The Effects of Instructional Self-Talk on Quiet-Eye Duration and Golf-Putting Performance

in The Sport Psychologist

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Yonatan Sarig College of Medicine—University of Florida, Jacksonville, FL, USA

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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1702-5362 *
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Montse C. Ruiz Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland

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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1116-206X
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Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Thessaly, Trikala, Greece

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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7062-479X
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Gershon Tenenbaum B. Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel

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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6357-873X
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.2023-0023
Keywords:
skill acquisition; attention regulation; perception-cognition
First Published Online:
08 Aug 2023
In Print:
Volume 37: Issue 3
Page Range:
201–209
Restricted access

While the impact of strategic self-talk on performance is well documented, examination of the attentional–perceptual mechanisms of self-talk is still at early stages. This study’s aim was to examine the effects of instructional self-talk on quiet-eye durations and putting performance. Thirty participants were recruited and randomly assigned to self-talk or control conditions. Participants performed a golf-putting task in a mixed between (self-talk vs. control) and within (pre- vs. postintervention) design. Two 2 × 2 mixed-design analyses of variance were conducted for performance and quiet-eye durations as dependent variables. A mediation analysis was conducted to examine the mediating effect of quiet-eye durations on performance. Results showed that self-talk use led to longer quiet-eye durations and better performance compared with controls. The mediation analysis indicated that performance was mediated by quiet-eye durations. Discussion centers on the role of quiet-eye in motor performance and how self-talk can assist in regulating quiet-eye.

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