I Imagine the Game: A New Training Method

"We need to be relentless with our own curiosity and drive, and allow our mind to imagine the possibilities that come from a flexible attitude of trying against the odds.” Jonathan Rhodes

Craving and Imagination

The stronger our craving for something, the stronger we imagine it and want it fulfilled. Extensive research confirms the impact of mental imagery on our desires and vice versa. Indeed, "mental imagery is much more strongly emotionally charged than other types of thought." Our "mental imagery is what gives a drug and/or dysfunctional cravings and behaviours dominance over other thoughts."?

However, "conversely, (our imagination) can also be what makes us work consistently and successfully towards a new goal despite obstacles." This practice of "imagery rescripting "is ancient knowledge. "In their earliest writings, Buddhists believed that vice is both an affliction and a means of change, even into the greatest possible virtue, Enlightenment. This transformation depends on a 'co-arising' out of destructive emotion so that the vice is the means of its own change."

Functional Imagery Training

A relatively new counseling method called Functional Imagery Training (FIT) shows individuals how to channel mental imagery that is positive, goal-oriented, and success-driven on a self-directed and sustained basis. A research team developed FIT from the University of Plymouth and the Queensland University of Technology based on two decades of peer-reviewed, published scientific research.?

?The training method involves progressive, tailored, personalized exercises. For example, individuals envision a future where change has occurred and successfully overcome challenges by developing specific "if-then" scenarios. Individuals imagine their desired scenarios, for instance, not solely as a mental exercise but as "drawing on all senses" to experience that goal fully - vividly and creatively - including the related people, objects, and actions involved.?

"Called Layered Stimulus Response Training, the technique teaches participants to build up images in layers, creating increasingly rich and vivid images," which intensifies Motivational Thought Frequency (MTF) "through cycles of imaging, evaluating, and reflecting, and developing, (trainees) can gradually add more details each time to practice and refine their imagery skills." As Dr. Jackie Andrade, a FIT co-creator, explains, "until it becomes a habitual way of thinking."

Applications

Functional Imagery Training has two broad applications in mental health therapies and sports psychology. The method has proven highly effective in treating addiction recovery depression, anxiety, eating disorders, stress reduction, and weight management.?

?While professional athletes have used visualization in training for generations, FIT is a consistently reliable and replicable method for athletes wanting to improve their competitive performance, individually and as a team.

A recent study, for example, examines how FIT enabled "self-professed non-runners to complete an ultra-marathon (50km plus)." Dr. Jonathan Rhodes, another FIT co-creator and study author, explains why. "Multi-sensory imagery is the key difference between those who reach the starting line and then go on to finish, and those who do not—showing it is critical to maintaining changes and pushing the boundaries of physical and mental performance."?

The following is a beautiful illustration of how a top athlete, Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho, intuitively harnesses his innate cognitive capacity creatively to support maximum performance.?

"So what I do, always before a game, always, every night and every day, is try and think up things, imagine plays, which no one else will have thought of, and to do so always bearing in mind the particular strength of each team-mate to whom I am passing the ball. When I construct those plays in my mind, I take into account whether one team-mate likes to receive the ball at his feet, or ahead of him; if he is good with his head, and how he prefers to head the ball; if he is stronger on his right or his left foot. That is my job. That is what I do. I imagine the game".

PETTLEP?

In 2007, Dr. Peter S. Holmes, a professor and sports psychologist, introduced a method enabling athletes to practice "motor imagery (MI) interventions more effectively, involving the systematic and repeated imagination of visual and kinaesthetic components of movement." He coined the acronym?

PETTLEP represents the seven core elements needed to establish a routine practice regimen.?

• Physical: Imagine the relevant biological characteristics, such as a footballer dressed in their kit with the football at their feet.
• Environment:?Visualize the performance in the actual environment, like a football pitch.
• Task:?Focus on relevant details, considering attentional demands and imaging at the appropriate level of expertise for the performer.
• Timing:?The most effective approach is to imagine in 'real-time,' but 'slow motion' imagery to emphasize and perfect more challenging aspects of a skill.
• Learning:?Continuously adapt and review the imagery over time to match changing task demands and the athlete's experience level.
• Emotion:?Include the same feelings that would be felt in the physical situation, avoiding debilitative emotions like fear or panic.
• Perspective:?The imagery perspective can be first person (through your own eyes) or third person (like watching yourself on video), depending on the task characteristics.

Research has reported consistent benefits for PETTLEP-informed imagery interventions in the last two decades. It has become one of the most dominant models for structuring MI interventions in sports.

SIAQ?

In 2011, Dr. Sarah E. Williams and Dr. Jennifer Cumming published "The Sport Imagery Ability Questionnaire ", a 15-item instrument that assesses "five types of athlete imagery ability: skill imagery ability, strategy imagery ability, goal imagery ability, affect imagery ability, and mastery imagery ability."?

The SIAQ evaluates athletes' ability to use mental imagery in sports performance. It provides a standardized and systematic way to assess an athlete's imagery skills across different domains. The questionnaire can help identify an athlete's strengths and weaknesses in mental imagery by measuring various aspects of ability.

Conclusion

The relationship between applied imagination, transformation, and performance is indisputable. These principles are not limited to sports psychology or therapeutic interventions and can be applied universally. ?Accordingly, individuals and teams can elevate their performance, overcome challenges, and attain their objectives across different domains by grasping the power of their imaginations and natural capacity for generative imagery.

Research

·???? Andrade, J. (n.d.). Professor Jackie Andrade. Plymouth University. https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/research/plymouth-pioneers/professor-jackie-andrade

·???? Andrade, J., Khalil, M., Dickson, J., May, J., & Kavanagh, D. J. (2016). Functional Imagery Training to Reduce Snacking: Testing a Novel Motivational Intervention Based on Elaborated Intrusion Theory. Appetite, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26877217/

·???? Condon, D. (2020). The Four-Factor Imagination Scale (FFIS): A Measure for Assessing Frequency, Complexity, Emotional Valence, and Directedness of Imagination. Psychological Research, 84, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31302774/

·???? Holmes, P. S. (2007). The PETTLEP Approach to Motor Imagery: A Functional Equivalence Model for Sport Psychologists. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 13(1), https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10413200109339004

·???? Krapivin, P. (2023, July 12). Can We Imagine Our Way To Better Performance? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/pavelkrapivin/2023/07/12/can-we-imagine-our-way-to-better-performance/?sh=6aa0a7cd365c

·???? Pavey, D. (2004). How Mahayana Buddhists Awaken Full Potential and Overcome Destructive Emotions, https://www.lulu.com/shop/don-pavey/buddhist-colour-how-mahayana-buddists-overcome-destructive-emotions-and-awaken-full-potential-transmitting-personal-faults-and-vices-into-transcendant-viruses/ebook/product-20866961.html?page=1&pageSize=4

·???? Quinton, M. (n.d.). Imagery in Sport: Elite Athlete Examples and the PETTLEP Model. https://members.believeperform.com/imagery-in-sport-elite-athlete-examples-and-the-pettlep-model/

·???? Rhodes, J., Nedza, K., May, J., Jenkins, T., & Stone, T. (2021). From Couch to Ultra Marathon: Using Functional Imagery Training to Enhance Motivation. Journal of Imagery Research in Sport and Physical Activity, [Published date], DOI: 10.1515/jirspa-2021-0011

·???? Scott, M. W., Wright, D. J., Smith, D., & Holmes, P. S. (Year). Twenty Years of PETTLEP Imagery: An Update and New Direction for Simulation-Based Training. Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2(2),

·???? Tilkes, K. (2020, September 23). The Neuroscience of Mental Imagery as it Relates to Athlete Performance. Medium. https://kaylatilkes.medium.com/the-neuroscience-of-mental-imagery-as-it-relates-to-athlete-performance-a861bc4b3489

·???? University of Birmingham. (2023). Imagery Training Could Give Esport Athletes a Competitive Edge, https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2023/imagery-training-could-give-esport-athletes-a-competitive-edge#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20new%20study,well%20to%20the%20esport%20arena.

·???? Vealey, R., & Wright, E. (2023). Using imagery to build confidence in esports. Journal of Imagery Research in Sport and Physical Activity, 20220023. https://doi.org/10.1515/jirspa-2022-0023

?