Dear Tipsters, Further to Jim's citation of Alan Paivio there is a vast literature on the effects of "mental practice" (usually visual imagery) on performance. For an easy-to-read summary see the texts by Wann or Cox (listed below).
Meta analyses have been conducted in the 1980s and 1990s and show that mental practice can enhance performance under certain conditions. To quote Driskell et al. (1994) "the effectiveness of mental practice was moderated by the type of task, the retention interval between practice and performance, and the length or duration of the mental practice intervention." I have cited some other articles below but hope you will excuse a personal anecdote. I had a part in a play a couple of years ago and found that I had difficulty learning lines. In the end I mastered them and can report that I engaged in many private visual rehearsals of the scenes, including actions, in order to make the dialogue meaningful and to link it to other events(deep processing). Usually I imagined myself from the first person point of view (internal imagery). Internal vs external imagery has itself been a topic of debate in the visual imagery literature. Sincerely, Stuart References Tests Cox, R. H. (2007). Sport psychology, 6th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill Wann, D. L. (1997). Sport psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Meta Analyses Feltz, D. L., & Landers, D. M. (1983). The effects of mental practice on motor skill learning and performance.: A meta-analysis. Journal of Sport Psychology, 5, 25-57. Driskell, J. E., Copper, C., & Moran, A. (1994). Does mental practice enhance performance? Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 481-492. Other Grouis, G. (1992). The effect of mental practice on diving performance. International Journal of Sport Psychologyu, 23, 60-69. ___________________________________________________________________ Stuart J. McKelvie, Ph.D., Phone: (819)822-9600, Extension 2402 Department of Psychology, Fax: (819)822-9661 Bishop's University, 2600 College Street, Sherbrooke (Borough of Lennoxville), Québec J1M 0C8, Canada. E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Bishop's University Psychology Department Web Page: http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy ___________________________________________________________ -----Original Message----- From: Jim Clark [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: September 15, 2007 5:14 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Effectiveness of visualization techniques? Hi Allan Paivio, proponent of dual-coding theory, summarized some of the potential benefits of mental practice (imagery) and (I think) some findings up to 1985. See reference below. There are numerous studies of this question, so you should be able to find more recent examples of actual research and review articles with a literature search. If memory serves correct, the effectiveness of imagery for actual skill development depends on such factors as the nature of the activity (e.g., substantial cognitive demands or not), level of training of practitioner (complete novice or some experience), and the like. Paivio, A. (1985). Cognitive and motivational functions of imagery in human performance. Canadian Journal of Applied Sport Sciences, 10, 22S-28S. Take care Jim James M. Clark Professor of Psychology 204-786-9757 204-774-4134 Fax [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 15-Sep-07 6:58:59 AM >>> Does anyone know of any studies that have been done to determine whether or not visualization techniques actually work? For example, if baseball players visualize themselves hitting the ball, or public speakers visualize their speech going really well - that type of thing. Michael www.thepsychfiles.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- --- ---
