MEDIA RELEASE
13 May 2015
New research sheds light on decision making of elite rugby players
New insights coming out of the Australian College of Applied Psychology (ACAP) have
taken researchers a step closer to understanding what separates superior athletes from
novice players, by analysing players’ decision making during rugby league games.
Masters student David Johnston conducted and led the research into rugby players of
various skill levels to identify key factors which emerge in the development of expertise.
It involved careful and intricate construction of game situation ‘scenarios’ to enable the
players to demonstrate their processes of decision making.
Previous research suggests that cue use (i.e., the ability to recognise key indicators
during decision making) is a significant factor in sport-related performance. Mr Johnston’s
research indicated that higher skilled players demonstrated greater cue discrimination,
assigned different meaning to the cues, and processed cues in a different manner to
lower skilled players.
“This research demonstrates the close relationships that can be formed between the
scientific investigation of skilled performance and the practicalities of training in high level
sports. The further development of this work would allow training of novice players to be
targeted toward the acquisition of high level skills in an efficient manner,” Mr Johnston
said.
Ten rugby league playmakers - six of whom played with a professional rugby league team
and four from amateur clubs - were interviewed using a Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA)
technique in the research.
A CTA is an interview method that involves the recall of a non-routine event to explore
the decision-maker’s unique response to the event. These methods are designed to elicit
information about the cues, goals and strategies used by the players.
The work was supervised by Dr Ben Morrison, a lecturer in the School of Psychological
Sciences, who has extensive experience in the study of decision making in natural
settings.
“This research is really exciting because it has opened the door to further research which
could help us understand the evolution of cue use across expertise, and whether we can
model expert cue use in training programs for less experienced players,” he said.
Mr Johnston will present his research into rugby player decision making at the prestigious
International Conference on Naturalistic Decision Making in America in June. He is
presently studying for his Master of Psychology (Clinical) degree in the School of
Psychological Sciences at ACAP. He is also the winner of the 2014 Australian
Psychological Society Prize for the best honours student, for which will be awarded at the
ACAP Sydney graduation ceremony in May.
ACAP is a subsidiary of global education provider Navitas Limited. Navitas is a proud
sponsor of the Australian rugby team, Western Force.
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For further information, please contact:
Dr Ben Morrison
PhD, B.Psych (Hons), MAPS
Lecturer of Psychological Sciences
Course Coordinator for Bachelor and Graduate Diploma of Psychological Science
Australian College of Applied Psychology
Tel: +61 (02) 9964 6373
Email: [email protected]
Imogen Clark
Corporate Affairs Coordinator
Navitas Limited
Tel: +61 (08) 9364 0021
Mob: 0498 574 633
Email: [email protected]
About Australian College of Applied Psychology
The Australian College of Applied Psychology (ACAP) has been a leader in applied
psychology education for over 30 years. ACAP offers specialist courses in counselling,
psychology, coaching, social science, social work, youth work and case management and
has over 5,500 students studying on-campus or online. ACAP is a nationally registered
training organisation and a register higher education provider. Further details about ACAP
are available at www.acap.edu.au
About Navitas
Navitas is a leading global education provider that offers an extensive range of
educational services through three major Divisions to students and professionals
including university programs, creative media education, professional education, English
language training and settlement services. Navitas is an S&P/ASX100 company. Further
details about Navitas are available at www.navitas.com