The Influence Of Attentional Focus On Skill Acquisition

p {margin: 0; padding: 0;} .ft00{font-size:18px;font-family:NimbusSansBold;color:#000000;} .ft01{font-size:16px;font-family:NimbusSansBold;color:#000000;} .ft02{font-size:15px;font-family:OpenSymbol;color:#000000;} .ft03{font-size:16px;font-family:NimbusSans;color:#000000;} .ft04{font-size:16px;line-height:21px;font-family:NimbusSans;color:#000000;} THE INFLUENCE OF ATTENTIONAL FOCUS ON SKILL ACQUISITION I. Introduction  Attentional focus is a critical factor in skill acquisition.  Two main types of attentional focus: Internal and External.  The "constrained action hypothesis" suggests that internal focus induces cognitive-dominated control processes, while external focus leads to more automatic control.  External attentional focus is linked to more efficient movement execution, benefiting endurance performance in activities like swimming and running. II. Impact on Skill Acquisition  Research by Gabriele Wulf highlights the significance of attentional focus in skill acquisition.  External focus of attention generally outperforms internal focus.  Short-term improvement in motor performance and long-term changes in motor learning are observed.  These findings apply to individuals of all ages and even patients with various diseases.  Benefits include improved neuromuscular activity and coordination. III. Instruction Techniques 1. Verbal Instructions: Movement Rules  Verbal instructions provide explicit movement rules related to specific action elements.  These instructions require cognitive effort to process and transform into a representation.  Effective for conveying detailed information. 2. Analogies: Metaphorical Instructions  Analogies use metaphors to describe movements (e.g., "bend like a bow" in a tennis serve).  Encourage a holistic understanding of the movement.  Not all details need to be conscious, reducing attentional resource requirements during learning and recall.  Particularly beneficial for implicit learning processes and automatic control modes.