Data_Sheet_4_Adaptive Gaze Behavior and Decision Making of Penalty Corner Strikers in Field Hockey.xlsx

In recent years, studies have increasingly dealt with the interaction of gaze behavior and decision making of team sports athletes. However, there is still a variety of important game situations, for example, in the case of penalty corners in field hockey, in which this interaction has not been investigated in detail yet. Penalty corners present a meaningful goal scoring opportunity by providing a relatively free shot. This paper considers two studies. The first study investigated a possible connection between the gaze behavior and the quality of decisions of experienced field hockey players and evaluated the level of success of different gaze strategies. A preliminary study (Study 1) was designed as a survey questionnaire with the aim of preparing for the main study by obtaining subjective assessments of the individual gaze behavior and decision making of professional athletes. In the second and the main study (Study 2), the gaze behavior of experienced field hockey players was recorded using mobile eye-tracking systems to analyze different strategical approaches in associated gaze behavior and decision making. Study 1 showed that players consider reacting to the defenders' behavior during a penalty corner a promising avenue for improving success at penalty corner attempts. It also indicated that such defense-dependent strategies are currently only rarely employed. Study 2 demonstrated how gaze behavior differs between different strategical approaches of the offense. It was shown that the gaze direction on the ball, the stopper, and the goal area is important to allow for a more optimal adaptation to the tactical behavior of defense. It can be concluded that adaptive decision making (i.e., choosing which variation will be carried out just after the “injection” of the ball) seems promising but requires further training to improve the success rate of penalty corner.

近年来，针对团队项目运动员注视行为（gaze behavior）与决策（decision making）间交互机制的研究日益增多，但仍有诸多重要赛事场景尚未得到细致探究——例如曲棍球短角球（penalty corners）场景，其相关交互机制至今缺乏深入分析。短角球能够为进攻方提供相对自由的射门机会，是极具价值的得分手段。本研究包含两项实验：第一项实验旨在探究资深曲棍球运动员的注视行为与决策质量间的潜在关联，并评估不同注视策略的成功表现。前期预实验（实验1）采用调查问卷设计，通过收集职业运动员对个体注视行为与决策的主观评价，为主实验的开展奠定基础。第二项即主实验（实验2）中，研究人员借助移动眼动追踪系统（mobile eye-tracking systems）记录资深曲棍球运动员的注视行为，以分析不同进攻策略对应的注视行为与决策模式差异。实验1结果显示，运动员认为在短角球进攻过程中依据防守方的行为调整应对策略，是提升短角球进攻成功率的可行方向，但该类依赖防守态势的战术策略目前仍较少被采用。实验2则揭示了不同进攻策略下注视行为的差异：研究表明，将注视焦点置于球、防守阻截队员与球门区域，有助于更优地适配防守方的战术行为。综上可得出结论：适应性决策（即短角球发球后选择具体进攻变体的决策模式）具备提升短角球进攻成功率的潜力，但仍需配套训练以进一步优化其应用效果。