Self-Talk, Styles of Motivation, And Perceived Competence toward Exercising and Diet

Abstract

The differences in the self-talk profiles of people with these different styles and levels of intrinsic traits, as well as those who report frequently exercising and eating healthily are explored. 119 students from Middle Tennessee State University participated. They completed a survey containing measures of the frequency and types of self-talk they might engage in when thinking about diet and exercise behaviors, the subscales “nutrition” and “physical activity” from a measure of health behavior frequency, measures of motivation within the domains of both exercise and diet, and measures of feelings of competence towards maintaining a diet and exercising regularly. Results provided moderate support for the predictions that health-related self-talk would be related to levels of perceived competence and autonomous motivational styles. Now, future research can continue to build on these findings and extend further into other areas of a healthy lifestyle.