Positive and Negative Self-talk
Psych 🧠 - 306/500
Reader,
Today, I am going to tell you about a study on the concept of Negative Self-talk.
What is it?
This study investigates how positive and negative self-talk influence brain activity and cognitive performance.
Researchers used fMRI scans to measure brain connectivity while participants performed cognitive tasks before and after engaging in self-respect or self-criticism exercises.
The study aimed to understand how these different types of self-talk impact brain networks associated with reward, motivation, self-reflection, and executive function.
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Major findings:
Negative self-talk improved performance: Participants who engaged in self-criticism showed a significant improvement in their scores on the cognitive task compared to those who practiced self-respect.
Brain connectivity changes differed between groups:
Self-respect: Increased connectivity in areas related to executive function and confidence, suggesting potential benefits for planning and decision-making but also possible overconfidence.
Self-criticism: Decreased connectivity in areas related to confidence and increased connectivity in areas related to motivation, suggesting that self-criticism may enhance performance by boosting internal drive and focus.
Correlation between brain changes and performance improvement:
Self-respect: Changes in brain connectivity were associated with performance changes, but the effects were mixed, suggesting both positive and negative influences on cognitive function.
Self-criticism: No significant correlation was found, possibly due to a ceiling effect in performance improvement.
Key takeaways:
Positive and negative self-talk have different effects on brain activity and cognitive performance.
Self-respect may enhance executive function but also lead to overconfidence, while self-criticism may improve performance by increasing motivation and focus.
Source:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8295361/pdf/41598_2021_Article_94328.pdf