Imagery meaning and content in golf: Effects on performance, anxiety, and confidence

Abstract

This study examined the effect of imagery content and participant skill level on the interpretation (i.e. image meaning) of a negative image (i.e. a golf putt missing the hole), while also investigating the effect of imagery content and skill level on performance, anxiety, and confidence in a golf putting task. Seventy-nine participants (40 novices, 39 expert golfers; M age = 19.54 years, SD = 1.39) completed a golf putting task in which putting anxiety, confidence, and performance were assessed. Participants were then randomly allocated to one of two imagery scripts; imaging missing the target by 20 cm or imaging missing the target by 40 cm before completing the putting block for a second time. Irrespective of imagery condition, experts perceived the imagery as significantly more unhelpful compared to novices (p < .01). At Block 2, the far miss group had significantly higher cognitive (p < .001) and somatic (p = .013) anxiety intensity than at Block 1 and performed significantly worse (p = .003) than the near miss group. However, there were no differences in the perceived helpfulness of the imagery across the imagery groups. Therefore, imagery perception does not always reflect the outcomes experienced. Image meaning is associated with individual characteristics (e.g. skill level).

Keywords:

• outcome imagery
• skill level
• revised applied model of deliberate imagery use
• golf putting

Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge Harry Chapple, Lee Elliott, Matthew Fieldsend, Matthew Jones, Jade Lucas, Matthew Smith, and Benjamin Yeomans for their assistance with participant recruitment and data collection.

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at http://10.1080/1612197X.2016.1242150

ORCiD

Mary L. Quinton http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0636-6957

Jennifer Cumming http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5655-7842

Sarah E. Williams http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4142-0813

Notes

1 The full scripts are available from the lead author.

2 See supplement Table 1 for all means and standard deviations.

3 See supplement Table 2 for all correlations.