Is imagery better than reality? Performance in imagined dart throwing

•Experts and novices imagined and executed dart throws in Exp. 1.•The impact of visual feedback on estimated dart positions was examined in Exp. 2.•Deviations from optimal performance were observed in actual and imagined throws.•Fewer deviations from optimal performance were estimated than actually...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human movement science 2019-08, Vol.66, p.38-52
Main Authors: Dahm, Stephan F., Rieger, Martina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Action consequences
Darts
Expertise
Feedback
Forward models
Motor imagery
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Summary:•Experts and novices imagined and executed dart throws in Exp. 1.•The impact of visual feedback on estimated dart positions was examined in Exp. 2.•Deviations from optimal performance were observed in actual and imagined throws.•Fewer deviations from optimal performance were estimated than actually occurred.•Motor imagery requires internal simulations rather than knowledge based strategies. We investigated whether deviations from optimal performance are predicted in motor imagery. In Experiment 1, novices and experts imagined and executed dart throws. In imagination, they reported the final position of the dart. Experts performed better than novices in execution and imagination. Distance to the target and bias were smaller in imagination than in execution. In Experiment 2, we dissociated the roles of feedback from proximal and distal action elements for predictions. Three groups of novices estimated the dart’s final position in imagination, in execution without visual feedback, or in execution with delayed visual feedback. Estimates did not differ significantly between groups, indicating that (the lack of) feedback did not influence predictions. Deviations from optimal performance were lower in estimated than in actual performance. In conclusion, although predictive mechanisms may be similar in imagination and execution, the full extent of deviation from optimal performance is not predicted.
ISSN:0167-9457
1872-7646
DOI:10.1016/j.humov.2019.03.005