The Nature, Measurement, and Development of Imagery Ability

Abstract

This introduction to a special issue of Imagination, Cognition and Personality discusses how imagery ability is conceptualized, measured, and developed within sport and exercise sciences. Drawing from the model of imagery ability in sport, exercise, and dance, we explain that imagery ability is best understood not as a single undifferentiated general ability but as a complex multiprocess, multisensory, and multidimensional set of capacities. We argue that a more nuanced way of understanding imagery ability and its subcomponents should guide the development and selection of appropriate measurement tools and training methods. Finally, we introduce the four articles that make up this special issue on imagery ability, which collectively present a range of approaches for progressing this area of research further.