Target fixation...Do you suffer from it?

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UnoMOTO

UnoMOTO

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Target fixation is a process by which the brain is focused so intently on an observed object that awareness of other obstacles or hazards can diminish. Also, in an avoidance scenario, the observer can become so fixated on the target that they will end up colliding with the object.

This is a common issue for motorcyclists and mountain bikers. A motorcycle or bicycle will tend to go where the rider is looking; if the rider is overly focused on an obstacle (puddle of oil, tree, branch, patch of sand, small child, etc), the cycle can collide with that object simply because of the rider's focus on it, even though the rider is trying to avoid it.

The term "target fixation" may have been borrowed from World War II fighter pilots, who spoke of a tendency to want to fly into targets during a strafing run. For instance, it is believed that a previous head injury to Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, caused the famed flying ace to develop that process that caused him to disregard proper caution and become an easy target for Allied forces to fatally bring him down.
Target fixation may also refer to a phenomenon where a skydiver may forget to pull the ripcord because he or she is so focused on the landing area.
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Could this be what is happing online? Are you not looking all the way through the corner? Are you so focused on the car in front of you that you have no other choice but to hit it?

I thought it might be worthy to talk about where your eyes are looking when you race.
 
Good find... Although I doubt many of us do this, due to the easibility it takes to look a few inches up+left to see the end of the corner...

I've never even heard of this, good read!
 
UnoMOTO
Could this be what is happing online? Are you not looking all the way through the corner? Are you so focused on the car in front of you that you have no other choice but to hit it?

I thought it might be worthy to talk about where your eyes are looking when you race.
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Many people in real life suffer from this I think when they first learn to drive, rather than focusing on the road ahead, they focus on the car in front.
 
My girlfriend and I went to a couple driving course training events a few years ago and they talked about this in each event. One event was some Porsche Cayenne event and the other was a safety course. Its also why they say if your losing control of your vehicle do NOT look at the object you are avoiding. There was even a female in the class that lost one of her legs because her friend lost control and instead of avoiding a pole, was looking right at it and naturally went toward the pole.
This "target fixation" happens to almost everyone.
 
I don't know about hitting people in front of me.
But I do get so focused on the car in front of me especially if we are both pushing hard, that sometimes I'll follow them when they make a mistake.
 
On some occasions, when the one driving in front of me has more or less the same level of driving technique as I do, and we are both pushing so hard to get away from the pack, I'll end up making the same mistake as he/she does, like running into the run-wide areas, eating grass or sand. haha. :p

But I certainly won't hit the car in front of mine for the reason of "target fixation". :sly:
 
I've heard about it, especially in relation to motorcycles and bicycles.
I used to ride bicycles, now I'm on a motorbike and possible fixation situations come up a lot. Like you see a pothole in front of you and you're heading for it. A little swerve either way will have you go around it easily, but if you stare straight at it, it becomes very hard to avoid. So if I spot a hazard or obstacle on the road, I try to look at my route around it instead of the object itself.
And the first line of the quote is important too, while I'm avoiding one little obstacle I still have to still be aware of all the other possible hazzards around me.

But to answer the question, No, I don't find this a problem with GT at all, but as I've said, I do practice avoiding target fixation regularly on the streets.
 
This 'Target Fixation' caused me to crash whilst riding a motorbike a few years back. Coming up to a sharp right hand bend I initially looked through the corner and towards I wanted to go, ie around the corner. At the last second I gazed at the bush on my left hand side and WHooossshhhh, I headed straight for it and slid off the bike into the kerb and then the bush. Thankfully the only damage was to the bike, but it is a weird phenomena when it happens. You don't have any control. I even tried to refix on the corner but it was too late.

It's yet to happen in GT5:P though.
 
Thanks for the feed back guys. It came to me last night as I was working on S-10. It seemed when getting by all the traffic I did much better by focusing on the hole I could see rather then the rear end of the car in front of me.

Hot lapping through the esses is easy when you can focus on the next set of rumble strips, but when you’re trying not to rear end the traffic I found my eyes wondering to places they shouldn't have been.
 
It's like a lot of 'tricks of the mind' - half the battle is awareness of the phenomenon. Actively forcing your concentration to your racing line will go a long way to beating the effect.
 
I reckon that in GT5 I'm target fixated, but on the game I find it hard looking ahead because my field of view is narrow, as I'm using a CRT TV and not a widescreen LCD one. It also means I can't see the mirrors in most cars. It doesn't seem to affect my pace too badly though. Funnily enough, I wasn't the same playing Tourist Trophy on PS2, because I found that looking through the corner made me much quicker in that game, given that I always rode using the on-board view.

In real life, I don't get target fixated. I trained myself to look through corners to improve my driving, and I think my observation is pretty good when I'm driving.
 
Target fixation may also refer to a phenomenon where a skydiver may forget to pull the ripcord because he or she is so focused on the landing area
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Hahahahaaa, that's a diamond of a sentence! D'oh! :crazy:
 
That's the first I learned at the auto training school. Look where you want to go (drive).
 
Good lord! I myself have recently begun to suffer from this, didn't know it was an actual condition or that it had a name - I just thought it was me being rubbish!

But yeah, it's very strange. I see a car in front of me, and go to overtake and I know I need to go either side of the car to do this, but for some inexplicable reason about a year ago, I developed the odd habit of driving into the car in front. I thought I was going mad! It's like Spontaneous Motor Racing Suicide or something.
 
I find I can't race effectively while chasing a ghost car as I spend all my time trying to avoid it. :dunce:
 
s00zster
Good lord! I myself have recently begun to suffer from this, didn't know it was an actual condition or that it had a name - I just thought it was me being rubbish!

But yeah, it's very strange. I see a car in front of me, and go to overtake and I know I need to go either side of the car to do this, but for some inexplicable reason about a year ago, I developed the odd habit of driving into the car in front. I thought I was going mad! It's like Spontaneous Motor Racing Suicide or something.
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This would explain the punters :D

- and I had it down to demonic possession

Vaxen
I find I can't race effectively while chasing a ghost car as I spend all my time trying to avoid it. :dunce:
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My mates have a name for this - "Ghost Fear"
 
Ardius
Many people in real life suffer from this I think when they first learn to drive, rather than focusing on the road ahead, they focus on the car in front.
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And some of them never get over it. :rolleyes:

Believe me, I commute in the Bay Area every day.
 
This happened a few times in the S class races. I have no doubt that it happens online, but of course the punters don't suffer from this... they're just trying to hit you anyway.
 
91hondawagon
This happened a few times in the S class races. I have no doubt that it happens online, but of course the punters don't suffer from this... they're just trying to hit you anyway.
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They're fixated on which piece of wall or sand they can stuff you into.
 
I always forget to blink. Then my eyes dry up. Then I have to go take out my contacts and my glasses are not adjusted right so they hurt my nose. I also can't see as well. Then I continue to forget to blink and my eyes get dry again (I put in drops with my contacts out). This causes me to force blink alot. My dogs and wife must think I have a tick now. Does this fall under this catigory?
 
I had a friend who pulled over on the interstate to help a women change a flat tire. While changing the tire...
I HAD a friend. :sick:
 
Vaxen
I find I can't race effectively while chasing a ghost car as I spend all my time trying to avoid it. :dunce:
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By god I have the same problem. lol However, after a while I tell myself to keep pushing, as when you chase a ghost, you are trying to beat it. :)

A good racer always looks ahead. :)
 
EDK
And some of them never get over it. :rolleyes:

Believe me, I commute in the Bay Area every day.
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What's sad is these lemmings will follow each other right off the end of a bridge.

A Car and Driver article in the 1980's taught me about looking ahead, always. Not long after I started driving, I lost control on a snowy road, and worried about hitting a pile of logs I could see across the road. Of course, that's where I ended up-didn't hit them, but close. Driving in snow and ice has pretty much drilled it into me now. I've made some wicked saves!:sly:

I have problems in the game when I'm tired or distracted, or online when I'm more worried about the personality of the car (and the person) in front of me than it just being a car I need to pass. I don't use my peripheral vision, and lose my line.

Nice thread.
 
Chadwicksracing
By god I have the same problem. lol However, after a while I tell myself to keep pushing, as when you chase a ghost, you are trying to beat it. :)

A good racer always looks ahead. :)
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I think the ghost needs a re-design really, because it isn't transparent enough. At a certain range of distance it can be completely distracting and obscure your view of the racing line. If I'm something like a tenth or two away from my ghost, invariably I'll mess up the lap, or do something stupid like outbrake it to get a better view and miss the corner.

I think it was one of the old TOCA games where the ghost was solid when it was in the distance so you could see it, but as you got closer and closer it became more and more transparent, so when you were only a little behind it was invisible and you didn't have a restricted view of where you were going.
 
I've experienced this whilst Snowboarding. Riding through trees you often find yourself fixating on the trees, rather than the gaps between them.

I usually have to repeat to myself "look at the gaps, look at the gaps!"
 
When you are racing in motorcross it is very important to constantly visualize your racing line. Target fixation is a real occurance that can happen to anyone, especially in an intense situation.
 

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