Procedural Variables and Skill Level Influences on Preperformance  Mental Practice Efficacy

Rafer Lutz, Daniel M. Landers, and Darwyn E. Linder

Two experiments were conducted to examine procedural and moderator variable influences on the efficacy of mental practice (MP) performed prior to motor task execution.  Male and female novice golfers (N = 120) were recruited for the first experiment which examined the effect of different numbers of MP trials (1 or 2) and different MP scripts (form-focused or outcme-focused) performed prior to 36 test golf putts in comparison to a no-MP control condition.  The results of a 2 x 2 x 2 (Gender x MP Repetitions x MP Script) ANOVA with a single control group showed that the outcome-focused MP script produced superior performance in comparison to the form-focused script, and males performed better than females.  Additionally, participants using outcome-focused MP outperformed those in the control group.  Skill level differences between males and females made interpretations regarding the effect of MP repetitions unclear leading to the implementation of a second study where the skill level was equal between males and females.  Forty novice and 40 experienced golfers (USGA handicap < 18), used the outcome-focused MP script (performing zero, one, or two MP repetitions) before test golf putts.  MP tended to improve performance for less skilled golfers, regardless of gender, while MP caused performance to decline for experienced golfers.  Further examination of the results for the experienced performers showed that a critical element was whether or not the golfers had a preperformance routine.  It appears that imposing an imagery routine on golfers with an already existng preperformance routine, may have acted as a distraction and thus hampered performance.  These data indicate that procedural variables can have an impact on the effectiveness of MP.  Performance may be influenced by the content of the MP sequence and the skill level of the study participants.  The number of MP repetitions performed, however, appears to have less impact on performance, although there is a need in future research to examine a more diverse range of values for this variable.