An expertise reversal effect of imagination in learning from basketball tactics

The imagination effect occurs when participants learn better from imagining procedures or concepts rather than from studying them. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of imagination and level of expertise on memorization of a tactical basketball system. Thirty-six expert and thirty-six novice learners were asked to imagine the functioning of a tactical scene in basketball (imagination condition) or simply study the scene (study condition). Results showed that novice learners benefited more from the study condition as they achieved better recall and recognition performances, invested less cognitive load (i.e., mental effort and perceived difficulty) and had higher levels of motivational aspects (i.e., self-efficacy and perceived competence). However, this effect was totally reversed for expert learners who, benefited more from the imagination condition, indicating therefore an expertise reversal effect. The results suggest that the effectiveness of the imagination technique depends on level of expertise of the learners.