Trash Talk in a Competitive Setting: Impact on Self-Efficacy, Affect, and Performance Oliver Benjamin Conmy
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2008 Trash Talk in a Competitive Setting: Impact on Self-Efficacy, Affect, and Performance Oliver Benjamin Conmy Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION TRASH TALK IN A COMPETITIVE SETTING: IMPACT ON SELF-EFFICACY, AFFECT, AND PERFORMANCE BY OLIVER BENJAMIN CONMY A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Copyright © 2008 Oliver Benjamin Conmy All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approved the Dissertation of Oliver Benjamin Conmy defended on 30th October 2008. ________________________ Gershon Tenenbaum Professor Directing Dissertation ________________________ Robert C. Eklund Committee Member ________________________ Alysia Roehrig Committee Member ________________________ Robert Moffatt Outside Committee Member Approved:______________________________________________________________ Akihito Kamata, Chairperson, Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above committee members. ii Rosie and Ollie This is called the dedication page, and how infinitesimal that word seems when attempting to articulate what you two have done for me in my life. I would need another 10 documents this size to even begin to communicate what it is that makes you two so extraordinary. Sitting here now, writing this, I think how silly it is I’m even bothering, because it is truly impossible to tell you what inner tranquility you have given to me since I was old enough to understand what it is to be loved. You are the world to me. Everything I am, and anything I may become, I owe to you. The world you chose to give to me, the people you are, who you have become, and who you continue to be, truly leaves me flabbergasted. I have never really thought of you as anything but remarkable human beings who I enjoy spending time with. The fact that you are my parents is frankly laughable. I have been blessed in a way I still find intricate to fathom. You will never know the depth of my love and gratitude for you both – you cannot possibly know, because every day it appears to multiply inside of me. You are my life, my world, my spirit. I love you more than anything in this world, and most importantly of all, I respect you and revere who you are as people. Please understand, you have given me a gift for life, an outlook, an idea, and no one can ever take that from me. Mum and Dad, I love you. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Lis, guiding me from the very start, the inspiration as a child, the template which showed me what could be achieved, and most importantly the knowledge that you were always there, whenever I needed you. That gives a boy a confidence without which things may have turned out very differently. What more could I ask for in a sis’? I love you Lisa. Tel, thanks for the support and enthusiasm whenever I came calling – you have an unbreakable optimism. Big love fella. Dr. Tenenbaum – what a journey! It has been a mind-boggling ride with you. It has not always been easy, there were some challenging moments (classic understatement), but ultimately our odyssey together has improved me as a person forever. Without you I’m not sure this dream could have come true, and for that endeavor and belief I am truly grateful. Thanks T, for everything. To my committee. Bob Eklund, Alyisa Roehrig, and Bob Moffatt. I’m not sure everyone has a committee which truly contributes across the board, everyone adding some flavor, their own individual spice – but you all did. It was important for me to know you as people, not simply professors as a means to an end. I feel as though this process was enhanced through knowing you, not simply academically, but personally, and that means a tremendous amount to me. Thank you all for your time, effort, and patience! Also, thanks to my ‘ghost’ committee member, much appreciated JT. The boys – you know who you are and you know what you mean to me, all of you. Shouts go out to Crowcombe, Dubai, Ashton Keynes, Dublin, London, and Birmingham. I simply do not achieve this without you, fact. Special thanks to D for the laughter and the Leon. You brought me back when sometimes I felt I just couldn’t go on, you are nutto! More importantly you have one of the biggest hearts I have ever known, and I’m lucky to have had you here throughout. Special thanks to Joe Joe. You gave me a life of tranquility for years and support whenever I needed it, and I’m fully aware of how important that cornerstone was on this journey. Thank you both so much. Finally, Wifey. Wifey, Wifey, Wifey. A woman who moved continents to help in this process! Literally! We might work out, we might not, as you are aware, I am a little mental. But know this you precious little actress (stiff bed jump), you are someone and something I did not think existed. Whatever the future holds, I want you to capture right now that the times I have spent laughing with you have been some of the happiest of my life. You are so unique in so many ways, one of which being your understanding of what I was doing here, and what it meant to me. Mainly, I think you are you, with me, and that is as important as anything else to me. You have been instrumental in this entire process, and even though you cost me a year while we fell in love (wink) I would not change a day. Not one. I do. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT .....................................................................................................................................x INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1 Rationale for the Study ..............................................................................................................3 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW .........................................................................................5 Trash Talk Context ....................................................................................................................5 Trash Talk Definition .................................................................................................................5 Self-Efficacy ..............................................................................................................................6 Self-Efficacy & Motivation .......................................................................................................8 Self-Efficacy & Feedback ........................................................................................................10 Self-Efficacy & Affect .............................................................................................................11 Affective States ........................................................................................................................12 Resource-Matching Hypothesis ...............................................................................................15 Self-Efficacy, Affect, & Performance .....................................................................................16 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................19 Research Questions ............................................................................................................20 Hypotheses .........................................................................................................................21 CHAPTER 2: METHOD ...............................................................................................................24 Participants ...............................................................................................................................24 Apparatus .................................................................................................................................24 Experimental Design ................................................................................................................25 Silent-Talk Condition...............................................................................................................25 Talk-Silent Condition...............................................................................................................26 Instrumentation ........................................................................................................................27 Madden™ NFL Self-Efficacy Scale ...................................................................................27 Positive and Negative Affective Schedule (PANAS) ..........................................................28 Trash Talk User Survey .....................................................................................................29 Performance Measures ......................................................................................................30 Trash Talk Choices ............................................................................................................30