It's Good But it's Not Right: Instructional Self-Talk and Skilled Performance

Abstract

This research examined the relative effectiveness of instructional versus motivational self-talk for skilled athletes. Forty Gaelic footballers completed a shooting accuracy task with their dominant and non-dominant feet. Results indicated significantly more accurate performance when executing the task using the dominant foot and motivational as compared to instructional self-talk. No difference emerged between the two types of self-talk within the non-dominant foot condition. Results challenge the widely held view that instructional self-talk is most effective for accuracy based tasks and should prompt practitioners to consider the skill level of their clients when constructing self-talk interventions.