Abstract
Self-focused attention is often associated with a process of evaluation that has implications for affect, motivation and performance. However, this topic has received little attention in elite sport. Thus, the aim of this study was to understand the relationship between self-focused attention, affective responses and physical performance of successfully (n=12) and unsuccessful (n=12) NCAA athletes. Each athlete was presented with a self-focused and other-focused condition. They provided ratings of positive affect and then completed vertical squat jumps after each stimulus condition. Significant interactions were observed between stimulus condition and athlete performance group for all dependent variables. Successful athletes demonstrated significantly more positive affect, and greater jump height and energy output following the self-focused condition. The opposite trend was observed for unsuccessful athletes. These findings highlight the potential for self-focused attention to enhance or detract from sport performance based on the direction of self-discrepancies. Keywords: self-focused attention, self-evaluation, elite athletes, positive affect, athletic performance
Highlights
Self-awareness is a complex idea that involves generating a mental abstraction of the self and the consideration of thoughts and experiences in comparison to a set of personal standards (Carver, 2003; Silvia and Phillips, 2013)
As with other forms of self-focused attention, imagery employed in sport contexts includes a process of self-evaluation (Hall, 2001)
The aim of this study was to assess the implications of this process on the affective responses and sport performance of elite athletes
Summary
Self-awareness is a complex idea that involves generating a mental abstraction of the self and the consideration of thoughts and experiences in comparison to a set of personal standards (Carver, 2003; Silvia and Phillips, 2013). Through this process the individual directs attention inwards making them and their subjective internal experiences the object of consciousness (Silvia and Duval, 2001). This increases awareness and triggers a process of personal evaluation that has important implications on affective responses, motivation and performance (Silvia and Phillips, 2013)
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