Abstract
Imagery use, motivation, and athletic identity have all been investigated in sport (e.g., Brewer et al., 1993; Duda & Treasure, 2001; Hall et al, 1998); however, a study examining the relationships among these three variables within a single sport has yet to be conducted. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships among sport imagery, sport motivation, and athletic identity as assessed by the SIQ, BRSQ, and AIMS, respectively. The participants (N = 225) were club and competitive curlers (Mage = 48.8; SD = 15.34) with an average of 23.14 years of experience (SD = 13.11) from various curling clubs across Ontario. Results showed that athletic identity was significantly correlated with all five imagery functions (p < .01), as well as all SDT subscales (p < .01) except for external regulation and amotivation. Separate multiple regression analyses predicting imagery use from the SDT subscales and athletic identity were conducted for each imagery function. The overall model for each imagery function was significant (p < .01), with intrinsic motivation to accomplish, intrinsic motivation to experience, and athletic identity being significant predictors of imagery use (p < .05). These findings suggest that there is indeed a link between imagery use, sport motivation, and athletic identity. This information could be used by researchers and sport psychologists to develop more effective psychological skills training programs to improve the performance of curlers.Acknowledgments: Research supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council