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Much research has been executed to investigate how altering focus of attention impacts performance and feelings of fatigue. Using a within-participant design, the present study examined how an associative and dissociative attentional in addition to an internal and external attentional dimension influenced the running economy of nonprofessional runners. Twelve women (aged 18–30 years old) ran on a treadmill at 70% of their predetermined maximum velocity. Participants ran in four counterbalanced conditions (dissociative-external, dissociative-internal, associative-external, and associative-internal). Average oxygen volume, respiration volume and breathing frequency, heart rate, blood lactate level, and Borg rating of perceived exertion were measured. Our findings revealed when participants adopted a dissociative-external focus of attention, they consumed less oxygen, had lower blood lactate, and a lower rating of perceived exertion compared with trials completed using an associative attention strategy. The findings of this study demonstrate that running economy is improved and feelings of fatigue are lowest when using a combination of a dissociative-external focus of attention.

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.

Empirical findings consistently suggest that an external focus of attention leads to superior performance when compared to an internal focus by encouraging more automatic processing. However, for certain skills (e.g., gymnastics routines) it can be challenging to identify a meaningful external focus cue. A related line of research suggests that focusing on the general feeling of a movement (i.e., holistic focus) may also be useful in avoiding conscious control of movements. The purpose of this study was to determine how an internal focus (INT), external focus (EXT), and holistic focus (HOL) impact the performance of a standing long jump. Participants (N = 27) completed two baseline jumps followed by two jumps in each focus condition. Jump distance was analyzed in a 6 (Order) × 4 (Focus) mixed ANOVA. Results indicated a significant main effect of focus (p p-values

Only a few research studies using reaction time measures have clearly shown that an external focus of attention requires fewer attentional resources than an internal focus of attention (FOA). The present experiments used dual-task techniques with accuracy-based measures to determine the relation between the direction of the FOA (external/internal) and cognitive load by having participants perform a tone estimation task and dart throwing in isolation and concurrently. In Experiment 1 with a between-subjects design there was a tendency for spatial errors in dart throwing to be reduced in the dual task condition when focus was dir2ected externally, as opposed to internally. In Experiment 2 with a within-subject design both the internal and external focus conditions showed reduced errors in the dual-task conditions compared to the single-task conditions. The correlations between the actual and estimated tones were strong and positive in both experiments (at least .90). These results suggest that accuracy in d...

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.

An external focus of attention, as opposed to an internal focus of attention, has been shown to increase performance and enhance learning. However, little research has examined whether these findings have been integrated into collegiate coaching and adopted by student-athlete performers. The purpose of this study was to examine the verbal instructions and instructional feedback provided by NCAA division 1 collegiate coaches during practice and how it influenced student-athletes’ focus of attention during competition. Thirty-one student-athletes completed a questionnaire that inquired about coaches’ verbal instructions and instructional feedback during practice and student-athletes’ focus of attention during competition. Fifty percent of participants reported that their coaches instructed them to focus their attention internally and only four participants reported that their coaches instructed them to focus externally. Our results also showed that coaches provided an equal amount of internal and external instructional feedback. During competition, however, the majority of participants reported statements that fell under the category of “winning and strategy.” These results suggest that the beneficial effects of an external focus of attention have not been integrated into NCAA division 1 collegiate coaching and the focus of attention adopted by student-athletes may be more complex than what is studied in laboratory research.

During the past two decades, research has shown that an external focus (EF) of attention is superior to an internal focus (IF) of attention when performing a variety of motor skills. However, most of the studies on the use of EF and IF instructions for motor skill acquisition were conducted on young and healthy adults. The purpose of the current article was fourfold: (a) to review the current research on attentional focus in clinical populations and in older age, (b) to provide evidence-based knowledge about attentional focus instructions and their possible advantages in clinical settings, (c) to discuss methodological concerns associated with the reviewed studies, and (d) to propose practical implications for those who work with clinical populations and older individuals. We found that in 14 out of the 18 reviewed studies, EF instructions led to results that were superior to those of IF instructions. For example, in stroke patients, EF instructions can lead to faster, smoother, and more forceful reaching movements compared with IF instructions. However, a number of methodological concerns should be taken into account, among them the lack of a control group and the absence of studies using electromyography.

An external focus of attention has been shown to improve balance measures during static postural tasks. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of different attentional focus strategies in response to a perturbation while performing a dynamic balance task. Participants (n = 29) performed a dynamic balance task that consisted of stepping onto an uneven surface while attempting to continuously walk in a straight line. The orientation of the surface was unknown to the participants. During the external focus conditions, participants were instructed to focus on the surface they walked on. During the internal focus conditions, participants were instructed to focus on keeping their body over their feet. Analyses revealed that the external focus condition exhibited significantly less lateral displacement from the intended walking line following the perturbation (4.56 ± 2.56 cm) than the internal (5.61 ± 2.89 cm, p = .019) and baseline (6.07 ± 2.6 cm, p = .004) conditions. These data indicate that participants were more resilient to the perturbing surface when their attention was focused on external information. Thus, participants were able to respond to a perturbation more effectively when utilizing an external focus of attention.

This study examined the interaction between a skill/extraneous attentional focus and an internal/external focus of attention using a dual-task paradigm. Thirty-two low-skill participants completed a primary dart-throwing task with their dominant arm while simultaneously performing a secondary arm-stabilizing task with their nondominant arm. Two aspects of the participants’ attentional focus were manipulated: skill versus extraneous focus and external versus internal focus. Participants completed 120 trials across four conditions created by combining the dimensions of the two variables. Performance on the primary task was assessed by measuring throwing accuracy and the kinematics of the throwing action. Results indicated that accuracy improved under the external, skill-oriented condition relative to all other conditions; no differences between the remaining conditions were observed. These findings suggest that an external, skill-oriented focus of attention is needed to facilitate performance improvements in novices.

We examined the effects of attentional focus instructions on the learning of movement form and carry distance in low-skilled golfers. The X-factor describes the rotation of the shoulders relative to the pelvis, and its increase during the downswing (so-called X-factor stretch) is associated with the carry distance of the ball. X-factor stretch and carry distance have been shown to be associated with an early weight shift toward the front leg during the downswing. In our study, one group (internal focus, IF) was instructed to focus on shifting their weight to their left foot while hitting the ball, whereas another group (external focus, EF) was instructed to focus on pushing against the left side of the ground. A control (C) group was not given attentional focus instructions. Participants performed 100 practice trials. Learning was assessed after a 3-day interval in a retention test without focus instructions. The EF group demonstrated a greater carry distance, X-factor stretch, and higher maximum angular velocities of the pelvis, shoulder, and wrist than both the IF and C groups, which showed very similar performances. These findings demonstrate that both movement outcome and form can be enhanced in complex skill learning by providing the learner with an appropriate external focus instruction. Moreover, they show that a single external focus cue can be sufficient to elicit an effective whole-body coordination pattern.