Attention, working‐memory control, working‐memory capacity, and sport performance: The moderating role of athletic expertise

ABSTRACT The aim of this research was to detangle the association between attention, working‐memory (focusing on both control and capacity functions), and sport performance across athletic expertise. Specifically, the mediating effect of working‐memory‐control and working‐memory‐capacity on the attention and performance relationship will be investigated, and whether this effect differs across athlete expertise. A sample of 359 athletes ( M age = 18.91 ± SD = 1.01; 54.87% male) with a range of athletic expertise (novice n = 99, amateur n = 92, elite n = 87, and super‐elite n = 81) completed a battery of neurocognitive tasks assessing attention, working‐memory‐control, working‐memory‐capacity, and a cognitively engaging motor task (e.g. basketball free‐throw task). Athletes with more expertise performed better on tasks of attention, working‐memory‐control and working‐memory‐capacity. Results of structural equation modelling indicated a positive association between the cognitive measures and sport performance. Specifically, working‐memory‐control and working‐memory‐capacity mediated the attention and sport performance relationship. Additionally, invariance testing indicated larger effects for those with more athletic expertise. These findings provide a better understanding of how attention and the control and capacity functions of working‐memory interact to predict performance. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.