Semester 1 lecture 3 Attention

Question 1

What is Attention?

Answer 1

Focus
Concentration
Being switched on (or off) at the right times
Processing information
Not being distracted or distracting self from irrelevant information
“Deliberate mental effort” – Moran (2004)

Question 2

What does Moran 2004 suggest about attention

Answer 2

ability to concentrate generally
the ability to zoom in on specific tasks as required

Question 3

What is SELECTIVE ATTENTION

Answer 3

We choose to focus on what we want. Other things are lost

Question 4

What are the four main parts of attention

Answer 4

Selective attention
Maintaining focus over time
Awareness of situation and self
Shifting focus when needed

Question 5

Explain selective attention

Answer 5

Focus on task-relevant cues
Specific to athlete/sport
E.g., Tennis serve vs. saving a penalty
External vs. internal

Question 6

Explain internal v external attention

Answer 6

For some skills it is better to pick an external focus of attention
Internal focus in these instances can lead to skill breakdown
Paralysis by analysis (Masters, 1992)
Conscious processing hypothesis

Question 7

What is Awareness of situation and self

Answer 7

Making appropriate decisions based on the situation and what is going on around him/her.
Processing information using the range of senses
Hearing
Touch
Vision

Question 8

What is Shifting focus when needed

Answer 8

The ability to broaden and narrow attentional focus can actually be an advantage in some sports.
“In pentathlon you need to be able to broaden your focus and then bring it back to a very narrow focus for different events. You need to be able to change your range of focus and concentration span, depending on which event you are doing.”
– Stephanie Cook

Question 9

What are the four quadrants of Attentional style model (Nideffer & Segal, 2001)

Answer 9

Broad Internal, Broad external, Narrow internal, Narrow external

Question 10

Explain Broad internal analyse

Answer 10

Dealing with lots of things at the same time.
Mistakes due to over analysis

Question 11

Explain Broad external assess

Answer 11

Quickly assessing a situation

Mistakes due to focusing on irrelevant cues

Question 12

Explain Narrow Internal thought focus

Answer 12

Locking in on a single thought e.g., Body awareness.
Mistakes due to choking

Question 13

Explain Narrow external object focus

Answer 13

One or two primary targets – block out distractions
Mistakes due to missing vital cues

Question 14

Give an example of each

Answer 14

BI- novice thinking about all elements of golf swing. NI- GYMNAST thinking about specific skill, NE- golf- BE concentrate on wrong things golfer - NE- missing vital cues