Department of Sport and Health Sciences, Chair of Sport Psychology, Technische Universität München, Munchen, Germany.
J Mot Behav. 2021;53(5):644-655. doi: 10.1080/00222895.2020.1828797. Epub 2020 Oct 14.
Numerous previous studies using the dual-task methodology have indicated that the effect of attentional direction on the performance of motor skill differs as a function of skill levels. Whereas previous studies relied mostly on inter-individual comparisons, this study focused on how the effects of different attentional conditions change within individuals with practice. Participants were instructed to learn a short and a long keying sequence (three versus six keys) and then practiced under two block-wise alternating dual-task conditions. In each trial, a tone, either low- or high-pitched, was presented at one of the three/six keys and participants had to indicate either the pitch of the tone (extraneous dual task) or the key with which the tone was presented (skill-focused dual task) after finishing the execution of the keying sequence. Motor task performance was assessed by reaction time (RT) and movement duration (MD), and the concurrent cognitive task performance was assessed by the error rate. RT was faster in the skill-focused dual-task condition at the beginning of practice, whereas a generally shorter MD was found in the extraneous dual-task condition. The error rate in the extraneous dual task decreased with practice, whereas in the skill-focused dual task, it increased with practice. These results show that the effects of attentional direction differ not only as a function of the amount of practice but also as a function of the stage of information processing. Furthermore, our results indicate that the direction of attention alone does not explain the different patterns of performance at different skill levels seen across dual-task studies; rather, the skill levels, the nature of cognitive demands, the difficulty level of dual tasks, and the complexity of the motor skill could all drive performance differences.
许多先前使用双重任务方法的研究表明，注意力方向对运动技能表现的影响因技能水平而异。虽然先前的研究主要依赖于个体间的比较，但本研究侧重于随着练习，不同注意条件的影响如何在个体内部发生变化。参与者被指示学习一个短的和一个长的按键序列（三个键对六个键），然后在两种分块交替的双重任务条件下进行练习。在每次试验中，一个音调，无论是高音还是低音，都会出现在三个/六个键中的一个键上，参与者必须在完成按键序列的执行后，指示音调的音高（附加双重任务）或发出音调的键（技能聚焦双重任务）。运动任务表现通过反应时间（RT）和运动时间（MD）来评估，并发认知任务表现通过错误率来评估。在练习开始时，技能聚焦双重任务条件下的 RT 更快，而在附加双重任务条件下，通常 MD 更短。附加双重任务的错误率随着练习而降低，而在技能聚焦双重任务中，它随着练习而增加。这些结果表明，注意力方向的影响不仅因练习量而异，而且因信息处理阶段而异。此外，我们的结果表明，注意力的方向本身并不能解释在不同技能水平下双重任务研究中看到的不同表现模式；相反，技能水平、认知需求的性质、双重任务的难度水平和运动技能的复杂性都可能导致表现差异。
