Psychology professor co-authors study on tennis grunting
effectsUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Posted: Oct 1, 2010 You’ve
heard them at tennis matches – a loud, emphatic grunt with each
player’s stroke. A University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa researcher has
studied the impact of these grunts and come up with some
surprising findings. Scott Sinnett, assistant psychology
professor at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, has co-authored
a study on the potential detrimental effect that noise has on
shot perception during a tennis match. Sinnett’s work was
published today in an online issue of Public Library of Science
ONE. He co-authored the study with Alan Kingstone, psychology
professor at the University of British Columbia, to determine if
it is reasonable to conclude that a tennis grunt interferes with
an opponent’s performance. As part of the study, thirty-three
undergraduate students from the University of British Columbia
viewed videos of a tennis player hitting a ball to either side
of a tennis court; the shot ei