Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the attentional demands of a curling delivery using a dual-task procedure. Skilled and novice curlers were asked to perform take outs and draws while attentional demands were measured using reaction time (RT) in the different phases of the throw. Results showed attentional demands for the draw and take out were highest at the beginning of the delivery. Compared to the draw, a significant rise of RT was shown at the end of the take out shot. Shot success was significantly higher for the take out condition in expert compared to novice curlers.
Highlights
Research of attentional demands on athletes is an expanding area in the domain of motor control and learning with studies revealing the role of cognitive factors in the execution of motor movements in sports
A lowest significant difference (LSD) post-hoc analysis revealed that the reaction time (RT) for phase 1 of the shot was significantly longer than phases 2 (p < .001) and 3 (p < .001)
The results provided support for this hypothesis as there was a significant difference between the two experimental groups with the expert players successful in 41 % of their overall shots whereas the novice group was only successful in 26 % of their shots
Summary
Research of attentional demands on athletes is an expanding area in the domain of motor control and learning with studies revealing the role of cognitive factors in the execution of motor movements in sports. Dual task paradigms were an early tool used by researchers for evaluating the relative attentional demands associated with different postural tasks and simple primary movement (Ells, 1973; Fraizer & Mitra, 2008; Posner & Keele, 1969; Woollacott & Shumway-Cook, 2002). This involved challenging attentional capacities; in particular the capacity of dividing attention between two tasks (Brown, Shumway-Cook, & Woollacott, 1999; Kerr, Condon, & McDonald, 1985; Manchester, Woollacott, & Zederbauer-Hylton, 1989). Studies on gait initiation have concluded that more attention is needed when modifications of the speed, changes in direction, or precision are required and when supraspinal imputs are necessary to perform movements adapted to the environmental context (Brauer, Woollacott, & Shumway-Cook, 2001; Brown et al, 1999; Hyeong-Dong, 2009; Manchester et al, 1989; Siu & Woollacott, 2007)
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