The Effect of Mental Practice on Performance: Problems and Practical Recommendations

Daniel M. Landers

In this presentation  I will attempt to provide an understanding of the behavioral and psycho-physiological research literature on
mental practice/imagery (MP) related to motor and sport performance. This presentation will consist of: (a) a brief review the overall effects of MP on motor performance as well as selected moderator variables which have implications for when MP should be given relative to physical practice (PP) and the number of MP trials required for different types of motor tasks; (b) a description of research findings dealing with procedural variables associated with MP (i.e., whether MP should come before or after PP and the length of MP sessions); (c) a review of the research literature on "internal/external" and "outcome/form"
focus during motor imagery; (d) a description of research which shows that, if MP is given to elite athletes who already have
preperformance routines, performance will be impaired; (e) a review of research showing a confounding factor in MP
studies--that of demonstrating the skill prior to participants engaging in MP (i.e., two recent studies showing
that modeling effects are greater than MP effects); and (f) research literature showing that changes in heart rate, respiration rate, brain activity, and electromyographical (EMG) activity associated with real and imagined movements.  These psycho- physiological findings show that, compared with real movements, the patterning of physiological activity associated with MP is not exactly the same for heart rate, respiration, and cortical measures, but there is considerable functional equivalence.  However, there is no functional equivalence between real and imagined movements when muscular (EMG) measures are examined.  The presentation will conclude with a synopsis of gaps in our present scientific knowledge of MP, as well as what the current research literature means for practitioners in the field.