Optimizing motivation and attention for motor performance and learning

•Expectations for positive experience/outcomes benefit motor performance and learning.•Conditions that support performer autonomy benefit motor performance and learning.•An external focus of attention on desired movement effects is consistently effective.•Motivation and attentional focus contribute to connectivity and goal-action coupling.

We review three lines of recent research at an intersection of motor learning and sport psychology as they relate to motor skill acquisition: enhanced expectancies, autonomy support, and external attentional focus. Findings within these lines of research have been integrated into a new theory, the OPTIMAL (Optimizing Performance through Intrinsic Motivation and Attention for Learning) theory (i.e., OPTIMAL theory, Wulf and Lewthwaite, 2016), and have been applied in motor skill acquisition and performance. Implications range from more effective skill development in children and novice performers to athletes and performers in many fields, including clinical rehabilitation.