Translation and Reliability of the Preliminary Spanish Version of the Sport Imagery Questionnaire

doi:10.4236/ape.2012.22013

Paper Menu >>

Journal Menu >>

Advances in Physical Education

2012. Vol.2, No.2, 73-75

Published Online May 2012 in SciRes (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/ape) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ape.2012.22013

Translation and Reliability of the Preliminary Spanish Version of

the Sport Imagery Questionnaire

Montse C. Ruiz1, Anthony P. Watt2

1Department of Sport Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland

2School of Education, Institute for Sport, Exercise and Active Living, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

Email: [email protected]

Received January 13th, 2012; revised February 16th, 2012; accepted February 27th, 2012

The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability of the preliminary Spanish version of the Sport

Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ). The SIQ was developed to examine five cognitive and motivational func-

tions of imagery use. Participants were 81 athletes competing in soccer (n = 43) and roller skating (n =

38), ranging in age from 14 to 29 years (M = 18.10, SD = 3.16). Reliability was evaluated through internal

consistency analyses of the scale. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were high indicating that the scale is a re-

liable instrument for the measurement of imagery use in Spanish athletes. Further psychometric research

should now examine factor structure and imagery use across competitive level and type of sport in a lar-

ger sample of Spanish athletes.

Keywords: Imagery Use; Psychometrics; Reliability; Sport Imagery

Introduction

Mental imagery is recognized as a valuable psychological

technique in the preparation of athletes (Hall, Mack, Paivio, &

Hausenblas, 1998). It is also a popular tool used by athletes,

coaches and sport psychology practitioners for skill learning

and performance enhancement purposes (MacIntyre & Moran,

2007). Imagery has been defined as “the creation or re-creation

of an experience generated from memorial information, involv-

ing quasi-sensorial, quasi-perceptual, and quasi-affective char-

acteristics, that is under the volitional control of the imager, and

which may occur in the absence of the real stimulus antecedents

normally associated with the actual experience” (Morris, Spittle,

& Watt, 2005, p. 19). Morris et al. also described imagery use

as the manner in which individuals employ imagery to learn and

develop skills, and to facilitate performance of those skills.

Imagery researchers focusing on the examination of when

and why athletes use imagery in sport have typically applied

Paivio’s (1985) general analytical framework. Thus, it is assumed

that imagery can mediate behavior through either a cognitive or

motivation role, with each role operating at a general or specific

level. Hall et al. (1998) developed the Sport Imagery Question-

naire (SIQ) on the basis of Paivio’s perspectives. The SIQ

evaluates the following five types of imagery use: 1) cognitive

general (CG), representing imagery related to competitive

strategies; 2) cognitive specific (CS), representing imagery

directed toward skill development or production; 3) motiva-

tional general arousal (MG-A), representing imagery related to

arousal, relaxation, and competitive anxiety; 4) motivational

general mastery (MG-M), representing imagery associated with

effective coping and confidence in challenging situations; and 5)

motivational specific (MS), representing imagery that con-

cerns achieving specific goals and goal-oriented behavior.

Previous research has supported the factorial validity and re-

liability of the SIQ (Abma, Fry, Li, & Relyea, 2002; Hall et al.,

1998, Hall, Stevens, & Paivio, 2005; Weinberg, Butt, Knight,

Burke, & Jackson, 2003; Watt, Jaakkola, & Morris 2006; Watt,

Spittle, Jaakkola, & Morris, 2008). Watt et al. (2006) developed

a Finnish version of the SIQ and used a mixed sport and age

sample of 231 athletes to determine that the translated version

of the measure was internally consistent and demonstrated

adequate replication of the original factor structure. Recently,

Gregg, Hall, McGowan, and Hall (2011) reported continuing

strong indicators of reliability for the SIQ for a sample of 432

athletes from a broad range of sports and age groups. These

findings indicate that the SIQ constitutes a measure that can

serve as a viable indicator of the imagery use skills of athletes.

Continuing interest in the measurement qualities of the SIQ,

make it crucial to evaluate the psychometric properties of this

test of sport imagery use in countries where English is not the

major spoken language. Additionally, it remains an important

aim of sport psychology practitioners in non-English speaking

populations to acquire a clearer understanding of the imagery

use characteristics of their athletes (e.g., Murphy & Martin,

2002). Currently, in Spain there are a number of measures

translated into Spanish to assess general imagery characteristics

(Campos & Pérez-Fabello, 2009) however, no Spanish versions

of measures of sport imagery were found. Thus, the aim of this

study was to examine the reliability of the preliminary Spanish

version of the SIQ.

Methods

Participants

Participants were 81 (63 males and 18 females) athletes rep-

resenting soccer (n = 43) and roller skating (n = 38), ranging in

age from 14 to 29 years (M = 18.10 ± 3.16). The participants

were involved in organized sport from three to twenty-five

years and were currently competing at national (n = 60) and

regional (n = 21) level.

M. C. RUIZ, A. P. WATT

Instrument

The Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ; Hall et al., 1998) is a

30-item self-report questionnaire that measures five different

types of imagery associated with cognitive and motivational

functions. The questionnaire consists of five subscales (CS, CG,

MS, MG-M, and MG-A imagery) with 6 items each assessed

on a 7-point Likert type scale ranging from 1 (never/rarely) to 7

(often). Examples of items are: “I can easily change the image

of a skill” (CG subscale), “I image myself continuing with my

game plan, even when performing poorly” (CG), “I image my-

self being interviewed as a champion” (MS), “I imagine myself

being mentally tough” (MG-M), and “I can re-create in my

head the emotions I feel before I compete” (MG-A). The SIQ

has been consistently found to have adequate internal reliability

with values ranging from .74 to .86 (e.g., Hall, Munroe- Chan-

dler, Cumming, Law, Ramsey, & Murphy, 2009).

Back translation procedures and expert review were utilized

to develop the Spanish version of SIQ questionnaire. First,

there was direct translation by a professional translator who

was not familiar with the instrument. Second, the translated

version was then examined by a panel of five academics whose

first language was Spanish, competent in both written and spo-

ken English, and familiar with the SIQ. Third, the panel evalu-

ated the items using the rankings of 1) No change; 2) Minor

change required; 3) Major change required; and 4) Reject and

retranslate. Panel members shared their rankings and the panel

chair compiled an overall score for each item. Discrepancies

between items were discussed with efforts made to ensure that

the underlying meaning remained unchanged. Fourth, the

modified Spanish version was then back translated into English.

Fifth, the back translated English version was compared to the

original version to ensure that the meaning and intent of the

original item was maintained.

The participants drawn from a team sport and an individual

sport involving distinct motor skills and demands were recruited

via sport clubs. Written consent was obtained after the purpose

of the study was explained, voluntary participation emphasized

and assurances of the confidentiality of the results given. Ath-

letes under 18 gave their assent and a person responsible pro-

vided written consent. The treatment of athletes was in accor-

dance with APA ethical guidelines. Each participant filled in a

set of questions about demographic variables that included their

age, gender, sport modality, sporting experience, and the level

of competition. Then participants completed the SIQ once at

their training facilities.

Data Analysis

Descriptive analyses were conducted in order to consider the

patterns of imagery use demonstrated within the current sample.

The reliability of the measure was investigated by determining

the internal consistencies of the five SIQ subscales. Alpha coef-

ficients if item deleted were estimated for all items. Inter-sub-

scale correlations were also calculated. Independent-samples

t-tests were conducted to compare the differences in imagery

use for the five SIQ subscales in each sport group.

Results

Descriptive statistics and internal consistencies for the Span-

ish sample and two previous studies for each of the SIQ subscales

are presented in Table 1. All items showed a normal distribution

with skewness and kurtosis values less than 2.00 except for

item 3 “I image giving 100% during an event/game”, which

was negatively skewed. Results showed that the MG-M sub-

scale had the lowest and CG subscale the highest mean score

values. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of the Spanish version

ranged from .80 (MG-A) to .90 (CG) demonstrating acceptable

levels of internal consistency. Only two of the 30 items had

alpha if item deleted values (i.e., item 1 = .83; item 6 = .81) that

were the same or minimally higher (α = .83 and α = .81, respec-

tively) than the subscale Cronbach’s alpha (i.e., CS = .83;

MG-A = .80). Pearson product moment correlations were sig-

nificant for all subscale associations (see Table 1).

Significant differences were found when comparing imagery

use for the soccer players and roller skaters. Specifically, soccer

players reported higher scores for both subscales on cognitive

function (CS subscale, and CG subscale), and MG-M subscale

(p < 0.05, respectively). However, differences were not signifi-

cant for the MS or MG-A subscale scores.

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability of a

Spanish version of the SIQ in a sample of athletes. This was the

first translated measure of sport imagery use examined in

Spanish sport psychology. Descriptive statistics from the Span-

ish version slightly varied from data derived from other sam-

ples that completed the Finnish and English versions. Mean

scores for all subscales of the Spanish SIQ except for the moti-

vational general-mastery function were higher than for the sub-

scales from the Finnish sample (Watt et al., 2006). Large

Table 1.

Means, standard deviations, alpha coefficients and inter-correlations between each SIQ subscale for the present and two previous studies.

Spanish SIQ data

(N = 81) Inter-correlations SIQ (Watt et al., 2006)

(N = 231) SIQ (Gregg et al., 2005)

(N = 345)

M SD α 1 2 3 4 M SD α M SD α

1. CS 4.72 1.15 .83 4.60 1.07 .80 4.55 1.13 .82

2. CG 5.27 1.28 .90 .83* 4.24 0.96 .64 4.55 .99 .67

3. MS 4.66 1.35 .88 .70* .67* 3.83 1.24 .83 3.77 1.48 .87

4. MG-A 4.66 1.19 .80 .77* .74*.70* 3.84 1.06 .76 4.63 1.14 .80

5. MG-M 4.48 1.20 .86 .84* .75* .71* .66* 4.93 1.00 .76 4.88 1.16 .82

Note. CS = Cognitive specific; CG = Cognitive general; MS = Motivational specific; MG-A = Motivational general-arousal; and MG-M = Motivational general-mastery. *p

< .01 (Inter-correlations).

M. C. RUIZ, A. P. WATT

differences were found for mean scores for the cognitive gen-

eral imagery function (Table 1). Higher mean values for the

cognitive general imagery subscale were also observed when

comparing the Spanish sample and previous studies that used

English versions (Gregg, Hall, & Nederhof, 2005; Hall et al.,

2009). This finding suggests a possible cultural or conceptual

difference in the response behaviors to certain imagery use

questions (particularly those related to feeling confident or

mentally tough).

Spanish data (i.e., item 3 in particular) had a negative skew

indicating a bias toward high scores of imagery ability. How-

ever, these patterns are in line with those found in previous

studies (Gregg et al., 2011). Reliability scores of the Spanish

version ( > 0.80) were higher than those drawn from the Fin-

nish study for all subscales indicating acceptable levels of in-

ternal consistency. The inter-subscale correlations were in the

moderate to strong range, which is the typical pattern reported

in previous research (Gregg & Hall, 2006; Nordin & Cumming,

2008). Overall, these findings provide support for the use and

continued development of the Spanish version.

Limitations of this exploratory study are related to the small

sample size. Thus, future research should now assess other

estimates of reliabilities and the factor structure of the Spanish

version of the SIQ using a larger sample of athletes. In addition,

this study examined imagery use characteristics in athletes from

only two sports. Further research investigating imagery use

functions across different types of sport (i.e., team vs. individ-

ual) as well as different situations (i.e., practice vs. competition)

and levels of experience (i.e., elite vs. novice) is also warranted.

Additional examination of the reliability and factor structure of

the Spanish SIQ are necessary to further validate this version of

the measure.

REFERENCES

Abma, C. L., Fry, M. D., Li, Y., & Relyea, G. (2002). Differences in

imagery content and imagery ability between high and low confident

track and field athletes. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 14, 67-

75. doi.org/10.1080/10413200252907743

Campos, A., & Pérez-Fabello, M. J. (2009). Psychometric quality of a

revised version vividness of visual imagery questionnaire. Percep-

tual and Motor Skills, 108, 798-802.

doi.org/10.2466/pms.108.3.798-802

Gregg, M., Hall, C., & Nederhof, E. (2005). The imagery ability, im-

agery use and performance relationship. The Sport Psychologist, 19,

93-99.

Gregg, M., & Hall, C. (2006). The relationship of skill level and age to

the use of Imagery by golfers. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology,

18, 363-375. doi.org/10.1080/10413200600944140

Gregg, M., Hall, C., McGowan, E., & Hall, N. (2011). The relationship

between imagery ability and imagery use among athletes. Journal of

Applied Sport Psychology, 2 3 , 129-141.

doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2010.544279

Hall, C. R., Mack, D. E., Paivio, A., & Hausenblas, H. A. (1998). Im-

agery use by athletes: Development of the Sport Imagery Question-

naire. International Journa l of Sport Psychology, 29, 73-89.

Hall, C. R., Munroe-Chandler, K. J., Cumming, J., Law, B, Ramsey, R.,

& Murphy, L. (2009). Imagery and observational learning use and

their relationship to sport confidence. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27,

327-337. doi.org/10.1080/02640410802549769

Hall, C. R., Stevens, D. E., & Paivio, A. (2005). Sport Imagery Ques-

tionnaire test manual. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Tech-

nology.

MacIntyre, T. E., & Moran, A. P. (2007). A qualitative investigation of

imagery use and meta-imagery processes among elite canoe-slalom

competitors. Journal of Imagery Research in Sport and Physical Ac-

tivity, 2, 3.

Morris, T., Spittle, M., & Watt, A.P. (2005). Imagery in sport. Cham-

paign: Human Kinetics.

Murphy, S. M., & Martin, K. A. (2002). The use of imagery in sport. In

T. S. Horn (Ed.), Advances in sport psychology (2nd ed., pp.

405-439). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Nordin, S. M., & Cumming, J. (2008). Comparison of dancers and

aesthetic sport athletes’ imagery use. Journal of Applied Sport Psy-

chology, 20, 1-17.

Paivio, A. (1985). Cognitive and motivational functions of imagery in

human performance. Canadian Journal of Applied Sport Sciences, 10,

22-28.

Watt, A. P., Jaakkola, T. T., & Morris, T. (2006). Reliability and factor

structure of the Finnish version of the Sport Imagery Questionnaire.

Perceptual and Motor Skills, 103, 107-114.

doi.org/10.2466/pms.103.1.107-114

Watt, A. P., Spittle, M., Jaakkola, T. T., & Morris, T. (2008). Adopting

Paivio’s general analytic framework to examine imagery use in sport.

Journal of Imagery Research in Sport and Physical Activity, 3, 4.

Weinberg, R., Butt, J., Knight, B., Burke, K. L., & Jackson, A. (2003).

The relationship between the use and effectiveness of imagery: An

exploratory investigation. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 15,

26-40. doi.org/10.1080/10413200305398.