#darts Head Games: How Visual Illusions Improve Sports Performance

A new study finds that athletes are more likely to score when they think their target — be it a basket or golf hole — is larger than it really is.Researchers from Purdue University studied 36 college students putting into a golf hole up a ramp. Using a projector, the researchers created an optical illusion that showed a ring of circles around the golf hole which altered its perceived size. In the first trial, they projected a ring of 11 small circles that made the golf hole look larger in comparison. In the second trial, they projected five large circles that made the hole look smaller. Each student putted 10 times in each trial.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/03/15/head-games-how-visual-illusions-improve-sports-performance/#ixzz1pR8C3PEL