SynthesisPeerJ2025
The farther, the better? The effect of attentional focus distance on motor performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PeerJ, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effects of internal and external attentional focus on dart-throwing performance: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Sport performance in virtual worlds: a systematic review of sport simulation in neurological paralympic athletes and non-athlete populations.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Motor skill performance is influenced by attentional focus, and recent studies suggest that external focus, particularly a more distal external focus, may enhance performance more than an internal or a proximal external focus. However, the optimal distance for external focus and the influence of expertise level remain unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effect of attentional focus distance on motor performance across various tasks and expertise levels. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis followed established guidelines (PRISMA) and was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42024595116). Comprehensive literature searches were performed in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases. Data extraction followed the PICOS framework, and analyses were conducted using Stata and Review Manager. Results: A total of 20 randomized controlled trials with 497 participants were included. The results indicated that a distal external focus significantly improved motor performance compared to both external proximal focus (standardized mean difference, S = 0.3, 95% CI [0.07-0.53], Conclusions: A distal external focus improves motor performance in experienced although its effectiveness in novices requires further study. Future research should explore the mechanisms underlying these effects and skill-specific guidelines for optimal attentional focus distance.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.