Self-talk Interventions Research Articles

Workshop of Self-talk Intervention for Beginners of Badminton Coaches

Workshop of Self-talk Intervention for Beginners of Badminton Coaches

Effects of Reflection to Improve Goal-Directed Self-Talk on Endurance Performance.

We investigated the effects of an intervention that encouraged reflection on organic self-talk used during endurance performance. Using an experimental design, we compared the effects of enhancing metacognitive skills by (a) planning and (b) reviewing and evaluating goal-directed self-talk. Participants completed three time-to-exhaustion cycling task trials in which we hypothesized that the intervention group would perform significantly better than the control group. Further, we expected a reduction in perceived exertion for a given workload among participants following a self-talk intervention. Thirty-four participants completed a time-to-exhaustion cycle ergometer test, after which participants were randomly divided into an intervention and control group. The intervention group performed reflection tasks on performance in the time-to-exhaustion test. Participants completed two further time-to-exhaustion tests. Repeated measures analyses of covariance to test whether the intervention group performed for longer indicated no significant difference in time to exhaustion (p = 0.157). Perceived exertion rates were 2.42% higher in the intervention compared to the control group (p = 0.025). In conclusion, in the intervention group, goal-directed self-talk led to increased sensitisation to perceived exertion, and participants chose to stop exercising at this point rather than repeat implementation of self-talk statements and persist for longer.

The effects of self-talk on free throw performance and the level of anxiety among male novice basketball players

The present study has been conducted to investigate the effects of self-talk on free throw performance and the level of anxiety among male novice basketball players. Forty-eight (48) male novice basketball players (22.27 ± 1.47 years) was selected. The participants were assigned into four matched groups of twelve (12) participants: instructional self-talk (IST), motivational self-talk (MST) and the combination of instructional and motivational self-talk (CIMST) and control. Throw accuracy and anxiety’s level were measured on a 5-point scale and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults (STAI). Training protocol contains a pre-test and post-test to indicate the intervention effect on anxiety level and free throw performance. The participants compete against each other to get the highest score in post free throw performance. The data were analyzed by using mixed between-within subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA). The finding showed that state and trait anxiety level of post-intervention was significantly lower than pre-intervention in all groups (p<.05). The results of free throw performance showed the instructional self-talk intervention group was significantly improved from pre-intervention to post-intervention followed by the combination of instructional and motivational self-talk intervention group, motivational self-talk intervention group and control group (p<.05). However, there was no significant differences in anxiety level and free throw performance among all groups (p>.05). Therefore, it is recommended that self-talk can be used to enhance the free throw performance and reduce the anxiety’s level for the novice athletes.

Beat the Heat: Effects of a Motivational Self-Talk Intervention on Endurance Performance

The study examined the effects of a motivational self-talk intervention on endurance cycling performance in hot conditions. Participants were 16 physically active adult men. After a baseline VO2 peak assessment and two training sessions, participants completed a 30 min cycling trial in a hot environment (35°C, 45% relative humidity) while maintaining a steady rate of perceived exertion. Participants of the intervention group produced greater power output during the final third of the trial. Findings suggest that the self-talk strategy seems to have compromised the aversive effects of the demanding environmental conditions and provide support for the psychobiological model of endurance performance.

Effects of a Motivational Self-Talk Intervention for Endurance Athletes Completing an Ultramarathon

This study examined the effects of strategic, motivational self-talk for runners completing a 60-mile, overnight ultramarathon using a randomized, controlled experiment. Data were collected before, during, and after an annual ultramarathon. Twenty-nine ultramarathon runners were randomly allocated to a motivational self-talk group or an alternative control group. A condition-by-time mixed ANOVA indicated that learning to use motivational self-talk did not affect preevent self-efficacy or perceived control. A t-test and magnitude-based inference indicated that motivational self-talk did not affect performance. Nevertheless, follow-up data suggested that most participants found the intervention helpful and continued to use it six months after their research commitment, particularly in endurance events and to a lesser extent in training. Participants continued to use self-talk to cope with exertion, as well as other stressors such as blister discomfort and adverse conditions. Suggestions are offered for future research examining the effects of psychological interventions on performance in endurance events.

Countering the Consequences of Ego Depletion: The Effects of Self-Talk on Selective Attention.

This study examined the effects of a self-talk intervention on selective attention in a state of ego depletion. Participants were 62 undergraduate students with a mean age of 20.02 years (SD = 1.17). The experiment was conducted in four consecutive sessions. Following baseline assessment, participants were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. A two-session training was conducted for the two groups, with the experimental group using self-talk. In the final assessment, participants performed a selective attention test, including visual and auditory components, following a task inducing a state of ego depletion. The analysis showed that participants of the experimental group achieved a higher percentage of correct responses on the visual test and produced faster reaction times in both the visual and the auditory test compared with participants of the control group. The results of this study suggest that the use of self-talk can benefit selective attention for participants in states of ego depletion.

The Effects of Self-Talk Cues on the Putting Performance of Golfers Susceptible to Detrimental Putting Performances Under High Pressure Settings

This study examined the effects of a self-talk (ST) intervention on golfers and anxiety and the subsequent influence on putting performances. Seven amateur golfers with a history of anxiety when putting were divided into 3 groups (control, motivational ST, and instructional ST) and completed a 10-session ST intervention involving simulated putting. Ratings of anxiety as measured by the CSAI-2R (Cox, Martens, & Russell, 2003) were obtained pre- and post-intervention. Results indicate statistical significance between the three groups with improvements in the putting performance of the instructional ST group, followed by the motivational ST group, then the control group. There were, however, no significant changes in anxiety scores.

Self-talk interventions for athletes: A theoretically grounded approach

ABSTRACTSelf-talk has been widely endorsed as a performance enhancement tool in the sport psychology literature. Implementing self-talk interventions successfully, however, requires some understanding of how, when, why, and for whom self-talk interventions are likely to be effective. The purpose of this article is to provide theoretical and empirical information that can help coaches, athletes, and sport psychologists develop and implement effective self-talk interventions. To that end, five key components of the sport-specific model of self-talk that are critical to self-talk interventions are described. Next, decision point questions that can guide the creation of self-talk interventions are presented. Finally, case examples that facilitate application of self-talk theory to practice in sport are provided.

Goal-Directed Self-Talk Interventions: A Single-Case Study With an Elite Athlete

The purpose of this single-case study was to describe a goal-directed self-talk (ST) intervention with an elite athlete. The participant was a 36-year-old elite orienteerer, who declared himself to be continuously engaged in some sort of autonomous self-dialogue. During six sessions, we undertook an intervention which started with identifying variety of relevant problematic sport situations and goal-directed ST in them. Subsequently, through questioning, the original ST was challenged and alternative instructions were theoretically examined before putting them into practice. The participant valued highly the intervention process and its outcomes. Overall, the study provides preliminary evidence on the effectiveness of goal-directed ST interventions and encourages research to further explore their potential.

It's Good But it's Not Right: Instructional Self-Talk and Skilled Performance

This research examined the relative effectiveness of instructional versus motivational self-talk for skilled athletes. Forty Gaelic footballers completed a shooting accuracy task with their dominant and nondominant feet. Results indicated significantly more accurate performance when executing the task using the dominant foot and motivational as compared to instructional self-talk. No difference emerged between the two types of self-talk within the nondominant foot condition. Results challenge the widely held view that instructional self-talk is most effective for accuracy-based tasks and should prompt practitioners to consider the skill level of their clients when constructing self-talk interventions.

Self-talk and Competitive Sport Performance

The purpose of the present study was to test the effectiveness of a 10-week self-talk intervention on competitive performance in young swimmers. Participants were 41 swimmers (M age 14.59, SD = 1.58 years), whose performance was recorded on 2 competitive occasions with a 10-week interval. In-between the 2 competitions, participants in the intervention group followed a self-talk training program. The results showed that the intervention group had greater performance improvements than the control group, thus, supporting the effectiveness of the program in enhancing sport performance in a competitive environment. The findings provide directions for the development of effective self-talk interventions.

The effects of a self-talk intervention on elementary students’ motor task performance

The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of an instructional self-talk intervention on elementary students’ (M age = 10.82 years, ±0.72) motor performance in a soccer task. Participants were 45 elementary students who were randomly assigned into two groups one experimental and one control group. A three-day practice was administered to the two groups, with the experimental group using instructional self-talk. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed that from baseline to final measure both groups improved their performance; however, the improvement of the self-talk group was larger compared with that of the control group. This resulted in the two groups displaying significant differences in the final measure (p < 0.01). In general, the results provided support for the beneficial effects of self-talk intervention programmes for task enhancement, and in particular show that such interventions can be effective from the ages of elementary school students.

Can Two-Dimensional Technology Measure Changes in the Swing of Elite Croquet Players Following a Self-Talk Intervention?

To assess the influence of self-talk on an athlete’s performance techniques are required to measure changes in skill execution but there are limitations to these techniques. Analysis of movement is often done in laboratory settings using three-dimensional motion-capture technology. The limitations of this approach make it impractical for most people to use and therefore we investigated if a high-speed video camera and two-dimensional software could measure changes in the swing of elite croquet players across different self-talk conditions. Significant differences were found for the timing of the backswing and downswing with mallet angle at follow-through approaching significance. These results are promising in relation to detecting changes in performance with two-dimensional techniques but there are limitations that must be considered regarding conclusions drawn from such findings.

The influence of a self-talk intervention on collegiate cross-country runners

The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the effectiveness of different types of self-talk (e.g., instructional, motivational, combined) and the self-determined nature of the self-talk (assigned vs. freely chosen) on one-mile run performance. Eighty-one collegiate cross-country runners were assigned to one of six intervention groups after completing a baseline one-mile time trial. A week later they completed the test trial using their specific intervention technique. Results of the 2 (assigned vs. freely chosen) × 3 (type of self-talk) × 2 (trials) repeated measures ANOVA yielded no significant between subject differences although the trials effect revealed that, in general, performance improved from pre-to-post-test. However, statistical analysis of the six combined groups across trials (6 ×2) revealed that the combined self-set, motivational self-set, and instructional assigned groups displayed significant improvements in performance from pre-to post-test. Results are discussed in terms of practical versus statistical significance, cognitive evaluation theory, and self-efficacy theory.

Using a Positive Self-Talk Intervention to Enhance Coping Skills in Breast Cancer Survivors: Lessons from a Community-Based Group Delivery Model

Cancer survivorship is a distinct phase of the cancer continuum, and it can have myriad associated stresses and challenges. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a positive self-talk (pst) intervention in enhancing the coping skills and improving the psychological well-being of breast cancer survivors. Participants (n = 38) were recruited from 5 support groups in a small eastern Canadian province. Support groups were randomly assigned to either a control (n = 18) or an intervention (n = 20) condition. Intervention participants were pre-tested, received a 2-hour pst in-person group workshop and a 10-minute "booster" session by telephone, and completed post-test questionnaires 1 month later. Intervention participants reviewed the workshop favourably. Nearly all participants used the intervention in everyday life, were able to accurately describe how pst works, and found that pst had a considerable impact on their ability to cope with cancer and related sequelae. However, the descriptive findings from the workshop evaluation did not translate into significant differences between the intervention and control groups on the psychometric measures. The pst intervention, delivered in a community group model, was positively received and effective in teaching participants about pst and how pst can be used to enhance coping skills for breast cancer patients. However, the intervention did not promote significantly greater levels of change in anxiety, depression, mood disturbance, or coping ability for intervention participants. The unique challenges of community-level psychological intervention are explored.

Who Benefits from Training in Self-Compassionate Self-Regulation? A Study of Smoking Reduction

Self-compassion has been found to promote well-being but research has yet to examine whether training in self-compassion improves self-regulation (Gilbert, 2005, 2009; Neff, 2003). The present study sought to examine the impact and moderators of a self-compassion intervention on the self-regulation of cigarette smoking. One hundred and twenty-six smokers seeking to quit were randomly assigned to one of four interventions, of which one involved engaging in selfcompassionate imagery and self-talk at every urge to smoke. Multilevel modeling revealed that over three weeks, the self-compassion intervention reduced daily smoking more quickly than a baseline self-monitoring condition but at the same rate as two other imagery-based self-talk interventions. Moderators of selfcompassion training emerged. The self-compassion intervention reduced smoking more rapidly if participants were low in readiness to change; were high in the trait of self-criticism; and had vivid imagery during the intervention exercises. Find...

Self-talk influences vertical jump performance and kinematics in male rugby union players

We examined the effects of instructional and motivational self-talk on centre of mass displacement and hip kinematics during the vertical jump. Twenty-four male rugby union players (age 21.1 years, s = 3.5; body mass 81.0 kg, s = 8.9; height 1.80 m, s = 0.06) performed three vertical jump tests, with a 2 min rest between jumps. Before each jump, participants engaged in one of three counterbalanced interventions (motivational self-talk, instructional self-talk or no-intervention). Motivational self-talk led to greater centre of mass displacement (0.602 m, s = 0.076; P = 0.012) than the no-intervention control (0.583 m, s = 0.085). Centre of mass displacement did not differ between instructional self-talk and the control condition or between motivational and instructional self-talk. Motivational (100.75°, s = 16.05; P = 0.001) and instructional self-talk (106.14°, s = 17.04; P = 0.001) led to greater hip displacement than the no-intervention control (94.11°, s = 17.14). There was also a significant difference in hip displacement between motivational and instructional self-talk (P = 0.014), although there was no difference between instructional self-talk and the control condition. Motivational (451.69 °/s, s = 74.34; P = 0.008) and instructional self-talk (462.01 °/s, s = 74.37; P = 0.001) led to greater hip rotation velocity than the no-intervention control (434.37 °/s, s = 75.37), although there was no difference between the two self-talk interventions. These results indicate that self-talk may influence performance and technique during the vertical jump in male rugby players.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Self-Talk Interventions on Endurance Performance

Self-talk in sport has been widely researched with somewhat conflicting results (Van Raalte et al., 1995; Perkos et al., 2002). The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of three different self-talk interventions on endurance performance. Participants were nine cyclists who performed a 20-minute cycling ergometer workout two times per week for five weeks. At each workout participants were requested to cycle as far as possible. A multiple-baseline design was utilized, which after varying baseline lengths allowed for the implementation of one out of three self-talk interventions: self-regulated positive self-talk, assisted positive self-talk, and assisted negative self-talk. Results revealed a performance increase in all groups with the greatest increase being found in the assisted positive self-talk condition.

Self-Coaching: A Context-Sensitive, Person-Centred Approach to Social Communication After Traumatic Brain Injury

AbstractUnsuccessful social communication after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is often a consequence of self-regulatory (executive function) impairments. The primary goal of this article is to describe an approach to intervention for individuals with self-regulatory impairments that is individualised, sensitive to context and to the role of everyday communication partners, and supported by personally compelling metaphors. After a brief review of the social communication outcome literature, an innovative approach to improving social competence is presented and illustrated. The article ends with a review of the evidence base for social skills and self-talk interventions.

Self-Talk and Female Youth Soccer Performance

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of teaching skilled athletes to use self-talk (ST) and gain insight on the athlete’s perceptions of the ST intervention and how it influenced their performance. The participants were four female players from an “elite” under fourteen female regional soccer team. A single-subject design, the multiple baseline across individuals, was used to examine the effects of the ST strategy on performance. The results of the study demonstrated that the ST strategy improved soccer shooting performance for two of the three experimental participants. The social validity assessment found that both the coach and the participants were very satisfied with the results and believed the ST strategy to be an important component in improving their performance.