راحتی ورزشکاران از پیش بینی تصویربرداری تصویرسازی آنها و استفاده از یادگیری مشاهده ای

Following the development of the Sport Imagery Ability Questionnaire (SIAQ; Williams & Cumming, 2011), the aim of the present two studies was to more comprehensively examine the relationship between sport-related imagery ability and the functions of imagery and observational learning (OL) athletes report. A second aim was to establish the SIAQ’s predictive validity. Design Two samples of cross-sectional questionnaire data are presented in two studies. Method For both studies, athletes were recruited from a variety of team and individual sports, ranging in competitive level and years of experience. In Study 1, 117 participants (41 male and 76 female) with a mean age of 24.38 (SD = 9.46) completed the SIAQ and the Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ; Hall, Mack, Paivio, & Hausenblas, 1998). In Study 2, 221 participants (83 male and 138 female) with a mean age of 22.34 (SD = 7.66) completed the SIAQ and the Functions of Observational Learning Questionnaire (FOLQ; Cumming, Clark, Ste-Marie, McCullagh, & Hall, 2005). Results Athletes’ imagery ability significantly predicted their imagery and OL use. Moreover, with the exception of performance OL, predictions were stronger when the type of imagery ability closely matched the function of imagery or OL being predicted. Conclusions As well as demonstrating the predictive validity of the SIAQ, results from both studies support the need to use imagery ability measures that most closely match the type of imagery or OL being used.

Imagery is a popular technique well-utilized by athletes of all levels to enhance various aspects of their performance, including refining skills and strategies, regulating emotions and activation levels, and managing cognitions and motivational drive (for reviews see Cumming and Ramsey, 2009 and Murphy et al., 2008). To explain these benefits, Paivio (1985) classified imagery as serving cognitive and motivational functions at specific and general levels. The resulting 2 × 2 framework was then further extended by Hall et al. (1998) to the five functions that have underpinned sport imagery research over the last 15 years. These functions are: (1) cognitive specific (CS; imagery to improve sport skills); (2) cognitive general (CG; imagery to improve strategies, game plans, and routines); (3) motivational specific (MS; imagery to aid goal attainment); (4) motivational general-arousal (MG-A; imagery to regulate affect, arousal, and anxiety); and (5) motivational general-mastery (MG-M; imagery to manage positive cognitions and achieve appropriate attentional focus).

Data screening Based on previous recommendations, all data was screened for missing cases, skewness and kurtosis, and multivariate outliers (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007). There were no missing values or cases identified as outliers therefore all data was retained for the analysis. SIAQ and SIQ descriptive characteristics and correlations Means and standard deviations for the SIAQ and SIQ subscales were calculated. Mean values for the SIAQ ranged from 4.67 to 6.03 and for the SIQ ranged from 4.18 to 5.19. Significant bivariate correlations, small to moderate in size ranging from .20 to .66, identified relationships between the SIAQ and the SIQ. Each subscale on the SIAQ correlated most highly with its associated subscale on the (e.g., skill imagery ability correlated most highly with CS imagery use). Means, standard deviations, and correlations between the SIAQ and SIQ are reported in Table 1.