| The purpose of this dissertation was to determine whether computer video training can significantly enhance expert baseball batters' abilities to detect critical, invariant, anticipatory pre-pitch cues. This ability was measured in terms of choice-reaction time (CRT). Along with a video training (VT) treatment group, there were also two other treatment groups, mental imagery (MI) and sports vision therapy (SVT), as well as a control group (C). A total of 19 Minnesota Golden Gopher offensive varsity baseball players participated in the study. Over a three-week period, all subjects received pre- and post-training eye evaluations at the University of Minnesota Department of Ophthalmology, participated in one of the three intervening training treatments (except for the control group participants), and were tested versus a computer video pitching simulator over five test sessions. Results of the study indicate computer video training is the more optimal method of assisting expert baseball batters improve their abilities to detect anticipatory pre-pitch cues. |
