The effect of attentional focus strategies on children performance and their EMG activities in maximum a force production task

Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of adopting external focus of attention compared to internal focus of attention in children's motor performance and learning. The purpose of present study was to determine whether the external focus of attention had any effect on efficiency (reduction...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ramin Ashraf, Mohammad Taghi Aghdasi, Mansor Sayyah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Turkish Journal of Kinesiology 2017-06-01
Series:Turkish Journal of Kinesiology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/turkjkin/issue/29954/326580?publisher=turkjkin
_version_ 1797257344677052416
author Ramin Ashraf
Mohammad Taghi Aghdasi
Mansor Sayyah
author_facet Ramin Ashraf
Mohammad Taghi Aghdasi
Mansor Sayyah
author_sort Ramin Ashraf
collection DOAJ
description Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of adopting external focus of attention compared to internal focus of attention in children's motor performance and learning. The purpose of present study was to determine whether the external focus of attention had any effect on efficiency (reduction of EMG activity) of children's motor performance. The participants (twenty 8-10-year-old children) first performed vertical jump task in the control condition, then performed under two conditions in a counterbalanced order: external attentional focus and internal attentional focus. In the control condition, the participants performed vertical jump without giving attentional focus instruction. In the external focus condition, the participant's attention was directed to the rungs of a measurement device, namely, Vertec and in the internal focus condition, their attention was directed to their fingers with which they were to touch the rungs. The participants performed 8 vertical jumps in every three conditions and the heights of their jumps were measured. In addition, EMG activity of various muscles (anterior tibialis, biceps femoris, vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, and gastrocnemius) was measured when participants jumped, using electromyography. Results showed that the external focus of attention led to significantly better performance (higher vertical jump) compared to internal focus and control conditions. Also, in the external focus condition, EMG activity was significantly reduced compared to internal the focus and control condition. This present study suggests that adopting external attentional focus will improve effectiveness and efficiency of children's movement in tasks which require maximum force production.
first_indexed 2024-04-24T22:36:09Z
format Article
id doaj.art-c1bd929116ae4929a5a7b34d421351f3
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2459-0134
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-24T22:36:09Z
publishDate 2017-06-01
publisher Turkish Journal of Kinesiology
record_format Article
series Turkish Journal of Kinesiology
spelling doaj.art-c1bd929116ae4929a5a7b34d421351f32024-03-19T11:19:39ZengTurkish Journal of KinesiologyTurkish Journal of Kinesiology2459-01342017-06-01322630649The effect of attentional focus strategies on children performance and their EMG activities in maximum a force production taskRamin AshrafMohammad Taghi AghdasiMansor SayyahResearch has demonstrated the effectiveness of adopting external focus of attention compared to internal focus of attention in children's motor performance and learning. The purpose of present study was to determine whether the external focus of attention had any effect on efficiency (reduction of EMG activity) of children's motor performance. The participants (twenty 8-10-year-old children) first performed vertical jump task in the control condition, then performed under two conditions in a counterbalanced order: external attentional focus and internal attentional focus. In the control condition, the participants performed vertical jump without giving attentional focus instruction. In the external focus condition, the participant's attention was directed to the rungs of a measurement device, namely, Vertec and in the internal focus condition, their attention was directed to their fingers with which they were to touch the rungs. The participants performed 8 vertical jumps in every three conditions and the heights of their jumps were measured. In addition, EMG activity of various muscles (anterior tibialis, biceps femoris, vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, and gastrocnemius) was measured when participants jumped, using electromyography. Results showed that the external focus of attention led to significantly better performance (higher vertical jump) compared to internal focus and control conditions. Also, in the external focus condition, EMG activity was significantly reduced compared to internal the focus and control condition. This present study suggests that adopting external attentional focus will improve effectiveness and efficiency of children's movement in tasks which require maximum force production.https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/turkjkin/issue/29954/326580?publisher=turkjkinchildrenemgexternal focusinternal focusvertical jump
spellingShingle Ramin Ashraf
Mohammad Taghi Aghdasi
Mansor Sayyah
The effect of attentional focus strategies on children performance and their EMG activities in maximum a force production task
Turkish Journal of Kinesiology
children
emg
external focus
internal focus
vertical jump
title The effect of attentional focus strategies on children performance and their EMG activities in maximum a force production task
title_full The effect of attentional focus strategies on children performance and their EMG activities in maximum a force production task
title_fullStr The effect of attentional focus strategies on children performance and their EMG activities in maximum a force production task
title_full_unstemmed The effect of attentional focus strategies on children performance and their EMG activities in maximum a force production task
title_short The effect of attentional focus strategies on children performance and their EMG activities in maximum a force production task
title_sort effect of attentional focus strategies on children performance and their emg activities in maximum a force production task
topic children
emg
external focus
internal focus
vertical jump
url https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/turkjkin/issue/29954/326580?publisher=turkjkin
work_keys_str_mv AT raminashraf theeffectofattentionalfocusstrategiesonchildrenperformanceandtheiremgactivitiesinmaximumaforceproductiontask
AT mohammadtaghiaghdasi theeffectofattentionalfocusstrategiesonchildrenperformanceandtheiremgactivitiesinmaximumaforceproductiontask
AT mansorsayyah theeffectofattentionalfocusstrategiesonchildrenperformanceandtheiremgactivitiesinmaximumaforceproductiontask
AT raminashraf effectofattentionalfocusstrategiesonchildrenperformanceandtheiremgactivitiesinmaximumaforceproductiontask
AT mohammadtaghiaghdasi effectofattentionalfocusstrategiesonchildrenperformanceandtheiremgactivitiesinmaximumaforceproductiontask
AT mansorsayyah effectofattentionalfocusstrategiesonchildrenperformanceandtheiremgactivitiesinmaximumaforceproductiontask