are more likely to adopt mental skill compared to the others (e.g., Harwood, Cumming, & Fletcher, 2004). Further studies are warranted.
There is also a lack of research addressing the relationship between flow and mindfulness. In a study based on a non-athlete sample, Clark (2002) examined the impact of self-regulated attention control (or mindfulness) on the time spent in flow. Specifically, his study examined the impact of a mindfulness training protocol (based on a self-regulated attention regulation intervention program) on daily flow experiences in a sample of graduate students. Mindfulness meditation and attention control strategies, based on the works of Kabat-Zinn and Nideffer respectively, were taught to the participants as part of the research protocol (Clark, 2002). Experience sampling method (ESM) was used for assessing the participants’ flow experience during their daily life before and after the training protocol. Three out of the six participants experienced treatment effects, suggesting that mindfulness training may help some individuals in increasing the time spent in flow during the course of their day. Some individuals appeared to have benefited from the prescribed mindfulness training more notably than the others. As this study was conducted on a non-athlete sample, whether athletes’ propensity to be mindful is related to the tendency to experience flow in sport is not known.
Given the lack of empirical support on the relation between mindfulness and performance psychology in sport, there is a need to examine this issue in greater detail. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between mindfulness, flow and mental skills adoption. While we borrowed the conceptualizations of mindfulness provided by Bishop et al. (2004) as the overarching theoretical framework, individual differences in terms of mindfulness propensities are assessed based on Bodner and Langer’s (2001) work on mindfulness. Participants who display higher novelty seeking, novelty producing, flexibility and engagement characteristics are deemed to be more mindful than those who are significantly weaker in these characteristics. Whether those who are deemed more mindful also have stronger flow dispositions and mental skills adoption habits is of key interest in this study. Differences in terms of specific flow dispositions and mental skills that are observed between clusters are also discussed. To reiterate the aims of this study, these two specific research questions are posed:
(1) Would individuals who display stronger mindfulness characteristics as outlined by Bodner and Langer (2001) score higher in the flow disposition measures?
(2) Would individuals who display stronger mindfulness characteristics as outlined by Bodner and Langer (2001) score higher in the mental skills adoption measures?