Motor Performers Need Task-relevant Information: Proposing an Alternative Mechanism for the Attentional Focus Effect

Abstract

Research has repeatedly suggested that an external focus of attention is far superior to an internal focus of attention in motor learning and performance. Such findings have been explained through the lens of automaticity, as focusing externally on something outside your body should promote efficient and subconscious execution of any given motor action. In this paper, I critically review evidence and propose an alternative mechanism to explain why various foci are effective. Information, and its relevance to the task at hand, are at the center of this alternative view. The strong conclusions recently put forth in favor of an external focus, and the dismissal of all internal foci, appear unfounded. Researchers and practitioners should keep exploring attentional strategies that promote task-relevant information attunement.