Why Do Athletes Use Imagery In Sport?

1181 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Sports psychology chapter 2 answers

Athletes, especially those competing at high levels, have indicated that their involvement in sport is both physically and mentally demanding, and the acquisition of performance skills alone is insufficient for them to advance in their respective sports. Important attributes that can discriminate champion or world record holding athletes from other elite athletes include their psychological characteristics and mental skills. One of the prevalent mental techniques, and essential pre-requisites of outstanding performance in the domain of sport, is imagery. Weinberg described in 2008 that imagery is the ability to use all the senses in order to create or recreate an experience in the mind.
Many well-known athletes such as Lebron James and Tiger …show more content…

Holmes and Collins’ PETTLEP model of imagery (2001) is based on theory and research findings from sport psychology, cognitive psychology and neuroscience, and aims to provide athletes with a set of guidelines to use imagery in a positive way.
PETTLEP model is a combination of seven components including, Physical, Environment, Task, Timing, Learning, Emotion and Perspective. Each letter in PETTLEP model is important for athletes to realize that visualizing physical activity in a comfortable situation, with special focus on a task to be achieved may bring positive change in the perspective and feelings of an athlete who is preparing for a competition.
Recently, the efficacy of this model has been supported in various sports, including long jump (Potter, Devonport, & Lane, 2005), golf (Smith et al., 2008), and strength tasks (Wakefield & Smith, 2011; Wright & Smith, 2009). Researchers have suggested that neglecting certain elements may affect performance facilitation (Ramsey, Cumming, Edwards, Williams, & running, 2010). Motor Imagery Integrative Model in Sport (MIIMS) is one of the recent imagery models introduced by Guillot and Collet in 2008. They underlined 11 key components, which need to be controlled by athletes to ensure the effectiveness of motor imagery including duration …show more content…

Although ignoring certain elements may impact performance facilitation (Ramsey et al., 2010), introducing all seven components of the PETTLEP model at one time may be impractical and can cause an overload for all the athletes (Wakefield & Smith, 2012). It is also important to note that new athletes may find it difficult to participate in imagery interventions during training. Therefore, the question of how athletes should include these components within an imagery training program remains

Show More
Related

  • BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION

    465 Words  | 1 Pages

    Behavior modification in athletics requires the development of goals. It needs one overall goal as well as small step goals. Goal setting is one of the strongest motivational tools. Studies have shown that goals should be broken down into short-term or intermediate goals to help attain the ultimate goals; goals must be accepted by the individual; challenging goals are better than easy ones; tracking progress is useful to remain committed to goals; and a plan of action facilitates goal attainment (Annesi, 2004). With the addition of a written contract binding the athlete to their goals it acts as another enforcer to accomplish their desired behavior.

    Read More

  • Achievement Goal Theory & Athletic Burnout

    2644 Words  | 6 Pages

    Conroy, D. E., Elliot, A. J., & Hofer, S. M. (2003). A 2 x 2 Achievement Goals Questionnaire for Sport: Evidence for Factorial Invariance, Temporal Stability, and External Validity. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 37(1), 42-56.

    Read More

  • Sports Psychology Interview Paper

    1391 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sport and exercise science is a multidisciplinary field that draws on knowledge from the broader parent disciplines, the subareas that make up sport and exercise science also draw on measures, constructs and concepts from each other. In fact, it is suggested that sport psychology should include knowledge from other sub-disciplines within sport and exercise science in order to gain better understanding of situations specific to

    Read More

  • Influence Of Mental Imagery In Sport

    1260 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Weinberg and Gould (1995), mental practice is related with mental training to competition. Based on Murphy and Martin (2002), mental practice can be divide into two which is imagery techniques and verbal techniques. Imagery techniques can be visual rehearsal, kinesthetic rehearsal or emotional rehearsal. While verbal techniques are self talk and performance cues. Based on Suinn (1993), mental imagery can be defined as mental creation or re-creation of sensory experiences that appear to the person imagining them to be similar to the real event. Imagery is one of the techniques that can be used to improve sport performance among athletes. According to Morris, T., Spittle, M. and Watt, A. P (2005), the most important thing to know

    Read More

  • Performance Psychology in Tennis

    4297 Words  | 9 Pages

    The variables that affect performance can be mostly classified into three major domains: motor active, affective, and cognitive. Some variables are internal, while others are external. The externalities, or outside factors that affect a performance, vary from situation to situation; nonetheless, they need to be dealt with in some way, so that the show can go on. The motor active domain is the one that is involved with the physical aspect of a performance; in tennis that refers to practicing all the shots that exist; synchronizing the bending of knees with having the right angle for a swing and hitting the ball a certain way (e.g: with topspin, flat, slice); as well as doing conditioning exercises to increase physical strength and endurance. The affective domain is the one involved with the emotional, mental, and spiritual aspect of a performance. In tennis, the way a player prepares himself in those areas depends solely on his style. I usually use self-talk and tell myself that I’m going to play great and going to have fun; I also take my mind off of tennis completely by doing something productive like homework for example so that I don’t think too much about the match to exhaust my mind, but I’m also doing something that requires my mind to focus on one thing. In fact, I’m writing this paper right now when I have a match in 5 hours. The cognitive domain is the one involved with the neurobiological aspect of a performance, or the changes that occur in the body as a result of the other variables. In order to deal with this domain, the player needs to deal with the variable that causes the change in the body. For example, if in a match I start feeling very tense and start sweating from being nervous, I might find out that instead of using positive self-talk, I was letting my mind worry about the people that are watching me rather than stay focused on playing. Biochemically, my brain is sending signals to cells that prompt them to make me feel tense and nervous. In order to reverse that, I’d have to convince myself that there is no real reason for feeling nervous and that there is no point in worrying about whoever is watching me. It’s all about perception in the end.

    Read More

  • The Psychological Impact of Injury on Athletes

    2839 Words  | 6 Pages

    Wiese-Bjornstal, D. M., Smith, A. M., & LaMott, E. E. (1995). A model of psychological response to athletic injury and rehabilitation. Athletic training: Sport health care perspectives, 17-30.

    Read More

  • The Psychology of Sports

    1930 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sports psychology can be defined as the study and application of the attitudes and behaviors of athletes (including team athletes) that impact (either positively or negatively) performance in sports or competitive settings. The goal of sports psychology is to help athletes and teams identify unhealthy attitudes and beliefs, apply mental toughness skills and peak performance strategies to perform at optimal levels (Cohn). Sports psychology is not recognized as a traditional field of practice offered by graduate programs; although, it is a recognized field of specific study under Kinesiology and Physical Education Programs. Sports psychology was first founded in 1920 by Carl Diem in Berlin, Germany. Later on, in 1925, sport psychology was brought to the U.S by Cloman Griffith. These early psychologists aimed to observe the effects of mental state on different factors of performance such as reaction time, tension, relaxation, and awareness (Haney). In the 1960’s Griffith’s research interest in sports psychology reemerged after having faded away for a while; however, the field had a...

    Read More

  • The Effects of Overtraining

    529 Words  | 2 Pages

    Creative new training methods, developed by coaches, athletes and sport scientists, are aimed to help improve the quality and quantity of athletic training ( Kellmann, 2010, p.1). However, these methods have encountered a consistent set of barriers including overtraining ( Kellmann, 2010, p.1). Due to these barriers, the need for physical and mental recovery in athletics brought an increasing attention in practice and in research ( Kellmann, 2010, p.1).

    Read More

  • Anxiety and Athletic Perfomance

    2826 Words  | 6 Pages

    Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology 12.3 (Sept 1990): 217-222. Edwards, Tara and Hardy, Lew. “The Interactive Effects of Intensity and Direction of Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety and Self- Confidence Upon Performance.” Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology18.4 (Sept 1996): 296-312. Ferraro, Tom.

    Read More

  • Coaches Bullying Essay

    1283 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sports Psychology Today. Mental Edge Athletics, 4 Sept. 2012. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. Forde, Pat.

    Read More

  • Psychological Skills Training

    1824 Words  | 4 Pages

    Why are mental skills so important to performance and why are they often neglected by coaches and athletes? Yogi Berra has been quoted as saying, "sport is 90% mental and 50% physical." You can question his mathematical savvy, but if you're an athlete, coach or fan, you can't question his wisdom. (Hacker, 2000) Many athletes understand that while developing oneself to their physical potential is a critical element in performance potential, it is often a deficit in our psychological game rather than errors in our physical performance that keep us from performing at optimum levels in practice, games or matches. Spud McKenzie, the Budweiser poster puppy, suggested that it is important to say when, but also emphasized the critical element of knowing “when to say when”. It is often the successful athlete has recognized what needed to be done and the unsuccessful athlete was unable to do so. As a consequence, it is not the physical talents or abilities that separate athletes and teams, or successful versus less successful performance, rather, the psychological dimension that most frequently explains a given sport outcome or individual performance. For this reason games are played. Prior to each contest, judgment could be made with regard to which team or individual is the “more highly skilled”. If games were decided on who is the most physically gifted and/or talented individuals or teams, it would prove to be an exercise in futility to compete. As a result, whether you are an athlete or a coach, mastering the mental game of sport will allow you to achieve a level of success as a competitor than you could otherwise not achieve by focusing exclusively on the physical side of sport.

    Read More

  • Self Confidence In Sports Essay

    843 Words  | 2 Pages

    Firstly, it is vital to note that anxiety, motivation, and concentration tremendously influence people's self-confidence and their performance at the long-run (Damon & Raedeke, P 188). Higher self-confidence reduces anxiety. The vice versa is also true. This is based on the fact that optimally confident sports people experience fewer doubts on self. Their worries reduce and give room for concentration in their activities. Additionally, motivated athletes are in a better position to strive towards achieving their goal. Motivation enables sports people to combat negativity and low self-esteem as they focus more on their goals other than obstacles. Therefore, it is fundamental to note that coaches and sports people must collaborate in finding any mechanisms that could stimulate and uphold self-esteem since it is, directly and indirectly, impactful to their

    Read More

  • The Mentality of an Athlete

    1018 Words  | 3 Pages

    A lot of times, sports seem like a contest of physical skill― a test to see who is the fastest or strongest, who has the best eye or the most endurance, who can jump the highest or can handle the ball the best. What a lot of people don’t know is that there is so much more to a sport than just the muscle and coordination. In order to excel in a sport, an athlete requires a lot of self-discipline, concentration, and self-confidence. It’s the mental factor that makes a difference. Former Olympic gold medal-winning decathlon runner Bruce Jenner once said, “You have to train your mind like you train your body” (Gregoire 1). Success or failure depends on the mental factors just as much as the physical ones. The training of the mind of an athlete is called sports psychology. The use of sports psychology has a huge impact upon an athlete’s performance. The mental skills of a sport are just as important as the physical skills. All professional athletes use sports psychology. “If they aren’t currently using it, it’s almost guaranteed they’ve used it in the past, even if they are unaware they have” (Davis, Stephens, The Exploratorium 129). It’s hard to find an experienced athlete who hasn’t used sports psychology, because without it, they probably wouldn’t be where they are. The use of sports psychology is a crucial step to becoming a successful athlete.

    Read More

  • Sports Psychology Essay

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sports psychology continues to evolve in order to ensure that comprehensive and evidence-based psychological services are available for athletes and teams. Giving athletes an understanding of their psychological functioning, and building the ability to implement a range of psychological strategies in competition enables athletes to both execute their skills and thrive under pressure as they strive to reach their performance potential.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Sport and Exercise Psychology

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sport and exercise psychology is a mandatory aspect of the sport science discipline. This discipline contributes to the various professional practices associated with physical activities such as - teaching of physical education, recreation and health promotion, and kinesiology related professions - because it plays a mental role for the participants. Sport and exercise psychologists view physical activity in several different ways: physical activity as a tool for health, physical activity as a tool for human potential, and physical activity as a tool for social change. This aspect of psychology may be the most important aspect of physical activity, because of the contributions of exercise and sport psychology to health, human potential, and social change.

    Read More

More about Why Do Athletes Use Imagery In Sport?

Open Document