Starter Activity  Think about your favourite athlete in any sport.  Now think about when you have watched that sports player performing.  Consider when you have thought about what your athlete has done during their performance, tried to see yourself doing that in a future competition, and then copied what they did during your performance  Be prepared to discussed

Applied Sport & Exercise Psychology Imagery and Mental Rehearsal

Learning Outcomes  Define the terms ‘imagery’ and ‘mental rehearsal’  Describe the use of ‘imagery’ and ‘mental rehearsal’ in sport  Explain, using examples, the use of ‘imagery’ and ‘mental rehearsal’ in sport

Define the terms ‘imagery’ and ‘mental rehearsal’  Task We are going to have a group discussion about the above terms. As a result of our discussion we are going to form our own definitions of the terms.

Define the terms ‘imagery’ and ‘mental rehearsal’  Task: Write down these definitions  These are my referenced definitions.  Imagery and - Imagery is a form of simulation that involves recalling from memory pieces of information stored from experience and shaping these pieces into meaningful images. Imagery involves all the senses: visual, kinesthetic, auditory, tactile, olfactory (polysensorial). The kinesthetic sense is particularly important for athletes (Weinberg and Gould, 1996).  Mental Rehearsal – An aspect of imagery. It is a strategy for practicing something in your mind before actually performing the task (Gledhill, Mulligan, Saffery, Sutton and Taylor, 2007).  Difference – Mental rehearsal does not take into account how the skill is rehearsed or what senses and emotions are used throughout the skill. It is the cognitive rehearsal of the skill without any physical movement.

Quote… “The psychology of kicking is important. You must visualise where the ball is going to go. Then you have to be able to trace that line from between the posts to the exact spot of the ball, and see that in your mind’s eye when you got to kick the ball. Then I visualise the ball travelling along that path and imagine the sensation of how the ball is going to feel when it hits my foot for the perfect strike. The hard part is completing that action while standing in front of thousands of spectators with my heart thumping” Johnny Wilkinson, Observer October 2003

Describe the use of ‘imagery’ and ‘mental rehearsal’ in sport  Lots of quantitative and qualitative research suggests that imagery combined with other psychological strategies enhances performance and other psychological variables such as confidence, skill learning and coping.  However, imagery effectiveness depends on several factors.

Describe the use of ‘imagery’ in sport Theory into Practice  The tutor will read you an example of an imagery script.  Task  For your own sport you are to create your own script with all the senses

Describe the use of ‘imagery’ in sport  Task: make notes on the following points. Please feel free to offer your expert sporting opinions  Relaxation  Goal Setting  Concentration  Developing confidence  Controlling emotions and handling pressure  Decision making. But Also………  Acquire, practice, and correct sport skills.  Acquire and practice strategy.  Prepare for competition.  Cope with pain and adversity.  Solve problems.

Describe the use of ‘imagery’ in sport  An even………..  Exercise technique—imagery to help develop perfect exercise technique  Aerobics routines—imagery to help develop routines  Exercise context—imagery to create a particular scene or environment  Appearance images—image your body as you would like it to be  Competitive outcomes—image doing well (e.g., winning a race, improving) in competition  Fitness and health outcomes—images related to improvements in fitness and health  Emotions and feelings associated with imagery—images that increase arousal and excitement or reductions in stress  Exercise self-efficacy—images that provide confidence to sustain workouts

Imagery categories  Motivational-specific (MS) - This involves seeing yourself winning an event, receiving a trophy or medal and being congratulated by other athletes. MS imagery may boost motivation and effort during training and facilitate goal-setting, but is unlikely on its own to lead directly to performance benefits  Motivational general-mastery (MG-M) - This is based on seeing yourself coping in difficult circumstances and mastering challenging situations. It might include maintaining a positive focus while behind, and then coming back to win. MG-M imagery appears to be important in developing expectations of success and self-confidence self-confidence  Motivational general-arousal (MG-A) - This is imagery that reflects feelings of relaxation, stress, anxiety or arousal in relation to sports competitions. There is good evidence to suggest that MG-A imagery can influence heart rate - one index of arousal - and can be employed as a 'psych-up' strategy  Cognitive specific (CS) - This involves seeing yourself perform specific skills, such as a tennis serve, golf putt or triple-toe-loop in figure skating. If learning and performance are the desired outcomes, evidence suggests that CS imagery will be the most effective choice  Cognitive general (CG) - This involves images of strategy and game plans related to a competitive event. Examples could include employing a serve-and-volley strategy in tennis or a quick-break play in basketball.

Imagery in Sport: Where, When, Why, and What  Where do athletes use imagery? Athletes employ imagery more in competition than in training.  When do athletes use imagery? Athletes use imagery before, during, and after practice; outside of practice; before, during, or after competition; and for injury rehabilitation.

Imagery in Sport: Where, When, Why, and What  Why do athletes use imagery? For motivational and cognitive functions. Functions of imagery  Motivational: Motivational general mastery Motivational general arousal  Cognitive:  Cognitive specific Cognitive general

Imagery in Sport: Where, When, Why, and What  What do athletes image? Aspects: surroundings, positive or negative character of images, the senses involved, the perspective (internal vs. external)

Imagery in Sport: Where, When, Why, and What (Types of Imagery)  Imagery perspective  Internal perspective is visualizing the execution of a skill from your own vantage point (as if you had a camera on your head).  External perspective is visualizing yourself from the perspective of an outside observer. (as if you were watching yourself in a movie)  No one imagery perspective is best to use at all times.

Imagery in Sport: Where, When, Why, and What Key Point Whether a person uses an internal or external image appears to be less important than choosing a comfortable style that produces clear, controllable images. Task: Read the journal article on ‘imagery’ and underline key points

Explain, using examples, the use of ‘imagery’ in sport  Task: lets think of examples when an individual could use for the following.  Relaxation  Goal Setting  Concentration  Developing confidence  Controlling emotions and handling pressure  Decision making

Factors in the Effectiveness of Imagery  Nature of the task  Imagery affects performance the most on cognitive tasks.  Skill level of the performer  Imagery helps performance for both novice and experienced performers; effects are somewhat stronger for experienced performers.  Imaging ability  Imagery is more effective when individuals are higher in their ability to image (have better vividness and control).  Combination with practice  Imagery should be used in addition to (not instead of) physical practice. Key points to effective imagery 1.Vividness -Use all the senses to make images as vivid and detailed as possible. Imagine being at home. Imagine a positive performance of skills. Imagine a best performance. 2. Controllability -Learn to manipulate your images so they do what you want them to do. Imagine controlling a performance. Imagine controlling your emotions. Imagine controlling a performance against a tough opponent.

Quote  “It too me a long time to control my images and perfect my imagery, maybe a year, doing it every day. At first I couldn’t see myself, I always saw everyone else, or I would see my dives wrong all the time. I would get an image of hurting myself, or tripping on the board, or I would “see” some- thing done really bad. As I continued to work at it, I got to the point where I could see myself doing a perfect dive and the crowd yelling at the olympics. But it took me a long time. I read everything I had to do and I knew my dive by heart. Then I started to see myself on the board doing my perfect dive. But some days I couldn’t see it, or it was a bad dive in my head. I worked at it so much it got to the point that I could do all my dives easily” (Hardy, Jones and Gould, 1996)

Describe the uses of mental rehearsal  Skills practice and rehearsal  Practice for events  In competition practice  Practice ‘what if’ scenarios’  Replay performance  Performance routines

Explain the uses of Mental Rehearsal Theory into practice  Task: In pairs  Imagine you are working with a baseball player who is his sides leading run scorer. He is currently injured and is worried about losing his batting technique during this injury period. You need to explain to the athlete to the athlete what mental rehearsal is and how it can benefit his skill level. Make your argument convincing: he isnt really into sport psychology and does not understand how seeing something iny our head can benefit physical performance

Reference List  Developing Mental Imagery Skills 2009 [online]. Available from Accessed on 9/2/09.  Gledhill, A., Mulligan, C., Saffery., Sutton, L., and Taylor, R. (2007). Sport and Exercise Science. Surrey: Heinemann.  Hardy, L., Jones, G., and Gould, D. (1996). Understanding Psychological preparation for sport. Sussex: John Wiley & Sons.  Weinberg, R.S., and Gould, D (1996). Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.