Efficiency of information processing to include:: Display.

The idea

In Whiting's information processing model, the display is the physical environment and all the information available to the performer at a given moment. It is the starting point of the model, existing before the performer's sensory organs detect the information or selective attention filters it. For a netball centre preparing to receive a pass, the display includes the ball, the feeder's body position, nearby opponents, teammates, court markings, and crowd noise. The display contains both relevant and irrelevant stimuli. Efficient information processing relies on the performer's ability to extract the most important cues from this display, allowing the perceptual mechanism to interpret the data accurately without being overwhelmed by unnecessary environmental noise.

What earns the marks

• Display is the physical environment and all the information available to the performer at a given time.
• The display contains a mixture of relevant cues (e.g., the ball, opponents) and irrelevant stimuli (e.g., crowd noise).
• Efficient processing requires the performer to extract appropriate cues from the display for the perceptual mechanism.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Confusing display with selective attention.

  Put it right: Display is the external environment, whereas selective attention is the internal filtering of that information.

• Defining display as the act of looking or directing attention, rather than the information itself.

• Assuming the display only contains useful information.

  Put it right: It actually includes all environmental stimuli, both relevant and irrelevant.

Exam tips

• Define display clearly as the environment or available information, not as a process performed by the athlete.
• Give examples of both relevant and irrelevant cues within a specific sporting display to show depth of understanding.
• Place display at the very beginning of Whiting's model, before the sensory organs and perceptual mechanism.