A batter can imagine that if at the last point he takes a step to the right it could influence the pitcher by confusing him and so the ball will not be thrown as fast or as precisely. The best way to use cognitive powers of motivation and attention is to create a mental picture of the causes and effects that will take place. But if the game is not important or he is thinking of quitting the league his focus will suffer greatly and influence his game. If there is a big reward for winning, financially and prestige wise, he might be very determined and so his focus and attention will increase (Engelmann & Pessoa, 2007). His motivation on the other hand is derived from his want to win the game.

If he missed a practice or did not have enough sleep his attention might be below, as he is less focused because of feeling tired. There are several factors that could influence his attention during the process of the game. For example when a pitcher is about to throw the ball he focuses his attention on the glove, imagines how the ball will fly if it is going to curve, takes into account the wind or the absence of it and then visualizes the throw itself.

By knowing the laws of physics they are able to predict and determine the causality of actions and reactions.

All the players involved have done it before so they have a perceptual picture of what is going to happen. When watching a baseball game, it is hard to see all the work of the mind that goes into the process but in reality perception, motivation, the focus of attention and causality are involved, thus creating different levels of skill between players.

Causality game 6