The use of eye tracking (ET) in targeting sports: A review of the studies on quiet eye (QE)

Abstract

The Quiet Eye (QE) consists in the final visual fixation before the initiation of a critical phase of the movement, and functionally represent the time needed for the precise control of movements. The aims of the manuscript is provide a mini-review of the studies analyzing through Eye Tracking (ET) the Quiet Eye phenomena in ecological sport settings in the last decade. Using Scopus database was performed a search (January 2005–December 2015) including a combination of “Eye Track*” with “Quiet Eye”, and with “Sport” as keywords, and extracting only original research including adult athletes and focused on targeting sports (e.g. shooting, golf, etc). Overall, 30 studies were reviewed, confirming that ET was a useful instrument to address different research issues within sport domain. However, new studies need to confirm these results, and to combine ET with other instruments in order to understand deeply the processes underpinning successful performance in sport.