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Mental Imagery and Its Impact on Athletic Performance
Jim just sat there before his match. Everyone else was running and warming up, but Jim just sat there. When the dual started, Jim went out on the mat and pinned his opponent, after showing excellent technique. The rest of the team lost. They didn't understand it; they would work out before the dual and couldn't win, but all Jim did was sit there and he won while showing excellent skill. Later they found out that Jim was using a technique of mental imagery, and he wasn't just sitting there. Many people have wondered about this way to train for sports. Mental imagery is "a cognitive psychological skill in which the athlete uses all senses to create a mental experience of athletic performance or just simply, the athlete mentally rehearses performance" (McCullough). These mental images are sometimes duplicated images of the past, or sometimes they are for desired or feared anticipation of the future. Mental Imagery improves athletic performance.
When people want to get stronger muscles they usually go straight to a lifting program. This is leaving out one of the simplest ways of getting stronger, mental imagery. Mental imagery is a safe, effective way to gain strength. It is the mental preparation for weight lifting. Some people refer to mental imagery as visualization, but it is encouraged in mental imagery to use each of the five senses so that the brain believes that the body is actually lifting (Schlosberg). Now the experts say that mental imagery is not just an extra in sports, but it is a necessity (Tattenbaum).
Suzanne Schlosberg (1998) says that the Olympic athletes have used mental imagery in their sports for years. About 99 percent of the Canadian athletes we...
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Plessinger, A. (n.d.). The effects of mental imagery on athletic performance. Retrieved December 28, 2003, from http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/mentalimagery.html
Schlosberg, S. (1998, August). Let's get visual: With the right techniques, weight-training success is all in your head. Retrieved December 28, 2003, from http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1608/n8_v14/21032039/p1/article.jhtml
Sports Coach. (2004, January). Mental imagery. Retrieved March 12, 2004, from www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/mental.htm
Tattenbaum, R. (n.d.) Can you help with... consistency and focus for sports and athletics. Retrieved March 12, 2004, from http://www.inner-act.com/CanYouHelpWith/Issues/?plugin:dataview:HelpWith:3:status=1
Franklin continues the argument that Edna is an example of the “labor toward self of the female hero with the accompanying inner and outer threats to attainment of selfhood” (Franklin 510) in her criticism The Awakening and the Failure of Psyche. Franklin also compares Edna’s character to a mythological figure; the comparison proves how it is “clear that heroism is necessary for the nascent self to resist the lure and power of unconscious” (Franklin 510). To first address Franklin’s discussion of Edna’s fight to become a female hero, it’s displayed in the criticism that Edna’s individuality is one of a matriarchal society. However, as Franklin proves, Edna wants are different than her actions because she “begins to play with different love roles, such as courtly love” (Franklin 514). Edna is then said to be a sexually awakened being because of her dabbling in different love roles as well as her idealism in her new relationships; although, her new sexual being comes with a cost because she, as said by Franklin, falls into the “narrow roles prescribed by the patriarchs” (Franklin 520). This struggle, as identified by Franklin, adds to the darkness in her emerging ego out of the stifling atmosphere. The criticism then elaborates on how the stifling atmosphere brings Edna to believe that there is a whimsical love in her journey individuation, but instead “Chopin now wishes [the readers] to see that Edna has a crucial choice to make: either to accept the fantastic nature of romantic love and continue on her solitary journey to self, or to refuse to acknowledge romantic love’s transient nature and embrace death” (Franklin 524). Franklin identifies Edna’s labor to find a balance between love and individuality as one similar to both the spirits of Psyche and Eros; they each have a continually struggle to strive towards two different passionate loves. Franklin explains that much like Psyche’s yearning, Edna’s infatuation with Robert is one in which
The test subject, an 18-year-old male hockey defenseman, participated in a psychological skills training program designed to help improve confidence and performance. Education was provided for four psychological skill areas, including goal mapping, relaxation, imagery, and performance accomplishments.
?Kate Chopin.? Gale Group (1999): n. pag. Online. Galenet. 4 April 2001. Available FTP: www.galenet.com/servlet/SRC
Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. A Norton Critical Edition: Kate Chopin: The Awakening. Ed. Margo Culley. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1994. 3-109.
Practicing meditation daily or before a game builds mental strength. Scientists have proven that meditation improves many cognitive functions not only in athletes, but in everyday life, “Emerging scientific literature further suggests that mindfulness meditation is a productive method for improving self awareness” (David and Hayes 198) Another way that athletes can mentally prepare themselves is by visualizing the outcome that they would like before an event. This makes that outcome seem more realistic to them and closer in reach. This is called imagery. “Imagery has been described as a mental event that recreates actual experience and is frequently adopted by athletes as a covert rehearsal technique to aid both motoric and psychological performance.” (Parker et al. 22) . If you go into a game or match with the mindset that you are going to lose, you will not play to the best of your
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.
Rankin, Elizabeth. “A Reader-Response Approach.” Approaches to Teaching Chopin’s The Awakening. Ed. Bernard Koloski. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 1988. 150-155.
Faigenbaum, Avery D. Psychological Benefits of Prepubescent Strength Training. Strength and Conditioning. 28-31. April, 1995.
The aim of this essay is a reflective account in which I will describe a newly acquired skill that I have learned and been able to implement within my role as a trainee assistant practitioner. (T.A.P.) for Foundation for Practice. I have chosen to reflect upon neurological observations on patients that will be at risk of neurological deterioration. Before I begin any care or assessments, I should have a good theoretical underpinned knowledge, of the skill that I am about to put into practice, and have a good understanding of anatomy and physiology, in order to make an accurate assessment of a patients neurological status. I will be making a correct and relevant assessment to identify any needs or concerns to establish the patient’s individualized care, and make observations to determine an appropriate clinical judgement.
Boren, Lynda S., and Sara DeSaussure Davis, eds. Kate Chopin Reconsidered: Beyond the Bayou. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1999. Print.
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.
Sports Psychology Today. Mental Edge Athletics, 4 Sept. 2012. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. Forde, Pat.
Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1985.
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.
Siedentop, D. Introduction to physical education, fitness, and sport. 7. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2009. Print.