Dissertation, Sports Imagery

University Degree Business and Administrative studies

UNIVERSITY OF LINCOLN

FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW

REC3030
DISSERTATION

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERNAL VERSUS EXTERNAL IMAGERY TRAINING AMONG CRICKET PLAYERS

SUBMITTED BY

MARK CHRISTOPHER HUGHES

Supervisor: Robin Wright MSc

In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bsc (Hons) Recreation Management

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of internal and external mental imagery among a sample of University cricket students. The subjects (n=18) were split up into three equal groups, internal imagery (group A) no imagery (group B) and external imagery (group C). Each mental imagery group included two County standard players.

All the cricketers completed three ‘cover drive’ shot experiments over a six week period. The pre-test was undertaken during week 1, after which each subject within groups A (IN) and C (EX) were provided with an imagery script depending on the perspective. Each subject practiced their mental scripts for test 1, during week 3 and continued this process until week 6 for the final test. During the evaluation period, a number of subjects were interviewed to determine their own personal thoughts of imagery effectiveness.

After the six week period of training the data was assembled and the analysis upon each individual was conducted. The two separate imagery perspectives were compared through a series of graphs based on the elite performers versus the novice performers.

The results showed no significant difference between internal and external imagery. External imagery was only insignificantly more effective than internal imagery, however it was known that mental imagery is far more effective than no imagery at all. The County standard players also proved the difference in imagery effectiveness by contributing a higher average test score than the novice subjects.

Acknowledgements

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following people for their continuous support and invaluable guidance throughout the duration of the study:

Robin Wright MSc

Dissertation Supervisor

University of Lincoln

Andrew Suddaby

Lecturer

University of Lincoln

Gregory Woolley, Mark Parmley

Mark Skinner, Charles Everest and Maxwell Underwood

Course mates and close friends

And last but not least, my parents for their constant support financially and emotionally during the duration of my time at Lincoln University.

List of Abbreviations

TSA Test Score Average

A Age

M Mean

NI No Imagery group

IN Internal Imagery group

EX External Imagery Group

CSB County Standard Batsmen

IA Imagery Ability

MS Motivational-specific

MG-M Motivational general-mastery

MG-A Motivational general-arousal

CS Cognitive specific

CG Cognitive general

List of Figures

Figure 2.9 Pavio’s Two Dimensional Model

Figure 2.10 Model based on four types of attentional focus

Figure 3.5 Diagram Outlining Test Set Up (For Right Handed Batsmen)

Figure 4.2 Internal Imagery Test Scores

Figure 4.2.1 No Imagery Test Scores

Figure 4.2.2 External Imagery Test Scores

Figure 4.2.3 Overall Mean Imagery Group’s Test Scores

Figure 4.3.1 Subject 5’s Questionnaire Results

Figure 4.3.2 Subject 6’s Questionnaire Results

Figure 4.3.3 Subject 5’s Questionnaire Results

Figure 4.4 Imagery Score over Average Test Score

Figure 4.5.1 County players average test scores against the none County subjects

Figure 4.6 County player’s concentration ability Vs none County players

List of Tables

Table 4.2 Descriptive Statistics on Individual Group Scores, Internal Imagery

Table 4.2.1 Descriptive Statistics on No Imagery Group

Table 4.2.2 Descriptive Statistics on External Imagery Group

Table 4.2.3 Overall Average of Pre-Test, Test 1 and Test 2

Table 4.3.2 Mental Skills Questionnaire Results (Subject 6 Group B)

Table 4.3.3 Mental Skills Questionnaire Results (Subject 5 Group C)

Appendices

Appendix A Participants Consent Form

Appendix B Internal Imagery Script

Appendix C External Imagery Script

Appendix D Mental Imagery Questionnaire, Results and Statistics

Appendix E Description of subjects

Appendix F Pre test, Test 1, Test 2 Scores

Appendix G Internal Vs External Vs No Imagery Statistics

Appendix H Pearsons Correlation County Standard Vs None County Standard

Appendix I Internal Vs External Statistics

Appendix J Concentration Levels Graphs and Statistics

Appendix K Subject Interviews

Contents Page

1.0 Introduction _ 1.

1.1 Overview 1.

1.2 Aims of the Present Study 4.

2.0 Literature Review _ 5.

2.1 Introduction 5.

2.2 Overview 6.

2.3 Mental Preparation 7.

2.4 Mental Preparation Performance Enhancement 7.

2.5 Mental Imagery 9.

2.5.1 Internal Imagery 10.

2.5.2 External Imagery 10.

2.6 Mental Imagery Effectiveness 11.

2.7 Internal Versus External 13.

2.8 Mental Imagery Theories 14.

2.9 Imagery Types 17.

2.10 Experience Level and Attentional Focus 20.

2.11 Summary of Literature Review 22.

3.0 Methodology _ 24.

3.1 Objectives 24.

3.2 Subjects 25.

3.3 Equipment 26.

3.4 Pre Test 26.

3.5 Experimental Protocol 27.

3.5.1 Study Design 27.

3.5.2 Questionnaire 28.

3.5.3 Textbook Cover Drive Shot 29.

4.0 Findings 32.

4.1 Introduction 32.

4.2 Individual Group Scores, Internal Imagery Group 33.

4.3 Individual Analysis 37.

4.4 Questionnaire Analysis 40.

4.5 Ability Level Analysis 41.

4.6 Concentration Ability: County Standard Versus Non-County Standard 43.

4.7 Summary of Results 44.

5.0 Discussion _ 45.

5.1 Introduction 45.

5.2 Analysis Objective 1 46.

5.3 Analysis Objective 2 49.

5.4 Analysis Objective 3 52.

5.5 Discussion Summary 55.

6.0 Conclusion _ 56.

6.1 Introduction 56.

6.2 Evaluation of Objective 1 57.

6.3 Evaluation of Objective 2 57.

6.4 Evaluation of Objective 3 58.

6.5 Overall Evaluation 59.

7.0 Recommendations _ 60.

8.0 Reference 61.

9.0 Bibliography _ 73.

10.0 Appendices _ 76.

1.0 Introduction

Overview

Cricket has been an established team sport since the early 13th century. Over a hundred playing nations currently compete in the sport and it has been recognised as one of the fastest growing sports in the world. (K. Sandiford, 1994)

The English Cricket Board has indicated that over the past year regular participation in cricket within secondary schools increased by 10 per cent to about 84 per cent of schools. It is also estimated that around 250,000 adults within the United Kingdom currently participate in playing the game. (ECB 2007)

These increasing participation rates throughout the country will evidently raise the standard of competition. Throughout sport, the victors and losers are often separated by seconds, inches, a poorly timed shot, dropped catch or a lack of concentration. (Weinberg et al, 1994). It is not unusual; therefore, that professional athletes and their coaches have introduced methods of mental preparation as a way to provide an edge within competitions.

“The mental side of cricket is 90% of the game” (Vaughan.M, 2002)

Mental preparation is a very functional strategy to help athletes achieve the ideal performance state of optimal activation and mental readiness. Many studies have examined the effectiveness of mental preparation upon an athlete, but most significantly, Feltz and Landers (1983) discovered that mental rehearsal of an action should be combined with physical rehearsal. (B.Woods 1998) Collectively together they are more effective than just physical rehearsal.

Mental preparation brings numerous benefits, allowing the athletes to improve their personal performances. Obtaining the ideal state of mind is generally the main purpose of performing mental preparation. It enables the athletes to control their mental energy and increase their effective focus. (B.Woods, 1998) The preparation allows the sportsperson to perform without risk of failure, enhancing his self confidence during competition.

‘Psyching-Up’ is a phrase use by Syer and Connolly (1998) that describes the state of mind of an athlete that must be reached to produce an optimal performance. When analysing how athletes ‘psych up’ themselves, there are several mental preparation methods that can be used, including attentional focus, preparatory arousal, self confidence and imagery. (G.C. Roberts, 1999)

Imagery is one of the most popular mental preparation techniques used by athletes to enhance their performance in competitions. The positive effects of imagery have been accepted widely as contributing to performance in sport. (M. Andersen, 2005)

Imagery is a Psychological Skills Training (PST) method that involves rehearsal of a specific skill in a sport without physically performing it. According to Vealey and Martens (2001) imagery has been defined as:

“Using all the senses to re-create or create an experience in the mind” (Vealey & Martens , 2001, p.248)

Cricketers can use imagery to recall past experiences, allowing them to mentally rehearse positive performances in their training programme. Mentally rehearsing different shots throughout a game and also the opponent’s tactics will have a positive effect on three main factors within performing:

Uncertainty

Pressure

Low Self-confidence

The storing and retrieving of information will not only be visual inputs, but also relate to all other necessary senses. (R. Martens, 1987) Athletes will have different abilities to store the mental processes in their brain, although the preparation should have a positive effect on each individual.

Mental Imagery involves two separate methods, internal and external training. Internal imagery training is imaging the specific skill from the athlete’s own perspective. Using necessary senses within the body will aid the transfer of training to competition. (Sports Coach, 2004). Internal imagery also can be rehearsed by the athlete’s recognition of visual and kinaesthetic cues within the skill.

External imagery on the other hand is allowing the athlete to view himself or herself from the perspective of an external observer. The method can be used even if the participant has never performed the skill. Each method has its own advantages, but it has never been established which process is more effective.

Sports psychologists have attempted to understand the exact mechanisms that cause mental imagery to work. Numerous theories exist, but sports psychology lacks a single theory which completely explains the effectiveness of mental imagery.

1.2 Aims of the present study

In the current study, internal and external imagery training methods will be carried out with 18 subjects over a 6 week period to establish the effectiveness of internal and external imagery training with the “cover drive” shot in cricket. The study aims to give ecologically valid results which can be compared with other investigations that have taken place in a similar field setting.

The research will be determining the effectiveness of an internal versus external imagery training program, and also aim to see what effect imagery has on athletes during competitive scenarios. (, Jackson &Weinberg, 1994)

2.0 Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

A literature review is a body of text that aims to review the critical points of current knowledge on a particular topic. Reviewing the literature is an essential task in all research, allowing the author to examine related studies and draw conclusions

Bruce, C. S. (1994) suggests a literature review must entail the following points:

Organisation around and related directly to the thesis or research question you are developing
Synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known
Identify areas of controversy in the literature
Formulate questions that need further research

According to a literature review uses as its database reports of primary or original scholarship, and does not report new primary scholarship itself, and also seeks to describe, summarise, evaluate, clarify and integrate the content of primary reports.

2.2 Overview

“Athletes have always been seeking the competitive edge to improve performance and win”

(Applegate & Grivetti, 1997 pp. 869)

Sport Psychology has become reality, and since the start of the nineteenth century there is clear evidence that athletes have used a variety of Psychology techniques to improve sporting performance. All the way back in 1898, the first considered sports psychologist, Norman Triplett recognised bicyclists sometimes rode faster when they raced in groups or pairs than when they rode alone. (Weinberg & Gould, 1999). Following on, in 1920 the first sports psychology laboratory was founded by Carl Diem, and by 1966 The International Society of Sports Psychology (ISSP) was formed by European sports scientists to create a control centre for all research, teaching, and consultations with athletes and exercisers involved in sports psychology. (Weinberg & Gould, 1999).

However, only recently have sport psychologists began to recognise the beneficial contributions they are supporting athletes in enhancing performance during competitive circumstances. (Driskell & Copper, 1994). Before the 19th century, sports were competed through physical ability, but through the major developments in sports psychology, athletes have now been provided with mental preparation techniques to aid the improvement of individual performances.

2.3 Mental Preparation

Mental Preparation or mental practice describes the collection of techniques available through the skill acquisition process. (Cashmore, 2002) ‘Mental’, which is derived from the Latin word mentalis, for mind, has been seen as an affective tool in enhancing performance. Mental practice allows individuals to practice a physical task through a convert process, although actual images of the task may or may not be present at the time. (Cox, 2002) A mental preparation program is a key ingredient of any sports enhancement program, although some authors have disagrees on the degree of effectiveness.

“Quality mental preparation has been identified as a key element of sporting success” (Hodge, 2004, pp.143)

2.4 Mental Preparation Performance Enhancement

Mental Preparation has been the subject of many sport psychology studies since the start of the 19th century due to its possible performance enhancement. One of the first sports related studies performed by Kelsey (1961) examined the effects of mental practice upon muscular endurance, and research has been ongoing till present day regarding the effectiveness of mental preparation.

Although research is still being covered throughout the area, there haven’t been any recently published studies with regards to mental preparation and effectiveness. Mahoney (1978) conducted one of the earliest studies relating to the effectiveness of cognitive strategies upon weightlifters. The research concluded that mental preparation provided improved strength towards the group of subjects involved in the variety of mental practice strategies. The strategies included preparatory arousal, self-statements of competence, attentional focus and imagery in which Weinberg, Gould and Jackson (1980) also found effective while conducting a similar study involving three motor tasks. The results also found an effect upon strength although no influence was proven against the speed.

In similar vein, Kelsey (1961) and Simons (1982) both conducted studies upon the effectiveness of mental preparation which concluded positive results, although Beasley (1979) found negative results while conducting an experiment upon chemistry students to analysis the effectiveness of mental preparation.

Two of the most famous names involved in sport psychology are Feltz & Landers (1983). A report (Feltz, Landers, 1988), and an even more recent analysis (Hinshaw, 1991-92), verified that mental practice effects are real, confirming the general results of earlier reviews (Feltz & Landers, 1983; Richardson, 1967). Feltz & Landers (1983) have conducted over 60 meta-analytic examination studies where mental practice was compared to a variety of control conditions. The studies stated, the cognitive rehearsal conditions revealed a stronger performance rather than non-instructional performance.

Whilst there are many mental preparation techniques available to athletes, very few documents have created reliable effectiveness upon an athlete. Many of the preparation techniques may not produce the same success with each individual athlete. Each separate study has there own methods of conducting the experimental task, and each separate study has revealed different findings, therefore it has been considered it is far to difficult to incorporate each contrasting research study in order to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of mental practice. (Driskell, Copper & 1994)

2.5 Mental Imagery

Imagery is known as a method of mental practice or preparation. The method has been seen to contribute positive affects on professional athletes throughout the world including basketball legend Michael Jordan, Chris Evert in tennis, Mike Piazza in baseball, Greg Louganis in diving and Nancy Kerrigan figure skating. Cox (2007) states imagery is the language of the brain and has become a useful tool for all great athletes involved in sport, as Cockerill (2002) re-emphasises, imagery as being the most common component of any sport psychology intervention with most athletes using the method. The method involves retrieving an experience from memory and using it in a meaningful way or it may involve creating an image of a new experience from cues or visual aids. (Weinberg & Gould, 1999).

Imagery is defined by Martens (1987) as:

“An experience similar to a sensory experience (seeing, feeling, hearing), but arising in the absence of the usual external stimuli” (Martens, 1987 pp.78)

Cox, (1990) explains imagery as a cognitive intervention technique used prior to competition and Cashmore (2002) iterates the subjects need to be able to construct clear and real images which control their content and outcome. The evidence of mental imagery effectiveness will be further examined throughout the study.

2.5.1 Internal Imagery

It is important in this study to distinguish between the ...