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Interpretation of self‐talk and post‐lecture affective states of higher education students: A self‐determination theory perspective
Author(s) -
Oliver Emily J.,
Markland David.,
Hardy James.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
british journal of educational psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.557
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 2044-8279
pISSN - 0007-0998
DOI - 10.1348/000709909x477215
Subject(s) - psychology , affect (linguistics) , perspective (graphical) , autonomy , social psychology , developmental psychology , anxiety , multilevel model , trait , self concept , communication , artificial intelligence , psychiatry , machine learning , computer science , political science , law , programming language
Background Self‐determination theory posits that informational versus controlling interpretations of intra‐personal events have positive and negative implications, respectively, for well‐being. Self‐talk represents an intra‐personal event that could be interpreted as informational or controlling and may attenuate or exacerbate the negative effects of a stressful experience. Aims The present study investigated relationships between students' informational and controlling interpretations of self‐talk, and their post‐lecture affective state. An interactive hypothesis, whereby self‐talk would be more strongly associated with well‐being when students reported experiencing the lecture as stressful, was also tested. Sample Participants were 146 male and female undergraduate students ( M age = 19.25, SD = 2.57) enrolled on research methods/statistics modules. Methods Immediately post‐lecture, participants completed a measure of informational and controlling self‐talk, short forms of the State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale, and self‐report measures of their experience and understanding of the lecture. Results Findings from moderated hierarchical regression analyses indicated that informational self‐talk was positively associated with positive affect regardless of students' experience or understanding of a lecture. Significant interactions were found between controlling self‐talk and experience and understanding, in that a negative experience or poor understanding predicted higher state anxiety and negative affect when students used high, but not low, levels of controlling self‐talk. Conclusions The functional significance of students' self‐talk may have implications for affect in higher education, suggesting that providers should promote the use of self‐talk that emphasizses students' autonomy and competence.