Findings from University of Texas San Antonio Yields New Findings on Sports Psychology (External Focus Benefits Depend On Action-effect Contingencies Formed During Motor Skill Training).

This article focuses on research from the University of Texas San Antonio examining how the benefits of an external focus of attention in motor skill training depend on learned action-effect contingencies, or associations between actions and their sensory outcomes. In a study involving an underhand ball-tossing task, participants who received full sensory feedback during practice showed improved accuracy and consistency with an external focus, while those with limited feedback did not. The findings suggest that external focus enhances motor consistency but may limit accuracy when transferring skills to new contexts, highlighting the importance of sensory information integrated during learning. This research offers theoretical and practical insights into optimizing attentional focus in sports psychology. [Extracted from the article]