In the research literature, both instructional and motivational self-talk have been shown to enhance performance. The truth is, our self-talk can actually have a much bigger influence on the way we see ourselves, and the world around us … Further, the questionnaire approach relies on athletes’ ability to accurately recall their past self-talk. Thus, it is difficult to determine if the self-report measured by questionnaires is a valid reflection of athletes’ actual experiences as some self-talk scales are uncorrelated with open-ended self-reports of inner speech and there are only weak correlations among various self-talk measures and their subscales (Uttl, Morin, & Hamper, 2011). Hardy, J., Oliver, E., & Tod, D. (2009). Other research has shown that attempting to use conscious monitoring with messages that conflict with physiological/emotional state can be detrimental to performance when compared with the use of self-talk that matches the state. Efforts are made to reduce the effects of presuppositions of participant experiences. Moment-by-moment or “state” self-talk has been assessed by researchers observing sport competitions. Further, the categorization of self-talk as it relates to System 1 and System 2 may provide further insight into existing sport psychology phenomena such as paralysis by analysis and choking and direct attention to little-studied areas related to individual differences and cultural and contextual factors. Research aimed at understanding overtness in self-talk in sport settings has not been conducted, perhaps in part due to the challenges associated with measuring covert self-talk. This article provides an overview of the history of self-talk in sport psychology and performance with a focus on self-talk definitions, theory, research, and measurement. Definitions and conceptualizations are discussed, and measurement issues are presented. For this reason, description, functions, and categorization of self-talk are presented in the following three sections. (2010).Interpreting self-talk: Associations between informational and controlling self-talk, and post-lecture anxiety and affect in higher education students. (2006). Observational studies do not allow for the assessment of athletes’ internal self-talk during play, however. As stated earlier, self-talk is an underdeveloped sector of sport psychology, with a small but growing research base emerging. For example, there continues to be an emphasis on negative self-talk’s harmful effects on sport performance despite limited research support for this idea (Tod et al., 2011). “There is robust evidence that self-talk strategies facilitate learning and enhance performance,” according to sport psychologist Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis, who … Retrospective reports of mental processes, including self-talk, are notoriously unreliable, subject to the limitations of retrospective introspection (Brewer, Van Raalte, Linder, & Van Raalte, 1991; Hurlburt & Heavey, 2006). The matching hypothesis suggests that the greatest performance benefits will be derived from self-talk when the type of self-talk being used is appropriately paired with a particular type of performance task (Hatzigeorgiadis et al., 2011). Although such studies highlight the benefit of self-talk, research designs that include self-talk as part of a psychological skills intervention make it difficult to determine the unique effects of self-talk on sport performance. Negative self-talk increases motivation and performance in some circumstances but is generally detrimental to sport performance. Thus, an athlete might say to herself, “I am so nervous right now.” This expressive feature is important because it allows for interpretation and consideration of current positions in relation to past experiences and other existing beliefs in consciousness. Observational studies of self-talk in real sport environments have good external validity, allowing for real-time assessment of actual self-talk and examination of the relationship between self-talk and performance. Already, promising approaches to measurement are emerging such as DES and neural analysis that will allow researchers to observe self-talk in new ways, thereby allowing them to ask and answer new self-talk related questions. Have you ever thought that talking to yourself is something only other people do? Abstract. Yannis Theodorakis, in Sport and Exercise Psychology Research, 2016. He also noted that relationships among factors affecting self-talk were likely circular, reciprocal, and interrelated in nature. The underlying idea behind this hypothesis is that positive self-talk is linked to cognitive, motivational, behavioral, and affective mechanisms such that athletes who use positive self-talk are likely to decrease anxiety, improve concentration and focus, and perform better. One of the most prevalent hypotheses in the applied self-talk literature is that self-talk with a positive valence is best for sport performance (Tod et al., 2011). The addition of the term “syntactically recognizable” separates self-talk from verbalizations such as shouts of frustration (aaahhhh! Research on athletes’ spontaneous self-talk has lagged behind experimental research due in large part to measurement challenges. As increased attention is paid to self-talk definitions, it is likely that self-talk measurement will be reconsidered as well. (2009) found evidence in support of this hypothesis. Further research examining the self-talk dissonance hypothesis may help identify additional mediators and moderators of the self-talk–performance relationship. Performing these techniques can improve focus and slow the brain down, giving it the ability to devote more "power" to the specific task at hand. Hardy, Begley, and Blanchfield (2015) found that instructional self-talk was more effective than motivational self-talk on an accuracy-based task only for skilled athletes. ), self-statements made by gestures, and self-statements made outside of the context of formal language. Oliver, E. J., Markland, D., & Hardy, J. In this section we describe major approaches to self-talk research and measurement. The sport-specific model of self-talk highlights the important role that context and culture play in understanding self-talk and self-talk behavior. Thus, extensive use of System 2 self-talk has the potential to drain cognitive resources, which can lead to performance decrements (Van Raalte et al., 2016a). Negative thoughts will increase anxiety levels. Hardy (2006) described the self-determined nature of self-talk as falling on a continuum from assigned to freely chosen, which may be a helpful heuristic for understanding how self-talk is used in practice. In his review of self-talk definitions, Hardy (2006) pointed to definitions like “self-talk can be manifested as a word, a thought, a smile, or a frown” (Chroni, 1997) and “anytime you think about something you are in a sense talking to yourself” (Bunker, Williams, & Zinsser, 1993) as being too broad to provide clarity for researchers and practitioners. Help us get better. Neutral self-talk also includes instructional self-talk, a category commonly seen in the literature that refers to statements such as “slow and steady” or “bend your knees,” which provide guidance or instruction to an athlete. A framework for the study of self-talk in sport. Harvey, Van Raalte, and Brewer (2002) found that positive self-talk was correlated with worse golf putting accuracy. Combining DES and/or elicitation interviews with assessment of neuronal brain changes via technology such as Brain TV may allow for the assessment of self-talk at the experiential and neuronal levels (Petitmengin & Lachaux, 2013). Several of the most prominent hypotheses and theories in the self-talk literature are discussed in the following sections. Matching self-talk to the task (e.g., using motivational self-talk for gross motor skills such as power lifting) can be a useful strategy, although findings have been inconsistent, perhaps because many individual sport performances involve diverse sport tasks that include both fine and gross motor skills. Self-talk is the internal narrative you hold about yourself. Whereas a descriptive definition of self-talk enables researchers and practitioners to distinguish between self-talk and other phenomena, defining the various functions of self-talk provides foundational information for researchers and can contribute to understanding of self-talk and the development of self-talk interventions. Speaking clearly: A critical review of the self-talk literature. Thus, Hardy defined self-talk as “verbalizations or statements addressed to the self” and also included functions of self-talk in the definition, although Hardy noted that this definition might need future revision. For example, Van Raalte et al. Non-first person pronouns tend to be used when people actively and autonomously respond to negative situations (Zell, Warriner, & Albarracin, 2012). Master mental game coach, Dr. Patrick Cohn, can help you or your athlete(s), ages 12 and up, overcome mental game issues with personal coaching. You can work with Dr. Patrick Cohn himself in Orlando, Florida or via Skype, FaceTime, or telephone. Self-talk is defined as the expression of a syntactically recognizable internal position in which the sender of the message is also the intended received. Some self-talk that athletes use, self-selected/automatic, may later be suggested by coaches or sport psychologists and thus be considered assigned/strategic. A substantial amount of self-talk research has been dedicated to categorizing self-talk. In the field of sport psychology, self-talk did not emerge as an area of research focus until the cognitive revolution of 1970s, when researchers began to consider ways in which the thinking of athletes influenced performance and experiences in sport (Williams & Straub, 2006). With respect to team culture, research has demonstrated that common acceptance of self-talk use as a performance strategy within a team leads to greater use of self-talk (Hardy & Hall, 2006) and that coach behaviors influence the types of self-talk used by their athletes (Conroy & Coatsworth, 2007; Theodorakis et al., 2012). Practicing self-talk enhances its beneficial effects, perhaps allowing self-talk to become an integral part of the sport performance experience. Are inner speech self-report questionnaires reliable and valid? Exhaustion of System 2. For instance, people who are anxious and use the self-talk “I am calm” perform worse than those who are anxious and use the self-talk “I’m excited” (Brooks, 2014). Another hypothesis that follows from the sport-specific model of self-talk is the self-talk dissonance hypothesis, which predicts that System 2 self-talk that conflicts with System 1 gut feelings and impressions is likely to deplete cognitive resources and have a detrimental effect on performance. In S. D. Mellalieu & S. Hanton (Eds.). A basketball player shooting free-throws who tells himself, "I’m not going to make this basket," will need to practice replacing that negative statement with a positive "I’m going to make this shot." Referring back to the previous example, once self-talk is expressed, the athlete may consider how to respond to her nervousness. Self-talk interventions have proven effective for enhancing performance. Recently, a clear definition of self-talk that distinguishes self-talk from related phenomena such as imagery and gestures and describes self-talk has emerged. Self-talk is defined as the verbalization or statements athletes repeat to themselves prior to or during skill execution (Begley, 2012). Effects of self-talk: A systematic review. That is, research has been designed to answer such questions as “What is the effect of self-talk on sport performance?” and “What is the best self-talk for athletes to use?” The questions that researchers can ask and answer are intimately related to their ability to measure constructs of interest. DES is a method designed to enable people to capture their pristine inner experiences including their ongoing thoughts, feelings, and self-talk. This purpose of this paper is to: (a) review theory and research related to self-talk in sport; and (b) present a … Within 24 hours of the beep, participants are interviewed about their experiences to help provide a full description of beeped experiences. Additional research exploring the effects of self-talk of various grammatical forms in sport settings seems warranted. Call us toll free at 888-742-7225 or contact usfor more information about the different coaching programs we offer! Building on research and language from dual-processing theories (Kahneman, 2003; Evans & Stanovich, 2013), Van Raalte and colleagues (2016a) developed an approach that uses System 1 and System 2 categorizations to categorize self-talk based on features related to information processing. "Self-Talk Theory, Research, and Applications: Some Personal Reflections" published on 01 Mar 2018 by Human Kinetics. Self-talk has been studied from the earliest days of research in experimental psychology. Zourbanos, Hatzigeorgiadis, Bardas, and Theodorakis (2013) found that beginners performed better when using instructional self-talk for an accuracy task relative to motivational self-talk. (2014) found that for novices, instructional and motivational self-talk did not differ in their effects on throwing accuracy but motivational self-talk enhanced throwing for distance performance. Therefore, research was conducted to explore the psychological approaches used by elite athletes and to compare the approaches of elite and other athletes (Gould, Eklund, & Jackson, 1993; Mahoney & Avener, 1977). Overall, the beneficial effects of self-talk were found to be most likely to accrue when participants were performing novel tasks and tasks that involve fine motor skills. Self-talk has been widely endorsed as a performance enhancement tool in the sport psychology literature. Self-talk has been studied scientifically for almost as long as experimental psychology has been in existence, with researchers in the1880s taking an interest in understanding the nature and function of inner speech and the things people say to themselves (Reed, 1916). They found that negative self-talk was widely used by athletes during competition and also noted that negative self-talk was related to worse tennis performance among youth athletes. Having a clear and comprehensive definition of self-talk is crucial to both self-talk research and applied self-talk interventions, as the core understanding of what self-talk is serves as the basis of both measurement and theory. In 2011 Tod, Hardy and Oliver had sufficient literature on self-talk to systematically review the research, which allowed them to distinguish the areas that required more attention and focus. Although such statements can be said aloud, most self-talk is said covertly as a silent voice in one’s mind. Some of the categories of self-talk that have been most widely studied and/or are most promising in the literature are discussed in this section. By definition, sport psychology is the study of mental factors as they relate to athletics. These findings are concerning because self-talk questionnaires should all measure the same construct—self-talk. Using just two categories to identify the origin of self-talk appears to be insufficient because athletes may also pick up self-talk from teammates, the Internet, books, observing others being coached, in classes, and as part of and outside of conscious awareness. I currently work as a lecturer in sport at the Manchester College. Finally, if Vygotsky’s theories about the internalization of culture as inner speech are taken into account, gaining insight into how context influences the structure, use, and meaning of self-talk are importantly linked with both team climate and culture more broadly defined. That is, although self-talk by definition is directed toward the self, when overheard by a competitor, fan, or other person, self-talk may influence perceptions and future interactions (Van Raalte, Brewer, Cornelius, & Petitpas, 2006). A distinction between assigned/strategic self-talk statements and self-selected/automatic self-talk statements in experimental studies is another approach to categorization (Theodorakis et al., 2012). System 1, which involves rapid, autonomous processing, involves intuition, gut feelings, and impressions, and System 2, which is typically slower, involves cognitive effort and relies on working memory. Log in. With regard to pronouns, the use of the collective pronoun “we” as in “we can do it,” relative to the use of the pronoun “I,” has been shown to enhance self-efficacy and performance on a sport task (Son et al., 2011). To facilitate comfort and familiarity with self-talk and perhaps minimize the need for extensive self-talk practice, some researchers have had participants self-select their own self-talk statements (Harvey et al., 2002). Despite the obvious differences in observability between these types of self-talk, it is thought they serve similar self-regulatory functions and indeed research has shown that both overt and covert self-talk use similar brain structures (Morin, 2011; Unterrainer & Owen, 2006). Measures that assess self-talk focusing on the level of use include the Psychological Skills Inventory for Sports (PSIS; Mahoney, Gabriel, & Perkins, 1987), the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28 (ACSI-28; Smith, Schutz, Smoll, & Ptacek, 1995), the Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS; Thomas, Murphy, & Hardy, 1999, revised by Hardy, Roberts, Thomas, & Murphy, 2010), and the Athletes’ Positive and Negative Self-Talk Scale (Zourbanos, Hatzigeorgiadis, & Theodorakis, 2007). Three specific theories that follow from the sport-specific model are discussed in the following sections. Such studies typically assign self-talk and focus on the measurement of performance and related variables. Vygotsky’s (1986) cultural-historical psychology was one of the earliest theories in which inner speech/self-talk played a prominent role. Positive Self-Talk in Sport Written by Gobinder Gill. This type of self-talk, self-talk that occurs spontaneously, has different neural correlates than that of assigned inner speaking (Hurlburt, Alderson-Day, Kuhn, & Fernyhough, 2016). In this article, we present a meta-analytic review of the effects of self-talk interventions on task performance in sport and possible factors that may moderate the effectiveness of self-talk. Hardy, J. The effects of motivational versus instructional self-talk on improving motor performance. Grammatical form. You could not be signed in, please check and try again. Psychology Definition of SELF-TALK: the dialogue that we have with ourselves that can confirm and reinforce both positive and negative beliefs. Printed from Oxford Research Encyclopedias, Psychology. Descriptive Experience Sampling has been used to study self-talk in golf, a sport that has regular breaks in the action. Various categories of self-talk such as self-talk valence, overtness, demands on working memory, and grammatical form have all been explored. More recently, researchers have expanded their exploration of self-talk by focusing on measuring the functions of self-talk via such questionnaires as the Functions of Self-Talk Questionnaire (Theodorakis et al., 2008) and the Self-Talk Questionnaire for Sports (Zervas, Stavrou, & Psychountaki, 2007) and assessing athletes’ spontaneous self-talk via the Automatic Self-Talk Questionnaire for Sports (Zourbanos, Hatzigeorgiadis, Chroni, Theodorakis, & Papaioannou, 2009) and the Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport (Hatzigeorgiadis & Biddle, 2000). To fully understand the effects of self-talk on sport performance, more research exploring the self-talk of competitive athletes and their performance in actual competitive sport environments is needed. Sport psychology is an interdisciplinary science that draws on knowledge from many related fields including biomechanics, physiology, kinesiology and psychology. Self-talk questionnaires typically require athletes to rate their self-talk use on scales ranging from not at all, never, or rarely to very much, always, very often. Taxonomies are important in that they facilitate a complex and nuanced understanding of self-talk, which enhances the state of research and applied interventions. Thus, self-talk can alter the context even when it is self-directed. DES may also be used to validate extant self-talk questionnaires, which have adequate reliability but have not yet demonstrated validity in sport settings. It involves the study of how psychological factors affect performance and how participation in sport and exercise affect psychological and physical factors. Thus, progress with regard to definition, measurement, and theory will provide the foundation for future developments in the field. Despite the prominence of self-talk in the sport psychology literature, shared approaches to definition, theory, research, and measurement of self-talk have only begun to emerge over the past decade. Author Michael Mellinger. Further, they found individual differences in self-talk use. Self-Talk is used to enhance athlete’s confidence in their performance whether it is in practice or a game. So what exactly are they saying and why? THEORY: Positive self-talk relates to the ability to overcome negative thinking. Psychology definition for Self Talk in normal everyday language, edited by psychologists, professors and leading students. In order to narrow this definition Hardy highlighted three important features of self-talk that distinguish self-talk from other phenomena: (a) self-talk is directed toward the self and not toward others; (b) it can occur either out loud or internally; and (c) it occurs as a self-statement or something we say to ourselves. In research settings, knowing which statements are assigned by researchers and which statements come from participants is important for understanding and contextualizing the findings of a study, as assigned self-talk helps ensure the equivalence of self-talk across conditions. Overtness. Indeed, recent advances in the definition, theory, and measurement of self-talk present the possibility that self-talk could play an important role in moving the sport psychology literature forward. Van Raalte and colleagues (2000) studied competitive adult tennis players during tournament matches and found that only 1 player performed better after using positive self-talk, 2 players performed worse, and 15 players’ point outcomes were unaffected by their self-talk. DES is a measurement approach that can identify self-talk and patterns of self-talk in real time and facilitate examination of self-talk that is unique to individuals and contexts such as that of competitive golfers (Dickens, 2007). 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