Vividness
How clear, detailed and experientially rich is the image?
LEARN SPORT PSYCHOLOGY / MODULE 03Imagery &
SENSE, REHEARSE & ADAPT
Imagery &
Mental Practice.
Deliberately creating or recreating a sporting experience so that the mind and body can rehearse skills, decisions and responses without completing the full physical action.
SEEFEELHEARMOVEREHEARSE
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
- Define imagery and distinguish it from passive daydreaming.
- Explain imagery perspective, modality, vividness and controllability.
- Identify cognitive, motivational and regulatory imagery functions.
- Apply the seven PETTLEP considerations to mental practice.
- Construct and evaluate an individualised sport-imagery sequence.
A WORKING DEFINITION
Experience without
full execution.
Sport imagery is the deliberate creation or recreation of an experience using sensory and movement information, without completing the entire physical performance.
Imagery can involve visual information, movement sensation, sound, touch, spatial awareness and emotion. It should normally complement physical practice—not replace it.
Controllability
Can the athlete intentionally start, guide, stop and revise the image?
Perspective
Is the experience viewed through one’s own eyes, from outside, or flexibly between both?
Modality
Which senses and movement feelings carry the most useful information?
IMAGERY PERSPECTIVE
Inside the action.
Outside the action.
No single perspective is universally superior. Select the view that best serves the athlete’s purpose and imagery ability.
First-person experience
See and feel the action as if looking through your own eyes. This may emphasise timing, sensation and environmental cues.
Observer perspective
View the action as if watching yourself from a camera position. This may support form, positioning and whole-body patterns.
WHY ATHLETES USE IMAGERY
Purpose should
shape content.
Skill & strategy
Rehearse movement patterns, tactical decisions, routines and sequences.
Confidence
Represent effective preparation, coping and successful task execution.
Arousal & emotion
Practise responding to pressure, bodily activation and disruptive moments.
Goals & persistence
Connect daily preparation with meaningful performance standards and sustained effort.
WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS
Mental practice can help—
within clear limits.
Better than no practice
Reviews indicate that mental practice can improve motor performance compared with no practice, although physical practice generally produces stronger effects.
Schuster et al. (2011) ↗Functional relevance matters
Imagery is strengthened when its physical, environmental and psychological features resemble actual preparation and execution.
Holmes & Collins (2001) ↗Ability and interpretation vary
The athlete’s imagery ability, intended meaning, situation and outcome must be considered; one standard script will not fit everyone.
Cumming & Williams (2013) ↗THE PETTLEP CHECKLIST
Make imagery
functionally relevant.
PETTLEP is a set of design considerations, not a guarantee. Use it to make mental practice more closely resemble the performance being prepared.
Physical
Adopt the body position, clothing, equipment and activation level associated with the real task.
Environment
Recreate the performance setting through the actual venue, photographs, video, sound or detailed cues.
Task
Match the imagery content to the exact demands and attentional features of the skill.
Timing
Rehearse in real time unless there is a clear learning reason to slow or segment the action.
Learning
Update the image as technique, tactics and the athlete’s stage of learning change.
Emotion
Include relevant feelings and arousal without overwhelming the athlete or rehearsing panic.
Perspective
Choose internal, external or flexible perspective according to the athlete, task and purpose.
IMAGERY IS A SKILL
Assess before prescribing.
Athletes differ in how easily they generate, control and maintain images. Difficulty visualising does not mean imagery is impossible: some athletes rely more strongly on movement sensation, sound, rhythm or spatial awareness.
Can the athlete create the image?Can the athlete control the outcome?Can relevant sensations be included?Does the image remain at useful speed?Does it evoke the intended response?
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO APPLICATION
Rehearse the
real performance.
Imagery becomes more useful when it is tied to a specific action, setting, pressure demand and response.
Exchange under pressure
A relay athlete rehearses the call, acceleration, hand position and sensation of receiving the baton at full speed.
- PETTLEP design
- Wear spikes, hold a baton, stand in the exchange zone and rehearse in real time with stadium noise.
- Evaluation
- Compare imagery timing, controllability and exchange-zone accuracy with physical practice.
The opening over
A bowler rehearses the run-up, wrist position, target line and response after an early boundary.
- PETTLEP design
- Use the real ball and approach marker; include rhythm, crowd sound, activation and the planned reset.
- Evaluation
- Record whether the imagery improves routine consistency and the first-over plan.
APPLIED TOOL
Construct an imagery
sequence that can be tested.
Choose one purpose
Skill, strategy, confidence, emotional regulation or recovery from disruption.
Define the scene
Where, when, against whom and under what performance demand?
Add relevant senses
Prioritise the visual, kinaesthetic, auditory and spatial information the athlete actually uses.
Apply PETTLEP
Match the physical state, environment, timing, learning stage, emotion and perspective.
Include coping
Rehearse an effective response to one realistic disruption rather than only ideal success.
Evaluate
Rate vividness, controllability, functional relevance and subsequent performance evidence.
60-SECOND PRACTICE TEMPLATE
0–10 sSet posture and breathing→10–20 sEnter the performance setting→20–45 sRehearse the action in real time→45–55 sRespond to one disruption→55–60 sFinish with the next controllable action
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
Design imagery with purpose.
Why should imagery not be described as merely “seeing success”?
Which PETTLEP element is neglected when a sprinter rehearses a race in slow motion without a learning purpose?
Give one situation where an external perspective may be useful.
How would you evaluate whether an imagery routine is helping performance?
FOUNDATIONAL READING
Sources behind
the module.
- Holmes, P. S., & Collins, D. J. (2001). The PETTLEP approach to motor imagery: A functional equivalence model for sport psychologists. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 13, 60–83.
- Martin, K. A., Moritz, S. E., & Hall, C. R. (1999). Imagery use in sport: A literature review and applied model. The Sport Psychologist, 13, 245–268.
- Cumming, J., & Williams, S. E. (2013). Introducing the revised applied model of deliberate imagery use for sport, dance, exercise, and rehabilitation. Movement & Sport Sciences, 82, 69–81.
- Schuster, C., Hilfiker, R., Amft, O., et al. (2011). Best practice for motor imagery: A systematic literature review on motor imagery training elements in five different disciplines. BMC Medicine, 9, 75.
- Scott, M. W., Wright, D. J., Smith, D., & Holmes, P. S. (2022). Twenty years of PETTLEP imagery: An update and new direction for simulation-based training. Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2, 70–79.
READ · CONNECT · APPLY
A closer look at the concept.
Original teaching guide · Caribbean application · linked research
Mental rehearsal for decisions in Caribbean sport
Move from picturing a perfect result to rehearsing the information, choices and responses that a sporting task requires.
Read the article →WATCH WITH A QUESTION
How to practice effectively…for just about anything
Annie Bosler and Don Greene · TED-Ed
An introductory animation about practice. Use it to consider how mental rehearsal fits into a wider learning plan; it is not a cricket-specific intervention study.
Watch on TED-Ed ↗
Opens the provider’s video page in a new tab. Playback and captions are controlled by the provider.
Set your question
Write the exact skill or decision your fictional athlete wants to improve.
Examine the explanation
Identify one claim about practice and ask what evidence would be needed to apply it to this athlete.
Apply it here
Describe how you would combine a short, task-relevant rehearsal with coached physical practice.
Compare your response with the teaching notes
A useful response names the task, explains the role of rehearsal and retains physical feedback. A general animation cannot establish the ideal training dose for a particular athlete.
Curated external video; the speakers and providers retain their content. No video loads automatically. Source pages checked 16 September 2026. Continue to the interactive activity ↓
PRACTISE THE CONCEPT
Rehearse a decision, not just a result
Build a task-specific imagery script that includes a decision, a disruption and a useful response.
15–20 minutes suggested
Self-study · no grade or certificate
Self-study · no grade or certificate
FICTIONAL CARIBBEAN TEACHING CASE
Start with the sporting situation.
A fictional Tobago club batter imagines lifting the trophy but struggles to read a spinner in practice. The coach asks the batter to rehearse watching the release, judging length and choosing a response. The batter finds movement sensations easier to imagine than a vivid picture.
Your learning goal: Match imagery content and sensory cues to the athlete's task, then explain how to evaluate the rehearsal.
Evidence, with context
Schuster and colleagues reviewed diverse motor-imagery interventions. Variation in tasks and methods limits a single prescription. PETTLEP offers design considerations for making imagery relevant to the performance situation; it is not a guaranteed recipe.
This fictional script supplements coached physical practice. It does not establish an optimal imagery duration or prove improved batting performance.
Check your understanding
0 of 3 questions checkedFROM UNDERSTANDING TO APPLICATION
Your practice plan
Use a fictional or non-identifying example. Do not enter confidential or clinical information. Saving is optional and stays in this browser.
Open a printable blank worksheet ↗Teaching collection: Dr. Marlon Melville
Activity updated 16 September 2026 · Privacy & saved work