Self-Talk Flashcards
What is the definition of self-talk?
¥ “What people say to themselves either out loud or as a small voice inside their head” (Theordorakis et al., 2000, p.254)
What are the factors that make self-talk multidimensional?
¥ Nature/valance (positive versus negative)
¥ Overtness (internal versus external)
¥ Self-determined (assigned by psychologist/coach versus freely-chosen by athlete)
¥ Interpretation component (positive versus negative) – phrases they use may be positive or negative
¥ Function (Instructional – skill learning or motivational - to relax self and to focus attention)
¥ Frequency component (high, low etc.)
Who theorised the 4 W’s of self-talk?
Hardy
What are the 4 W’s of ST?
¥ What? – nature/valance – positive or negative
¥ Why? – Instructional function or motivational
¥ When? – Frequency – prior to training/completion, during or after?
¥ Where? – sporting or non-sport related venue
Hardy (2001) descriptive study of athletes ST?
Aim: To describe the 4 W’s of self-talk in sport.
Methods:
- Varsity athletes (n=150, 78 male, 72 female, mean age 20.68 years).
- Each read a self-statement oriented definition of self-talk (aware what the research meant) and then answered four open-ended questions:
where they use self-talk?, when they use self talk?, what they say to themselves?, why they use self-talk?
Results:
Where?
- sport related venue e.g. changing room prior to competition.
- At home was the most common non-sports related venue.
when?
- Most commonly used in competition – mostly before (136) and during (131) compared to after (12)
- Also used self-talk during practice (135)
What?
- nature: used more positive ST (38)
- Structure: phrases more common (281)
- person: equally used 1st and 2nd
- task instruction: also used ST (instructional or cognitive) and was specific for the task, skill or sport they were participating in
Why?
Motivational:
¥ Arousal function – increase, psych themselves up prior or during competition, or as a relaxation method
¥ Mastery function – preparing themselves for the task e.g. improving their attentional control to the present moment.
Drive function – increase motivation or drive towards a given target or goal.
Instructional/cognitive
¥ Specific function – using self-talk specific to the task e.g. bend the knees, shoulders down, breathe
¥ General function – relating to overall performance e.g. I can stay strong.
“motivational was most commonly used and related specifically to mastery accomplishments to maintain focus. Instructional used specific and general equally.
Hardy et al (2005) study on Quantifying ST?
Aim: To generate quantitative data on the content of athlete’s self-talk and to examine the differences in terms of use of self-talk as well as the functions in practice and competition.
Methods: - Athletes (n=295, mean age 21.9 years) from a variety of sports and competitive levels completed the Self Talk
- Questionnaires (59 items, STUQ). The questions were concerned with: 1. How the athletes generally self-talk (6), 2. Content of the self-talk (9), 3. Why the athletes use self-talk in both practice (12) and competition (12), 4. How they use self-talk (20 - venue, in combination with other strategies?).
- Scores were on a 9 point scale (1=never, 9= all the time).
- Different genders from different sports.
Results:
Content of ST:
- Internal self-talk more used than external or muttered self-talk (agrees with previous study)
- Positive in nature
- Uses phrases
- Agrees with original qualitative research.
Gender:
o Males used more external and negative self-talk then females.
o Structure - No difference in structure
Skill level:
- no significant difference
Type of Sport:
o Those engaged in team sports used more external and negative self-talk than those who did individual sports.
Use of function:
- Most common = motivational category
- Using self-talk so psych themselves up before, during and after competition – same for all athletes.
How does the nature/valiance impact on performance?
- Positive self-talk – Praise and thoughts that focus attention in the present, not on past errors or the distant future
- Negative self-talk – Thoughts are inappropriate, irrational, counterproductive, or anxiety-producing.
Van Raalte et al. (1994) study examining Positive vs Negative ST?
Aim: To examine the nature of self-talk on performance of junior tennis players (novice level).
Methods:
¥ 24 junior tennis playersObserved their self-talk, qualitative study: observed ST, gestures and match scores as well as a post-match questionnaire relating to their positive and negative thoughts.
o Also, quantitative with a match report questionnaire at the end of the game.
Results:
- more negative than positive self tap
- negative ST = poorer performance
- no association with positive ST and performance
How does function (motivational/instructional) ST influence performance?
Motivational:
¥ Arousal function (“psyching” up)
¥ Mastery function (mental toughness, confidence)
¥ Drive function (regulating drive and effort)
Instructional: ¥ Specific function (referring to skill learning and development) General function (referring to strategy and performance enhancement)
Perks et al. (2002) study in Instructional ST?
Aim: To examine the effectiveness of instructional self-talk on performing three basketball skills (dribbling, passing and shooting).
Methods:
- 62 Novice basketball players (
- two groups – Experimental (using self-talk) and Control (no self-talk) group
- 12 weeks, 16 practice sessions looking at:
dribbling performance: dribbling between cones, every cone past was 1 point “low rhythm ST”
passing: 3 vertical targets on a wall, 1 point per target hit “finger, target ST”
shooting: no. of successful shots in 30s “hands + centre”
- tested in sessions 4,8,12,16
- retention test 2weeks later
Results:
- Self-talk group outperforms the control group in dribbling and passing but no significant difference for shooting.
- Dribbling and passing are less complex than shooting.
Hatzigerogiadis et al. 2008 study on Motivational ST?
Aim: To examine the effects of motivational self-talk on self-efficacy and performance.
Methods:
- 46 Young tennis players all with at least one year of competitive experience.
- conducted over five trials.
- baseline test: 4 hand drive test
- self-efficacy test to see their beliefs in achieving a score (1-7…1 no belief)
training: backhand drive (sessions 4-6) and experimental group used motivational ST
final assessment: same test as baseline
- Completed over a shorter time period (5 trials only and not 12 weeks compared to the others)
Results:
- initial assessment they were similar at baseline then the experimental group performed better
- self-efficacy also increased in EG compared to CG
Overall: Increases in self-efficacy may be a viable mechanism underlying the facilitating effects of motivational self-talk.
o Mechanism to how motivational self-talk works in skill acquisition.
When does the task matter?
If you’re working on a fine motor skill that requires accuracy
Theodorakis et al. (2000) study?
Aim: To examine the effects of instructional and motivational self-talk on the performance of different motor tasks (soccer skills, badminton service, sit up test (most sit ups completed in 3min) and knee extension task on an isokinetic dynamometer).
Methods: ppts split into 6 groups over 3 trials: motivational, instructional or control
Results:
- Soccer skills: instructional self-talk group outperformed the motivational group throughout all trials from 3 - 6. This was the same in the badminton group.
- badminton: same as soccer
- sit ups: no significant difference in groups
- knee up extension: both ST groups outperformed control
What was the overall results of Theodorakis et al. (2000) study?
Overall: when a task requires fine (accurate) motor movements instructional self-talk is more affective. Whereas, for tasks that require gross motor movements both instructional and motivational or a mixture of both self-talk strategies are effective.
How does ST improve performance?
¥ Focusing attention ¥ Enhance information processing ¥ Building confidence and self-efficacy ¥ Enhanced self-regulation of thoughts via verbal cues ¥ Enhanced imagery-learning link ¥ Reducing anxiety
