Motivational Styles: Examining the Impact of Personality on the Self-Talk Patterns of Adolescent Female Soccer Players

Abstract

The purpose of this exploratory study was to (a) examine self-talk dimensions in sport, (b) identify whether motivation styles (MS) are represented in this sample (Burton & Weiss, 2008), and (c) compare profiles on self-talk dimensions and related constructs. A sample of 214 adolescent female soccer players completed a comprehensive questionnaire to identify motivational styles and self-talk patterns. Factor analysis results revealed four self-talk frequency and three effectiveness dimensions, and cluster analysis identified four MSs that generally supported predictions. Finally, multi-variate analyses of variance results found profile differences generally consistent with predictions, although success- outperformed mastery-oriented performers. Discussion focuses on future research directions.