The Power of the Inner Voice: Examining Self-Talk's Relationship with Academic Outcomes

University of Chicago Press. Journals Division, P.O. Box 37005, Chicago, IL 60637. Tel: 877-705-1878; Tel: 773-753-3347; Fax: 877-705-1879; Fax: 773-753-0811; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/journals/aje/about

Y

30

Speech; Self Motivation; Self Evaluation (Individuals); Metacognition; Self Management; Positive Attitudes; Negative Attitudes; Correlation; Performance; Academic Achievement; Student Satisfaction; Self Efficacy; Undergraduate Students; Student Behavior; Student Attitudes

10.1086/727006

0195-6744
1549-6511

Purpose: People use self-talk (verbalized cognitions) to monitor and evaluate their performance, making it a vital construct in the self-regulation process. Research Methods/Approach: We coded 1,092 self-talk responses from 177 undergraduates for two types of self-talks, constructive and dysfunctional. Findings: We found constructive self-talk positively related to satisfaction, self-efficacy, and academic performance, whereas dysfunctional self-talk negatively related to satisfaction and self-efficacy but was not significantly related to performance. Constructive self-talk explained incremental variance in self-efficacy and performance beyond that explained by related psychological constructs: self-regulation skills, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. Dysfunctional self-talk only explained incremental variance in self-efficacy. Implications: This study shows that self-talk is a unique and influential construct that should be of interest to academics and practitioners across the disciplines of psychology and education.

As Provided

2023

EJ1404044