Efeitos do foco de atenção na aprendizagem em uma tarefa do futsal

Abstract

Learning is a process of changes in which individuals evolve from rudimentary stages to stages more specialized, showing, over time, better conditions to perform motor skills. The attention is an important factor in this process. Specifically, attention can be directed to body movements or on the effects of our movements on the environment. Evidence shows that increasing the distance between the focus of attention and body movements (distal focus), can enhance the acquisition of motor skills. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different types of focus of attention in learning a penalty kick in children. Twenty-nine children with a mean age of 6,12±0,4 years participated in the study, which were randomly assigned into four groups (proximal external focus, distal external focus in target, distal external focus in goalkeeper and control). Participants performed a trial to pre-test, followed by 20 trials in the acquisition phase. On the following day, five trials were performed in the retention and transfer test, separately in each phase. The results showed high accuracy in kicking for the distal external focus in target on retention (p=0,003) and transfer (p=0,011) tests, compared to the proximal external focus of attention and control. The findings demonstrate that instructions inducing distal external focus of attention can increase learning of sports skills in children.