The Effects of Internal Focus of Attention and Interoceptive Abilities on Golf Putting Performance1

Abstract

An internal focus on movement interferes with automated movement execution, but physical sensations may not diminish performance. We hypothesized that interoception—a perception of the inner workings of the body—is associated with maintaining performance under internal focus. Eighteen competitive swimmers with high interoceptive ability and nine controls with no sports experience executed a golf putting task under pressure and no-pressure tests, while the direction of attentional focus was manipulated. We recorded electroencephalograms and electrocardiograms during the task in three attentional conditions (i.e., sensation-focus, movement-focus, and no-focus instruction). Interoceptive accuracy was evaluated by a heartbeat counting task and interoceptive sensibility was obtained using the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness questionnaire. Results showed that internal focus on movement led to lower performance compared to the no-focus instruction in both groups, whereas focusing on physical sensations did not change performance. Higher interoceptive sensibility predicted better performance when focusing on movement. These results suggest that higher interoceptive ability may prevent performance deterioration due to an internal focus toward movement.