How self-talk patterns relate to competitive anxiety in sport

What the 2004 study actually examined

Conroy and Metzler’s study asked a more detailed question than whether athletes use “positive” or “negative” self-talk. The researchers classified state-specific self-talk using the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior, or SASB, a framework that describes patterns in how people relate to themselves. Participants reported the kinds of self-directed responses they experienced in situations involving failure and success, as well as responses they wished for and responses they feared. Those self-talk patterns were then examined alongside three forms of competitive anxiety: fear of failure, fear of success and sport anxiety. The sample contained 440 college-age men and women, making the project substantial for an exploratory study of this kind but still limited to one age range and context.

The main finding was not that a single phrase or type of wording predicts anxiety. Rather, different forms of anxiety showed different degrees of systematic association with the pattern of self-talk. Fear of failure showed the strongest relationship, sport anxiety also showed clear associations, and fear of success was less consistently related to the self-talk patterns studied. The authors described these results as compatible with cognitive theories in which appraisal and internal dialogue are connected with anxious responses. Because the measurements were taken as associations rather than an experiment that changed self-talk and tracked later anxiety, the study cannot establish whether anxious appraisals shape self-talk, self-talk amplifies anxiety, or both are influenced by another factor.

Why fear of failure stood out

Fear of failure is especially relevant because it concerns the meaning an athlete gives to an unsuccessful performance, not simply dislike of losing. Conroy, Willow and Metzler’s work on the Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory described fear of failure through appraisals such as shame and embarrassment, devaluation of self-estimate, uncertainty about the future, loss of important others’ interest and upsetting important others. In that measurement research, fear of failure was also associated with worry, somatic anxiety, cognitive disruption and sport anxiety. This makes a connection with self-talk theoretically plausible: if failure is interpreted as a threat to identity or relationships, an athlete’s inner dialogue around mistakes may become more self-critical, controlling, avoidant or alarm-focused. Plausibility, however, is not the same as a demonstrated causal chain.

Self-talk is more than a positive-versus-negative label

Later reviews broadened the concept of self-talk beyond simple valence. James Hardy’s 2006 review highlighted dimensions including whether self-talk is positive or negative, spoken or silent, frequent or infrequent, self-determined or imposed, and the function it serves. A 2016 sport-specific model by Judy Van Raalte, Andrew Vincent and Britton Brewer defined self-talk as recognisable self-directed communication that can occur internally or aloud. Their model treats self-talk as part of a reciprocal system involving behaviour, personal characteristics, context, deliberate thought and more automatic reactions. That matters for anxiety research because the same words can function differently in different athletes. “Come on” might be an energising cue for one person and a sign of escalating pressure for another.

This wider view also helps explain why attempts to suppress every unpleasant thought can be misleading. Spontaneous self-talk may reflect what the athlete is already feeling, whereas strategic self-talk is deliberately selected to guide attention, confidence or action. The two forms can coexist during the same performance. A useful assessment therefore looks at content, timing, function and context rather than counting negative phrases in isolation. It also asks whether the thought is repetitive, believable and difficult to disengage from, and whether it appears before a stressful event, after an error, or only when fatigue and competitive stakes rise.

Competitive anxiety has cognitive and physical components

Sport anxiety itself is multidimensional. The original Sport Anxiety Scale distinguished somatic anxiety from two cognitive components: worry and concentration disruption. The later Sport Anxiety Scale-2 retained a three-part structure with separate subscales for somatic anxiety, worry and concentration disruption and was designed for both children and adults. These distinctions are important because a self-talk intervention may affect one component without changing another. An athlete can feel strong bodily arousal while keeping attention organised, or can experience intrusive worry despite only modest physical symptoms. Treating “anxiety” as a single score can therefore hide changes that matter in practice.

The 2004 self-talk study used broader constructs of fear of failure, fear of success and sport anxiety rather than a modern intervention design focused on short-term state anxiety. That difference in measurement is one reason later trials should not be treated as direct replications. They answer a related question: whether deliberately training self-talk changes anxiety or confidence under performance conditions. Evidence from those trials can strengthen or weaken a causal interpretation, but it does not reproduce the original SASB pattern analysis.

What intervention studies add

A 2009 experiment with 72 young tennis players provides one of the clearest intervention examples. After baseline testing, participants were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups; both followed the same tennis training while the experimental group also practised motivational self-talk. The self-talk group improved forehand performance, increased self-confidence and showed lower cognitive anxiety at final assessment, while the control group did not show those changes. The study supports the idea that deliberately trained self-talk can influence at least some anxiety-related outcomes under controlled conditions. It still does not show that the exact spontaneous patterns identified by Conroy and Metzler are the mechanism.

A larger 2019 intervention with 117 junior sub-elite athletes produced a more mixed pattern. Self-talk training was associated with reductions in somatic state anxiety and gains in self-confidence and other psychological measures, but cognitive state anxiety did not change significantly. That difference is informative rather than contradictory: effects can depend on how self-talk is trained, what anxiety dimension is measured, the athlete group and the duration of training. It also cautions against a blanket claim that self-talk reliably lowers every form of competitive anxiety.

Meta-analytic evidence provides a broader context. A 2011 meta-analysis included 32 self-talk studies with 62 effect sizes and found a moderate positive effect on sport task performance, but its main outcome was performance rather than competitive anxiety. A 2021 meta-analysis of psychological interventions reported small-to-medium reductions in competitive anxiety overall, again combining multiple techniques rather than isolating self-talk. The most recent network meta-analysis, published in 2026, included 46 randomised trials with 2,049 athletes and five self-talk studies. It estimated an anxiety-reduction effect for self-talk, while also emphasising wide uncertainty and limited direct comparisons across intervention types. These findings support self-talk as a plausible intervention component without resolving which self-talk patterns matter most for which athlete.

Evidence snapshot: related studies answer different questions

The studies above use different designs and anxiety measures, so their results are complementary rather than directly interchangeable. The 2004 study maps associations in naturally occurring self-talk, whereas the later experiments and reviews ask whether deliberate psychological strategies can change anxiety or performance. Reading them together supports a cautious model in which self-talk is both a possible reflection of competitive anxiety and one modifiable part of the athlete’s response to pressure.

How to interpret self-talk in an anxious athlete

The most useful practical interpretation is to treat self-talk as information about appraisal and attentional control, not as a diagnosis. A repeated thought such as “I cannot make another mistake” may signal threat, perfectionistic standards or fear of evaluation, but its meaning depends on what happens around it. Coaches and practitioners can ask what triggered the phrase, how strongly the athlete believed it, what emotion and bodily response followed, and whether it shifted attention toward or away from the next task. This functional approach is closer to the modern sport-specific model than simply replacing every negative statement with a positive one.

A short monitoring process can make patterns easier to see without turning normal pre-competition nerves into a problem. The aim is to identify recurring links among situation, interpretation, self-talk, anxiety and behaviour over time. A practitioner might use the following questions:

• What was happening immediately before the self-talk appeared: waiting, making an error, receiving feedback, or approaching a decisive moment?
• Was the self-talk spontaneous or deliberately chosen as a cue, and was it spoken aloud or kept internal?
• Did it mainly express worry, self-criticism, threat, instruction, motivation, acceptance, or attentional refocusing?
• What happened next to concentration, confidence, bodily arousal, decision-making and task execution?
• Does the same sequence repeat across training and competition, or only under particular opponents, venues or performance stakes?

What the evidence still cannot tell us

The evidence rating remains cautious because the original 2004 study was cross-sectional and examined 440 college-age men and women. The findings therefore describe relationships observed within this participant group. The SASB method captured detailed interpersonal-style patterns of self-talk, while later sport research has used a range of definitions and measurement approaches. Fear of failure, fear of success, trait sport anxiety, short-term state anxiety and performance anxiety are related psychological constructs that represent different aspects of athletes’ emotional responses.

Intervention studies provide additional insight by examining how psychological strategies can influence anxiety and performance-related responses. Research has explored self-talk across different sports, competitive levels, intervention formats, cue wording and outcome measures. The 2026 network meta-analysis evaluated self-talk alongside several psychological interventions and identified a potentially meaningful effect. Taken together, the research supports an association between self-talk and sport-related anxiety and indicates that structured self-talk strategies can play a practical role in psychological preparation and anxiety management.

A self-talk pattern can be a useful signal of how an athlete appraises competition without proving that the thought pattern caused the anxiety.

What this means for sport practice

For athletes, coaches and sport-psychology practitioners, the most defensible takeaway is that self-talk deserves attention as one part of a wider anxiety profile. The 2004 study suggests that recurring self-directed patterns are especially relevant to fear of failure and sport anxiety. Later experimental work shows that deliberate self-talk training can alter confidence and some anxiety components, although results are not uniform. Current models also emphasise reciprocal effects: anxiety can shape self-talk just as self-talk can influence attention, emotion and behaviour.

In practice, assessment is stronger when self-talk is considered alongside the athlete’s physical arousal, concentration, confidence, perceived consequences of failure and competitive context. A single anxious thought before an important event is not evidence of a disorder, and a positive phrase is not a guaranteed treatment. Persistent anxiety that causes substantial distress, avoidance or performance disruption may warrant support from a qualified sport psychologist or other appropriate health professional. Used carefully, self-talk monitoring can help identify patterns, generate testable coping strategies and make conversations about performance pressure more specific.

Frequently asked questions

Is negative self-talk the same as competitive anxiety?

No. Self-talk is the athlete’s internal or spoken self-directed communication, while competitive anxiety includes cognitive and physical responses to perceived pressure. Negative or threat-focused self-talk can accompany worry, fear of failure or concentration disruption, but one anxious phrase does not by itself establish a clinically important anxiety problem.

Did the 2004 study prove that self-talk causes fear of failure?

No. The study identified associations between patterned self-talk and forms of competitive anxiety in 440 college-age participants, with the strongest relationships involving fear of failure and sport anxiety. Because the design was correlational, it could not determine whether self-talk increased anxiety, anxiety shaped self-talk, or another factor influenced both.

Can changing self-talk reduce competitive anxiety?

Some intervention studies suggest it can affect particular anxiety components. A 2009 randomised tennis study found lower cognitive anxiety after motivational self-talk training, while a 2019 study found lower somatic state anxiety without a significant change in cognitive state anxiety. Effects therefore appear to depend on the intervention, outcome and athlete group.

Which anxiety patterns were most closely related to self-talk?

In the 2004 study, the most systematic relationships were reported for fear of failure, followed by sport anxiety. Fear of success showed weaker associations with the self-talk patterns examined. These categories should not be treated as interchangeable with modern measures of cognitive, somatic or state anxiety used in later intervention research.

How should athletes use self-talk in practice?

Intervention studies have tested deliberate self-talk cues during training and competition, with mixed effects across anxiety dimensions. Some trials reported lower cognitive or somatic anxiety and greater confidence, while others found limited changes. The evidence supports self-talk as one component of sport-psychology interventions rather than a standalone treatment for anxiety.

This article is for general information and is not medical advice. It was reviewed for accuracy by a qualified clinician; decisions about your health should be made with your own doctor.