PSYCHOLOGICAL ANTECEDENTS OF FLOW IN RECREATIONAL SPORT

Three studies investigated three potential psychological antecedents o f flow in sport-goals, competence, and confidence. These studies exami ned tennis players competing in a weekend tournament, basketball playe rs in college activity classes, and golf regulars. The first study had the participants rate flow characteristics, whereas the second and th ird studies used the experience sampling method to measure flow. In a learning environment (basketball activity classes), students in flow e xperienced greater enjoyment, satisfaction, concentration, and control than their counterparts in boredom, apathy, or anxiety. In a competit ive environment (tennis tournament and golf), athletes in flow or bore dom states had a better quality of experience than individuals in apat hy or anxiety states. These results suggest that contextual difference s influence why an athlete perceives a situation as optimal. The psych ological antecedents of flow for sport participants remain unidentifie d, as neither goals, competence, nor confidence predicted the flow exp erience.