Attention and Concentration Flashcards
(12 cards)
What is attention?
Mental effort placed on sensory events or thoughts
What are the three attentional components?
Attentional selectivity - What are you focusing on?
Attentional capacity - How much information can be processed?
Attentional alertness - How broad is your focus?
What is control vs automatic processing?
Control processing is when movements are consciously controlled
In automatic processing the movements happen unconsciously
What are the two dimensions of attentional focus?
Width - broad vs narrow
Directionality - internal vs external
Define broad, narrow, internal and external in regards to focus
Broad - attending to numerous cues at one time
Narrow - Attending to one or two cues
Internal - Attending to thoughts, feelings or physiological or kinesthetic cues
External - attending to things or events in the environment
What is choking?
When a performer shows a conscious step-by-step execution of skills and a breakdown of automated movement patterns
What conditions can lead to choking?
Attentional changes
Physical changes
Performance impairment
Is it possible to concentrate on more than one thing at a time?
You can divide attention, but can only consciously focus on one thought at a time
What are association and dissociation?
Association - attending to bodily functions and feelings
Dissociation - attending to irrelevant cues and tuning out
What are examples of internal and external distractors?
Internal - attending to past/future events, overanalyzing body mechanics
External - visual, auditory, gamesmanship
What are strategies for improving concentration?
Integrate distractions into practices
Over-learn skills to free up central processing space
What are the two types of effective cue words?
Instructional - directs attention to the present and process
Motivational - directs attention to the positive
