Imagined Movement Accuracy Is Strongly Associated With Drivers of Overt Movement Error and Weakly Associated With Imagery Vividness

• Published in: Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance 2022-12, Vol.48 (12), p.1362-1372
• Main Authors: Ingram, Tony G. J., Hurst, Austin J., Solomon, Jack P., Stratas, Alexandra, Boe, Shaun G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accuracy; Errors; Familiarity; Female; Human; Imagery; Imagination; Male; Mental task performance; Motor Development; Motor skill learning; Motor task performance; Perceptual Motor Processes; Self report; Simulation; Theories; Vividness
• ISSN: 0096-1523; 1939-1277
• DOI: 10.1037/xhp0001064

Theories of motor imagery conflict in their account of what happens during an imagined movement, with some suggesting that movement is simulated while others suggest it involves creating and elaborating upon an internal representation of the movement. Here we report evidence that imagery involves the simulation of a movement and that it varies in accuracy. Two groups of participants performed a motor task focused on challenging movement execution either overtly or via motor imagery. Overt performance was used to model expected performance given required movement characteristics (i.e., speed, complexity, familiarity), which was then compared with self-reported accuracy during imagery. Movement characteristics had a large effect on self-reported accuracy compared with a small effect of imagery vividness. Self-reported accuracy improved across trials with familiar movements compared with novel movements in a similar manner for each group. The complexity of the imagined movement did not influence movement time during imagery or overt trials, further suggesting that imagined movements are simulated rather than abstractly represented. Our results therefore support models of motor imagery that involve the simulation of a movement and its viability, which may be the basis of imagery-based motor learning. Public Significance Statement The commission of errors, necessary for learning new movements, occurs when movements are imagined, a process called motor imagery. Like what occurs when one performs a movement, error increases based on the speed of performance or the complexity of the task when the task is imagined. Results support the use of motor imagery for learning new movements.