Title: The effects of motivational self-talk on postural threat-induced changes in emotions, attention focus, and static and dynamic balance control
Supervisor: Dr. Mark Carpenter
Committee members: Dr. Allan Adkin, Dr. J. Timothy Inglis
Abstract: The effects of fear of falling on balance control have been investigated through manipulations of support surface height (i.e., height-induced postural threat). It has been consistently found that height-induced postural threat leads to maladaptive emotional and postural responses. Motivational self-talk has been used effectively in sports to improve athletes’ performance and reduce anxiety. However, it is unknown whether providing instructions to engage in motivational self-talk will mitigate the maladaptive emotional and postural responses to height-induced postural threat. The aim of this thesis is to examine how height-induced postural threat changes in anxiety, arousal, balance, and leg muscle activity may be influenced by motivational self-talk during static and dynamic postural tasks.
Participants will be randomized to a motivational self-talk group or a distraction task group. They will be standing on a force plate at the edge of a hydraulic platform and will perform static and dynamic balance tasks at low height (static and dynamic: 0.8 m) and high height (static: 3.2 m, dynamic: 1.6 m) above ground with or without instructions to engage in motivational self-talk or a distraction task. For the static balance task, participants will perform quiet standing trials. For the dynamic balance task, participants will perform a series of rise to toes tasks during trials. Force plate data will be used for calculating center of pressure and further analyses. Questionnaires will be used to assess participants’ trait characteristics and emotional states. Electrodes will be placed on participants’ palms to measure sympathetic arousal. Muscle activity of the soleus and tibialis anterior will be measured through placing electrodes on participants’ lower legs. We hypothesize that engaging in motivational self-talk compared to no instructions while standing at height will reduce the emotional response and improve the maladaptive postural responses that typically accompany height-induced postural threat. However, engaging in a distraction task while standing at height will not lessen the emotional response nor mitigate the maladaptive postural changes that accompany height-induced postural threat.
Results from this thesis will provide further understanding regarding potentially mitigating the maladaptive responses to height-induced postural threat by engaging in motivational self-talk.