The locus of focus: The effect of switching from a preferred to a non-preferred focus of attention

Abstract

Focusing strategies are known to play a significant role in motor performance, with individuals who use an internal focus on body movement typically showing poorer outcomes than those who focus on features of the external environment. Focus of attention and switching of one's focus are examined in the context of two different complex motor skills along with a factor not previously examined systematically, individual preference. In both experiments, participants were introduced to focusing strategies that might be employed when attempting a sensorimotor task. Explanations of both strategies were given to participants. Specifically, for an internal focus, participants were instructed to concentrate on their body movements, while for an external focus, they were instructed to focus on aspects in the environment. They were then asked which strategy they preferred. Participants then continued either with their preferred focus or were instructed to switch to their non-preferred focus. The advantage that the external focus typically enjoys turns out not to be a simple one and interacts with individual preference and with the “forced-opposite” manipulation. Our results support the growing consensus that encouraging individuals to adopt an internal focusing strategy is counterproductive in complex sensorimotor tasks. They also suggest that individual preferences play a role.

Keywords:

• Implicit learning
• sport psychology
• motor skills
• performance

Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by grant #0113025 from the NSF to the second author.

The authors would like to thank the following individuals: Buzzy Chanowitz, Ph.D. who was part of my dissertation committee and assisted in the early stages of our first experiment; my student researchers (Jonie Coulson, Amanda Salazar, and Jason Svedin) who helped with data collection and analysis and student researcher Sherri Loubier whose comments and recommendations were very helpful to us; and each of the reviewers for their insightful recommendations. In particular, recommended changes to the design and statistical analyses by Sian Beilock was very much appreciated.