Archers who see the target as bigger shoot better
1 study · 20 archers measured
The summary today
A single study, of nine competitive Korean archers aged sixteen and seventeen, asked after each arrow how big the target just shot at had looked, without letting them see where the arrow had landed. The bigger the target looked, the higher the arrow scored: the correlation is 0.54, and when actual diameter and perceived size are considered together only the latter stays linked to the score. Everyone overestimates the target, and the four archers with the highest averages choose bigger miniatures than the four with the lowest, 20.5 against 18.5 millimetres. Two things keep the picture modest. The first is direction: the judgement comes after the shot, so it may be the good arrow that makes the target look big rather than the other way round. The second is that the only test that shifts perception, supporting the bow arm, was done on teenagers who had never shot, with an effect of less than a millimetre that did not apply to everyone.
Also phrased as: "the gold looks bigger when you shoot well"; "target perception and score"; "on good days the target looks huge"; "perceived target size"
In practice
People say that on good days the gold looks huge and on bad days a dot, and that training how you perceive the target helps you hit it.
Evidence
-
2012
For Archers Published later
9 male competitive archers from a Korean sports high school, aged 16-17, 25 arrows at 50 m on targets from 60 to 100 cm in random order: across the 45 means (5 diameters for 9 archers) perceived size correlates with the arrow score (r = 0.54, p < 0.0001). In the regression with both measures together (R² = 0.30) perceived size counts (coefficient 0.09, p = 0.038) and the actual diameter does not (0.01, p = 0.59).
An Archer's Perceived Form Scales the "Hitableness" of Archery Targets · Yang Lee, Sih Lee, Claudia Carello, M. T. Turvey
-
2012
For Archers Published later
The 4 archers with the highest averages choose bigger miniatures than the 4 with the lowest: 20.50 ± 4.03 against 18.46 ± 4.34 mm (F(1,6) = 8.32, p = 0.028).
An Archer's Perceived Form Scales the "Hitableness" of Archery Targets · Yang Lee, Sih Lee, Claudia Carello, M. T. Turvey
-
2012
Context Archers Published later
Everyone overestimates the target, and the overestimate grows with diameter: miniatures from 15.44 to 24.07 mm on average against an actual equivalent of 12 to 20 mm for targets from 60 to 100 cm. How closely the judgement follows actual size varies a great deal from archer to archer, with individual correlations from 0.37 to 0.93. The mean score per arrow rises with diameter, from 7.7 to 8.93.
An Archer's Perceived Form Scales the "Hitableness" of Archery Targets · Yang Lee, Sih Lee, Claudia Carello, M. T. Turvey
-
2012
Context General population Published later
Second experiment, 20 boys aged 16-17 who had never shot, aiming at 50 m without an arrow: with the bow arm supported the target looks slightly bigger, 19.45 ± 3.00 against 18.70 ± 3.28 mm (F(1,19) = 7.25, p = 0.015, eta squared 0.29). The effect does not apply to everyone, 11 out of 20 see it bigger, 7 smaller and 2 the same, and it is concentrated on the 60 cm target (+1.57 mm), almost absent on the 70 and 100 cm ones.
An Archer's Perceived Form Scales the "Hitableness" of Archery Targets · Yang Lee, Sih Lee, Claudia Carello, M. T. Turvey
Status history
- 1990 Not studied In the registry's bibliography nobody had yet asked an archer how big the target looked, or set that impression beside the score: the idea that the gold looks bigger on good days circulated in practice without any measurement.
- 2012 Reported The first study on the question asks nine competitive Korean archers, after each of twenty-five arrows at 50 m on targets of five diameters, which miniature looks most like the target just shot at. The bigger they see it, the higher the score, with a correlation of 0.54, and in the regression only perceived size remains while the actual diameter does not count. These are nine archers, an association with the judgement given after the shot, and the only experiment that shifts perception was done on people who had never shot: the evidence in favour is there and it is limited.
Related
Related articles
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). Archers who see the target as bigger shoot better (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/target-perceived-as-bigger
@misc{campagna2026_bersagliopercepitopiugrande,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {Archers who see the target as bigger shoot better},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/target-perceived-as-bigger},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
Follow this claim
RSS is an address you paste into a feed reader: each time this claim changes status, adds a year to its history or is revised, a new item appears there.
Registry updates by email
At most one email a month, sent only when something has changed: claims that change status, new claims, Lab predictions registered or resolved, new studies and new books.
Sign-ups are handled by Systeme.io, the service that runs the newsletter. Every email has a link to unsubscribe with one click.
Other claims in this domain
- ReportedA larger working memory does not make an archer more accurate3 studies · 79 archers measuredStatus since 2012
- ReportedA longer quiet eye improves shooting accuracy3 studies · 58 archers measuredStatus since 2017
- ReportedA mental profile tells archers apart from athletes in other sports only in part5 studies · 550 archers measuredStatus since 2018
- ReportedA mental training programme improves the elite archer's mood1 study · 16 archers measuredStatus since 2023
- ReportedA mental training programme reduces burnout in elite archers1 study · 16 archers measuredStatus since 2023