The present study examined the effectiveness of distal versus proximal external
foci of attentions a function of performers’ preferences for a certain focus. dart
throwing task were used, and participants (N=20) were instructed to direct their
attention either to the target (distal focus) or the flight of the dart (proximal focus).
Participants were asked to select their preferred focus after one trial under each
focus condition without knowledge of results. Subsequently, all participants
performed two 24-trial blocks, one under each condition, with focus order
(preferred first vs non-preferred)counterbalanced.
Degree of significance was regarded as p<0.05. Dart throwing accuracy was
generally enhanced when participants adopted a distal focus, regardless of focus
order or preference. The present findings provide further evidence that the
“distance” effect in attentional focus is a general phenomenon that does not
depend on individual preferences.

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of attentional focus on accuracy,
effectiveness, and perception of the performance in volleyball jump serve of
professional players. 12 professional volleyball players completed a 4 blocks of 8
trail (4 for accuracy, and 4 for effectiveness) of jump serve in four experimental
conditions (Non-Instruction, Internal focus on hand movement, Near external
focus on ball, and Far external focus on target zone or player). The data of
accuracy, effectiveness, and self-perception of the performance was acquired by
pointed target areas, analyzing volleyball serve effectiveness method, and selfrated
manipulative check, respectively. Results of ANOVA with repeated
measures showed that accuracy scores, effectiveness, and self-perception of the
performance in far external condition was better than near external and internal
conditions. In addition, the significant differences between non-instructional and
far external conditions were observed only in self-perception of the performance.
On the whole, these results confirmed recent findings regarding the detrimental
effects of internal focus of attention and the facilitative effects of external focus of
attention on skilled performance, especially far external focus.