Effectiveness of Positive Self Talk to Increasing Student’s Self-Confidence

Effectiveness of Positive Self Talk to Increasing Student’s Self-Confidence

Cempaka Putrie Dimala, Arif Rahman Hakim, Ivana Mara Salsabila

Psychology, Universitas Buana Perjuangan Karawang, Indonesia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2023.7532

 Received: 15 April 2023;  Accepted: 24 April 2023; Published: 25 May 2023

ABSTRACT.

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of positive self-talk to increase the self-confidence of psychology students at Buana Perjuangan University, Karawang. This study uses a one group pre-test post-test design. The population in this study were psychology students from the 2018 class. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling and the sample consisted of 11 students. The instrument used in this study is a self-confidence scale that has been tested starting from expert judgment to reliability testing. The reliability of the confidence scale that was tested using Cronbach Alpha obtained a coefficient of 0.896 which indicates a very good level of reliability. Hypothesis testing using paired samples test assisted through SPSS version 23 for windows program. The results showed that the treatment with positive self-talk techniques was effective in increasing the self-confidence of psychology students. This can be seen in the paired samples test, the results of the pre-test and post-test scores of the experimental group obtained a Sig (2-tailed) value of 0.005 < 0.05, which means H0 is rejected and Ha is accepted.

Keywords: positive self talk, self confidence, students, experimental research

INTRODUCTION:

Currently, the problem that often occurs in individuals, especially in early adulthood, is regarding low self-confidence. According to Mappiere (Thahir, 2018), early adulthood is a period of transition from adolescence to adulthood. This transitional period can be seen through independence both from an economic perspective, freedom in self-determination, and being able to see a more realistic perspective of the future.

Low self-confidence in individuals according to David and Palladino (Effendi & Jannah, 2019) will affect low motivation and individuals will generate more negative perceptions than positive perceptions of themselves. Individuals who have a low level of self-confidence will actually hinder self-development both in terms of emotional development and psychosocial development. In addition, a low level of self-confidence will affect the individual’s relationships in the family and community environment. Not a few of the students who still have a low level of self-confidence.

According to Karyanti, et al (Iriyanti & Kinayung, 2021), students must have the courage to face a challenge and existing problems so they can be more confident about the ideals and goals they want to achieve. This is necessary in order to achieve success, because the more courageous students become, the more confident and confident they are in their abilities. Suseno (Iriyanti & Kinayung, 2021), he said if students are confident in their abilities, it will be easy for them to become individuals who can solve a problem well. Thus students will more easily socialize in a good environment.

As students, individuals must have self-confidence because students are required to be active in becoming independent individuals, able to take the initiative to seek information and be able to communicate well in personal situations and to the general public (Iriyanti & Kinayung, 2021). Therefore, psychology students who have taken their final semester and will graduate as psychology graduates will be faced with jobs, one of which is in the field of counseling and so on. After graduating as a bachelor, then it will go down directly to the community environment. Therefore, psychology students must have good communication and self-confidence.

According to a survey conducted by (Wahyuni, 2013) there were ten psychology students in the 2009 and 2010 batches of Mulawarman University, Samarinda. The result was that one student admitted that he did not feel awkward when speaking in public. This is because these students are used to making presentations and always think of fun things from each of their activities. Whereas for nine other students, it was found that they often felt anxious when making presentations in front of the class. This is due to a lack of self-confidence, feeling afraid and worried about making mistakes, and being afraid to answer questions asked by friends.

This is in line with the preliminary study through a pre-research survey conducted by researchers regarding self-confidence in psychology students at Buana Perjuangan Karawang University class of 2018. Based on data from students who were willing to become pre-panelitian respondents, namely 40 respondents, the result was that 32% of students felt a lack of confidence themselves to appear in class and 40% of students often avoid eye contact with lecturers during class discussions. This is because some students do not dare to ask the lecturer directly.

The urgency regarding self-confidence which tends to be low needs to be increased through positive self-talk. The self-talk technique or what can be called greeting yourself has three benefits, namely, to improve the quality of life, build mental strength and maintain mental health (Septriasih, 2021).

Based on the above phenomenon, students who lack self-confidence will result in a lack of courage to express an opinion and feel left behind by other people’s achievements. So that it can bring up negative thoughts about yourself.

According to Lauster (Ghufron & Risnawita, 2020) defines that self-confidence is obtained through life experiences. Confidence is one aspect of personality which includes one’s self-ability so that it is not easily influenced by others and can take action according to will, happy, optimistic, has sufficient tolerance and has a sense of responsibility.

According to Lauster (Ghufron & Risnawita, 2020), aspects of individual self-confidence are as follows:

1. Confidence in self-ability is a person’s positive attitude about himself. He is able to truly believe in what he is doing. A person’s ability will also be related to how he develops abilities in his environment.
2. Optimistic, is a positive attitude that is owned by individuals who always have a good view in dealing with something about themselves and their abilities.
3. Objective, when a person can view a problem according to the truth that should be, not according to personal truth or according to his own assumptions.
4. Responsible, is a person’s readiness to bear everything that has become part of the risks and consequences.
5. Rational and Realistic Thinking, is an analysis of a problem and an event that uses thoughts that are acceptable to reason in accordance with reality.

Positive self-talk is a positive sentence that is proven to be able to increase one’s enthusiasm and self-confidence (Adiprabowo, 2017). As for some positive self-talk techniques, namely butterfly hugs, gratitude, letters of myself, and mirroring. (Septriasih, 2021). As for the benefits of greeting yourself well or commonly referred to as positive self-talk, there are three (3), namely, it can improve the quality of life. Build mental strength, and maintain physical health (Septriasih, 2021).

According to Septriasih (2021), there are four (4) good self-talk techniques or commonly called positive self-talk, which are as follows:

Butterfly Hugs

This butterfly hug technique is done by hugging yourself. The butterfly hug can be done by closing your eyes and then focusing on remembering good memories about yourself. The butterfly hug is done by alternately tapping on the shoulder, then feeling it slowly until you find the right clapping rhythm. Some people argue that one hug is worth a thousand words. So, it can be said that the butterfly hug can bring out a positive energy effect on yourself if it is followed by positive words for yourself.

Gratitude

Gratitide or can be said as a feeling of gratitude for something that is in oneself. This gratittude technique can be used to greet the heart, which is the center of life. Then feel the response from the heart so that it can be aligned with the mind. This technique can be done routinely by individuals before going to bed.

Letter to myself

Like a secret letter to yourself and only yourself knows the contents of the letter. Before doing a letter to myself, it’s best to determine the theme of the conversation and then introduce yourself. Then free and let go and say something that has been blocking you all this time, enjoy the process too. Then end with a positive affirmation. Don’t forget to say thank you and keep the letter in a secret box. Only that individual knows. Then re-read the letter when the individual feels down and lacks confidence.

Mirroring

This mirroring technique is the simplest and most effective way to self-confidence, where in this technique the individual will talk to himself or do positive affirmations by looking in the mirror and looking at himself. If you need self-exploration, use the question “Who do I see, what do I see”.

METHOD

This research uses a One Group Pretest-Posttest Design with one treatment. Before being given treatment or a stimulus to the experimental group, an initial test (O₁ pretest) will be carried out on the group. Then after the treatment was given to the experimental group, the dependent variable was then measured through the final test (O₂ posttest) for the group (Azwar, 2017). The following is the One Group Pretest-Posttest Design:

Tabel 1. One Group Pretest-Posttest Design

Information:

E = Experimental Group

O = Measurement of the dependent variable

The population in this study were Psychology students class of 2018 UBP Karawang. The samples in this study used purposive sampling, namely psychology students class of 2018, totaling 11 samples. The sample criteria in this study are (a) active students of the 2018 psychology study program, (b) students who tend to have moderate and low self-confidence, (c) psychology students of the 2018 class who are not yet working, d) willing to take part in interventions that conducted by researchers.

This study uses a measuring instrument, namely the self-confidence scale. The self-confidence scale has been tested for content validity using Aiken’s v. The results show that 17 items are invalid and 23 items are valid, with the lowest item score being 0.42 and the highest item score being 0.92. Then an item analysis was carried out to see the discriminating power of the items, the results obtained were 18 items dropped and 22 items valid. So that the reliability test results were obtained on a confidence scale of 0.896 which was interpreted very well.

The experimental research procedure consists of research preparation which consists of administrative preparation and preparation of measuring instruments and the implementation of experimental research. The following is a description of several experimental research implementation sessions conducted in one day, namely:

Session 1 (Pre-Test)

In session 1, measurements were taken before being given treatment (pre-test) which aims to obtain the results of a confidence score on eleven participants before the experimental group was given treatment. Session 1 was carried out for twenty minutes. After that the participants were given a pre-test questionnaire one by one and the researcher asked the participants’ willingness to fill out the questionnaire.

Session 2 (Providing Self Talk Positive Treatment)

Prior to giving the treatment, the researcher provided material about self-confidence and positive self-talk by using a power point which aims to make participants understand in advance about self-confidence and positive self-talk and understand the intervention process that will be carried out. Session 2 was carried out for 90 minutes. After being given an explanation of the material, the participants were heard a song with the theme of self-confidence entitled “Brave” – Sara Bareilles, where this song has something to do with self-confidence and positive self-talk, which is about how to build enthusiasm and also be motivated to be braver and little by little can overcome shame and fear (Khoerunnisa, 2020). Then the researcher played relaxation music during the treatment and the researcher gave instructions to the participants to do positive self talk techniques, namely butterfly hugs, gratitude, letters to myself, and mirroring. After each completion of the positive self-talk technique, the researcher asked several participants to share what they felt after doing the positive self-talk technique.

Session 3 (Post-Test and Filling in Experimental Evaluation)

In session 3, measurements were taken after treatment (post-test). The researcher gave a post-test questionnaire and asked the participants’ willingness to fill out the questionnaire. Session 3 was conducted for forty five minutes. Then, participants were asked to fill out an experimental evaluation sheet. After that, the researcher gave appreciation for the participants’ involvement in the research and closed the entire meeting session.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Result

The hypothesis test used in this study is parametric statistics, namely paired sample tests. This is because of the 11 samples the data is normally distributed. Before conducting the paired sample test, it is necessary to know the results of the pre-test and post-test scores as well as the results of the mean pre-test and post-test to find out the difference in scores. The following are the results of the pre-test and post-test, namely:

Table 2. Pre-Test and Post-Test Results

Based on the results of the calculation analysis above, it is known that the overall pre-test and post-test scores on the subject have increased. Next is to carry out additional analysis to find out the mean pre-test and post-test results as follows:

Table 3. Mean Pretest and Posttest Results

Based on the table above, the mean results were found in the pre-test and post-test. The pre-test mean was 53.00 and the post-test mean was 57.00. Thus it can be concluded that there is an increase in scores from the pre-test to the post-test. Next, a hypothesis test will be carried out using a paired samples test to prove the difference between the pre-test and post-test. Following are the results of hypothesis testing using the paired samples test:

Table 4.  Hypothesis Testing

Based on the results of the paired samples test above, the value of Sig (2-tailed) is 0.005 <0.05, which means that H0 is rejected and Ha is accepted. This shows that the effectiveness of positive self-talk on self-confidence is seen from the differences in the pre-test and post-test self-confidence scales. Thus, it can be concluded that positive self-talk techniques are effective in increasing self-confidence in psychology students class of 2018 UBP Karawang.

Tabel 5. Kategorisasi Kepercayaan Diri

             Based on the table, it is obtained that in the category of self-confidence in the pre-test and post-test there are 11 students who have a moderate level of self-confidence with a percentage of 50%. This shows that 11 psychology student’s class of 2018 have moderate self-confidence.

Discussion

The Positive Self Talk technique is a method of talking about positive things about yourself. The purpose of this positive self-talk technique is to awaken individuals to have more confidence in their abilities, have a sense of gratitude, give positive affirmations and also greet and pay attention to themselves positively more often. The purpose of this research is to apply the positive self-talk technique to students who have moderate and low self-confidence in order to increase their self-confidence.

This study has three sessions or stages that must be carried out, namely the first stage is to conduct a pretest. At this stage, participants were given a self-confidence scale questionnaire to find out their self-confidence score before the experimental participants were given treatment using the positive self-talk technique. Then the second session is giving positive self-talk treatment. At this stage, the researcher explained concepts related to treatment and provided material about self-confidence and positive self-talk. After presenting the material about self-confidence, the researcher played a song entitled “Brave” by a singer named Sara Bereilles. Then in the third session, namely the administration of a self-confidence scale questionnaire to participants to find out the self-confidence score after the experimental participants were given treatment with positive self-talk techniques and the participants filled out the experimental evaluation sheet provided by the researcher. This aims to determine the participants’ understanding of the positive self-talk technique. The results of the experimental evaluation showed that the participants were able to understand positive self-talk techniques, namely butterfly hugs, gratitude, letters to myself and mirroring.

As students, individuals must have self-confidence because students are required to be active in order to be able to communicate well in personal situations and to the general public. Individuals who have low self-confidence will actually hinder self-development both in terms of emotional development and psychosocial development. In addition, a low level of self-confidence will affect the individual’s relationships in the family and community environment.

Based on the research that has been done, after giving the positive self-talk technique treatment it shows an increase in the participants. This is also proven through hypothesis testing which is carried out using parametric statistics, namely the paired samples test results obtained Sig (2-tailed) 0.005 <0.05, which means that H0 is rejected and Ha is accepted. Thus, it can be concluded that the positive self-talk technique is effective in increasing self-confidence in psychology students class of 2018 UBP Karawang. As for the self-confidence category in the pre-test and post-test there were 11 students who had a moderate level of self-confidence with a percentage of 50%. This shows that 11 psychology student’s class of 2018 have moderate self-confidence.

The results of this study are supported by previous research conducted by Gafar (2018), the results of which show that positive self-talk is effective in increasing self-confidence in young women who experience body image dissatisfaction. This is in line with relevant research conducted by Widyastuti (2014) who used the self-talk method by reading short stories. This experimental research gave the result that the level of self-confidence of students in the experimental group experienced an increase in the category. However, in the control group the level of student self-confidence remained in the low category. So it can be concluded that the positive self-talk method is effective for increasing self-confidence. Then this is also in line with research conducted by Iriyanti & Kaniyung (2021) which uses the positive self-talk method as training by providing self-reflection, forming a perspective on positive self-talk and implementing and maintaining positive self-talk. This study shows the results that positive self-talk training is effective in increasing students’ self-confidence.

One of the world’s self-development experts named Brian Tracy said that, every individual is always successful if he uses positive self-talk techniques to motivate himself to achieve success. He also said that, don’t worry about doing this technique even though people in the surrounding environment think this is weird but this can evoke one’s image and self-confidence (Adiprabowo, 2017).

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

This experimental research was conducted to test the increase in self-confidence in psychology students at Buana Perjuangan University, Karawang by giving positive self-talk treatment. Based on the results of research conducted on eleven participants, it can be concluded that positive self-talk is effective in increasing self-confidence in psychology students at Buana Perjuangan University, Karawang.

 Based on the results of the research that has been done, there are several suggestions that can be submitted, namely:

For Research Subjects

This research is expected that the subject can understand the technique of positive self-talk so that this technique can be applied in everyday life if it is necessary. In addition, the subject is expected to be able to add knowledge and insight regarding positive self-talk and self-confidence, so that the subject is more confident and always views himself positively.

For Further Researchers

This research is expected to be used as a reference source for future researchers related to positive self-talk and self-confidence in psychology students. In addition, further researchers can develop experimental designs using a two-group design and using themes or other psychological constructs to conduct experimental research using positive self-talk techniques.

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC-BY-NC-4.0 ©2020 by author (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ ).

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