How changing the focus of attention affects performance, kinematics, and electromyography in dart throwing

Lohse, Keith R.; Sherwood, David E.; Healy, Alice F.

doi:10.1016/j.humov.2010.05.001

Cited by 276 publications

(212 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Generally, the superiority of using instructions that elicit an external rather than internal focus is considered to be due to differences in the amount of cognitive control required to perform these two foci of attention. That is, an external focus is thought to be less working memorydemanding than an internal focus, hence allowing for more automatic and efficient motor control (Kal et al, 2013;Lohse, Sherwood, & Healy, 2010;Wulf, 2013). Accordingly, recent evidence suggests that an external focus may also enhance motor learning of children with intellectual disabilities (Chiviacowsky, Wulf, & Avila, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Focus of Attention in Children's Motor Learning: Examining the Role of Age and Working Memory

Brocken

Kal

Kamp

2016

Journal of Motor Behavior

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The authors investigated the relative effectiveness of different attentional focus instructions on motor learning in primary school children. In addition, we explored whether the effect of attentional focus on motor learning was influenced by children's age and verbal working memory capacity. Novice 8-9-year old children (n = 30) and 11-12-year-old children (n = 30) practiced a golf putting task. For each age group, half the participants received instructions to focus (internally) on the swing of their arm, while the other half was instructed to focus (externally) on the swing of the club. Children's verbal working memory capacity was assessed with the Automated Working Memory Assessment. Consistent with many reports on adult's motor learning, children in the external groups demonstrated greater improvements in putting accuracy than children who practiced with an internal focus. This effect was similar across age groups. Verbal working memory capacity was not found to be predictive of motor learning, neither for children in the internal focus groups nor for children in the external focus groups. In conclusion, primary school children's motor learning is enhanced by external focus instructions compared to internal focus instructions. The purported modulatory roles of children's working memory, attentional capacity, or focus preferences require further investigation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Focus of Attention in Children's Motor Learning: Examining the Role of Age and Working Memory

Brocken

Kal

Kamp

2016

Journal of Motor Behavior

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“…The tasks in which the superiority of an external over an internal focus of attention has been shown range from balancing tasks (e.g., Wulf, McNevin, & Shea, 2001) to different aiming tasks such as golf (e.g., Wulf & Su, 2007), basketball shooting (e.g., Zachry, Wulf, Mercer, & Bezodis, 2005), or dart throwing (e.g., Lohse, Sherwood, & Healy, 2010) or also strength-endurance tasks as bicep curls (Vance, Wulf, Töllner, McNevin, & Mercer, 2004) or a wall-sit task (Lohse & Sherwood, 2011). Strikingly, sometimes only a single word was changed in the instructions, for example to exert force on the outer foot versus the outer wheel in the ski-simulator experiment (Wulf et al, 1998) or to concentrate on the tip of the fingers versus to concentrate on the rungs in a high-jumping experiment (Wulf, Dufek, Lozano, & Pettigrew, 2010).…”

Section: Attentional Focus Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In many studies, this is reflected in a lowered electromyographic (EMG) activity in the external focus conditions, which goes along with better performance (e.g., Lohse et al, 2010;Wulf et al, 2010;Zachry et al, 2005). A recent study showed reduced between-trial movement variability in the later phase of a golf putt in two different external focus conditions (on either the movement effect or on movement-irrelevant external stimuli) compared with a control condition (Land, Tenenbaum, Ward, & Marquardt, 2013).…”

Section: Movement Efficiency and Endurance Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

An Internal Focus of Attention Is Not Always as Bad as Its Reputation: How Specific Aspects of Internally Focused Attention Do Not Hinder Running Efficiency

Schücker

Knopf

Strauß

et al. 2014

Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology

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The aim of this study was to examine differentiated effects of internally focused attention in endurance sports. Thirty-two active runners ran 24 min on a treadmill at a fixed speed of moderate intensity. For each 6-min block, participants had to direct their attention on different internal aspects (movement execution, breathing, or feeling of the body) or received no instructions. Oxygen consumption (VO2) was measured continuously to determine running economy. Results revealed that the different internal focus instructions had differentiated effects on VO2: A focus on breathing as well as a focus on the running movement led to higher VO2 than a focus on feeling of the body which showed similar VO2 as the control condition. We conclude that an internal focus of attention is solely detrimental to performance when directed to highly automated processes (e.g., breathing or movement). However, an internal focus on how the body feels during exercise does not disrupt movement efficiency.

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“…Interestingly, ball flight trajectories did not differ between the external focus group and a control group who did not receive any focus instruction. In dart throwing, it was shown that an external focus of attention increases the variability of the shoulder joint (Lohse, Sherwood, & Healy, 2010). Because throwing accuracy improved with an external focus, the increased joint variability was interpreted as a gain in functional variability (see also Lohse et al, 2013).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Verbal-Motor Attention-Focusing Instructions Influence Kinematics and Performance on a Golf-Putting Task

Munzert

Maurer

Reiser

2014

Journal of Motor Behavior

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The authors examined how varying the content of verbal-motor instructions and requesting an internal versus external focus influenced the kinematics and outcome of a golf putting task. On Day 1, 30 novices performed 120 trials with the instruction to focus attention either on performing a pendulum-like movement (internal) or on the desired ball path (external). After 20 retention trials on Day 2, they performed 20 transfer trials with the opposite instruction. Group differences for retention and a group by block interaction showed that external instruction enhanced movement outcome. Kinematic data indicated that specific instruction content influenced outcomes by eliciting changes in movement execution. Switching from the external to the internal focus instruction resulted in a more pendulum-like movement.

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How changing the focus of attention affects performance, kinematics, and electromyography in dart throwing

Cited by 276 publications

References 36 publications

Focus of Attention in Children's Motor Learning: Examining the Role of Age and Working Memory

Focus of Attention in Children's Motor Learning: Examining the Role of Age and Working Memory

An Internal Focus of Attention Is Not Always as Bad as Its Reputation: How Specific Aspects of Internally Focused Attention Do Not Hinder Running Efficiency

Verbal-Motor Attention-Focusing Instructions Influence Kinematics and Performance on a Golf-Putting Task

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