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

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.