Abstract

DE-LA-VEGA, Ricardo et al. Influence of reaction time and movement in the performance of football referees. Acción psicol. [online]. 2017, vol.14, n.1, pp.17-26. ISSN 2255-1271.  https://dx.doi.org/10.5944/ap.14.1.19255.

The primary objective of this research is to study the relationship between reaction time (RT) and movement time (MT) in a sample of 121 football referees. Assessment has been performed using an objective computerised test (RT, Vienna Test System©), with regard to the average score obtained for refereeing performance over the season (RAR in Spanish). To perform the analysis, the following variables have been considered: a) Level refereed (2 levels); b) Age (3 levels); and c) Experience (4 levels). The hypothesis states that: (i) The higher the level refereeing at, better results are expected in RT and MT; (ii) The older the referee, the greater the expected value in RT and MT; (iii) The more experienced the referee, the lower the score expected in RT and MT; and (iv) It is expected that there will be a negative correlation between the RAR and the RT and MT scores. The results show that: (i) RT and MT do not differentiate between semi-professionals and amateur referees; (ii) Only the older group has differences in line with the proposed hypothesis; (iii) There are no differences in RT and MT regarding refereeing experience; (iv) The RT scores, taking the optimal transformation parameters, show significant correlations with the RAR (r = -.271, p = .020); but not regarding the MT and RAR. Future research should take a deeper look into the results obtained, including professional referees in the comparisons, as well as investigating the effects of other psychological variables in refereeing performance.

Keywords : reaction time; movement time; Vienna Test System; refereeing; football.

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