Translating Thoughts Into Action: Optimizing Motor Performance and Learning Through Brief Motivational and Attentional Influences

2021 ◽  
pp. 096372142110461
Author(s):  
Gabriele Wulf ◽  
Rebecca Lewthwaite
Keyword(s):  
Performing Arts ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
Daily Activities ◽  
External Focus ◽  
Novice Learners ◽  
Movement Skills ◽  
Functional Capabilities ◽  
Future Performance ◽  
Optimal Theory

Skilled motor performance is essential in sports, the performing arts, various occupations, and many daily activities. Scientists and practitioners alike are therefore interested in understanding the conditions that influence the performance and learning of movement skills, and how they can be utilized to optimize training. In OPTIMAL theory, three motivational and attentional factors are key: enhanced expectancies for future performance, the performer’s autonomy, and an external focus of attention. We review recent evidence suggesting that each factor contributes independently to strengthen the coupling of goals to actions. This work has implications ranging from fostering more effective skill development in novice learners, to increasing the efficiency of athletes’ and musicians’ performance, and to facilitating the success of patients in regaining functional capabilities.

Optimizing Bowling Performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Abdollahipour ◽  
Ludvík Valtr ◽  
Gabriele Wulf
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Learning Theory ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Autonomy Support ◽  
Control Group ◽  
External Focus ◽  
Future Performance ◽  
Optimal Theory ◽  
Key Variables ◽  
Neutral Conditions

The present study examined the influence on motor performance of key variables described in the OPTIMAL (Optimizing Performance Through Intrinsic Motivation and Attention for Learning) theory of motor learning: enhanced expectancies for future performance, autonomy support, and an external focus. Participants performed a nine-pin bowling task. In the optimized group, enhanced expectancies, autonomy support, and an external focus were implemented on three successive blocks of 12 trials. In the control group, participants performed all trials under “neutral” conditions. The optimized group outperformed the control group on all blocks. The findings corroborate the importance of key variables in the OPTIMAL theory by demonstrating immediate benefits of their implementation for motor performance.

scholarly journals The effects of combining focus of attention and autonomy support on shot accuracy in the penalty kick

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hubert Makaruk ◽  
Jared M. Porter ◽  
Jerzy Sadowski ◽  
Anna Bodasińska ◽  
Janusz Zieliński ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Performance ◽  
Autonomy Support ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
Motivational Factors ◽  
External Focus ◽  
Following Instructions ◽  
Optimal Theory ◽  
Internal Focus ◽  
And Control ◽  
As If

AbstractThe penalty kick is of great importance in the sport of soccer. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test predictions of the OPTIMAL theory and identify key attentional and motivational factors that impact the accuracy of the penalty kick. The following six groups of skilled participants performed penalty kicks following instructions that directed their focus of attention or impacted their autonomy support: external focus with autonomy support (EF/AS), external focus alone (EF), internal focus with autonomy support (IF/AS), internal focus alone (IF), autonomy support alone (AS) and control (C) groups. The analysis showed that the EF/AS group demonstrated better kicking accuracy relatively to the IF/AS, IF and C groups, but there were no significant differences between the EF/AS and EF or AS groups. Interestingly, the EF/AS group showed higher self-efficacy compared to the EF, IF/AS, IF and C groups. The finding suggest that a combination of attentional and motivational factors may produce benefits in motor performance.

External focus of attention and autonomy support have additive benefits for motor performance in children

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 17-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Abdollahipour ◽  
Miriam Palomo Nieto ◽  
Rudolf Psotta ◽  
Gabriele Wulf
Keyword(s):  
Motor Performance ◽  
Autonomy Support ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
External Focus

scholarly journals The Effect of Different Attentional Focus Instructions during Finger Movement Tasks in Healthy Subjects: An Exploratory Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giacomo Rossettini ◽  
Marco Testa ◽  
Marco Vicentini ◽  
Paolo Manganotti
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Finger Movement ◽  
External Focus ◽  
Internal Focus ◽  
And Control

External focus of attention (EFA) and internal focus of attention (IFA) represent commonly used strategies to instruct subjects during exercise. Several studies showed EFA to be more effective than IFA to improve motor performance and learning. To date the role of these strategies on motor performance during finger movement was less studied. The objective of the study was to investigate motor performance, patient’s preference induced by IFA and EFA, and the focus during control condition. Ten healthy right-handed participants performed a finger movement task in control, EFA, and IFA conditions (counterbalanced). Errors, patient’s preference, and type of attentional focus spontaneously adopted during the control condition were recorded. EFA determined less error (p<0.01) compared to control and IFA. Participants preferred EFA against IFA and control condition. In the control group 10% of subjects adopted a purely EFA, 70% of subjects adopted a purely IFA, and 20% of subjects adopted a mixture of the two foci. Our results confirm that EFA is more effective than IFA and control in finger movement task. Due its clinical relevance, the interaction between attention and finger movement should be further investigated.

scholarly journals Putting Attention on the Spot in Coaching: Shifting to an External Focus of Attention With Imagery Techniques to Improve Basketball Free-Throw Shooting Performance

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle R. Milley ◽  
Gene P. Ouellette
Keyword(s):  
Motor Performance ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Performance Outcomes ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Imagery Condition ◽  
Free Throw ◽  
External Focus ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Imagery Techniques

Attentional focus is an area that has garnered considerable attention in the sport psychology and motor performance literature. This is unsurprising given that attentional focus has been directly linked to performance outcomes and is susceptible to coaching input. While research has amassed supporting benefits of an external focus of attention (EFA) on motor performance using verbal instruction, other studies have challenged the notion that an EFA is more beneficial than an internal focus of attention (IFA) for sport-related performance. Further, it is unclear what type of instructions may serve to direct an athlete to an EFA and, in particular, if coaching can utilize imagery to orient an athlete toward an EFA. In the present exploratory study, we evaluate the effectiveness of instruction to improve free-throw shooting performance with an emphasis on an EFA brought about by implementing techniques borrowed from the imagery literature. This was tested relative to an alternate approach with an IFA induced through an emphasis on technique, devised to more closely resemble input typical of coach-to-athlete instruction. Twenty-five male and female university basketball players completed both conditions in a fully counterbalanced within-subject design. Results confirmed that participants in the EFA imagery condition had greater shooting accuracy than in the IFA technique condition. The study provides initial evidence that EFA coaching can borrow from imagery techniques, though future research should elucidate the underlying mechanisms of the effect.

scholarly journals The effects of external and internal focus of attention on motor learning and promoting learner’s focus

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-180
Author(s):  
Saeed Ghorbani ◽  
Amir Dana ◽  
Zynalabedin Fallah
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
Acquisition Phase ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
External Focus ◽  
Task Goal ◽  
Optimal Theory ◽  
Internal Focus ◽  
And Control

SummaryStudy aim: External focus of attention is considered as a critical factor in the OPTIMAL theory of motor learning. This theory proposes that external focus of attention facilitates motor performance and learning because it promotes focusing on the task goal. However, the effects of external focus of attention on focusing on the task goal are not well understood. The aim of this study was, therefore, to investigate the effects of an external focus of attention versus an internal focus of attention on motor learning and promoting focus of the learner on the task goal.Material and methods: Thirty-six right-handed male students (mean age 21.16 ± 1.85 years old) with no prior experiences with the motor task were randomly assigned to three groups: external focus, internal focus, and control groups. Participants were asked to throw darts at a target during an acquisition phase (10 blocks of six trials each) and during subsequent retention and transfer tests. Throwing accuracy and focus on the task goal were measured as dependent variables. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures as well as a one-way ANOVA was used to analyze the differences in accuracy scores between groups during the acquisition phase as well as retention and transfer tests, respectively. The significance level was set at p < .05. The author supervised all phases of the experiment.Results: The results showed that adopting an external focus promoted a focus on the task goal and resulted in significantly better motor learning than adopting an internal focus and control conditions (p < 0.05).Conclusions: The findings of the present study provided support for the propositions of the OPTIMAL theory and showed that adopting an external focus of attention promotes focus of the learner on the task goal. The results are discussed in terms of benefits of external focus instructions for facilitating motor learning and goal-action coupling.

scholarly journals Effects of external focus of attention on learning static balance among girls with ADHD

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-74
Author(s):  
Saeed Ghorbani ◽  
Amir Dana ◽  
Efstathios Christodoulides
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Manipulation Check ◽  
Children With Adhd ◽  
External Focus ◽  
Optimal Theory ◽  
Internal Focus ◽  
Girls With Adhd ◽  
Better Than

SummaryStudy aim: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of adopting an external focus of attention on motor learning among girls with ADHD aged seven and eleven years.Material and methods: Twenty-four seven-year-old and 24 eleven-year-old female children with symptoms of ADHD were randomly assigned to groups receiving either external focus of attention (EXT) instructions or internal focus of attention (INT) instructions, making four experimental groups: EXT-7, INT-7, EXT-11, and INT-11. Participants performed a pretest followed by five training blocks under an external or internal instruction and were then given a retention test one day later. After training, we employed a manipulation check to verify the children’s type and intensity of focus.Results: Adopting an external focus of attention, compared to an internal focus of attention, led to better motor learning among girls with ADHD (F1, 44 = 5.08, p = 0.029, η2 = 0.10). In addition, adopting an external focus of attention reduced the children’s tendency to focus on self. Older children performed better than younger children in balance time (F1, 44 = 16.10, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.26).Conclusions: Our results indicate that propositions of the OPTIMAL theory can be extended to children with ADHD.

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