Instructional self talk happens when we need to guide ourselves through a specific task, such as learning a new skill.
Motivational self-talk usually is used when we want to psych ourselves up for something challenging; it can help to boost effort or increase confidence.
Instructional self-talk
Instructional self-talk (e.g.,”split, turn”, “arms straight”) have been shown to significantly
improve performance within several sports including tennis (Landin & Hebert, 1999), sprint
(Mallet & Hanrahan, 1997), soccer (Johnson, Hrycaiko, Johnson, & Halas, 2004) and golf
(Harvey, Van Raalte, & Brewer, 2002). In the golf study Harvey et al. (2002) reported that
athletes using instructional self-talk performed consistently better than athletes using negative
self-talk and the control group. Theodorakis, Chroni, Laparidis, Bebetsos and Douma (2001)
examined the use of a task-relevant (e.g., “relax”) instructional and a task-irrelevant (e.g.,
“fast”) instructional self-talk cue in a basketball shooting task. Results showed that
participants using the task-relevant cue performed significantly better than participants using
the task-irrelevant cue and the control group (Theodorakis et al., 2001). In examining
instructional self-talk on basketball skills (dribbling, passing and shooting) Perkos,
Theodorakis and Chroni (2002) reported that the experimental group performed significantly
better on dribbling and passing but not shooting. A subsequent study supported the findings of
Perkos et al. (2002) in that instructional self-talk was perceived as helpful in executing the
right technique when passing (Chroni, Perkos, & Theodorakis, 2007). The positive effects of
instructional self-talk on skill acquisition or learning (technique) has been acknowledge by
Hardy (2006) and further supported in a tennis experiment where instructional self-talk
participants performed significantly better than participants receiving performance feedback.
Motivational self-talk
Descriptive studies have shown that athletes use self-talk more in competitive settings
compared to practice settings (Hardy, Hall, & Hardy, 2005). Furthermore, Hardy, Hall and
Hardy reported that the use of motivational self-talk pertaining to “psyching-up” and
“mentally prepare” are used most often in practice and competition, respectively. Within a
qualitative study of six elite golf players Linnér and Sandström (2010) reported that
motivational self-talk was used almost exclusively while playing. In a basketball experiment
Chroni et al. (2007) reported that athletes preferred the use of motivational self-talk while
dribbling and shooting and that the motivational self-talk was a significant help for their
concentration, confidence and relaxation when executing shots (Chroni et al., 2007).
Hatzigeorgiadis (2006) examined perceived functions of self-talk and found that the use of a
motivational cue had greater effect on effort than the use of an instructional cue, whereas the
effects were similar between cues for attention, confidence, anxiety control and automaticity.
Motivational self-talk has been shown to improve performance (e.g., Hatzigeorgiadis,
Zourbanos, Mpoumpaki, & Theodorakis, 2009). In a tennis intervention study,
Hatzigeorgiadis, Zourbanos, Goltsios and Theodorakis (2008) reported that participants using
motivational self-talk (e.g., “I can”, “Go”) significantly improved their performance whereas
no changes were reported in the control group. Hatzigeorgiadis et al. (2004) argued that the
content of positive self-talk and motivational self-talk in many cases is comparable. Research
on positive self-talk was initiated before the term of motivational self-talk was acknowledged.
Reviewing research of positive self-talk that could be characterized as motivational self-talk
provides further evidence that motivational self-talk can enhance performance
(Hatzigeorgiadis et al., 2004).
Motivational self-talk usually is used when we want to psych ourselves up for something challenging; it can help to boost effort or increase confidence
Motivational self-talk boosts performance by helping you build confidence, enhance your belief in your ability to perform, reduce jitters, and improve your mood. It’s also particularly useful for tasks that involve strength and endurance, reaction time when faced with making a choice, or speed.
Resources used:
Book: THE EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTIONAL AND MOTIVATIONAL SELF-TALK ON
SELF-EFFICACY AND PERFORMANCE IN GOLF PLAYERS
Google.com