Sensation and Perception FRQ

Explain how a football player would make use of each of the following during a game. 

a. Visual acuity

b. Gate control theory 

c. kinesthesis

d. location of sound

e. convergence 

f. selective attention

Visual acuity is the ability to detect fine details. A football player is able to use visual acuity to determine the precise location of where the football will land and what direction/spin it goes in to catch it. The gate control theory is the theory of pain sensitivity. It explains that pain impulses sent to the brain are controlled by the spinal cord. This can affect the football player if he gets hurt because the impulses will begin to go through the small nerve fibers in the spinal cord causing pain which “opens the gate”. The sense of pain can hinder the football player from doing well. Kinesthesis deals with body movements, and it is the human’s ability to detect body changes in movement and position without having to use all of the senses. This ability is helpful to a football player because it deals with running and moving of the hands to catch the ball. Location of sound is the ability to determine the origin of a noise or where it is. This is important because the football players need to verbally communicate with each other, and it also helps in catching the ball because of the slight sound it makes through piercing through the wind. Moreover, the sound of running from the opposing can urge or alarm the players to run faster or dodge the attack. Convergence deals with eye movements. It the process of the eyes moving inward to focus on close range objects. This is important in again catching the ball because the ball is a small object which requires much more focus to catch it in midair. Selective attention is the process of only picking out and listening to a select group of words/messages or specific actions. This is important to football players because each member has a different job; they can’t all be doing the same thing. The defensive players need to only react to stimuli and actions that would cause harm to their quarterback. The wide receivers need to only concentrate on where the ball is and how they can catch it.