Analysis of the differences in the response to visual reaction in the visual field between male and female handball players

The aim of the study is to analyze the differences between male and female handball players in terms of the response to visual reaction to stimuli located at different positions inside the visual field. The sample (N = 35) consists of 20 women and 15 men. The independent variables are gender and amplitude of the visual field under three experimental conditions (160º, 170º and 180º within the visual field). The dependent variable is the response to visual reaction. The error rate in a dual attention task is used as a control variable. For the error assessment of both the attention and visual field, a dual task procedure is used. ANOVA is used to evaluate differences in the response to visual reaction. Results show that the male players obtained similar values in the error rate of the dual task to those of the female players. There were no gender differences, although statistically significant differences (p < .01) in the responses to visual reaction depending on the experimental condition were found. Results show that gender is a variable which does not influences in the responses to visual reaction, but it does influence the degree of stimulus amplitude located within the player´s visual field.