Self-Talk in Sports: Definitions, Roles, Applications

Abstract

Self-talk, as an important part of psychological adjustment, plays a crucial role in sports. This article defines the concept and classification of self-talk, emphasizing its two functional dimensions: guidance and motivation. Subsequently, in combination with existing research, it explores the positive impacts of self-talk on motor performance, including enhancing motivation, stabilizing emotions, regulating anxiety, and optimizing cognitive processes. The effects of self-talk vary by sport type, age group, and gender. For example, open-skill sports benefit more from short and clear guiding self-dialogue, while closed-skill sports rely more on encouraging language. Teenage athletes are more susceptible to encouraging language, while adult athletes gain greater benefit from guiding language under high technical requirements. Female athletes generally use self-talk more frequently than male athletes, especially before and during competitions. Further intervention research shows that systematically integrating self-talk into training enhances athletes’ performance in competitions, especially when performing complex skills and high-pressure situations. While there is a large amount of evidence to prove the effectiveness of self-talk, existing research still has limitations such as methodological constraints, insufficient cross-cultural applicability, and unclear neural mechanisms. Future research should improve measurement tools and explore neural mechanisms, cross-cultural comparisons, and individualized differentiated interventions. Overall, self-talk, as a psychological training strategy, holds significant theoretical value and practical significance, and has broad prospects for enhancing athletic performance and promoting the development of sports psychology.