Citation

Weiss SM. Res. Q. Exerc. Sport 2011; 82(1): 28-36.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Adams State College, USA. stephenweiss@adams.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

21462683

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 (JE), in which they were asked to focus on the effects of their movements. This procedure produced two separate groups, El and 1E. Those scoring low and high on the RS were separated, thus producingfourgroups. Participants in the El high group were the least successful. These results support the findings of earlier studies suggesting that switching to an El is detrimental. Additionally, it appears that high reinvestors switching from a preferred 1E to a nonpreferred El are the most susceptible to unsuccessful performance.

Language: en