“It is silly for me to say things that I do not believe, try to ignore all the bad stuff, and pretend that I can do it even when I am not confident.”
The above is a common argument against using self-talk, even though self-talk is one of the most common psychological skills performers utilize. For many, it is perceived as just “lying to yourself.”
So, is self-talk simply about saying positive things, and exactly how effective is self-talk in enhancing performance?
Ivan Pavlov and Frederic Skinner are the leading forefathers to classical and operant conditioning respectively. Although both classical and operant conditioning result in learning, the processes are quite different.
So, in what ways do these theories related to conditioning help us to coach better?