The Self-Talk Scale: Development, Factor Analysis, and Validation

Abstract

Researchers and theorists have argued that self-talk plays an important role in everyday behavior and self-regulation. To facilitate research on this role, we developed a new measure of self-talk for use with nonclinical adult populations. The Self-Talk Scale (STS) measures one's frequency of self-talk. Analysis indicated a factor structure consisting of Social Assessment, Self-Criticism, Self-Reinforcement, and Self-Management factors. In 5 studies, we demonstrated that the STS shows acceptable test–retest reliability and preliminary construct validity. We present implications for the use of the STS.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants from the MTSU Faculty Research and Creative Activity Committee and by an MTSU Non-Instructional Assignment grant to T. M. Brinthaupt. We thank Bill Compton and Tim Takemoto (for their comments on earlier versions of this manuscript) and Stacia Brantley-Hill, Ginny Poole Brinthaupt, Clint Craun, Melissa Foster, Kevin Hoggard, Alain Morin, Johann Schneider, Ayako Yamazaki, and Charles Zastrow (for their assistance at various stages of the research). Additional thanks go to the editors and reviewers of the journal for their very helpful feedback and suggestions.

Notes

^a n = 381.

^b n = 386.

*p < .05.

**p < .01.

***p < .001.

^a n = 22.

^b n = 24.

*p < .05.

**p < .01.

*p < .05.

**p < .01.

***p < .001.