Softball Observation Report

Sometimes people do not notice the psychological and physical aspects that impact our everyday lives, from simple tasks like hitting a ball to hiking alone in the Rocky Mountains. In the experiment “See the Ball, Hit the Ball” conducted by Witt and Proffitt, the researchers experimented with people who enjoyed playing softball and measured their perception of the ball's size. In the process, they provided another example that applies to the action-specific theory of perception. The study’s purpose required people to evaluate the size of a softball to acquire a possible relationship between their personal performance on the field and the inferred size of the ball. Therefore, the researchers wanted to see if the difference between people’s skills affected the way they saw the ball when considering its size. In reality, the ball is only one size but people’s skills seemed to affect the perception of how big or little the ball appeared to be. In order to carry out this experiment and test the participants' action for potential, the researchers obtained results from 47 participants (37 male, 10 female), which ages ranged from 21 to 56. The experiment took place outside a softball field in …show more content…
If someone has played softball for a long time they are more likely to have more hits than misses at the bat, therefore their action potential is higher meaning they will perceive the ball as bigger. They perceive the ball to be larger because they have an easier time at succeeding at the task. On the other hand, someone who is new to the sport might not have the experience or abilities, which causes them to have more misses than hits at the bat. As a result, their action potential is lower meaning they will perceive the ball as a lot smaller and more difficult to