Chapter 15
Jean Williams, Robert M. Nideffer, Vietta E. Wilson, and Marc-Simon Sagal
“When I’m focused, there is not one single thing, person, anything that can stand in the way of my doing something.”
Michael Phelps, winner of 18 Olympic gold medals
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1. Selective attention to appropriate cues
2. 100% attention to the task at hand
3. Staying totally in the here and now
4. Keeping appropriate focus over appropriate length of time
5. Quickly shifting attention based upon changing demands.
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• Attention to irrelevant cues
• Inappropriate divided attention
• Can’t remember name after introduction because also focusing on making a good impression
• Left the here and now
• Thinking of past or future outcome
• Become aware of gaps in experience
• Reading book chapter and later become “alert” and don’t know what read
• Performance level is suffering
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•
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•
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1. Athletes must engage in at least 4 different types of concentration.
2. Different sport situations = different attentional demands, so the athlete must shift to the appropriate type of concentration
3. Under optimal conditions, the average person can meet the concentration demands of a wide variety of performance situations.
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(cont.)
4. Individual differences exist in attentional abilities…individual athletes have different attentional strengths and weaknesses
• Attentional style becomes more predictive of behavior when arousal levels are higher
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(cont.)
5. The individual’s ability to perform effectively depends on 2 factors: the appropriateness of the dominant attentional style, and the level of confidence
6. Choking occurs as physiological arousal increases – causes attention to narrow and muscles begin to tighten
7. Alterations in physiological arousal affect concentration
8. Alterations in the focus of attention also affect physiological arousal
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• Width of Focus
- Broad
- Narrow
• Direction of Focus
- Internal
- External
Results in Four Dimensions of Attention
EXTERNAL
BROAD
Assess Perform
NARROW
Analyze Rehearse
INTERNAL
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BROAD
EXTERNAL
Quarterback dropping back to pass
Basketball player starting a fast break
Golfer assessing hole
Lawyer presenting to a jury
Hitter tracking the ball
Sighting as a marksman
Golfer addressing a ball
Reading a test question
Reading in noisy setting
Analyzing mental strengths
Coach formulating a game plan
Planning essay answer
Clinician forming a diagnosis
Monitor neck and shoulder tension
Deep breath to relax
Mentally rehearse a skill
Memorize a fact
INTERNAL
NARROW
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• The Attentional and Interpersonal Style (TAIS)
• Measures athlete’s relevant concentration skills and interpersonal characteristics
• Results provide the basis for a situation specific focus for an attention control training program
• Also benefits from interviews, behavior rating scales, observations, and other assessment tools
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• BET Broad External Attention: High scores = good environmental awareness and assessment
• OET Overloaded by External Information: High scores = errors because focus on irrelevant external stimuli
• BIT Broad Internal Attention: High scores = good analytical planning skills
• OIT Overloaded by Internal Information: High scores = errors due to distractions from irrelevant internal sources
• NAR Narrow-Focused Attention: High scores = can remain oriented on task and avoid distractions
• RED Reduced Attention: High scores = errors due to a failure to shift attention from external to internal or vice versa
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• The athlete becomes focused on the increasing pressure and physiological arousal gets too high
• A significant drop in performance
• Athletes “blow it” under high stress and cannot regain control without some outside assistance
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• Recognize and eliminate the physical feelings associated with excessive tension
• Reinterpret physical feelings as facilitative
• Use simulation and rehearsal to compensate for lack of experience and desensitize to unexpected
• When performing, train to focus on the process rather than outcome
• Incorporate detailed pre-performance routines
• Provide training to recover quickly from the unexpected
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1. Coaches and sport psychologists assisting athletes in identifying the different attentional styles and when to use them
• Narrow-external drills
• Broad-external drills
• Narrow-to-broad external drills
• Narrow-internal drills
• Broad-internal drills
• Narrow-to-broad internal drill
• Intention leads to attention
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(cont.)
• Do NOT assume athletes automatically know where to look and how to focus
• Tell athletes specifically what to focus on
• Create drills that help athletes find the focus that best suits them
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• Athletes need to be trained not to react to irrelevant external stimuli
• Systematically train before a competition to be situationally independent
1. Dress rehearsal
2. Simulated competition experiences
3. Mental rehearsal
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• Strategy 1: Dress Rehearsal
• Effective for sports such as gymnastics, diving, synchronized swimming, and figure skating
• Practice the complete competitive routine in the same uniform one would wear during competition
• Conduct frequently after athletes have mastered a new skill and are practicing for the whole routine
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(cont.)
• Strategy 2: Simulated Competition
Experiences
• Make practices as much like competition as possible
• Enables athletes to concentrate and dissociate from the disruptive stimuli
• Over train athletes in worst case scenarios
• Piping in distracting noise into the stadium
• Wet ball drills
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(cont.)
• Strategy 3: Mental Rehearsal
• Use mental rehearsal to create the high stress and external distractions in competition, then imagine effectively performing and concentrating under those conditions
• Stay relaxed and focused by tuning out distractions
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• Coaches or sport psychologists must help train the athlete’s mind to exert control - concentration inhibits distraction
• Strategies
1. Attentional cues and triggers
2. Centering
3. TIC-TOC
4. Turning failure into success
5. Use of Biofeedback
6. Increasing focusing and refocusing skills
7. Developing performing protocols
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• Strategy 1: Attentional Cues and Triggers
– Athletes use visual, verbal, and kinesthetic cues to focus their concentration and to refocus once it has been lost
– Center attention on the most appropriate focus within the task at hand
– Avoid distracting thoughts and feelings
– Cues focus on: positives (not negatives), the present (not past or future), and the process (not outcome)
– Must be individualized
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(cont.)
• Strategy 2: Centering
– Technique for controlling physiological arousal and for ignoring negative and task-irrelevant stimuli
– Reduces arousal and stops negative or task-irrelevant focus
– Understanding centering:
– Center of mass: Where the imaginary vertical and horizontal lines through your body intersect (behind your belly button)
– Centered: When your body weight is distributed about the center of mass in a way that feels comfortable
– Centering: Process used to adjust weight about your center of mass so you feel centered
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(cont.)
• Strategy 3: TIC-TOC
• Use the words TIC and TOC to trigger a response
• TIC = any self-statements or thoughts that are irrelevant to the immediate task
• TOC = switching to a task relevant focus
• Strategy entails becoming aware to TICs and immediately making them TOCs
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(cont.)
• Strategy 4: Turning Failure into
Success
• Mentally rehearse successful performance after a failure/error
• Dwelling on the failure is more harmful than making a performance error
• Use positive self-talk to refocus attention and address why mistake occurred
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(cont.)
• Strategy 5: Use of Brain Biofeedback
– Efficient use of the brain (less brain activity) occurs during elite performance
– Brain efficiency can be measured and trained using computerized EEG biofeedback
– Athlete uses his/her brain waves to control the attentional display on the computer
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(cont.)
• Strategy 6: Focusing/Refocusing Skills
– Teaches performers to gently hold attention on a predetermined task and, if attention wanders, to bring attention back
– Similar to meditative practices
– Mindfulness
– One pointing
– Grid exercise
– Video games
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(cont.)
• Strategy 7: Pre-performance and Performance Protocols
– Rituals
– Develop pre-set behavioral protocols for use during warm-ups, practice, and specific times during competition
– Cue body and mind
– PRACTICE!!!
– Will automatically trigger the needed arousal, thinking, and focused concentration
– If attention lapses, can use protocol to refocus
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