Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-m9pkr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-11T23:54:00.002Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Dispositional Differences of Collegiate Athletes’ Flow State: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2015

Weina Liu ,
Liu Ji  and
Jack C Watson II
Weina Liu
Affiliation:
East China Normal University (China)
Liu Ji*
Affiliation:
East China Normal University (China)
Jack C Watson II*
Affiliation:
West Virginia University (USA)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Liu Ji, The Key Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention, Ministry of Education, School of Physical Education & Health Care, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai (China). 200241. E-mail: lji@tyxx.ecnu.edu.cn and Jack C. Watson II, Department of Sport Sciences, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6116, Morgantown (USA). 26506–6116. E-mail: Jack.Watson@mail.wvu.edu
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Liu Ji, The Key Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention, Ministry of Education, School of Physical Education & Health Care, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai (China). 200241. E-mail: lji@tyxx.ecnu.edu.cn and Jack C. Watson II, Department of Sport Sciences, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6116, Morgantown (USA). 26506–6116. E-mail: Jack.Watson@mail.wvu.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Csikszentmihalyi (1990) suggested that certain types of people might be better psychologically equipped to experience flow. The purpose of this study was to determine if differences exist in one’s ability to experience flow based upon factors such as cultural background, gender, years of specialized training, skill level, and sport event type. The English and Chinese versions of the Dispositional Flow Scale-2 were used to assess trait flow in American (N = 160) and Chinese collegiate athletes (N = 341). Using a one-way ANOVA analysis, the flow scores of American participants were found to be higher than those of Chinese participants, η2 = 0.175, 95% CI: 3.536-3.622, p < .005. The flow scores of male athletes were higher than those of female athletes within the Chinese sample, η2 = 0.032, 95% CI: 3.390-3.486, p < .005. The flow scores of university athletes were higher than those of national team level athletes within the Chinese sample, η2 = 0.044, 95% CI: 3.279-3.501, p < .005. Flow scores for athletes in skill-showing events were higher than those of athletes participating in physical ability-showing events for the American participants, η2 = 0.074, 95% CI: 3.812-3.948, p < .005. This study suggests that individual differences exist in the psychological characteristics of athletes’ trait flow.

Keywords

collegiate athletetrait flowpsychological characteristicsindividual differences
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 18 , 2015 , E13
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Asakawa, K. (2004). Flow experience and autotelic personality in Chinese college students: How do they experience challenges in daily life? Journal of Happiness Studies, 5, 123–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bassi, M., & Delle Fave, A. (2004). Adolescence and the changing context of optimal experience in time: Italy 1986–2000. Journal of Happiness Studies, 5, 155–179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Catley, D., & Duda, J. L. (1997). Psychological antecedents of the frequency and intensity of flow in golfers. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 28, 309–322.Google Scholar
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York, NY: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Csikszentmihalyi, I. (1988). Optimal experience: Psychological studies of flow in consciousness. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Larson, R. (1987). Validity and reliability of the experience sampling method. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 175, 526–536. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00005053-198709000-00004 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duda, J. L., & Hayashi, C. T. (1998). Measurement issues in cross-cultural research within sport and exercise psychology. In Duda, J. L. (Ed.), Advances in Sport and Exercise Psychology Measurement (pp. 471–483). Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.Google Scholar
Engeser, S., & Rheinberg, F. (2008). Flow, performance and moderators of challenge-skill balance. Motivation and Emotion, 32, 158–172. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11031-008-9102-4 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fournier, J., Gaudreau, P., Demontrond-Behr, P., Visioli, J., Forest, J., & Jackson, S. (2007). French translation of the Flow State Scale-2: Factor structure, cross-cultural invariance, and associations with goal attainment. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 8, 897–916. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2006.07.007 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fox, K. M., & Walker, G. (2002). Reconsidering the relationship between flow and feminist ethics: A response. Leisure Studies, 21, 15–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02614360110117719 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geng, X.-W., & Zheng, Q.-Q. (2006). A study of influences of self-monitor on subject well-being. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 14, 63–65.Google Scholar
Hu, Y.-M., Zhang, J., Liu, S.-P, Sun, Y.-L., & He, P. (2002). The main characteristics of flow state of baseball and softball athletes in china. Journal of Tianjin Institute of Physical Education, 17, 27–29.Google Scholar
Huberty, C. J., & Morris, J. D. (1989). Multivariate analysis versus multiple univariate analyses. Psychological Bulletin, 105, 302–308. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0033-2909.105.2.302 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, S. A. (1995). Factors influencing the occurrence of flow in elite athletes. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 7, 138–166. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10413209508406962 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, S. A. (1996). Toward a conceptual understanding of the flow experience in elite athletes. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 67, 76–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02701367.1996.10607928 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, S. A., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. C. (1999). Flow in sports: The keys to optimal experiences and performances. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.Google Scholar
Jackson, S. A., & Eklund, R. C. (2002). Assessing flow in physical activity: The Flow StateScale-2 and Dispositional Flow Scale-2. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 24, 133–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, S. A., & Eklund, R. C. (2004). The flow scale manual. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.Google Scholar
Jackson, S. A., Kimiecik, J. C., Ford, S. K., & Marsh, H. W. (1998). Psychological correlates of flow in sport. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 20, 358–378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kee, Y. H., & Wang, C. K. J. (2008). Relationships between mindfulness, flow dispositions and mental skills adoption: A cluster analytic approach. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 9, 393–411. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2007.07.001 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kimiecik, J. C., & Stein, G. L. (1992). Examining flow experiences in sport contexts: Conceptual issues and methodological concerns. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 4, 144–160. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10413209208406458 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LeFevre, J. (1988). Flow and the quality of experience during work and leisure. In Csikszentmihalyi, M. & Csikszentmihalyi, I. S. (Eds.), Optimal experience: Psychological studies of flow in consciousness (pp. 307–318). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, S., & Sun, Y.-L. (2000). Research on flow psychology of Chinese basketball athlete. Journal of Sports and Science, 21, 40–43.Google Scholar
Liu, S.-J. (2005). Research on flow state characteristic of university soft-tennis athletes. Journal of Nanjing Institute of Physical Education, 19, 99–101.Google Scholar
Liu, W.-N., Liu X.-T. Ji, L., Watson, J. C. II, Zhou, C.-L., & Yao, J.-X. (2012). Chinese translation of the Flow State Scale-2 and the Dispositional Flow Scale-2: Examination of factorial validity and reliability. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 43, 153–175.Google Scholar
Markland, D., & Tobin, V. J. (2010). Need support and behavioral regulations for exercise among exercise referral scheme clients: The mediating role of psychological need satisfaction. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 11, 91–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2009.07.001 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marsh, H. W., & Jackson, S. A. (1999). Flow experience in sport: Construct validation of multidimensional, hierarchical state and trait responses. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 343–371. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540140 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martens, R., Vealey, R. S., & Burton, D. (1990). Competitive anxiety in sport. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.Google Scholar
Moneta, G. B. (2004a). The flow experience across cultures. Journal of Happiness Studies, 5, 115–121. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/B:JOHS.0000035913.65762.b5 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moneta, G. B. (2004b). The flow model of intrinsic motivation in Chinese: Cultural and personal moderators. Journal of Happiness Studies, 5, 181–217. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/B:JOHS.0000035916.27782.e4 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moran, A. P. (2004). Sport and exercise psychology: A critical introduction. New York, NY: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2002). The concept of flow. In Snyder, C. R. & Lopez, S. J. (Eds.), Handbook of Positive Psychology (pp. 89–105). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Oh, S.-Y. (2001). Flow in golf: Motivation, goal orientation, and challenge determinant. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 62, 2237.Google Scholar
Orlick, T. (1990). In pursuit of excellence. Champaign, IL: Leisure Press.Google Scholar
Rheinberg, F. (2008). Intrinsic motivation and flow-experience. In Heckhausen, H. & Heckhausen, J. (Eds), Motivation and action (pp. 323–348). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russell, W. D. (2002). An examination of flow state occurrence in college athletes. Journal of Sport Behavior, 24, 83–107.Google Scholar
Scott, J. W. (1992). Experience. In Butler, J. & Scott, J. W. (Eds.), Feminists theorize the political. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Spielberger, C. D. (1966). Anxiety and behavior. New York, NY: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Sun, J. (2005). Research on flow state of volleyball athlete. Journal of Beijing Sport University, 28, 1347–1348.Google Scholar
Tian, M.-J. (1983). Sports training. Beijing, China: People’s Sports Press.Google Scholar
Vealey, R. S. (1986). Conceptualization of sport-confidence and competitive orientation: Preliminary investigation and instrument development. Journal of Sport Psychology, 8, 221–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, H., & Fu, M.-Q. (2005). Research on flow state’s characters of elite athletes. Journal of Xi’an Institute of Physical Education, 22, 127–129.Google Scholar
Wang, W.-X. (1997). Comparative study of basketball in China and America. Journal of Shenyang Institute of Physical Education, 3, 5–7.Google Scholar
Zhang, L.-W. (2004). Six questions in competitive sport psychology research. Journal of Psychology, 36, 116–126.Google Scholar