Abstract
Research suggests an external focus of attention positively affects motor learning more than an internal focus; however, little research has considered this relationship in motor control situations. The present study examined the role of varying focus of attention conditions on dart throwing performance. Experts (n = 6) and novices (n = 6) performed 84 throws under two internal and one external conditions and in the presence and absence of knowledge of results (KR). Results indicated clear differences between experts and novices on both performance and motor control outcomes. Further, there was some evidence that movement execution was slowed in experts but not in novices, although results were somewhat inconclusive. Our analyses suggest that varying focus of attention affects temporal parameters of movement execution in experts but not spatial parameters. Interestingly, both experts and novices generally perceived all instruction conditions to be hindrances to performance, with the exception of the external focus with KR condition. Further work is necessary to determine the extent to which these results apply to other open and closed skills.
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Notes
An a priori data screening led to the exclusion of expert four. His mean throwing scores were more than two standard deviations away from the mean performance of the group of experts. Before throwing, he also reported much distraction by internal factors during the day and after throwing he and his teammates confirmed his performance was much worse than normal. Therefore, his scores were considered as outliers and not included in the following analyses.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express their gratitude to Heiko Ries, Sibille Abel and Ulrike Langenstein for their helping hand in data collection and analysis. The study was conducted at the Institute for Sport Science, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
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Schorer, J., Jaitner, T., Wollny, R. et al. Influence of varying focus of attention conditions on dart throwing performance in experts and novices. Exp Brain Res 217, 287–297 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-011-2992-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-011-2992-5