Creative and healthy through improv: Effects of training improvisational theatre on creative and work-related self-efficacy and self-esteem

This study examines the effects of people starting to participate in improvisational theatre (improv) on self-concepts in the work domain compared to a sports control group. Improv is a type of theatre in which people spontaneously create scenes without a script. Although improv training aims to build creativity and spontaneity, empirical evaluations of these beneficial effects are missing. Building on self-efficacy and self-esteem theory, we expect that people who begin to practice improv experience an increase in self-esteem, work-related self-efficacy, and creative self-efficacy compared to a sports control group. Longitudinal data were collected from 202 participants (104 = intervention; 98 = control group; N = 453 data points) on four occasions. We used linear regression and latent growth modelling to evaluate our hypotheses. Results indicate that the increase in work-related self-efficacy, creative self-efficacy, and self-esteem was not stronger in the improv group compared to the sports group after the first training session. However, we found that creative self-efficacy and self-esteem increased in the improv training group over time and that this increase was stronger in the improv group than the sport control group. The results provide initial support for long-term positive effects, which can be used to design educational programs and therapeutic interventions.