Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40290535›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in psychology2025

The benefits of guided imagery on athletic performance: a mixed-methods approach.

Katrina Volgemute, Zermena Vazne, Romualdas Malinauskas

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Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Katrina VolgemuteLatvian Academy of Sport Education, Rigas Stradins University, Riga, Latvia.
Zermena VazneLatvian Academy of Sport Education, Rigas Stradins University, Riga, Latvia.
Romualdas MalinauskasDepartment of Physical and Social Education, Lithuanian Sports University, Kaunas, Lithuania.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Imagery as a psychological skill in sports occupies an essential place in the psychological preparation of athletes and is one of the key factors in realizing an athlete's potential in competitive sports. It's role in athlete performance, as well as the differences in its use across various sports and demographic groups, has been a compelling topic in both sports' science and psychology. This topic has remained relevant in recent years. Aim: This quantitative survey-based and experimental design study aims to first, to determine whether differences in imagery ability profiles, identified through cluster analysis, can characterize differences among athletes with varying levels of athletic achievement. A secondary aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of a guided imagery intervention on imagery abilities and athletic performance. Methods: A total of 500 athletes from different sports, aged Results: The results of K-means cluster analysis on athletic achievements of athletes showed a four-cluster solution that hat emphasized distinctions between the groups and reduced variation within each group. A Multiple Analysis of Covariance revealed that the four cluster groups differ in their imagery abilities. Pre- and post-intervention assessments for the nine alpine skiers were conducted using SIAQ and control training sessions, revealing significant increase in both imagery ability scores and performance indicators ( Conclusion: The research results support recent findings that athletes with higher athletic achievement tend to have stronger imagery abilities. The significant differences observed between the clusters based on athletic achievement levels were confirmed. By using imagery profiling of athletes with an analytical method, this study provides valuable insights into the role of imagery in athletic success, suggesting that tailored imagery training could enhance performance across different levels of athletic achievement.

Indexed as

athletic performancecluster analysisimagery profilepsychological interventionpsychological preparation

Identifiers

PMID40290535
PMCPMC12021890

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.