External Focus Of Attention Instructions Research Articles

The effects of conscious movement investment on inhibiting a golf stroke

Previous studies have suggested an association between conscious movement investment and inhibiting motor actions. However, no within-designs were used in which conscious movement investment was manipulated. The current study compared changes in inhibition after instruction interventions that aimed to expand and limit conscious investment in the execution of a golf putting task. During a baseline and post-intervention test, participants were asked to putt balls in a hole. Randomly, an auditory stop-signal appeared 50 ms after reaching the end of backswing on some trials, signalling them to stop the downswing as quickly as possible. Between the two tests, the participants practiced under different instructions, without the stop-signal. One group (i.e., expanded conscious investment, ECIG) received multiple explicit movement-related instructions along with the internal focus of attention instructions, while the second group (i.e., limited conscious investment, LCIG) received a single analogy instruction paired with external focus of attention instructions. The results did not reveal significant differences in stopping rate and stopping time between the baseline and post-intervention tests and the two groups. However, a mediation analysis highlighted that the ECIG exhibited a greater change in downswing time compared to the LCIG. This change was correlated with a larger increase in stopping rate and stopping time. We conclude that conscious movement investment did not directly influence inhibition. Instead, we discuss how conscious movement investment may indirectly influence inhibition dependent on the putting kinematics.

The effect of internal, external, and holistic focus of attention on standing long jump performance in novice and skilled karatekas.

An important application for training instructions is found in directing one's attentional focus. This direction can occur in different internal, external, or holistic forms. However, comparison between these three forms of instructions is a relatively recent development rarely reported at different skill levels or various sports including karate. Therefore, the present study attempts to investigate the effects of three forms of instructions on standing long jump performance in skilled and novice karatekas. The participants were 60 skilled and novice karatekas (all females; mean age: 21.32±1.65) who completed 12 standing long jump trials under different focus conditions (3 trials for each condition: internal, external, holistic and control condition) in a counterbalanced order. Our findings suggested significant main effects, indicating that skilled karatekas outperformed the novices. The findings also showed that regardless of skill levels, the participants exhibited similar performance under external and holistic focus conditions while performance in both of these conditions was superior compared to performance under internal focus and control conditions. No difference was observed between the control and internal focus conditions. It seems that skilled and novice karatekas may benefit from holistic and external focus of attention instructions which enhance their motor performance. Thus, it is recommended that coaches should incorporate these two types of attentional focus instructions into their training sessions.

Do the effects last? A comparison between internal and external focus of attention instructions on golf putting accuracy over multiple days.

The role of attentional focus is a well-explored topic in exercise sciences. Studies generally indicate that external focus (EF) enhances motor performance and learning compared with internal focus (IF). However, most studies only included one or two experimental days which limits participants' exposure to the focus conditions. This raises the question of whether the superiority of EF varies over time. Accordingly, in this pre-registered within-subject study, we examined the effects of focus instructions on golf-putting performance over four days, with 48-72 h between them. On each day, participants performed 15 putts under three instructional conditions: (1) EF, (2) IF, and (3) control, in a randomized and counterbalanced order. We observed trivial differences in performance between conditions but considerable improvements from day 1 to day 4. When using an exploratory analysis, we found that participants performed better under EF and control conditions compared with the IF condition on day 1, but not on subsequent days. Since IF instructions are more commonly used in practice, we speculate that the two other focus conditions were experienced as more novel, potentially accounting for their superiority on Day 1. Nevertheless, our results question the significance of employing EF to enhance performance.

Sequential focus of attention instructions influenced motor performance of volleyball setting despite direction of focus but dependent on motor expertise of the player

ABSTRACTPrevious studies have shown the advantage of external over internal focus of attention (FOA) for motor learning and performance. However, such a FOA effect is inconsistent when factors such as motor expertise, individual preference, and performance measurement are considered. For complex motor skills like volleyball setting, sequential FOA instructions (S-FOA) are often given to facilitate skill acquisition and performance, but it remains unknown whether internal and external FOA instructions would impact motor performance of skilled and novice players differently. Thirty-two novice (n = 16) and skilled (n = 16) female volleyball players were asked to perform a simulated volleyball setting task without (control) and with S-FOA (internal or external). Both movement outcomes and inter-joint coordination of flexion and extension were analysed using linear models and time-series analysis. The results supported previous literature on motor expertise showing that skilled players outperformed novice players with superior movement outcomes due to their ability to maintain an intermediate coordination pattern and functional variability of inter-joint coordination prior to ball contact. Despite direction of focus, S-FOA degraded the mean setting accuracy of skilled players without impacting their mean inter-joint coordination pattern and it also failed to influence the performance of novice players. Although S-FOA failed to impact the mean inter-joint coordination patterns of all participants, they allowed individuals to develop idiosyncratic coordination patterns for setting. S-FOA significantly reduced the variability of inter-joint coordination before and after ball contact for all players, however, it was considered detrimental for skilled players but beneficial for novice players.HighlightsSuperior setting performance is associated with the ability to adopt an intermediate inter-joint coordination pattern with a functional variability prior to ball contactDespite direction of focus, the effects of sequential focus of attention (SFOA) instructions on inter-joint coordination pattern of players are idiosyncraticThe SFOA-induced reduction of variability of inter-joint coordination before and after ball contact is considered detrimental for skilled players but beneficial for novice players

Instructions for External Focus of Attention Improved Taekwondo Kicking Performance Only Among Less Skilled Youth.

External focus of attention (EFA) studies among children have yielded more equivocal results than have those among adults. Some investigators have found an internal focus of attention (IFA) advantage in children and have explained their results by children’s generally lower skill levels, compared to adults. According to the constrained action hypothesis, children’s lower skill levels are not yet associated with over-learned automatic movement patterns, so their motor performance is not disrupted by IFA instructions. In this study, our objective was to examine a possible interaction effect between children’s skill levels and their exposure to either IFA or EFA instructions on motor performance. Our participants were 40 10–15-year-old taekwondo competitors of higher and lower skill levels (based on both the participant’s experience and their test performance) who engaged in a taekwondo kicking movement before and after either IFA or EFA instructions. We found improved kicking performance with EFA versus IFA instructions only among less versus more skilled participants.

Effects of attentional focus on movement coordination complexity

Attentional focus affects performance and learning of motor tasks. An external attentional focus (on the effects of movement) can lead to more efficient and effective movements compared to an internal focus (on body movement itself). According to the “constrained action hypothesis”, an external focus facilitates fast and reflexive movement control while an internal focus leads to disruption of automatic coordination processes. Such disruption should be apparent in the complexity of movement. In this study, multiscale entropy measures were used to investigate if the external focus is related to superior coordination complexity compared to internal focus. Twenty participants were divided in two groups that balanced over an unstable platform in fourteen trials over two days, either with internal or external focus of attention instructions, followed by seven retention trials on the third day. Multiscale entropy measures were used to quantify complexity of motions of the platform, the participant, and the composite of participant and platform motions. Results were contrary to expectations. For the external focus group, despite better overall performance, multiscale entropy values of participant and composite motions were lower in some scales compared to the internal focus group, especially in the first and last days. This may be consistent with previous findings that predictability increases during learning of a balance task. Results also indicate the need to identify the correct physiological interpretation of single or multiscale entropy measures. Further investigation is needed to establish if entropy differences are causally related to performance and learning advantages of the external focus.

“Kick it like Ronaldo”: a cross-sectional study of focus of attention effects during learning of a soccer knuckle ball free kick technique

The aim of this study was to investigate whether soccer free kick training improves the knuckle ball technique of adolescent and adult male soccer players after a three week training period using either internal or external focus of attention instructions. Much evidence has been gathered in the literature showing that an external focus of attention (i.e., focus on the movement effects) is more effective than an internal focus (i.e., focus on the movements themselves) during learning. In the present study, 56 soccer players (20 adolescents and 36 adults) completed a free kick training program for which attentional focus (internal vs. external) was manipulated. Results indicated that the external focus group showed greater improvements compared to the internal focus group. These findings therefore provide further support for the advantages of external focus of attention instructions during skill acquisition and further show that this remains true for prolonged training periods.

The attentional focus impact on tennis skills’ technique in 10 and under years old players: Implications for real game situations

The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of the internal and external focus of attention instructions on performance and learning of the service, forehand and backhand tennis skills at 8 – 9 years old tennis players. 68 participants of 8 – 9 years old (M=8.8, SD=0.54), were divided in three groups and followed a 6 weeks intervention program; the internal attentional focus group (N=21), the external attentional group (N=23) and the control group (N=24). Three measurements were implemented (pre, post, retention) in which the participants were video recorded: a) while performing each skill and b) while playing matches in real game situations. Due to the qualitative evaluation of the technique five assessment criteria were used, whilst due to performance outcome evaluation one part of the Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI) was used. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed significant interaction between groups and measurements and Bonferroni post hoc showed that the athletes of external focus of attention group had better scores in the post-test in the skills’ technique and in real game condition. The findings are in line with those of previous studies, which proved the superiority of external focus of attention instructions in performance and learning of object manipulation skills. Moreover, the present research makes an initial attempt to extend the already existing research about attentional focus impact on real game performance.

Verbal Cues and Attentional Focus: A Simulated Target-Shooting Experiment

Performance benefits exist for an external focus of attention compared with an internal focus of attention for performance and learning (Wulf, 2013). It is unknown, however, if varying the number of verbal cues affects learning and performance. Focus of attention and the number of verbal cues were manipulated during a simulated handgun-shooting task. For the internal focus conditions, participants were told to focus on their hand, arm, and wrist, whereas the external focus instructions were to focus on the gun, gun barrel, and gun stock. To manipulate the number of verbal cues, participants received instruction to focus on a single verbal cue or multiple verbal cues. Shooting performance was assessed at baseline, acquisition, and at two separate retention phases (immediate, delayed) that included transfer tests. Participants completed the NASA—Task Load Index to assess workload following all trials. Participants who received one verbal cue performed significantly better during immediate retention than those who received three verbal cues. Participants who used external focus of attention instructions had higher performance and reported less workload at delayed retention compared to those who used internal focus instructions. This research provides further support for the benefits of an external focus and highlights the importance of minimizing the number of verbal cues.

Focus of attention instructions during baseball pitching training

It has often been shown that performance and learning in movement tasks may be improved by focusing on the effect of the movement in the environment (external focus of attention) instead of the movement itself (internal focus of attention). Nevertheless, most coaching instructions and feedback information given in sports seem to favor an internal focus of attention over an external one. In the present study, we investigated coaches’ instructions and feedback in an instrumental sports action, viz. baseball pitching, in which external targets are readily identifiable, such as the strike area or the catcher’s glove. To this end, we recorded and analyzed the pitching instructions and feedback statements of six baseball coaches given to 70 elite youth baseball pitchers (mean age 15.3 ( SD 1.67) years) during regular pitching training sessions over a training period of four weeks. All instructions and feedback statements were classified according to the type of focus of attention invoked (i.e. internal or external), and a rest category of all other statements. Of the statements promoting a specific focus of attention (717/1699), only 31% (224/717) were classified as external focus of attention statements. Correspondingly, the responses on a questionnaire filled out by the pitchers indicated that they used an internal focus of attention during practice and preferred to receive internally oriented over externally oriented instructions and feedback. The present results show that, even in sports involving clear external targets such as baseball pitching, the internal focus of attention instructions prevails, the experimental evidence in favor of external focus of attention instructions notwithstanding.

Effects of attentional focus on walking stability in elderly

IntroductionBalance performance in the elderly is related to psychological factors such as attentional focus. We investigated the effects of internal vs. external focus of attention and fall history on walking stability in healthy older adults. MethodWalking stability of twenty-eight healthy older adults was assessed by applying random unilateral decelerations on a split-belt treadmill and analysing the resulting balance recovery movements. The internal focus instruction was: concentrate on the movement of your legs, whereas the external focus instruction was: concentrate on the movement of the treadmill. In both conditions participants were asked to look ahead at a screen. Outcome measures were coefficient of variation of step length and step width, and characteristics of the centre of mass velocity time-series as analysed using statistical parametric mapping. Fall history was assessed using a questionnaire. ResultsAfter each perturbation participants required two to three strides to regain a normal gait pattern, as determined by the centre of mass velocity response. No effects were found of internal and external focus of attention instructions and fall history on any of the outcome measures. DiscussionWe conclude that, compared to an internal focus of attention instruction, external focus to the walking surface does not lead to improved balance recovery responses to gait perturbations in the elderly.

The effect of internal and external focus of attention on game performance in tennis

Background: Great importance has been given in recent years to the impact of focus of attention cues during skills execution but not during real game play, where more cognitive skills are involved besides technical performance. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of internal and external focus of attention instructions on the components of the game performance (decision making, skill execution, base) in tennis. Methods: The participants (N = 60) were divided into three groups and followed an intervention training program that lasted 6 weeks; IF group (n = 20) under internal focus of attention instructions, EF group (n = 20) under external focus of attention instructions and CON group (n = 20) under no attentional focus instructions. Three measurements took place (pre, post and ret) in which the participants were recorded on video while playing matches in real scoring conditions. Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI) was used to evaluate the components of game performance in tennis in three game situations; service, return of the service, base line game. Results: ANOVA repeated measures in a 3 (groups: IF, EF & CON) × 3 (measurements: pre, post, ret) revealed a significant interaction between groups and measurements and post hoc analysis indicated that the group that was instructed to focus externally improved significantly only in decision making compared to the internal focus of attention and to the control group. The score difference was maintained at the retention test as well, which indicates that the impact concerned not only performance but also learning. Conclusions: Instructions that aim to an external focus of attention enhance decision making skills, which are considered the most important element of game performance in tennis.

Optimizing External Focus of Attention Instructions: The Role of Attainability

This study examined the effect of individually tailoring an external focus reference point in line with ability on standing long jump (SLJ) performance. Twenty-one female Division III hockey players (ages 18–23 years) performed two SLJs under 4 attentional focus conditions: (a) no focus provided (control), (b) focused on rapid knee extension (internal); (c) focused on jumping as close as possible to a cone placed at 3 m (external far), and (d) focused on jumping as far as possible past a cone placed, unbeknownst to them, at the maximum distance achieved on their last SLJ test, recorded during team testing at an earlier date (attainable). Findings were consistent with the literataure in that instructions that induced an external versus internal focus of attention resulted in significantly longer jumping distances. In addition, horizontal displacement was significantly longer when participants adopted an external focus of attention toward an attainable distance goal versus all other conditions. Results suggest that for goal-oriented movements that require maximum effort, individualizing the distance of an external focus of attention according to capability enhances its effect.

The Effects of Attentional Focusing Instructions on Force Production During the Isometric Midthigh Pull.

Verbal instructions play a key role in motor learning and performance. Whereas directing one's attention toward bodily movements or muscles (internal focus) tends to hinder performance, instructing persons to focus on the movement outcome, or an external object related to the performed task (external focus) enhances performance. The study's purpose was to examine whether focus of attention affects maximal force production during an isometric midthigh pull (IMTP) among 18 trained athletes (8F & 10M). Athletes performed 3 IMTP trials a day for 3 consecutive days. The first day was a familiarization session in which athlete's received only control instructions. The following 2 days athletes received either control, internal, or external focus of attention instructions in a randomized, within-subject design. Compared to performance with an internal focus of attention, athletes applied 9% greater force when using an external focus of attention (p < 0.001, effect size [ES] = 0.33) and 5% greater force with control instructions (p = 0.001, ES = 0.28). A small positive 3% advantage was observed between performances with an external focus of attention compared with control instructions (p = 0.03, ES = 0.13). Focusing internally on body parts and/or muscle groups during a movement task that requires maximal force hinders performance, whereas focusing on an object external to the self leads to enhanced force production, even when using a simple multijoint static task such as the IMTP.

Effects of focus of attention depend on golfers' skill

In this study, we examined the influence of internal and external attention instructions on the performance of a pitch shot by golfers who were either highly skilled (mean handicap = 4) or low skilled (mean handicap = 26). Ten golfers in each skill group used a 9-iron to pitch a ball as close as possible to an orange pylon, which was located at distances of 10, 15, 20 or 25 m from the golfer. Focus of attention was manipulated within participants (counterbalanced across golfers). Under internal focus of attention instructions, the participants were told to concentrate on the form of the golf swing and to adjust the force of their swing depending on the distance of the shot. For the external focus of attention conditions, the participants were told to concentrate on hitting the ball as close to the target pylon as possible. The most intriguing finding was an interaction of skill with focus of attention instructions for variability in performance. Similar to the findings of Wulf and colleagues, the highly skilled golfers performed better with external attention instructions than with internal focus instructions. In contrast, the low-skill golfers performed better with the internal than with the external focus of attention instructions. These findings are discussed relative to theoretical issues in motor learning and practical issues for golf instruction.