AASP Newsletter - January 2021

Andrew Friesen

Andrew Friesen, PhD, Pennsylvania State University - Berks

The AASP Teaching Sport & Exercise Psychology Special Interest Group (SIG) is committed to the improvement of the teaching and learning process in sport and exercise psychology. The 2021 issues of the AASP Newsletter will include regular features of activities, exercises, and group discussions facilitated by our teaching members. The purpose is to provide a platform that generates ideas that our members can use in their own courses to help make topics in sport and exercise psychology “sticky” for our students. This month’s issue features the use of dodgeball to teach the four types of focus. 

Objectives:

The objective of this exercise is to learn the four types of attentional focus: Broad-External, Broad-Internal, Narrow-External, Narrow-Internal (Nideffer, 1976). During various games of dodgeball, game rules are modified to heighten students’ sensitivity towards each of the four types of attentional focus. 

Supplies:

• Space large enough for a dodgeball court
• Dodgeballs (how many depends on class size)

Procedure:

1. Students are split into teams. It is helpful to also have some students referee.
2. Game 1 is a conventional game of dodgeball using conventional rules as a warm-up.
3. Game 2 is modified to emphasize a Broad-External focus. Students must constantly keep their eyes fixed on their opponents and their movements (i.e., they cannot look downward to acquire a ball—this must be done only using peripheral vision). Any student who breaks eye-contact towards the opponents is sent off regardless of gameplay.
4. Game 3 is modified to emphasize a Broad-Internal focus. Students are not allowed to carry balls. As soon as they pick up a ball, they must throw at an opponent. This forces them to analyze and plan their attack strategy before engaging in any action. Any student caught carrying balls without immediately throwing them is sent off regardless of gameplay.
5. Game 4 is modified to emphasize a Narrow-External focus. During conventional gameplay, the instructor will sporadically raise a hand with a random number of fingers displayed (i.e., simulating a coach’s play-call from the sidelines). Students must yell out the number as soon as they notice it. The last student to yell out the number is sent off regardless of gameplay.
6. Game 5 is modified to emphasize a Narrow-Internal focus. Students must play the game only on one foot (i.e., simulating an injury). The court size will likely need to be made smaller to accommodate this rule. As the game goes one, students typically become preoccupied with loss of movement from their hampered leg, or by the increased fatigue that gradually grows in their free leg. Any students that resort to using both legs are sent off regardless of gameplay. 

Debriefing:

Debriefings can occur after each game. The topics of the debriefs can include a) how heightened attention in one type of focus can hamper gameplay, b) how regular (optimal) gameplay includes a constant rotation through all types of focus, c) the role of self-talk in managing focus. 

Variations: 

Additional games can be played where types of focus are combined or rotated throughout the course of a game. This activity also pairs nicely with self-talk activities as students can practice self-talk to keep them focused on the new rules of each game. 

Reference:

Nideffer, R. (1976). The inner athlete. Crowell.

We would love to feature your favorite go-to teaching strategy in the AASP Newsletter. These activities could include classroom or field activities, classroom discussions, conversations stimulated by videos, virtual learning activities, and practical applications of teaching philosophies. If you would like to have your activity featured, please contact Pete Kadushin or Brit Calaluca, Co-Chairs of AASP’s Teaching Sport & Exercise Psychology SIG.