Table of Contents
What is self-talk theory?
Self-talk is the way you talk to yourself, or your inner voice. You might not be aware that you’re doing it, but you almost certainly are. This inner voice combines conscious thoughts with inbuilt beliefs and biases to create an internal monologue throughout the day. Among the functions served by self-talk are self-criticism, self-reinforcement, self-management, and social assessment (Brinthaupt et al., 2009). Positive self-talk can help a person feel encouraged, motivated, and optimistic. It can be used as a coping strategy when a person faces challenges. People can use positive affirmations and self-talk to overcome negative thinking and improve their confidence and self-esteem. Self-talk with positive contents can help with promoting positive psychological states and regulating cognitions8,9, whereas self-talk with negative contents is associated with emotional ill-being10. However, some studies have presented that negative self-talk can improve physical performance11,12. Dimensions of self-talk that are usually measured or manipulated in studies are valence, overtness, self-determination, self-instruction, self-motivation, and frequency. Valence refers to the emotional content of self-statements. Some examples of positive self-talk: ‘I can do it. ‘ ‘I’m good enough. ‘ ‘If I want to, I can. ‘ ‘It doesn’t matter if I make a mistake.
What science says about self-talk?
From an internal dialogue to audibly talking to your reflection in the mirror, we all communicate with ourselves in some form or another. Those who talk to themselves are no less normal than anyone else. In fact, talking to yourself has been linked to sharpening memory and increasing one’s overall self-confidence. Self-talk is something you do naturally throughout your waking hours. People are becoming more aware that positive self-talk is a powerful tool for increasing your self-confidence and curbing negative emotions. People who can master positive self-talk are thought to be more confident, motivated, and productive. Effective use of self-talk can improve your performance by helping you regulate your feelings, thoughts, and energy about those events. Positive self-talk can help you feel confident, improve coordination, control fine motor skills, enhance your focus, and perform better at endurance events too. Self Talk helps students to repeat information that they have just heard, so that they can remember it. Encouraging students to repeat or rehearse key information or instructions will assist their retention and recall and help reduce cognitive overload.
What type of communication is self-talk?
Intrapersonal communication can be defined as communication with one’s self, and that may include self-talk, acts of imagination and visualization, and even recall and memory (McLean, S., 2005). In a recent tweet, Psychology Living commented that “Generally, talking to yourself is a sign of higher intelligence. In fact, those who talk to themselves tend to achieve more in life.” Self-talk augments cognitive performance Research suggests self-talk may help your brain perform better. A study published in Acta Psychologica asked participants to read instructions and then carry out the corresponding task. Some participants had to read their instructions silently, others out loud. There are anatomical correlates to self-talk, with neural activity in a number of brain areas related to the occurrence of both overt and subvocal self-talk, particularly in Broca’s region in the left frontal cortex, and Wernicke’s region in the left posterior superior temporal cortex. To Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, language in the form of self talk is not a sign of cognitive immaturity, but rather, a guide to cognitive development. He viewed it as a method employed by the child to communicate with themselves in order to guide their behavior and thinking (Vygotsky, 1978).
What are components of self-talk?
Many people are conscious of an inner voice that provides a running monologue on their lives throughout the day. This inner voice, or self-talk, combining conscious thoughts and unconscious beliefs and biases, provides a way for the brain to interpret and process daily experiences. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information or expectations due to preconceived ideas of what may happen. If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on life is more likely pessimistic. We use our self-talk and the accumulation of positive thoughts. Those thoughts are wrapped with positive emotions. Then, we repeat them, over and over, until we re-program the belief, attitude or habit closer to our potential. Positive self-talk is an inner monologue that makes you feel good about yourself and everything going on in your life. It’s an optimistic voice in your head that encourages you to look at the bright side, pick yourself up when you fall and recognize when you fail. Self-talk is a healthy way to build motivation, calm nerves or analyze a tricky situation. “It’s a useful way to check in with yourself and organize thoughts and feelings,” says health psychologist Grace Tworek, PsyD. Controlling their thoughts and self-talk gives them a better understanding of themselves. You encourage a commitment to action and development of lasting personal growth and change. It is important to realize that our self-talk (thoughts, beliefs, mindset) triggers our feelings and drives our behavior.
What are the two types of self-talk?
Rehashing—This is when our thoughts reflect on past circumstances, going over them again and again, often in an effort to figure something out. Rehearsing—This is the mind practicing some future event, playing through, again and again, the possible ways it may unfold. We use our self-talk and the accumulation of positive thoughts. Those thoughts are wrapped with positive emotions. Then, we repeat them, over and over, until we re-program the belief, attitude or habit closer to our potential. We use our self-talk and the accumulation of positive thoughts. Those thoughts are wrapped with positive emotions. Then, we repeat them, over and over, until we re-program the belief, attitude or habit closer to our potential.
What are the different types of self-talk?
Many people don’t know this, but there are actually three types of self talk: Positive, Negative, and Instructional. Self-talk is how we communicate with ourselves. Talking negatively to ourselves is counterproductive, as it increases anxiety and decreases motivation. We can learn to talk more positively to ourselves by substituting negative phrases with positive ones. Your self-talk can even impact how you respond to stressors and events in your life. When you learn to communicate positively with yourself, you’ll start to become more confident and motivated. Your outlook on life, and on yourself will be better. Negative self-talk can come from a place of depression, low self-confidence, and anxiety and be part of a more significant mental health concern. However, you may also have habits that are causing negative self-talk. Some of these habits include: Not addressing relationship problems. CBT focuses on should statements and negative self-talk. We help the person begin to question some of those statements, and evaluate how realistic they are. ABC’s of Self-Talk A stands for activating event. Any activating event can be anything…a car accident, a low score on an exam, or a conversation with a friend. B stands for belief. The belief about the activating event and the belief about yourself.