The Distance Effect in Focus of Attention: Spatial or Temporal Distance?

Purpose: The benefit of an external focus over an internal focus has been well-established. Within this literature, several studies have documented a distal effect of attentional focus by comparing the efficacy of a proximal and distal external focus. A potential confound is that most distal focus cues direct the performer's attention to an outcome occurring after the completion of movement, while the proximal cues direct attention to something that occurs during the movement process. This study aims to disentangle whether the distal effect of attentional focus comes from spatial distance (proximal vs. distal) or temporal distance (during vs. after). Method: To test this, we employed a two-handed underhand medicine ball throw for maximum distance with 38 healthy young adults. This study employed five conditions: baseline, internal-during, internal-after, external-during, and external-after focus. Results: The result indicated that both external-during and -after foci elicited a significantly greater throwing distance than internal-during (p = .006) and internal-after (p < .001), where internal-after even significantly underperformed than baseline (p = .02). Conclusion: Our findings indicate that using an outcome cue unrelated to the intended action does not enhance motor performance. Rather, the most effective approach is to use an external cue that represents the action effect either during or after the movement.