Optimizing External Focus of Attention Instructions: The Role of Attainability

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl Coker
Keyword(s):  
Horizontal Displacement ◽  
Knee Extension ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
Division Iii ◽  
External Focus ◽  
Standing Long Jump ◽  
Hockey Players ◽  
Maximum Effort ◽  
Long Jump

This study examined the effect of individually tailoring an external focus reference point in line with ability on standing long jump (SLJ) performance. Twenty-one female Division III hockey players (ages 18–23 years) performed two SLJs under 4 attentional focus conditions: (a) no focus provided (control), (b) focused on rapid knee extension (internal); (c) focused on jumping as close as possible to a cone placed at 3 m (external far), and (d) focused on jumping as far as possible past a cone placed, unbeknownst to them, at the maximum distance achieved on their last SLJ test, recorded during team testing at an earlier date (attainable). Findings were consistent with the literataure in that instructions that induced an external versus internal focus of attention resulted in significantly longer jumping distances. In addition, horizontal displacement was significantly longer when participants adopted an external focus of attention toward an attainable distance goal versus all other conditions. Results suggest that for goal-oriented movements that require maximum effort, individualizing the distance of an external focus of attention according to capability enhances its effect.

Kinematic Effects of Varying Adolescents' Attentional Instructions for Standing Long Jump

2018 ◽  
Vol 125 (6) ◽  
pp. 1093-1102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl Coker
Keyword(s):  
Knee Extension ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Education Student ◽  
Young Adolescents ◽  
Maximum Displacement ◽  
Arm Swing ◽  
Standing Long Jump ◽  
Long Jump ◽  
Projection Angle ◽  
Children And Young Adolescents

Studies examining attentional focus in the motor performance of children and young adolescents have produced mixed results. We studied 26 seventh-grade physical education student volunteers ( Mage = 12.7 years; SD = 0.56) who performed two standing long jumps for maximum displacement in four counterbalanced instructional conditions: (a) no cues provided, (b) focus on rapid knee extension, (c) focus on rapid forward arm swing, and (d) focus to jump as close as possible to a cone placed at 3 meters. The last condition, encouraging an external focus, led to significantly greater jumping distances and significantly lower projection angles (36.9°) when compared with internal attentional foci on the actions of the legs (40.2°) and arms (38.6°). Compared with the leg focus, the arm focus lead to significantly greater jumping distances but no differences for projection angle. While these results are consistent with those of past adult participants, when comparing external and internal attentional foci, this study extended these findings to adolescents and revealed differences in projection angle, indicating that cueing young adolescents to focus on arm action did not appear to constrain movement in the same manner as it has in adults.

Standing Long-Jump Performance is Enhanced when Using an External Focus of Attention

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 1746-1750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jared M Porter ◽  
Erik J Ostrowski ◽  
Russell P Nolan ◽  
Will F W Wu
Keyword(s):  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
Jump Performance ◽  
External Focus ◽  
Standing Long Jump ◽  
Long Jump

scholarly journals The role of attainability and external focus of attention on standing long jump performance

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-215
Author(s):  
Adam King ◽  
Max Power
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Force ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
Maximum Distance ◽  
Jump Performance ◽  
External Focus ◽  
Standing Long Jump ◽  
Long Jump ◽  
Posterior Direction ◽  
Individual Ability ◽  
The Individual

BACKGROUND: External focus of attention (FOA) promotes enhanced performance and learning in comparison to internal FOA; however, several dimensions associated with external FOA appear to have varying influence on motor skill performance. AIM: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether an attainability aspect of external FOA elicits enhanced standing long jump performance. METHOD: Fifteen healthy males performed standing long jumps in the following conditions: without a visual target (Tno), target placed at maximum distance (Tmax), and a target placed 10% beyond maximum distance (Tmax+10). Jump distances were measured, and kinetic data were recorded using a force platform. RESULTS: One-way ANOVA showed significantly greater jump distances for Tmax+10 compared to Tno and Tmax (p < 0.01). Additionally, the impulse of the ground reaction force (GRFimpulse) in the anterior-posterior direction was significantly greater for Tmax and Tmax+10 compared to Tno (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Thus, an external FOA tailored to individual ability benefits standing long jump performance. Overall, the findings support the approach of adopting an external FOA with an emphasis on targets that are specific to the individual and based on attainability.

Verbal Cues and Attentional Focus: A Simulated Target-Shooting Experiment

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louisa D. Raisbeck ◽  
Jed A. Diekfuss
Keyword(s):  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
Verbal Cues ◽  
Task Load ◽  
External Focus ◽  
Gun Barrel ◽  
Internal Focus ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Nasa Task Load Index ◽  
Learning And Performance

Performance benefits exist for an external focus of attention compared with an internal focus of attention for performance and learning (Wulf, 2013). It is unknown, however, if varying the number of verbal cues affects learning and performance. Focus of attention and the number of verbal cues were manipulated during a simulated handgun-shooting task. For the internal focus conditions, participants were told to focus on their hand, arm, and wrist, whereas the external focus instructions were to focus on the gun, gun barrel, and gun stock. To manipulate the number of verbal cues, participants received instruction to focus on a single verbal cue or multiple verbal cues. Shooting performance was assessed at baseline, acquisition, and at two separate retention phases (immediate, delayed) that included transfer tests. Participants completed the NASA—Task Load Index to assess workload following all trials. Participants who received one verbal cue performed significantly better during immediate retention than those who received three verbal cues. Participants who used external focus of attention instructions had higher performance and reported less workload at delayed retention compared to those who used internal focus instructions. This research provides further support for the benefits of an external focus and highlights the importance of minimizing the number of verbal cues.

scholarly journals Do Children Benefit External Focus of Attention as Much as Adults? A Motor Learning Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Somaye Roshandel ◽  
Hamidreza Taheri ◽  
Amir Moghadam
Keyword(s):  
Motor Skills ◽  
Retention Test ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
Learning Study ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
External Focus ◽  
Internal Focus ◽  
And Task

Recent evidence supports advantages of an external focus of attention on learning motor skills, however, there is a need to retest these finding for children and comparing them with adults. Thus, the purpose of current study was to determine the effect of different attentional focus on learning a motor skill in children and adults. Thirty children (8-12 year) and thirty adults (25-42 years) were randomly assigned to one of four groups: (1) Children external focus of attention (EFA), (2) Children- internal focus of attention (IFA), (3) Adults- External focus of attention (EFA), (4) Adults- internal focus of attention (IFA). Following initial instructions and task demonstration, participants performed 60 darts throwing in six blocks and 24 hours later performed 10 additional throws for retention test. Results revealed that children benefited from EFA and IFA instruction in the same manner, however, adults benefited from EFA more than IFA instruction. Future studies should continue to examine effects of different attentional focus on other skills.

scholarly journals The Effect of External Attentional Focus and Self-Controlled Feedback on Motor Learning in Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-13
Author(s):  
Sima Razaghi ◽  
Esmaeel Saemi ◽  
Rasool Abedanzadeh
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Retention Test ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
The Other ◽  
Acquisition Phase ◽  
Control Group ◽  
External Focus ◽  
Mixed Anova

AbstractIntroduction. External focus instruction and self-controlled feedback have beneficial effects on motor learning. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the benefits of combined effects of external focus instruction and self-controlled feedback on balance performance in older adults.Material and Methods. Forty older adults (mean age: 63.21 ± 3.6 years; all female) were selected and randomly divided into 4 groups: self-controlled feedback, external attention, external attention/self-controlled feedback and control group. The task of standing on the platform of the stabilometer device and trying to keep the platform horizontally as much as possible was performed in each 30-sec. trial. The participants of self-controlled group received feedback on the timing of balance after the trials. In the external focus of attention, participants noticed the signs that were located horizontally ahead of their feet. The test was conducted in two sessions. In the acquisition phase, 10 trials of 30 seconds were performed and the retention test was completed 24 hours later as 5 trials of 30 seconds.Results. The results of mixed ANOVA on time data as an indicator of balance in the acquisition phase showed that the mixed group of external focus of attention and self-controlled feedback had better performance than the other groups (p = 0.004). In the retention test, the results of mixed ANOVA showed that the participants in the combined group of external focus and self-controlled feedback had better performance than the other groups (p = 0.006). The external focus of attention and self-controlled feedback performed similarly, and both were superior to the control group (p < 0.05).Conclusions. The results of this study, supporting the OPTIMAL theory of motor learning in the elderly, showed that the combination of two factors of external focus and self-controlled feedback has a double advantage over the presence of each of the factors. Therefore, it is suggested that the combinations of external focus instructions and self-controlled feedback should be used to improve performance and motor learning in the classes of practical and clinical rehabilitation fields.

scholarly journals Preseason Functional Performance Test Measures Are Associated With Injury in Female College Volleyball Players

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 320-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Brumitt ◽  
Alma Mattocks ◽  
Jeremy Loew ◽  
Phil Lentz
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Relative Risk ◽  
Performance Test ◽  
Functional Performance ◽  
Time Loss ◽  
Division Iii ◽  
Standing Long Jump ◽  
Hop Test ◽  
Long Jump ◽  
Single Leg Hop Test

Context:Preseason functional performance test measures have been associated with noncontact time-loss injury in some athletic populations. However, findings have been equivocal with many studies consisting of heterogeneous populations.Objective:To determine if preseason standing long jump and/or single-leg hop test scores are associated with a noncontact time-loss injury to the lower quadrant (LQ = low back or lower-extremities) in female Division III college volleyball (VB) players.Design:Prospective cohort study.Setting:National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III female VB teams.Patients:A total of 82 female college VB players (age = 18.9 [1.0] y).Main Outcome Measures:Standing long jump and single-leg hop test measures were collected at the start of the official preseason. Athletic trainers tracked all time-loss injuries and their mechanisms. Athletes were categorized as at risk if their preseason standing long jump <80% height, bilateral single-leg hop <70% height, and had a SLH side-to-side asymmetry >10%.Results:The noncontact time-loss overall injury rate for the LQ region in at-risk athletes was 13.5 (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.3–31.5) per 1000 athletic exposures. At-risk athletes were significantly more likely to experience a noncontact time-loss injury than VB players in the referent group (rate ratio = 6.2; 95% CI, 1.9–17.2;P = .008). The relative risk of sustaining a noncontact time-loss injury to the LQ was 4 times greater in the at-risk group (relative risk = 4.6; 95% CI, 2.1–10.1;P = .01). At-risk athletes were 6 times more likely to experience a foot or ankle injury (relative risk = 6.3; 95% CI, 2.1–19.2;P = .008).Conclusion:Suboptimal performance on a battery of functional performance tests is associated with a significantly greater risk of noncontact time-loss injury to the LQ in female Division III college VB players.

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