The Absence of Vision Impacts Attentional Focus Effects During a Balancing Task.

Area of Science:

• Motor Control
• Human Performance
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Previous research suggests internal focus reduces errors in reaching tasks without vision.
• The impact of attentional focus on balancing tasks, especially with varying visual input, requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how internal versus external attentional focus affects motor performance in a balancing task.
• To determine if visual occlusion influences the effectiveness of internal and external focus during balancing.

Main Methods:

• Thirty-two undergraduate students performed a balancing task on a stability platform.
• Participants were assigned to conditions with or without visual occlusion.
• Trials involved familiarization, internal focus, and external focus conditions.

Main Results:

• A significant interaction between attentional focus and vision was observed.
• Participants without visual occlusion performed better with an external focus.
• Participants with visual occlusion showed improved performance with an internal focus.

Conclusions:

• The optimal attentional focus for balancing depends on the availability of visual sensory feedback.
• For tasks relying on online sensory feedback, attentional strategies should adapt to the dominant sensory input.