以外增訊息的觀點探討注意力焦點在運動技能學習的效果

When learning a new motor skill, learners explore the perceptual-motor work space and search for the critical information to help improving performances. Directing the focus of attention of the learners to the relevant information will facilitate acquiring the skill. The perceptual-motor work space provides a framework for researchers to study the mechanism of motor skill acquisition. In the past 20 years, research on focus of attention has been extensively conducted in the field of motor learning. Findings from the research suggest that external focus of attention is more effective than internal focus of attention during skills acquisition. Furthermore, more distal focus is found to be more effective when external focus is used. However, there has been discrepancy in the actual content and use of instructional cues, especially in the distal and proximal comparisons. The aim of the study was to examine the effects of different instructional cues, which could be mapped onto the distal and proximal foci of attention, from the perceptual-motor work space framework on the learning of the roller ball task. Forty adult participants were randomly assigned to different instructional groups and were placed to either high or low skilled group after 3 days practice. Participants practiced for 5 more days and followed by one-week retention. The proximal group was instructed to focus on the relation between the outer shell and the inner ball movements and the distal group was instructed to focus on the instantaneous graphical display of the ball speed shown on the computer screen. The results showed that in the high skilled group, the changing rate of the ball speed was significantly higher for the proximal group indicating a better performance for the proximal group. For the low skilled group, the proximal group showed significantly longer search time than the distal group in the preparatory stage, but they also showed significantly decreasing trend over the practice and retention stages, an indication of continuing improvement. The distal group did not show any reduction of search time over the 3 stages. The findings support that the attentional focus on the coupling between the perception-action coupling is a key factor to successful search for movement strategies that enable task success. The effect is more pronounced in the high skilled group. The results of the study do not support the hypothesis that high skilled performers benefit from more distal focus of attention.