Umass Boston Why Batters Can’t Keep Their Eyes on Discussion

• Please answer in full sentences and paragraphs.
• Each response will require about 2-3 paragraphs.
• You may use books, notes and the article.
• If you use a quote, be sure to put it in quotes “ “ and cite your source.

Textbook: Sensation and Perception, 3rd Ed., Wolfe, et al.

1. Please summarize the main idea(s) of the article. What did the researchers do? What was the point of the experiment / why is it important? What did it show?

2. Provide some further detail and critical thinking about the experiment and its results. Based on the article, is it possible to ‘keep your eye on the ball’ as it travels from the pitcher to batter? Why or why not? If it’s not a simple yes/no answer, then under what conditions can someone do it? Relate your answer to the article: How fast does a baseball move? When does a batter have to make a decision to swing? How quickly can the batter get useful information about the pitch? What kind of eye movements are required? Which pitch is the hardest to track and why? etc.

3. If you were in charge of picking the best hitters: what kind of vision tests would you use to test them? Please relate the article to what you’ve learned in class about visual acuity, visual attention, and eye movements.

**The questions will assess 1) how well you understood the main point(s) of the article 2) how well you can think of variations on the experiment(s) and, 3) how well you can relate the article to concepts we discussed in class.