EXTERNAL FOCUS OF ATTENTION ENHANCES PRECISION IN RECREATIONAL ARCHERS

Abstract

The studies confirm that instructions and feedback that induce external focus of attention (oriented on movement outcome) result with greater efficiency in motor performance and learning regarding internal focus of attention (oriented on bodily dimensions). Advantages and differences between external and internal focus of attention have been proved also in different levels of sport and recreational expertise. In this study, 10 recreational archers were tested in three different conditions: C1 - freely oriented focus of attention, C2 – internally oriented focus of attention, and C3 – externally oriented focus of attention. The subjects first undertook the C1 condition, and afterwards the next two conditions were randomly decided. According to the hypothesis, the main goal was to investigate the effect of external and internal focus of attention on precision of the shots. According to the results, in externally focused condition, recreational archers had better results than in other conditions with higher number of 9 points and lesser number of misses. Based on findings from this paper, adopting an external focus of attention should be beneficial for the shot precision, self-fulfillment and feelings of accomplishment in recreational archers.