A Chronometric Comparison of Actual and Imaged Complex Movement Patterns

Abstract : The aim of this study was to consider the functional equivalence of internal imagery, external imagery and action execution. Sixteen elite gymnasts imaged and performed a complex gymnastic vault. Ten performers imaged from an internal perspective and six used an external perspective. Whilst the results revealed that the time to image the entire motor task was not significantly different from the time required to physically perform it, irrespective of the imagery perspective employed, the temporal organization of the action was different within the imagery conditions compared to the physical condition. The results do not provide support for the principle of temporal functional equivalence and are discussed in the light of recent findings from the cognitive neuroscience and psychology literature.