ABSTRACT
Video-self-modeling (VSM) in skill acquisition (Dowrick, 2007) involves observational learning where learners view instances of their best skill performance. As learners improve, successive best performance tapes can be made (Dowrick and Dove, 1980). VSM incorporates both positive self-review (PSR), where only the individual's best instances of the target skill are depicted, and feed-forward (FF), where special effects video editing is used to show individuals video of themselves performing at a level they have not in fact achieved. PSR-VSM can generate substantial improvements, from training more confident behavior in a swimming pool (Dowrick and Dove, 1980), to training better quality smiling (Coulson et al., 2006). To date, applications of PSR in sports settings have had varying success (Feltz et al., 2008; Law and Ste-Marie, 2005; Starek and McCullagh, 1999), and applications of FF in sports settings are limited to single-case reports, e.g. Franks and Maile (1991). Here a power lifter was shown tapes of herself apparently lifting more weight than she had previously attempted. Over 25 weeks of intervention, she achieved a 26% improvement in weight lifted. The possibility of providing FF to players exists in several football codes where it can often be observed that although the code nominally requires bilateral motor skills, even elite players may still show an evident side preference (Grouios, 2004).
