Concentration

(3rd C)

Arousal

Perfo

rman

ce

Low High

Low

HighOptimal point where best

performance will occur.

Cue Utilisation (Easterbrook)

Extreme levels of arousal can cause such acute levels of perceptual narrowing that a person is not able to concentrate or make decisions effectively, and can even effect the smooth control of physical movements. This is known as ‘blind panic’ or hypervigilance

Relevant Cues

Arousal

Perceptual

Field

Hypervigilance

Selective attention (optimal point)

irrelevant

Cues

Perceptual narrowingInformation overload

Conditions of both under arousal and over arousal severely effect performance and learning but a person at the optimal level will perform/learn effectively.

This is because…………When you are under aroused you cannot focus attention on relevant cues in the attention field. Therefore you are concentrating on things like the crowd, the opposition, the weather conditions etc. There are too many things to think about

When you are at the optimal level you can focus your concentration on important cues and stimuli in the field. For example this might be on the movement of a team mate or an opponent you are marking. You only focus on relevant cues.

When you are over aroused your attention narrows so much that you start missing important cues. For example you might lose your marker or not spot a team mate in a good position. This happens because you start to panic and get over aroused. This is called hypervigilance.

This theory is called ‘cue utilisation theory’

Attentional Styles

Neideffer suggests that the kind of attentional focus required for different activities varies.

Can be categorised in 2 sections:

Internal – Focusing on thoughts and feelings.

External – Focusing on the environment, e.g the positions of other players or the flight of the ball.

Broad – Focusing on the full range of what is happening, e.g the changing positions of players in a game

Narrow – Focusing only on a few aspects of what is happening e.g concentrating on only your own lane and the finish line in a 100m race.

External Focus

Internal Focus

Narrow Focus Broad Focus

Narrow – External: Watching the ball onto the bat in cricket

Broad – External:

Checking the positions of several other players

Narrow – Internal:

Controlling anxiety, mentally rehearsing

Broad – Internal:

Deciding on tactics

• People have a preferred attentional style. You can change from one style to another but personal preference and other factors such as anxiety can affect how quickly and to the extent to which we change.

• In general, closed skills require narrow focus and open skills a broad focus.

• The internal/external part of the diagram represents a dichotomy. These means that attention is either internal or external and cannot lie anywhere in between the 2

Using the four attentional styles match the style on the left below to the activity on the right

Broad internal

Broad External

Narrow Internal

Narrow External

Player takes a free shot

Player prepares for a free shot by closing his eyes and trying to relax

Coach plans the next time out

Player moves up the court looking to make a pass