Pelleck Valerie, Passmore Steven R
University of Manitoba, College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Canada; University of Winnipeg, Department of Kinesiology & Applied Health, Canada.
University of Manitoba, College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Canada; University of Manitoba, Faculty of Kinesiology & Recreation Management, Canada; The Health Leisure and Human Performance Research Institute, Canada.
Acta Psychol (Amst). 2017 May;176:23-31. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2017.03.007. Epub 2017 Mar 25.
Impaired performance while executing a motor task is attributed to a disruption of normal automatic processes when an internal focus of attention is used. What remains unclear is whether the specificity of internally focused task instructions may impact task performance. The present study assessed the implications of changing the attentional focus of novice and skilled golfers by measuring behavioural, neurophysiological and kinematic changes during a golf putting task. Over six blocks of ten putting trials each, attention was directed either externally (towards the target) or internally in one of two ways: 1) proximal (keeping the elbows extended and the hands gripping the putter); or 2) distal (keeping the weight evenly distributed between both legs) to the critical elements of the task. Results provided evidence that when novice participants use an internal focus of attention more closely associated with task performance that their: 1) execution; 2) accuracy; 3) variability of surface electromyography (sEMG) activity; and 4) kinematics of the putter movement are all adversely affected. Skilled golfers are much more resilient to changes in attentional focus, while all participants interpret a distal internal focus of attention similar to an external focus. All participants produced decreased activity in the muscle (tibialis anterior) associated with the distal (less task relevant) focus of attention even when the "internal" focus was on the lower extremity. Our results provide evidence that the skill level of the participant and the distance of the internal focus of attention from the key elements of a motor skill directly impact the execution, muscle activity, and movement kinematics associated with skilled motor task performance.
当使用内部注意力焦点时，执行运动任务时表现受损归因于正常自动过程的中断。尚不清楚的是，内部注意力焦点任务指令的特异性是否会影响任务表现。本研究通过测量高尔夫推杆任务期间的行为、神经生理和运动学变化，评估了改变新手和熟练高尔夫球手注意力焦点的影响。在六个包含十次推杆试验的组块中，注意力以两种方式之一被引导至外部（朝向目标）或内部：1）近端（保持肘部伸展且双手握住推杆）；或2）远端（保持双腿之间重量均匀分布）于任务的关键要素。结果提供了证据，即当新手参与者使用与任务表现更密切相关的内部注意力焦点时，他们的：1）执行；2）准确性；3）表面肌电图（sEMG）活动的变异性；以及4）推杆运动的运动学均受到不利影响。熟练的高尔夫球手对注意力焦点的变化更具弹性，而所有参与者将远端内部注意力焦点解释为类似于外部焦点。即使“内部”焦点在下肢，所有参与者与远端（与任务相关性较低）注意力焦点相关的肌肉（胫前肌）活动也会减少。我们的结果提供了证据，即参与者的技能水平以及内部注意力焦点与运动技能关键要素的距离直接影响与熟练运动任务表现相关的执行、肌肉活动和运动运动学。
