The ability to quickly and accurately anticipate deceptive and non-deceptive movements is crucial in many sports. In the current investigation, novice (N=10), intermediate (N=10) and professional (N=10) rugby players anticipated the final running direction of an opponent changing direction (with or without deception). The study aimed to better understand (1) the effect skill level has on anticipation of deceptive and non-deceptive movements and (2) whether the propensity for reinvestment plays a role in anticipatory performance. Reinvestment is an individual predisposition to consciously monitor and control decisions (measured using the Decision Specific Reinvestment Scale) or movements (measured using the Movement Specific Reinvestment Scale). Much research has shown that the tendency to reinvest detrimentally affects performance under pressure. Our results showed that expert players took significantly longer to respond than novices but were significantly more accurate than novices when anticipating deceptive and non-deceptive changes of direction. Furthermore, Conscious Motor Processing (a subscale of the Movement Specific Reinvestment Scale) scores were associated with poorer response accuracy for deceptive changes of direction.
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