The effects of mindfulness training on beginners' skill acquisition in dart throwing: A randomized controlled trial

Chunqing ZHANG, Gangyan Si*, Yanping DUAN, Yaojun Lyu, David A. Keatley, Derwin K.C. Chan

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

47 Citations (Scopus)
9 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Objectives: The present study was into whether or not mindfulness training, based on the mindfulness-acceptance-commitment approach (MAC), can improve beginners' skill acquisition of dart throwing. Design: Randomised controlled trial. Methods: A total of 43 first-year college students who had not played darts professionally prior to the study were randomly assigned to either an attention control group (n = 21) or a mindfulness training group (n = 22) during an eight-week dart training program. Dart throwing and psychological variables were assessed at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and two-week follow-up. Results: Two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed that the mindfulness group, but not the attention control group had significant improvements in mindfulness, experiential acceptance, and flow at post-intervention and follow-up. Although both groups improved dart throwing performance after the intervention, the improvement of the mindfulness group was statistically higher in comparison to that of the attention control group. Conclusions: It was concluded that the MAC approach could improve the performance and adaptive sport experience of beginners in dart throwing.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)279-285
Number of pages7
JournalPsychology of Sport and Exercise
Volume22
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2016

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Applied Psychology

User-Defined Keywords

  • Experiential acceptance
  • Flow
  • Mindfulness intervention
  • Motor skill learning
  • Sport performance

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