IMAGERY AND PHYSICAL PRACTICE IN THE ACQUISITION OF GROSS MOTOR TIMING OF COINCIDENCE BY ADOLESCENTS WITH MILD MENTAL-RETARDATION

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of imagery practic e in conjunction with physical practice on the performance of anticipa ting a coincidence (striking) by adolescents with mild mental retardat ion. 32 adolescents were randomly assigned to either a physical practi ce plus imagery practice group or a physical practice only group. Subj ects in the physical practice plus imagery practice group were asked t o image the task before physically performing it, while subjects in th e physical practice only group did not image the task. Subjects perfor med 20 trials per day for five consecutive sessions (days). The physic al practice plus imagery group performed with significantly greater ac curacy and less variability than subjects in the physical practice onl y group, and subjects regardless of group affiliation were able to red uce error and variability over the study. These results support the us e of imagery practice in conjunction with physical practice when perfo rming a relevant anticipation of coincidence (striking) task as well a s an aid in reducing performance variability. Based on the increased a mount of cognitive-symbolic elements in the striking task as opposed t o tasks used in previous studies, evidence is presented for support of the notion that imagery facilitates motor performance to the extent t hat cognitive-symbolic elements are present.