PE 305: APPLIED SPORT PSYCHOLOGY



PE 305/560: APPLIED SPORT PSYCHOLOGY

SMART TALK MINIPROJECT

DUE DATE: Wednesday, November 3, 2010

The goal of Part 1 of this project is to help you develop an accurate awareness of the quality of your current self talk patterns, both positive and negative.

1.1 QUALITY OF YOUR SELF TALK PATTERNS -- In order to examine the quality of your self talk patterns, you need to monitor and evaluate 3 positive and 3 negative situations or critical incidents each day and record them on the attached log sheet for 6 days. A positive critical incident is anything you do particularly well that prompts you to (a) be more positive about yourself, (b) feel greater happiness, fulfillment and satisfaction and (c) lead a richer and fuller life. A negative critical incident is any daily event or situation that (a) makes you feel bad about yourself, (b) promotes feelings of worry, anxiety, frustration, depression, sadness and worthlessness, or (c) leads to a less rewarding life. For each positive or negative critical incident, briefly jot down a short description of the situation and then record 2-3 types of additional information.

1. Predominant Emotions – For each critical incident, identify and record he predominant type of emotion experienced in Column 2. For positive critical incidents (+CI), you need to specify what are the major positive emotions that you feel in this situation such as happiness, satisfaction, excitement, or pride. Similarly, for negative critical incidents (-CI), you need to identify the predominant negative emotion experienced such as sadness, dissatisfaction, anxiety, anger, or shame.

1.1.2 Specific Thoughts – For each critical incident, identify and record the specific thoughts underlying these emotions. If the situation is a +CI such as getting a good grade on a test you get back, then write down the positive thoughts that made that situation positive for you such as “I’m pleased that my hard work paid off in a good grade on this test. I should do well in this course and raise my GPA.” If the situation is a –CI such as getting a poor grade on a test you get back, then write down the negative thoughts that made that situation negative for you such as “I’m disappointed that my hard work was wasted and I still got a low grade on this test. I’m not going to do well in this course unless I start studying more and that may lower my GPA.”

If you are having trouble identifying thoughts underlying CIs, try carrying a 3X5 card in our pocket and record your thoughts immediately after they occur as well as noting other factors such as when, where and with whom they occur.

2. Counterarguments for Negative Thoughts – For each negative thought, develop positive counterarguments to refute and reframe each of your negative thoughts and make the situation less negative and more positive. Reframing is the process of looking at a situation in a new and different way in which you put your negative, irrational or unproductive thoughts on trial and come up with counterarguments about why that isn’t a good way to think and what would be a better one. Use the positive self talk commandments and self talk handouts in constructing your counterarguments.

3. Daily Average PMA – Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) is used to measure your general frame-of-mind for the day. PMA is measured on a 1-10 rating scale, with (a) 1 = the most negative day of your life, (b) 10 = the most positive day of your life, and (c) 5 = an average day that is neither positive nor negative. Identify one overall, average PMA rating for each day.

1.2 QUANTITY OF NEGATIVE THOUGHTS – In order to see how many negative thoughts you typically have during a day, conduct the following experiment only for DAY 1. Put 100 paper clips, pennies, or sunflower seeds in your front pocket. Of course, you can use any small objects such as dried beans, pebbles, jellybeans, or anything else of similar size. Monitor your self talk throughout the day and each time you catch yourself using negative, irrational or unproductive self talk, move a paper clip from your front pocket to your back pocket. BE HONEST & VIGILANT ABOUT MONITORING YOUR SELF TALK.

3. PART 1 WRITEUP – For your writeup of Part 1, include the following information:

1. Paper Clip Count for Day 1

2. 6 Days of Self Talk Logs in which you record (a) 3 positive and 2-3 negative critical incidents, (b) predominant emotions for each CI, (c) specific thoughts for each CI, (d) counterarguments for each negative thought and (e) an overall PMA for each day.

USE YOUR SELF TALK SCRIPT ONLY THE LAST 6 DAYS OF THE PROJECT. The goal of Part 2 of this project is to help you make positive changes in the quantity and quality of your current self talk patterns. In the intervention phase of this self talk miniproject, you goal is to enhance self talk in two ways: (a) reprogram thought patterns to make them as positive and productive as possible and (b) counter any remaining negative thoughts.

2.1 SELF TALK REPROGRAMMING – In order to reprogram your self talk patterns, you first need to (a) develop a self talk script, (b) record your script on an audio cassette tape, and (c) read or play your self talk script 4-5 times daily.

1. Developing a Self Talk Script – DOWNLOADING THE SELF TALK SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT HANDOUT & SELF TALK SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT FORM FROM THE WEBSITE IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED TO ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF YOUR SCRIPT (educ.uidaho.edu/sportpsych). Your self talk script can be developed for a variety of purposes, including: (a) reminding yourself of strengths and preparation, (b) establish priorities, (c) emphasize the quality of preparation, (d) counter negative or irrational thoughts, and (e) focus on goals and action plans to achieve them. In order to develop your self talk script, select positive affirmations (e.g., “I’m an intelligent, vigorous and capable person.”) and counterarguments (e.g., “I’m the kind of person who doesn’t compare themselves to other people because I realize that no two people are alike and have the same background, experience and ability.”) from your own positive thoughts and the self talk handouts provided. Your script should focus on changing your self images by using specific thoughts to trigger images of you as the kind of person you’ve described. Use self talk to image both product and process – what goals you want to attain and the action plan needed to achieve those goals.

2. Making a Self Talk Tape -- Once you’ve developed your script, you may choose to put your script on a audio cassette tape. If you have a tape player, you can do it on your own. If not, check a tape player out from the cage and put your script onto a tape. Read your script slowly to give your mind time to picture yourself as the type of person you are describing. Moreover, always use present tense (e.g., “I am……”) so you see yourself the way you want to be.

3. Reprogramming Your Self Talk Patterns – One of the major problems with self talk is that most important thoughts are not retained in short-term memory where they are readily accessible when needed. Unfortunately, memory automatically moves information that is not used frequently from short- to long-term memory in order to maintain space in the limited capacity of short-term memory. In order to keep critical thoughts readily accessible, it is important to repeat those thoughts frequently enough that they remain in short-term memory. In order to reprogram you self talk patterns, read or ply your script 4-5 times each day. Normally you want to read/play your script first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and before particularly important or stressful situations such as class or practice. Read or play your script as many other times as possible such as on the way to class, during study breaks or while waiting for an appointment or class. For each negative thought, develop positive counterarguments to refute and reframe each of your negative thoughts and make the situation less negative and more positive. Reframing is the process of looking at a situation in a new and different way in which you put your negative, irrational or unproductive thoughts on trial and come up with counterarguments about why that isn’t a good way to think and what would be a better one. Use the positive self talk commandments and self talk handouts in constructing your counterarguments.

2.2 COUNTERING NEGATIVE THOUGHTS – In order to counter any remaining negative thoughts, you first need to (a) become aware of having negative or unproductive self talk, (b) stop or change negative thoughts, and (c) reframe your thought patterns by employing effective counterarguments.

2.2.1 Developing Awareness of Negative Thoughts -- Maintain a positive awareness of your self talk patterns, particularly your negative thoughts. Become aware of negative thoughts as early as possible to facilitate reframing.

2. Stop or Change Negative Thoughts -- Once you’ve become aware of negative thoughts, stop those thoughts using thought stopping or change those thoughts using thought changing. For thought stopping, you need to use visual, verbal and/or behavioral cues to stop negative thoughts. Visual cues could include a red flag waving, a stop lights, the flashing lights of a railroad crossing gate or a stop sign. Verbal cues would include saying words such as “stop”, “halt”, or “timeout.” Behavioral cues include wearing a rubber band around your wrist and snapping yourself every time you repeat a negative thought. For thought changing, you should again use visual and verbal cues to think about changing from negative to positive thoughts just as you use a remote control to switch channels on your TV.

3. Reframe Using Effective Counterarguments – Once you’ve stopped negative thoughts, you need to come up with counterarguments that refute and reframe each of your negative thoughts and make the situation less negative and more positive. Reframing allows you to look at a situation in a new and different way by putting your negative, irrational or unproductive thoughts on trial and come up with counterarguments about why that isn’t a good way to think and what would be a better one. Use Positive Self Talk Commandments and counterarguments from the self talk handouts in constructing your counterarguments.

2.3 PART 2 WRITEUP – For your writeup of Part 2, include the following information:

1. Paper Clip Count for Day 12

2. 6 Days of Self Talk Logs in which you record (a) 3 positive and 0-3 negative critical incidents, (b) predominant emotions for each CI, (c) specific thoughts for each CI, (d) counterarguments for each negative thought and (e) an overall PMA for each day during the intervention period.

3. PMA Difference – How much change occurred in the average PMA for Week 2 compared to the average PMA in Week 1 (e.g., average Week 1 PMA = 6.2; average Week 2 PMA = 7.4; difference = 1.2 units)?

4. Self Talk Script

5. Project Evaluation

• How did the quantity and quality of your self talk change in Week 2? Why?

• What did you like and dislike about the project?

• How well did your self talk script work?

• What would you change if you were to continue the project?

• How effective is self talk in managing your stress compared to your preferred method of PRT?

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PART 1: SELF TALK PATTERN AWARENESS

PART 2: ENHANCING SELF TALK PATTERNS

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