Attention and Concentration

Attention:
–The withdrawal from some things to deal effectively with others.
–The process that directs our awareness as information becomes available to the senses.
Concentration:
–directing attention towards a specific goal.
•E.G. intense gaze of the archer on the target before releasing the arrow.
–Focusing attention involves becoming aware of one thing to the exclusion of others.
Focus:
–Refers to a point on which attention is concentrated

The ability to direct one’s full attention to appropriate cues in the present task instead of being controlled by irrelevant external and internal stimuli.
•Ability to exert deliberate mental effort on what is most important in any given situation.
Almost every external event will trigger a cognitive and emotional shift in the athlete and a corresponding change in the response of the body.

Attentional selectivity
–Letting other info into info-processing system where other info will be screened and ignored. Searchlight to focus on what is important.
Attentional capacity
–Limited amount of resources that can be used to process information, this must be accounted for when considering attention.
Attentional alertness
–Increases in emotional arousal narrow the attention field because of a systematic reduction in the range of cues that performer considers in executing a skill.

What you focus on
•Voices
•Environmental conditions
•Smells
•Sights
•Internal feelings
•Not always conscious
•Bottleneck effect
•Brain unable to process information quickly enough
•Affect on performance
•Increased when fatigued or high physiological arousal

Broad attentional focus allows athlete to perceive several occurrences simultaneously.
•Important for sports where athletes have to be aware of rapidly changing environment.
Narrow attentional focus occurs when the athlete only responds to one or two cues.
Narrow

An external attentional focus directs attention outward to an object.
•Focusing on environmental cues, the play, strategies of the opponent.
An internal attentional focus is directed inward to thoughts and feelings.

Nideffer (1976) proposed that individuals may possess a specific attentional style that interacts with the intentional demands inherent in sport.
•Optimal performance will occur when the attentional demands specific to the situation match the individual’s attentional style.
Broad internal Broad external
Narrow internal Narrow external

Studies of the cognitive processes of marathon runners showed:
–Most successful runners tended to use associative attentional strategies
•Monitoring bodily functions & feelings – HR, muscle tension & breathing rate.
–Non-elite runners tended to use dissociative attentional strategies
•Distraction & tuning out.

Runners in competition prefer association compared to dissociation in training – although both can be used.
•Dissociation is inversely related to physiological awareness
•Dissociation can decrease the fatigue & monotony of training.

Under maximal demands, it entails:
1.Selective attention to appropriate cues
2.100% attention to the task at hand
3.Staying totally in the here and now
4.Keeping appropriate focus over appropriate length of time
5.Quickly shifting attention based upon changing demands.

Attention to irrelevant cues
•Left the here and now
–i.e, thinking of past or future outcome
•Inappropriate divided attention
–Ex.: Can’t remember name after introduction because also focusing on making a good impression
•Become aware of gaps in experience
–Ex.: Reading book chapter and pages later become “alert” and don’t know what read
•Performance level suffering
–Not always, but more often than not

•After mistakes
•When stressed out
•When not sufficiently motivated
•When over motivated

Choking occurs when an athlete is unable to regain control over their performance as it progressively deteriorates.
•Likely to occur in a situation that is important to them.
•Characterised by series of physiological reactions - e.g. increased heart rate, sweating & disturbance in fine motor co-ordination.

Athletes can enhance their concentration by developing strategies to help them focus on task-relevant cues while ignoring task-irrelevant cues.
•Performing in the “Here and Now”
•Goal Setting
•Precompetitive Routines
•Self-Talk and use of Cue Words
•Simulation Training
• Focusing Exercises
• Imagery

Attentional Cues and Triggers
•Athletes can use verbal and kinesthetic cues to focus their concentration and to refocus once it has been lost
•Cues must focus on positives rather than negatives, the present rather than the past or future, and the process rather than the score or outcome
•Must be individualized