Mental Rehearsal, Imagery and Visualisation in Sport
Mental rehearsal, also called imagery or visualisation, is a cognitive technique in which a performer mentally pictures or rehearses a skill, routine or performance in as much detail as possible, without actually moving, before carrying it out for real.
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Method
- Identify what the scenario needs mental rehearsal to achieve: preparing for a specific skill or action, building confidence before performance, controlling pre-competition anxiety or arousal, or maintaining a skill during a lay-off such as injury.
- Recommend imagery that is specific to the situation given in the question, not generic, and specify what the performer should picture, such as the exact technique, the venue, or the feeling of success.
- State that the imagery should be vivid and multi-sensory, covering what the performer would see, hear and feel, since more detailed imagery more closely rehearses the real neural and muscular pathways used in the actual skill.
- State that the imagery should be positive, rehearsing correct, successful execution, since rehearsing mistakes can reinforce poor technique or increase anxiety.
- Link the technique to the underlying benefit relevant to the scenario: lowering arousal towards the optimal point if anxiety is the issue, building confidence and focus if self-doubt is the issue, or maintaining a skill's neural pathways if it is being used during an injury lay-off.
- For extended questions, be specific about when the rehearsal should happen, such as the night before, in the warm-up, or in the moments immediately before an action, and why that timing suits the situation described.
Worked example
A high jumper has recently changed her run-up technique and is due to compete for the first time with the new technique in two days. She says she feels unsure whether she will remember the new pattern under pressure. Suggest how she could use mental rehearsal to prepare, and explain why it should help.
- Identify the need: she needs to reinforce a recently changed technical pattern and build confidence that she can produce it under pressure.
- Recommend specific imagery: she should mentally rehearse the exact new run-up, step by step, from the starting mark through to take-off, several times over the two days before competing.
- Specify vividness: the rehearsal should include what she would see, the approach to the bar, feel, the rhythm and timing of each new stride, and hear, her own footsteps or breathing, not just a vague mental note.
- Specify positivity: she should picture the new run-up being executed correctly and smoothly, leading to a successful jump, not picture herself making the old mistake or hesitating.
- Explain the benefit: repeatedly and vividly rehearsing the correct pattern should reinforce the new technique in her memory, increasing her confidence that she can reproduce it automatically under the pressure of competition, without having to consciously think through each step.
Practice questions
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Q1Define mental rehearsal in a sporting context.Show answer
Answer: A cognitive technique in which a performer mentally pictures or rehearses a skill or performance, in detail, without physically moving, before carrying it out.
Q2Give one reason a performer might use mental rehearsal while recovering from injury.Show answer
Answer: To help maintain or reinforce the mental pattern of a skill when physical practice is not possible, so less is lost by the time they return to full training.
Q3Explain why mental rehearsal should generally involve picturing a successful outcome rather than a mistake.Show answer
Answer: Rehearsing mistakes can reinforce poor technique or increase anxiety, whereas rehearsing success builds confidence and reinforces the correct pattern.
Q4State one sense, other than sight, that effective imagery should ideally include.Show answer
Answer: For example, the feel, or kinaesthetic sense, of the movement, or the sound associated with it.
Q5Give one situation, other than before a competition, when a performer might use mental rehearsal.Show answer
Answer: For example, during an injury lay-off, to help maintain the mental pattern of a skill, or immediately before executing a specific skill, such as a free throw.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Physical Education exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
A rugby goal-kicker takes each kick using exactly the same routine, including a period of mental rehearsal before he steps up to strike the ball. Explain what he should be picturing during this mental rehearsal, and why it should improve his kicking success.
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A trampolinist has to perform a new, more difficult routine for the first time at a major competition next week. She says she keeps 'seeing herself falling' when she thinks about it, and this is making her more nervous the closer the competition gets. Discuss how she could use mental rehearsal differently to address this problem.
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See real GCSE Physical Education past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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