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Brazilian Journal of Motor Behavior
Research Article
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King, Power
2021
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The role of attainability and external focus of attention on standing long jump
performance
ADAM KING
1
| MAX POWER
1
1
Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, United States.
Correspondence to:!Adam King.
email: a.king@tcu.edu
https://doi.org/10.20338/bjmb.v15i3.232
HIGHLIGHTS
• An external focus of attention facilitates motor
performance and learning
• Jump performance was greatest with the
target placed beyond maximum distance
• Vertical and anterior-posterior impulses were
greatest for the beyond maximum distance
target
• Individualized targets can be used to increase
standing long jump performance
ABBREVIATIONS
ANOVA Analysis of variances
AP Anterior-posterior
FOA External focus attention
GRF
impulse
Impulse of the ground reaction
force
GRF
peak
Peak of the ground reaction
force
n
p
2
Partial eta squared
SLJ Standing long jump
T
max
Target placed at maximum
distance
T
max+10
Target placed at maximum
distance plus 10%
T
no
Without a visual target
T
perceived
Perceived maximum jump
Distance
PUBLICATION DATA
Received 22 02 2021
Accepted 30 04 2021
Published 01 09 2021
BACKGROUND: External focus of attention (FOA) promotes enhanced performance and learning in comparison
to internal FOA; however, several dimensions associated with external FOA appear to have varying influence on
motor skill performance.
AIM: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether an attainability aspect of external FOA elicits
enhanced standing long jump performance.
METHOD: Fifteen healthy males performed standing long jumps in the following conditions: without a visual
target (T
no
), target placed at maximum distance (T
max
), and a target placed 10% beyond maximum distance
(T
max+10
). Jump distances were measured, and kinetic data were recorded using a force platform.
RESULTS: One-way ANOVA showed significantly greater jump distances for T
max+10
compared to T
no
and T
max
(p
< 0.01). Additionally, the impulse of the ground reaction force (GRF
impulse
) in the anterior-posterior direction was
significantly greater for T
max
and T
max+10
compared to T
no
(p < 0.05).
CONCLUSION: Thus, an external FOA tailored to individual ability benefits standing long jump performance.
Overall, the findings support the approach of adopting an external FOA with an emphasis on targets that are
specific to the individual and based on attainability.
KEYWORDS: Attentional focus | Attainability | Kinetics | Motor performance
INTRODUCTION
When performing motor actions, individuals exhibit the ability to alter attentional
focus to a variety of movement details or environmental factors. In coaching, one approach
for enhancing skill acquisition and performance includes the use of varying focus of
attention (FOA) on either key aspects of the movement (joint angles and ground reaction
force) or consequences of the intended movement production. An abundance of evidence
has shown positive performance benefits when attention is directed toward movement
effects (i.e., external FOA), whereas conscious control of body movements through an
internal FOA results in reduced performance levels.
1,2
Additionally, external FOA promotes
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efficient movement pattern
3
as well as automaticity
4
in movement control; however, it
remains unclear whether there is an optimal distance of external FOA that maximizes
performance.
Supporting evidence for adoption of external FOA can be found in a wide range of
motor tasks. For example, while balancing on a stabilometer smaller balance errors and
faster reaction times were found with attention focused externally toward markers on the
platform as compared to internally.
4
Additionally, the presence, rather than the absence
(i.e., no overhead goal), of a suspended ball positioned directly overhead (external focus)
led to significantly higher vertical jump heights for both men and women.
5
Increased jump
distances were also found in a standing long jump (SLJ) task when focusing on an external
visual target rather than on rapid knee extension.
6,7
Collectively, an external FOA promotes
enhanced task outcomes for both balance and high-power jumping activities.
One dimension of external FOA that has received recent investigation relates to
the manipulation of near (proximal) versus far (distal) external foci and is known as the
distance effect.
2,8–10
McKay and Wulf
9
demonstrated the distance effect in a dart throwing
task whereby novice individuals obtained improved accuracy when focusing on a distal
target rather than a proximal focus of the flight of the dart. Similarly, Bell and Hardy
11
found
enhanced shot accuracy among skilled golfers when adopting a distal (intended shot
direction) versus proximal (clubface square at impact) external focus of attention. In a
standing long jump, Porter and colleagues
10
showed improved performance with a far
(toward a target) versus a near (next to the body) external FOA. This distal FOA benefit
has also been replicated in athletic populations
12
and with varying distal FOA,
13
and
appears to influence the performance of both novice and skilled individuals.
14
Collectively, previous evidence suggests that a greater distance of an external
FOA benefits motor performance; however, it remains unclear whether there is an optimal
distance effect for external FOA. Additionally, the role of attainability
15
has not been fully
incorporated into the manipulation of external foci. While certain motor tasks, like the
tennis serve and golf putt, provide a clear attainable distal FOA related to the task outcome,
other tasks possess bounded performance characteristics that limit the potential influence
of the distance effect. Specifically, the execution of a golf putt or tennis serve with a distal
focus can be accomplished through increased force production which is practically relevant
for achieving the task outcome (ball in the hole or landing in proper serving area). However,
for tasks like the standing long jump a far target FOA (i.e., 3 m) that is beyond the
capabilities of the individual may render limited performance enhancements. This potential
performance detriment of a far, distal FOA may be related to a lack of perceived
attainability, diminished motivation or self-efficacy of task completion.
Coker
15
explored the aspect of the distance effect by addressing the specificity of
a distal FOA and found enhanced SLJ performance for a near target (pre-determined
maximum jumping distance) as compared to far (3-meter target) and control (“do your best”
strategy) conditions. This finding suggests that individually tailored targets versus arbitrary
(i.e., 3 or 5 m) external distances may be beneficial to performance
13
and invites
exploration around identifying a potential optimal distance effect. In support of this notion,
McNevin et al.
1
proposed that proximal external foci may yield similar disruptions to
performance as internal FOA. Therefore, we sought to examine a fine-grain manipulation
of an external FOA by incorporating the component of attainability to determine whether
this distance effect influences standing long jump performance.
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An attainable target can be considered one in which the individual is physically
capable of achieving success. The improved performance found by Coker
15
when using an
attainable target may also be related to perception capabilities. Conditions that the
individual perceives as attainable appear to produce optimal movement patterns; however,
perceived attainability may differ from actual task attainability. Specifically, individuals tend
to underestimate the ability to successfully pass through various doorway widths.
16
Despite
actual pass-through ability of certain narrow doorways, most individuals deemed the
doorway widths as unattainable. Task constraints can influence the perception of action
boundaries (i.e., physical limitations). For example, individuals overestimated jumpable
gap width distances when wearing ankle weights; however, the additional mass failed to
alter the perception of unattainable (un-jumpable) gap widths.
17
This finding suggests that
individuals may perceive tasks to be more or less difficult depending on the relation
between environmental factors and their own action capabilities. While these previous
studies focused the role of attainable and unattainable conditions on perception of success,
the effects of attainability on physical performance have not been fully examined.
The current study investigated whether an individually tailored external FOA elicits
enhanced standing long jump performance compared to a control (i.e., no target) condition.
According to Coker
15
individualized jump distances within one’s motor ability may be more
beneficial to task performance than the use of a far (i.e., 3 meter) FOA.
18
However, the
manipulation of an external FOA within and slightly beyond one’s measured limits is
unclear. To better understand the effect of distance, the targets used in this study were
placed at previously measured maximum jump distance and at a distance 10% beyond the
maximum jump distance. We hypothesized that both target conditions would result in
greater jump distances compared to the control (i.e., no target) condition. Additionally, we
explored whether a kinetic property (e.g., ground reaction force) of standing long jump
performance was influenced by such manipulations. Similar to evidence found for the
vertical jump task,
19
we expected that both target conditions would result in increased force
production (peak and impulse) compared to the control condition.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Participants
Fifteen physically active males (age: 20.5 ± 0.92 years, height: 180 ± 4.88 cm,
weight: 79.5 ± 10.4 kg) were recruited to participate in the study. All participants exercised
at least three times a week for a total of 150 minutes over the past three months prior to
testing and lacked formal training in the SLJ. Participants reported no lower extremity
injuries within the past year and no lower extremity injuries requiring surgery for at least
three years prior. Research approval was granted by the Institutional Review Board and
written informed consent was obtained from each participant prior to testing.
Task
After obtaining consent, each participant performed a warm-up consisting of 10
squats, 10 jumping jacks, 20 lunges (10 per leg), and 10 squat jumps with minimal rest
between exercises. Then, the participant watched a one-minute video describing the basic
mechanics of the SLJ. Following the video, five practice jumps from the force plate were
allowed. Both the jumping and landing surfaces were firm and flat.
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Prior to the execution of the standing long jump task, the participant stood at the
start line marked on top of the force plate and used a laser pointer to identify perceived
maximum jump distance (T
perceived
). The first four trials of data collection were performed
without any special instructions or visual target in order to determine the maximum jump
distance (T
max
) of the participant with the furthest jump recorded. In random order, the
participant performed three trials for each of the following conditions: target located at
maximum jump distance (T
max
), target located at maximum distance plus 10% (T
max+10
),
and without a visual target (T
no
). Target distances (T
max
and T
max+10
) were marked with a
red laser pointing perpendicular to the line of sight of the participant. Participants were
instructed to jump as far as possible for each trial. A successful landing was defined as
sticking the initial landing location with both feet (landing without shuffling or shifting feet).
Jump distances were measured with a standard measuring tape and recorded from the
toes at takeoff to the heels at landing. Between each trial, the participant rested while
standing or slowly walking for two minutes. Kinetic data were collected using a force plate
(AMTI OR6-7) with peak (GRF
peak
) and integrated ground reaction force (GRF
impulse
) in
anterior-posterior (AP) and vertical directions computed for each jump.
Statistical Analysis
A paired t-test was used to determine whether individuals’ perceived jump
distances differed from their initial maximal jump performance. Separate one-way analysis
of variances (ANOVA) were performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(IBM Corp.) to analyze jump distances as well as ground reaction forces between
conditions. For post-hoc tests, Bonferroni adjustments were used when appropriate. Partial
eta squared n
p
2
was used to determine effect size with magnitudes classified as trivial (0–
0.009), small (0.01–0.059), medium (0.060–0.139), or large (0.140 and greater).
20
All
significance levels were set at p < 0.05.
RESULTS
No significant difference was found between T
perceived
and T
max
jump distances, p =
0.64, with participants displaying a tendency to overestimate actual jump distances
(T
perceived
: M = 221 cm, SD = 32.03 cm; T
max
: M = 218 cm, SD = 29.91 cm). We quantified
the difference between T
perceived
and T
max
separately for individuals that overestimated
(n=10) and underestimated (n=7) jump distance and found that overestimations (M = 21
cm, SD = 10.19 cm) tended to be smaller than underestimation (M = 33 cm, SD = 18.58
cm).
A significant main effect of condition was found for jump distances, F (2, 34) =
15.80, p < 0.001, n
p
2
= 0.48. Post hoc comparisons revealed that T
max+10
(M = 226.22 cm,
SD = 27.94 cm) jump distances were significantly greater than T
max
(M = 222.50 cm, SD =
27.18 cm) and T
no
(M = 219.22 cm, SD = 28.44), p < 0.01 (Figure 1). The jump distances
between T
max
and T
no
trended towards a significance difference, p = 0.06.
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Figure 1. Average Jump Distances. Jump distances in the T
no
, T
max
, and T
max+10
conditions. T
max+10
was
significantly farther than both the T
no
and T
max
conditions (p < 0.01).
Table 1 displays the kinetic data in the anterior-posterior (AP) and vertical
directions for the three jump conditions. The results of the repeated measures ANOVA
revealed a significant effect of condition for GRF
impulse
, F (2, 28) = 8.37, p < 0.01, n
p
2
= 0.37
in the AP direction. The AP GRF
impulse
for both T
max
(p < 0.05) and T
max+10
(p < 0.001) were
significantly larger than T
no
(see Table 1). The GRF
peak
in the AP direction trended towards
a significance effect of condition, F (2, 28) = 3.09, p = 0.06, n
p
2
= 0.18. In the vertical
direction, no significant differences were found for GRF
impulse
, F (2, 28) = 1.86, p = 0.18,
n
p
2
= 0.18 and GRF
peak
, F (2, 28) = 0.55, p = 0.58, n
p
2
= 0.04.
DISCUSSION
The purpose of this study was to examine whether an individually tailored external
FOA enhanced standing long jump (SLJ) performance. In an extension of previous
investigations demonstrating the benefits of external FOA on motor performance,
6,7, 15,18
we sought to determine if a fine-grain manipulation of an external target (i.e., distance
Table 1 – Mean and Standard Deviation for Ground Reaction Force data.
Anterior-Posterior
Vertical
Impulse (Ns)
Peak (N)
Impulse (Ns)
Peak (N)
T
no
224.58 ± 44.48
759.83 ± 177.78
1053.44 ± 197.69
1619.40 ± 243.72
T
max
228.31 ± 44.44
*
773.09 ± 174.34
1089.16 ± 202.60
1638.14 ± 250.13
T
max+10
231.02 ± 45.25
*
780.24 ± 190.15
1113.00 ± 198.68
1623.39 ± 272.68
T
no
– no target, T
max
–maximum jump distance target, T
max+10
– maximum distance plus 10% target.
*
- significantly different from T
no,
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effect) increased jump distances. Consistent with the attainability perspective proposed by
Coker,
15
we hypothesized that both external targets (T
max
and T
max+10
) would result in
greater jump distances than a control (T
no
) condition with T
max+10
resulting in the farthest
jump distances. The findings supported this predication showing that SLJ performance
scaled according to the three conditions (T
no
, T
max
, and T
max+10
).
The results of this study support the notion that an external FOA allows enhanced
performance outcomes as compared to a control condition.
4
The use of a visual target led
to increased jump distances as compared to no target. In all conditions, the instructions
emphasized jumping as far as possible; however, during the T
no
condition jump distances
were the least suggesting that this control state did not facilitate an optimal coordination
pattern for the SLJ movement. Similarly, Coker
15
found this phenomenon in that when
individuals were instructed to “do your best”, maximal performance levels were not
achieved. Therefore, intentionally directing attention externally appears to aid individuals in
achieving superior movement performances.
The external FOA used in this study was clearly discernible from an approach with
a proximal or internal focus; however, the physical distance between the T
max
and T
max+10
targets may not have been distinguishable by individuals when executing the standing long
jumps. According to McNevin et al.,
1
individuals clearly discriminate body movement cues
from distal distance effects; but, this may not be the case when adopting a proximal
distance focus. Currently, this perspective has not been fully explored to provide clear
practical guidance. Here, the small physical difference between the two targets may have
prompted the group of unskilled individuals to use the same information resulting in similar
movement solutions that produced similar results. According to the constrained action
hypothesis, external foci facilitate enhanced movement automaticity and efficiency;
2,3
however, whether our distant effect manipulation influences the self-organization
component requires further investigation. Nonetheless, the far target increased jump
distance independent of whether individuals perceived the physical distance difference and
future investigations should explore how this manipulation impacts movement control.
From the kinetic data, the findings showed that individuals generated greater force
(peak and impulse) for both target conditions which may be related to a more efficient
muscle fiber recruitment pattern used to achieve enhanced task performance outcome.
This results is consistent with previous evidence
15
showing that attainable targets
outperformed a fixed distance far condition (3 meters). Thus, an external FOA positioned
beyond a person’s capabilities may negatively influence state self-confidence. State self-
confidence describes a person’s perception of ability to complete a task at a particular
moment and directly affects behavioral responses.
21
Therefore, the enhanced jump
distances with the far target in this study may be related to a positive perception of ability,
and certain target distances may not enhance jumping performance. Future studies should
investigate whether an optimal distance relative to individual ability leads to maximized
performance in the SLJ task.
Typically, investigations of external FOA have used target distances that are either
partially or completely standardized across all participants;
15,18
however, it is important to
note that each jumper likely exhibits different motor abilities as well as perceptions of ability.
Consistent with this perspective, the results revealed a high degree of individual variability
(i.e., a wide range of over- and under-estimations) with a general overestimation of jump
ability across all individuals suggesting a disparity between perceived and actual
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attainability. Thus, using a common far target (i.e., 3 meters) may not appropriately
challenge individuals with different motor abilities. The tailored target distance based on
predetermined maximum jumps significantly improved jump performance, suggesting that
the target may have allowed for an improved organization of movements that led to the
observed performance enhancement.
4
Previous investigations have shown that a variety of biomechanical properties,
such as joint (knee, ankle, and hip) angles at takeoff, projection angle and center of gravity
velocity contribute to SLJ performance.
6,22,23
Furthermore, in addition to changes of
performance outcome the manipulation of focus of attention influences movements
properties (i.e., kinematics, kinetics, etc.). Our findings showed that select kinetic variables
scaled with respect to the different conditions. Specifically, AP and vertical GRF impulses
increased from the control to the T
max
to the T
max+10
conditions as did the peak AP GRF.
Using an external FOA, Wulf and Dufek
24
found similar evidence of greater impulses
during a vertical jump task that was followed by a demonstration of lower muscle activity
with improved performance outcomes (i.e., greater jump heights).
24
The current findings
are consistent with such findings showing that external FOA improves performance and
facilitates the production of effective and efficient movement patterns. Future examinations
of the lower extremity neuromuscular activity under the current manipulations would
provide additional insight related to changes in movement organization of the SLJ task.
CONCLUSION
In summary, the current study supports the perspective that an external FOA leads
to improved SLJ performance compared to a lack of attentional focus and that extending
such FOA slightly beyond one’s maximum performance offers additional task outcome
benefits. Furthermore, the results are consistent with existing evidence that individually
tailored target enhanced SLJ jump distances. Further investigation is needed to better
understand the extent of the target distance from the individual needed to maximize
improved performance.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Joel Petri and Curtis Hanson for their contributions
to data collections.
Citation: King A, Power M. (2021). The Role of Attainability and External Focus of Attention on Standing Long Jump
Performance. Brazilian Journal of Motor Behavior, 15(3): 207-215.
Editors: Dr Fabio Augusto Barbieri - São Paulo State University (UNESP), Bauru, SP, Brazil; Dr José Angelo Barela -
São Paulo State University (UNESP), Rio Claro, SP, Brazil; Dr Natalia Madalena Rinaldi - Federal University of
Espírito Santo (UFES), Vitória, ES, Brazil.
Copyright:© 2021 King and Power and BJMB. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-
profit sectors.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
DOI:!https://doi.org/10.20338/bjmb.v15i3.232