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Cited by 35Sport Psychology and PerformanceSports and Physical Education ResearchMotivation and Self-Concept in Sports

A Closer Look at How Self-Talk Influences Skilled Basketball Performance

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Abdoli, Behrouz, Hardy, James, Riyahi, Javad F., Farsi, Alireza·2018·The Sport Psychologist
DOI 10.1123/tsp.2016-0162
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Abstract

Empirical literature addressing the effectiveness of self-talk for expert performers is lacking. We addressed this shortcoming within the existent literature and examined the comparative effects of instructional and motivational self-talk on basketball free throw shooting accuracy and salient movement kinematics. We recruited 20 professional basketball players to participate in a 2 × 2 pre/post-test experiment. Free throw accuracy and movement patterns were recorded, with the latter subsequently used to calculate elbow–wrist coordination variability. Results indicated superior shooting accuracy and reduced movement coordination variability for instructional self-talk compared to baseline conditions, whereas no differences emerged for motivational self-talk. Findings from the study help practitioners to better guide skilled performers how best to use self-talk; an area in urgent need of further research.

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  • In elite basketball players, instructional but not motivational self-talk improves shooting accuracy and reduces coordination movement variability.

    “In elite basketball players, instructional but not motivational self-talk improves shooting accuracy and reduces coordination movement variability [105].”

    From Inner speech as language process and cognitive tool (2023) · cites this paper as [105]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Abdoli, B., Hardy, J., Riyahi, J. F., & Farsi, A.
Affiliations
  • Shahid Beheshti University (IR)
  • Bangor University (GB)
Corresponding author
Riyahi, Javad F.
ORCID
Venue
The Sport Psychologist
Publisher
Human Kinetics
Published
2018-03-01
Volume
32
Issue
1
Pages
9-15
ISSN
  • 0888-4781 (ISSN-L)
  • 1543-2793
DOI
10.1123/tsp.2016-0162
OpenAlex
W2604225831
Cited by
35
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 2
FWCI
11.08
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Sport Psychologist (publishedVersion)
  • Bangor University Research Portal (Bangor University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Sport Psychology and Performance
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Sports and Physical Education Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports
Keywords
self-talk, basketball, free throw shooting, instructional self-talk, motivational self-talk, movement kinematics, coordination variability, motor skill performance

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