The Affect of Positive Self-talk Intervention on Psychophysiological Responses of Competitive Anxiety and Self-confidence in Elite Athletes

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of positive self- talk on competitive anxiety responses, salivary cortisol levels ​​and self-confidence in elite Wushu athletes.
For this purpose, 26 elite athlete’s man who participated in this study and were divided into two experimental and control groups. Competitive anxiety and self-confidence also salivary cortisol levels were measured in both groups in pre-test (first competition). The experimental group performed practice and post-test protocol was performed (second competition). Data were analyzed by paired t test and ANCOVA test.
Findings : The results showed that after intervention competitive anxiety and salivary cortisol has decreased. Self-confidence scores after the intervention also increased.
In general, it can be concluded that positive self-talk intervention can be a strategy to reduce psychophysiological responses of competitive anxiety and improve self-confidence