Abstract
Imagery can be defined as using all the senses (e.g., sight, sound, feel, taste, smell) to create, or recreate, an experience in the mind, without actually experiencing the real thing (Vealey & Greenleaf, 2001). Although there have been many studies examining the use of imagery within an exercise setting (e.g., Gammage et al., 2000; Hausenblas et al., 1999), few studies have looked at the use of imagery within a weight-lifting population and its relation to body-related concerns. The purpose of this study was to examine the link between imagery use and two body-related concerns (drive for muscularity and impression motivation) amongst a weight-lifting population. Participants (N = 170), completed measures of drive for muscularity, impression motivation and imagery use. In order to determine if the three functions of imagery could be predicted from the drive for muscularity and impression motivation, controlling for age and gender, a series of 3 hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted. Results showed that all three forms of imagery (appearance, R2adj = .45, technique, R2adj = .27, and energy, R2adj = .29) could be predicted from drive for muscularity and impression motivation, after controlling for age and gender. Age, gender, impression motivation, and drive for muscularity were all significant predictors for all three functions of imagery. For appearance imagery, impression motivation accounted for 4% of the variance while drive for muscularity accounted for 2.6%. For technique imagery, impression motivation accounted for 3.6% of the variance and drive for muscularity 2.6%. Lastly for energy imagery, impression motivation accounted for 3.2% of the variance, while drive for muscularity was accounted for 4% of the total variance. These findings indicate that for weightlifters, increasing levels of drive for muscularity and impression motivation are associated with increased use of all three imagery functions.
