Focus of attention has received significant attention in the literature demonstrating improved performance under external focus of attention instructions (Marchant et al., 2009; Porter et al., 2010; Wulf et al., 2007). However, it is unclear whether focusing attention externally actually improves performance or if an internal focus of attention inhibits performance. While these findings have provided evidence supporting external focus of attention they may have overlooked the role of instruction type (performance vs. erroneous) and its impact on overall performance.
The purpose of this study is to identify the influence of performance instructions and erroneous instructions on agility under external and internal focus of attention conditions.
Method: Sixteen (6 females, 10 males) college students performed a total of 25 trials of an agility “L” test on 5 separate days. Subjects performed 5 trials per day, with a different conditions being performed on each day. The conditions were: Control (CON), Internal-Erroneous (INT-E), Internal-Performance (INT-P), External-Erroneous (EXT-E) and External-Performance (EXT-P). Conditions were performed in a counterbalanced order in a repeated measures design.
Analysis/Results:
Preliminary analyses indicate mean total time for INT-E and EXT-E conditions were slower than CON condition, with INT-P and EXT-P both being faster. Statistical analyses were conducted using a 5 (Condition) x 5 (Trial) ANOVA. Significant differences were observed between INT-E and INT-P conditions and INT-E and EXT-E conditions at the p<0.05 level.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest focusing attention on erroneous instructions decrease performance, while focusing attention on performance related instructions increases performance. The data provides evidence contrary to other findings (Marchant et al., 2009; Porter et al., 2010; Wulf et al., 2007) that suggest external focus of attention improves performance. The data suggests alternatively that type of instruction may have a greater influence than that of focus of attention on overall performance. This may provide a richer explanation of how focus of attention can be best utilized by practitioners to facilitate performance.
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