Which modality is best for delivering an imagery script? Evidence for desirable difficulty effect.

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a brief mental imagery task on immediate and delayed learning performance when participants were instructed about the functioning of a game system in basketball using either a written or an audio script. Expert (N = 88) and novice (N = 88) baske...

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Published in:International Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology Vol. 23; no. 5; pp. 742 - 761
Main Authors: Mguidich, Hajer, Zoudji, Bachir, Khacharem, Aïmen
Format: Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Sep2025
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Sep2025
      vid: 23
      iid: 5
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      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
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        187565125
        10.1080/1612197X.2024.2345704
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        atl: Which modality is best for delivering an imagery script? Evidence for desirable difficulty effect.
      aug:
        au:
          Mguidich, Hajer
          Zoudji, Bachir
          Khacharem, Aïmen
        affil:
          Laboratoire de Recherche Sociétés & Humanités (LARSH), Département De Visu, Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France (UPHF)INSA Hauts-de-France, Valenciennes, France
          UFR SESS-STAPS, Paris-East Créteil University, LIRTES (EA 7313), Créteil, France
      su:
        Mental imagery
        Cognitive ability
        Scripts
        Expertise
      sug:
        subj:
          Mental imagery
          Cognitive ability
          Scripts
          Expertise
      keyword:
        basketball tactics
        Brief mental imagery
        expertise
        learning
        modality
        basketball tactics
        Brief mental imagery
        expertise
        learning
        modality
      ab: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a brief mental imagery task on immediate and delayed learning performance when participants were instructed about the functioning of a game system in basketball using either a written or an audio script. Expert (N = 88) and novice (N = 88) basketball players were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: (i) written script + no-imagery, (ii) audio script + imagery, (iii) written script + imagery, and (iv) written script + imagery. The main results showed that, regardless of the delivery modality of the script, novice participants derived benefited more from the no-imagery condition compared to the imagery condition in the immediate test. However, this advantage reversed in the delayed test one week following, indicating that mental imagery becomes more advantageous, particularly when delivered in written form. On the other hand, the results demonstrated that expert players performed better in both imagery conditions (in both immediate and delayed tests), particularly when the imagery was delivered in an audio format. These results suggest that the modality used to deliver a mental imagery script can significantly influence learning effectiveness, depending on the level of expertise.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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