The Effects of Imagery Practice on Athletes' Performance: A Multilevel Meta-Analysis with Systematic Review.

Imagery, a classic technique in psychological training, is gaining momentum in competitive sports. Despite the increasing use of imagery, its effectiveness remains debated. Robust, data-driven conclusions are still lacking. This study seeks to investigate the effects of imagery practice on enhancing athletic performance and determine the ideal dosage of such practice through a systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis. A comprehensive search across seven databases, including SportDiscus, PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, MEDLINE, MEDLINE Complete, and CINAHL, yielded 23,027 studies. These were initially reviewed for title and abstract using ASReview, followed by full-text screening with Covidence. A total of 86 studies with 3593 athletes (2104 males and 1110 females) were included in this meta-analysis. Our findings indicate that imagery practice enhances athletic performance, encompassing agility, muscle strength, tennis and soccer performance, and is applicable to both tennis and soccer athletes. The efficacy of integrating imagery practice with one or two additional psychological skills trainings (PSTs) surpasses that of imagery practice in isolation. Moderation analysis revealed that engaging in imagery practice for approximately ten minutes, three times weekly over a span of one hundred days, produces the strongest performance gains. This review offers recommendations for athletes regarding the implementation of imagery practice in routine training or prior to competitions, thereby providing empirical evidence to optimize psychological training programs in competitive settings.