Imagery

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Imagery
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Imagery Brainstorm

• What is imagery?

• Who practices imagery?

• When?

• Why?

• Where?

• How?

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Lecture Outline

• Theory
• What is imagery?
• Does imagery work?
• Imagery research
• Application
• Why do we use imagery?
• Imagery perspective
• Developing imaging ability
• Developing an imagery training programme

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What is imagery?

• Creating or recreating an experience in your
  brain.
• The imagery process
• information stored in memory (from experience)
• recall information
• shape information into meaningful images.
• Involves all the senses.
• Involves moods and emotions.

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Related Terms

• Mental Practice
• Mental Rehearsal
• Observational Learning
• improvement in performance/learning that results
  from an individual watching someone else perform
  it.
• Visualization (does this really describe the
  experience?)

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Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Imagery

• Nature of the task

• Skill level of the performer

• Imaging ability

• Use of imagery with physical practice

• Gender?

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How Imagery Works An Ongoing Question

• Psychoneuromuscular theory (1894, 1931)
• Symbolic learning theory (1934)
• Bioinformational theory (1977, 1979)
• Triple code model (1984)
• Psychological skills hypothesis (recently)
• Functional equivalence theory (2001)

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Why do we use imagery?

• Improve concentration

• Build confidence

• Control emotional responses

• Acquire and practice sport skills

• Acquire and practice strategy

• Cope with pain and injury

• Solve problems

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Functions of Imagery

• Motivational Specific
• Motivational General - Mastery
• Motivational General - Arousal
• Cognitive Specific
• Cognitive General

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Motivational Functions

• Motivational Specific
• goal oriented responses
• e.g. imaging oneself winning an event
• Motivational General - Mastery
• coping in challenging situations
• e.g. imaging oneself being tough and confident
• Motivational General - Arousal
• arousal monitoring
• e.g. imaging oneself relaxed at competition

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Cognitive Functions

• Cognitive Specific
• sport skills
• e.g. imaging correct triggering technique
• Cognitive General
• sport strategies
• e.g. imaging making final in position other than
  1st to avoid media pressure

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Imagery Perspective

• Internal and External Imagery
• Internal imagining the execution of a shot from
  your own vantage point.
• External viewing yourself from the perspective
  of an external observer (video).
• More common?
• More effective?

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Comparing Internal and External Imagery

• Olympic athletes use both internal and external
  imagery.
• Many athletes switch back and forth.
• Internal imagery may be more beneficial for
  kinaesthetic awareness (Hale, 1982).
• External imagery may be more beneficial for
  skill performance (Hardy Callow, 1999).

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Developing Imaging Ability

• Vividness
• Use all the senses to make images as vivid and
  detailed as possible .
• e.g. facility, spectators, emotions
• Exercises
• Image home
• Image correct skill execution
• Image a positive shooting experience

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Developing Imaging Ability (2)

• Controllability
• Learn to manipulate images so they do what you
  want them to.
• Exercises
• Image skill execution
• Image performance against tough opponent
• Image emotions
• CONTROL!

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Developing an Imagery Training Programme

• Usually part of a larger psychological skills
  training programme.
• Tailor to individual!
• Imagery must be practiced!
• (Bernier, 1984)

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Developing an Imagery Training Programme (2)

• Is evaluating the athletes current level of
  imagery skill through a questionnaire the first
  step in setting up an imagery training programme?

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Guidelines for Practicing Imagery

• Proper setting
• Focused concentration
• Realistic expectations and sufficient motivation
• Vivid and controllable images
• Positive focus
• Videotapes (Observation)
• Image execution and outcome
• Image in real time

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When to use Imagery

• Before, during, and after practice
• Outside practice (home, school, work)
• Before, during, and after competition
• When recovering from an injury

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Functionally active brain regions common to motor
preparation and motor imagery
SMA
PMC
ROL
CER
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The PETTLEP Model(Holmes Collins 1998 2001)

• Physical
• Environmental
• Task
• Timing
• Learning
• Emotion
• Perspective

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The New PETTLEP Model
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What do the athletes
think?...these standing ones will be better
for my mental prep. cos it was like real time,
not like from the other angle person X has
used...it kinda sucked me into that person cos
it felt like I was shooting that one...it was
really weird...my breathing was slowing and I was
trying to stop myself talking to myself like real
shooting, like it was me......I was aware of
what I was doing but I wasnt really aware of
when the shot was going offThese standing
ones are better with the video like this refer
to internal video because I dont focus so
much on all the technical stuff like the first
one points to external video and you can
really feel the shot, ya know...