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Positive Self-Talk

goalliedathletes
Wed, 17 Jan 2018 17:17:15 GMT

goalliedathletes
Wed, 17 Jan 2018 17:18:01 GMT

Studies suggest that positive self-talk enhances self-esteem, motivation, and performance. A study on female soccer players observed the positive effects of self-talk in terms of concentration and shooting performance. Simplifying thoughts with key-word self-talk cues increased the soccer players’ confidence levels and directed their cognitions and concentration. Come up with key words to direct your actions: -Make it simple. Water down the steps for a particular move.  Ex: Tell yourself, "Start small, end tall, snap, follow through" for shooting hoops -Extraneous thoughts interfere with and detract from the task at hand. -Focusing on failures or one's lack of ability negatively affects our performance level. Bandura, A. (1982). Self-effficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 37(2), 122-147. Hatziegeorgiadis, A., Theodorakis, Y., & Zourbanos, N. (2004). Self-talk in the swimming pool: the effects of self-talk on thought content and performance on water-polo tasks. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 16, 138-150.  Johnson, J. M., Hrycaiko, D. W., Johnson, G. V., & Halas, J. M. (2004). Self-talk and female youth soccer performance. The Sport Psychologist, 18(3), 44-59.