The David Seaman effect: Football goalkeepers see the world differently, scientists say

Any soccer fan will know that goalkeepers play a unique role on their team.

But a study suggests their brains may also work differently than players off the field.

Scientists provide some of the “first solid scientific evidence” that guards show “substantial” differences in the way they view the world.

This may help them make quick decisions based on “limited or incomplete sensory information”, potentially the difference between conceding goals and keeping a clean sheet.

Goals with a reputation for quick reaction times who may benefit from this include David Seaman, former Arsenal and England player, Brazil. Alisson Becker, Liverpool player, and German Manuel Neuer, Bayern Munich player.

The study was supervised by Michael Quinn, a goalkeeping coach and psychology graduate from Dublin City University.

He is also a retired professional goalkeeper and the son of former Irish international Niall Quinn, who played as a striker for Sunderland and Manchester City in the English Premier League.

“Unlike other soccer players, goalkeepers are required to make thousands of very quick decisions based on limited or incomplete sensory information,” Quinn said.

“This led us to predict that goalkeepers would have an enhanced ability to combine information from different senses, and this hypothesis was confirmed by our results.”

For the study, Mr. Quinn and his colleagues recruited 60 volunteers, including professional goalkeepers, professional players, and other people with no professional soccer experience.

Participants were asked to take a test in which they had to indicate whether they could see one or two flashing images on the computer screen.

But to make it more difficult, these visual stimuli were accompanied by a certain number of beeps—one, two, or zero—which intentionally interfered with the judgment.

For example, one flash and two beeps generally lead to a false perception of two flashes – which simply demonstrates the amount of auditory and visual stimuli built into the human brain.

The point is that this misperception diminishes as the amount of time between the two types of stimuli increases.

Goalkeepers in particular have an advantage if they keep this amount of time – known as the ‘temporal correlation window’ – very short.

For each participant, the researchers measured the width of their temporal association window based on their performance on the computer task.

A narrower temporal correlation window indicated more efficient multisensory processing – in other words, the ability to separate audio stimuli from visual stimuli and understand both.

Overall, their tests showed that goalkeepers have notable differences in their multisensory processing ability.

Specifically, goaltenders had shorter temporal association windows compared to players and non-players, suggesting that goaltenders have greater efficiency in separating the two types of signals.

“We propose that these differences stem from the unique nature of the goalkeeping position that prioritizes goalkeepers’ ability to make quick decisions, which are often based on partial or incomplete sensory information,” the researchers wrote.

They speculate that goalkeepers make quick decisions based on visual and auditory information received at different times.

For example, a goalkeeper may hear the ball being kicked, but will not be able to see it if it is obscured by objects.

‘We suggest that goalkeepers often use information from only one sense to guide their judgements,’ David McGovern, the study’s lead researcher from Dublin City University, told MailOnline.

“Depending on the context, this could involve using only visual information or only auditory information.

“Repeated exposure to these types of environments leads goalkeepers to adopt a strategy of separating or decoupling information, while external players may find it advantageous to integrate this information.”

People gifted with such short windows since childhood can become the most talented goalkeepers.

Alternatively, people may begin to process sensory signals separately rather than in combination after a lot of experience as a goalkeeper.

“Could it be that the narrower temporal window of association observed in goalkeepers stems from the rigorous training regimes that goalkeepers engage in from an early age?” Mr. McGovern said.

Or do these differences in multisensory processing reflect a natural, inherent ability that attracts young players to the goalkeeping position?

“Further research that tracks the developmental trajectory of aspiring goalkeepers will be needed to differentiate between these possibilities.”

The new study was published in Current biology.