RESEARCHERS

The Science of Distanced Self-Talk: Why Calling Out the Script by Name Actually Works

2 the researchers behind it — When the voice inside says 'I can't do this' or 'I'm not ready,' it feels like a report from somewhere deep and authoritative — like you're just readi

University of Michigan

Ethan Kross

Known for:Experience-sampling and experimental work on how social media use — especially passive use — relates to moment-to-moment well-being.

Key findings

2013
Texting young adults five times a day for two weeks, Facebook use predicted declines in both momentary affect and life satisfaction, while direct social contact predicted feeling better. ↗
2015
Experimentally cueing passive Facebook use lowered affective well-being over the day, with envy carrying the effect — replicated in the field with experience sampling. ↗
2017
In a critical review with Verduyn and colleagues: passive use of social network sites is consistently linked to lower subjective well-being, largely via upward social comparison and envy, while active use shows different patterns. ↗

University of Michigan

Christina R. Furman

Known for:Extending distanced self-talk research into behavioral goal pursuit, demonstrating that name-based deliberation produces healthier real-world decisions, not just improved felt emotion

Key findings

2020
In a randomized experiment on dietary goal pursuit, Furman, Kross and Gearhardt found that participants instructed to use their own name when deliberating about food choices made healthier food decisions than those using first-person self-talk, with the effect reaching p < .001 — the first demonstration that distanced self-talk enhances actual goal pursuit behavior, not just emotional experience. ↗

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