mental imagery Flashcards
what is imagery
- seeing, feeling, smelling, tasting and hearing images that mimic a real experience without experiencing it
key terminology-
mental practice
mental rehearsal
visualisation
- the cognitive rehearsal of a task prior to performance
- the cognitive rehearsal of a task in the absence of physical movement
- the formation of mental visual images
benefits of visualisation
- Confidence, motivation, focus, movements, strength, reaction time, rewire the brain, epigenetic changes
why it is important and effective
- Real-life situations and imagery have Functional Equivalence = shared neural activity patterning so the brain cannot tell the difference
- imagery and physical practice are better than physical practice alone
can use imagery from 2 perspectives
- what are they
- 1st or 3rd person view
- what do you image
- when is it usefull
- internal visual imagery- 1st person, viewing through own eyes, practice timing of movements or experience a situation
- external visual imagery- 3rd person, from an external perspective, to see how movements should look
what is kinaesthetic imagery-
- Feelings and sensations associated with the image, eg. breathing, the feel, body movements
benefits of imagery
- To learn and improve skills/techniques
- Enhance motivation
- Modify cognitions
- Manage emotions
- Learn/develop plans/strategies
pavlios 2x2 framework
- what is it
- what is each combination and an eg, of when its used
- Imagery can be used for different functions that can be categorised as being cognitive or motivational and specific or general
- CS- to learn/improve/maintain performance of skills, eg. improve golf swing
- CG- to learn/develop strategies/set plays/ routines, eg. attacking corner in football
- MS- to motivate and increase effort levels to achieve specific goals, eg. win a competition
- MG - MG-A- imagery to regulate arousal, anxiety and emotions, eg. psych up before competition
- MG-M- imagery to regulate thoughts and cognitions, eg. stay focussed, confident, positive
what is imagery ability
An individual’s capability to form vivid, controllable images and retain them for sufficient time to effect the desired imagery rehearsal
- better ability, better imagery quality and effectiveness
3 ways to improve imagery ability
- Behavioural matching, E.g., PETTLEP imagery
- Training exercises, E.g., Layered Stimulus Response Training
- Observation and demonstrations, E.g., video clips, demonstrations
how to measure imagery ability
- Self report, eg. questionnaires (subjective)
- Behavioural, chronometric, physiological, neural (objective)
advantages and disadvantages of questionnaires
- Cheap, easy to administer
- Easily access different perspectives, modalities, content
- Direct assessment of imagery ability
- Difficult to compare people
- Self-report bias
- Different interpretations of scales
advantages and disadvantages of objective measures
- Responses easier to compare between people/conditions
- Expensive and require training
- More of an indirect assessment of imagery ability
what is pettlep imagery
- what each letter means
- Imagery interventions should stimulate all execution situations
- physical- wear kit, use equipment, move
- environment- ideal to be where you perform, if not recreate through videos and audios
- task- task is the same as in the actual situation
- timing - image should match the actual time of performance, or slowed down to see minor details
- learning- match stage of learn/skill level
- emotion- include emotions you want to experience which will improve performance, not hinder
- perspective - ext/int depending on what you need
applied model of imagery use
- what is it
- limitations
- in a given situation individuals should use the optimal type/function of imagery (CS, CG, MS, MG-A, and MG-M) for achieving their desired outcomes.
- athletes may want to image different things in the same situation as others
