External focus facilitates cognitive stability and promotes motor performance of an interceptive task in children

Abdollahipour, Reza; Land, William M.; Valtr, Ludvík; Banátová, Kamila; Janura, Miroslav

doi:10.1080/1612197x.2022.2098356

Cited by 4 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…The findings showed that while performance outcome was superior in an EF relative to an IF and no-focus instruction conditions, children in the EF conditions noticed fewer distractive items than in IF and control conditions, indicating more concentration on the task goal. Taken together, the findings of the current study and previous studies ( Abdollahipour et al, 2017 , 2022 ) show that an EF may indeed promote an individual’s ability to focus on the task at hand or movement goal which suggests enhanced goal-action coupling ( Wulf and Lewthwaite, 2016 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…Particularly, as the goal of the task in the current study was hitting the ball as hard as possible, the relatively earlier time to peak velocity might be an indicator of more effective and efficient coupling between the action and the goal. That is, participants in the EF condition reached the task goal more quickly than during the IF or control conditions, which could be an indicator of a more effective goal-action coupling ( Wulf and Lewthwaite, 2016 ; Abdollahipour et al, 2017 , 2022 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Essentially, an EF has been considered as a main contributor to goal-action coupling, which functions to enhance the linkage between the performer’s intended movement goal and the activation of one’s neuromuscular system ( Wulf and Lewthwaite, 2016 ). Indirect evidence supporting the notion of EF enhancing goal-action coupling has been derived through observation of improved motor performance along with higher cognitive stability (as reflected by a lower number of eye blinks when adopting an EF; Abdollahipour et al, 2022 ). In another study on the relationship between attentional focus and inattentional blindness, children performed a bowling task while focusing on the path of the ball, their hands, or without focus instructions ( Abdollahipour et al, 2017 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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External focus of attention enhances arm velocities during volleyball spike in young female players

et al. 2023

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The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different volleyball-specific attentional focus instructions on arm velocities of a volleyball spike in young female volleyball players using the Statistical Parametric Mapping method. Twelve young female volleyball players (13.6 ± 0.6 years old, 1.8 ± 0.8 years of experience in volleyball training) were asked to perform a volleyball spike in a standing position in three different attentional focus conditions including internal focus (IF, i.e., pull back your elbow prior to transfer momentum), external focus, (EF, i.e., imagine cracking a whip to transfer momentum), and control (CON, i.e., no-focus instruction). A Qualisys 3D motion capture-system was used to track reflective markers attached to the arm, forearm, and hand. Consequently, four phases of the volleyball spike including wind-up, cocking, acceleration, and follow-through were analyzed. A one-way repeated-measure ANOVA using one-dimensional statistical parametric mapping (SPM1d) showed that players achieved greater velocities in the hand (p < 0.01), forearm (p < 0.01), and arm (p < 0.01) using the EF instructions from the start of the wind-up phase to the acceleration phase. Post-hoc (SPM1d-t-tests-paired) analyses indicated significantly greater arm, forearm, and hand velocities during the EF condition, compared to CON (p < 0.01, p < 0.01, and p < 0.01 respectively) and IF (p < 0.01, p < 0.01, and p < 0.01 respectively) conditions. These findings suggest that EF instructions had an immediate impact on increasing volleyball spike velocity from the start of the wind-up phase to the acceleration phase prior to ball contact.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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External focus of attention enhances arm velocities during volleyball spike in young female players

et al. 2023

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“…Moreover, verifying what participants focused on in the control condition would have been beneficial to advance theory and application. For example, it is conceivable that the nature of the task (striking a ball) inherently led to an external focus of attention being adopted, which would explain why little difference between the control and distal external focus condition was observed (see also Abdollahipour et al, 2022). Wang et al (2021) provided preliminary evidence of meshed motor control in skilled golfers performing a putting task.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of attentional focus instructions on performance and technique in a complex open skill

Bull

Atack

North

2022

European Journal of Sport Science

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External focus of attention has been shown to promote more automatic motor control, yielding better performance and more efficient technique, than an internal focus. However, most research has used closed-skill tasks in novices. The extent to which the reported pattern of findings generalises to more complex, time-constrained tasks requires further investigation. In this study, we investigated the effect of attentional focus instructions on performance and technique in an open-skill task in skilled performers. Thirteen skilled cricket batters batted from a ball projector in four conditions, receiving instructions to focus on the movement of their hands (internal focus), the movement of their bat (proximal external focus), the flight of the ball (distal external focus), or no instruction (control). Performance and technique were measured by quality of bat-ball contacts and step length/knee flexion, respectively, whilst playing straight drives. Compared to external focus and control conditions, focusing internally yielded significantly worse batting performance and shorter step lengths, with the largest effects observed between internal and distal external focus conditions. Quality of bat-ball contact data suggested that participants' ability to protect the wicket (as evidenced by more miss/edge shots) was more negatively affected by focusing internally than their ability to play shots to score runs (as evidenced by fewer good bat-ball contacts). Findings suggest that, for skilled performance of open-skill tasks, a distal external focus yields more effective performance and technique compared with focusing internally. Findings highlight the need for further research on attentional focus effects between different skills within specific sports.

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“…Indeed, this enhanced movement automatization with an EF is evident at the neuromuscular level, where lower muscular recruitment occurs compared to an IF when individuals are instructed to exert the same amount of force (Lohse & Sherwood, 2012;Lohse et al (2010). Essentially, an EF is suggested to enhance effective structural and functional neural connectivity within and between specific brain regions (Kuhn et al, 2017(Kuhn et al, , 2018(Kuhn et al, , 2021, promoting attentional stability on the task goal (Abdollahipour et al, 2017(Abdollahipour et al, , 2023, thereby increasing the likelihood of smoothly connecting the movement goals and the resultant action (Abdollahipour et al, 2017(Abdollahipour et al, , 2023Wulf & Lewthwaite, 2016). Thus, directing attention externally toward intended movement effects or task goals is proposed to enhance motor performance outcomes by optimizing cognitive processes involved in movement execution.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

An external focus promotes motor learning of an aiming task in individuals with hearing impairments

Samadi,

Abedanzadeh,

Norouzi

et al. 2024

European Journal of Sport Science

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Research has shown that external relative to internal focus (IF) instructions may improve motor performance as well as cognitive function (e.g., attentional stability and task‐focus). The aim of the study was to examine the influence of attentional focus instructions on skill acquisition and learning of an aiming task in individuals with hearing impairments. The participants (N = 39, Mage = 17.87 ± 1.88 years) performed a bowling task with their dominant hand to knock down as many pins as possible. On day 1, they were randomly divided into three attentional focus groups; IF (focus on your throwing hand), external focus (EF) (focus on the pins), and control (no‐focus) instructions. Each participant performed 36 trials, divided into 3 blocks of 12 trials. Attentional focus instructions were given before each block, with a brief reminder provided after each 3 trials. On day 2, retention and transfer (further distance) tests were performed. Results showed that while there were no significant differences between groups in the pre‐test, the EF group outperformed both IF and control groups in retention and transfer tests. No significant difference was found between the control and IF. The findings suggest that the advantages of the external relative to the IF and no‐focus instructions may generalize to individuals with hearing impairments.

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External focus facilitates cognitive stability and promotes motor performance of an interceptive task in children

Cited by 4 publications

References 62 publications

External focus of attention enhances arm velocities during volleyball spike in young female players

External focus of attention enhances arm velocities during volleyball spike in young female players

The effect of attentional focus instructions on performance and technique in a complex open skill

An external focus promotes motor learning of an aiming task in individuals with hearing impairments

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