ATTENTION, CONCENTRATION, AROUSAL

LESSON 6: ATTENTION, CONCENTRATION,AROUSAL

ATTENTION

Cox (2002) defined attention as a process of which an individual uses his/her senses to perceive the external world.

Nideffer (cited in Wuest and Bucher, 1999) defined attention as the ability to direct senses and thought processes to particular objects, thoughts, and feelings.

INFORMATION PROCESSING

MEMORY SYSTEM

A person must have a memory place called memory storage to save important information. This stored information then must be able to reactivate or be retrieving, it is known as retrieval. This concept allows the person to use the information to make decisions about forthcoming responses

Attentional Styles

Gill (2000) defines attentional styles as a personality variable in its ability to use effectively in varying styles. The commonly-used attentional styles involve selective attention, attentional capacity, attentional alertness, attentional narrowing, and attentional flexibility.

Selective Attention

This concept is the most important cognitive functioning of the successful athlete. Several models have been proposed to explain the phenomenon of selective attention. These models suggest mechanisms that allow athletes to selectively attend to one item at the expense of several others, while at the same time allowing for a shift in attention from one important cue to an even more important cue.

Attentional Capacity

Gill (2000) defined the concept as the limits in the amount of information that one can process at one time. In tryouts, an athlete could not look at two things or think two different thoughts at exactly the same time. An example, a runner in the track and held, hearing for both the starter's gun and a coach's command could induce structural interference.

Attentional Alertness

Gill (2000) refers to the concept as an in' formation-processing research on arousal and attention. Further information of the nature and functions of attentional alertness are presented in the ensuing topic in arousal.

Attentional Narrowing

Cox (2002) defined the concept as an athlete's ability to attend to appropriate stimuli during competition. The notion of attentional narrowing is best explained in terms of attentional focus and cue utilization. The concept of attentional focus includes the ability of an athlete to narrow and broaden the attention when necessary.

Attentional Flexibility

Cox (2002) defines the concept as the ability of athletes to swiftly and effectively shift their attention from one location to another. Furthermore, attentional flexibility is the ability of individuals to shift from a very narrow attentional focus to a very broad focus. Turatto, Benso, and Umilta (as cited in Cox, 2002) made a study on the relationship between attentional flexibility and level of skiing ability.

CONCENTRATION

It is the ability to focus one’s attention on the task at hand and thereby not be disturbed or affected by irrelevant external and internal stimuli. In essence and principle, concentration is already discussed in attention. Because the concepts concentration and attention are used interchangeably. Both of these words are key elements for athletes' peak performance. Concentration is essential for performing one's best. It is the ability to focus one's attention on the task at hand and thereby not be disturbed or affected by irrelevant external and internal stimuli (Schmid, Peper and Wilson, 2001). Along the line, Nideffer (2000) defined concentration as constantly shifting along two dimensions.

Athlete who use a broad internal focus of concentration tend to solve problems, make strategic decisions, develop training goals and training programs, and anticipate the moves of the competition. Nideffer (200) explains that this type of concentration requires the athlete to mentally cross time zones, which means taking immediate information and use that to recall information from the past which is then useful for predicting the future. For example, a coach has reacted to external conditions and then thinks about similar situations and about the management choices he or she has made in the past. He/she then uses that information to predict the best course of action and make a decision.

Athletes who use a narrow-internal focus of concentration tend to organize information and can mentally rehearse or practice. For example, a swimmer is mentally practicing his or her next dive in a very systematic and structured way. By and large, a critical move needs to be made in athletics, players are typically required to develop a very narrow. Narrow External focus. A tennis player focus becomes increasingly narrow as the ball approaches, and then immediately broadens once he or she executes the shot. To be effective, athletes must be able to shift their focus of concentration in response to the changing demands of the performance situation.

AROUSAL

Is a state of alert or readiness of an individual to perform a task motivating them to behave in a particular way. Post (2004) defines arousal as a continuum that includes both physiological and psychological activation, ranging from drowsiness/ deep to a psyched-up, hyperactive active state. Physiologically, the structures for controlling arousal are located in the cerebral cortex, more particularly reticular formation, hypothalamus, and limbic system. They interact with the adrenal medulla, somatic, and autonomic systems to locate overall arousal. For example, if Mikee Cojuangco Jaworski, an equestrienne, stays in the dressing room minutes before an important competition. She is worried about the upcoming game because she doubts her ability to play well in the biggest game of the season. These thoughts lead to anxiety about performance. Her worrying may not be realistic, but to her body that does not matter.

SUMMARY

Attention is the ability to focus on important information while ignoring distractions. Athletes need strong attention skills to perform well in their sport. There are different types of attention, such as selective attention, which helps athletes focus on important details, and attentional flexibility, which allows them to shift their focus when needed. Having good attention skills helps athletes process information quickly and make the right decisions during the game or the competition. Concentration is closely related to attention and is important for peak performance. It helps athletes stay focused on their tasks without being affected by distractions. And this are different styles of concentration, such as broad focus, which allows athletes to see everything happening around them, and narrow focus, which helps them concentrate on specific details. Athletes need to learn how to shift their focus depending on the situation to perform their best. Arousal is the level of alertness or readiness an athlete has before performing. It can affect their performance positively or negatively. If an athlete is too relaxed, they may not perform well, but if they are too nervous, it can cause mistakes. Finding the right balance of arousal is important for success. attention, concentration, and arousal all play a big role in sports and help athletes improve their performance.

REFLECTION

Attention, concentration, and arousal are very important in sports and daily life. Attention helps athletes focus on the right things while ignoring distractions. Because the attention is connected to memory and information processing, which allows players to make quick decisions. Concentration is also important because it allows athletes to stay focused on their tasks. such as broad and narrow focus. A runner may concentrate only on the starting signal, while a coach may think about strategies for the whole game. The good concentration can make a big difference in performance. It is important not to let negative thoughts or outside noise distract us from our goals. Arousal is another key factor in sports performance. It refers to the level of alertness or excitement an athlete feels before or during a game. Too much arousal can cause anxiety, while too little can make someone feel sleepy or unmotivated. finding the right balance is important for doing well in sports. This lesson helped me understand how my mind and body work together, and I will try to improve my focus and control my emotions better in the future.

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