TY - JOUR TI -

Subjective Chronometric Charactetistics of Motor Imagery in Cross Country Skiers of Various Level of Expertise

T2 - Psychology. Journal of Higher School of Economics IS - Psychology. Journal of Higher School of Economics KW - sport psychology KW - mental imagery KW - mental training KW - mental practice KW - mental imagery chronometry KW - mental imagery speed KW - mental imagery perspective KW - control of imagined movement KW - motor skills KW - cross country skiing AB - This article investigates the meaning of the chronometric structure through its connection with other features of the mental image, including perspective, accessibility, and the type of cues used, as well as the level of expertise. The study was conducted with the participation of 54 cross-country skiers of the highest possible skill range. The subjects imagined their own performance of the elements of the open field skating technique (total of 11 descriptions). The studied features of imagery were assessed by means of a specially designed questionnaire. In order to determine the level of expertise, expert scores were obtained for the technical execution of the skating technique, as well as the number of cycles in the middle 60 m in two 100 m roller-ski trials, one of which was performed in the dual task settings. Using cluster analysis, the athletes were grouped based on skill level and predominantly used imagery perspective. The study showed that in ~74% of the cases, subjects rated the tempo of their imagery as corresponding to the actual movement; in the remaining cases, static images were 1.5 times more common than slow-motion images. Evidence was obtained to support the conception of static images as of an extreme degree of slowing down for tracking important cues. Chronometrically altered images were more associated with initial and highest skill levels, 1st-person imagery perspective, and appraisal of movement in a non-visual modality based on its structure. These associations indicate to the use of chronometrically altered images as to the means of in-depth subjective analysis of an action. The slow-motion imagery at the initial stages of training with its gradual acceleration to the speed equivalent to the real action is justified. AU - Igor Kaminskiy AU - Tatyana Kaminskaya AU - Sergey Leonov AU - Irina Polikanova AU - Natalya Geppe UR - https://psy-journal.hse.ru/en/2022-19-2/670753182.html PY - 2022 SP - 278-302 VL - 19