Self-talk as a regulatory mechanism: How you do it matters.

Abstract

Does the language people use to refer to the self during introspection influence how they think, feel, and behave under social stress? If so, do these effects extend to socially anxious people who are particularly vulnerable to such stress? Seven studies explored these questions (total N ϭ 585). Studies 1a and 1b were proof-of-principle studies. They demonstrated that using non-first-person pronouns and one's own name (rather than first-person pronouns) during introspection enhances self-distancing. Studies 2 and 3 examined the implications of these different types of self-talk for regulating stress surrounding making good first impressions (Study 2) and public speaking (Study 3). Compared with the first-person group, the non-first-person group performed better according to objective raters in both studies. They also displayed less distress (Studies 2 and 3) and engaged in less maladaptive postevent processing (Study 3). Studies 4 and 5 examined how these different forms of self-talk influence the way people appraise social-anxiety-provoking events. They demonstrated that non-first-person language use (compared with first-person language use) leads people to appraise future stressors in more challenging and less threatening terms. Finally, a meta-analysis (Study 6) indicated that none of these findings were moderated by trait social anxiety, highlighting their translational potential. Together, these findings demonstrate that small shifts in the language people use to refer to the self during introspection consequentially influence their ability to regulate their thoughts, feelings, and behavior under social stress, even for vulnerable individuals.Keywords: distancing, stress, social anxiety, rumination, self-regulation, emotion regulation During the summer of 2010, LeBron James, a future Hall-ofFame basketball player, faced a tough decision. Should he stay with the small market team that nurtured his career from its inception, or move to a larger city market? Shortly after making his choice (he joined the larger market team), he described his decision-making process in an interview noting, "One thing I didn't want to do was make an emotional decision. I wanted to do what's best for LeBron James and to do what makes LeBron James happy" (Greenberg, 2010).Notice how James begins by referring to himself using the pronoun I, but then quickly switches to using his own name after indicating that he does not want to make an emotional decision. Does this shift from I to James represent a mere quirk of speech? Or could it represent something more-a process, for example, that consequentially influences people's capacity to control their thoughts, feelings, and behavior? Here we suggest that it is the latter. Specifically, we hypothesize that using one's own name and other non-first-person pronouns to refer to the self during introspection is a form of self-distancing that enhances self-regulation. 1 Harnessing Language to Promote Self-RegulationSeveral lines of research motivate this prediction. First, converging evidence...

Being kind to ourselves: Self-compassion, coping, and consumption

“…Non-first-person self-talk leads people to appraise stressors in more challenging and less threatening terms and to display less distress (Kross et al, 2014). It influences people's capacity to control their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, and enhances self-regulation possibly because external encouragement expressed using "You" may become internalized and be reflected later in self-talk in situations that require self-direction (Dolcos & Albarracin, 2014;Kross et al, 2014) and self-compassion. A non-first-person language use reflects adopting a self-distancing perspective which helps people to observe and accept their feelings and to reflect on painful experiences without ruminating.…”

“…A non-first-person language use reflects adopting a self-distancing perspective which helps people to observe and accept their feelings and to reflect on painful experiences without ruminating. This is compared with first-person language use that reflects the adoption of a self-immersed perspective (Kross et al, 2014). Therefore, participants often addressed themselves as "you" rather than "I" which helped them to identify with others, to recognize suffering as part of a shared experience and thus to strengthen feelings of self-consolation, self-kindness, and ultimately self-compassion, i.e., in being kind to ourselves.…”

Mental imagery of positive and neutral memories: A fMRI study comparing field perspective imagery to observer perspective imagery

“…It has been argued that self-distancing can facilitate more adaptive forms of self-reflection (Kross & Ayduk, 2011). Taking a self-distanced perspective on negative or stressful events has shown to decrease emotional intensity (Kross et al, 2005;Kross et al, 2014), and shortens emotion duration for negative but also for positive emotional experiences (Verduyn et al, 2012). A different explanation has been suggested in studies on the role of imagery perspective in depression, proposing that adopting an observer perspective could promote evaluative thinking about the self, which could result in unfavorable self-comparisons (with an ideal self) reducing the positive affective response (Kuyken & Howell, 2006;Kuyken & Moulds, 2009).…”

A Novel Non-Pharmaceutical Treatment for Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment

“…medial and lateral prefrontal cortex) and especially of the left hemisphere, reflecting, as suggested by the authors, the implementation of self-regulation and inner speaking, respectively (Herwig et al, 2010). Interestingly, a recent review states that "using non-first-person pronouns and one's own name (rather than first-person pronouns) during introspection enhances self-distancing..." and that this may buffer distress allowing more adjustive thoughts, feelings and behaviors (Kross et al, 2014). We should note that in our study, except for the recorded psychological benefits, PSAI results also in better self-efficacy and health locus of control.…”