Distractions

Distractions, or distractors, are stimuli competing with the target task for attentional resource. They divide into external (noise, movement, an opponent) and internal (thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations). How much they affect you depends on how well developed your attentional control and selective filter are.

Distractors bite hardest at the start: the roar of the stands, an opponent's stare, your own anxious thoughts — all of it makes it harder to gather yourself. Because of them an athlete can't get themselves together at competitions and loses concentration at competitions. Experienced athletes don't remove the distractions; they stop giving them weight.

Resistance to distractors is measured with tasks where the target signal is presented against interference. Such measures are in the tests section. The gap between your score in silence and your score with interference shows how much distractions are eating into your concentration.

Distractors are worked with through controlled exposure: training to a recording of crowd noise, rehearsing your pre-start ritual, and techniques for switching from the distraction back to the task. Ready-made scenarios are in the exercises section. The aim is not to remove the stimulus but to train a fast return of attention to the target.

Distractions divide into external and internal distractions, and selective attention and attentional control are what handle them. If distractions consistently wreck your competitions, that is about not being able to get yourself together; a sport psychologist works effectively with this.