Comparison of the performances of male and female armed services recruits undergoing sports vision testing

Abstract

Research has shown that a strong correlation exists between vision and performance. In the sporting environment, it is believed that athletes perform better than non-athletes and males perform better than females. In this study we used sports vision to compare performance between males and females. One hundred and thirty male and one hundred female armed service recruits were tested, using techniques of visualization, eye-hand coordination, focusing, sequencing, tracking and reflexes. Previous research has shown that the difference in performance in both males and females is the result of brain lateralization, test familiarity and nerve conduction velocity in the brain. This was, however, not reflected in the study. Results showed a significant difference in performance with regard to visualization (p=0.006), tracking (p=0.048), reflexes (p=0.0001) and sequencing (p=0.046). The increased performance might become more evident with repetition of tests. Future research should therefore investigate the exact physiological mechanisms and interrelation of variables thought to affect performance.