Effects of internal and external attentional focus on dart-throwing performance: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Attentional focus is a central issue in motor control and motor learning research. Existing evidence generally suggests that an external focus of attention (EF) is more beneficial than an internal focus of attention (IF); however, findings in the context of dart throwing remain inconsistent and may be influenced by factors such as task demands, test phase, and learner characteristics. This systematic review aimed to synthesize the effects of EF and IF on dart-throwing performance and to examine potential sources of variation in these effects. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase, covering all records from database inception to February 27, 2026. Experimental studies comparing the effects of EF and IF on dart-throwing performance in healthy individuals were included. Methodological quality was assessed using the mixed methods appraisal tool (MMAT). Given variation in study designs, outcome reporting, and assessment phases, together with insufficient information for deriving comparable effect estimates in some studies, the evidence was synthesized narratively. RESULTS: A total of 19 studies comprising 23 experimental units and 923 participants were included. During acquisition, EF-favoring effects were observed in several studies, but the overall findings were mixed, with conditional and non-significant results also frequently reported. Some retention studies also favored EF, whereas transfer evidence remained sparse and inconsistent. Overall, attentional focus effects in dart throwing appear to be context dependent, with their direction and magnitude potentially varying across testing phases, task demands, practice and test arrangements, and learner characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence does not support a uniform advantage of either attentional focus strategy in dart throwing. Rather, EF-IF effects appear to be context dependent and sensitive to the phase of testing and study conditions. These findings support a more task-specific and conditional interpretation of attentional focus effects, highlighting the need for standardized research with delayed retention and transfer assessments before firm instructional recommendations can be made. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420261363437, identifier PROSPERO, CRD420261363437.