What determines success or failure? Nothing is more basic to performance, or more critical to success, than the ability to concentrate & focus.

Test of Attentional & Interpersonal Styles (TAIS) 144 self report questionnaire that measures the concentration skills, inter & intra-personal characteristics that the theory suggests are critical determinants of performance in athletes.

ATTENTION Occurs naturally – like breathing. Responding to a question in class – –Shifting from an external focus (good looking girl / boy sitting in front of you) to an internal focus (what is the answer :o) Read a book – narrow our focus and engross ourselves in the content Golfer can use a broad external focus of concentration to assess course conditions, then shift to a broad internal focus to analyze club selection, then shift to narrow internal focus to mentally rehearse the shot – then shift to narrow external focus to address the ball and complete the swing.

To be successful, people need to be able to shift your focus of concentration along two intersecting dimensions. When we can make those shifts in response to the changing demands of performance situations, we can "do it all." Figure 1 shows the four basic concentration styles people need to be able to shift between.

Having a dominate or preferred style does not mean you can't shift your focus. Under conditions of optimal emotional arousal, most people perform effectively, and have no problems shifting between the four different styles of concentration when required to do so.

External Internal BroadNarrow Awareness to surroundings. Golf – Know the course / weather conditions. Football – Read the defense. Read & React! Analyze and to creatively problem solve. Coaches should be high here! Golf – What club to choose, what type of ball flight Football – What plays will work during a game? Problem Solving – work through problems. Golf - Visually rehearse shot (shot routine) /check & control your breathing Football – Visualize entire game before you play it. Action! Execute the skills Golf – execute the actual swing Football – execute the pass with proper fundamentals.

What is Focus? Your mind has 4 “channels” –Awareness –Analysis –Problem-solving –Action Your focus is broken down into scope - BROAD or NARROW & direction – EXTERNAL or INTERNAL.

Shifting our focus Broad External Focus –Reading defense –Alignment –Down & Distance –Feeling the game Broad Internal Focus Big picture Game plan Problem Solving Narrow External Execute! Proper fundamentals Narrow Internal Mentally rehearsal – vividly seeing the game in your head. Knowledge of things you need to work on.

Figure 2 shows the different types of concentration errors people make.

Interpreting the TAIS Focus here is to determine your “attentional style”. Individuals who have a dominant attentional style will operate more easily and comfortably in performance situations that play to your strengths, then they would in situations that do not.

If BET is higher than OET – you are good at reading the environment & you won’t get distracted. If OET is higher than BET you will get easily distracted by external stimuli BET – Measure of athletes “street sense”. Ability to react quickly and instinctively to environment. OET – Measures athletes tendency to become distracted by environment.

If BIT (internal attention) is higher than OIT – you can “get ready”. You have a strong internal focus/good mental preparation. If OIT (internal distractibility) is higher than BIT – you will not be able to focus on the task at hand b/c you are thinking about too many things in your environment. You are easily distracted. Most successful coaches are big picture people. Must engage in a lot of planning and strategic thinking. If they narrow their focus too much, they will become lost in details and lose sight of the “big picture”. BIT – Measures athletes ability to plan, to think strategically, anticipate consequences. OIT – Measures athletics tendency to become distracted by thought or feelings.

If NAR is higher than RED – you are better able to “focus” on the task at hand. You are better able to get into the zone. Not impossible for broad focused athletes to become champions, the odds are against them. Challenge would be to find ways to maintain motivation. NAR – Measure of athlete’s tolerance for engaging in repetitive behavior and for attending to details. RED – Measure of athlete’s tendency to become too focused internally, or externally. Measures performance mistakes because athlete fails to make needs shifts in focus. Narrow Focus – World class athletes tend to be dominated by a narrow focus

Measure of the athlete’s flexibility and or willingness to think outside the box and bend the rules at times. High scores here indicate that you are somewhat impulsive. You engage in behaviors that could be considered antisocial, though not necessarily harmful. Measures athlete’s need for change as well as an indication of their ability to cope with shifting priorities and a lack of structure. If INFD is higher than BCON – you think before you react.

Measure athlete’s willingness to take the initiative, to be a leader. High scores you want to be in control. Potential good leaders.

Changes on a daily basis. Feel good about yourself. SES & DEP are cornerstones of eating disorders and negative body image (very low scores).

Indicates your level of “wanting to win”.

Measure’s athletes extent to obsess and or overanalyze situations. You worry about making the right decision – Paralysis by analysis Very impulsive – you make fast decisions.

EXT - Measure of need to socialize or being actively involved with others. You are warm, outgoing, need to be with other people; usually the life of the party! INT – Measure of enjoyment of working alone, need for space and privacy. You like to be alone, enjoy quiet thoughtful times, avoids too much attention.

` Good at expressing thoughts and emotions to other people. You express anger and negative feelings toward others. You express your feelings of affection to others in both physical and verbal ways

How assertive one is in interacting with others. Consistent high scores indicates you are assertive.

Yerkson-Dodsen Law Arousal Performance Performance is best when arousal is moderate When emotional arousal drops too low or goes to high, however, individuals fail to make adjustments in their focus of concentration, becoming dominated by their preferred style, and performance errors occur.