Document Type : Original research study

Authors

1 Department of Physical Education, Aliabad Katoul Branch, Islamic Azad University, Aliabad Katoul, Iran

2 Assistant Professor of Motor Behavior, Sport Science Research Institute of Iran

3 Department of Physical Education, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

The purpose of this study was the chronometry of mental imagery types among skilled and unskilled swimmers. It was a quasi-experimental with a two-group time-series design. The participants included 30 male swimmers who were selected using simple random sampling. The error in time estimation of 100-meter front crawl imagery was measured. Data were analyzed using factorial repeated measure analysis of variance in 95% confidence level. Results showed that skilled swimmers encountered overestimation in the timing of imagery, whereas unskilled swimmers encountered underestimation. The skilled group compared to unskilled counterparts had higher accuracy in their imagery. Both skilled and unskilled groups spent similar time for internal and external visual imagery, but the duration of kinesthetic imagery was higher than visual imagery. According to the results, the need for controlling of timing error in mental imagery interventions for optimizing of swimmers’ performance remains debated.

Keywords

Main Subjects

1. Boschker, M. S. J., Bakker, F. C., & Rietberg, M. B. (2000). Retroactive interference effects of mentally imagined movement speed. Journal of Sports Sciences, 18, 593-603.
2. Calmels, C., & Fournier, J. F. (2001). Duration of physical and mental execution of gymnastic routines. The Sport Psychologist, 15, 142-150.
3. Calmels, C., Holmes, P., Lopez, E., & Naman, V. (2006). Chronometric comparison of actual and imaged complex movement patterns. Journal of Motor Behavior, 38, 339-348.
4. Callow, N., & Hardy, L. (2004). The relationship between kinesthetic imagery and different visual imagery perspectives. Journal of Sports Sciences, 22, 167-177.
5. Cocude, M., Mellet, E., & Denis, M. (1999). Visual and mental exploration of visuo-spatial configurations: Behavioral and neuroimaging approaches. Psychological Research, 62, 93-106.
6. Decety, J., & Jeannerod, M. (1996). Mentally simulated movements in virtual reality: Does Fitts’s law hold in motor imagery? Behavioural Brain Research, 72, 127-134.
7. Di Rienzo, F., Collet, C., Hoyek, N., & Guillot, A. (2012). Selective Effect of Physical Fatigue on Motor Imagery Accuracy. PLoS ONE, 7(10), e47207.
8. Fery, Y. A. (2003). Differentiating visual and kinesthetic imagery in mental practice. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 57, 1-10.
9. Grealy, M. A., & Shearer, G. F. (2008). Timing processes in motor imagery. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 20, 867-892.
10. Guillot, A., & Collet, C. (2005a). Duration of mentally simulated movement: A review. Journal of Motor Behavior, 37, 10-20.
11. Guillot, A., & Collet, C. (2008). Construction of the motor imagery integrative model in sport: A review and theoretical investigation of motor imagery use. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 1, 31-44.
12. Guillot, A., Collet, C., & Dittmar, A. (2004). Relationship between visual vs. kinesthetic imagery, field dependence-independence and complex motor skills. Journal of Psychophysiology, 18, 190-199.
13. Guillot, A., Haguenauer, M., Dittmar, A., & Collet, C. (2005). Effect of a fatiguing protocol on motor imagery accuracy. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 95(2-3), 186-190.
14. Guillot, A., Hoyek, N., Louis, M., & Collet, C. (2012). Understanding the timing of motor imagery: Recent findings and future directions. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 5, 3-22.
15. Guillot, A., Louis, M., & Collet, C. (2009). Neural mechanisms for expertise in mental imagery. Cognitive Sciences, 4, 31-48.
16. Guillot, A., Louis, M., & Collet, C. (2010). Neurophysiological substrates of motor imagery ability. In A. Guillot & C. Collet (Eds.), The neurophysiological foundations of mental and motor imagery (pp. 109-123). New-York: Oxford University Press.
17. Hall, C. R, Mack, D. E., Paivio, A., & Hausenblas, H. A. (1998). Imagery use by athletes: Development of the sport imagery questionnaire. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 29, 73-89.
18. Hardy, L., & Callow, N. (1999). Efficacy of external and internal visual imagery perspectives for the enhancement of performance on tasks in which form is important. Journal of Sport Exercise Psychology, 21(2), 95–112.
19. Hardy, L., Jones, G., & Gould, D. (1996). Understanding psychological preparation for sport: Theory and practice of elite performers. West Sussex, England: Wiley.
20. Holmes, P. S., & Collins, D. J. (2001). The PETTLEP approach to motor imagery: A functional equivalence model for sport psychologists. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 13, 60-83.
21. Isaac, A. R., & Marks, D. F. (1994). Individual differences in mental imagery experience: Developmental changes and specialization. British Journal of Psychology, 85, 479-500.
22. Johnson, S. H. (2000). Thinking ahead: The case for motor imagery in prospective judgments of prehension. Cognition, 74, 33-70.
23. Kanthack, T. F. D., Guillot, A., Altimari, L. R., Nunez Nagy, S., Collet, C., & Di Rienzo, F. (2016). Selective Efficacy of Static and Dynamic Imagery in Different States of Physical Fatigue. PLoS ONE, 11(3), e0149654.
24. Lotze, M., Scheler, G., Tan, H. R. M., Braun, C., & Birbaumer, N. (2003). The musician’s brain: Functional imaging of amateurs and professionals during performance and imagery. NeuroImage, 20, 1817-1829.
25. Louis, M., Guillot, A., Maton, S., Doyon, J., & Collet, C. (2008). Effect of imagined movement speed on subsequent motor performance. Journal of Motor Behavior, 40, 117-132.
26. MacIntyre, T., & Moran, A. (1996). Imagery validation: How do we know athletes are imaging during mental practice. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 8, 132.
27. Malouin, F., Richards, C. L., Desrosiers, J., & Doyon, J. (2004). Bilateral slowing of mentally simulated actions after stroke. Neuroreport, 15, 1349-1353.
28. Maruff, P., & Velakoulis, D. (2000). The voluntary control of motor imagery. Imagined movements in individuals with feigned impairment and conversion disorder. Neuropsychologia, 38, 1251-1260.
29. Miall, R. C., & Wolpert, D. M. (1996). Forward models for physiological motor control. Neural Networks, 9, 1265-1279.
30. Milton, J., Small, S. L., & Solodkin, A. (2008). Imaging motor imagery: Methodological issues related to expertise. Methods, 45, 336-341.
31. Moran, A. (1993). Conceptual and methodological issues in the measurement of mental imagery skills in athletes. Journal of Sport Behavior, 16, 156-170.
32. Morris, T. (1997). Psychological skills training in sport: An overview (2nd ed.). Leeds: National Coaching Foundation.
33. Morris, T., Spittle, M., & Watt, A. P. (2005). Imagery in sport. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
34. Munzert, J. (2002). Temporal accuracy of mentally simulated transport movements. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 94, 307-318.
35. Munzert, J. (2008). Does level of expertise influence imagery durations in open skills? Played versus imagined durations of badminton sequences. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 6, 24-38.
36. Murphy, S. M., Nordin, S. M., & Cumming, J. (2008). Imagery in sport, exercise and dance. In T. Horn (Ed.), Advances in sport and exercise psychology (3rd ed., pp. 297-324). Champagne, IL: Human Kinetics.
37. O, J., & Hall, C. (2009). A quantitative analysis of athletes’ voluntarily use of slow-motion, real time and fast motion images. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 21, 15-30.
38. O, J., & Munroe-Chandler, K. J. (2008). The effects of image speed on the performance of a soccer task. The Sport Psychologist, 22, 1-17.
39. Oishi, K., Kasai, T., & Maeshima, T. (2000). Autonomic response specificity during motor imagery. Journal of Physiology and Anthropology and Applied Human Science, 19, 255-261.
40. Orliaguet, J. P., & Coello, Y. (1998). Differences between actual and imagined putting movements in golf: A chronometric analysis. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 29, 157-169.
41. Papaxanthis, C., Pozzo, T., Skoura, X., & Schieppati, M. (2002). Does order and timing performance of imagined and actual movements affect the motor imagery process? The duration of walking and writing tasks. Behavioural Brain Research, 134, 209-215.
42. Reed, C. L. (2002). Chronometric comparisons of imagery to action: Visualizing versus physically performing springboard dives. Memory and Cognition, 30, 1169-1178.
43. Roberts, R., Callow, N., Hardy, L., Markland, D., & Bringer, J. (2008). Movement imagery ability: Development and assessment of a revised version of the vividness of movement imagery questionnaire. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 30, 200-221.
44. Ross, J. S., Tkach, J., Ruggieri, P. M., Lieber, M., & Lapresto, E. (2003). The
45. mind’s eye: Functional MR imaging of golf motor imagery. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 24, 1036-1044.
46. Rostami, M., Rahnama, N., Sohrabi, M., Khayambashi, K., & Bambae, A. (2011). The study of validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire - Second Version. Olympic, 54, 129-139. In Persian.
47. Schmidt, R. A. (1975). A schema theory of discrete motor skill learning. Psychological Review, 82, 225-260.
48. Sirigu, A., Duhamel, J. R., Cohen, L., Pillon, B., Dubois, B., & Agid, L. (1996). The mental representation of hand movements after parietal cortex damage. Science, 273, 1564-1568.
49. Spittle, M. (2001). Preference for imagery perspective, imagery perspective training and task performance (doctoral dissertation). Victoria University, Australia.
50. Watt, A. P., Morris, T., & Andersen, M. B. (2004). Issues in the development of a measure of imagery ability in sport. Journal of Mental Imagery, 28(3), 149-180.
51. Weinberg, R. S., & Gould, D. (1995). Foundations of sport psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.