Effects of Attentional Focus on Performance and Perceived Exertion during 400-meter races in University Students

Attentional focus (internal/external) affects motor performance; its effect on performance (time) and perceived exertion (RPE) during 400m races was studied in non-expert university students, an area with limited research. The objective was to investigate the effects of internal vs. external focus on time and RPE in this task, considering gender differences. Using a counterbalanced repeated-measures design, 89 sports science students (37 women, 52 men) performed two 400m runs under internal focus (technical instructions) and external focus (outcome/competition instructions). Time and RPE (Borg CR10) were measured. Paired t-tests and mixed ANOVAs (2 Focus x 2 Gender) were used for analysis. Results showed no significant difference in time between focus conditions (p=0.054), although there was a pro-external tendency. RPE was significantly higher with external focus (p<.001). Men were faster (p<.001) with no significant gender differences in RPE (p=.572). Significant Focus x Gender interactions were found for time (p=.007) and RPE (p=.005). Simple effects analysis revealed that external focus significantly improved time in men (p<.001) but not in women (p=.548), while the RPE increase was significant for both genders but larger in men (p<.001) than in women (p=.008). In conclusion, in non-expert students, while the main effect of external focus on time was not significant, it did increase RPE. The effects of focus were moderated by gender. It is suggested to consider the performance-RPE balance and individual differences when applying focus strategies in this context.