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Attentional Focus (External Versus Internal Focus)

Attentional Focus (External Versus Internal Focus)

A performer’s Attentional Focus, or concentration, during the planning or execution of a motor skill significantly influences movement quality. Specifically, an external focus of attention on the intended movement effect (e.g., the motion of a golf club, trajectory or spin of a ball, target) has consistently been found to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of movements relative to an internal focus on body movements (e.g., arms, hips, legs). The benefits of an external focus generalize across skills, levels of expertise, or age groups and are independent of (dis-)ability. The effects are often seen immediately, and practice with an external focus also has longer-term advantages for motor skill acquisition (for a review, see Wulf, 2013).
Wulf, Ho ̈ß, and Prinz (1998) conducted the first study to demonstrate the benefits of an instructed external versus internal focus (and a control condition). They showed that balance learning was enhanced when participants were asked to concentrate on the movements of markers on the platform on which they were standing compared to their feet’s actions. Since then, numerous studies—many of which used sport skills, such as basketball free-throw shooting, dart throwing, soccer kicks, kayaking, swimming, volleyball serves, discus throwing, golf shots, or running—have shown performance or learning advantages resulting from an external focus. For example, swimming speed is greater when performers focus on pushing the water back as opposed to pulling their hands back; accuracy in hitting tennis balls is enhanced when performers concentrate on the racquet motion or target area as opposed to their arm; and accuracy in dart throwing is higher with a focus on the flight of the dart or bull’s eye rather than the hand motion.
Other studies have demonstrated greater movement efficiency, or economy, with an external focus. For instance, muscular activity is reduced in weight lifting when performers concentrate on the weight bar compared to their legs. This is also seen in basketball free-throw shooting or dart throwing when performers concentrate on the target instead of their arms. An external focus also leads to greater maximum force productions (e.g., jumping, throwing) and reduced oxygen consumption or heart rate in endurance tasks.
An external focus of attention promotes automaticity in movement control (‘constrained action hypothesis’). It allows unconscious, fast, and reflexive processes to control the movement. The result is that the desired outcome is achieved effectively and relatively effortlessly. In contrast, an internal focus induces a conscious type of control, constraining the motor system and interfering with automatic control processes. Converging evidence provides support for this view. For example, attentional capacity demands reduce with an external focus. High-frequency movement adjustments (e.g., on balance tasks) indicate the use of reflex-based feedback loops, while slower and more conscious feedback loops are utilized with an internal focus. Reduced muscular activity, more efficient motor unit recruitment within muscles and fewer contractions seen with an external focus are also in line with the notion that individuals perform at a higher, more advanced level, reflecting a speeded learning process. In the OPTIMAL theory of motor learning (Wulf & Lewthwaite, 2016), an external focus is an important contributor to goal-action coupling, i.e., the readying of the motor system through excitation or inhibition of neuro-muscular systems relevant to upcoming movement execution.