2021/09/03 by Karen C. P. McDermott, Kenneth A. Lachlan
Psychology · #Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression #Emotions and Moral Behavior #Personality Traits and Psychology
paper · doi:10.1080/10510974.2021.1975139
openalex publication_date 2021/09/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
This exploratory study modeled the effects of verbally aggressive insults, or “trash talk,” on an opponent’s performance in a competitive setting. A hypothesized model predicted that the perception of verbal insults would increase cognitive distraction, manipulate emotions, and affect motivation to perform, such that competitive performance declined. Anger and shame were posited as the primary manifestations of emotional affect. The experiment randomly assigned participants to verbal insult and control conditions and was operationalized through a videogame racing competition. Results indicated that verbal insults negatively affected competitive performance on both psychological and emotional levels, although not exactly as the model predicted.