Self-talk: research challenges and opportunities.

In this review, we discuss major measurement and methodological challenges to studying self-talk. We review the assessment of self-talk frequency, studying self-talk in its natural context, personal pronoun usage within self-talk, experiential sampling methods, and the experimental manipulation of self-talk. We highlight new possible research opportunities and discuss recent advances such as brain imaging studies of self-talk, the use of self-talk by robots, and measurement of self-talk in aphasic patients.

Impacts of university lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic on college students' academic achievement and critical thinking: A longitudinal study.

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in widespread university lockdown. However, impacts of the university lockdown on the learning and academic development of university students have not been thoroughly investigated. The current study examined college students' changes of learning outcomes during the COVID-19 lockdown period and clarified what might explain individual differences in students' learning outcomes after they had learned from home for a whole semester when universities were physically closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were derived from a longitudinal study examining the development of college students including students' academic achievement and critical thinking (including both skills and dispositions) before and after the university lockdown. We observed significant decreases in critical thinking skills and dispositions from pre- to post-lockdown. Both perceived academic achievement and critical thinking exhibited greater variability after the lockdown. In addition, students' readiness for online learning, especially their self-management skills, consistently predicted post-lockdown learning outcomes after controlling for pre-lockdown outcomes and family socioeconomic status (SES). Those who have assumed more responsibilities at home, or who were more vulnerable to emotional distress during the pandemic, performed less well in post-lockdown learning outcomes. These findings call for better management of student learning and development when major changes are required in higher education practices for responding to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis as well as other potential situations.

Trait Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, and Self-Talk: A Correlational Analysis of Young Adults.

This research explores the relationships between trait mindfulness, self-compassion, self-talk frequency, and experience with mindful practice. We expected to find that positive self-talk would be positively related to mindfulness and self-compassion, and negative self-talk would be negatively related to these variables. Participants (N = 342) were recruited through a university research pool, as well as via social media posting. The participants completed two measures of trait mindfulness (the 15-item Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and the Trait Toronto Mindfulness Scale), two measures of self-talk (the Self-Talk Scale and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-Revised), and the Self-Compassion Scale short form. The results showed moderate positive correlations between (1) positive self-talk and trait mindfulness and (2) positive self-talk and self-compassion. A significant negative correlation also emerged between negative self-talk and trait mindfulness. Additional analyses indicated no moderating effects of mindfulness experience on self-talk or self-compassion in predicting trait mindfulness. We discuss implications for the significance of the relationship between self-talk and mindfulness for the effective implementation in future treatment methodologies.

Types of Inner Dialogues and Functions of Self-Talk: Comparisons and Implications.

Intrapersonal communication occurs in several modes including inner dialogue and self-talk. The Dialogical Self Theory (Hermans, 1996) postulates a polyphonic self that is comprised of a multiplicity of inner voices. Internal dialogical activity implies an exchange of thoughts or ideas between at least two so-called "I-positions" representing specific points of view. Among the functions served by self-talk are self-criticism, self-reinforcement, self-management, and social assessment (Brinthaupt et al., 2009). This paper explores the relationships among different types of internal dialogues and self-talk functions. Participants included college students from Poland (n = 181) and the United States (n = 119) who completed two multidimensional measures of inner dialogue and self-talk. Results indicated moderately strong relationships between inner dialogue types and self-talk functions, suggesting that there is a significant overlap between the two modes of communication. We discuss several implications of these findings for exploring similarities and differences among varieties of intrapersonal communication.

Schizotypal Tendencies Are Positively Associated With Self-Talk Frequency.

Theory and research suggest that schizotypy is a personality construct characterized by self-regulatory problems and that self-talk serves a variety of self-regulatory functions. In this study, undergraduates (N = 379) completed multidimensional measures of schizotypy and self-talk. Results provided strong support for a greater self-regulatory focus hypothesis, with positive and disorganized schizotypy factors positively and significantly correlated with self-talk factors, but negative schizotypy factors unrelated to self-talk frequency. We discuss implications of these findings for schizotypy and self-talk theory and research.

Individual Differences in Self-Talk Frequency: Social Isolation and Cognitive Disruption.

Despite the popularity of research on intrapersonal communication across many disciplines, there has been little attention devoted to the factors that might account for individual differences in talking to oneself. In this paper, I explore two possible explanations for why people might differ in the frequency of their self-talk. According to the "social isolation" hypothesis, spending more time alone or having socially isolating experiences will be associated with increased self-talk. According to the "cognitive disruption" hypothesis, having self-related experiences that are cognitively disruptive will be associated with increased self-talk frequency. Several studies using the Self-Talk Scale are pertinent to these hypotheses. The results indicate good support for the social isolation hypothesis and strong support for the cognitive disruption hypothesis. I conclude the paper with a wide range of implications for future research on individual differences in self-talk and other kinds of intrapersonal communication.

Assessing the accuracy of self-reported self-talk.

As with most kinds of inner experience, it is difficult to assess actual self-talk frequency beyond self-reports, given the often hidden and subjective nature of the phenomenon. The Self-Talk Scale (STS; Brinthaupt et al., 2009) is a self-report measure of self-talk frequency that has been shown to possess acceptable reliability and validity. However, no research using the STS has examined the accuracy of respondents' self-reports. In the present paper, we report a series of studies directly examining the measurement of self-talk frequency and functions using the STS. The studies examine ways to validate self-reported self-talk by (1) comparing STS responses from 6 weeks earlier to recent experiences that might precipitate self-talk, (2) using experience sampling methods to determine whether STS scores are related to recent reports of self-talk over a period of a week, and (3) comparing self-reported STS scores to those provided by a significant other who rated the target on the STS. Results showed that (1) overall self-talk scores, particularly self-critical and self-reinforcing self-talk, were significantly related to reports of context-specific self-talk; (2) high STS scorers reported talking to themselves significantly more often during recent events compared to low STS scorers, and, contrary to expectations, (3) friends reported less agreement than strangers in their self-other self-talk ratings. Implications of the results for the validity of the STS and for measuring self-talk are presented.

Perceptions of affectionate communication among people with unfavorable and favorable attitudes toward homosexuality.

People are sometimes hesitant to communicate affection if it might be misinterpreted by the intended receiver or an audience. We hypothesized that anti-gay/-lesbian attitudes might negatively affect the perceived appropriateness of expressing affection. One hundred and twenty male and female undergraduates with either very high or very low levels of anti-gay/-lesbian attitudes participated in the study. They rated the appropriateness of expressing affection toward same- and other-sex targets in a set of 2 (public or private setting) × 3 (positive, neutral, or negative valence) scenarios. Results supported a "generalized inhibition" effect, with high levels of anti-gay/-lesbian attitudes associated with a reluctance to express affection regardless of target, setting, valence, or current relationship status. Implications for research on affectionate expression and anti-gay/-lesbian attitudes are presented.

Many-faceted Rasch calibration: an example using the Self-Talk Scale.

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the application of the many-faceted Rasch model to a personality measure. The authors use the model to calibrate the Self-Talk Scale (STS). Good model-data fit supported the measurement of self-talk frequency in adults as a unidimensional construct. Results also supported the proper functioning of the original five-category STS response format. Because of evidence that different items do not contribute equally to the total score, the authors provide information for converting raw STS total scores into more appropriate logit scores. The methodology and results demonstrate how the Rasch model can provide additional support for the validity of measures. Implications for using the Rasch model for personality assessment in general and for using the STS in particular are discussed.

The disconnected values model improves mental well-being and fitness in an employee wellness program.

This study examined the effect of a 10-week wellness program on changes in physical fitness and mental well-being. The conceptual framework for this study was the Disconnected Values Model (DVM). According to the DVM, detecting the inconsistencies between negative habits and values (e.g., health, family, faith, character) and concluding that these "disconnects" are unacceptable promotes the need for health behavior change. Participants were 164 full-time employees at a university in the southeastern U.S. The program included fitness coaching and a 90-minute orientation based on the DVM. Multivariate Mixed Model analyses indicated significantly improved scores from pre- to post-intervention on selected measures of physical fitness and mental well-being. The results suggest that the Disconnected Values Model provides an effective cognitive-behavioral approach to generating health behavior change in a 10-week workplace wellness program.

Effects of group and individual-based step goals on children's physical activity levels in school.

This study examined the effect of a 6-week school-based pedometer intervention for children. It compared the number of step counts between group- and individual-based step goal conditions over time, and compared the number of goal attainments between the two step goal conditions by physical activity levels. Ninety-nine 4th-grade students' (50 boys, 49 girls) data were analyzed. Overall step counts continued to increase over time, increasing about 19% from baseline. Different step goal conditions produced similar effects on children's physical activity levels across all time points. The number of goal attainments was higher for low active children with individual-based step goals than those with group-based step goals. Using pedometers in school is promising for enhancing physical activity in children.

The self-talk scale: development, factor analysis, and validation.

Researchers and theorists have argued that self-talk plays an important role in everyday behavior and self-regulation. To facilitate research on this role, we developed a new measure of self-talk for use with nonclinical adult populations. The Self-Talk Scale (STS) measures one's frequency of self-talk. Analysis indicated a factor structure consisting of Social Assessment, Self-Criticism, Self-Reinforcement, and Self-Management factors. In 5 studies, we demonstrated that the STS shows acceptable test-retest reliability and preliminary construct validity. We present implications for the use of the STS.

Teaching research ethics: illustrating the nature of the researcher-IRB relationship.

I collected information on the effects of ethical concerns on research questions asked and methods used by psychological researchers. Faculty researchers described the advantages and disadvantages of ethical concerns on their specialized areas and provided case examples of the effects of institutional review board actions on their research questions and methods. I offer several suggestions for using this information to increase students' ethical awareness and understanding in research methods courses.