Description of the Strategy

The question of whether or not a person can improve his or her performance by means of mentally rehearsing that performance is one that has been studied for several decades. Known by various terms, such as mental practice, visualization, symbolic rehearsal, positive imaging, and introspective rehearsal, covert rehearsal is basically the internal practice of a behavior or sequence of behaviors in the absence of overt or physical movement, with the goal of performance enhancement. Examples of the use of this procedure include both cognitive and overt behavioral tasks. In the cognitive realm, covert rehearsal has long been used to improve memory, such as in studying for a test, preparing to deliver a speech, or trying to memorize a list ...