Benefits of an external focus of attention: Common coding or conscious processing?

Abstract

We conducted two experiments to assess the effect attentional focus has on learning a complex motor skill and subsequent performance under secondary task loading. Participants in Experiment 1 learnt a golf putting task (300 practice trials) with a single instruction to either focus on their hands (internal focus) or the movement of the putter (external focus). No group differences were evident during learning or retention. Differences between the groups were only apparent under secondary task load; the external group's performance remained robust, while the internal group suffered a drop in performance. Verbal protocols demonstrated that the internal group accumulated significantly more internal knowledge and more task-relevant knowledge in general than the external group. Experiment 2 was designed to establish whether greater internal focus knowledge or greater explicit rule build up in general was responsible for performance breakdown. Two groups were presented with a set of six internal or external rules. Again, no performance differences were found during learning or retention. During the secondary task, both groups experienced performance deterioration. It was concluded that accumulation of explicit rules to guide performance was responsible for the internal group's breakdown in performance under secondary task loading and may be responsible for some of the performance differences reported previously.

Evidence for biomechanics and motor learning research improving golf performance

“…Wulf et al (1999) reported that the external focus of attention group was significantly more accurate during the chipping tasks than the internal focus of attention group during retention. Poolton et al (2006) also reported that the external focus of attention group significantly improved their putting accuracy during transfer testing, while the internal focus of attention group experienced a reduction in performance.…”

“…Eight studies compared the learning effects of altering the attention of golf practice session (see Table 1). These studies assessed the effect of implicit versus explicit learning (Bright & Freedman, 1998;Hardy, Mullen, & Jones, 1996;Kavussanu, Morris, & Ring, 2009;Masters, 1992;Maxwell, Masters, & Eves, 2000;Poolton, Masters, & Maxwell, 2005) or internal versus external focus of attention (Poolton, Maxwell, Masters, & Raab, 2006;Wulf, Lauterbach, & Toole, 1999) on golf performance.…”

“…the clubhead) (Magill, 2011). The two studies (Poolton, et al, 2006;Wulf, et al, 1999) that compared the learning effect of an internal versus external focus of attention on golf performance both involved novice golfers, a one day acquisition phase and had 21 the retention and/or transfer tests on either the acquisition day or one day later. Wulf et al (1999) reported that the external focus of attention group was significantly more accurate during the chipping tasks than the internal focus of attention group during retention.…”

O efeito de uma estratégia de atenção na aprendizagem do salto em distância

“…Nessa perspectiva, diversos estudos têm procurado investigar a influência do direcionamento do foco de atenção no processo de aquisição de habilidades motoras (PerkinsCeccato, Passmore, & Lee, 2003;Poolton, Maxwell, Masters, & Raab, 2006;Wulf, Hob, & Prinz, 1998;Wulf, Mcconnel, Gärtner, & Schwarz, 2002;Wulf & Su, 2007). Os resultados demonstram que as instruções que direcionam a atenção a um foco externo, tal como o efeito do movimento corporal no ambiente, produzem maior eficiência na aprendizagem quando comparadas ao uso da atenção direcionada a um foco interno (por exemplo, direcionar a atenção ao movimento do próprio corpo), na aquisição de habilidades motoras novas.…”

“…Diferentemente, um foco externo, por exemplo, no efeito do movimento, promove o uso do processo automático (Poolton et al, 2006;Wulf & Su, 2007). Assim, uma dica simples, mas direta e objetiva, tal como uma frase curta e específica, uma informação visual ou palavra relevante à tarefa, pode reduzir a quantidade de informações e destacar um ponto a ser ressaltado no ambiente ou na própria tarefa, podendo reforçar a aprendizagem (Eversheim & Bock, 2002;Landin, 1994;Masser, 1993;Pasetto, Araújo, & Corrêa, 2006;Shim, Carlton, Chow, & Chae, 2005).…”