The impact of Chinese calligraphy practice on athletes’ self-control

Abstract

ABSTRACT Case studies in sports suggest that calligraphy practice contributes to the psychological regulation of athletes in competition. Preliminary evidence suggests that Chinese calligraphy practice may enhance athletes’ self-control and emotion regulation. The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of Chinese calligraphy practice on two types of self-control (persistent and inhibitory self-control) and emotion among athletes. Two experiments with a mixed 2 × 2 experimental design was conducted with 207 Chinese collegiate athletes (129 males and 78 females) who were assigned to a calligraphy practice group or a control group. The findings reveal that Chinese calligraphy practice, which involves concentration, meditation, skill training and Taoist ideas, can improve athletes’ self-control. Specifically, it is more effective at enhancing persistent self-control than inhibitory self-control. Moreover, calligraphy practice can lead to increased positive emotion, reduced fatigue, and higher levels of vigor among athletes. These findings enrich the reservoir of psychological training (self-control training) in sports and provides a new self-control intervention.