Movement imagery in rock climbing: patterns of interference from visual, spatial and kinaesthetic secondary tasks.

Climbers were trained on two routes on a climbing wall, one vertical and one horizontal. The routes differed in the amount that could be seen from the start position, in the visibility of the holds (both of which were greater in the vertical climb), and in the need to use a range of hand and body configurations during the climb (which was greater in the horizontal climb); also the vertical climb was shorter than the horizontal climb. After training, subjects imagined climbing the routes under control conditions and with one of three secondary tasks derived from the working memory literature. The secondary tasks were dynamic visual noise, spatial tapping, and kinaesthetic suppression. Spatial tapping increased the duration of both routes; dynamic visual noise increased the duration on the vertical route, and kinaesthetic suppression increased duration on the horizontal route. The results are discussed in terms of the multiple forms of representation for action and the complexity of imagery for skilled movement. It is suggested that these working memory tasks may have a role in elucidating the demands of movement imagery under different conditions