Effects of Attentional Focus on Skilled Performance in Golf

Abstract

Wulf and colleagues (e.g., Wulf, Lauterbach, & Toole, 1999) have demonstrated that the adoption of an external focus of attention is preferable for the learning of complex motor tasks. The present investigation extends the attention focus literature in two ways: (a) it compared the effectiveness of three different foci (internal, proximal external, and distal external) in a sample of skilled performers in a naturalistic environment, and (b) it examined the use of attentional foci under conditions of anxiety. Thirty-three skilled male golfers were assigned to one of three attentional focus groups and completed five blocks of ten pitch shots, three in neutral conditions and two in anxiety conditions. Results from two separate mixed model analyses of variance (ANOVAs) indicated that regardless of anxiety condition, those assigned to a distal external focus of attention performed most accurately (p < 0.05), whereas assignment to an internal focus of attention was associated with the least accurate performance (p < 0.05). Findings offer support for the constrained action hypothesis and point to the importance of skilled performers adopting a distal external focus, especially in competition.