Topic > Imagery in Training - 714

Imagery and visualization are terms that have been used consistently and interchangeably by researchers, sports psychologists, coaches, and their athletes to describe an extremely powerful and useful mental training technique (Taylor & Wilson, 2005). During the early stages of its development, the terminology of mental training techniques such as "mental practice" and "mental rehearsal" was used as a descriptor of mental images. However, these terms only referred to a vague and broad description of the strategic elements of mentally rehearsing the skills before actually completing the physical task and did not clearly describe how it is rehearsed. Currently, most if not nearly all practitioners use the term "mental imagery" or simply "imagery" to describe structured mental practice techniques and for creating or recreating an athletic performance. Images and their use among some athletes and artists are typically unstructured and appear to not serve a specific purpose. It can also be difficult for these athletes and artists to verbalize the content and details of their images. However, mental imagery is not just limited to this, but is more than just individuals spontaneously imagining performances. The true value of imagery lies in its use as a structured program that incorporates written or audible scripts designed to address areas of athletic improvement (Taylor & Wilson, 2005). Mental imagery scripts have become increasingly common when implementing imagery programs for training, and their content is usually influenced by instructors (Guillot & Collet, 2008). Before athletes begin imaging sessions, scripts are created and designed with specific scenarios detailing the physical environment, competitive aspect, certainty, part of the paper and good self-esteem. of sport psychology have looked for ways to explain and describe the mechanisms underlying mental imagery. Since there is no single theory that can completely and accurately describe the effectiveness of mental imagery, several theories exist instead. Attentional arousal set theory attempts to explain mental imagery by suggesting that imagery is a technique through which athletes can prepare for a physical performance on both a physiological and psychological level (Sheikh & Korn, 1994). This mental imagery technique allows athletes to become fully aware of their physiological being, improve their attention to response signals, and reduce motor inhibitions. Bio-informational theory argues that mental images, as products of our brain's information processing capabilities, should be seen and stored as such (Lang, 1979).