: A positive correlation was found between an athlete's ability to correctly identify a picture of a pitch presented tachistoscopically and batting average (r=0.648; P<0.01). These results suggest that a superior ability to recognize pitches presented via tachistoscope may correlate with a higher skill level in batting. CONCLUSIONS: Tachistoscopic test scores correlated positively with batting averages. The tachistoscope may be an acceptable tool to help in assessing batting performance. Additional testing with players from different sports, different levels of ability, and different tachistoscopic times should be performed to determine if the tachistoscope is a valid measure of athletic ability. Implications may also be drawn in other areas such as military and police work.

Visual performance with sport-tinted contact lenses in natural sunlight.

PURPOSE: The use of tinted and clear contact lenses (CLs) in all aspects of life is becoming a more popular occurrence, particularly in athletic activities. This study broadens previous research regarding performance-tinted CLs and their effects on measures of visual performance. METHODS: Thirty-three subjects (14 male, 19 female) were fitted with clear B&L Optima 38, 50% visible light transmission Amber and 36% visible light transmission Gray-Green Nike Maxsight CLs in an individualized randomized sequence. Subjects were dark-adapted with welding goggles before testing and in between subtests involving a Bailey-Lovie chart and the Haynes Distance Rock test. The sequence of testing was repeated for each lens modality. RESULTS: The Amber and Gray-Green lenses enabled subjects to recover vision faster in bright sunlight compared with clear lenses. Also, subjects were able to achieve better visual recognition in bright sunlight when compared with clear lenses. Additionally, the lenses allowed the subjects to alternate fixation between a bright and shaded target at a more rapid rate in bright sunlight as compared with clear lenses. Subjects preferred both the Amber and Gray-Green lenses over clear lenses in the bright and shadowed target conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current study show that Maxsight Amber and Gray-Green lenses provide better contrast discrimination in bright sunlight, better contrast discrimination when alternating between bright and shaded target conditions, better speed of visual recovery in bright sunlight, and better overall visual performance in bright and shaded target conditions compared with clear lenses.