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CHAPTER 10: ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION IN SPORT
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Introduction
Definition
Attention is the focusing of mental processes
Concentration in sport involves:
Focusing on the relevant cues in the environment
Maintaining attentional focus over time
Maintaining situation awareness
Shifting attentional focus when necessary
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Types of Attention
Types of attention are:
Sustained attention
Ability to maintain attention to a selected
stimulus for prolonged period of time.
Also called ‘vigilance’
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Selective attention
Focusing on a specific aspect of experience that is
relevant while ignoring others that are irrelevant.
Focusing on one voice among many in crowded.
Divided attention
Involves concentrating on more than one activity at the
same time.
If you are listening to music while you are reading this,
you are engaging in divided attention.
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The Role of Attention in Performance
Single channel approach (fixed capacity)
Information is process through a single channel
A variable approach (flexible)
Individual can choose where to focus their attention
Allocating to more than one task at a time
Multiple pools theory
Views attention like multiprocessors, with each processor having its own unique capabilities and resource-performer relationship
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Three Processes in Attentional Focus
Attentional selectivity
Refers to letting some information into the
information-processing system whereas other
information is screened or ignored
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Common errors:
Failure to focus all the attention on the
essential or relevant elements of the task
Being distracted from relevant information by
irrelevant information
Inability to divide attention among all the
relevant cues that need to be processed
concurrently
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Attentional capacity
Refers to the fact that attention is limited in the amount of information that can be processed at one time
Controlled processing
Mental processing that involves conscious attention and awareness of what you are doing when you perform a sport skill.
Example: when learning to serve a shuttlecock in badminton, athletes need to think how to grip the racquet, address the shuttlecock, and perform the backswing and downswing.
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Automatic processing
Mental processing without conscious attention
Example: a gymnasts become more proficient
at performing their routine on the floor, they
don’t need to attend to all the details of the
jumps, dance moves, and sequences, as these
should be virtually automatic after much
practice
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As performers become more proficient and
attentional capacity becomes more automatic,
attention is freed up to focus on different aspects of
the playing situation.
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Attentional alertness
Is related to the notion that increases in
emotional arousal narrow the attentional field
because of a systematic reduction in the range of
cues that a performer considers in executing a
skill
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Types of Attentional Focus
A broad attentional focus
Allows a person to perceive several occurrences
simultaneously
Aware of and sensitive to a rapidly changing
environment
Example: a soccer player dribbling the ball up
field
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A narrow attentional focus
Occurs when you respond to only one or two cues
Example: when a baseball batter prepares to swing at a pitch
An external attentional focus
Directs attention outward to an object
Example: To an opponent’s movements, such as in a doubles match in badminton
An internal attentional focus
Directed inward to thoughts and feelings
Example: a bowler readies his approach
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Recognizing Attentional Problems
Internal distracters
Attending to past events
Focusing on past events prevents them from focusing on the future
Attending to future events
Future oriented thinking and worry negatively affects concentration
Thinking about the outcome of the event rather than what they need to do now to be successful
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Choking under pressure The process that lead to impaired performance
Conditions leading to choking
• Important competition • Critical plays in a competition • Evaluation by coaches, peers, parents
Physical changes
• Increases muscle tension • Increased breathing rate • Racing heart rate
Attentional changes
• Internal focus • Narrow focus • Reduced flexibility
Performance impairment
• Timing and coordination breakdown • Muscle tightness • Rushing • Inability to attend to task-relevant cues
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Fatigue
Fatigue reduces the amount of processing
resources available to the athlete to meet the
demands of the situation.
Result in impaired decision making, lack of focus
and intensity, and other mental breakdown.
Inadequate motivation
If an individual is not motivated, it is difficult to
maintain concentration, as the mind is likely to
wander.
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External distracters
Visual distracters
These include: spectators, the scoreboard that has
score of other games, and the television camera
crews at courtside.
Auditory distracters
Common auditory distractors include: crowd
noise, announcements on the public address
system, mobile telephones, loud conversations
among spectators
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Improving Concentration
Use simulations in practice
Environment and psychological factors
represents potential distractions to the athletes
and may impair performance
Athletes’ can prepare themselves to cope with
these distractions and the environmental
conditions by systematically practicing in this
situation
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Use Cue Words
Cue words are used to trigger a particular
response and are really a form of self-talk
Cue words can be instructional (“stretch”, “watch
the ball”) or motivational (“move”, “relax”, “get
tough”)
Keep the cue words simple and let them
automatically trigger the desired response
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Use non-judgmental thinking
Instead of judging the worth of a performance
and categorizing it as good or bad, learn to look
at your actions nonjudgmentally
Does not mean to ignore errors or mistakes but
rather that you should see your performance as it
is, without adding judgment
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Establish routines
Routines can be used before or during an event
to focus attention, reduce anxiety, eliminate
distractions and enhance confidence
Routine should be built around the enduring
psychological skills that the performer is likely
to employ regardless of the situation
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Pre-performance routines structure the athlete’s
thought processes and emotional states, keeping the
focus of attention in the present and on task-related
cues
Develop competition plans
One way that competition plan can be developed is
to use a “what if” approach so that athletes can
prepare a plan for different scenarios that might be
likely or unlikely but yet possible
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Athletes design these detailed plans of action to
facilitate attentional focus on the process of
performance
Practice eye control
The key to eye control is to make sure your eyes do
not wander to irrelevant cues
Among ways in which athletes enhance eye control
are focusing on the floor, on the strings of the racket
and etc.
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Monitor yourself
Self-monitoring means observing yourself
systematically
Overlearn skills
Overlearning helps make the performance of a skill
automatic
This in turn frees up one’s attention to concentrate
on other aspects of the performance environment
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Exercises for Improving Concentration
Distraction Training
Practitioners can systematically alter practice
conditions to allow players the opportunity to
practice with a variety of distractions present
Distractions include:
Trash talking or taunting, physical
intimidation, provocative tactics
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External environment conditions (crowd noise,
sun, cold, heat)
Internal distraction (anxiety, regretting mistakes
made, over analysis)
Rehearsing Game Concentration
Using imagery or mental rehearsal
Example: sprinter might see themselves get a great
start off the blocks, hit their stride, and then stay
loose and relaxed in the last 20 yards of the race
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Strategies to Get Students To Pay Attention
Encourage attention and minimize distraction
Use cues and gestures for important material
Focus on active learning and be aware of individual
differences
Be interesting
Use media and technology to make learning enjoyable
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