Effect of association, dissociation and positive self-talk strategies on endurance performance

The purpose of the present investigation was to compare associative, dissociative and positive self-talk strategies in the performance of two endurance tasks. In Experiment 1, subjects (N = 40) were asked to employ one of these strategies during a 30 minute run around a quarter mile track. Subjects were instructed to run as fast and as far as they could during the allotted time. Heart rate, feelings, and cognitions were also assessed. Results indicated no significant between group differences on either performance or questionnaire measures. In Experiment 2, subjects (N = 230) were asked to employ the same cognitive strategies as described above throughout the duration of a muscular leg-endurance task. Results showed that the dissociation and positive self-task conditions produced significantly greater persistence than the association or control conditions. No significant differences were found for heart rate and other questionnaire data. The findings are discussed in terms of task type, the processing of internal and external cues and the mediating role of previous experience in affecting subjects' use of these cognitive strategies. Future directions for research are offered.