Sport Imagery Questionnaire
You've now had a chance to experiment with imagery vividness and control, the two keys to good images. This activity will help you evaluate your images to determine what aspects of imagery you need to focus on to develop your imagery skills. This evaluation is similar to what you might experience before an imagery training program.
Reprinted, by permission, from American Coaching Effectiveness Program, 1987, Sport psychology, level two (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics), 69-71.
Instructions:
1. Read the four imagery situations.
2. Create an image for each situation. Provide as much detail from your imagination as possible to make the image seem real. Think of specific examples of the skill, the people involved, the place, and the time. There are, of course, no right or wrong images.
3. Rate your imagery in the tables provided, using a scale where 1 = very poor and 5 = very well.
Imagery Situations
Situation 1: Select a specific skill or situation in your sport. Imagine yourself performing the activity in the place where you would normally practice, without anyone else present. Now close your eyes for about a minute. Try to see yourself at this place: hear the sounds, feel the body movements, and be aware of your mood.
Situation 2: You are performing the same activity as in situation 1, but this time the coach and your teammates are present. You make a mistake that everyone notices. Now close your eyes for about a minute and imagine making the error and what occurs immediately afterward.
Situation 3: Think of a teammate performing a specific activity unsuccessfully in a contest (e.g., missing a 20-foot shot, being passed by other runners, falling from the balance beam, missing a field goal.) Now close your eyes for about a minute to imagine watching your teammate performing this activity unsuccessfully in a critical part of the contest as vividly and realistically as possible.
Situation 4: Imagine yourself performing the same activity that you imagined your teammate performing in situation 3. Imagine yourself performing the activity very skillfully. Spectators and teammates show their appreciation. Now close your eyes for about a minute and imagine the situation as vividly as possible.