SELF-TALK
You're giving an important speech. Suddenly you hear yourself
saying, "Now, where was I?" You have just engaged in self-talk and
probably not for the first time. Nor are you alone.
According to Thomas Brinthaupt, Ph.D., assistant professor of
psychology at Middle Tennessee State University, almost everybody talks
to themselves. And no--we are not all crazy. It is unusual not to talk to
yourself.
Self-talk serves a very important purpose. It is a means of
self-regulation.
There are two kinds of self-talk: silent inner speech, when you
think to yourself, "I've got to remember to go to the bank," and
vocalized private speech, when you mumble a reminder to yourself.
Self-talk can be used to remind people to run errands, prepare for
speeches, or work through the steps of a process.
Depending on your level of self-esteem, self-talk can be either
positive or negative. Folks who suffer from low self-esteem spend more
time planning and going over what was already said. For those with higher
self-esteem, self-talk is more positive and congratulatory. They are not
preoccupied with thinking about what they should have said.
Brinthaupt asked students to describe verbatim what their reactions
would be after taking an extremely important test when they were:
positive they had passed with flying colors, positive they had failed, or
unsure of how they had performed. As suspected,;. students unsure of
their performance did the most self-talking. Next were those who thought
they had failed. Students who thought they had passed did the least of
the self-talking.
Intense and difficult tasks, such as working at the computer or
preparing for speeches, and uncertainty bring out the self-talk in all of
us. And we like to do it most in bed, in the car, or in front of a
mirror.
One interesting discovery: Whistlers are more inclined to self-talk
than non-whistlers. Brinthaupt is exploring whether self-talk is also
particularly likely among folks who talk and sing aloud to themselves.
And some people, like perfectionists and athletes, not only talk to
themselves--they yell.
When to worry? When self-talk occurs outside of socially acceptable
situations.
CARTOON
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