Performance and Perception

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006134823.htm#

This article suggests that research shows a connection between sports related performance and perception during the action. The article says perception relates to specific areas of success and failures and through research, finds that athletes report their targets are bigger on days they play well and smaller on bad days. This means that when being successful in their sport related goal (making a field goal is used as an example), the object being aimed for appeared/was perceived to be bigger than it in actuality is. The study done according to this article affirms that performance influences perception.
Students who missed because they kicked the ball too short judged the goal to be taller which supports the theory of self serving bias. The "perceived size of the goal posts after kicking was positively correlated with kicking performance" for both successful and failed attempts to complete the field goal. The article states that many researchers are resistant to such a claim, sticking to the idea that perception is only about information received by the eye, explaining that the goal post size should not change based on the physiological aspects of our bodies alone. While I can agree with the idea that the way we see things is an optical function, I can understand the perspective and side with the research that proves otherwise- that perception is about more than just the optical system. The power of the mind and psychology cannot be undermined and as research supports, the way we perceive things is a cognitive function as well as a physical one. Bias causal inference encourages us to think of different reasons or excuses for our actions or the way things turn out, which may play a great role in this perception/action theory that supports the power of the cognitive function.
From personal experience, I think about when I have gotten a bad grade on a test back and instead of taking responsbility for it, I claim that maybe the teacher's test was too hard or that they are difficult graders. When I do well on an assignment or test, I always think it is attributed to my hard work and is something I deserve. I think in the scenario of sports accomplishment or failure this kind of mental process may be strong enough to affect the way something we optically receive is processed, resulting in a different way of looking at things. Personally, playing tennis, I understand and can reason with this idea. As the goal for tennis is to keep the ball within the court lines using your muscle memory for good placement, I can think about the way I perceive a play in which my ball either goes in or out. If I consistantly don't make the mistake of hitting the ball out, in my mind I perceive that the court lines are wider or longer than they actually are. So while I have not participated in a formal experiment nor research, I can support this idea that action/performance is positively correlated to perception through my own experiences.