Psychological Antecedents of Flow in Recreational Sport

Abstract

Three studies investigated three potential psychological antecedents of flow in sport-goals, competence, and confidence. These studies examined tennis players competing in a weekend tournament, basketball players in college activity classes, and golf regulars. The first study had the participants rate flow characteristics, whereas the second and third studies used the experience sampling method to measure flow. In a learning environment (basketball activity classes), students inflow experienced greater enjoyment, satisfaction, concentration, and control than their counterparts in boredom, apathy, or anxiety. In a competitive environment (tennis tournament and golf), athletes inflow or boredom states had a better quality of experience than individuals in apathy or anxiety states. These results suggest that contextual differences influence why an athlete perceives a situation as optimal. The psychological antecedents of flow for sport participants remain unidentified, as neither goals, competence, nor confidence predicted the flow experience.