TY - JOUR
T1 - Attentional focus in endurance activity
T2 - new paradigms and future directions
AU - Brick, Noel
AU - MacIntyre, Tadhg
AU - Campbell, Mark
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014, © 2014 Taylor & Francis.
PY - 2014/1/1
Y1 - 2014/1/1
N2 - After more than 35 years of investigation, research on attentional focus in endurance activity is still mired by a lack of consensus. Specific challenges relate to the conceptualisation of association and dissociation, and discrepancies in methodology, research design, and data collection techniques. This review addresses previously unresolved issues that may limit research findings in this field. Initial concerns include how the endpoint of exercise tasks is defined, how pace is controlled, and the subjects employed within research investigations. An additional objective is to provide direction for future investigations. Traditional views of attentional focus may be limited in their explanatory value. We present a new working model of attentional focus in endurance activity that may more precisely categorise cognitive processes. Finally, research on this topic needs to be grounded in a recognised framework that captures the dynamic nature of human cognition. We propose that existing perspectives are recognised, such as the parallel processing model of pain and the mindfulness approach, and in addition we propose a metacognitive perspective be explored. Means of integrating these conceptual frameworks are suggested to further enhance the understanding of attentional processes in endurance activity.
AB - After more than 35 years of investigation, research on attentional focus in endurance activity is still mired by a lack of consensus. Specific challenges relate to the conceptualisation of association and dissociation, and discrepancies in methodology, research design, and data collection techniques. This review addresses previously unresolved issues that may limit research findings in this field. Initial concerns include how the endpoint of exercise tasks is defined, how pace is controlled, and the subjects employed within research investigations. An additional objective is to provide direction for future investigations. Traditional views of attentional focus may be limited in their explanatory value. We present a new working model of attentional focus in endurance activity that may more precisely categorise cognitive processes. Finally, research on this topic needs to be grounded in a recognised framework that captures the dynamic nature of human cognition. We propose that existing perspectives are recognised, such as the parallel processing model of pain and the mindfulness approach, and in addition we propose a metacognitive perspective be explored. Means of integrating these conceptual frameworks are suggested to further enhance the understanding of attentional processes in endurance activity.
KW - association
KW - attentional focus
KW - cognitive strategy
KW - endurance exercise
KW - metacognition
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84924026884&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/1750984X.2014.885554
DO - 10.1080/1750984X.2014.885554
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84924026884
SN - 1750-984X
VL - 7
SP - 106
EP - 134
JO - International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology
JF - International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology
IS - 1
ER -