The present research attempted to test how skilled people are at predicting perceptual-motor performance of professional darts players based on short observations of pre-performance nonverbal behavior. In four thin-slices experiments (total N = 490) we randomly sampled stimulus material from the 2017 World Championships of Darts showing short video recordings of the players immediately before throwing darts. Participants were asked to estimate the points scored for the respective throws. Results across four experiments, all of which were successfully replicated in direct replication attempts, supported the hypothesis that pre-performance nonverbal behavior of professional darts players gives valid information to observers about subsequent performance tendencies. The present research is the first to show that highly skilled individuals seem to display nonverbal cues that observers can pick up to draw inferences about how these individuals are likely to perform.

本研究试图基于对表演前非语言行为的简短观察，来测试熟练的人如何预测专业飞镖运动员的感知运动性能。在四个薄片实验中（总N = 490），我们从2017年世界飞镖锦标赛上随机抽取了刺激材料，其中显示了在投掷飞镖之前球员的简短录像。要求参与者估计各个掷球得分。四个实验的结果均通过直接复制尝试成功复制，所有结果均支持以下假设：专业飞镖运动员的赛前非言语行为可为观察者提供有关后续表现趋势的有效信息。本研究首次表明，高技能人士似乎表现出非言语暗示，观察者可以从中获得线索，以推断出这些人士的表现。