Editing Improvisational theatre (section)

==Psychology==
In the field of the psychology of [[consciousness]], Eberhard Scheiffele explored the altered state of consciousness experienced by actors and improvisers in his scholarly paper ''Acting: an altered state of consciousness''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Scheiffele |first1=Eberhard |journal=Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance |title=an altered state of consciousness |date=2001 |volume= 6 |issue=2 |doi=10.1080/13569780120070722 |pages=179–191|s2cid=145796956 }}</ref> According to G. William Farthing in ''The Psychology of Consciousness'' comparative study, actors routinely enter into an altered state of consciousness (ASC).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sci-con.org/2004/12/levels-of-consciousness/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070602111908/http://sci-con.org/2004/12/levels-of-consciousness/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 2, 2007 |title=Levels of Consciousness |work=sci-con.org }}</ref> Acting is seen as altering most of the 14 dimensions of changed subjective experience which characterize ASCs according to Farthing, namely: attention, perception, imagery and fantasy, inner speech, memory, higher-level thought processes, meaning or significance of experiences, time experience, emotional feeling and expression, level of arousal, self-control, suggestibility, body image, and sense of personal identity.

In the field of cognitive psychology and neuropsychology, improv seems to involve a lot of cognitive processes, especially attention.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Krueger |first1=Kristin R. |last2=Winer |first2=Jeffrey P. |last3=Lattimore |first3=Daniel C. |last4=Beck |first4=Todd |last5=Dennis |first5=Kyle |last6=Carswell |first6=Cameron |last7=Saper |first7=Clifton |last8=Hainselin |first8=Mathieu |date=2025-03-20 |title=Improv as cognitive activity |journal=Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience |language=English |volume=17 |doi=10.3389/fnagi.2025.1520698 |doi-access=free |issn=1663-4365|pmc=11965582 }}</ref> Improv can improves creativity,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hainselin |first1=Mathieu |last2=Aubry |first2=Alexandre |last3=Bourdin |first3=Béatrice |date=2018-09-25 |title=Improving Teenagers' Divergent Thinking With Improvisational Theater |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |language=English |volume=9 |page=1759 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01759 |doi-access=free |pmid=30319485 |pmc=6167459 |issn=1664-1078}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Felsman |first1=Peter |last2=Gunawardena |first2=Sanuri |last3=Seifert |first3=Colleen M. |date=2020-03-01 |title=Improv experience promotes divergent thinking, uncertainty tolerance, and affective well-being |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1871187119302470 |journal=Thinking Skills and Creativity |volume=35 |pages=100632 |doi=10.1016/j.tsc.2020.100632 |issn=1871-1871}}</ref> dealing with uncertainty,<ref name=":0" /> narrative skills<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Blonde |first1=Manon |last2=Mortelier |first2=Frédérique |last3=Bourdin |first3=Béatrice |last4=Hainselin |first4=Mathieu |date=2021-03-16 |title=Teenagers Tell Better Stories After Improvisational Theater Courses |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |language=English |volume=12 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2021.638932 |doi-access=free |pmid=33796049 |issn=1664-1078}}</ref> and decrease anxiety<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Felsman |first1=Peter |last2=Seifert |first2=Colleen M. |last3=Himle |first3=Joseph A. |date=2019-04-01 |title=The use of improvisational theater training to reduce social anxiety in adolescents |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0197455618301928 |journal=The Arts in Psychotherapy |volume=63 |pages=111–117 |doi=10.1016/j.aip.2018.12.001 |issn=0197-4556}}</ref> with teenagers, young and older adults.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Keisari |first1=Shoshi |last2=Krueger |first2=Kristin R |last3=Ben-David |first3=Boaz M |last4=Hainselin |first4=Mathieu |date=2024-05-01 |title=New horizon in improving ageing with improvisational theatre |url=https://academic.oup.com/ageing/article-abstract/53/5/afae087/7665132?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false |journal=Age and Ageing |volume=53 |issue=5 |pages=afae087 |doi=10.1093/ageing/afae087 |pmid=38706392 |issn=1468-2834}}</ref>

In the growing field of [[Drama Therapy]], [[psychodrama]]tic improvisation, along with other techniques developed for [[Drama Therapy]], are used extensively. The ''[[Yes, and...|"Yes, and"]]'' rule has been compared to [[Milton Erickson]]'s ''utilization'' process and to a variety of acceptance-based psychotherapies. Improv training has been recommended for [[couples therapy]] and therapist training, and it has been speculated that improv training may be helpful in some cases of [[social anxiety disorder]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfxmachine.com/docs/yes,_and.pdf|title=Yes, and: Acceptance, Resistance, and Change in Improv, Aikido, and Psychotherapy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05xcvc2|title=BBC World Service - People Fixing The World, Improvising Your Way Out of Anxiety|website=[[BBC]]|date=13 February 2018 |language=en-GB|access-date=2018-11-12}}</ref>