The following information introduces a mental skill called imagery that is helpful in recreating emotional experiences and learning ways to control emotions. We know that our emotions can have a powerful influence on what we think and do and so controlling emotions can be a good way to improve performance. Imagery is a technique commonly used by elite athletes who typically employ professional sport psychologists to help fine tune their mental edge. However, we know imagery can help people feel, think and perform better; it works for people of all standards. We also know that most people seem to do some form of imagery naturally. With this in mind, the next question is “How do I do imagery?” The guidelines below suggest ways in which you can use imagery to enhance your awareness of emotions, your ability to control unwanted emotions and improve your running performance.
What is imagery?
Imagery can be defined as using all the relevant senses and emotions associated with actual performance to create or re-create an experience in the mind. Imagery should replicate as many features of the experience as possible. These include; seeing, feeling touching, hearing, smelling, and relevant emotions.
What role can imagery play in regulating pre-competition (or any event) emotions?
The sporting environment produces emotional responses by placing personally meaningful demands upon you. Researchers have found that imagery with an emphasis on remaining in control of emotions can be used to manipulate pre-competition emotions such as anxiety.
Action: In preparing to take part in this study practice using imagery to recreate emotions associated with competition and rehearse strategies intended to regulate these emotions.
Recreate your emotional experiences and regulatory efforts across a range of competitive situations (i.e., when training has gone well/poorly, when competing against superior/inferior opponents, competing in front of large crowds etc).
Establish a regular routine of imagery use by starting with short imagery sessions that are rich in detail and vividness, and then gradually increase the frequency and duration of these sessions as you become more skilled in imagery use.
What should I look to include in the images I create?
You should include characteristics of the scene you are going to use as the basis for your imagery. You should look for three key parts:
1) Details of the event; where it was, what clothes you were wearing, who else was there.
2) Y our thoughts, behaviours, and emotional responses during the event.
3) What the event means to you and whether you want to change your thoughts and emotions.
The inclusion of all three components is important as evidence suggests this increases something called “ functional equivalence”; which means the imagery is equivalent to physical performance. If imagery is close to a real performance, then such images are superior. The method we are going to use is called the PETTLEP model. The PETTLEP model outlines seven elements that can further increase the functional equivalence of images in sport (Physical, Environment, Task, Timing, Learning, Emotion, and Perspective).

Numerous studies show that following training using the PETTLEP approach leads to improve performance.
Component
PHYSICAL
ENVIRONMENT
TASK
TIMING
LEARNING
EMOTION
PERSPECTIVE
Practical recommendation
Stand in the correct stance, wearing the same clothes, and holding any implements that would be used during performance.
Complete imagery in the same environment where the performance or task will take place. Where this is not possible, you can use videos, photographs, or a similar environment as a substitute, e.g., standing on grass in your back garden.
The task being imaged should be identical in nature to the task that is performed.
The imagery should be completed in ‘real time’ and should take the same length of time to complete as physically performing the task (i.e., if you run 100m in 12.3 seconds that’s how long the image of running the 100m should last).
As you become proficient and autonomous at the task, you should update the imagery in order to reflect this and remain equivalent to your physical level.
The meaning you attach to a scenario and the corresponding emotions and arousal typically experienced during actual performance should be incorporated into the imagery.
The imagery should usually be completed from an internal perspective (i.e., through your own eyes). However, external imagery (as if watching yourself on TV) may be useful for some form-based tasks and personal preference should also be taken into account.
When practicing your imagery, you could address all seven recommendations for increasing functional equivalence. However, in preparing to take part in this research we ask that you focus on the emotion element and also address the physical and environment elements to help recreate the emotions. The emotional responses to a sporting scenario (the 'Emotion' element of the PETTLEP model) constitute a fundamental aspect of your response to the characteristics of competition. Importantly, it has been demonstrated that imagery including emotions can induce physiological responses similar to those that actually occur in reality.
This can benefit you as it helps you become familiar with these physiological responses and develop strategies to manage them.
Action: Having practiced using imagery to recreate and regulate emotions, we would then like you to develop an imagery script where the focus of emotion regulation is to increase the extent to which you feel anxious/nervous prior to competing.
Please bring this script with you on the day of testing so that we may use it to assist you in raising your levels of anxiety/nerves. The information below will help guide the content of this script.
What should my arousal inducing Imagery script look like?

Imagery scripts should be meaningful to you. This is achieved by including those features of the competitive environment that you attend to, the responses they elicit in you and the relationship (meaning for you ) between the characteristics of the imagery scenario and your responses.
We would like you to develop a script to help imagine a scenario where you look to increase the anxiety you feel prior to competing. Below is an example script, but you should look to develop a script that reflects your own experience of competing. We have endeavoured to highlight environmental features , responses and relationships to provide ideas for your own script development.
Example script for increasing anxiety
“.. .As I begin to start warming up for the race, I notice the weather conditions around me. I am feeling calm; strangely calm and know that when I perform well I usually feel a little nervous. Conscious that I perform well when feeling a little nervous , and whilst doing some stretching before taking my outer layers off, I think about my goal for the race. I think about how hard I will have to push myself to achieve this goal. I say to myself that attaining this goal will hurt , but I am feeling strong and powerful . I have trained hard for this moment and I am confident that this hard work will pay off . As I strip down to my race gear I feel the air on my newly exposed skin and this signals that I am closer to starting the race . I start to feel nervous tension build in my leg muscles and my stomach turns as the adrenaline starts to kick in. These feelings remind me of previous races and how anxious I have typically felt before them . I deliberately reflect back on these experiences to help build and maintain the anxiety I now feel [strategy intended to increase/maintain anxiety levels]. Feeling confident I look straight at the start line . I think about the start and how hard I want to go out, I look at the course and where I have to go first to focus these thoughts. I then complete some light stretches noting the change in the shape and tone of my muscles as I stretch them. Everything feels right for a good performance, I feel anxious to perform well . I remind myself of why I am competing and my desire to do well , again this helps me maintain my anxiety as I step to the start line . I await the sound of the start gun nervously anticipating a fast start as I have planned
”
Example script for decreasing anxiety
“.. .As I begin to start warming up for the race, I notice the weather conditions around me. I am feeling anxious; strangely anxious and know that when I perform well I usually feel calm.
Conscious that I perform well when feeling calm , and whilst doing some stretching before taking my outer layers off, I think about my goal for the race. I think about how well my training has gone in working toward achieving this goal. I say to myself that I can attain this goal , and I am feeling strong and powerful . As I strip down to my race gear I feel the air on my newly exposed skin and this signals that I am closer to starting the race . I start to feel excitement build and whilst I feel the adrenaline start to kick in I am reassured that this always proceeds my good performances. These feelings remind me of previous races and how calm I have typically felt before them . I deliberately reflect back on these experiences to help build and maintain the calmness I now feel [strategy intended to increase/maintain feelings of calm]. Feeling confident I look straight at the start line . I think about the start and how hard I want to go out, I look at the course and where I have to go first to focus these thoughts. I then complete some light stretches noting the change in the shape and tone of my muscles as I stretch them. Everything feels right for a good performance, I feel confident of

performing well . I remind myself of my ability to do well based on my training , again this helps me maintain sense of calm as I step to the start line . I await the sound of the start gun calmly anticipating a fast start as I have planned ”
Would these scripts be suitable for you? Possibly not, you will focus on different features from the environment, have different responses and the meaning these generate will also differ. Develop your own imagery script, try it out, refine it. Think about where you are and what you do in the moments building up to the start of a competition. Try to imagine every detail of what you see and hear in the environment, all of the sounds, all of the colours. See the people who are there with you and what they are doing. Feel the emotions as you prepared to compete, feel the anxiety increasing/decreasing as the start of competition draws nearer.
Take a moment to bring this image to your mind as clearly and as vividly as possible. Does it provide an accurate, clear and vivid account of your experiences?
Monitoring your imagery
In order to capture your experiences with imagery it would be most helpful if you could complete a daily imagery diary recalling the imagery you have performed that day. Please record the frequency of imagery use and duration. Could you also record your thoughts on the extent to which your imagery realistically captured the emotions you experience when competing and the general sensory experience of competition.
Having developed your individual imagery script, and just prior to taking part in the study we will ask you to complete a post script evaluation (PSE) form comprised of three items rated on a 7-point scale. The first two items assess the ease with which you can generate the imaged scenario and degree of emotion experienced during the imagery. The anchors for these items are 1 ( very hard/no emotion ) to 7 ( very easy/strong emotion ). The third item will assess how you can relate to the script and how meaningful it was perceived to be, ranging from 1 ( not at all meaningful or able to relate ) to 7 ( completely meaningful and able to relate ).
We hope that you find the recommended activities to be of value for your running performance and activities beyond sport.
Have a go

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