Attentional focus strategies used by regular exercisers and their relationship with perceived exertion, enjoyment, and satisfaction

Moffitt

2018

Sports

Engaging in physical exercise in a virtual reality (VR) environment has been reported to improve physical effort and affective states. However, these conclusions might be influenced by experimental design factors, such as comparing VR environments against a non-VR environment without actively controlling for the presence of visual input in non-VR conditions. The present study addressed this issue to examine affective and attentional states in a virtual running task. Participants (n = 40), completed a 21 min run on a treadmill at 70% of Vmax. One group of participants ran in a computer-generated VR environment that included other virtual runners while another group ran while viewing neutral images. Participants in both conditions showed a pattern of reduced positive affect and increased tension during the run with a return to high positive affect after the run. In the VR condition, higher levels of immersive tendencies and attention/absorption in the virtual environment were associated with more positive affect after the run. In addition, participants in the VR condition focused attention more on external task-relevant stimuli and less to internal states than participants in the neutral images condition. However, the neutral images condition produced less negative affect and more enjoyment after the run than the VR condition. The finding suggest that the effects of exercising in a VR environment will depend on individual difference factors (e.g., attention/absorption in the virtual world) but it may not always be better than distracting attention away from exercise-related cues.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Affective and Attentional States When Running in a Virtual Reality Environment

Moffitt

2018

Sports

“…A focus on task performance (i.e., number of baskets made) is clearly important when also attempting to achieve an outcome goal. Future research could VOLUME 13 | ISSUE 2 | 2018 | 7 use post-task interviewing (e.g., Emad, Neumann, & Abel, 2017) or a combination of physiological measures (e.g., Neumann & Brown, 2013;Neumann & Thomas, 2011) to examine the relationship between goal setting and attentional focus strategies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practice using performance goals enhances basketball free throw accuracy when tested under competition in elite players

Hohnke

2018

jhse

Self Cite

The present study tested whether practice using a performance goal enhances accuracy when later tested under the demands of a competition outcome goal for a basketball free throw task. Thirty male elite-level basketball players with a mean age of 24.67 years practiced free throws either with or without a performance goal. The performance goal was constructed with the challenge of bettering an individualised accuracy level. Players were later tested under an outcome goal that emphasised performance in an external competitive situation. Performance was best in players that practiced using performance goals and greater gains were seen in players that showed an initial lower level of performance. Practice using performance goals may improve free throw accuracy in a game situation, particularly for players that are at a relatively lower skill level.

“…No studies exclusively used female participants. Although sex does not typically moderate attentional focus effects (but for examples see Becker and Smith, 2013;Flôres et al, 2016;Emad et al, 2017), it is still an important empirical question on whether sex differences exist for weightlifting. It is thus recommended that future research include both sexes in research when possible to ensure generalisability of findings and that analyses are conducted to check for sex differences.…”

Section: Participant Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review of Attentional Focus Strategies in Weightlifting

Front. Sports Act. Living

2019

Self Cite

The way an athlete focuses their attention when lifting a weight has the potential to influence strength development during training and performance outcomes during competition. The effects of attentional focus strategies during weightlifting tasks was investigated through a systematic review. Major databases (SportDISCUS, PsycINFO, Scopus) were searched using key terms relevant to attentional focus and weightlifting and reference lists of identified articles were also searched. Following screening, 16 articles were retained for analysis. The review showed that researchers have recruited experienced and novice weightlifters of both genders in their studies, although male experienced weightlifters are the most commonly studied demographic. Weightlifting tasks have varied from bench press, biceps curls, squats, and leg extensions with some studies using measures of force production against a force plate. The predominant manipulations have been between internal-associative and external-associative foci. An external attentional focus has shown to be beneficial in terms of movement economy as reflected in a variety of outcome measures. The results are interpreted within the framework provided by the Constrained Action Hypothesis and more generally the advantages of an external attentional focus for motor skill learning. An external focus of attention promotes automatic control of actions, thus preventing the motor system being constrained by conscious cognitive control. Implications for informing training programs for athletes and for advising athletes to maximize performance during competition are discussed.