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Arousal of Flow Experience in a Learning Setting and Its Effects on Exam Performance and Affect
Abstract
Flow experience is associated with learning motivation, performance and positive affect. Therefore it is important to analyze its antecedents. An important antecedent for experiencing flow is the balance between the person’s skill and how challenging the situation is (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). According to Atkinson’s (1957) risk-taking model, only individuals with high hope-of-success prefer situations
in which a balance of challenge and skill is given while individuals with high fear-of-failure try to avoid such situations. Integration of these two lines of research leads to the suggestion that the achievement motive might moderate the relationship between the challengeskill balance and flow experience. This notion could be confirmed in two studies with undergraduate students (N = 57/N = 395). Additionally, flow experience was found to be a significant predictor of affect (Study 1 and 2) and exam performance (Study 2). I discuss these findings and their practical implications for academic learning settings.
... Second, in evaluating the success of transitioning to online learning, student performance is a useful measure to understand students' ability as well as the institution's capacity to succor students (Driscoll et al., 2012;McFarland & Hamilton, 2005). Although many factors influence the effectiveness of online learning, flow experience is one of the major predictors in measuring performance (Schüler, 2007). Flow experience could be generated in the course design and content, and the task set by the instructor, which needs new revelation (Meyer & Jones, 2013) to enhance students' learning engagement, interaction, and academic performance. ...
... Flow experience in the educational context has been described as holistic immersion where learners act with full attention and involvement (Van Schaik et al., 2012). The immersive qualities of flow have also been explained as a form of concentrating and enjoyable engagement (Shernoff et al., 2003) that is the peak performance state (Schüler, 2007) and a multidimensional construct that consists of immersion (Huang et al., 2010;Wang & Chen, 2010), engagement, time distortion (Huang et al., 2010;Shin, 2006), telepresence, enjoyment, and focused attention (Shin, 2006). ...
... By concept, achieving flow experience involves a balance between the level of challenge presented by the learning experience and the skills the student possesses to face and conquer the challenge (Schüler, 2007;Shernoff et al., 2003). When the level of challenges and skills are balanced and at a high matching level, flow experience occurs (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997). ...
Owing to a swift shift in hospitality and tourism (H&T) education from physical to online since the breakout of COVID-19, quality assurance measure is required to gauge effectiveness of students’ online learning. This study aims to explore the influence of H&T students’ personality traits on flow experience and performance in online classes. It further assesses the cross-regional comparison among three regions in Greater China (including Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao). A questionnaire instrument was developed and distributed in the abovementioned three regions. From a total of 895 respondents, results showed that the students’ personality traits influenced their experience and performance in online classes in a few ways. In addition, regional differences in education were used as a moderator to examine potential learning behavior differences in the three regions, and result confirms their existence. Theoretical and managerial implications were then discussed.
... Otra escala es la "Flow Short Scale" (Rheinberg et al., 2003) que mide todos los componentes de la experiencia de Fluidez con diez ítems y ha sido validada y utilizada con éxito en varias aplicaciones que van desde estudios experimentales y correlacionales (cf. Rheinberg et al., 2003;Schüler, 2007) hasta con ESM (Rheinberg et al. 2007). ...
... Existen estudios que han encontrado asociaciones significativas entre las experiencias de Fluidez y el desempeño. Un estudio con estudiantes de Psicología encontró una relación positiva entre las experiencias de Fluidez en una situación típica de aprendizaje y las calificaciones finales (Schüler, 2007). Otros dos estudios, con estudiantes de francés (Engeser et al., 2005) y con estudiantes de Psicología de la asignatura de estadística (Engeser y Rheinberg, 2008), mostraron que las experiencias de Fluidez reportadas después de las clases o después de la involucración en tareas específicas de estadística (para el caso de los estudiantes de Psicología) se correlacionaban significativamente con las calificaciones finales. ...
... Un gran número de investigaciones han mostrado la asociación entre la experiencia de Fluidez y el afecto positivo (Clarke y Haworth, 1994;Csikszentmihalyi y Lefevre, 1989;Engeser y Baumann, 2016;Fullagar y Kelloway, 2009;Ilies et al., 2017;Massimini y Carli, 1988;Rheinberg et al., 2007;Schallberger y Pfister, 2001;Shernoff et al., 2003;Schüler, 2007). En su conjunto, la evidencia empírica indica que tanto las condiciones de Fluidez como las experiencias de Fluidez se asocian con el afecto positivo (cf. ...
La interpretación musical es una actividad compleja a nivel motor, cognitivo y emocional que depende de una variedad de factores, no solo relacionados con la competencia musical. Los estados psicológicos pueden influir en el nivel de competencia artística, ya que pueden facilitar o impedir que los músicos intérpretes muestren su verdadero potencial musical. El desarrollo de habilidades de autorregulación dirigidas a suscitar la respuesta de Fluidez puede contribuir a mejorar la calidad de su experiencia durante la interpretación, aumentar la motivación intrínseca, y facilitar el compromiso con la actividad durante largos períodos de tiempo (importante para los logros creativos y artísticos). En las enseñanzas musicales parece fundamental el desarrollo de habilidades psicológicas que preparen adecuadamente a los músicos y estudiantes de música a afrontar los estresores específicos vinculados a las demandas de sus estudios y de su futura profesión. Pero, más allá de los beneficios específicos en la actividad profesional, el entrenamiento en habilidades psicológicas de autorregulación podría influir en su salud y bienestar general.
La teoría de la Fluidez se enmarca en la corriente de la Psicología Positiva, cuyo cuerpo de conocimiento ha ido en aumento desde el inicio del S. XXI. Desde esta corriente, la investigación científica se ha dirigido a comprender y construir aquellos factores que permiten que las personas, las comunidades y las sociedades prosperen. Los resultados del creciente número de investigaciones que han estudiado los efectos de aplicar la Psicología Positiva en diferentes ámbitos, muestran que la Psicología Positiva tiene una amplia base de evidencia que respalda su eficacia. Específicamente, la investigación sobre la experiencia de Fluidez ha aumentado durante los últimos años. La Fluidez “es un estado gratificante de profunda implicación y absorción que las personas experimentan cuando afrontan una actividad desafiante y perciben habilidades adecuadas para involucrarse” (EFRN, 2014)1. El fenómeno fue descrito por Csikszentmihalyi (1975)2 para explicar por qué las personas realizan actividades sin más motivo que la actividad en sí misma, sin recompensas extrínsecas, y, además, persisten en esas actividades.
La experiencia de Fluidez es una experiencia reconocida como una realidad fenomenológica por personas de todas las edades, género, estatus socioeconómico y muy diversas culturas; y se considera como un estado positivo de conciencia por todas ellas. La evidencia que se ha obtenido a través de décadas de investigación ha mostrado que la experiencia de Fluidez, entendida como una experiencia óptima, sucede cuando los desafíos que una persona afronta, así como las habilidades que tiene para involucrarse están en equilibrio y a partir de un cierto nivel (superior a lo que uno realiza de forma más cotidiana en la vida diaria). Aunque estas relaciones están en parte moderadas por otros factores, tanto situacionales, como personales. La evidencia empírica también muestra que la Fluidez se asocia al afecto positivo. Cuando las personas experimentan Fluidez en una situación, también tienden a ser felices después. En el contexto de actividades que ofrecen desafíos óptimos para las habilidades que posee una persona, es un estado que se ha asociado de forma positiva con el rendimiento. En parte, porque el estado de Fluidez, como estado intrínsecamente gratificante, conduciría a un mayor compromiso con la actividad a lo largo del tiempo.
En el ámbito de la música, existe una acumulación creciente de trabajos de investigación que han estudiado la Fluidez desde diferentes perspectivas. En el contexto de la interpretación musical, uno de los temas de mayor interés está relacionado con la contribución de la experiencia de Fluidez a la mejora de los síntomas de la Ansiedad Escénica Musical y a la mejora del rendimiento o calidad interpretativa. Para poder evaluar el estado de Fluidez en personas que interpretan música, pero también, para poder evaluar la eficacia de intervenciones dirigidas a desencadenar la respuesta de Fluidez, es necesario contar con un instrumento de medida del estado de Fluidez, validado en una muestra representativa de músicos intérpretes del Estado Español.
El hilo conductor de la presente tesis ha sido la medición del estado de Fluidez en el contexto de la música. En primer lugar, se realizó la adaptación al español y la validación del instrumento de medida del estado de Fluidez, cuyas propiedades psicométricas se analizaron con una amplia muestra de 486 músicos del Estado Español que tenían una relación consolidada con la actividad musical (tanto estudiantes, profesionales, como aficionados). En segundo lugar, se utilizó el instrumento para evaluar el estado de Fluidez en personas con Altas Capacidades Intelectuales cuando interpretan música. Este estudio se realizó como un estudio piloto, dado que no existe en la literatura un trabajo previo en el que se haya medido el estado de Fluidez en estas personas. En tercer lugar, se utilizó el instrumento para evaluar un programa de intervención específico de entrenamiento de habilidades de autorregulación psicológica diseñado para músicos intérpretes. El objetivo principal fue desencadenar la respuesta de Fluidez y el afrontamiento de la Ansiedad Escénica Musical durante la interpretación.
De los resultados obtenidos en los tres estudios se puede concluir, en primer lugar, que se dispone de una herramienta validada para evaluar el estado de Fluidez en músicos intérpretes. La validación de este instrumento puede tener implicaciones clínicas y educativas, ya que el uso del cuestionario permite identificar aspectos importantes de lo que facilita o inhibe una actuación musical o del mismo aprendizaje. También puede utilizarse para futuras investigaciones donde se desee medir la variable estado de Fluidez. En segundo lugar, los resultados del segundo estudio sugieren una relación entre las personas con altas capacidades, la experiencia de Fluidez, concretamente en la experiencia de la pérdida de la autoconciencia, y aspectos de la personalidad creativa. Los resultados también sugieren que las personas con altas capacidades podrían controlar mejor su atención, disfrutar más durante el aprendizaje y, por tanto, aprender mejor. Para finalizar, los resultados del programa de intervención mostraron que los músicos intérpretes que participaron en el programa aumentaron los niveles del estado de Fluidez y disminuyeron los niveles de Ansiedad Escénica Musical de forma estadísticamente significativa. Ello sugiere que los programas que contemplen en su diseño una combinación de todas las técnicas y métodos que se utilizaron en el programa y que provienen de la Psicología científica podrían ser útiles para tratar la problemática de la Ansiedad Escénica Musical o prevenirla; y, además, podrían facilitar el estado de Fluidez, un mayor disfrute durante la interpretación y potencialmente una mejor calidad interpretativa.
Se exponen las limitaciones y se señalan direcciones futuras de investigación.
1 EFRN, 2014: Red Europea de Investigadores de Fluidez (European Flow-Researchers’ Network)
2 Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1975). Beyond boredom and anxiety. Jossey-bass.
... Schüler et al. (2010) found that the feeling of competence resulted in higher flow of participants who had a high achievement motive in sports [see also Schüler and Brandstätter (2013)]. Furthermore, high achievement motive and high hope of success were positively correlated with flow experience of wall climbers' and students (Peterson and Miller, 2004;Schüler, 2007;Schattke, 2011;Schattke et al., 2014). ...
... Of relevance is the study by Baumann and Scheffer (2010) showing that achievement flow is supported by dynamic changes in positive affect, highlighting the role of reduced and restored positive affect. Some other findings show that flow predicts positive mood or positive affect (Eisenberger et al., 2005;Schüler, 2007;Collins et al., 2009;Fullagar and Kelloway, 2009;Baumann and Scheffer, 2010;Tobert and Moneta, 2013;Inkinen et al., 2014;Bachen et al., 2016;Ozkara et al., 2016). The reverse relationship also exists, with studies demonstrating that both positive and negative affect are significant predictors of flow experience (e.g., Collins et al., 2009;Kopačević et al., 2011;Hirao and Kobayashi, 2013;Tobert and Moneta, 2013). ...
... In terms of performance at school and/or cognitive performance in general, flow was found to be positively related to exam performance (Schüler, 2007), cognitive performance (Engeser and Rheinberg, 2008;Harris et al., 2017) and goal progress (Schüler et al., 2010). The achievement flow motive also predicts academic success (Busch et al., 2013). ...
Flow is a gratifying state of deep involvement and absorption that individuals report when facing a challenging activity and they perceive adequate abilities to cope with it ( EFRN, 2014 ). The flow concept was introduced by Csikszentmihalyi in 1975, and interest in flow research is growing. However, to our best knowledge, no scoping review exists that takes a systematic look at studies on flow which were published between the years 2000 and 2016. Overall, 252 studies have been included in this review. Our review (1) provides a framework to cluster flow research, (2) gives a systematic overview about existing studies and their findings, and (3) provides an overview about implications for future research. The provided framework consists of three levels of flow research. In the first “Individual” level are the categories for personality, motivation, physiology, emotion, cognition, and behavior. The second “Contextual” level contains the categories for contextual and interindividual factors and the third “Cultural” level contains cultural factors that relate to flow. Using our framework, we systematically present the findings for each category. While flow research has made progress in understanding flow, in the future, more experimental and longitudinal studies are needed to gain deeper insights into the causal structure of flow and its antecedents and consequences.
... More specifically, one facet of intrinsic motivation that could be affected by learners' achievement motives is the feeling of flow. The feeling of flow refers to the immersion and focused concentration experienced by learners during an activity (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975; for overviews see; Engeser, 2012;Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2009) and has been found to be linked to achievement motives (e.g., Engeser & Rheinberg, 2008;Schattke, Brandstätter, Tayler, & Kehr, 2014;Schüler, 2007) and performance (e.g., Schüler, 2007; for an overview see Landhäußer & Keller, 2012). Investigating the connection of intrinsic motivation (here: the feeling of flow) to both achievement motives and learning outcomes in quizzing could be a first step towards understanding how the appeal of quizzing helps influence learning outcomes and thus to create a more comprehensive picture of the underlying mechanisms of quizzing effects. 1 ...
... More specifically, one facet of intrinsic motivation that could be affected by learners' achievement motives is the feeling of flow. The feeling of flow refers to the immersion and focused concentration experienced by learners during an activity (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975; for overviews see; Engeser, 2012;Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2009) and has been found to be linked to achievement motives (e.g., Engeser & Rheinberg, 2008;Schattke, Brandstätter, Tayler, & Kehr, 2014;Schüler, 2007) and performance (e.g., Schüler, 2007; for an overview see Landhäußer & Keller, 2012). Investigating the connection of intrinsic motivation (here: the feeling of flow) to both achievement motives and learning outcomes in quizzing could be a first step towards understanding how the appeal of quizzing helps influence learning outcomes and thus to create a more comprehensive picture of the underlying mechanisms of quizzing effects. 1 ...
... However, achievement motives and the appeal of quizzing cannot in itself alter learning outcomes. The analyses that were conducted in order to gain insight into how achievement motives exert their influence on learning outcomes revealed a statistically significant correlation for hope of success with flow (cf., Engeser & Rheinberg, 2008;Schattke et al., 2014;Schüler, 2007). By contrast, quizzing performance and the number of quiz questions answered were not related to hope of success. ...
It is well established that quizzing fosters learning. However, some gaps in the literature relating to the fit of
quizzing to learner characteristics and learner perceptions during quizzing still need to be addressed. The present
study focuses on two of these aspects: achievement motives and perceptions of cognitive load. First, quizzing
entails that learners’ performance is judged against some standard of excellence. This might make it appealing
and effective for learners with high hope of success and low fear of failure in particular. Second, it is an open
question whether providing quiz questions that are adapted to learners’ perceived level of cognitive load during
quizzing would be beneficial. To address these questions, we randomly assigned learners to either non-adaptive
quizzing, adaptive quizzing, or note-taking. We found that quizzing benefits concerning learning outcomes were
moderated by hope of success. Furthermore, the adaptation via cognitive load ratings substantially increased the
quizzing effect.
... This assumption that Flow was associated with heightened performance was supported by the interviews Csíkszentmihályi and his colleagues conducted with athletes, chess players, etc. who regularly experienced Flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975). 1 Despite the clear rationale for assuming a strong link between Flow and performance, however, empirical investigations of the relationship have yielded results which, taken together, defy easy interpretation. Although a number of studies found a moderate or strong positive relationship (e.g. in the context of academic performance, computer games, or sports: Chen and Sun, 2016; Engeser and Rheinberg, 2008;Schüler, 2007;Sumaya and Darling, 2018;Jackson, Thomas, Marsh and Smethurst, 2001;Stavrou, Jackson, Zervas and Karteroliotis, 2007), other findings suggest that the relationship might not be so simple as 'Flow implies peak performance'. For example, some studies (e.g. ...
... Flow theory, supported by several empirical studies, suggests that Flow is directly linked to performance -with either Flow leading to good performance, or good performance leading to Flow (Engeser and Rheinberg, 2008;Schüler, 2007;Sumaya and Darling, 2018;Jackson et al., 2001;Stavrou et al., 2007). However, evidence also shows that the link between Flow and performance might be moderated (Garcia et al., 2019;Schüler and Brunner, 2009;Cowley et al., 2019). ...
... We have shown that despite some previous evidence linking Flow and performance (e.g. Engeser and Rheinberg, 2008;Schüler, 2007;Sumaya and Darling, 2018;Jackson et al., 2001;Stavrou et al., 2007), self-reported Flow in our study was linked not to absolute performance level, but to better than expected performance, and this link was moderated by task experience. ...
Flow is an intrinsically motivating (i.e. ‘autotelic’) psychological state of complete absorption in moment-to-moment activity that can occur when one performs a task whose demands match one's skill-level. Flow theory proposes that Flow causally leads to better performance, but empirical evidence for this assumption is mixed. Recent evidence suggests that self-reported Flow may not be linked to performance-levels per se, but instead to deviations from anticipated performance (the so-called flow deviation, or F˜deffect). We aimed to replicate and extend these results by employing a high-speed steering game (CogCarSim) to elicit Flow, and specifically focused on the moderating effects of learning and task experience on the F˜deffect. In a longitudinal design, 18 participants each played CogCarSim for 40 trials across eight sessions, totaling 720 measurements across participants. CogCarSim reliably elicited Flow, and learning to play the game fit well to a power-law model. We successfully replicated the F˜deffect: self-reported Flow was much more strongly associated with deviation-from-expected performance than with objective performance levels. We also found that the F˜deffect grew stronger with increasing task experience, thus demonstrating an effect of learning on Flow. We discuss the implications of our findings for contemporary theories of Flow.
... Flow is related to improved performance (Engeser & Rheinberg, 2008;Erhel & Jamet, 2019;Schüler, 2007), increased creativity (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997), and higher well-being (Clarke & Haworth, 1994;Csikszentmihalyi & LeFevre, 1989;Ilies et al., 2017;Massimini & Carli, 1988;Schüler, 2007;Shernoff, Csikszentmihalyi, Schneider, & Shernoff, 2003). These positive consequences raise the question of what conditions need to be met so that people will get involved in an activity for the sheer sake of doing it. ...
... Flow is related to improved performance (Engeser & Rheinberg, 2008;Erhel & Jamet, 2019;Schüler, 2007), increased creativity (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997), and higher well-being (Clarke & Haworth, 1994;Csikszentmihalyi & LeFevre, 1989;Ilies et al., 2017;Massimini & Carli, 1988;Schüler, 2007;Shernoff, Csikszentmihalyi, Schneider, & Shernoff, 2003). These positive consequences raise the question of what conditions need to be met so that people will get involved in an activity for the sheer sake of doing it. ...
... Keller and Blomann (2008) added that people with a strong internal locus of control (i.e., the belief that outcomes depend on the work and effort a person puts into a task; Rotter, 1966) were more likely to enter the flow state as compared to people with a weak internal locus of control. Other researchers focused on the implicit achievement motive ─ the desire to surpass personal standards of excellence (McClelland, Atkinson, Clark, & Lowell, 1953) ─ and demonstrated that it moderates the relation between demand-skill balance and flow (Baumann & Scheffer, 2010, 2011Engeser & Rheinberg, 2008;Schattke, Brandstätter, Taylor, & Kehr, 2015;Schüler, 2007). ...
One of the prominent questions in flow research is the investigation of conditions that need to be met so that people will get involved in an activity for the sheer sake of doing it. The present study examined the relationship between distal (i.e., implicit motives) and proximal (i.e., affective preferences, cognitive preferences, perceived abilities) motivational processes and flow experience based on assumptions of the compensatory model of motivation and volition. In order to arouse the implicit agentic motive, 63 participants worked on an online platform in an open innovation environment. Results showed that affective preferences mediated the effect of the implicit agentic motive on flow experience. Moreover, a hierarchical regression analysis with simple slope tests yielded that, at the proximal level, the congruence of affective preferences, cognitive preferences, and perceived abilities was associated with flow experience. The present research adds some new and essential ingredients to Csikszentmihalyis' traditional conception of flow.
... In motivational terms, conscientiousness has a strong overlap with the explicit achievement motive whereas low neuroticism indicates that, across motives, goal striving is not regulated by fear (Engeser & Langens, 2010). Other findings further support the assumption that flow experiences are systematically related to the achievement motive (Eisenberger, Jones, Stinglhamber, Shanock, & Randall, 2005;Engeser & Rheinberg, 2008;Schüler, 2007) and selfregulatory competencies (Baumann, Lürig, & Engeser, 2016;Keller & Bless, 2008;Keller & Blomann, 2008). I will elaborate on both traits below. ...
... According to Atkinsons's (1957) risk-taking model, only individuals high in hope for success prefer medium task difficulty (balance) whereas individuals high in fear of failure try to avoid such balanced situations. The moderating role of the achievement motive has been empirically supported by findings from Eisenberger et al. (2005), Engeser and Rheinberg (2008) as well as Schüler (2007): Individuals high in hope for success and low in fear of failure do not only experience more flow, they especially experience more flow when they perceive a challenge-skill balance (medium task difficulty). ...
... The absence of negative affect (relaxation) may be an additional and necessary prerequisite for them in order to experience flow. This assumption is consistent with the findings by Engeser and Rheinberg (2008) and Schüler (2007) that individuals high in fear of failure are able to experience flow-albeit to a lower degree-when tasks are very easy or very difficult. Both task conditions reduce fear of failure because success is guaranteed (easy tasks) or failure not a shame (difficult tasks). ...
This chapter reviews the search for more stable causes of flow experiences such as “flow personality” or “autotelic personality”. Although flow research is primarily concerned with flow as a motivational state, Csikszentmihalyi has introduced the concept of an autotelic personality, that is, a disposition to actively seek challenges and flow experiences. This chapter starts with an overview of Csikszentmihalyi’s conceptual ideas and phenomenological descriptions of autotelic personalities. Unfortunately, the rich concept was not complemented by an adequate operationalization. The chapter continues with a review of personality dispositions which can be conceived of as boundary conditions for flow experience. They reflect differences either in the need (achievement motive) or in the ability (self-regulation) to experience flow. The concept of an autotelic personality should encompass both aspects simultaneously. Next, the achievement flow motive (nAchFlow) is introduced which integrates need and ability aspects. As such, I propose nAchFlow as a way to operationalize an autotelic personality. The chapter offers a functional analysis of flow in achievement contexts within the framework of Personality Systems Interactions (PSI) theory. Finally, the chapter elaborates on flow in social contexts and gives an outlook for future directions.
... Flow is not commonly addressed in education [55,56] although a few researchers are studying it in the classroom {Raettig, 2018 #112} [57,58]. This is unfortunate because newer research indicates that a state of flow is associated with academic success [56,[59][60][61][62][63][64][65]. Furthermore, a state of flow enhances students' perceptions of learning, skill development, and satisfaction [50] and helps them persevere [66] The most important aspect of flow that affects learning outcomes is the intrinsic reward inherent in flow-the activity itself is rewarding [50]. ...
... We have already built that in by providing flow. Positive emotions appear to be a consequence of the flow state [60,64,187] and are related to enjoyment [14,62,70,221]. In a series of three experiments, Walker concluded that social flow is more enjoyable than solitary flow [70]. Creating flow within group learning activities raises enjoyment, leading perhaps to more teacher enjoyment and a joyful connection between the two in the classroom. ...
This paper proposes a new perspective on implementing neuroeducation in the classroom. The pandemic exacerbated the mental health issues of faculty and students, creating a mental health crisis that impairs learning. It is important to get our students back in “the zone”, both cognitively and emotionally, by creating an ideal learning environment for capturing our students and keeping them—the Synergy Zone. Research that examines the classroom environment often focuses on the foreground—instructors’ organizational and instructional aspects and content. However, the emotional climate of the classroom affects student well-being. This emotional climate would ideally exhibit the brain states of engagement, attention, connection, and enjoyment by addressing the mind, brain, and heart. This ideal learning environment would be achieved by combining proposed practices derived from three areas of research: flow theory, brain synchronization, and positive emotion with heart engagement. Each of these enhances the desired brain states in a way that the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts. I call this the Synergy Zone. A limitation of this proposed model is that implementation of some aspects may be challenging, and professional development resources might be needed. This essay presenting this perspective provides the relevant scientific research and the educational implications of implementation.
... One reason for this interest is undoubtedly the large number of positive outcomes associated with Flow, including heightened creativity (e.g. 4 ), enhanced learning (e.g. 5 ), and peak performance in sports (e.g. 6 ). Furthermore, because Flow typically occurs when an individual engages in an activity which stretches his or her existing capacities, the intrinsically rewarding (i.e. ...
... "After about 1. 5 "Now we would like you to repeat the previous exercise, but this time we ask you to recall a situation that has been particularly dull, perhaps difficult and boring, and felt like it lasted forever (a situation where you definitely did not experience a 'Flow' state). It can be, for example, a particularly unexciting day at a summer job at an assembly line, or a dragging and tiresome cleaning day, or a mechanical and repetitive task, but one that is challenging enough to keep you from focusing even on your own thoughts. ...
Flow is a well-known construct describing the experience of deep absorption in a task, typically demanding but intrinsically motivating, and conducted with high skill. Flow is operationalized by self-report, and various instruments have been developed for this, but none have been made available in the Finnish language in thoroughly validated form. We present a psychometric scale-validation study for the Finnish translation of the Flow Short Scale (FSS). We collected data from 201 Finnish speaking participants using the Prolific Academic platform. We assessed the scale’s factorial structure using Mokken scale analysis, Parallel Analysis, Very Simple Structures analysis and a standard Confirmatory Factor Analysis. We then evaluated how correlated was the FSS with the Flow State Scale and Flow Core Scale. Finally, we evaluated how well the FSS distinguished Flow-inducing experiences from boring (non-Flow-inducing) experiences. Taken together, our results show that an 8-item, two-factor version of the scale was a justified instrument with good psychometric properties.
... Above all, players must sense that the challenges in the game match their abilities as well as a level of control to avoid them from opting-out (Kiili 2005). A player absorbed in a state of flow will learn more from the game, explore further, display a more positive attitude toward the subject and feel more in control (Kiili 2005;Schüler 2007;Skadberg and Kimmel 2004). Csikszentmihalyi's flow channel shows the relation between challenges and player skills in order to create an optimum experience in goal-driven activities (Schüler 2007) ...
... A player absorbed in a state of flow will learn more from the game, explore further, display a more positive attitude toward the subject and feel more in control (Kiili 2005;Schüler 2007;Skadberg and Kimmel 2004). Csikszentmihalyi's flow channel shows the relation between challenges and player skills in order to create an optimum experience in goal-driven activities (Schüler 2007) ...
Addresses the motivation and enablers for digital health innovations
Contextualizes the application, technical considerations, as well as socio-psycho-economical ones influencing many digital health technologies’ acceptance and widespread use
Presents a comprehensive state-of the-art approach to digital health technologies and practices
... During flow state, people are so involved in current activity at hand that nothing else seems to matter; "the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it" (Csikszentmihalyi and Csikzentmihaly 1990). Flow is a highly functional state and commonly make contribution to the enhancement of performance in various activities (Schüler 2007;Hwang et al. 2012;Schüler and Brunner 2009), thus it is known as the optimal experience. ...
... Indeed, lots of papers have reported that flow leads to improved learning outcomes (Skadberg and Kimmel 2004), enhanced motivation (Hwang et al. 2012), increased exploratory behavior (Webster et al. 1993), and perceived behavioral control (Kiili 2005). For example, Schüler found a positive relation between flow and final grades in a typical learning situation (psychology course) (Schüler 2007). Similar results were also found by Engeser and Rheinberg (2008). ...
In virtual experiential learning environment (VELE), distraction can reduce learners’ flow experience, learning performance, and the link between them, which are important aspects for high-quality learning. Based on the weak association model (WAM), we proposed two potential guidelines to deal with distraction and then improve these aspects. Guideline1 is directly decreasing the amount of attractive but task-irrelevant distractors in VELE. Guideline2 is enhancing the congruence between distractors and primary task by guiding attention from task-irrelevant distractors to task-relevant elements. To explore the effect of the guidelines, this paper develops a prototype VR experiential learning system, based on which two experiments were performed. Experiment 1 and experiment 2, respectively, conducted a comparative experiment to test the effect of guideline 1 and guideline 2 on flow, performance, and flow-performance link. Results show that both guidelines helped enhance the learning performance without any damage on flow experience and alleviated the weak flow-performance link. The two guidelines provide easy ways to guide task-relevant attention to optimize VELE.
... Applying these findings to flow research, the balance of challenge and skills would be expected to be a motive-specific incentive for the achievement motive. Indeed, the achievement motive was found to moderate the relationship between challenge-skill balance and flow experience (Engeser & Rheinberg, 2008;Schüler, 2007). The challenge-skill balance predicted flow only for individuals high in the achievement motive but not for individuals low in achievement motive. ...
... First of all, the assumed connections between implicit motives and flow need to be confirmed empirically. First studies showed the proposed relationship between the implicit achievement motive (Engeser & Rheinberg, 2008;Schüler, 2007), implicit and explicit achievement motive congruence (Schattke, Brandstätter, Taylor, & Kehr, 2015), as well as power motive congruence (Schiepe-Tiska, 2013) and flow experience. Even a relationship between the explicit affiliation motive and flow experience has been pointed out (Wong & Csikszentmihalyi, 1991). ...
Flow research began with the study of activities, which often occurred in achievement situations. To this day, most flow research still deals with achievement in the areas of sports, academia, and work where the balance of challenge and skill is important to foster flow. This chapter extends traditional flow theory by introducing the concept of implicit and explicit motives as personal needs that explain how individuals can experience flow not only in achievement situations but also in social situations like affiliative or power situations. We propose that flow emerges from the interaction of motive-specific incentives in a situation, such as challenge and skill balance, and a person’s motives. These motives are conducive to structuring situations, which in turn foster flow. In this context, we also present studies dealing with flow in groups. We end this chapter by revealing some perspectives on future research on flow in nonachievement situations.
... We first take a look at correlational findings examining the proposed relationship between flow and positive affect. As expected, authors measuring the flow experience itself found positive relationships with positive affect (Fullagar & Kelloway, 2009;Rheinberg, Manig, Kliegl, Engeser, & Vollmeyer, 2007), even when former affect was controlled for (Schüler, 2007). Further, Engeser and Baumann (2016) reported flow to be positively related to valence and positive activation. ...
... In the academic context correlational studies indeed found significant associations between flow experiences and performance. Schüler (2007) for example conducted a study with students of a psychology course and found a positive relation between flow experiences in a typical learning situation and final grades. However, as former performance was not measured, one cannot draw conclusions about the direction of the relationship. ...
In this chapter, we analyze flow with respect to three aspects. First, we examine the basis for flow experiences to emerge. We focus our discussion on the situational antecedents of flow and emphasize the fact that the emergence of flow is basically dependent on a perceived fit of skills and task demands. Thereby we critically discuss the “above average” perspective and the related quadrant and octant models of flow highlighting the fact that the “above average” notion is based on problematic assumptions. Further, we discuss the concept of flow intensity and propose a revised flow model, which builds on the original notion of perceived fit of skills and task demands and includes the value attributed to the relevant activity as additional crucial factor. Second, we address boundary conditions of the flow experience, emphasizing the role of both personality and situational factors that qualify the relation between a perceived skills-demands fit and flow. Third, we critically review the available evidence on affective, cognitive and performance-related consequences resulting from flow or a compatibility of skills and demands. In addition, we highlight obstacles in the research exploring these consequences of flow and discuss first starting points to circumvent these.
... Studies in learning context indeed have found significant associations between flow and performance. Schüler [37], for example, conducted a study and found a positive relation between flow experience and final grades in a typical learning situation (psychology course). Engeser and Rheinberg [14,15] conducted two studies where a positive relationship between flow and final grades was also revealed. ...
... The scale includes 10 items (e.g., "My thoughts/activities run fluidly and smoothly") which need to be assessed on a seven-point Likert scale from"1" (strongly disagree) to "7" (strongly agree). The scale was designed to assess flow experience in general activities, and it has been proved to be a reliable measuring instrument [5,37,38]. The reliability of the scale is good in this study (alpha =0.874). ...
... They do not expect the people who avoid failure to experience flow. The research made with junior university students in Switzerland was related to that point (Schüler, 2007). The study was carried out two stages. ...
... On the other hand, the participants who did not experience flow mentioned the academic tasks were very hard or too easy to do. The studies support the findings (Csikszentmihalyi & Csikszentmihalyi, 1988;Delle Fave & Massimini, 1988;Privette ve Brundrick, 1991;Basom & Frase, 2004;Moneta, 2004;Schüler, 2007;Csikszentmihalyi, 2009Csikszentmihalyi, , 2014aCsikszentmihalyi, , 2014bNakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2009;Seifeddine, 2014;Ermiş, 2013). ...
Flow is a subjective experience that is a state of being totally involved, absorbed by activity and focused while enjoying doing the activity for its own sake. Researchers found out flow experience is effective in learning and teaching process. Therefore, the purpose of the research was to investigate the flow status of prospective mathematics teachers at major courses in university and whether their flow status is changed from high school to university, or not. It is also determined the factors affecting their flow experiences. The design of the longitudinal research conducted with 36 participants is a mixed study including descriptive study and multiple case study. Data collection tools are the form for the degree of difficulty of YGS 2017 questions in order to get information students’ flow experience in high school, Flow Short Scale developed by Rheinberg, Vollmeyer, and Engeser (2003) and semi-structured interviews are used. Results show a few numbers of student teachers experience flow; the majority feel at ease. Moreover, instructor factor, academic effort, goal orientation, and preparedness have impacts on student teachers’ flow status.
... Therefore, mindfulness cannot be an output of the flow process. Some literature suggests there is a positive relationship between flow and performance, especially in learning settings (e.g., Engeser et al., 2005;Schüler, 2007;Schiefele & Rheinberg, 1997, as cited in Schüler & Brunner, 2009), artistically and scientifically creative activities (e.g., Perry, 1999;Sawyer, 1992, as cited in Schüler & Brunner, 2009). Engeser and Rheinberg (2008) found that flow predicted academic performance in two out of their three studies (learning for an obligatory course in statistics and learning in a voluntary French class). ...
... A body of evidence in flow research suggests inconsistent results concerning the relationship between flow and performance. For example, some literature suggests there is a positive relationship between flow and performance, especially in learning settings (e.g., Engeser et al., 2005;Schüler, 2007;Schiefele & Rheinberg, 1997, as cited in Schüler & Brunner, 2009), artistic and scientific creativity (e.g., Perry, 1999;Sawyer, 1992, as cited in Schüler & Brunner, 2009). However, we may also mention that these potential interrelations between flow and performance are not always supported empirically: divergent results were reported in the domains of sport (Bakker et al., 2011;Jackson et al., 2001), music (Iusca, 2015), and work setting (Demerouti, 2006). ...
With the increasing pressure to innovate, companies are led to find solutions how to increase the creativity of the teams working on innovation projects in a sustainable way. Research has shown that the flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975-2000), the optimal psychological experience of hyperfocused human functioning has benefits on subjective eudaemonic well-being as well as objective performance. However, the topic is poorly explored when it comes to flow experience in social settings. Therefore we decided to address the concept of collective flow. Funded by a French company SBT Human(s) Matter, this research project has also an applicative goal of gathering more knowledge about flow and team creativity in order to improve sustainable well-being and reach optimal collaboration for SBT's clients. We define collective flow as a state manifesting when a group acts as a whole. The members of the group are absorbed in the common activity, are coordinating efficiently and feel good together. Subsequently, we have built a sociocognitive model that conceptualizes collective flow as a process mainly relying on motivational and social identification processes, and triggered by specific preconditions such as team members' empathy, collective ambition and shared group identity. Six laboratory studies and few field tests allowed us to test our theoretical model and therefore test our hypotheses. The research was mainly conducted with French engineering students working on innovation projects. Results of the first study show that average level of Theory of Mind of group members does not predict neither the collective flow nor the creative output of the groups. This challenges previous findings related to collective intelligence of teams. However, analyses indicate that collective flow can be predicted by intrinsic motivation and social identification relative to group membership. Moreover, we have found that creativity of groups is predicted by individual flow experience. Results of the second, experimental study, which manipulated the level of action identification (high versus low) showed that high level action identification boosts social identification, intrinsic motivation, and flow of individual group members. Also, mediation analysis indicates that the effect of action identification on flow experience is mediated by social identification and intrinsic motivation. Third, experimental study testing the impact of social identity showed that, contrary to our expectations, the salience of social identity cues (wearing special T-shirts) neither impacts collective flow nor the creative output of the teams. Just like in the first study we found that intrinsic motivation and social identification are significant predictors of both individual and collective flow. However, collective flow did not seem to be predicted by the individual flow of group members. Finally, the fourth experimental study exploring flow experience in a Computer-Mediated Communication setting, relying on Social Identity model of Deindividuation Effects, tested online group creativity in anonymous, identified, synchronous and asynchronous virtual environment. Our results show that asynchronous mode of collaboration is not a flow-killer and that synchronous mode is not a flow booster. This means that individuals engaged in a collective task can indeed experience flow even when working remotely and asynchronously. Consistent in all four studies, our results show that flow in group settings is predicted by intrinsic motivation and social identification. Collective team ambition is also likely to considerably increase the experience of flow in team context. Lastly, our results concerning the impact of collective flow on creativity are less clear, indicating that in some cases the experience of individual flow boosts the creativity. However, this might be more complex and therefore provides a good reason to seek further refinement and better understanding.
... This decreased flow, for those higher but not lower in emotional stability, should, in turn, be negatively associated with performance as decreased flow signals that what one is working on no longer feels instinctive or automatic (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Indeed, because flow reflects a harmonious experience with one's work, a number of studies point to a positive relationship between flow and performance (Engeser & Rheinberg, 2008;Jackson et al., 2001;Schüler, 2007). ...
... In the task sphere there are several flow promoting factors the founders experienced that are described by Csikszentmihalyi as being among the main elements present when experiencing flow, for example perceived control and the challenge-skill balance [38]. Also, tasks with clear goals [39] as well as learning situations [40] as mentioned by the founders are described as typical flow contexts. In addition, the founders name factors such as autonomy, feedback, variety and meaningfulness as promoting factors that can be assigned to the task sphere. ...
Flow experience is a state of complete absorption while performing an optimally challenging and enjoyable task. It is often experienced at work—both in the form of individual and team flow—and can have a positive effect on performance and well-being. However, start-up founders’ work situation differs from that in established companies, facing not only great autonomy but also new challenges, uncertainty, and risks. It can be assumed that flow also provides benefits in start-ups, however, this has not yet been examined in depth and the factors that may operate differently in start-ups in comparison to other work contexts have not yet been explored in detail. Using a qualitative research approach, 21 founders from different industries were interviewed. Enhancing and inhibiting factors of flow and team flow as well as consequences for the founders and the start-up in general were examined and structured with the help of a qualitative content analysis. A variety of contexts was identified in which founders experienced flow and team flow. Various factors on the individual, task-related and organizational sphere were found to be perceived as promoting or hindering flow and team flow, e.g. well-being, autonomy or the environment. The findings regarding the consequences of flow and team flow show that these mainly are very desirable states for founders, e.g. leading to better results, progress or team processes. Only few negative consequences were identified, e.g. perfectionism. Thus, it is helpful to foster flow in the start-up context. Possible approaches derived from the participants’ statements to this could be, for example, to design flow-promoting environments or participation in specific workshops.
... Csikszentmihalyi et al. (1993), for example, found that high school students reporting frequent flow experiences were more likely to develop skills and enhanced performance in activities related to art, music, athletics, math, and science. Schüler (2007) observed significant positive correlations between students' classroom flow experiences and final exam grades in an undergraduate psychology course. Concerning language learning, Engeser et al. (2005) found positive correlations between flow experiences occurring during a French L2 class and results on a final exam, and Amini et al. (2016) between flow experiences and gains in vocabulary knowledge. ...
Flow is an intrinsic motivational state associated with full task engagement, positive affect, and enhanced performance. While research has examined how different language tasks interact with flow experiences, no study has examined learner flow experiences in a wide range of tasks using an experience sampling method to determine how universal basic task features (e.g., modality, participant structure, information distribution, and targeted skills) interact with flow. The present study aims to respond to this gap in the research. Participants were 13 teachers and 327 students from 18 intact French L2 classes in a Canadian postsecondary school. Teachers selected and implemented an average of six tasks from their personal repertoires at random moments throughout the semester. Immediately following each task, learners anonymously completed a flow experience questionnaire ( N = 1408; α = 0.91), and teachers a task description questionnaire containing 17 basic task features ( N = 81). Statistical analyses show that 10 of the 17 variables significantly interacted with learners’ flow experiences. The results not only validate a frequently used flow measurement and establish norms for future research but also outline a framework language teachers can use to evaluate and modify practices to improve learners’ subjective classroom experience.
... Within this setting, the students experience positive emotions, which has shown to be, among others, positively related to academic achievement [32] and contributed to students' positive teaching experiences [33]. Additionally, negative emotions, such as fear of failure, are reduced, which has been shown to be a predictor for academic performance as well [34]. The trainers know how to provide the right setting for the students, with having high expectations for a positive outcome being one of them [35]. ...
Persistent stress and insufficient coping strategies have negative consequences for physical and mental health. Teaching adults the skills needed to sustainably improve stress-buffering aspects of their character could contribute to the prevention of stress-related diseases. In this non-randomised, observational, prospective cohort study, participants of a training programme for developing social and personal skills, to which they previously self-assigned, are assessed. The 12-month training programme focuses on improving perceived stress level (primary outcome), health behaviour, presence of common somatic symptoms, satisfaction with life, quality of social relationships, and wellbeing by addressing life goals, meaning in life, sense of coherence, social and personal resources, and transcendence. Study participants are recruited from the training groups via the training organiser. Companions, persons with whom they share a close relationship, are recruited to assess the interpersonal diffusion effects of the training. Matched individuals not participating in the training are the control group. Parameter assessment follows a pre-, post-, and follow-up (6 months) design. Designed to improve health-related outcomes in adults by addressing personality characteristics and using Lozanov’s superlearning principles to improve learning efficiency, this training programme is, to the study team’s knowledge, the first of its kind. From a research perspective, the outcomes of this study can provide new insights into primary prevention of stress-related diseases and how the effects of these measures are passed on through common personal interaction. The trial has been pre-registered (registration number: NCT04165473).
... Flow is positively related to focused attention, losing track of time, being in control, becoming less self-conscious, enjoying what one is doing, and performance [71]. Specifically, in relation to learning aims, flow was found to be positively related to exam performance [72], goal progress [73], and academic success [74][75][76]. It is a form of psychological well-being that is desirable in academic learning contexts [77]. ...
The perceived quality of the learning environment may influence both motivation and concentration. Little is known about how perceived characteristics of the learning environment, and specifically sub-dimensions of Perceived Restorativeness (being away, fascination, compatibility, and extent), can promote these positive effects in an academic context. We addressed, through a correlational study, the possibility that the characteristics of learning environments may promote concentration and involvement in activity (i.e., flow) via intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for academic study within the job demands–resources model. A total of 165 Italian university psychology classes in a 3-year degree course from two different universities context completed an online questionnaire made up of the construct considered in this study. Results in the hierarchical multivariate regression analyses confirm that the restorative quality of learning environments (i.e., being away, compatibility, extent) is positively correlated with flow. However, there is a non-significant relationship between extent and flow. Regression analyses show a significant indirect effect of compatibility, both through intrinsic and extrinsic student motivation. Furthermore, the results confirm a significant indirect effect of extent through intrinsic motivation and being away, and fascination through Extrinsic motivation. Furthermore, intrinsic motivation is a full mediator between the extent and flow relationship. The results underline the importance of considering the restorative quality of the environment for improving place design, concentration, and student learning motivation.
... For instance, a conceptual analysis found 24 distinct operationalized constructs of flow in a total of 42 articles (Abuhamdeh, 2020). It is very clear that there is a large number of flow scales and definitions (i.e., Ghani and Deshpande, 1994;Rheinberg et al., 2003;Pearce et al., 2005;Kiili, 2006;Schüler, 2007;Hung et al., 2015). Some constructs that differ from the DFS-2 and FSS-2 dimensions include: absorption by activity, feelings of frustration, and enjoyability. ...
... Merikivi et al. (2017) conclude that difficulty is effective in their studies in which they research what makes playing mobile games enjoyable all the time. Difficulty positively affects the perceived pleasure in the game process (Schüler, 2007). Users who are motivated by challenge desire to continue playing games to move to the "next level" or increase their success in the game (Giammarco et al., 2015). ...
The purpose of this study is to investigate Turkish esports players’ motivations for intention to play esports games. The factors influencing esports players' intention to play esports games were tested with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). An online survey was conducted with 502 esports players to test the research model. The results indicate that fantasy, competition, and challenge statistically affect intention to play esports games. In addition, it was determined that social interaction and diversion did not have a statistically significant effect on the intention to play esports games. Challenge, competition, and fantasy motivations explain 65.5% of the variance in intention to play esports games. In particular, it has been determined that challenge motivation has a large effect on the intention to play. Examining the gaming motivations of Turkish esports players, who represent a different culture, differentiates the study from its counterparts. This study makes new theoretical and practical contributions by showing that fantasy, competition, and challenge play important roles to predict on intention to play esports games.
... Several studies have also reported positive relationships between flow and examination performance. Schüler (2007) conducted two studies to examine the experience of flow among 452 Swiss students in university settings and found that flow significantly predicted participants' levels of general affect and their examination performances. Similarly, studies by Engeser and Rheinberg (2008) found that German university students' self-report levels of flow predicted their final examination marks in a statistics and French course. ...
The purpose of this study was to determine the predictors of individual and collective flow experienced by Secondary school students while they engaged in band. More specifically, it aimed to test Sawyer’s (2006) theorisation that collective flow predicts individual flow, and also to ascertain if grit directly predicts flow in instrumental contexts (Miksza & Tan, 2015).
Participants were 83 band students from two Secondary school bands in Singapore. Data were collected using two questionnaires that measured participants’ self-report levels of individual and collective flow while rehearsing, achievement goals towards band, grit while practising, commitment to band, and expectancy-value towards band. The main data analyses included: (1) descriptive statistics of all constructs (Research Question One); (2) between-subject t-test and one-way ANOVA to identify whether any constructs differed by gender or instrumental families (Research Question One); (3) correlational and regression analyses (Research Question Two); and (4) mediation analyses (Research Question Three).
Findings indicated a reciprocal relationship between individual and collective flow: individual flow predicted collective flow and vice versa. Among the myriad psychological constructs, value emerged strongly in the data—it was not only positively associated with commitment, mastery-approach goals, individual and collective flow, but was also the strongest predictor of collective flow. Finally, the effect of grit on individual flow was found to be indirect and mediated by expectancy and value. Based on the findings, implications for theory and practice were proffered.
... In relation to task values, Shin et al. (2019) point to the beneficial effects of curiosity and situational interest for student learning emphasising the relevance of the teaching characteristic (5) arousing interest. Findings linking flow experience to student achievement (Engeser & Rheinberg, 2008;Schueler, 2007) highlight the importance of (6) promoting joy. Furthermore, in a recent meta-analysis, Camacho-Morles et al. (2021) report a positive relationship of task-related enjoyment and students' learning outcomes. ...
Feedback from school leaders often is of low quality and not always
effective. Because school leaders spend only limited time on
instructional leadership activities, an intervention was developed
to assist them in efficiently providing high-quality feedback to
teachers. The effectiveness of the intervention was evaluated
within a quasi-experimental study. N = 11 school leaders were
trained in conducting classroom observations and providing
feedback. School leaders observed teachers of the intervention
group (N = 26) and provided feedback with regard to 14 teaching
characteristics. N = 27 teachers served as a control group. It is
examined whether the intervention leads to improvements in
teaching quality perceived by students. Multilevel regression
analyses were conducted. For three of the 14 teaching
characteristics, intervention group students (N = 518) rated
changes in teaching quality significantly better than control
group students (N = 551). The results provide first evidence for
the effectiveness of the intervention.
... In the early 2000s, Konradt, Filip and Hoffmann (2003) found that flow leads to learning in computer-mediated contexts. Many studies later on also found that flow is predictive of learning in various contexts: in business education (Guo et al., 2007); on perceived learning during hospital internship (Wang and Chen, 2015); in an online information management course (Rossin, Ro, Klein and Guo, 2009); on perceived learning and satisfaction in a classroom setting (Buil, Catalán, & Martínez, 2019); on comprehension and memorization with an educational computer game (Erhel & Jamet, 2019); on achievement in a serious game (Brom et al., 2014); in a digital educational problem-solving-based adventure game (Hou and Li, 2014); in tablet-PC game-based learning (Hung, Sun and Yu, 2015); on performance in elementary students' game-based learning (Hsieh, Lin and Hou, 2016); on exam performance of undergraduate students (Schüler, 2007); on achievement in a corporate e-learning context (Joo, Lim and Kim, 2012) and on achievement of college students with a digital game-based tool (Chang, Warden, Liang, & Lin, 2018). ...
We focus on the predictors of persistence and achievement in online learning by studying the students’ learning intentions and their psychological states during learning activities. Flow/autotelic experience is a powerful predictor of engagement in MOOCs and online learning in general and relates to the deep involvement and sense of absorption during learning activities. Both theory and empirical evidence propose that predictors of flow in an educational setting include the need for belonging to a group of learners. Using path analyses and structural equation modeling, we verify the causal links between social intentions, autotelic experience and MOOC learning outcomes such as final grade and dropout. Using the Online Learning Enrollment Intentions (OLEI) scale, we find that in total six OLEI items predict MOOC success and dropout, with flow as a mediating effect. In two models, we verify “Autotelic experience” as a mediator between enrollment intentions and MOOC final grade and dropout. Our results highlight socially driven intentions as major factors to be considered in online learning environments. We draw theoretical and practical implications for MOOC design, considering explicit communication about the provided learning environment and tools towards a socially shared learning experience.
... P eak human performance emerges during the experience of flow-the subjective state of being immersed in one's current task [1][2][3] . Flow enhances learning and academic achievement [4][5][6] , boosts productivity, fosters artistic talent 7 , and improves objective measures of athletic skill 8,9 . Flow also promotes subjective well-being 7,10 ; positive affect has been found to increase with the amount of flow experienced during the workday 11 , and the absence of flow has been linked to depression 2 . ...
Flow is a subjective state characterized by immersion and engagement in one’s current activity. The benefits of flow for productivity and health are well-documented, but a rigorous description of the flow-generating process remains elusive. Here we develop and empirically test a theory of flow’s computational substrates: the informational theory of flow. Our theory draws on the concept of mutual information, a fundamental quantity in information theory that quantifies the strength of association between two variables. We propose that the mutual information between desired end states and means of attaining them — I(M;E) — gives rise to flow. We support our theory across five experiments (four preregistered) by showing, across multiple activities, that increasing I(M;E) increases flow and has important downstream benefits, including enhanced attention and enjoyment. We rule out alternative constructs including alternative metrics of associative strength, psychological constructs previously shown to predict flow, and various forms of instrumental value. Flow is a desired but elusive state characterized by the subjective experience of immersion and engagement in an activity. Here, the authors develop and empirically validate a formal model that specifies variables and computations involved in the subjective experience of flow.
... Current motivation. Learners' current motivation was measured during each learning cycle's follow-up learning phase at ten-minute intervals using the items "How much do you want to keep on working on this task?" and "How much do you enjoy working on this task?", which were rated on a nine-point Likert scale ranging from not at all (1) to to a great extent (9). A mean score across these items, computed for every point of measurement (i.e., 12 points of measurement in total), resulted in scores for current motivation with a theoretical minimum of 1 and a theoretical maximum of 9 (Cronbach's a = 0.83 -0.97 on all points of measurement). ...
... The academic literature gradually moves away from a paradigm of homeostatic equilibrium toward a view of flow experience as a complex dynamic process that interacts with individual differences (Dörnyei and Ryan, 2015), intrinsic motivation (Nakamura and Csíkszentmihályi, 2002), and peak performance (Csíkszentmihályi, 1975(Csíkszentmihályi, , 1990Csíkszentmihályi and Rathunde, 1993). Moreover, those who experience flow are more likely to be focused and enjoy themselves in their work (Csíkszentmihályi and LeFevre, 1989), art and science (Csíkszentmihályi, 1996), and academic learning (Perry, 1999;Schüler, 2007). Now that the provoking mechanism of flow is complex and dynamic, researchers have vigorously investigated the antecedents for flow experiences, flow characteristics, and its consequences (Nakamura and Csíkszentmihályi, 2002), contributing to an extensive repertoire of flow-related variables. ...
The ‘dynamic turn’ in the field of second language acquisition catalyzed scholarly devotion to the complex dynamic relationships between learner and teacher variables and various academic emotions. As such, the present study examined the varying effects of the aforementioned variables on the constructs of positive and negative flow, and determined their strongest predictors, respectively. This study used a mixed-method approach to collect data from 607 Chinese English-as-a-Foreign-Language learners. In stage one of the research, the researcher first assessed the participants’ levels of positive flow and negative flow in a blended learning context, then performed Pearson correlation analysis to confirm a significant, but weak positive relationship between positive flow and negative flow. Then, significant difference tests were run to determine the varied effects of those variables on flow. Finally, two multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify five predictors of positive flow, with the biggest contribution coming from learners’ attitudes toward foreign languages, and three predictors of negative flow, with the learners’ major accounting for the majority of variance. In the second stage of the research, a qualitative corpus was constructed, based on accounts of classroom experiences from 71 participants of the total sample, and further illustrated the quantitative findings. Pedagogical implications for educational psychologists and teachers of second and/or foreign languages are addressed.
... Flow, one of the founding fields of positive psychology (Gilman et al., 2009;Czimmermann and Piniel, 2016;MacIntyre et al., 2016), is generally recognized as an optimal emotional state where people are fully engaged with whatever they are doing at the time, and their deep involvement leads to better performance (Csíkszentmihályi, 1975(Csíkszentmihályi, , 1990Csíkszentmihályi and Rathunde, 1993) both at work (Csíkszentmihályi and LeFevre, 1989) and in school (Schüler, 2007). As researchers and teachers misinterpreted "optimal" as "desirable outcomes, " the nature of flow as a harmonious balance between positive and negative emotions (Dewaele and MacIntyre, 2019) was overlooked. ...
This study takes a holistic view of flow and anti-flow experiences as interactive subsystems in blended EFL learning and examines the dynamic complex construct in the field of instructed second language acquisition (ISLA). We first rephrased the 22-item Classroom Flow Questionnaire (CFQ) to better reflect the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The modified CFQ was then administered to 661 first language Chinese EFL learners. A final 14-item Foreign Language Flow Scale (FLFS) was developed based on results from a series of reliability (e.g., item analysis, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability) and validity (e.g., construct validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and criterion validity) tests. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis results have demonstrated that foreign language learning flow is a three-dimensional construct involving Enjoyment, Boredom, and Anxiety, thus conceptualizing and validating flow as a continuum with both positive and negative ends. Moreover, participants reported that they experienced the lowest degree of enjoyment, while with respect to the negative flow, they almost experienced similar degree of boredom and anxiety. The present study contributes to the development of the conceptual framework for flow in ISLA as well as constructive pedagogical implications for L2 researchers and educators. Suggestions for future research are also provided.
... Being competitive means getting more activated/aroused (emotional reactivity prone to aggression) when faced with a competitive task (Karrass et al., 2006;Carré et al., 2009;Carré and Archer, 2018;Wu et al., 2018), which can lead to negative emotions and aggressive behavior (Couppis and Kennedy, 2008;Carré and Olmstead, 2015;Carré and Archer, 2018), but it can also lead to positive emotions, engagement, flow and better performance (Elias, 1981;Csikszentmihalyi and Larson, 1987;Csikszentmihalyi and LeFevre, 1989;Roberts et al., 2007a;Jordet and Hartmen, 2008), depending on variables including enjoyment or frustration (Carré and McCormick, 2008). Moreover, Bossuyt et al. (2014) found that dominant/aggressive behavior was related to approach motivation (approaching a desired stimulus), which is associated with low anxiety levels and high performances, whereas being submissive/non-aggressive was related to avoidance motivation (avoidance of undesired stimulus), which is linked with high anxiety levels and lower performances (Schüler, 2007;Roberts et al., 2007b;Jordet and Hartmen, 2008). Being highly competitive (more engaged and aggressive), therefore, should similarly be linked to reduced anxiety levels, increased flow and better performance levels. ...
Past studies have been conducted on competitiveness and achievement orientation as two noncooperative explanations for achievement motivation and achievement behavior. But a complimentary representation of a competitive-achievement orientation has yet to be explored. This paper developed and validated the need for competing inventory (NCI), and further investigated its relations with achievement orientation, emotional assessment, self-efficacy, grit, anxiety, and flow. The results from the present study support the theoretical construct of the need for competing, in the hope that it will provide a solid foundation for a competitive-achievement orientation, which is suggested to play a significant role in competitive achievement behavior. It is anticipated that the results from the present study will open a debate for including a competitive-achievement orientation in future research with the aim for a stronger predictor for achievement behavior.
... However, it is possible to consider a different though related possibility-that the enjoyment of optimal challenge can be accounted for by state-level perceptions of competence that accompany the process of engagement itself. There is some evidence to suggest that the pursuit of optimal challenge is associated with heightened performance (e.g., Jackson et al., 2001;Schüler, 2007), and feeling good about one's performance while engaged in an intrinsically motivated activity is positively related to enjoying that episode of engagement (e.g., Fave, Bassi, & Massimini, 2003;Jones, Hollenhurst, & Perna, 2003). Furthermore, interview-based findings indicate that the pursuit of optimal challenge is typically associated with feelings of control (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975). ...
Flow theory (Csikszentmihalyi, Beyond boredom and anxiety: Experiencing flow in work and play. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1975) and cognitive evaluation theory (Deci and Ryan, Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behaviour. Plenum, New York, 1985) have each inspired a large body of research dedicated to understanding why we enjoy doing what we enjoy doing. Although both theories ostensibly address the same category of behavior—namely, intrinsically motivated behavior—there have been few serious efforts to reconcile these two theories. This is the purpose of the current chapter. After a review and assessment of relevant empirical findings, I suggest that the two theories are most applicable to different types of behavior, distinguished by their state-level motivational orientations. Furthermore, whereas CET appears to be more applicable to understanding the process of developing intrinsic motivation, flow theory appears the more useful framework for understanding variations in enjoyment once intrinsic motivation for an activity has been firmly established.
... As a result, we have a greater motivation to tackle such a task again, gradually increasing our skills and 'getting better'. For example, Engeser, Rheinberg, Vollmeyer, & Bischoff (2005) and Schüler (2007) found that students who had experienced more flow during studying for an exam later achieved a better result in the exam. Similarly, Schüler and Brunner (2009) found that runners who had experienced more flow during training to participate in a marathon performed better in competition. ...
Flow can be experienced both during leisure activities and during work and research shows that flow is even more often experienced at work. Considering its positive consequences, fostering flow is a relevant topic for employees and organizations. The consequences and antecedents of flow at the workplace as described in the literature can be conceived as falling into three spheres—the individual sphere, the job/task sphere and the organizational/social sphere—and their intersections. Regarding the consequences, studies find consistently positive effects of flow on measures of well-being and performance, making flow a positive experience relevant to both individuals and organizations. Regarding the antecedents, flow was found to be facilitated by individual resources (such as self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience), by specific task characteristics (such as those described in the Job Characteristics Model, e.g., autonomy, skill variety and task identity) and by organizational/social factors such as the organizational climate, the leadership style of the supervisor and the interactions with colleagues. It is noticeable that many of the effects are bi-directional, with flow affecting resources that affect flow at a later point in time. Referring to person-environment fit theory, the chapter also highlights the important role of the person-environment interaction, which includes a fit of an individual’s attributes with the attributes of the job/task as well as with attributes of the organizational/social environment.
... From an evolutionary perspective, the enjoyment of being immersed in an activity would seem to offer survival advantages, as it seems to be associated with both enhanced performance and skill development (e.g. Engeser & Rheinberg, 2008;Schüler, 2007). It may be the case, therefore, that the experience of high attentional involvement in itself is intrinsically rewarding, independent of the features of engagement that are brought in or out of attentional focus. ...
Ever since Csikszentmihalyi’s earliest work on flow, he has conceived of flow as a form of enjoyment. Nevertheless, alternative views have arisen, most influentially Martin Seligman’s view of flow as devoid of emotions. In the first part of this chapter, these two contrasting views are clarified and then evaluated. While Csikszentmihalyi’s view, with some adjustment, may be reconciled with current scientific understanding of emotions, Seligman’s is based on a premise which conflicts with appraisal theorists view that the elicitation of emotions is often automatic (especially within the context of well-rehearsed activities) and need not consume significant attentional resources. The common misconception of flow as devoid of emotions is then traced to three sources: (1) a failure to differentiate between experiencing an emotion and the awareness of experiencing it, (2) incorrectly assuming that the enjoyment experienced during flow is of the “happy-smiley” type, and (3) Csikszentmihalyi’s unconventional usage of the term “pleasure” in his writings. Potential explanations for the enjoyable, intrinsically-motivating nature of flow are then suggested.
... Regardless of its potentiality, the experience of flow is attributed to coincide with excellent performances and heightened creativity (Asakawa, 2004;Csikszentmihalyi, 1975;Nakamura and Csikszentmihalyi, 2009). A large number of studies documents the relationship between flow and improved task performances across various domains like academia, sports, and work (Engeser and Rheinberg, 2008;Stavrou et al., 2007;Schüler, 2007;Brunner and Schueler, 2009;Yotsidi et al., 2018). Thereby, associations between flow and subjective and objective performance variables are detected for short-term (i.e. ...
The experience of flow is a unique sensation of complete task absorption and effortless action that is highlighted as a correlate of peak performances, personal and social
growth, and general well-being. For organisations, higher flow frequencies, therefore,
relate to a more engaged, skilled, and productive workforce. Especially as global phenomena like increasing knowledge work demand and low worker engagement are
developing, organisations could strongly benefit from fostering workers’ flow experiences. However, facilitating flow represents a substantial challenge due to the variety
of workers’ abilities, tasks and workplace configurations. Knowledge workers are
faced with unstructured and complex tasks, that require numerous domain-specific
abilities and cooperation with others. Workplaces are diversifying with boundaries
disappearing between centralized and digitally-mediated workspaces. This variety
means that only person-, task- and situation-independent approaches can deliver
comprehensive flow support. For this reason, research on the experiences neurophysiological basis is increasingly pursued. On this basis, adaptive Neuro-Information
Systems (NeuroIS) could be developed that are able to detect flow continuously
(especially through wearable sensor systems), and that can provide flow-supporting
mechanisms. Presently, despite these efforts, the knowledge on how to detect flow
with neurophysiological measures is sparse, highly fragmented, and lacks experimental variety. On the individual level, competing propositions exist that have not been
consolidated through cross-situational, and multi-sensor observation. On the group
level, almost no research has been conducted to investigate neurophysiological correlates in social interactions, particularly not in digitally-mediated interactions. This
dissertation addresses these gaps through the cross-situational observation of flow
using wearable ECG and EEG sensor systems. In doing so, limitations in the present
state of experimental flow research are addressed that refer to central shortcomings of
established paradigms for the controlled elicitation of flow experiences. Specifically,
two experiments are conducted with manipulations of difficulty, naturalism, autonomy, and social interaction to investigate the question of how flow elicitation can be
intensified, and the experience detected more robustly across situations. These investigations are based on an extensive integration of the theoretic and empiric literature
on flow neurophysiology. Altogether, the results suggest flow to be represented by
moderate physiological activation and mental workload, by increased attentional task
engagement and by affective neutrality. Especially EEG features indicate a diagnostic
potential to separate lower from higher flow intensities by the reflection of optimal
and non-optimal (individual and group) task difficulties. To catalyse, that the positive
promises of fostering flow in individuals and social units, can be realised, avenues to
advance flow facilitation research are outlined.
... Deeper and more durable learning occurs when learners invest more time, effort, or strategy in studying information (Chi & Wylie, 2014;Wilson, 2002). The Cognitive-Affective Theory of Learning with Media (CATLM) asserts that motivation positively influences engagement, and engagement is critical for constructing new knowledge (Hou & Li, 2014;Hsu et al., 2012;Keller, Ringelhan, et al., 2011;Moreno & Mayer, 2007;Schüler, 2007). In virtual environments, engagement is further related to individuals' in-the-moment experience during exploration (Boyle et al., 2012;Shernoff & Strati, 2011). ...
This study investigated changes in learners' motivation, engagement, performance, and spatial reasoning over time and across different levels of virtual reality (VR) immersion. Undergraduate participants explored a virtual solar system via a moderately immersive or highly immersive VR platform over three sessions. In a third condition, participants initially learned with moderate immersion and transitioned to higher immersion after the second session. Following research on novelty effects, we explored whether subjective experiences and performance would decline over time (e.g., decreasing motivation or performance) as participants became familiar with the virtual environment and tools. However, we hypothesized that transitional immersion (i.e., switching from moderate to higher immersion) might lead to a renewed sense of novelty. Results suggested that both moderate and higher levels of immersion were motivating, engaging, and supportive of learning. In contrast to predictions based on novelty effects, these outcomes did not decline overall as learners gained familiarity with the systems. However, transitional immersion emerged as a promising and testable pedagogical approach for future VR education. All participants also showed gains in spatial reasoning.
... Die besondere Bedeutung der intrinsischen Motivation für den Lernerfolg wird auch durch die Forschung zum Flow-Erleben gestützt. So berichtet Schüler (2007) über einen statistisch signifikanten positiven Zusammenhang (r = .35) zwischen der Stärke des Flow-Erlebens von Studierenden beim Lernen und der Leistung in einer Klausur. ...
... feedback). For example, individuals with high hope of success would appreciate information about their task performance, as they believe that they can succeed in the task (Schüler 2007). Individuals with high need for cognitive closure would want to receive information (e.g. ...
Advances in technologies (e.g. smartphones, wearables) have resulted in the concept of ‘self-tracking’, and the use of self-tracking technologies in physical activity (i.e. fitness tracking) is on the rise. For example, many people track and monitor their fitness-related metrics (e.g. steps walked, distance ran, and calories burned) to change their behaviours or keep themselves active. Despite the widespread application of self-tracking in fitness, relatively little is known about its drivers and outcomes. To address this gap, the current paper provides an overview of the literature (empirical papers) on self-tracking with a focus on the drivers and outcomes of fitness tracking behaviour and offers four important contributions. First, it identifies 19 drivers of fitness tracking technology usage. Second, it discusses four main outcomes of fitness tracking behaviour. Third, by drawing on the existing studies conducted across various fitness tracking technologies (e.g. fitness trackers, apps) and user groups (e.g. patients, seniors, and females), it provides valuable insights that can be generalisable to other settings (e.g. other types of users and fitness tracking products). Finally, the current paper provides important practical implications and addresses avenues for future research.
... Future studies should have a look at spillover effects and at long-term effects of self-efficacy interventions: Enhancing flow-experience has been found to affect future flow and performance in similar tasks (Christandl et al., 2018). Furthermore, flow has been found to lead to long-term increased performance via increased motivation to practice (Engeser et al., 2005;Schüler, 2007;Schüler and Brunner, 2009). Thus, interventions to foster the pleasant experience of flow are a valuable endeavor for institutions (e.g., organizations, schools) as well as for individuals (e.g., employees, students). ...
Self-efficacy is a well-known psychological resource, being positively associated with increased performance. Furthermore, results from field studies suggest a positive impact of self-efficacy on flow experience, which has not yet been tested experimentally. In this study, we manipulated self-efficacy by means of positive feedback and investigated whether self-efficacy serves as a mediator in the relationship between positive feedback and flow and in the relationship between positive feedback and performance. Our sample consisted of 102 participants (63 female, 39 male). The experimental group received positive feedback after completing 5 min of mental arithmetic tasks on a computer, whereas the control group received no feedback. A second session of a mental arithmetic task was then completed for 5 min. Mediation analyses confirmed that specific self-efficacy mediated a positive effect of positive feedback on flow as well as on both performance measures (quality and quantity) in a subsequent task. However, direct effects of feedback on flow and on performance were not significant, which suggests the presence of other mechanisms that remain to be investigated.
The objective of this study is to analyze motivation, performance, state hostility, and targeted affect in a computer-based car racing game when social actors are opponents, and when game characters are opponents. This is a between-subjects, experimental, study of social facilitation with 97 Gulf Arab women. The social facilitation of performance and finishing time does not take place. There is no difference in state hostility based on social facilitation, but there is in emotions targeted at opponents. People are viewed more positively than NPCs after play. Intrinsic engagement and extrinsic motivation are both facilitated by the presence of human opponents. There is evidence that the experience of playing a game character and playing a person is substantially different even though the outcomes of performance and state hostility are not.
The objective of this study is to analyze the social facilitation of performance, intrinsic engagement, state hostility, and targeted affects in a computer-based driving game where social actors are competitors. This is a quasi-experimental study with 97 Gulf Arab women. Social facilitation of absolute performance does not take place while it does for relative performance. There is no difference in state hostility based on social facilitation, but there is in targeted affect. Intrinsic engagement and extrinsic motivation are both facilitated by human opponents. There is a negative relationship between intrinsic engagement and state hostility across conditions. There is evidence that the experience of playing a game character and playing a person is substantially different. The two most powerful predictors of performance and affect are intrinsic engagement and videogame interest when playing a person. Weekly hours of console play are added to those two when playing a game character.
We examined how three different components of self-reported healthy living—physical activity, sleepiness, and dietary habits—relate to self-reported inattention and deep, effortless concentration (i.e., “flow”) in everyday life via two online surveys (N = 171 and N = 172). Our results indicated that sedentariness was associated with less frequent self-reported experiences of flow while sleepiness was associated with inattention in general (i.e., greater self-reported attention-related cognitive errors, attention lapses, and mind-wandering) as well as less frequent self-reported experiences of flow. Additionally, unhealthy dietary habits were associated with more lapses of attention and attention-related cognitive errors and less frequent self-reported experiences of flow. Most importantly, the measures of healthy living collectively accounted for a significant and substantial portion of the variance in each attention measure after controlling for age (up to 29% in Sample One and 34% in Sample Two). These results indicate a strong relation between healthy living and attentional engagement and raise the tantalizing possibility that an increase in healthy living may substantially improve attentional engagement in everyday life.
Introduction: Psychological well-being is a sense of satisfaction from the perspective of social psychologists. Since psychological well-being has many positive psychological consequences, it is very important to study the fa Effect of Procrastination on Psychological Well Being: Mediating Role of Flow Experience, Positive-Negative Affective and Life Satisfaction well-being based on educational procrastination and mediator role of flow experience, positive-negative affective and life satisfaction.
Method: This study was a descriptive correlational of the structural equation modeling. The statistical population consisted of all high school students from city of Rey at year of 1396-1397 and participants were 464 students who were selected by clustering random sampling. The students were replied to psychological wellbeing (1989), Satisfaction with Life Scale (2001), Educational procrastination (2011), flow experience (2003) and positive-negative affective (1988) scales. Data were analyzed using partial least squares approach (PLS).
Results: Among the significant findings of this study, we can mention the direct effect of procrastination on life satisfaction and positive affection as well as the mediator roles of life satisfaction and positive affection on psychological well-being. In sum, the current model of the present study could explain 54% of the variance of psychological well-being.
Conclusion: According to results of this research, it is suggested that appropriate educational programs be developed by that social and educational psychologists to improve the psychological well-being and reduce procrastination based on positive emotions and satisfaction of students' life.
Flow can improve the quality of life
and promote personal growth as well
as many positive psychological
outcomes however research literature
showed that there is no valid and
reliable instrument for unique Iranian
culture. The main aim of this study is
to evaluate the psychometric
properties of the Flow Inventory for
high school students. The population
of this research includes all high
school students in Ray in 2017 - 2018
academic years. The total number of
the participants was 464 which were
selected by the random cluster
sampling method. They answered to
Flow Short Scale
by Rheinberg, Vollmeyer, and
Engeser. Exploratory factor analysis
extracts 2 subscales which were
confirmed by first order confirmatory
factor analysis. Second order confirmatory factor analysis
displayed that these two components
can be categorized in one concept
which is flow. In sum, we can say that
Flow Short Scale has suitable validity
and reliability among high school students.
Background. Learning flow is an optimal learning experience representing full engagement in one's studies. The belief-affect-engagement model and control-value theory suggest that positivity would be a motivator of learning flow, while positive affect in school would be a mediator of the relation between positivity and learning flow.
Aims. The current research aimed to examine (1) the longitudinal relations among positivity, positive affect in school, and learning flow, and (2) the mediational role of positive affect in school between positivity and learning flow.
Sample and Method. A sample of 4681 Chinese elementary school students (44.9% girls; Mage = 9.87 years, SD = 0.70 at Time 1) completed reliable measures for each construct on four occasions across 2 years, using 6-month intervals. Structural equation modelling was used for examining study hypotheses.
Results. After controlling for gender, age, and family socioeconomic status, the results showed that (1) positivity, positive affect in school, and learning flow reciprocally facilitated each other directly; (2) positive affect in school mediated the relation between positivity and later learning flow, as well as the relation between learning flow and later positivity.
Conclusions. These findings revealed that positivity, positive affect in school, and learning flow form a complex, dynamic system, suggesting that school professionals should consider monitoring and developing interventions based upon these variables as early as elementary school.
This chapter introduces the flow concept by listing the components of flow as provided by Csikszentmihalyi. We will show that these components constitute the widely shared definitional ground of researchers in the field, with only minor variation between research groups and time periods. Next, we try to clarify some lingering ambiguities regarding the components of flow, and then talk about flow as an optimal experience as well as discussing the relationship between flow and happiness. Subsequently, we trace the history of flow. We take time to describe the beginnings of flow research by Csikszentmihalyi and a similar research program by Rheinberg in Germany. Following the description of flow and qualitative analyses, we will present the quantitative approach of Experience Sampling Method (ESM), which has greatly influenced research on flow. Then we will look at current lines of research on flow, identifying and describing topics of increasing interest in the last years. Creativity (e.g., in music and arts) and well-being remain an important part of flow research, but flow research has entered many other areas, spanning from the emerging research on flow in teams or psychophysiological correlates of flow to flow in sports, learning (education), development, work, and human computer interaction—all topics that will be addressed in more detail in the chapters of this book. Finally, we complete this first chapter by discussing methodological aspects of the research on flow.
When talking about flow, most people probably think of a highly desirable state associated with a broad variety of positive outcomes in terms of positive motivation, well-being and performance. In contrast, this chapter suggests that the characteristics of flow also have the potential to be evil. First, we will explain how flow can lead to addiction when exercising, playing games and using the internet. Then we will consider how flow is linked to impaired risk perception and risky behavior. As a third negative facet of flow, we will outline how it can also be experienced in antisocial contexts and during combat. The chapter ends with some broader comments on the dark and bright sides of flow, including flow as a universal experience, the implications for practical interventions, ethical questions related to flow, and future research questions.
Ein positiver Zusammenhang von Leistungsmotivation, Flow und Wohlbefinden ist in Einzelpfaden gut belegt. Befunde, welche alle drei Variablen miteinander in Beziehung setzen, stehen in der Bildungsfor-schung noch aus. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, den Einfluss einzelner Dimensionen von Leistungsmotivation & Flow auf das subjektive Wohlempfinden von Schüler/innen, unter Berücksichtigung etwaiger Media-tionseffekte durch Flow zu untersuchen. Die Grundlage der Daten bildet der erste Messzeitpunkt einer motivationsbezogenen Interventionsstudie.
Erhoben wurden die Daten im Rahmen einer prospektiven randomisierten Längsschnittstudie im Kon-trollgruppendesign (N=742; 46,2% weibl.), welche mit Schüler/innen von sieben rheinland-pfälzischen Schulen durchgeführt wurde. Leistungsmotivation, Wohlbefinden und Flow wurden mit folgenden In-strumenten erfasst: Petermann & Winkel (2007a&b): Fragebogen zur Leistungsmotivation; Flow-Skala (in Anlehnung an Rheinberg et al., 2003); Flourishing-Skala (in Anlehnung an Diener et al., 2009). Ausge-wertet wurden die Daten mittels Mediatoranalysen per multipler Regression mit SPSS.
Die Ergebnisse multipler Regressionsanalysen konnten sowohl in der Primar-, als auch Sekundarstufe direkte Effekte einzelner Leistungsmotivationsskalen auf das subjektive Wohlbefinden belegen. Zudem wurden in den Jahrgansstufen 2&3,4&5,7&9 der Zusammenhang zwischen Leistungsmotivation und Wohlbefinden durch Flow-Erleben mediiert. In der Jahrgangsstufe 11 konnte kein Mediationseffekt gefunden werden.
Die Ergebnisse bestätigen vorliegende Korrelationsstudien und identifizieren Flow als einen zentralen Mediator zwischen der Leistungsmotivation und dem Wohlbefinden bei Schüler/innen. Die Reflexion dieser Befunde eröffnet großes Potential für die weitere Ausarbeitung und Implementierung Flow-förderlicher Interaktionen in der Schule.
Das Kapitel befasst sich im ersten Teil aus theoretischer Sicht mit dem Begriff der Motivation und den wichtigsten in der Literatur bislang differenzierten Motivationskonstrukten. Im zweiten Teil wird über empirische Befunde zur Bedeutung zentraler Konstrukte für Lernen und Leistung berichtet. Dabei stehen die Leistungsmotivation, die Zielorientierungen, intrinsische vs. extrinsische Motivation und das Interesse im Vordergrund. Die Befunde unterstreichen die Wirksamkeit der Lernmotivation, auch wenn andere wichtige Einflussgrößen (z. B. Kompetenzniveau) kontrolliert werden. Schließlich behandelt der dritte Teil des Kapitels die Entwicklung und Förderung der Motivation. Insbesondere intrinsische Formen der Motivation nehmen im Laufe der Schulzeit ab und bedürfen der Förderung. Es wird eine Reihe von empirisch bewährten Möglichkeiten aufgezeigt, die Lernmotivation zu fördern.
Objectives: To examine the effects of self-selected asynchronous (background) music on flow and netball shooting performance in three netball players. Based on the research of Karageorghis and Terry (1999) it was hypothesized that music would promote flow and would therefore have a positive impact on netball shooting performance. Design: An idiographic single-subject multiple baselines across-subjects design was employed (Wollman, 1986). The rationale centred upon the work of Patrick and Hrycaiko (1998) who indicated that single-subject designs were the most appropriate methodology for applied research. Methods: The participants comprised three collegiate netball players who were asked to complete 11 performance trials. Each trial involved taking 12 shots from lines located at three shooting positions. After each performance trial, flow and the internal experience of each player were assessed using the Flow State Scale (Jackson & Marsh, 1996) and Practical Assessment Questionnaire. Participants received the intervention of asynchronous music with the length of pre-intervention baseline increasing for each succeeding player. Results: Two of the participants experienced an increase in the perception of flow while all three participants improved their netball shooting performance. In addition, participants indicated that the intervention helped them to control both the emotions and cognitions that impacted upon their performance. Conclusions: Interventions comprising self-selected music and imagery can enhance athletic performance by triggering emotions and cognitions associated with flow.
The purpose of this study was to examine possible psychological correlates of flow in a sample of older athletes. Both state and trait, or dispositional flow states, were examined. Masters athletes completed questionnaire assessments on two occasions while competing at an international masters sport competition. The participants (398) completed a questionnaire assessing intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, goal orientation, trait anxiety, perceived ability, and typical flow experiences (trait) when participating in sport. Of these participants, 213 completed a questionnaire after and in relation to one event they competed in at the Games. This second questionnaire assessed state flow, as well as perceptions of success, skills, and challenges in a selected sport event. Correlational and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine psychological correlates of state and trait flow. Patterns of relationships were found between flow and perceived ability, anxiety, and an intrinsic motivation variable. Understanding flow and its relationship with other psychological variables are discussed.
Most contemporary achievement goal conceptualizations consist of a performance goal versus mastery goal dichotomy. The present research offers an alternative framework by partitioning the performance goal orientation into independent approach and avoidance motivational orientations. Two experiments investigated the predictive utility of the proposed approach-avoidance achievement goal conceptualization in the intrinsic motivation domain. Results from both experiments supported the proposed framework; only performance goals grounded in the avoidance of failure undermined intrinsic motivation. Task involvement was validated as a mediator of the observed effects on intrinsic motivation. Ramifications for the achievement goal approach to achievement motivation and future research avenues are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Zusammenfassung Im kognitiv-motivationalen Prozessmodell des Lernens wird angenommen, dass der Lernerfolg von der Qualität und der Dauer ausgeführter Lernaktivitäten, aber auch vom Funktionszustand des Lerners während der Lernphase abhängt. Es wird vermutet, dass eine von mehreren Variablen des Funktionszustandes der Flow-Zustand während des Lernens ist. In einer Untersuchung in universitären Fremdsprachenkursen zeigte sich in der Tat, dass Flow-Erleben während des Unterrichts die späteren Lernleistungen auch dann vorhersagt, wenn der Leistungseffekt relevanter Lernkompetenzvariablen vorweg berücksichtigt wird. Gemäß dem kognitiv-motivationalen Prozessmodell wird Flow-Erleben seinerseits über die aktuelle Motivation vor der Lernphase vorhergesagt, wobei die wiederum von einer allgemeineren Motivationsvariablen zu Semesterbeginn abhängt. Diese Struktur wurde in einer zweiten Untersuchung repliziert und zwar an Studenten im Verlauf ihrer Statistikausbildung im Fach Psychologie. Beide Ergebnisse sprechen dafür, dass Flow-Erleben während des Lernens eine leistungsrelevante Variable des Funktionszustandes beim Lernen ist, die sich in ihrer Beziehungsstruktur erwartungsgemäß in das kognitiv-motivationale Prozessmodell einpassen lässt.
Zusammenfassung. Berichtet wird uber eine Moglichkeit, Flow-Erleben unter experimentell kontrollierten Bedingungen systematisch zu variieren. Dabei werden die Tatigkeit (das Computerspiel Roboguard) und die Situationsbedingungen konstant gehalten. Variiert wird lediglich die Schwierigkeitsstufe, auf der gespielt wird. Als abhangiges Mas wurde die Flow-Kurzskala (FKS, Rheinberg, Vollmeyer & Engeser, 2003) verwandt. Es zeigten sich die vorhergesagten kurvilinearen Beziehungen zwischen Anforderungsstufe und Flow mit Effektstarken um d > 1. Die erwarteten Zusammenhange zwischen habitueller Zielorientierung (Hayamizu & Weiner, 1991) und Flow zeigten sich nur bei den flow-auslosenden Schwierigkeitsstufen. Hingegen trat die erwartete negative Beziehung zwischen Zielorientierung und Flow nicht auf, vielmehr korrelierten sowohl die learning- als auch die performance goal orientation positiv mit der Flowkomponente Absorbiertheit. Aus diesem Befund wird eine Arbeitshypothese zur Beziehung von Motivation und Flow her...
Zusammenfassung. Ausgehend vom Flow-Konzept Csikszentmihalyis (1992, 2004) und Forschungsberichten zum Flow-Erleben, stellt der Beitrag zwei Studien vor, die Flow-Erfahrungen von Marathonlaufern (N = 234) dokumentieren und analysieren. Als Messinstrument diente die Flow-Kurzskala von Rheinberg, Vollmeyer und Engeser (2003). Auf der Basis der Selbstberichte der Laufer zum Flow-Erleben (Flow-Generalfaktor) und zu ihrer subjektiven Anforderungs-Fahigkeits-Passung sowie den erfassten Laufzeiten werden in den statistischen Analysen folgende Fragestellungen uberpruft: 1.) Stellt die Anforderungs-Fahigkeits-Passung eine Voraussetzung fur Flow-Erfahrungen dar? und 2.) Steht Flow im Zusammenhang mit den Laufleistungen? Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Passung nicht zwingend als Voraussetzung fur Flow-Erfahrungen angesehen werden muss und ein Flow-Leistungs-Zusammenhang fur Marathonlaufer der mittleren Leistungsfahigkeit (3 bis 4 Stunden Laufzeit) nicht existiert. Im Resumee werden Schlussfolgerungen fur die weitere...
In recent studies of the structure of affect, positive and negative affect have consistently emerged as two dominant and relatively independent dimensions. A number of mood scales have been created to measure these factors; however, many existing measures are inadequate, showing low reliability or poor convergent or discriminant validity. To fill the need for reliable and valid Positive Affect and Negative Affect scales that are also brief and easy to administer, we developed two 10-item mood scales that comprise the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The scales are shown to be highly internally consistent, largely uncorrelated, and stable at appropriate levels over a 2-month time period. Normative data and factorial and external evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for the scales are also presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Ever since systematic thought has been recorded, the question of what makes men and women happy has been of central concern. Answers to this question have ranged from the materialist extreme of searching for happiness in external conditions to the spiritual extreme claiming that happiness is the result of a mental attitude. Psychologists have recently rediscovered this topic. Research supports both the materialist and the mentalist positions, although the latter produces the stronger findings. The article focuses in particular on one dimension of happiness: the flow experience, or the state of total involvement in an activity that requires complete concentration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Ausgehend von einer Charakterisierung des Flow-Erlebens als gaenzliches Aufgehen in einem glatt laufenden Taetigkeitsvollzug, den man trotz hoher Beanspruchung noch unter Kontrolle hat, wird auf die Erfassung dieser Motivationskomponente eingegangen. Dargestellt und diskutiert werden Vor- und Nachteile der bisherigen qualitativen (Interviews) und quantitativen Flow-Erfassung (Experience Sampling Method (ESM)) . Ausfuehrlicher wird eine "Flow-Kurzskala" (FKS) beschrieben, die mit zehn Items alle qualitativ verschiedenen Komponenten des Flow-Erlebens oekonomisch und reliabel erfasst. Sie liefert einen Gesamtwert sowie Werte fuer zwei Subskalen (glatter automatisierter Verlauf sowie Absorbiertheit). Daneben erfassen drei zusaetzliche Items die Besorgnis in der aktuellen Situation. Berichtet werden Vergleichskennwerte aus punktuellen Messungen und ESM-Studien. Die hoechsten Werte fuer Flow und Besorgnis wurden bislang bei Graffiti-Sprayern gefunden. Bei einer intellektuell herausfordernden Aufgabe (Postkorbuebung) sind die FKS-Werte mit der Hoffnung-auf-Erfolg-Komponente des Leistungsmotivs korreliert. Furcht-vor-Misserfolg korreliert dagegen mit dem Besorgniswert der FKS. Flow waehrend der Bearbeitung von Uebungsaufgaben fuer Statistik lieferte einen signifikanten Beitrag zur Vorhersage der nachfolgenden Klausurleistung. Dieser Beitrag blieb erhalten, auch wenn Faehigkeitsmasse kontrolliert wurden. (Buch/A.G. - ZPID)
The main purpose of this study was to examine psychological factors of potential relevance to athletic flow experiences. A secondary purpose was to empirically examine the relationship between flow and optimal performance. Understanding factors that may be associated with flow will help to make this optimal mental state more accessible to researchers and practitioners. Self-concept and use of psychological skills were predicted to be related to self-reported flow states. Competitive athletes across three sports completed dispositional assessments of athletic self-concept, psychological skills, and flow. The athletes also completed a post-event flow assessment, as well as other questions relating to their performance, after a specified competitive event. Positive relationships were found between flow and aspects of self-concept, and the relationships between flow and psychological skills use were also in the expected directions. In addition, the predicted positive relationship between a post-event flow assessment and performance criteria was obtained. This study builds on earlier research that has investigated antecedents of flow, and contributes to the expanding knowledge base of psychological factors related to optimal experience and performance.
Followed 78 adult workers for 1 week with the experience sampling method. (This method randomly samples self-reports throughout the day.) The main question was whether the quality of experience was more influenced by whether a person was at work or at leisure or more influenced by whether a person was in flow (i.e., in a condition of high challenges and skills). Results showed that all the variables measuring the quality of experience, except for relaxation and motivation, are more affected by flow than by whether the respondent is working or in leisure. Moreover, the great majority of flow experiences are reported when working, not when in leisure. Regardless of the quality of experience, however, respondents are more motivated in leisure than in work. But individuals more motivated in flow than in apathy reported more positive experiences in work. Results suggest implications for improving the quality of everyday life.
A model explaining how the motive to achieve and the motive to avoid failure influences behavior assumes strength of motivation as being a multiplicative function of motive, expectancy, and incentive. This accounts for level of aspiration and also performance level when only one task is presented. "It also assumes that the incentive value of success is a positive linear function of difficulty as inferred from the subjective probability of success; and negative incentive value of failure to be a negative linear function of difficulty." 2 theoretical implications are "that performance level should be greatest when there is greatest uncertainty about outcome" and people with strong motive to achieve should prefer immediate risk whereas those with strong motive to avoid failure will prefer easy tasks or extremely difficult and risky tasks. Experimental results are cited with implications for research on gambling and social mobility aspirations. 22 references.
Ever since systematic thought has been recorded, the question of what makes men and women happy has been of central concern. Answers to this question have ranged from the materialist extreme of searching for happiness in external conditions to the spiritual extreme claiming that happiness is the result of a mental attitude. Psychologists have recently rediscovered this topic. Research supports both the materialist and the mentalist positions, although the latter produces the stronger findings. The article focuses in particular on one dimension of happiness: the flow experience, or the state of total involvement in an activity that requires complete concentration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Understanding factors which may influence the occurrence of flow in elaite athletes was the goal of the present investigation. Twenty-eight elite level athletes from seven sports were interviewed about the factors they perceived influenced their experience of flow state. Inductive content analyses of athletes' responses to questions about what facilitates, prevents, and disrupts flow, resulted in 10 dimensions that synthesized the 361 themes suggested by the athletes. These themes and dimensions provided insight into factors that may influence whether or not flow occurs in elite athletes. For example. some of the more salient factors influencing whether or not flow occurred included: preparation, both physical and mental; confidence; focus; how the performance felt and progressed; and optimal motivation and arousal level. This study also involved asking elite athletes about the perceived controllability of these factors, and of the state of flow itself. The majority of the athletes interviewed perceived the flow state to be controllable. or potentially within their control. A large percentage of the factors seen to facilitate or prevent flow were perceived as controllable; however, factors seen as disrupting flow were largely seen as uncontrollable.
Zusammenfassung. Das flowpsychologische “Paradox der Arbeit” besagt, dass im modernen Alltag die Berufsarbeit die Hauptquelle von Flow-Erlebnissen darstelle, trotzdem aber die Freizeit der Arbeit vorgezogen werde. Dies sei nur durch ein kulturelles Vorurteil erklärbar, das den Blick auf die Realität des Erlebens verstelle. Ziel der vorgestellten Studie ist es, die empirischen Befunde, die zur Formulierung dieses Paradoxes Anlass gaben, in einer Weise zu replizieren, die die angesprochenen Phänomene theoretisch prägnanter sichtbar werden lässt. Zu diesem Zwecke wurde eine sozioökonomisch heterogene Stichprobe von 46 berufstätigen Erwachsenen während einer Woche (Montag bis Sonntag) mit der Experience Sampling Method untersucht. Als Bezugsrahmen diente die Theorie Positiver und Negativer Aktivierung. Es zeigt sich, dass sich die mit dem Flow-Konzept angezielte Erlebnisqualität weitgehend mit Zuständen hoher Positiver Aktivierung deckt und dass in dieser Dimension Arbeit tatsächlich positiver erlebt wird als Freizeit. In der Dimension Negative Aktivierung hingegen wird Freizeit positiver erlebt als Arbeit. Das Paradox der Arbeit erklärt sich dann daraus, dass die Valenz eines Moments in erster Linie durch die Abwesenheit Negativer Aktivierung bestimmt ist. In Bezug auf die Arbeitszufriedenheit ist es jedoch umgekehrt: Sie ist primär vom Ausmaß Positiver Aktivierung abhängig. Die Flow-Psychologie scheint damit auf einen ganz zentralen, bisher eher vernachlässigten Kern längerfristig befriedigender Arbeit aufmerksam gemacht zu haben.
Drawing on current goal theories of motivation, the authors investigated participants’ spontaneous thoughts in pre- and postdecisional action phases. In contrast with the research originally initiated by Heckhausen and his coworkers, the authors used a repeated-measures design and considered individual differences in achievement motivation. Participants were given a choice between two tasks. They had to report their thoughts twice, before and after they had made the decision. Thought contents were analyzed according to the theory of action phases. The data clearly indicate that spontaneous thoughts reflect different states of mind in pre- and postdecisional action phases. Furthermore, an optimistic bias in thought contents was found, which was, however, moderated by the achievement motive. Success-motivated participants were optimistic after and pessimistic before decision making. The reverse was true for failure-motivated participants. The results were interpreted as an important extension of the achievement-motive nomological network.
The authors argue that the emotional consequences of positive daydreaming (i.e., spontaneously imagining the successful attainment of personal goals) depend on an individuals fear of failure. Positive daydreaming may signal an absence of positive outcomes for individuals high in fear of failure. As a consequence, positive daydreaming may induce negative emotions and attempts at mood repair in individuals high in fear of failure. Three studies (one concurrent, one experimental, and one prospective) examined this hypothesis. Study 1 found that individuals high (relative to low) in fear of failure who had recurrent positive daydreams about attaining agentic personal goals reported increased levels of depression and confusion. In Study 2, fear of failure predicted reductions in goal commitment after participants imagined the successful attainment of an agentic personal goal. Study 3 found that participants high in fear of failure reported fewer daydreams about attaining a personal goal when they were strongly committed to attain this goal.
Presents a new edition of the 1953 study establishing the validity of the TAT measure of need for achievement (nAch). Basic problems in the measurement of fantasy and the development of appropriate content analysis procedures, the nature of the achievement imagery index score, and the general development of nAch are examined. A new preface with "hindsight" is also included. (8 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In two experiments, the hypothesis was tested that success-oriented and failure-threatened individuals differ in the mindsets they adopt during action phases preceding and following decisions. In Experiment 1, it was demonstrated that people who are deliberating on different actions or goals rate their probability of success for a subsequent task as being lower than people who are going to implement a chosen action or goal. In the mindset theory (Gollwitzer, 1990), this pattern is predicted to foster appropriate goal setting and efficient pursuit of goals. In Experiment 1 this pattern could be shown only for success-oriented individuals. The reverse was true for failure-threatened participants. In Experiment 2, the Motive × Action Phase interaction was replicated with a different measure of probability of success. It is proposed that the ability or inability to adopt the appropriate mindset in the course of action may be one of the mechanisms, which make success, and failure motives self-stabilizing systems.
Objectives: To examine the effects of self-selected asynchronous (background) music on flow and netball shooting performance in three netball players. Based on the research of Karageorghis and Terry (1999) it was hypothesized that music would promote flow and would therefore have a positive impact on netball shooting performance.Design: An idiographic single-subject multiple baselines across-subjects design was employed (Wollman, 1986). The rationale centred upon the work of Patrick and Hrycaiko (1998) who indicated that single-subject designs were the most appropriate methodology for applied research.Methods: The participants comprised three collegiate netball players who were asked to complete 11 performance trials. Each trial involved taking 12 shots from lines located at three shooting positions. After each performance trial, flow and the internal experience of each player were assessed using the Flow State Scale (Jackson & Marsh, 1996) and Practical Assessment Questionnaire. Participants received the intervention of asynchronous music with the length of pre-intervention baseline increasing for each succeeding player.Results: Two of the participants experienced an increase in the perception of flow while all three participants improved their netball shooting performance. In addition, participants indicated that the intervention helped them to control both the emotions and cognitions that impacted upon their performance.Conclusions: Interventions comprising self-selected music and imagery can enhance athletic performance by triggering emotions and cognitions associated with flow.
Research in diverse domains of psychology has independently identified two behavioral systems, one concerned with obtaining positive outcomes, the other concerned with avoiding negative outcomes. This basic distinction, described in different domains of inquiry with varying terminology, may be integrated within a single appetitive–aversive systems model. The present research was designed to examine the viability of the appetitive–aversive distinction as an organizational construct underlying various particular measures and concepts. In four studies, individual difference measures from different domains were examined with exploratory (Study 1) and confirmatory (Studies 2–4) factor analyses. We expected and found that measures tapping sensitivity to rewards or positive outcomes would load on a common appetitive latent factor, whereas, measures tapping individual differences in sensitivity to punishment or negative outcomes would load a common aversive latent factor. Results strongly supported the hypothesized two-factor structure over alternative models and indicated that the latent appetitive and aversive variables accounted for about half the variance in the observed variables.
To understand the dynamics of mental health, it is essential to develop measures for the frequency and the patterning of mental processes in every-day-life situations. The Experience-Sampling Method (ESM) is an attempt to provide a valid instrument to describe variations in self-reports of mental processes. It can be used to obtain empirical data on the following types of variables: a) frequency and patterning of daily activity, social interaction, and changes in location; b) frequency, intensity, and patterning of psychological states, i.e., emotional, cognitive, and conative dimensions of experience; c) frequency and patterning of thoughts, including quality and intensity of thought disturbance. The article reviews practical and methodological issues of the ESM and presents evidence for its short- and long-term reliability when used as an instrument for assessing the variables outlined above. It also presents evidence for validity by showing correlation between ESM measures on the one hand and physiological measures, one-time psychological tests, and behavioral indices on the other. A number of studies with normal and clinical populations that have used the ESM are reviewed to demonstrate the range of issues to which the technique can be usefully applied.
In this article, we introduce the Multi-Motive Grid (MMG), a new diagnostic tool to measure motives with respect to their hope and fear components. The MMG combines features of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) with features of self-report questionnaires. Similar to the TAT, a set of 14 pictures representing a balanced set of achievement-arousing, affiliation-arousing, and power-arousing situations is presented together with a set of statements representing important motivational states. Six motive scores can be calculated: hope of success (HS) and fear of failure (FF) for the achievement motive, hope of affiliation (HA) and fear of rejection (FR) for the affiliation motive, and hope of power (HP) and fear of power (FP) for the power motive. Results of factor analyses suggest a 3-factor solution, with a general fear factor (FF, FR, FP), a factor combining the hope components of achievement and power (HS and HP), and a third factor representing HA, but the 6 a priori factors also reflect a sound structural model. Reliability data show that the internal consistency and retest reliability of the MMG scales satisfy traditional standards. External validity of the MMG has been established in all 3 motive domains. Three separate studies document that (a) individuals high in resultant achievement motivation perform better and report more flow experience, (b) individuals high in resultant power motivation profit more from a leadership training program, and (c) individuals high in resultant affiliation motivation recollect more highly memorable affiliative themes.
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