concentration and attention

Question 1

what is concentration?

Answer 1

the ability to focus on task at hand and ignoring irrelevant cues or distractions.

Question 2

what are the 3 types of concentration?

Answer 2

• selective
• shiftable
• divisible

Question 3

what did Robert Nideffer determine about sports and concentration?

Answer 3

determined that different sports have different attentional requirements and viewed attentional focus along two dimensions;

• direction
• width

Question 4

what are the two dimensions of Nideffer’s model?

Answer 4

Direction
- Focus on whether cues are internal or external to the performer

Width
- Focus on whether cues are broad - many cues available at once – or narrow where there are limited relevant cues to attend

Question 5

what is broad external attention?

Answer 5

• Attention paid to a large number of cues in the external environment.
• Required for open skilled team sports.

Question 6

what is narrow external attention?

Answer 6

• Focused targeting which is the ability to block out distractions and focus on specific cues.
• Required for target sports

Question 7

what is broad internal attention?

Answer 7

• Attention paid to internal thoughts and images.

- Analysis, problem-solving, visualizing, determining strategies

Question 8

what is narrow internal attention?

Answer 8

• Focus on a specific image, thought, or coaching point with few other cues.
• A golfer might focus on getting his putt past the hole

Question 9

what focus do a batsman and a bowler use in cricket?

Answer 9

batsman

• starts with a broad external focus as he prepares to face the bowler
• see where the fielders are positioned, how far away they are from the bat

bowler

• as starts his run-up, he switches to a narrow external focus to concentrate on the batsman
• then narrows his focus even further to concentrate on only one cue – the ball.

= process of refocusing is referred to as shifting attentional focus

Question 10

what focus is used by a shooter and a pass during a netball game?

Answer 10

pass
- uses broad – external attention as she needs to focus on the ball and the movement of the other players on the court.

shooter

• her focus changes to a narrow – external as she concentrates only on shooting the ball at the target.
• Narrow – internal attention is used to visualize the ball going into the goal.

Question 11

how do you improve concentration?

Answer 11

• practice with distraction present
• use key words to focus on present demands
• establish consistent performance routines
• stimulate gmae specific situations during training
• break the contest into smaller blocks of time