Method: A total of 184 undergraduate participants were paired with the same gender individual and then the dyads (n= 92) were randomly assigned to one of six conditions, specifically (a) “we” self-talk/ synchrony condition, (b)“I” self-talk/ synchrony condition, (c) control/ synchrony condition, (d) “we” self-talk/ asynchrony condition, (e)“I” self-talk/ asynchrony condition, or (f) control/ asynchrony condition. Participants were asked to perform the two blocks of abdominal plank exercise and to complete self-efficacy ratings prior to each block.
Analysis/Results: A 3 (self-talk) x 2 (synchrony) ANCOCA with baseline performances as a covariate, was run but showed no main effects for synchrony. However, controlling for baseline performance, individuals in the “I” self-talk condition reported greater performance than those in the control group. Regarding self-efficacy, analyses revealed no significant effects for the three self-talk or synchrony conditions. Inconsistent with the finding for performance, the mean scores for enjoyment working their partner was greater in the “we self-talk condition compared to the control condition.
Conclusions: These findings are considered with respect to their novel theoretical contribution to the self-talk literature in a small group exercise setting and their practical implications for enhancing performance and a sense of enjoyment working out with their partner.