title: Exploring self-talk and affective states in sport.
abstract: In this study, we examined (1) the relationship between self-talk and affect and (2) the nature of motivating self-talk. Ninety high-school athletes completed the Affect Grid and the Self-Talk Grid before practice and competition. Significant positive second-order partial correlations of low to moderate strength offered support for a relationship between self-talk and affect. In addition, significant positive second-order partial correlations of moderate strength were found for a relationship between negative-positive self-talk and demotivating-motivating self-talk. An examination of scatter plots indicated that some athletes rated their self-talk as negative as well as being motivational. These findings lend support to the suggestion that negative self-talk may motivate some athletes.
authors.affiliation: School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. jthardy@uwo.ca
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hardy
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Alexander
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect; D001290:Attitude; D003163:Competitive Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D013177:Sports / Q000523:psychology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014705:Verbal Behavior