experiencing the unpleasant grating sensation of a nail being scraped across a blackboard
(a combination of tactile and auditory images).
Although visual and auditory sensations are easily imagined in sport (e.g., can you
“see” yourself taking a penalty and then “hear” the crowd roar as your shot hits the net?),
the type of feeling-oriented imagery that Tiger Woods referred to earlier in the chapter is
more difficult both to conceptualise and to investigate empirically (see Figure 5.1).
Although few studies have been conducted on feeling-oriented imagery in sport,
Moran and MacIntyre (1998) investigated kinaesthetic imagery processes in elite canoe-
slalom performers (see Box 5.1).
To summarise, we have learned that although mental imagery is a multi-sensory
construct, most studies of imagery processes in athletes have been confined to the visual
sensory modality.
Turning to the second and third points—how images differ from each other—it is clear
that images vary in controllability as well as vividness. “Controllability” refers to the ease
with which mental images can be manipulated by the person who creates them. To
illustrate, can you imagine a feather falling down from the ceiling of your room, slowly
wafting this way and that before gently landing on your desk? Now, see if you can
imagine this feather reversing its path—floating back up towards the ceiling like a
balloon, as if carried higher by a sudden current of air. If you found these mental pictures
easy to create, then you probably have reasonably good control over your imagery. As
another example of this skill, try to imagine yourself standing in front of your house.
How many windows can you see? Count them. Now, using your imagination as a camera
with a zoom lens, try to get a close-up picture of one of the windows. What material are
the frames made of? What colour are the frames? Can you see them in a different colour?
If you can “see” these details of your windows accurately, then you have good imagery
control skills.
Box 5.1 Exploring “feel” in athletes? A study of kinaesthetic imageryResearch on mental imagery in athletes has focused almost exclusively on the visual
sensory modality. This trend is unfortunate because elite performers in sports such as golf
(e.g., Tiger Woods) rely greatiy on “touch” and tend to use their imagination to “feel
shots or movements before they actually execute them. Such kinaesthetic imagery
involves feelings of force and motion or the mental simulation of sensations associated
with bodily movements, Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods,
Moran and MacIntyre (1998) studied kinaesthetic imagery processes in a sample (n−12)
of elite canoe-slalom athletes participating in World Cup competitions. These athletes
were first interviewed about their understanding and use of feeling-oriented imagery in
their sport. Then they were assessed using a battery of measures which included specially
devised likert rating scales and the “Movement Imagery Questionnaire-Revised” (Hall
and Martin, 1997), Next, in an effort to validate their subjective reports on their imagery
experiences (see later in the chapter for a discussion of this problem), the canoe-slalom
competitors were timed as they engaged in a “mental travel” procedure during which they
had to visualise a recent race in their imagination and execute it as if they were paddling
Using imagination in sport: mental imagery and mental practice in athletes 129