Haste does not always make waste: Expertise,direction of attention,and speed versus accuracy in performing sensorimotor skills

In two experiments, we examined the attentional mechanisms governing sensorimotor skill execution across levels of expertise. In Experiment 1, novice and expert golfers took a series of putts under dual-task conditions designed to distract attention from putting and under skill-focused conditions that prompted attention to step-by-stePperformance. Novices performed better under skill-focused than under dual-task conditions. Experts showed the opposite pattern. In Experiment 2, novice and expert golfers putted under instructions that emphasized either putting accuracy or speed—the latter intended to reduce the time available to monitor and explicitly adjust execution parameters. Novices putted better under accuracy instructions. Experts were more accurate under speed instructions. In agreement with theories of skill acquisition and automaticity, novice performance is enhanced by conditions that allow for on-line attentional monitoring (e.g., skill-focused or accuracy instructions) in comparison with conditions that prevent explicit attentional control of skill execution (e.g., dual-task or speed constraints). In contrast, the proceduralized skill of experts benefits from environments that limit, rather than encourage, attention to execution.     

Neuromuscular effects of shifting the focus of attention in a simple force production task

Research on the focus of attention has begun exploring the physiological changes that underlie the difference between internal and external foci of attention. However, previous electromyography studies have used dynamic tasks, making it difficult to interpret electrophysiological data. The authors analyzed how the focus of attention affects a subject's ability to perform an isometric force production task (focus was directed either at the force platform or the muscles responsible for force production). Subjects received practice without attentional focus instructions and then completed blocks of trials with an external and internal attentional focus separately. An external focus led to significantly less error overall and reduced surface electromyography activity with lower median power frequencies in the antagonist muscle, but attentional focus had no effects on the agonist muscle. Thus, an external focus of attention led to more efficient motor unit recruitment patterns (reduced cocontraction) and improved performance. Posttest surveys revealed subjects were aware of their improved performance with an external focus.     

Head-putter coordination patterns in expert and less skilled golfers

The authors examined the patterns of expert and less skilled golfers in putting on an indoor surface to 1 of 3 circular targets (1, 3, and 5 m away) in trials with a ball present (and putted) or not present (a practice stroke). As expected, the experts performed better than the less skilled golfers on a large number of outcome and kinematic measures. Displacement and velocity profiles of the head and putter revealed high positive correlations for the less skilled golfers, indicating a dominant allocentric coordination pattern, but high negative correlations for the expert golfers, indicating a dominant egocentric coordination pattern. The observed coordination patterns did not interact with the distance of the intended putt or the presence/absence of a ball. These findings offer preliminary evidence that, although contrary to traditional beliefs, fundamental differences exist in putting coordination modes between expert and less skilled golfers.     

Practice variability promotes an external focus of attention and enhances motor skill learning

Variability in practice has been shown to enhance motor skill learning. Benefits of practice variability have been attributed to motor schema formation (variable versus constant practice), or more effortful information processing (random versus blocked practice). We hypothesized that, among other mechanisms, greater practice variability might promote an external focus of attention on the intended movement effect, while less variability would be more conducive to a less effective internal focus on body movements. In Experiment 1, the learning of a throwing task was enhanced by variable versus constant practice, and variable group participants reported focusing more on the distance to the target (external focus), while constant group participants focused more on their posture (internal focus). In Experiment 2, golf putting was learned more effectively with a random compared with a blocked practice schedule. Furthermore, random group learners reported using a more effective distal external focus (i.e., distance to the target) to a greater extent, whereas blocked group participants used a less effective proximal focus (i.e., putter) more often. While attentional focus was assessed through questionnaires in the first two experiments, learners in Experiment 3 were asked to report their current attentional focus at any time during practice. Again, the learning of a throwing task was more effective after random relative to blocked practice. Also, random practice learners reported using more external focus cues, while in blocked practice participants used more internal focus cues. The findings suggest that the attentional foci induced by different practice schedules might be at least partially responsible for the learning differences.     

Specific internal and external attentional focus instructions have differential effects on rowing performance

Directing an individual to focus their attention on internal or external cues can influence performance of skill-based and endurance sports. The present study examined the effects of switching attention across different types of internal and external attentional foci in a rowing task. Novice rowers (19 male, 47 female) focussed attention on one of four different internal cues (or one of four different external cues) at discrete time points while completing a row on an ergometer. Overall, a focus on internal cues resulted in longer distance, higher power output, and higher heart rate than a focus on external cues. However, for the internal condition a focus on arm and leg muscles was associated with higher performance than a focus on breathing. For the external condition, a focus on exerting force on the handle produced higher performance than a focus on the movements of the handle or seat or on the sounds of the ergometer. Global instructions to focus internally or externally influenced performance, but the specific effects within these broad categories were also variable. The advice given to athletes and recreational exercises should consider both the broad attentional focus direction and the specific cues of the task to which attention is directed.     

Spatial separation between targets constrains maintenance of attention on multiple objects

Humans are limited in their ability to maintain multiple attentional foci. In attentive tracking of moving objects, performance declines as the number of tracked targets increases. Previous studies have interpreted such reduction in terms of a limit in the number of attentional foci. However, increasing the number of targets usually reduces spatial separation among different targets. In this study, we examine the role of target spatial separation in maintaining multiple attentional foci. Results from a multiple-object tracking task show that tracking accuracy deteriorates as the spatial separation between targets decreases. We propose that local interaction between nearby attentional foci modulates the resolution of attention, and that capacity limitation from attentive tracking originates in part from limitations in maintaining critical spacing among multiple attentional foci. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that tracking performance is limited not primarily by a number of locations, but by factors such as the spacing and speed of the targets and distractors.     

Quiet eye and the Bereitschaftspotential: visuomotor mechanisms of expert motor performance

Concurrent exploration of the Bereitschaftspotential (BP) and quiet eye period (QE) was implemented to assess potential mechanisms underlying psychomotor skills that differentiate expert and near-expert performers. Twenty golfers were classified by their USGA handicap rating as either a high handicap (HH; near-expert) or low handicap (LH; expert) to permit skill-based inferences. Participants completed 90 trials during which QE duration, BP activity, and putting performance were recorded. The application of single-subject analyses illustrated that LH golfers were more accurate and less variable in their performance than the HH group. Systematic differences in QE duration and BP were also observed, with experts exhibiting a prolonged quiet eye period and greater cortical activation in the right-central region compared with non-experts. A significant association between cortical activation and QE duration was also noted. The results of this investigation lend support to the motor programming/preparation function of the QE period. Practical and theoretical implications are presented and suggestions for future empirical work provided.     

Individual differences in attentional capability are linked to creative decision making

There is a link between visual attention and creativity concerning the generation of rare and flexible decisions/solutions. However, the relationship between individual differences in attentional capability and creative decision making has not yet been investigated in detail. The current study scrutinized this link in a sport‐specific divergent thinking task including videos of real game situations and compared performances between football players being divided into two different expertise levels (expert and amateur football players). We conducted a multiple linear regression analysis to assess whether attentional capability along the attentional focus’ meridians (horizontal, vertical, diagonal) and participants’ expertise level predict creative decision making. The attentional capability along the horizontal meridian of participants’ attentional focus and participants’ expertise level emerged as positive predictors. The findings provide evidence of a relationship between football players’ spatial distribution of attention that match the demands of their sport and an expertise advantage in sport‐specific creative decision making. Implications are not only important for sports, but also for all areas in which spatial attention is required in order to generate unusual solutions.     

EMG activity as a function of the performer's focus of attention

In previous studies of attentional focus effects, investigators have measured performance outcome. Here, however, the authors used electromyography (EMG) to determine whether difference between external and internal foci would also be manifested at the neuromuscular level. In 2 experiments, participants (N=11, Experiment 1; N=12, Experiment 2) performed biceps curls while focusing on the movements of the curl bar (external focus) or on their arms (internal focus). In Experiment 1, movements were performed faster under external than under internal focus conditions. Also, integrated EMG (iEMG) activity was reduced when performers adopted an external focus. In Experiment 2, movement time was controlled through the use of a metronome, and iEMG activity was again reduced under external focus conditions. Those findings are in line with the constrained action hypothesis (G. Wulf, N. McNevin, & C. H. Shea, 2001), according to which an external focus promotes the use of more automatic control processes.     

On the fragility of skilled performance: what governs choking under pressure?

Experiments 1-2 examined generic knowledge and episodic memories of putting in novice and expert golfers. Impoverished episodic recollection of specific putts among experts indicated that skilled putting is encoded in a procedural form that supports performance without the need for step-by-step attentional control. According to explicit monitoring theories of choking, such proceduralization makes putting vulnerable to decrements under pressure. Experiments 3-4 examined choking and the ability of training conditions to ameliorate it in putting and a nonproceduralized alphabet arithmetic skill analogous to mental arithmetic. Choking occurred in putting but not alphabet arithmetic. In putting, choking was unchanged by dual-task training but eliminated by self-consciousness training. These findings support explicit monitoring theories of choking and the popular but infrequently tested belief that attending to proceduralized skills hurts performance.     

Adopting a holistic focus of attention promotes adherence and improves performance in college track and field athletes

Research on novices suggests that an external focus improves performance over an internal focus. For experienced performers the results on attentional focus have been mixed. Recently Becker, Georges, and Aiken (2019) suggested that a holistic focus may be a useful substitute when an external focus is not appropriate. The purpose of this study was to investigate attentional focus within track and field athletes performing an underhand shot throw. 18 female athletes performed an underhand shot throw (4 kg) under three focus conditions: internal, external, and holistic. Participants also rated their adherence to each attentional focus manipulation. Repeated-measures ANOVAs with Sidak post-hoc were used to analyze both underhand shot throw distance and focus adherence. A significant main effect for condition was observed for distance (F = 6.14, p = .005). A holistic threw farther than an internal focus (p < .001) with no difference between internal and external (p = .380), or holistic and external foci (p = .312). For adherence, a significant main effect for condition was observed (F = 4.56, p = .018) with holistic focus adhering to the cue significantly more than internal focus (p < .019). The results of this study are in line with research that found a benefit for a holistic focus with novice performers (Becker et al., 2019). Mullen and Hardy (2010) also found a benefit for the golf putt, basketball shot, and long jump with skilled performers adopting a focus on the global or holistic aspect of the skill.     

Physiological and psychological responses to exercise with an induced attentional focus

In this study techniques were employed to induce exercising subjects to focus attention on themselves or on an external event. A total of 20 adult subjects (10 men and 10 women) were familiarized with a treadmill exercise protocol and then on two subsequent occasions performed submaximal exercise followed by a run to exhaustion under attentional conditions of self-focus (watching themselves in a mirror while listening to their breathing) and external focus (watching and listening to a movie). The order of focus conditions was counterbalanced among subjects. Analysis of postexperimental responses from subjects indicated that the procedures used to induce each type of attentional focus were successful. However, physiological and psychological responses in the two focus conditions were not always uniform for men and women, particularly during light work when men tended to have higher heart rates and significantly lower Rated Perceived Exertion while women had lower heart rates and higher Rated Perceived Exertion under self-focused conditions than under externally focused conditions. Possible explanations for the incongruence of physiological and psychological responses of men and women to the two types of attentional focus are discussed.     

EMG Activity as a Function of the Performer's Focus of Attention

In previous studies of attentional focus effects, investigators have measured performance outcome. Here, however, the authors used electromyography (EMG) to determine whether differences between external and internal foci would also be manifested at the neuromuscular level. In 2 experiments, participants (N = 11, Experiment 1; N = 12, Experiment 2) performed biceps curls while focusing on the movements of the curl bar (external focus) or on their arms (internal focus). In Experiment 1, movements were performed faster under external than under internal focus conditions. Also, integrated EMG (iEMG) activity was reduced when performers adopted an external focus. In Experiment 2, movement time was controlled through the use of a metronome, and iEMG activity was again reduced under external focus conditions. Those findings are in line with the constrained action hypothesis (G. Wulf, N. McNevin, & C. H. Shea, 2001), according to which an external focus promotes the use of more automatic control processes.     

When time is of the essence: The use of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) informed single-session therapy (SST) to alleviate social and golf-specific anxiety,and improve wellbeing and performance,in amateur golfers

Anxieties associated with the social evaluative nature of golf are present in the majority of athletes and impact directly on their wellbeing and objective performance. One potential intervention that could reduce social anxiety in golfers is rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). There is limited research into the effectiveness of REBT in reducing social anxiety and even less research to assess if REBT can be delivered in time-constricted situations when the expectations for immediate results are high, as is the case with many handicap golfers. The current study used an idiographic single-case study design to assess the effects of REBT-informed single-session therapy (SST) on the social anxiety of five amateur golfers. REBT was employed in a short telephone call to target the performance issue, followed up with a single face-to-face session. Data were collected prior to, immediately following, and four weeks after the REBT intervention. Visual analysis following single-case guidelines revealed substantial reductions in irrational beliefs and social anxiety as well as improvements in wellbeing, scoring average, competition placings and handicap reductions in four out of five golfers. Discussion with golfers at a telephone follow-up indicated the positive receipt of REBT by the golfers and supported the visual analysis findings. This current study supports the effectiveness of REBT and also extends the research by demonstrating that REBT-informed SST can be an effective intervention, in a time-restricted environment, for those golfers with a clear target problem and who are ready to take care of business, providing clear implications for future research and practice.     

Resting EEG in alpha and beta bands predicts individual differences in attentional breadth

Whether individuals focus their attention on the global level (the forest), or local elements that make up the stimulus (the trees) remains relatively stable over a period of at least 10 days in multiple global/local measures. Greater attentional approach tendencies and vigilance, which are likely reflected by lower alpha and higher beta power, are associated with narrowed attentional breadth. The current study investigated whether individual differences in the propensity for individuals to focus on the global or local levels (attentional breadth) can be predicted based on EEG power in alpha and its neighbouring frequency bands during a preceding rest period. Greater levels of posterior alpha and preponderance of alpha-to-beta power at rest were associated with greater attentional breadth during the subsequent Navon letters task. These results suggest that neural indices of attentional approach when not engaged in a goal-orientated task are associated with individual differences in attentional breadth.     

Temperament, distraction, and learning in toddlerhood

The word- and nonword-learning abilities of toddlers were tested under various conditions of environmental distraction, and evaluated with respect to children's temperamental attentional focus. Thirty-nine children and their mothers visited the lab at child age 21-months, where children were exposed to fast-mapping word-learning trials and nonlinguistic sequential learning trials. It was found that both word- and nonword-learning were adversely affected by the presentation of environmental distractions. But it was also found that the effect of the distractions sometimes depended on children's level of attentional focus. Specifically, children high in attentional focus were less affected by environmental distractions than children low in attentional focus when attempting to learn from a model, whereas children low in attentional focus demonstrated little learning from the model. Translationally, these results may be of use to child health-care providers investigating possible sources of cognitive and language delay.     

How Reliably Do Eye Parameters Indicate Internal Versus External Attentional Focus?

Eye behavior is increasingly used as an indicator of internal versus external focus of attention both in research and application. However, available findings are partly inconsistent, which might be attributed to the different nature of the employed types of internal and external cognition tasks. The present study, therefore, investigated how consistently different eye parameters respond to internal versus external attentional focus across three task modalities: numerical, verbal, and visuo-spatial. Three eye parameters robustly differentiated between internal and external attentional focus across all tasks. Blinks, pupil diameter variance, and fixation disparity variance were consistently increased during internally directed attention. We also observed substantial attentional focus effects on other parameters (pupil diameter, fixation disparity, saccades, and microsaccades), but they were moderated by task type. Single-trial analysis of our data using machine learning techniques further confirmed our results: Classifying the focus of attention by means of eye tracking works well across participants, but generalizing across tasks proves to be challenging. Based on the effects of task type on eye parameters, we discuss what eye parameters are best suited as indicators of internal versus external attentional focus in different settings.     

An Idiographic Single-Case Study Examining the Use of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) with Three Amateur Golfers to Alleviate Social Anxiety

Performance anxiety has been studied in relation to golf performance, but one phenomenon that has received scant attention is social anxiety. One potential intervention that could reduce social anxiety in golfers is rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), a cognitive-behavioral approach for which research interest is growing. The current study used an idiographic single-case study design to assess the effects of REBT on the social anxiety of 3 male amateur golfers. REBT was employed both on and off the golf course to ensure integration of REBT into the golfers’ performance, offering a methodological advancement of past research. Data were collected prior to, during, and after the REBT intervention. Visual analysis following single-case guidelines revealed substantial reductions in irrational beliefs and social anxiety in all three golfers. Social validation data indicated the positive receipt of REBT by the golfers and supported the visual analysis findings. This current study supports the effectiveness of REBT and extends the research by applying REBT in a “real-world” performance setting, offering methodological advances and providing clear implications for future research and practice.     

Effects of Attentional Focus on Skilled Performance in Golf

Wulf and colleagues (e.g., Wulf, Lauterbach, & Toole, 1999 Wulf, G., Lauterbach, B. and Toole, T. 1999. The learning advantages of an external focus of attention in golf. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 70: 1219–126.  [Google Scholar]) have demonstrated that the adoption of an external focus of attention is preferable for the learning of complex motor tasks. The present investigation extends the attention focus literature in two ways: (a) it compared the effectiveness of three different foci (internal, proximal external, and distal external) in a sample of skilled performers in a naturalistic environment, and (b) it examined the use of attentional foci under conditions of anxiety. Thirty-three skilled male golfers were assigned to one of three attentional focus groups and completed five blocks of ten pitch shots, three in neutral conditions and two in anxiety conditions. Results from two separate mixed model analyses of variance (ANOVAs) indicated that regardless of anxiety condition, those assigned to a distal external focus of attention performed most accurately (p < 0.05), whereas assignment to an internal focus of attention was associated with the least accurate performance (p < 0.05). Findings offer support for the constrained action hypothesis and point to the importance of skilled performers adopting a distal external focus, especially in competition.     

Learning to play golf under different goal conditions: their effects on irrelevant thoughts and on subsequent control strategies

Volitional and self‐handicapping theories suggest that individuals use various strategies to energize the maintenance and the enactment of goals. We placed 32 golfers (16 men and 16 women) alternately in four golf proficiency conditions using a randomized complete block design: task involvement, learning, achievement, and one‐on‐one competition goals. As expected, the path analysis showed that one‐on‐one competition goals generate irrelevant thoughts (anxiety, threat to self‐esteem, distraction) as well as the subsequent bringing into play of control strategies (emotional control, attentional control, self‐handicapping strategies). Conversely, task involvement goals not only exclude intrusive thoughts but hinder the implementation of control strategies. These results are discussed in terms of the attentional processes induced by motivational goals and their subsequent volitional and self‐handicapping strategies. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.