Influence of Attentional Manipulation on Jumping Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Makaruk, Hubert; Starzak, Marcin; Porter, Jared M.

doi:10.2478/hukin-2020-0037

Cited by 26 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 26 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Accordingly, our results confirm the beneficial effect of attentional focus on learning motor skills and further corroborate the advantage of external attentional focus (i.e., focus oriented towards the objective or the consequences of movements) over internal attentional focus (i.e., focus oriented towards the movement itself) ( Land et al, 2014 ; Makaruk et al, 2020 ; Wulf, 2007 ; Wulf, Shea, et al, 2010). This could be explained by a higher degree of automaticity and less conscious interference linked to external focus of attention compared to internal focus ( Wulf et al, 2001 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Immediate Effect of Self-Modelling with Internal Versus External Focus of Attention on Teaching/Learning Gymnastics Motor-Skills

Amri-Dardari¹,

Mkaouer²,

Amara³

et al. 2022

Journal of Human Kinetics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The aim of this study was to identify the immediate effect of self-modelling with different focus of attention strategies (i.e., internal vs. external) on the teaching/learning of gymnastics motor-skills. Fifty-nine non-gymnast students participated in this study and were divided into three groups (i.e., an external focus group (EF), an internal focus group (IF), and a control group (CG)). Each participant’s performance of the back dismount in the parallel bars was assessed before the experiment (i.e., base-score), and each participant was asked to provide a self-evaluation of their performance and their efficiency percentage. Afterwards, participants received a specific learning session (i.e., self-modelling with external focus, self-modelling with internal focus, or traditional learning with verbal instruction) and performed the back dismount in the parallel bars again immediately after (i.e., final score). Four international judges evaluated performance of our participants. The results showed that the EF and IF outperformed the CG in the final score. Importantly, a significant difference between the base and the final score was observed in the EF and IF, but not in the CG. In addition, the EF showed the highest percentage of improvement (Δ-score) and self-estimation scores compared to the two other groups. In conclusion, this study supports the adoption of external focus of attention for teaching/learning gymnastics motor-skills.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Immediate Effect of Self-Modelling with Internal Versus External Focus of Attention on Teaching/Learning Gymnastics Motor-Skills

Amri-Dardari¹,

Mkaouer²,

Amara³

et al. 2022

Journal of Human Kinetics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To date, the evidence synthesis of attentional focus effects has largely focused on the use of narrative (e.g., Lohse et al, 2012;Wulf, 2007aWulf, , 2007bWulf, , 2013Wulf & Lewthwaite, 2010, 2016Wulf & Prinz, 2001) or systematic (e.g., Neumann, 2019;Piccoli et al, 2018;Sturmberg et al, 2013) reviews without data aggregation, or meta-analyses limited to the analysis of single categories of motor tasks in either motor performance studies (Makaruk et al, 2020) or motor learning studies (Kim et al, 2017). We aimed to not only systematically find and select research studies from extant scientific literature comprised of experimental studies that compared the effects of different types of attentional focus using various outcome measures, but also comprehensively synthesize available empirical data, which have accumulated for over two decades, from this large pool of research studies across various design, sample, and task characteristics.…”

Section: The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Superiority of external attentional focus for motor performance and learning: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Chua

Díaz²,

Lewthwaite³

et al. 2021

Psychological Bulletin

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Considerable literature on the role of attentional focus in motor performance and learning has accumulated for over two decades. We report the results of comprehensive meta-analyses that address the impact of an external focus (EF, on intended movement effects) versus internal focus (IF, on movements of body parts) of attention on the performance and learning of motor skills. Values of effect sizes (ES) from 73 studies with 1,824 participants and 40 studies with 1,274 participants were used for examining the effects of EF versus IF on behavioral outcomes of motor performance and learning (separately for retention and transfer phases) respectively. The EF condition was more effective than the IF condition for performance, Hedges’ g value = 0.264 (95% CI [0.217, 0.310]), retention learning, Hedges’ g value = 0.583 (95% CI [0.425, 0.741]), and transfer learning, Hedges’ g value = 0.584 (95% CI [0.325, 0.842]). Multivariable metaregression analyses on behavioral measures further indicated that neither age group, health status, or skill level, nor their two-way interactions, moderated the ES differences between EF and IF in performance, retention, and transfer models (all p > .100). A secondary analysis on 12 studies with 216 participants that examined the effects of EF versus IF on electromyographic outcomes of motor performance also indicated that EF was associated with more efficient neuromuscular processing, Hedges’ g value = 0.833 (95% CI [0.453, 1.213]). From nine studies with 272 participants, performance measured by behavioral outcomes was found to be more effective when a more distal, rather than proximal, EF was used, Hedges’ g value = 0.224 (95% CI [0.019, 0.429]). Overall, the meta-analytic results are consistent with prior narrative reviews and indicate that an external focus is superior to an internal focus whether considering tests of motor performance or learning, and regardless of age, health condition, and level of skill expertise.

show abstract

“…Explosive skills: Similar to the benefit of EF in balance tasks, performance output of explosive jumps and muscular maximum strength increased when EF conditions were applied [ 1 , 22 ]. EF instructions enhanced muscle endurance, especially in lower-body strength exercises [ 23 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Instruction and feedback on how a movement is performed are important interactions between coaches and athletes and play an important role in the development of highly skilled movement performances. How exactly these instructions are worded might draw athletes’ attention on how their body performs the movement (internal focus of attention, IF, e.g., “jump as high as possible by opening your knee and hip joints as explosively as possible”); or might direct their attention towards an external goal within the environment (external focus of attention, EF, e.g., “jump as high as possible towards the ceiling of the room”) [ 1 ]. For more than two decades, the concept of external and internal focus of attention [ 2 ] has attracted growing research interest.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Focus of Attention in Coach Instructions for Technique Training in Sports: A Scrutinized Review of Review Studies

Werner

Federolf²

2023

JFMK

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Literature reports superior performance when focusing one’s attention during a movement on environmental effects of that movement (external focus, EF) compared to focusing on the moving body (internal focus, IF). Nevertheless, IF instructions still play an important role in the daily practice of coaches, trainers, and therapists. The current review compiles evidence for focus-of-attention concepts on movement form corrections and technique training. Reviews on the topic and selected additional papers addressing the effect of attentional focus on movement form or on kinetic, kinematic or muscle activity data were included. Both EF and IF instructions affect movement form. The reviews revealed that IF instructions seem to be better applicable to direct movement form changes than EF instructions. In contrast, EF instructions better facilitate optimization within the whole-body coordination, often resulting in better performance outcomes not directly linked to movement pattern changes. Several studies discuss focus-of-attention effects in the context of the optimal feedback control theory expanding on the constrained action hypothesis. In summary, EF and IF instructions both affect form and performance of movements, however, their relative efficacy is situation dependent. The often-purported superiority of EF over IF instructions cannot be generalized to all application contexts.

show abstract

Influence of Attentional Manipulation on Jumping Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Cited by 26 publications

References 26 publications

Immediate Effect of Self-Modelling with Internal Versus External Focus of Attention on Teaching/Learning Gymnastics Motor-Skills

Immediate Effect of Self-Modelling with Internal Versus External Focus of Attention on Teaching/Learning Gymnastics Motor-Skills

Superiority of external attentional focus for motor performance and learning: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Focus of Attention in Coach Instructions for Technique Training in Sports: A Scrutinized Review of Review Studies

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About