Chapter 19 Mental Practice Concept: Mental practice can be effective for learning and relearning motor skills and for preparing to perform motor skills

Mental Practice Definition: The cognitive rehearsal of a physical skill in the absence of overt physical movements It can take the form of thinking about the cognitive or procedural aspects of a motor skill, or Engaging in visual or kinesthetic imagery of the performance of a skill or part of a skill Imagery can be internal or external Mental practice is distinct from “meditation” around him

Roles for Mental Practice Research has investigated two distinct roles for mental practice A practice strategy to aid the acquisition of motor skills A means of preparing to perform a well-learned skill

Mental Practice Aids Motor Skill Acquisition To determine the influence of mental practice on skill learning, researchers have typically compared three practice conditions: Physical practice only (PP) Mental practice only (MP) No practice (NP) What do results consistently show? PP > MP > NP What do results show if a group is added that receives a combination of equal trials of physical and mental practice? Similar to PP only

Mental Practice Aids Motor Skill Acquisition, cont’d Some examples of learning situations that research has shown benefit from mental practice: Rehabilitative settings Power training Part of a general preparation strategy that aids learning

Singer 5 step general learning strategy that involves elements of mental practice in 3 steps 1. Get ready physically, mentally, emotionally 2. Mentally imaging performing action, visually and kinesthetically. 3. concentrate intensely on only 1 relevant cue 4. execute action 5. evaluate performance outcome

Results of study by Lidor, Tennant, and Singer Error Subjects first learned a task involving ball throwing had throw ball over a net and hit a target points were awarded according to where ball hit target One group used 5-step general learning strategy Control did not 1. Get ready physically, mentally, emotionally 2. Mentally imaging performing action, visually and kinesthetically. 3. concentrate intensely on only 1 relevant cue 4. execute action 5. evaluate performance outcome Control 5 – Step Strategy Control 5 – Step Strategy Ball throw practice Lawn dart transfer

Types of Imagery Related to Motor Skill Performance Preparation 5 types of imagery that athletes use to improve performance: Motivational – specific Motivational – general mastery Motivational – general arousal Cognitive – specific Cognitive – general See Table 19.1 for specific descriptions of each

Mental Practice Aids Peformance Preparation Imagery is the most common mental practice strategy for skilled athletes preparing to perform a skill (Martin et al. 1999) Between competitive events Immediately prior to a during a competitive event Rehabilitating an injury

Why is Mental Practice Effective? No comprehensive theories that explain why mental practice in the form of imagery is effective (Martin et al., 1999) Three generally accepted hypotheses: Neuromuscular hypothesis: EMG recordings in muscles showing involvement Brain activity hypothesis: Brain activity during imagery similar to activity during physical performance of a skill Cognitive hypothesis: Helps learner answer “what to do” questions that are common during the initial stage of motor skill learning

Why is Mental Practice Effective? No comprehensive theories that explain why mental practice in the form of imagery is effective (Martin et al., 1999) Three generally accepted hypotheses: Neuromuscular hypothesis: EMG recordings in muscles showing involvement Brain activity hypothesis: Brain activity during imagery similar to activity during physical performance of a skill Cognitive hypothesis: Helps learner answer “what to do” questions that are common during the initial stage of motor skill learning

Imagery Ability Some people have great difficult imaging a described action Research indicates that the effectiveness of imagery is based on people’s ability to visually or kinesthetically image physical movement Imagery ability is an individual differences variable Hall and colleagues developed an imagery ability questionnaire to assess a person’s imagery ability See example questions in A Closer Look Research shows that people with low imagery ability can still benefit from mental practice

Movement Imagery Questionnaire (MIQ) 6 2 3 4 5 7 1 Very Easy Somewhat Neutral Somewhat Hard Very Easy Easy Hard Hard