'Focus of attention and golf putting' (AsPredicted #116156)
Author(s) Gal Ziv (The Levinsky-Wingate Academic Center - Wingate Campus) - galziv@yahoo.com Israel Halperin (Tel-Aviv University) - ihalperin@tauex.tau.ac.il Miri Nevo (Tel Aviv University) - mirinevo8@gmail.com
Pre-registered on 12/12/2022 05:16 AM (PT)
1) Have any data been collected for this study already? No, no data have been collected for this study yet.
2) What's the main question being asked or hypothesis being tested in this study? In the first session, external focus of attention will lead to superior putting performance compared with internal focus of attention and the control condition. This improved performance will diminish over the next three sessions. We cannot hypothesize exactly at what session the differences will diminish and to what extent.
3) Describe the key dependent variable(s) specifying how they will be measured. Performance variables: Radial/absolute error – the distance of the location the ball lands from the golf hole – a measure of accuracy. Variable error – the variability of all putts around the average putt location – a measure of putting consistency.
Questionnaires: following instructions (0-10 scale), ranking of preferred attentional condition, ranking of perceived performance in each of the conditions, open-ended question: basis for rankings.
4) How many and which conditions will participants be assigned to? A within-subject design. The study will include four sessions with 24-48 hours in between. In each session the participants will perform 15 putts from each of the following attentional instructions: (1) external focus of attention instructions, (2) internal focus of attention instructions, (3) control – no attentional focus instructions. These conditions will be counterbalanced for the first session and the assigned order will be consistent for each participant throughout the study. Questionnaires after each session (except for the final open-ended question – only after 4th session).
5) Specify exactly which analyses you will conduct to examine the main question/hypothesis. We will use a 2-way ANOVA [Condition (internal/external/control) X Session (1-4)] with repeated measures on both factors to assess differences in radial error and variable error. Assuming the residues of the ANOVA model will not be normally distributed, we will use the equivalent to a one-way repeated measures ANOVA – the Friedman test, to assess differences between conditions and between sessions. For this purpose, we will treat our ordinal questionnaire answers as continuous. Bonferroni post-hoc analyses and 95% confidence intervals will be used for post-hoc testing when necessary. In cases where the p value is over .05 but under .10, and at the same time the effect size is moderate or above (Cohen's d ≥ .5 or ƞ2p ≥ .06), we will consider this finding as practically relevant and discuss it as such.
6) Describe exactly how outliers will be defined and handled, and your precise rule(s) for excluding observations. Individuals who played/practiced golf, ice-hockey, or field-hockey over three times in the previous three years will be excluded from the study.
7) How many observations will be collected or what will determine sample size? No need to justify decision, but be precise about exactly how the number will be determined. Sample size was calculated using a simulation-based power analysis. We based our simulation the radial error in previous studies. Specifically, we used an expected SD of 10 cm; effect size: Cohen's d = 0.6; correlation between measurements = .7. The analysis showed that 30 participants will provide 80% statistical power. Therefore, 30 participants between the ages of 18-35 years will participate in the study.
8) Anything else you would like to pre-register? (e.g., secondary analyses, variables collected for exploratory purposes, unusual analyses planned?) Nothing else to pre-register.
