Justifications for Judgment Accuracy in Sports

This study investigated the causes of incorrect judgments in a motor task and examined differences between students with varying levels of judgment accuracy. Twenty-two seventh graders participated. Based on their estimated and actual scores in two volleyball serve trials, students were categorized into two groups: "low accuracy" and "high accuracy". Before each trial, they estimated their scores according to the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance test. Following the trials, students were interviewed about their justifications and their confidence in the accuracy of their judgments. Independent sample <i>t</i>-tests indicated that both "low accuracy" and "high accuracy" students appeared to use metacognitive skills (<i>t</i>(20) = 0.82, <i>p</i> > 0.05). However, the "low accuracy" group lacked the declarative and procedural knowledge (<i>t</i>(20) = 4.59, <i>p</i> < 0.001) necessary for accurately evaluating their performance. Findings suggest that students focused more on outcome-based rather than process-based assessments when evaluating their performance. Enhancing students' access to both theoretical and experience-based cues in sports may improve their ability to accurately judge their performances and foster greater confidence in lifelong participation in physical activities.