The role of peripheral vision in ball games: Revisiting notions from Davids (1984)

In his seminal theoretical paper on peripheral vision published in 1984 in European Physical Education Review, Keith Davids proposed how peripheral vision is used in ball games. At that time, and with the technology available, it was almost impossible to empirically test the functionality of peripheral vision (i.e., the ability to process information from the corner of our eyes). In this presentation, I will summarize what we have learned about peripheral vision since 1984 and provide examples that show how the use of peripheral vision can be tested in football and basketball in lab and field settings. The results of these studies show that Davids was right in many of his notions but that studies need good experimental control to ensure that natural peripheral vision usage is tested without creating too artificial test settings. In an outlook, I will show how we can use virtual reality technology to control for variables affecting the use of peripheral vision