Reciprocal Influences of Attentional Focus on Postural and Suprapostural Task Performance

The role of visual attention in task performance has been extensively debated. On the basis of the dimensional-action model, we hypothesized that a major role of attention is to transfer response decisions from targets on which it is focused to high-level centers dealing with response execution. This hypothesis predicts that response decisions for two targets will interact only when attention is focused on both targets, and only when the response to the targets is defined by different dimensions. Three experiments, using the redundancy-gain paradigm, tested and confirmed this prediction. Experiment 1 showed that coactivation of two cross-dimensional targets occurred only when the targets were positioned in the same location, not when they were in separate locations. Experiment 2 manipulated the focus of attention and showed that coactivation can occur even for targets positioned in different locations if they are both within the attentional focus. Experiment 3 showed that this attention-induced coactivation does not occur for targets from the same dimensional module. These results suggest that a major role of attention is postperceptual and involves gating of selected responses to executive functions.

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The Effect of Holding an Object on Postural Stability and Suprapostural Task Performance

Journal of Applied Biomechanics ◽

10.1123/jab.2019-0040 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 35 (6) ◽

pp. 418-425

Author(s):

Joshua J. Liddy ◽

Amanda J. Arnold ◽

HyeYoung Cho ◽

Nathaniel L. Romine ◽

Jeffrey M. Haddad

Keyword(s):

Task Performance ◽

Postural Stability ◽

Postural Sway ◽

Quiet Standing ◽

Dominant Hand ◽

Standing Posture ◽

Manual Task ◽

Highly Sensitive ◽

Suprapostural Task ◽

Error Count

Holding an object has been found to reduce postural sway during quiet standing. However, people normally stand to accomplish suprapostural goals, such as fitting a key into a lock. Postural control should therefore be assessed by examining postural outcomes in the context of suprapostural task performance. This study assessed whether holding an object increased standing postural stability and improved the performance of a concurrent precision manual task. A total of 15 young adults performed a precision manual task with their dominant hand while holding or not holding an object in their nondominant hand. Postural stability was assessed using measures of postural sway and time to boundary. Suprapostural task performance was assessed as an error count. Holding did not influence postural sway or suprapostural task performance. Discrepancies among previous studies coupled with the present findings suggest that the effects of holding an object on standing posture are highly sensitive to the experimental context. The authors provide several explanations for their findings and discuss the limitations of previous suggestions that holding an object may have clinical relevance for balance-compromised populations.

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Short article: Distractor interference in focused attention tasks is not mediated by attention capture

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology ◽

10.1080/17470210902811223 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 62 (9) ◽

pp. 1685-1695 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Nurit Gronau ◽

Asher Cohen ◽

Gershon Ben-Shakhar

Keyword(s):

Task Performance ◽

Relevant Information ◽

Attentional Focus ◽

Attention Capture ◽

Focused Attention ◽

Interference Effects ◽

Distractor Interference ◽

Short Article ◽

Significant Information ◽

Attention Tasks

Distractor stimuli possessing information that is relevant for a task (henceforth, task-relevant distractors) often interfere with task performance. The interference by task-relevant distractors is observed even when distractors are positioned outside the main attentional focus. We investigated whether such interference is due to an attention capture by the distractors. Participants responded to a target colour while ignoring word distractors positioned within (Experiment 1) or outside (Experiments 2 and 3) the attentional focus. The words carried task-relevant information in their colour and personally significant information in their content. Because personally significant information affects performance only when positioned in an attended region, it was used as a marker for the locus of the attentional focus. As expected, when distractors were attended, both task-relevant and personally significant information affected performance. However, when distractors were unattended, only task-relevant information caused interference, suggesting that attention did not shift to the distractors’ location. We discuss possible accounts for interference effects in focused-attention tasks.

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Examination of Visual Information as a Mediator of External Focus Benefits

Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology ◽

10.1123/jsep.35.3.250 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 35 (3) ◽

pp. 250-259 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

William M. Land ◽

Gershon Tenenbaum ◽

Paul Ward ◽

Christian Marquardt

Keyword(s):

Task Performance ◽

Visual Information ◽

Attentional Focus ◽

Focus Of Attention ◽

Movement Variability ◽

Variability Analysis ◽

External Focus ◽

Movement Effect ◽

Cognitive Perspectives

Attunement to visual information has been suggested to mediate the performance advantage associated with adopting an external focus of attention (e.g., Al-Abood, Bennett, Moreno Hernandez, Ashford, & Davids, 2002; Magill, 1998). We tested this hypothesis by examining the extent to which online visual information underpins the external focus advantage. The study examined skilled golfers on a putting task under one of three attentional focus conditions: control (no instructions), irrelevant (tone counting), and external (movement effect focus), with either full or occluded vision. In addition to task performance, the effect of attentional focus and vision on between-trial movement variability was examined. We found a significant advantage for an external focus of attention in the absence of vision. The results of the movement variability analysis further indicated that external focus was not mediated by the online use of vision. We discuss these findings in the context of traditional cognitive perspectives to external focus effects.

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Immediate impact of extremity manipulation on dual task performance: a randomized, crossover clinical trial

Chiropractic & Manual Therapies ◽

10.1186/s12998-021-00366-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Christopher A. Malaya ◽

Joshua Haworth ◽

Katherine A. Pohlman ◽

Dean L. Smith

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trial ◽

Lower Extremity ◽

Task Performance ◽

Dual Task ◽

Center Of Pressure ◽

Frontal Plane ◽

Main Effect ◽

Dual Task Performance ◽

Eyes Open ◽

Suprapostural Task

Abstract Background Previous research demonstrated that manipulation of the extremities was associated with changes in multisegmental postural sway as well as improvement in a lower extremity balancing task. We were interested if these effects would extend to an upper extremity task. Our aim in this study was to investigate whether extremity manipulation could influence dual task performance where the explicit suprapostural task was balancing a water filled tube in the frontal plane. Methods Participants were healthy volunteers (aged 21–32 years). Upper- or lower-extremity manipulations were delivered in a participant and assessor blinded, randomized crossover, clinical trial. Postural (center of pressure) and suprapostural (tube motion) measurements in the frontal plane were made pre-post manipulation under eyes open and eyes closed conditions using a BTrackS™ force plate and a Shimmer inertial measurement unit, respectively. Pathlength, range, root mean square and sample entropy were calculated to describe each signal during the dual task performance. Results There was no main effect of manipulation or vision for the suprapostural task (tube motion). However, follow-up to interaction effects indicates that roll pathlength, range and root means square of tube motion all decreased (improvement) following lower extremity manipulation with eyes open. Regarding the postural task, there was a main effect of manipulation on mediolateral center of pressure such that pathlength reduced with both upper and lower extremity manipulation with larger decreases in pathlength values following upper extremity manipulation. Conclusion Our findings show that manipulation of the extremities enhanced stability (e.g. tube stabilization and standing balance) on performance of a dual task. This furthers the argument that site-specific manipulations influence context specific motor behavior/coordination. However, as this study focused only on the immediate effects of extremity manipulation, caution is urged in generalizing these results to longer time frames until more work has been done examining the length of time these effects last. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03877367, Registered 15 March 2019. Data collection took place July 2019.

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Immediate Impact of Extremity Manipulation on Dual Task Performance: A Randomized, Crossover Study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-78879/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Christopher Alexander Malaya ◽

Joshua Haworth ◽

Katherine A. Pohlman ◽

Dean L. Smith

Keyword(s):

Lower Extremity ◽

Task Performance ◽

Upper Extremity ◽

Dual Task ◽

Center Of Pressure ◽

Frontal Plane ◽

Main Effect ◽

Dual Task Performance ◽

Eyes Open ◽

Suprapostural Task

Abstract Background: Previous research demonstrated that manipulation of the extremities was associated with changes in multisegmental postural sway as well as improvement in a lower extremity balancing task. We were interested if these effects would extend to an upper extremity task. Our aim in this study was to investigate whether extremity manipulation could influence dual task performance where the explicit suprapostural task was balancing a water filled tube in the frontal plane.Methods: Participants were healthy volunteers (aged 21-32 years). Upper- or lower-extremity manipulations were delivered in a participant and assessor blinded, randomized crossover, clinical trial. Postural (center of pressure) and suprapostural (tube motion) measurements in the frontal plane were made pre-post manipulation under eyes open and eyes closed conditions using a BTrackS™ force plate and a Shimmer inertial measurement unit, respectively. Pathlength, range, root mean square and sample entropy were calculated to describe each signal during the dual task performance.Results: There was no main effect of manipulation or vision for the suprapostural task (tube motion). However, follow-up to interaction effects indicates that roll pathlength, range and root means square of tube motion all decreased (improvement) following lower extremity manipulation with eyes open. Regarding the postural task, there was a main effect of manipulation on mediolateral center of pressure such that pathlength reduced with both upper and lower extremity manipulation with larger decreases in pathlength values following upper extremity manipulation. Conclusion: Our findings show that manipulation of the extremities enhanced stability (e.g. tube stabilization and standing balance) on performance of a dual task. This furthers the argument that site-specific manipulations influence context specific motor behavior/coordination.Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03877367, Registered 15 March 2019, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03877367?term=NCT03877367&draw=2&rank=1

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