The Effects of Reinvestment of Conscious Processing on Switching Focus of Attention

Abstract

The effects of switching focusing strategies on complex motor skill learning were investigated using a dart-throwing task. Participants were screened for reinvestment of conscious processing by completing the Reinvestment Scale (RS) of Masters, Polman, and Hammond (1993). After an initial baseline phase, two focusing strategies were described. Low and high reinvestors were then asked which of the strategies was used during baseline. Regardless of preference, they were requested to change focus. Novice dart-players used either a nonpreferred internal focus (EI), in which they were asked to concentrate on movements of their body, or a nonpreferred external focus (IE), in which they were asked to focus on the effects of their movements. This procedure produced two separate groups, EI and IE. Those scoring low and high on the RS were separated, thus producing four groups. Participants in the EI high group were the least successful. These results support the findings of earlier studies suggesting that switching to an EI is detrimental. Additionally, it appears that high reinvestors switching from a preferred IE to a nonpreferred EI are the most susceptible to unsuccessful performance.

Key words:

• Motor learning
• Performance
• Sport psychology

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Stephen M. Weiss

Author's Notes I thank David Owen for his assistance, particularly with the results section of this manuscript. I greatly appreciate his time and his knowledge of statistics as well as his suggestions that led to improving this manuscript. I also thank my student researchers (Douglas Colman, Wendy Kane, and Andrea Torres), who spent many hours helping with data collection and analysis, and Kenneth Waudby, who generated a photo of the dartboard and scoring areas in Figure1. Finally, I thank Richard Masters, Arthur Reber, and Gabriele Wulf, whose suggestions throughout this project were of tremendous help. Please address correspondence concerning this article to Stephen M. Weiss, 208 Edgemont Blvd., Alamosa, CO 81102.