Resumen de Effect of Internal vs. External Focus of Attention Instructions on Countermovement Jump Variables in NCAA Division I Student-Athletes

Alexandra L. Kershner, Andrew C. Fry, Dimitrije Cabarkapa

• The purpose of this study was compare the effect of internal and external focus of attention instructions on force-time characteristics of the countermovement jump (CMJ) in collegiate student-athletes. Forty-three resistance-trained men (+/- SD; age = 20 +/- 1.5 years) on an NCAA Division I baseball team volunteered to participate in this study. Each participant performed a total of 16 CMJs on a force platform while holding a wooden dowel on their shoulders to eliminate arm swing. Force and power parameters such as jump height (JH), peak velocity (PV), and mean concentric velocity (MCV) were calculated from force-time and position data. Paired-sample t-tests and Cohen's d effect sizes were used to examine differences between conditions. When subjects were instructed using an external focus, they demonstrated significantly (p < 0.05) greater JH, PV, and MCV compared with jumps performed with the internal focus (external JH = 48.0 +/- 5.6 cm, internal JH = 46.4 +/- 5.4 cm; external PV = 3.6 +/- 0.3 m[middle dot]s-1, internal PV = 3.5 +/- 0.3 m[middle dot]s-1; and external MCV = 2.31 +/- 0.22 m[middle dot]s-1, internal MCV = 2.25 +/- 0.23 m[middle dot]s-1). It is interesting to note that there was superior recall of the internal instructions during the manipulation checks that may suggest that the subjects consciously processed these instructions to a greater extent and reduced internal condition performance. These results indicate that instructions can alter the efficiency and performance of a skill. According to the literature and this study, if an optimum performance metric is desired, external focus of attention instructions should be used.