Effects of visualized PETTLEP imagery on the basketball 3-point shot: A comparison of internal and external perspectives

By adopting Holmes and Collins'(2001) PETTLEP imagery approach, we used participants' individual videos of successful basketball shooting to examine the effects of internal and external imagery on basketball players' 3-point shot. We sampled 49 intermediate level college basketball players (males = 26, Mage = 21; females = 23, Mage = 20) and assigned them into internal imagery (n = 15), external imagery (n = 14) and control groups (n = 20). Using a quasi-experimental design, experimental groups participated in an 8-week visualized PETTLEP imagery training plus physical training, but the control group only participated in physical training. The two-way ANOVA mixed design statistical analyses found the two visualized PETTLEP groups not only performed better than pretest, but also performed better than the control group after training. However, there was no difference between internal imagery and external imagery on basketball 3-point shot performance. We concluded that the characteristics of the motor task and participants' skill level may influence the efficacy of the imagery perspective on performance. Theoretical implications, limitations, future research directions, and applications are discussed.