Action observation combined with motor imagery: Influence of the type of video model on the performance of the basketball free throw in middle school students

The aim of this study was to test the effects of the model used when action observation (AO) and motor imagery (MI) are combined with actual practice, during a physical education session, in a basketball free throw task. Thirty-nine middle school students (average age = 12.75) were randomly divided into three groups: Control, AOpeer+MI and AOself+MI. They performed a pre-test (i.e., ten free throws) then took part in four training sessions consisting of performing five rounds of two free throws each. Before each round, they watched a video clip unrelated to the skill involved in the protocol, then performed a countdown task (Control group) or watched the video of a peer model (AOpeer+MI group) or of his- or herself (AOself+MI) making a successful free throw and then imagined doing the same. Finally, they took part in a post-test identical to the pre-test. The results show that the students benefiting from the related video followed by the MI (AOself+MI and AOpeer+MI groups) performed better than those in the Control group during the post-test, and that the students benefiting from the self-model performed better than the students who watched the peer-model video. The results are discussed in the light of the literature and applied recommendations are offered to teachers, in particular with regard to the individualization of learning.