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September 10, 2025Open Access

Study on the correlation between multiple object tracking ability and eye- tracking characteristics in sports decision making among basketball players

QGQifeng GouBeijing Normal University SLSunnan LiBeijing Normal University

Key Points

MOT accuracy in basketball players negatively correlates with fixation time and frequency during decision-making tasks.
Stronger correlation found between MOT accuracy and fixation time for experts versus novices during passing decisions.
Tracking three to six targets at 10°/s shows strong correlation in MOT accuracy and eye movement indicators across groups.
Experts exhibit lower correlation in fixation time and fixation frequency in irrelevant areas compared to novices, affecting intuitive and cognitive decisions.

Abstract

Background Variations in attention and search strategies can partially explain the differences in players’ decision-making capabilities. This study aims to explore the correlation between basketball players’ multiple object tracking (MOT) ability and visual search in sports decision-making tasks using the expert-novice paradigm. Methods Forty-eight college students were selected and divided into two groups: the expert group (24 basketball players) and the novice group (24 general college students). Using different numbers and speeds in MOT tasks, the Eyelink eye tracker was employed to record the visual search process during sports decision-making tasks. The correlation coefficient between MOT accuracy and eye-tracking indicators was then analyzed. Results (1) The accuracy of MOT in both the expert and novice groups was negatively correlated with average fixation time and average fixation frequency. The correlation between MOT accuracy and average fixation time for passing intuition and passing cognition in the expert group was stronger than that in the novice group. (2) When tracking three–six targets at a speed of 10°/s, a strong correlation was observed between the MOT accuracy in both groups and the eye movement indicators of the sports decision-making task. (3) The correlation between MOT accuracy in the expert group and the proportion of fixation time in irrelevant areas during intuitive decision-making was lower than in the novice group. Similarly, the correlation with the proportion of fixation frequency in irrelevant areas during cognitive decision-making was also lower in the expert group compared to the novice group. Conclusions The multiple object tracking ability of basketball players is negatively correlated with fixation time and fixation frequency in sports decision-making tasks, and positively correlated with fixation time during passing decisions.

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