The Effects of Feedback Valence and Style on Need Satisfaction, Self-Talk, and Perseverance Among Tennis Players: An Experimental Study

Abstract

Grounded in self-determination theory, this experimental study examined whether the valence (i.e., positive vs. negative) and style (i.e., autonomy-supportive vs. controlling) of normative feedback impact the self-talk, motivational experiences (i.e., psychological need satisfaction and enjoyment), and behavioral functioning (i.e., perseverance and performance) of tennis players (N = 120; M = 24.50 ± 9.86 years). Positive feedback and an autonomy-supportive style positively influenced players' enjoyment and perseverance, with psychological need satisfaction and self-talk playing an intervening role. While positive feedback yielded its beneficial effect via greater competence satisfaction and decreased negative self-talk, the beneficial impact of an autonomy-supportive communication style was explained via greater autonomy satisfaction.

An experiment on the impact of coaches’ and athlete leaders’ competence support on athletes’ motivation and performance

“…The work of Carpentier and Mageau revealed that athletes’ outcomes (ie, well‐being, self‐esteem, need satisfaction, and performance) are better predicted by feedback quality, compared to the quantity of feedback. More recently, De Muynck et al emphasized the impact of both feedback's valence (ie, positive or negative) and its style (ie, autonomy‐supportive or controlling) on players’ need satisfaction.…”

Strengthening the assessment of self‐talk in sports through a multi‐method approach

“…A multi‐method measure is therefore considered to be a more valid measure of self‐talk, as procedure‐specific biases are filtered out of the self‐talk indicator. A multi‐method measure is also beneficial when interested in the possible mediating role of self‐talk because; in doing so, self‐talk is (at least partly) measured in between measurements of independent and dependent variables …”

“…Furthermore, the current study made use of a ball machine, predominantly for reasons of standardization with regard to the manipulation that is reported elsewhere . This might reduce the ecological validity of the current study, as no human opponent was present on the court.…”

“…With respect to motivational outcomes, spontaneous negative self‐talk related negatively to athletes' perceived competence, autonomy, and flow experiences, while being positively related to their boredom . Positive self‐talk showed a similar, yet opposite pattern of findings.…”

“…Meta‐analytic evidence clearly shows that positive self‐talk is conducive to sport performance in general and in tennis players in particular . Negative self‐talk, on the other hand, was related to reduced perseverance and poorer performance in a tennis exercise …”