Matteo Campagna
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One study found that a strengths-based positive psychology programme does not improve elite archers' optimism or use of their strengths any more than happens without it

1 study · 20 archers measured

Only one study has tested a strengths-based positive psychology programme with archers, and it finds no difference from those who did not follow it. Twenty elite archers from Korean company teams took part, ten attending eight weekly sessions of 40 to 60 minutes and ten acting as controls, chosen without random allocation: knowledge of their own strengths and their reported use of them rise in both groups, and the two groups change in the same way (interaction p = 0.43 and p = 0.52). Optimism rises slightly in those who followed the programme, from 3.68 to 4.05, and barely at all in the controls, from 3.53 to 3.61, but here too the difference between groups is well short of significance (p = 0.20). The paper's English abstract presents the programme as effective, while the Korean text and the authors' own conclusions say that nothing measurable changed compared with the controls. The null result is a single small one, though: with ten archers per group only large effects could be detected, the final measurement fell shortly before a national competition that may have lifted everyone's questionnaire scores, and shooting scores were not recorded.

Also phrased as: "positive psychology for archers"; "working on an archer's strengths"; "strengths-based mental training"; "optimism and archery"; "positive thinking in competition"

In practice

The idea in the field is that working on what an archer does well, rather than on faults to correct, builds optimism and confidence, and that archers who know their strengths can draw on them in the difficult moments of a competition.

Evidence

  • 2020
    For Archers Published later

    20 elite archers from Korean company teams, 10 attending eight weekly sessions of 40 to 60 minutes of strengths-based positive psychology and 10 controls, groups not randomised. Knowledge of their own strengths (8-item scale) rises over time in both groups, F(1,18) = 13.58, p < 0.05, with no difference between groups (p = 0.73) or in how they change (interaction p = 0.43).

    The application of strength-based positive psychology program for elite archers · Youngsook Kim, Inchon Park

  • 2020
    For Archers Published later

    In the same study the reported use of their own strengths (14-item scale) rises in both groups, F(1,18) = 7.09, p < 0.05, with no effect of group (p = 0.19) or interaction (p = 0.52): the programme adds nothing to what also happens in the controls.

    The application of strength-based positive psychology program for elite archers · Youngsook Kim, Inchon Park

  • 2020
    For Archers Published later

    Optimism (revised Life Orientation Test): in the programme group from 3.68 ± 0.86 to 4.05 ± 0.71, in the controls from 3.53 ± 0.33 to 3.61 ± 0.43. Neither time, F(1,18) = 4.31, p = 0.052, nor group (p = 0.21) nor the interaction (p = 0.20) is significant. The paper's English abstract says the opposite, and the final measurement was taken shortly before the Korean National Sports Festival.

    The application of strength-based positive psychology program for elite archers · Youngsook Kim, Inchon Park

Status history

  1. 1990 Not studied Nobody in the registry's bibliography has yet tried a strengths-based positive psychology programme with archers, or measured what it changes in optimism or in how archers use what they do well. The question has not been put to the test.
  2. 2020 Reported The first study arrives, on twenty elite archers from Korean company teams: ten attend eight weekly sessions of strengths-based positive psychology and ten act as controls. Knowledge of their own strengths and their reported use of them rise in both groups, with no difference in how they change (p = 0.43 and p = 0.52), and optimism rises slightly in those who followed the programme, from 3.68 to 4.05, and barely at all in the controls, again with no difference between groups (p = 0.20). It is a single study, with ten people per group, groups that were not randomised and no shooting scores: the evidence points the way the claim says, and it is limited.
Cite
APA

Campagna, M. (2026). One study found that a strengths-based positive psychology programme does not improve elite archers' optimism or use of their strengths any more than happens without it (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/strengths-based-positive-psychology-archers

BibTeX
@misc{campagna2026_psicologiapositivapuntidiforza,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {One study found that a strengths-based positive psychology programme does not improve elite archers' optimism or use of their strengths any more than happens without it},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/strengths-based-positive-psychology-archers},
  note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

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