Marchant David C, Griffiths Gillian, Partridge Julie A, Belsley Leah, Porter Jared M
a Edge Hill University.
b Southern Illinois University.
Res Q Exerc Sport. 2018 Dec;89(4):418-428. doi: 10.1080/02701367.2018.1512075. Epub 2018 Sep 26.
Research has demonstrated that verbal instructions directing attention externally (i.e., toward the effect of the movement) significantly enhance motor skill performance, and this effect is enhanced when the distance of the external focus relative to the body is increased. However, few studies have investigated this distance-of-focus effect in children. The present study aimed to examine the effect of increasing the distance of an external focus on children's motor performance in 2 experiments.
In Experiment 1, children performed standing long jumps under 3 instructional conditions (control, internal attentional focus, and external attentional focus). In Experiment 2, children performed standing long jumps under 4 instructional conditions (control, internal, proximal external attentional focus, and distal external attentional focus).
In Experiment 1, results revealed a statistically significant jump distance advantage for the external focus condition. In Experiment 2, a statistically significant jump distance advantage for the distal external focus condition was found. However, instructional and task characteristics beyond distance of focus may have been influential.
External focus instructions benefit children's jump performance, but specifically when they are supported by a concrete movement goal reflecting relevant performance criteria. These findings highlight the importance of examining the content of instructions and relevant task characteristics provided to children beyond attentional focus to consider their motivational characteristics.
研究表明，引导注意力向外（即朝向动作效果）的言语指令能显著提高运动技能表现，且当外部焦点相对于身体的距离增加时，这种效果会增强。然而，很少有研究调查儿童中的这种焦点距离效应。本研究旨在通过两个实验检验增加外部焦点距离对儿童运动表现的影响。
在实验1中，儿童在三种指导条件下（对照组、内部注意力焦点和外部注意力焦点）进行立定跳远。在实验2中，儿童在四种指导条件下（对照组、内部、近端外部注意力焦点和远端外部注意力焦点）进行立定跳远。
在实验1中，结果显示外部焦点条件下的跳远距离具有统计学上的显著优势。在实验2中，发现远端外部焦点条件下的跳远距离具有统计学上的显著优势。然而，焦点距离之外的指导和任务特征可能也有影响。
外部焦点指令对儿童的跳跃表现有益，但特别是当它们得到反映相关表现标准的具体运动目标支持时。这些发现凸显了除注意力焦点之外，检查提供给儿童的指令内容和相关任务特征以考虑其动机特征的重要性。
