The Effect of Organic Self-Talk on Metacognition and Performance in Exhausting Task
Goal-directed self-talk, as a form of organic self-talk, serves as a supportive mechanism for the development of various psychological, leadership, relaxation, and concentration skills. It employs self-regulatory strategies to prevent or address psychological challenges.
The aim of the present study was to study the effect of organic self-talk on metacognition and performance in Exhausting task.
This study employed a quasi-experimental design, involving 48 voluntary participants selected from physical education students. The participants were randomly assigned to either a self-talk intervention group or a control group. Initially, a pre-test was conducted to assess participants' performance in an exhaustive task using the Bruce test, as well as their metacognitive abilities using the Metacognition and Metaemotion Questionnaire for Athletes. Subsequently, a Goal-Directed Self-Talk protocol was developed based on psychological challenges encountered in endurance tasks and delivered to the self-talk group across three training sessions. Following the intervention, a post-test was administered to measure the same variables assessed at baseline. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) at the 0.05 significance level in SPSS.
The results of ANCOVA indicated that goal-directed self-talk significantly enhanced performance in the exhaustive task (F (1, 45)=61/5, p>0/001). Additionally, the intervention led to a notable increase in participants' metacognitive thinking (F (1, 45)=27/2, p>0/001).
Overall, goal-directed self-talk facilitated athletes' adaptation to psychological challenges encountered during the exhaustive task by enhancing their self-awareness. Consequently, it may serve as an effective intervention for improving endurance performance.