The Psychology of Mental Imagery in Movement and Action

The Psychology of Mental Imagery in Movement and Action provides an up-to-date evaluation of mental imagery research, from a theoretical and applied understanding, and presents new findings on how the field of mental imagery has progressed in the areas of movement and action. Mental imagery has become one of the most widely adopted psychological training techniques by coaches, athletes, and mental performance practitioners, with extensive research proving its benefit for athletic and general populations in preparing for competition, reducing anxiety, improving the performance of motor skills, and rehabilitating from injury. In recent years, mental imagery research has experienced a resurgence with new findings providing greater clarity on how mental imagery may work and how it may best be implemented by practitioners to enhance successful outcomes. The Psychology of Mental Imagery in Movement and Action explores these new findings and may inform an enhanced understanding of mental imagery theory, procedures, protocols, strategies, and techniques aimed at enhancing the performance and learning of movement and action. Discussed in this book are key areas of mental imagery practice across different settings and populations such as action preparation and performance, strategies for designing and delivering imagery interventions, optimizing strength performance, and emerging areas of research and applied imagery practice. Practical implications are provided for those practitioners who may be involved in developing movement and action, including coaches, rehabilitation specialists, and mental performance consultants and is key reading for academics and students alike in the field of sport psychology.

Riki S. Lindsay is a motor learning and skill acquisition academic in the discipline of health and physical education at Federation University Australia. He is the author of a number of journal articles, book chapters, and conference publications that have primarily focused on learning and developing motor skills. Cornelia Frank is Professor in Human Movement Science in the Faculty of Human and Health Sciences at the University of Bremen in Germany and Member of the high-profile area Minds, Media, Machines. She has authored journal articles spanning movement science, sport psychology, and cognitive psychology as well as book chapters and has edited several volumes in these areas. Dominic G. McNeil is a Senior Lecturer of Sport and Exercise Psychology at Federation University Australia. Dominic has held academic positions at a number of Australian Universities for over 15 years, teaching in the areas of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Motor Learning and Performance, and Cognitive Psychology. Michael Spittle is Professor in Motor Learning and Skill Acquisition, in the College of Sport, Health and Engineering, and a Research Associate in the Institute for Health and Sport (IHES) at Victoria University (VU). In addition to being an author of numerous journal articles, he has written several textbooks in skill acquisition and imagery in sport.

1. Introduction to Mental Imagery in Movement and Action, 2. Current Theories of Motor Imagery, 3. Neurophysiological Underpinnings of Mental Imagery in Movement and Action, 4. The Role of Imagery Ability in Movement and Action, 5. Imagery Perspective, Modality and Uses in Movement and Action, 6. Motor imagery and skill development: Intervention Design and Delivery Recommendations for Effective Motor Imagery Practice, 7. Combining Action Observation and Motor Imagery (AO+MI): Mechanisms, Applications, and Guidelines for Enhancing Motor Learning and Rehabilitation, 8. Dynamic Motor Imagery Use for Sports Performance, 9. Implementing Motor Imagery for Physical Preparation and Performance: Is Consideration Needed for Imagery Integration into Practice?, 10. Rehabilitation and Mental Imagery in Movement and Action, 11. Motor Imagery Ability Across the Lifespan, 12. Motor Imagery Ability in Neuro-atypical Individuals Across the Lifespan, 13. Observations and Future Reflections on Mental Imagery in Movement and Action