On the role of expertise in spatial cognition

Team ball sports place a high demand on visuospatial skills. Therefore, the present study investigates the role of expertise in a version of the Simon task with multiple spatial reference frames. A group of young professional athletes and age-matched controls performed a Simon task with multiple spatial and nonspatial perceptual reference frames. Photos of a human holding a ball with either hand (objectbased, allocentric reference frame) were presented to either side of the screen (viewer-based, egocentric reference frame). The nonspatial perceptual reference frame was introduced by varying the amount of photos shown on the visual display, i.e. either one or a perceptual set of nine identical photos. In contrast to the controls, athlets showed egocentric and allocentric Simon effects independent of the nonspatial perceptual reference frame. Thus, the relative weight allocated to multiple reference frames was modulated by sport expertise.