Functional Variability Increases With a Distal External Focus

Abstract

Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). A recent meta-analysis on attentional focus (Chua, Jimenez-Diaz, Lewthwaite, Kim, & Wulf, 2021) showed that focusing on an intended movement effect that is farther away from the body (i.e., distal external focus) results in performance benefits relative to focusing on an effect in greater proximity to the body (i.e., proximal external focus) or the body itself (i.e., internal focus). The present study examined whether this distance effect was associated with differences in functional variability. Skilled volleyball players (n = 20) performed sixty overhand volleyball serves to a target. Using a within-participants design, an internal focus (“Focus on your hand”), proximal external focus (“Focus on contacting the middle of the ball”), and distal external focus (“Focus on hitting the bullseye) were compared. The distal focus condition resulted in significantly higher accuracy scores than did the proximal and internal focus conditions. To examine whether this was a result of increased functional variability, 3D kinematic data were collected by a 12-camera VICON motion capture system, and the uncontrolled manifold analysis (UCM) was used. Shoulder, elbow, and wrist joint angles served as elemental variables whereas the magnitude and angle of ball velocity was calculated as the performance variable. In line with our hypothesis, functional variability was greatest in the distal focus condition as shown by a significant increase in VUCM (performance-stabilizing variance) and significant decrease in VORT (performance-destabilizing variance) compared to the proximal and internal focus conditions. These findings suggest that a distal external focus on the task goal enhances movement outcomes by optimizing compensatory coordination of body parts.