Abstract
Objectives
Virtual reality (VR) is increasingly being used for sports purposes, including tactical learning. However, the instructional efficiency of this emerging technology remains unclear, especially when considering learners’ cognitive abilities, such as visuospatial abilities (VSA). The aim of this study was to investigate the role of VSA in memorizing soccer tactics under immersive (VR) and non-immersive (animation) conditions.
Methods
The experiment involved a group of 52 adult male soccer beginners. Initially, participants’ VSA were assessed using six computerized tasks. Subsequently, participants were tasked with memorizing and reproducing tactical soccer scenes in VR and animation formats.
Results
The results revealed a significant interaction, indicating that beginners with high-VSA were more efficient at memorizing scenes through animation than VR, supporting the ability-as-enhancer hypothesis. Conversely, those with low-VSA benefited equally from both visualizations, despite being more accurate in recalling scenes through VR.
Conclusions
Findings suggest that coaches should pay attention when using new technologies such as VR and consider individuals’ levels of VSA to improve their communication and learning sessions.
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Research ethics: The study followed ethical guidelines outlined in the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments. All human participants volunteered and provided informed consent for the experiment.
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Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study, or their legal guardians or wards.
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Author contributions: Both authors contributed significantly to the development and completion of this work. Individual contributions are outlined below: Dr. Hatem Ben Mahfoudh: Project conceptualization and design. Conducted extensive research and literature review. Conducted experiments and collected data. Analyzed data, and interpreted the results. Drafted the initial manuscript and contributed to its revision. Provided the final version of the manuscript for submission. Pr. Bachir Zoudji: Assisted in the project's conceptualization and design. Contributed to the data analysis and interpretation. Participated in the writing process, providing substantial inputs during manuscript preparation. Reviewed and provided feedback on the draft versions, helping to refine the content. Approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.
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Competing interests: The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.
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Research funding: No funding was received for conducting this study.
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Data availability: All data and analyses can be downloaded from the Open Science Framework https://osf.io/pzgm5/?view_only=2bd5f44536a64d1e9329fbc1be34369f.
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