Abstract
Both focus of attention (FoA) and quiet eye (QE) have varying influences on different expertise levels in motor control situations (Vickers, 2007; Wulf, 2007). This study investigated the association of both components and their possible interacting effect on throwing performance. Basketball experts, advanced players and novices (n = 9 per group) performed 40 free throws, subdivided in blocks of ten throws (baseline; external focus, internal focus, and no-focus conditions in counterbalanced order). Throwing accuracy and QE duration were measured. Both FoA, F(2,48) = 3.63, p = .03, f = .39, and QE, F(1,24) = 5.33 p = .03, f = .47 influenced performance and FoA influenced QE, F(2,42) = 5.91, p <.01, f = .53. Post-hoc analyses revealed worse performance and shorter QE duration for external FoA. Surprisingly, our findings contradict the assumed benefit of external FoA (Wulf, 2007). Performance decreased significantly under external FoA. Further, QE was influenced by FoA, but not in the hypothesized direction. Vickers (2007) assumed longer QE duration during external FoA, but our results show the opposite. The personal preference for focus of attention might influence the throwing performance (Weiss, Reber, & Owen, 2008). In our experiment, 89% of experts and 55% of advanced players preferred an internal focus of attention during basketball free throw shooting. This might be explained by common training instruction in German basketball.
