Matteo Campagna
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One study found no clear link between judging the arrival of a moving stimulus and score

2 studies · 137 archers measured

ForContextAgainst19902000201020201986, for, n = 1272024, context, n = 10
Each circle is a study: its position gives the year, its row whether it is for, against or context, its size how many participants it measured. Light circles are studies on other populations or without archers.

The measurement comes from a large American study in 1986 of amateur recurve archers, ranging from beginners to an Olympic gold medallist. Anticipation timing was measured with a laboratory device: a row of lights coming on in sequence, and the archer pressing a button when they judged the last one would light up. Across 127 archers the link with score is r = -0.24, just under the strict threshold the authors had set themselves to guard against the many comparisons, r above 0.25 with p below 0.005. With an ordinary threshold and 127 people it would have been counted, so rather than no link at all it is a weak link left out. The authors explain it by the nature of the shot: in rapid-fire pistol the target turns and anticipating it helps, while in archery the target is still and the archer decides the moment of release. Nobody has taken up the question since with a measure closer to the shot itself: in 2024 a small Russian study measured the reaction to a moving object in ten archers, without comparing it with their scores.

Also phrased as: "anticipation timing"; "reflexes and score"; "sensing the moment of release"; "anticipating the target"

In practice

People say a good archer has quick reflexes and senses the right moment to release, like someone catching a ball on the fly.

Evidence

  • 1986
    For Archers Published later

    American amateur recurve archers, from beginners to an Olympic gold medallist: anticipation timing measured with a sequential-light timer (20 trials, with feedback on the error in milliseconds after each) correlates with score at r = -0.24 across 127 archers, below the conservative threshold the study adopted (r above 0.25 with p below 0.005), and for that reason does not enter the regression model.

    A Psychobiological Study of Archery Performance · Daniel M. Landers, Stephen H. Boutcher, Min Q. Wang

  • 2024
    Context Archers Published later

    10 Russian archers from the Republic of Sakha, aged 16 to 30, ranging from candidate masters to masters of sport, in the pre-competition period: on the reaction to a moving object test 60% respond with average precision and 40% with lower precision. The study does not relate the test to scores, and the journal has doubtful editorial standards.

    Training of athletes in archery in the pre-competition period Questionable venue · М.А. Алексеев, О.Е. Винокурова

Status history

  1. 1986 Reported The first and so far only study: across 127 American amateur recurve archers, from beginners to an Olympic gold medallist, the ability to predict the arrival of a travelling light is linked to score at r = -0.24, below the strict threshold the study had set itself (r above 0.25 with p below 0.005), and the variable stays out of the model. The authors think that in archery, where the target is still and the archer decides the release, anticipating does not help. A single study, and a null result just under the threshold: the registry keeps it in the direction of the result, reported.

Related

Related articles

Research lines

Cite
APA

Campagna, M. (2026). One study found no clear link between judging the arrival of a moving stimulus and score (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/anticipation-timing-score

BibTeX
@misc{campagna2026_tempoanticipazionepunteggio,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {One study found no clear link between judging the arrival of a moving stimulus and score},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/anticipation-timing-score},
  note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

Other claims in this domain

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