Did super buu's trash talk affect Gohan's psyche?

[Ssjcell]

Do you think super buu's talk affected Gohan's performance? Do you think Gohan could have done better if it weren't for super Buu getting in his head?

[Dbzfan94]

It absolutely did. Whether it would've made Gohan done better if there was no trash talk, probably not. Gotenks Buu was still much stronger.

[Logania]

It affected his psyche, yes, but it still seems odd that it made him perform worse instead of the opposite.

Gohan getting reminded his friends are absorbed and it's kind of his fault made him quite pissed, but that should've gave him a slight rage boost, instead it made him unfocused and sloppy.

[Ssjcell]

It may or may not have had an impact on the fight. Even though Gohan is an experienced capable fighter he may have been in shock after watching his mentor and brother get absorbed. He may also have known what Buu was saying was correct and he was probably kicking himself for letting it happen. Also he probably thought the fight was over.

[Kokonoe]

It affected his psyche, yes, but it still seems odd that it made him perform worse instead of the opposite.

Gohan getting reminded his friends are absorbed and it's kind of his fault made him quite pissed, but that should've gave him a slight rage boost, instead it made him unfocused and sloppy.

That's honestly true. I think Toriyama just wasn't sure how to write Gohan at that point.

[OhHiRenan]

It affected his psyche, yes, but it still seems odd that it made him perform worse instead of the opposite.

Gohan getting reminded his friends are absorbed and it's kind of his fault made him quite pissed, but that should've gave him a slight rage boost, instead it made him unfocused and sloppy.

That's honestly true. I think Toriyama just wasn't sure how to write Gohan at that point.

I can't say I agree. The Boo arc rather consistently tends to show the audience how Gohan's changed in the seven year time skip. Cell Games Gohan definitely would have found a boost in Boo's trash talk, but the older Boo Arc Gohan is fundamentally a different person.

[Lionel]

Troop morale is a major component both in real life and in a good number of the manga focused on military activity that I've read personally. Playing to your enemy's insecurities, emphasising the failures in their efforts, making them question the reasoning for why they fight, and isolating them from sources of encouragement can be amazing tools for weakening the vigour of a solider's willingness to fight and their physical capability. Come to think of it, two of the three components of ki have to do with your mind and courage, do they not? Given Buu's attempts to psychologically weaken Gohan, it wouldn't surprise if his yuki and shoki were negatively impacted as a result. In that respect, I think my respect for Buu and the intelligence he gleaned from Piccolo might have increased a bit since he did appear to make use of it, in the anime at least.