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Mental Imagery
Sport Psychology
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Mental Imagery
Mental imagery involves the athlete imagining themselves in an environment
performing a specific activity using all of their senses (sight, hear, feel and
smell). The images should have the athlete performing successfully and
feeling satisfied with their performance.

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Whatcanmentalimagerybeusedfor?

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Mental Imagery can be used to:

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Familiarise the athlete with a competition site, a race course, a

complex play pattern or routine etc.
Motivate the athlete by recalling images of their goals for that session,
or of success in a past competition or beating a competitor in
competition
Perfectskills or skill sequences the athlete is learning or refining
Reducenegativethoughts by focusing on positive outcomes
Refocus the athlete when the need arises e.g. if performance is feeling
sluggish, imagery of a previous best performance or previous best event
focus can help get things back on track
See success where the athlete sees themselves performing skills
correctly and the desired outcomes
Setthestageforperformance with a complete mental run through of
the key elements of their performance to set the athlete's desired precompetition feelings and focus.
Mental imagery should not focus on the outcome but on the actions to achieve
the desired outcome.

HowdoIapplymentalimagery?
Golfer Jack Nicklaus used mental imagery for every shot. In describing how he
imagines his performance, he wrote:

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"I never hit a shot even in practice without having a sharp in-focus picture of
it in my head. It's like a colour movie. First, I "see" the ball where I want it to
finish, nice and white and sitting up high on the bright green grass. Then the
scene quickly changes, and I "see" the ball going there: its path, trajectory,
and shape, even its behaviour on landing. Then there's a sort of fade-out, and
the next scene shows me making the kind of swing that will turn the previous
images into reality and only at the end of this short private Hollywood
spectacular do I select a club and step up to the ball."

Whenshouldmentalimagerybeused?
To become proficient in the use of imagery you have to use it ever day: on
your way to training, during training and after training. In every training
session, before you execute any skill or combination of skills, first do it in
imagery. See, feel, and experience yourself moving through the actions in
your mind, as you would like them actually to unfold. In the competition

situation use imagery before the start of the event and see your self
performing successfully/winning.

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HowcanIstayfocused?
You have probably seen an athlete become angry at their performance. The
situation here is that the athlete is focusing on the mistake (negative
attitude), something that cannot be changed, and not on how to improve their
performance (positive attitude).
In sports psychology "pattern breaking" routines are used to help prevent the
athlete falling into this negative attitude. A "pattern breaker" can be a word or
phrase used by the coach in training or competition to move the athlete from
a negative attitude to a positive one. Many athletes have a role model who
they try to emulate. Providing the role model is suitable then their name could
become the "pattern breaker" phrase for the coach to use when the athlete
takes on a negative attitude to a task. On hearing their role model's name the
athlete will shift their focus to how their role model would react and assume a
positive attitude to the task. Overtime the athlete will begin to recognise when
they are focusing on negative thoughts and use the "pattern breaking" word
or phrase (repeating it in their head) to get themselves to switch off the
negative thoughts and get back into a positive attitude.

Whatarethebenefits?
Mental Imagery itself can be useful in a number of circumstances including:
developing self confidence
developing pre-competition and competition strategies which teach
athletes to cope with new situations before they actually encounter
them
helping the athlete to focus his/her attention or concentrate on a
particular skill he/she is trying to learn or develop
the competition situation
When combined with relaxation it is useful in:
the promotion of rest, recovery and recuperation
the removal of stress related reactions e.g. muscular tension
establishing a physical and mental state which has an increased
receptivity to positive mental imagery
establishing an appropriate level of physical and mental arousal prior to
competition
[1]

Kerkez (2012) conducted a 14-week study of specific imagery and autogenic

relaxation combined with standard physical training on soccer skill
performance in novice boys aged 10-12 years. The research revealed that
mental practice is effective for the preparation of the action. Furthermore,
learning instructions on the movement effect related to the movement
technique are more effective than a more distant effect. The results of the
present study may have important implications for optimizing instructions for
motor performance and motor learning in young athletes.

The"QuickSet"routine
Psychologist Jeff Simons developed a routine that would allow an athlete to
achieve an appropriate mental arousal in the last 30 seconds before a
competition. The "Quick Set" routine, which involves physical, emotional and
focus cues, can also be used as a means of refocusing quickly following a
distraction.
An example of this "Quick set" routine for a sprinter could be:

 Close your eyes, clear your mind and maintain deep rhythmical
breathing, in through your nose and out through your mouth (physical
cue)
Imagine a previous race win, see yourself crossing the line in first place
and recreate those emotional feelings of success (emotional cue)
Return your focus to the sprint start, think of blasting off on the 'B' of
the bang with the appropriate limb action (focus cue)

"Youonlyachievewhatyoubelieve"
I use this quotation when I hear an athlete make a negative statement about
their ability and to focus their attention when assisting them to develop
mental imagery skills.

Thewayforward
The benefits of mental imagery have been outlined and I have found that
when an athlete is in a fully relaxed state, they are particularly receptive to
mental imagery. The next stage is the creation of scripts to help in developing
and apply mental imagery skills.

References
1. KERKEZ, F. et al. (2012) Effects of specific imagery and autogenic
relaxation combined intervention on soccer skill performance of young
athletes in Turkey. Scottish Journal of Arts, Social Sciences and
Scientific Studies, 3 (1), p. 53-67

RelatedReferences
The following references provide additional information on this topic:
ROBERTS, S. M. (2011) The Impact of Mental Imagery on the
Confidence of Student-Athletes (Doctoral dissertation, Defiance College)
MADAN, C. R. and SINGHAl, A. (2013) Introducing TAMI: An objective
test of ability in movement imagery. Journal of motor behavior, 45 (2),
p. 153-166.

PageReference
If you quote information from this page in your work then the reference for
this page is:
MACKENZIE, B. (2002) Mental Imagery [WWW] Available from:
https://www.brianmac.co.uk/mental.htm [Accessed 5/11/2016]

RelatedPages
The following Sports Coach pages provide additional information on this topic:

Articles on Psychology Training

Books on Sports Psychology
Competitive Anxiety
Performance Profiling
Psychology
Relaxation
Relaxation Techniques
Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT)
Stress Management
TEOSQ - Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire

AdditionalSourcesofInformation
For further information on this topic see the following:
BEASHEL, P. and TAYLOR, J. (1996) Advanced Studies in Physical
Education and Sport. UK: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.
BEASHEL, P. and TAYLOR, J. (1997) The World of Sport Examined. UK:
Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.
BIZLEY, K. (1994) Examining Physical Education. Oxford; Heinemann
Educational Publishers
DAVIS, B. et al. (2000) Physical Education and the Study of Sport. UK:
Harcourt Publishers Ltd.
GALLIGAN, F. et al. (2000) Advanced PE for Edexcel. Oxford;
Heinemann Educational Publishers
McARDLE, W. et al. (2000) Essentials of Exercise Physiology. 2nd ed.
Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins
VILE, A. and BIGGS, J. (2004) Grace Under Pressure. UK; Lulu Press
ORLICK, T. (1986) Psyching for Sport. USA; Human Kinetics Publishers,
Inc.
HALE, B. (1998) Imagery Training. UK; The National Coach Foundation

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