Effects of attentional focus instructions and autonomy support on learning a shooting task

Abstract

Abstract Research related to motor skill learning has provided an important insight into which instructional methods are effective. Recent research has shown that the combination of autonomy and external focus of attention may benefit learning outcomes; however, there is not enough strong evidence in this respect. The study sought to examine effects of attentional focus instructions and combined effects of autonomy (choice) and external focus of attention on the learning of a standing korfball shot. One hundred and seven postgraduate students of physical education (40 females and 67 males, age = 22.57) took part in the study. They were randomly assigned to one of four practice groups: external focus (E), internal focus (I), self-regulated (S) and self-regulated external (SE). During the acquisition phase, all participants completed a total of 150 trials, with 50 trials (5 sets x 10 repetitions) completed during each session. The results of the between-group comparison for shooting accuracy demonstrated no significant differences. The present findings suggest that external focus of attention benefits motor learning and performance. We did not reveal additive advantages for motor learning when comparing combined effects of external focus and autonomy support with each of these conditions administered separately.