interest in studying athletic performance, student athletes, and imagery relating to improved performance...

prior interest in studying athletic performance, student athletes, and imagery relating to improved performance. I did not use past research abstracts I have found on imagery, instead started looking for new research articles on measurable variables within visualization and imagery. My search was strictly looking at research studies not literature reviews. Any literature reviews I read was just supplemental in choosing my final claim, question and hypothesis.

The variables I want to focus on are psychological although physiological variables were outlined in the experiment/data collected portion of my first assignment. Physiological variables seemed to be the most convincing way to prove the scientific method is applicable to such a claim of visualization and imagery. The Psychological variables include emotions (stress and anxiety), cognition (thinking and memory), motivation, personality traits, confidence, and self- efficacy. Physiological variables include performance measures that in future applicable studies could possibly be carried out in a sports performance or sports science lab. These include heart rate, blood pressure, muscle firing rates, muscle coding, muscular strength, muscular speed, acceleration, deceleration, VO2 steady state, conditioning rates, max velocity, and COD change of direction rate and force coding with the application of force plates. Other measures for these physiological parameters include EEG, EMG, and TMS followed with new science on not only muscle firing and coding rates, but furthermore neurological coding also related to muscle firing patterns within a specific task.

I briefly listed the dependent variables above for both categories, physiological and psychological. Although I listed many variables I am in the process of selecting the most important dependent variables that would prove my hypothesis. The Independent variable is the intervention or training that would be implemented. A script that allows relaxation in a training environment where questions are asked to evoke new thinking in each student athlete. The collection of data would follow and could change in protocol and the number of times administered to the control group. These are the dependent categories for the psychological independent variables. The dependent for physiological is the test administration for the physical performance task.