Pierce, D., & Edwards, W. W. (1999). The attentional style of intercollegiate athletes based on gender and type of sport. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 31(5), Supplement abstract 315.

Whether attentional style differs between elite male and female college athletes was investigated. The six attentional scales from the TAIS were used to measure athletes' ability to control, shift, and focus attention. Ss (M = 60; F = 60) comprised male baseball players and female softball players for team sports, while golf and track were the individual sports for both genders.

The genders differed on the OET scale based on the type of sport. Males scored significantly higher than females for individual sports, while the reverse was found for team sports. Females tended to reduce their attentional focus (RED) more than males. Male athletes evidenced a broader internal focus (BIT) than females.

Implication. There are important differences between genders in attentional abilities in sports.

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