Attentional processing in athletes and non-athletes

Focused attention is crucial for skilled performance, and athletic participation may influence attentional processing. This study examined differences in sustained attention and visual search between Division II college student-athletes and non-athlete students. Baseline data from 59 participants (30 athletes, 29 non-athletes) were analyzed. Participants completed computerized tasks assessing sustained attention (go/no-go) and visual search. Between- and mixed-subjects ANCOVAs were conducted, controlling for age. Athletes outperformed non-athletes in sustained attention (F (1, 56) = 8.12, p = .006, Cohen’s d = 0.78) and visual search (F (1, 56) = 34.43, p < .001, d = 1.58). Open-skilled athletes showed higher detection scores than non-athletes (p = .004, d = 0.88). No group differences were observed in response bias. On the visual search task, close-skilled athletes demonstrated (M = 1257 ms, SD = 624 ms) faster response times than open-skilled athletes (M = 1904 ms, SD = 419 ms) and non-athletes (M = 2547 ms, SD = 522 ms), p’s < .001. Athletic participation is associated with enhanced attentional performance across multiple cognitive domains, supporting the transfer of cognitive skills developed through sport to fundamental attentional processes.