Athletes are aware that they engage in an intense self-talk and it is generally considered that positive words, phrases or mental images can play a positive role on the perception of effectiveness that the athlete has of himself in a given sports situation.
Already in the 1980s, Rushall was among the first sport psychologists to study this psychological dimension, starting from the hypothesis that it is reasonable to believe that the structure and content of specific thoughts influence performance more than others. In a series of studies [Rushall 1989; Rushall, Hall and Rushall 1988] he pointed out that there are at least three types of thoughts that favour an increase in performance. These thoughts are as follows:
- task-relevant statements: these include statements about technical or tactical aspects of the performance to be provided and relate to the technical control of the task in question [e.g., in running: rhythm, breath control, arm action, and body positions];
- mood-related keywords: these are single words that are repeated mentally or quietly, and promote the emergence of an emotional state or sensations that the athlete recognizes as effective;
- Positive statements: short, meaningful positive phrases with which the athletes encourage themselves and stimulate confidence.
In this way this type of self-talk can constitute a form of attentional control and lead the attention to the relevant signals of the task.
