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Attentional focus on suprapostural tasks affects balance learning.

Gabriele Wulf1, Matthias Weigelt, Damian Poulter

  • 1Department of Kinesiology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154-3034, USA. wulf@ccmail.nevada.edu

The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. A, Human Experimental Psychology
|September 10, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Directing attentional focus externally during a suprapostural task enhances dynamic balance learning and retention. External focus on the task, rather than internal focus on body parts, improves overall postural control.

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Area of Science:

  • Motor Control
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Sports Science

Background:

  • Attentional focus is crucial in motor skill acquisition.
  • Suprapostural tasks, involving maintaining posture while performing another task, are common in daily life and sports.
  • The impact of attentional focus during suprapostural tasks on dynamic balance learning requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the influence of attentional focus (internal vs. external) during a suprapostural task on the learning of a dynamic balance task.
  • To determine if external focus enhances retention and transfer of balance skills compared to internal focus.
  • To assess the effect of attentional focus on both the suprapostural and the primary postural task.

Main Methods:

  • Participants performed a dynamic balance task on a stabilometer while concurrently executing a suprapostural task (holding a tube horizontal).

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  • Attentional focus was manipulated by instructing participants to concentrate on their hands (internal focus) or the tube (external focus).
  • Balance performance, retention, and transfer were measured over a 3-day period, including tests with and without the tube.

    • Main Results:

    • External focus groups showed significantly better retention and transfer of the dynamic balance task compared to internal focus groups.
    • In Experiment 1, the external focus group also demonstrated superior performance in maintaining the horizontal position of the tube.
    • Internal focus did not yield better results than a control group in transfer tests (Experiment 2).

    Conclusions:

    • Attentional focus during a suprapostural task significantly impacts the learning and performance of a dynamic balance task.
    • An external attentional focus on the suprapostural task promotes more effective learning, retention, and transfer of balance skills.
    • These findings suggest that optimizing attentional strategies can improve motor learning in complex tasks involving postural control.