The link between thought and performance on a test, stage or in sports has been shown in many studies. Think positively and repeat phrases like “I can do it”, and you’re likely to do better.
But a new study breaks down various types of motivational thinking, referred to as self-talk, for various types of sports. And it finds that different kinds of motivation have different effects.
Researchers analyzed the use of self-talk in 32 sports-related psychology studies. And they found that, for __1__ motor skills like improving your swimming stroke, instructional self-talk works best, as in repeating specific phrases like “elbow-up” in our head. This kind of specific reminder is a lot more effective in these cases than are general motivational statements like “Give it your all.”
But for__2__ and endurance sports the simple, motivational, “go get em” phrases work best. The study is in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science.
The researchers found that self-talk has its greatest positive impact on tasks that require concentration, like__3__ the eight ball, as opposed to __4__events like running, where putting your best foot forward may be less important than simply taking another step.
