Jed A. Diekfuss

Influence of practice schedules and attention on skill development and retention

Focus of attention during dual-tasks and practice schedules are important components of motor skill performance and learning; often studied in isolation. The current study required participants to complete a simple key-pressing task under a blocked or random practice schedule. To manipulate attention, participants reported their finger position (i.e., skill-focused attention) or the pitch of an auditory tone (i.e., extraneous attention) while performing two variations of a dual-task key-pressing task. Analyses were conducted at baseline, 10 min and 24h after acquisition. The results revealed that participants in a blocked schedule, extraneous focus condition had significantly faster movement times during retention compared to a blocked schedule, skill focus condition. Furthermore, greatest improvements from baseline to immediate and delayed retention were evident for an extraneous attention compared to the skill-focused attention, regardless of practice schedule. A discussion of the unique benefits an extraneous focus of attention may have on the learning process during dual-task conditions is presented.

Attention, workload, and performance: A dual-task simulated shooting study

During skill execution, performers have been shown to attend to different aspects of movement, the external effects of ones action, or to other environmental information. A variety of psychological mechanisms have been proposed to account for the differential outcomes when adopting each attentional strategy. However, there is limited information about the extent to which different attentional foci change the workload demands of task performance. To examine this, the current study administered the NASA-Task Load Index following a simulated shooting dual-task. Participants performed the primary shooting task alone (control), and also with a secondary task that directed attention towards an aspect of skill execution (skill-focused) and an unrelated environmental stimulus (extraneous focus). Primary and secondary task performances were significantly greater in the extraneous focus compared to the skill-focused dual-task. Also, workload was significantly lower during the extraneous focus compared to the skill-focused dual-task condition. Further analyses revealed that workload significantly mediated the effects of skill level on performance during the skill-focused and extraneous focus dual-tasks and various subscales of workload (i.e. temporal demand) contributed unique amounts of variance to this relationship. A discussion of the relationship between attention, workload and its subcomponents, skill level, and performance is presented.

MOTOR IMAGERY, PHYSICAL PRACTICE, AND MEMORY: THE EFFECTS ON PERFORMANCE AND WORKLOAD.

The theoretical explanations used to explain changes in performance during motor imagery and physical practice conditions are inconsistent when memory retrieval is and is not required. This study measured performance time and workload during acquisition, a retention test requiring memory retrieval, and a retention test not requiring memory retrieval using a key-pressing task. The participants were assigned to physical practice with or without instructions to learn or motor imagery with or without instructions to learn. A diagram of the keys was presented during the practice trials and the first retention test, but was not presented during the second test. The results revealed no effect for the learning instructions or performance changes during the practice phases. However, during both retention tests participants in the physical practice conditions performed significantly faster than those in the motor imagery conditions. Also, higher levels of workload were reported for the motor imagery conditions when the retention test required memory retrieval compared to the other phases. A discussion of the implications of workload on performance is presented with respect to varying practice conditions.

Skill-based changes in motor performance from attentional focus manipulations: a kinematic analysis

Abstract In the present paper, expert and novice law enforcement officers performed a handgun shooting task under varied attention-demanding conditions; outcome (i.e. accuracy, consistency) and movement kinematics were measured (i.e. within and between-trial variability (BTV) of forearm and upper arm absolute angle). Using a dual-task paradigm, we directed participants’ attention towards either a skill-relevant aspect of movement execution or to a skill-irrelevant distractor and compared their data to a single-task control condition. The results showed that experts’ BTV in their upper arm increased during dual-tasks relative to control, but performance was similar across all three conditions. In contrast, novices’ performance was poorer during both dual-tasks relative to control, but limited changes in movement kinematics were observed. This data suggests that attention demanding situations trigger experts’ ability to adapt their movement pattern to maintain end-point control. The data for novices are less clear. Implications for future research are discussed. Practitioner Summary: Expert and novice law enforcement officials completed a shooting task under baseline and attention-demanding situations. Experts outperformed novices under all conditions, but exhibited increased variability in their upper arm position while shooting during attention-demanding compared to baseline conditions. Novices’ movement data remained variable throughout all conditions. The data suggest that experts are able to maintain shooting performance during an attention-demanding situation by adopting a functional movement strategy.

Focus of attention in trained distance runners

The superiority of using an external focus of attention for learning and performance benefits has been documented in distance running. However, there is limited research examining the actual attentional focus strategies adopted by distance runners. The purpose of this study was to describe the focus of attention used by distance runners in practice and competition and to better understand where these athletes seek information about improving performance. Sixteen distance runners (32.1 ± 10.0 yr) who run at least 20 mile/week (37.7 ± 10.8 mile/week) completed a questionnaire examining information related to attentional focus during training and competition and where athletes go for educational resources. Results indicate that distance runners do not solely adhere to external focus of attention, rather utilize multiple forms of attentional focus strategies that are not examined in laboratory research. Further, it seems that most training advice is received from coaches or training partners and not scientific literature.

The effects of low-intensity cycling on cognitive performance following sleep deprivation

This study examined the effect of 24h of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance and assessed the effect of acute exercise on cognitive performance following sleep deprivation. Young, active, healthy adults (n=24, 14 males) were randomized to control (age=24.7±3.7years, BMI=27.2±7.0) or exercise (age=25.3±3.3years, BMI=25.6±5.1) groups. Cognitive testing included a 5-min psychomotor vigilance task (PVT), three memory tasks with increasing cognitive load, and performance of the PVT a second time. On morning one, cognitive testing followed a typical nights sleep. Following 24-h of sustained wakefulness, cognitive testing was conducted again prior to and after the acute intervention. Participants in the exercise condition performed low-intensity cycling (∼40%HRR) for 15-min and those in the control condition sat quietly on the bike for 15-min. t-Tests revealed sleep deprivation negatively affected performance on the PVT, but did not affect memory performance. Following the acute intervention, there were no cognitive performance differences between the exercise and rested conditions. We provide support for previous literature suggesting that during simple tasks, sleep deprivation has negative effects on cognitive performance. Importantly, in contrast to previous literature which has shown multiple bouts of exercise adding to cognitive detriment when combined with sleep deprivation, our results did not reveal any further detriments to cognitive performance from a single-bout of exercise following sleep deprivation.