Now Hear This: Auditory Sense may be an Undervalued Component of Effective Modeling and Imagery Interventions in Sport

One of the most important goals of behavioral research in sport psychology and motor learning is to increase our understanding of how to more effectively manipulate structural elements of psychological skills so as to optimize learning and performance. Imagery and modeling research have long-held parallel trajectories; advancements in the un- derstanding of one construct has often informed subsequent research on the other. Preliminary research examining the ef- fect of auditory modeling has indicated that deliberate manipulation of sounds employed during modeled actions can posi- tively impact motor skill learning, performance, and consistency. The imagery research has yet to directly examine the auditory sense, and thus examination of this imagery component would represent a meaningful contribution to our under- standing of how to further optimize athletes' imagery practice. The current paper reviews current knowledge regarding ef- fective imagery and modeling structure, and provides theoretical and evidence-based rationales for the examination of the auditory sense in imagery research.