Alexander T. Latinjak

Goal-Directed and Spontaneous Self-Talk in Anger- and Anxiety-Eliciting Sport-Situations

The purpose of this study was to explore differences in the occurrence and in the content of spontaneous and goal-directed self-talk in anger- and anxiety-eliciting situations. A total of 62 male and 25 female athletes (Mage = 19.66, SD = 2.07) agreed to participate. The results showed that in anger-eliciting situations, spontaneous self-talk was generally negative and retrospective, whereas in anxiety-eliciting situations, spontaneous self-talk was positive and negative as well as anticipatory. Goal-directed self-talk generally aimed at creating activated states, regulating behavior and focusing on positive predictions, even though differences among both emotion-eliciting situations were also detected.

Spanish adaptation and validation of the Automatic Self-Talk Questionnaire for Sports

This paper presents the Spanish adaptation of the Automatic Self-Talk Questionnaire for Sports. In the process of adaptation, we preferred cultural and linguistic equivalence to literal translation. Therefore, we gathered qualitative evidence based on the judgements of a multidisciplinary group of experts (n = 6) and focus groups (n = 10). Concerning cultural and linguistic equivalence, we found differences between the original and the adapted version in the editing of 16 items. Generally, these differences were deemed necessary to guarantee the cultural and metric equivalence between the original and the adapted version. As to the subsequent quantitative phase, data were obtained from 263 athletes from different sports and different levels (Mage = 20.30, SD = 3.08). The results showed acceptable levels of internal consistency (α values ranged from .70 to .83) and supported the original model of eight factors. In addition, a structural model including pre-competitive anxiety offered further evidence in regard to the link between self-talk and competitive anxiety. Lastly, some implications concerning the methodology are discussed.

A descriptive study of emotion concepts using dimensional models of core affect / Un estudio descriptivo de los conceptos emocionales desde los modelos dimensionales de los estados afectivos

Abstract The study of emotions from a dimensional perspective has allowed for important steps towards the understanding of human emotional experiences. However, there are still many questions to be addressed. One, of special relevance, refers to which emotion concepts we use to refer to different emotional experiences. Thus, the primary purpose of this research was to identify which emotion concepts we use in our daily life to refer to eight specific core affects identified by the combination of valance (positive and negative), arousal (activated and deactivated) and time perspective (anticipatory and retrospective). Further, we focused on the degree of specificity of those emotion concepts and whether the levels of specificity vary among different core affects. Our results evidenced that the specificity and breadth of our emotional vocabulary varies between different core affects.