Original Research · Cognitive Psychology & Sports Performance

Gender and Skill-Level Differences in Visual Search Strategies Among Basketball Athletes: Insights from Eye-Tracking Analysis

H. Y., R. G.^* (Research Institute · Sports University)

ABSTRACT

Objective: To explore how expertise (basketball athletes vs. non-athletes) and gender influence visual search strategies (fixation frequency, fixation duration, saccade amplitude) and decision-making accuracy during complex 3-on-3 basketball offensive situations.
Methods: A total of 120 participants (60 elite basketball athletes and 60 untrained students, divided equally by gender) performed defense threat assessment tasks. Eye-tracking measurements were acquired using an EyeLink 1000 Plus desk-mounted system running at 1000 Hz.
Results: A three-way ANOVA revealed significant main effects of Expertise and Task Complexity on decision accuracy ($p < 0.01$). High-level female athletes demonstrated the highest accuracy ($96\%$) and significantly shorter fixation durations compared to non-athletes ($1555$ ms vs. $1947$ ms, $p < 0.001$), supporting the "quiet eye" and "information extraction efficiency" hypothesis.
Conclusion: Expert visual cognitive patterns are characterized by highly selective focal allocations. Training strategies should emphasize visual cue identification.

Data Visualization · 交互式图表

Fig A · 注视热力图 (Fixation Heatmap) 专项女 vs 非专项

专项女运动员注视高度集中于篮筐区域（AOI-4），热力峰值明显；非专项组注视分散于整个半场。

Fig B · 扫视路径图 (Scanpath) 动态路径追踪

专项女运动员（琥珀）仅 3 个注视点即完成决策；非专项组（灰）路径冗余，注视点多且分散。气泡大小代表注视时长。

Fig C · 注视频率核密度分布 (2D KDE) AOI 区域密度估计

专项组在 AOI-3（传球手）和 AOI-4（篮筐）的注视频率密度显著高于非专项组（p<0.01）。

Fig D · Tukey HSD 决策准确率对比简单 vs 复杂场景

专项女运动员在复杂场景下准确率 96%，显著高于专项男（89%，p=0.012）及非专项各组（p<0.05）。

Fig E · 注视时长分布 (Fixation Duration, ms)

专项组中位注视时长（~285ms）显著低于非专项组（~520ms），反映更高效的信息提取速率。

Fig F · 视觉认知能力雷达图 (Cognitive Profile)

专项女运动员（琥珀）在决策准确率、注视效率、AOI 命中率和反应时四个维度均显著优于非专项组（灰）。

TABLE 1. THREE-WAY ANOVA RESULTS

Source	SS	df	F	p-val
Expertise (A)	0.96	1	7.67	0.0057 **
Task (B)	1.08	1	8.60	0.0034 **
Gender (C)	0.12	1	0.95	0.3278
Gender : Expertise	0.65	1	5.20	0.0227 *
Residuals	149.65	1192	-	-

Significance levels: * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01. The interaction between gender and expertise suggests sport-specific training effects vary slightly between male and female cohorts.

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE & INSIGHTS

Tactical images were projected on a 22-inch display. Eye calibration was performed using a 9-point calibration routine prior to each experimental block. Saccade threshold was set at velocity > 30 deg/s and acceleration > 8000 deg/s².

Our findings strongly corroborate the "quiet eye" phenomenon. Elite female athletes fixate on key visual regions (e.g. ball-handler or defense gaps) significantly earlier and maintain it longer before key decision triggers. Studio coaching translates this into visual-search cognitive routines.