Research in Sports Management and Movement Behavior

The effect of attentional instructions during modeling on gaze behavior and accuracy of overarm throwing in 7 to 10 years’ old children

Articles in Press

Authors

Ayoub Asadi
Sori Heydari
Fatemeh Shirmehenji
Fatemeh Kochakpour
Abstract
​Many studies have shown the effectiveness of verbal instructions and observational training on the improvement of children’s motor skills; however, there is not enough information about the simultaneous effects of these two variables. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of attention instructions during observation of the model on gaze behavior and accuracy of overarm throwing in children. 24 children 7 to 10 years of age with normal growth selected purposefully and randomly divided into two internal and external attentions during modeling groups. Training in both groups included observation 10 times skilled model overarm throwing’s film with eye movement recording, with the difference that before it each group received its own instruction. The results of mix-ANOVA and paired and independent t-tests showed that both groups showed a significant increase from the pre-test to post-test in the accuracy (p=0.001; p=0.001) and duration of the quiet eye (p=0.005; p=0.001) of overarm throwing. In the post-test, the external attention during modeling group compared to the internal attention during modeling had significantly higher accuracy (p=0.01) and longer quiet eye duration (p=0.001). Also, the external attention during modeling had more percentage viewing time to relevant external cues (ball and trajectory). Therefore, directing visual attention to movement effect of observed pattern cause improvement in motor performance and visual-motor expertise in children.

Keywords

Observational learning
Focus of attention
Quiet eye
visual search
Overarm Throwing
children
1- Magill, R. A. Motor learning and control: Concepts and applications. New York: McGraw-Hill. 2001.
2- Bandura A, Walters RH. Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-hall; 1977.
3- Bandura A. Social foundations of thought and action. Englewood Cliffs, NJ. 1986.
4- Hodges NJ, Williams AM, Hayes SJ, Breslin G. What is modelled during observational learning? J Sport Sci. 2007 Mar 1;25(5):531-45.
5- Maslovat D, Hodges NJ, Krigolson OE, Handy TC. Observational practice benefits are limited to perceptual improvements in the acquisition of a novel coordination skill. Exp Brain Res. 2010 Jul 1;204(1):119-30.
6- Ste-Marie DM, Law B, Rymal AM, Jenny O, Hall C, McCullagh P. Observation interventions for motor skill learning and performance: an applied model for the use of observation. Int Rev Sport Exercise Psychol. 2012 Sep 1;5(2):145-76.
7- Wulf G, Lauterbach B, Toole T. The learning advantages of an external focus of attention in golf. Res Q Exercise sport. 1999 Jun 1;70(2):120-6.
8- Wulf G. Attentional focus and motor learning: a review of 15 years. Int Rev Sport Exercise Psychol. 2013 Sep 1;6(1):77-104.
9- Davids KW, Button C, Bennett SJ. Dynamics of skill acquisition: A constraints-led approach. Human Kinetics; 2008.
10- Newell KM. Coordination, control and skill. In Advances in Psychology 1985 Jan 1 (Vol. 27, pp. 295-317). North-Holland.
11- Al-Abood SA, Davids K, Bennett SJ. Specificity of task constraints and effects of visual demonstrations and verbal instructions in directing learners' search during skill acquisition. J Motor Behav. 2001 Sep 1;33(3):295-305.
12- Vickers JN. The quiet eye: origins, controversies, and future directions. Kinesiol Rev. 2016 Apr 20;5(2):119-28.
13- Vine SJ, Wilson MR. Quiet eye training: Effects on learning and performance under pressure. J Appl sport Psychol. 2010 Nov 2;22(4):361-76.
14- Wilson MR, Pearcy RC. Visuomotor control of straight and breaking golf putts. Percept Motor Skill. 2009 Oct;109(2):555-62.
15- Rienhoff R, Fischer L, Strauss B, Baker J, Schorer J. Focus of attention influences quiet-eye behavior: An exploratory investigation of different skill levels in female basketball players. Sport Exerc Perform Psychol. 2015 Feb;4(1):62.
16- Klostermann A, Kredel R, Hossner EJ. On the interaction of attentional focus and gaze: the quiet eye inhibits focus-related performance decrements. J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2014 Aug 1;36(4):392-400.
17- Querfurth S, Schücker L, de Lussanet MH, Zentgraf K. An internal focus leads to longer quiet eye durations in novice dart players. Front Psychol. 2016 May 2; 7:633.
18- Chiviacowsky S, Wulf G, de Medeiros FL, Kaefer A, Tani G. Learning benefits of self-controlled knowledge of results in 10-year-old children. Res Q Exercise Sport. 2008 Sep 1;79(3):405-10.
19- Javadian K, Abedanzadeh R, Aghamohammadi M. The Effect of Kinds of Observational Learning on Learning an Aiming in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. JOEC. 2017 Nov 10;17(2):47-56. (in Persian).
20- Cannella-Malone H, Sigafoos J, O'Reilly M, De La Cruz B, Edrisinha C, Lancioni GE. Comparing video prompting to video modeling for teaching daily living skills to six adults with developmental disabilities. Educ Train Dev Disabil. 2006 Dec 1:344-56.
21- Horn RR, Williams AM, Scott MA. Learning from demonstrations: the role of visual search during observational learning from video and point-light models. J Sport Sci. 2002 Jan 1;20(3):253-69.
22- Bellini S, Akullian J. A meta-analysis of video modeling and video self-modeling interventions for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Except child. 2007 Apr;73(3):264-87.
23- Bernstein, N.A. 1967. The Coordination and Regulation of Movements. Oxford: Pergamon Press. 1967.
24- Vereijken, B. and Whiting, H.T.A. In defence of discovery learning. Can J Sport Sci. 1990 Jun. 15, 99-106.
25- Davids, K., Button, C. and Bennett, S.J. Coordination and Control of Human Movement: An Ecological Interpretation. Champaign, IL.: Human Kinetics. 2002.
26- Vickers, J. N. Mind over muscle: The role of gaze control, spatial cognition, and the quiet eye in motor expertise. Cogn Process, 2011 June; 12(3), 219-222.
27- Miles CA, Wood G, Vine SJ, Vickers JN, Wilson MR. Quiet eye training facilitates visuomotor coordination in children with developmental coordination disorder. Res Dev Disabil. 2015 May 1; 40:31-41.
28- Vine SJ, Moore LJ, Wilson MR. Quiet eye training: The acquisition, refinement and resilient performance of targeting skills. Eur J Sport Sci. 2014 Jan 1;14(sup1): S235-42.
29- Moore LJ, Vine SJ, Cooke A, Ring C, Wilson MR. Quiet eye training expedites motor learning and aids performance under heightened anxiety: The roles of response programming and external attention. Psychophysiology. 2012 Jul;49(7):1005-15.
30- Schorer J, Jaitner T, Wollny R, Fath F, Baker J. Influence of varying focus of attention conditions on dart throwing performance in experts and novices. Exp Brain Res. 2012 Mar 1;217(2):287-97.
31- Ziv G, Lidor R. Focusing attention instructions, accuracy, and quiet eye in a self-paced task—an exploratory study. Int J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2015 Apr 3;13(2):104-20
Research in Sports Management and Movement Behavior

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 22 October 2020