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PART III.
Improving Motor Performance
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Mental Pract ic
1
.
A Rev
ed Heta-analysis of the Mental Practice
Literature on Motor Sk
Deborah L. Feltz
ill Learning
Mich iga n S tat e Uni ve rs ity
Da nie l M . Lande rs
Ariz one State Uni ve rs ity
Betsy J. Becker
Michigan State Univers ity
Running hesd: MENTAL PRACTICE
Send correspondence to
Deborah L . Fe ltz
Rm. 210, I.M. Sports Circle
School of Health Education,
Couns e li ng Psy ch olo gy and
Huma n Pe rf ormance
Michigan State University
Eas t Lsnsing, MI 48824
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M e nt a 1 P ra c t i c e
Abstract
The effect of mental practice on subsequent performance of a
motor skill has been the subject of many reviews. The present
review of mental practice effects differed from previous reviews
by examining: (1) learning effects by means of effect sizes for
pretest-to-posttest differences, (2) mental practice effects
compared to no practice, physical practice, and mental and
physical practice, and (3) effect sizes using more contemporary
meta-analytic procedures recommended by Hedges and Olkin (1985).
An overview of meta-analytic procedures is also presented. From
the 48 studies identified as having pretest/posttest comparisons,
the overall average effect size for all practice conditions was
0.43 p<.05). Analysis of categorical comparisons among practice
conditions revealed that physical practice had the largest effect
size followed by combined practice, mental practice, and no
practice (control) conditions. This ordering of effect sizes was
also found for moderating variables of task type (motor tasks)
and dependent measures (accuracy tasks). None of the other
moderating variables were statistically significant. These
findings are discussed in relation to: (a) the conclusions
advanced by previous reviewers of the mental practice literature,
and (b) varying ratios of physical to mental practice for
enhancing learning of motor skills.
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M e nt a 1 P ra c t i c e
A Revised Meta-analysis of the Mental Practice
Literature on Motor Skill Learning
Concomitant with the cognitive revolution in psychology has
been the resurgence of research on mental practice. As a
specific form of practice, mental practice has also been referred
to as symbolic rehearsal (Sackett' 1935) ~ imaginary practice
(Perry, 1939), covert rehearsal (Corbin, 1967), implicit practice
(Morrisett, 1956), mental rehearsal (Whiteley, 1962),
conceptualizing practice (Egstrom, 1964), mental preparation
('Weinberg, 1982), and visualization (Seiderman & Schneider,
1983). According to Richardson (1967, p. 95), "mental practice
refers to the symbolic rehearsal of a physical activity in the
absence of any gross muscular movements." Such covert activity
is commonly observed among musicians and athletes prior to their
performances. For example, when a gymnast imagines going through
the motions of performing a still ring routine he is engaged in
mental practice.
Since the 19 30s there have been over 100 studies on mental
practice. The specific research question addressed in these
studies has been whether a given amount of mental practice prior
to performing a motor skill will enhance one's subsequent motor
performance. Unfortunately, definitive answers to this question
have not been readily forthcoming. Although there are existing
narrative (Corbin, 1972; Richardson, 1967 a, b; Weinberg, 1982)
and meta-analytic (Feltz & Landers, 1983) reviews of the mental
practice literature, the conclusions have been contradictory.
There is a need, therefore, to conduct a comprehensive review of
the mental practice literature using more sophisticated meta-
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M e nt a 1 P ra c t i c e
4
analytic procedures and examining more s tudy f eatures than used
in previous studies (e . g., Feltz & Landers , 1983) .
MENTAL PRACTI CE PARAD IGMS
Most experiments on skill acquisition have been variants on
a research design which employs four groups of sub jects randomly
selected f ram a homogeneous parent population or equated on
initial levels of performance. These groups have been (a) mental
practice, (b) physical practice, (c) combined physical and mental
practice, and (d) no physical or mental practice (i.e., control).
Most studies compared the performances (pre-post) of sub jects who
had previous mental practice to a control group that had not
received mental ins tractions . In the mental practice group the
time intervening between pre and posttest was usually occupied in
sitting or standing and rehearsing the skill in imagination for a
set amount of time. The members of the no practice group were
simply instructed not to practice the skill physically or
mentally during the interval. A more appropriate control has
required members of the no practice group to participate in the
same number of practice sessions as the mental and physical
practice groups, but with activity that has been irrelevant to
the task. Quite often, these groups were also contrasted to a
physical practice group and a group receiving combined mental and
physical practice. A practice period was then instituted which
varied cons iderably in the number of trials in each practice
session and in total number and spacing of trials. In combined
mental-physical practice groups ~ practice periods involved either
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Mental Pract ice
alternating mental and physical practice trials, mentally
practicing a number of trials followed by physical practice, or
physically practicing a number of trials followed by mental
practice. Following this practice Period, the sub Sects' skills
were tested under standard conditions to determine whether their
performance scores differed as a result of the practice condition
administered.
The scope of the present meta-analytic review is
considerably broader than in previous reviews. Whereas Feltz and
Landers (1983) limited their review to only comparisons between
mental practice and no practice, all four groups are compared in
the present review. The previous meta-analytic study included
only studies that had pretest scores or a control group with
which to be compared. By contrast, the present review included
only single or multiple group studies having pre and posttest
scores. The use of pre-post designs permitted a determination of
a change-score effect size for each group examined in this set of
mental practice studies.
PREVIOUS REVIEWS
Research studies examining the effects of mental practice on
motor learning and skilled performance have been reviewed on a
selective basis. The reviews by Richardson ( 1967a ~ and Corbin
(1972) included from 22 to 56 studies and provided contradictory
conclusions . Richardson ~ 1967a ~ reviewed studies of three types:
(a ~ those that focused on how mental practice could facilitate
the initial acquisition of a perceptual motor skill, (b) those
that focused on aiding the continued retention of a motor skill,
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Ment al Pra ct ice
6
and (c ~ those that focused on improving the immediate performance
of a skill. He concluded that in a ma jority of the studies
reviewed, mental practice facilitates the acquisition of a motor
skill. There were not enough s tudies to draw any conclusions
regarding the effect of mental practice on retention or immediate
perf ormance of a task.
Five years later, Corbin ( 1972) who reviewed many other
factors that could affect mental practice was much more cautious
in his interpretation of the effects of menta' practice on
acquisition and retention of skilled motor behavior. In fact, he
maintained that the studies were inconclusive and that a host of
individual, task and methodological factors used with mental
practice produced different mental practice results.
In a 1982 review of "mental preparation, ~ Weinberg reviewed
27 studies dealing with mental practice. Although Weinberg noted
the equivocal nature of this literature, he maintained that the
following consistencies were apparent: (a) physical practice is
better than mental practice; and (b) mental practice combined and
alternated with physical practice is more effective than either
p by s i ca 1 p ra c t i ce or me nt a 1 p ra ct i c e a 1 o n e . Th e 1 a t t e r
conclusion is similar to Richardson's (1967a) cautious inference
that the combined practice group is as good as or better than
physical practice trials only.
Another conclusion reached by Weinberg ~ 19 82) was that f or
mental practice to be effective individuals had to achieve a
mi ni mu m s k i 1 1 p r o f i c i e n c y . H ow e vie r , i n t h e i r me t a -a na ly s i s ,
Feltz and Landers ~ 1983) found no significant differences between
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M e nt a 1 P ra c t i ce
the effect sizes determined for novice and experienced
p e r f or me r s .
It is not surprising that with all of the significant and
nonsignificant findings in the numerous mental practice studies,
it is exceedingly difficult in these narrative reviews (Corbin,
1972; Richardson, 1967; Weinberg, 1982) to obtain any clear
patterns. The insights about directions for future research that
were provided in previous reviews by Richardson (1967), Corbin
(1972) and Weinberg (1982) were helpful. In the above reviews,
however, the conclusions about mental practice effects may have
been distorted for one or more of the following reasons: (a)
too few studies have been included to accurately portray the
overall empirical findings in the area; (b) only a subset of
possible studies was included, leaving open the possibility that
bias on the reviewers' part may have influenced them to include
studies that supported their position, while excluding those that
may have contradicted their beliefs; (c) although the reviewers
speculated about a range of variables that may influence the
effectiveness of mental practice, the style used in these reviews
was more narrative and rhetorical than technical and statistical,
thus making it difficult to systematically identify the
variables; and (d) the reviews have ignored the issue of
relationship strength, which may have allowed weak
disconfirmation, or the equal weighting of conclusions based on
f ew studies with conclusions based on several studies (see
Cooper, 1979). In other words, they had a smaller pool of
studies, and at that time, more sophisticated tools for research
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Mental Pract ice
integration were not widely available. Thus, some of their
conclusions may no longer be tenable.
Given the current confusion that may have resulted from the
basic limitations of previous reviews, there is a need for a more
comprehensive review of existing research, using a more powerful
method of combining results than summary impression. The
methodology recommended for such a purpose is meta-analysis,
which examines the magnitude of differences between conditions as
well as the probability of finding such differences.
AN OVERVIEW OF META-ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES
This section provides an overview of the concept and
practice of meta-analysis, the quantitative synthesis of research
findings. A brief introduction is followed by a discussion of
Cooper's (1984) formulation of the process of integrative
research reviewing. The effect size, 85 popularized by Glass
(1976), is next introduced: this measure serves as an index of
the effectiveness of mental practice training in our review. A
Overview of hypotheses tested by statistical method designed
specifically for analyzing effect-size data (e.g., Hedges &
Olkin, 1985) concludes the section.
In t r o d u c t i o n
"Meta-analysis," (Glass, 1976) or the analysis of analyses,
is an approach to research reviewing that is based upon the
quantitative synthesis of results of related research studies.
Although the idea of statistically combining measures of study
outcomes is not new in the agricultural or physical sciences
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Ment al Pra ct ice
9
(e.g., Birge' 1932; Fisher, 1932),
used to summarize research results
Glass ( 1976) proposed the idea of
meta-analysis
rt i c ~ ~ ~ i: i ~ n t:
this approach was not often
in ache social sciences until
mete -a na lys i s .
Glass described meta-analysis as "a rigorous alternative to
the casual, narrative discussions of research studies which
typify our attempts to make sense of the rapidly expanding
research literature" (1976, p. 3). The book by Glass, McGaw, and
Smith (1981) presents an overview of the process as it was first
conceptualized. In Glass's view, the task of the meta-analyst is
to explore the variation in the findings of studies in much the
same way that one might analyze data in primary research.
Questions of the effects of differences in study design or
treatment implementation on study results are addressed
empirically. Thus we avoid the practice of eliminating all but a
few studies not believed to be deficient in design or analysis,
and basing the conclusions of the review on the remaining
results .
Some critics (e.o., Eysenck, 1978; Slavin, 1984) have
claimed that meta-analysis (as it is generally applied) is littl
snore than the thoughtless application of statistical summaries
the results of studies of questionable quality. In fact, as is
true for some published primary research, some published meta-
analyses are flawed because of problems in data collection, data
analysis, or other important aspects. However, when thoughtful!
conducted, a meta-analysis can provide a more rigorous and
objective alternative to the traditional narrative review.
Additionally, the development of statistical analyses designed
to
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M e nt a 1 P ra c t i ce
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