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Jasmin Hutchinson
Assocative-Dissociative Attention Focus During Physical Effort: The Mediating Role of Effort Intensity
Jasmin C. Hutchinson(1) and Gershon Tenenbaum(2) Oxford College of Emory University1 and Florida State University2
Introduction
The aim of this study was to examine patterns of attention focus during a sustained handgrip task and a sustained cycling task, and to ascertain the influence of task intensity on attention focus. Pioneering research by Morgan and Pollock (1977) first highlighted the distinction between association and dissociation in attention focus during physical activity. Association is defined as a methodology in which athletes seek to “monitor sensory input, and adjust their pace accordingly” (Morgan & Pollock, 1997, p. 400), while dissociation is defined as mentally disconnecting from “the painful sensory input (p. 390).” When viewed from an attentional standpoint, these terms are referred to as the allocation or directed effort of attention toward internal (association) or external (dissociation) foci. Comparing elite and non-elite marathon runners, Morgan and Pollock purported that elite runners tended to employ associative attentional strategies, while non-elite runners were characterized by dissociative attentional strategies. Subsequent research devoted to this issue has not always supported Morgan and Pollock's conclusions. Morgan, O'Conner, Sparling, and Pate (1987) reported that during training runs of slow pace, elite female runners were more likely to use dissociative coping strategies, whereas during a race the runners were more likely to use associative strategies. In addition, Stevinson and Biddle (1998) found that non-elite runners also tended to use association strategies during competition runs.
Some authors (Tammen, 1996; Tenenbaum, 2001; Tenenbaum, in press) have suggested that it isn't running experience, but running intensity that influences the use of associative mental coping. Tenenbaum (2001) introduced a new concept of effort symptomatology (Figure 1) in which attention can be shifted voluntarily from external dissociative mode to internal associative, and from wide to narrow spans under conditions of low effort. However, under extreme effort levels, attention cannot voluntarily be controlled, and thus, the effectiveness of external strategies on perceived and sustained effort is limited. Based upon Tenenbaum's (2001) model, the current study hypothesized that during the initial stages of physical effort participants' attention focus will be primarily dissociative. As effort intensifies, participants' attention is expected to shift to an associative focus with minimal differentiation among the participants.
Method
Participants: Participants were recruited from university undergraduate and graduate classes. Thirty-five (21 male, 14 female) participants volunteered to participate in the handgrip task, thirteen (7 male, 6 female) of these participants also elected to participate in the cycle task. Participants in the handgrip task had a mean age of 23.65 years (SD=3.23), and in the cycle task had a mean age of 26.85 years (SD=4.91).
Instrumentation: Handgrip capacity in the dominant arm was measured using a calibrated Lafayette handgrip dynamometer model 78010 (Lafayette Instrument Company, Lafayette, Indiana). Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) was obtained using a continuous cycling protocol on a mechanically braked cycle ergometer (Monark Exercise AB, Vansboro, Sweden). Participant's thoughts during the task were classified as either associative or dissociative according to Schomer's (1986) classification system.
Procedure: Participants completed two sustained physical tasks - a handgrip squeezing task and a stationary cycling task. The handgrip task required participant's to maintain an isometric contraction at 25% of their previously established maximum grip strength to volitional fatigue. The cycle task required participants to cycle for five minutes at 50% VO2 max, for a further five minutes at 75% VO2 max, and then to fatigue at 90% VO2 max. During both the handgrip and cycle task, subjects expressed their thoughts aloud; these thoughts were audio-recorded and later classified to reveal patterns of associative and dissociative attention focus.
Results
A Cochran's Q test was performed to examine the association between attention focus and the stage of the task. The analysis revealed that the frequency counts did differ significantly across the three exercise stages for both the handgrip task Q(2) = 25.90, p.00, and the cycle task Q(2) = 10.89, p.01. As expected, attention focus shifted from dissociative to associative with increasing task intensity. The frequency of dissociative thoughts was greater during the initial stage of the handgrip task by a frequency ratio of 19:16, and the initial stage of the cycle task by a frequency ratio of 10:3. Dissociation accounted for 53% and 77% of all reported thoughts during the initial stage of the handgrip and cycle task respectively. In contrast, frequency of associative thoughts was greater during the final exercise stage by a frequency ration of 33:2 in the handgrip task, and 11:2 in the cycle task. Associative thoughts accounted for 94% and 85% of all reported thoughts during the final stage of the handgrip and cycle task respectively.
Conclusions
Participants in two physical tasks demonstrated a convergence of increased proportion of associative thoughts with increases in physical load, indicating that, as expected, attention focus during sustained effort is largely dependent on stimulus intensity. These findings fully support Tenenbaum's (2001) model postulating the relationship between physical effort and attention allocation. The implications of these results are that manipulations of attention focus will be most effective during low to moderate intensity activity. Thus, potential recreational exercisers, who are frequently deterred from engaging in physical activity by unpleasant sensations associated with exertion, could be taught dissociative strategies to aid them in filtering out these unwanted sensations while exercising at low to moderate intensity. In contrast, an endurance athlete, who desires to push him/herself beyond the point of overwhelming effort sensation, may learn when it is effective to employ a dissociative focus (e.g., to break up the tedium of training runs), and when it is preferable to embrace an inevitable associative focus (e.g. during competition). This athlete can use association to his/her advantage during the latter stages of a race to monitor important factors, such as breathing and pace, rather than investing energy into a futile attempt to block out these sensations.
References
Morgan, W.P., O'Connor, P.J., Sparling, P,B., & Pate. R.R. (1987). Psychological characterization of the elite female distance runner. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 8 (Supp 2), 124-131.
Morgan, W. P., & Pollock, M. L. (1977). Psychological characteristics of the elite distance runner. In P. Milvy (Ed), Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 301, 382-403
Schomer, H.H. (1986). Mental Strategy and the Perception of Effort of Marathon Runners. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 17, 41-59.
Stevinson, C.D. & Biddle, S.J.H. (1998). Cognitive orientations in marathon running and “hitting the wall.” British Journal of Sports Medicine, 32, 229-235.
Tammen, V.V. (1996). Elite middle distance and long distance runners associative/dissociative coping. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 8, 1-8.
Tenenbaum, G. (2001). A social-cognitive perspective of perceived exertion and exertion tolerance. In R.N. Singer, H. Hausenblas, & C. Janelle (Eds.), Handbook of sport psychology (pp. 810-820). New York, NY: Wiley & Sons.
Tenenbaum, G. (in press). The study of perceived and sustained effort: Concepts, research findings and new directions. To appear in D. Hackfort, J.S. Duda, & R. Lidor (Eds.), Handbook on Research in Applied Sport Psychology. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.