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Inverted U-Shaped Function Between Flow and Cortisol Release During Chess Play

DOI:10.1007/s10902-016-9726-0
Authors:
Tahmine Tozman
Tahmine Tozman
Yichelle Y. Zhang
Yichelle Y. Zhang
Yichelle Y. Zhang
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Regina Vollmeyer at Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
Regina Vollmeyer
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Abstract and Figures

This study focused on the salivary cortisol level and its relation to the two components of flow (flow absorption and flow fluency) in tournament chess players exposed to one of the skill-demand-level manipulations (underload, fit, and overload). The aims of this study were to investigate how skill-demand-level manipulations affect cortisol release and how flow and cortisol release are related in the context of an engaging task. Specifically, the task involved fifty-seven tournament chess players playing chess against a software in one of the experimental groups. We assessed flow after chess playing for 25 min via questionnaire and collected saliva before chess playing (T1), right after chess playing (T2), and 10 min after T2 (T3). Our findings show that cortisol levels were affected by the skill-demand-level manipulations. At T3, participants in the overload group showed higher cortisol levels than participants in the fit and underload groups. There were no differences in cortisol release between the experimental groups at T2. In addition, we found the expected inverted U-shaped relation between cortisol release and flow absorption at T2. A moderate level of cortisol was associated with a higher level of flow absorption. In contrast, a higher level of cortisol was associated with a lower level of flow absorption. Against our expectations, flow fluency was not related to cortisol release. We discuss practical and theoretical implications of our results as well as potential for future research.
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RESEARCH PAPER
Inverted U-Shaped Function Between Flow and Cortisol
Release During Chess Play
Tahmine Tozman
1
•Yichelle Y. Zhang
2
•Regina Vollmeyer
1
Published online: 5 February 2016
Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016
Abstract This study focused on the salivary cortisol level and its relation to the two
components of flow (flow absorption and flow fluency) in tournament chess players
exposed to one of the skill-demand-level manipulations (underload, fit, and overload). The
aims of this study were to investigate how skill-demand-level manipulations affect cortisol
release and how flow and cortisol release are related in the context of an engaging task.
Specifically, the task involved fifty-seven tournament chess players playing chess against a
software in one of the experimental groups. We assessed flow after chess playing for
25 min via questionnaire and collected saliva before chess playing (T1), right after chess
playing (T2), and 10 min after T2 (T3). Our findings show that cortisol levels were
affected by the skill-demand-level manipulations. At T3, participants in the overload group
showed higher cortisol levels than participants in the fit and underload groups. There were
no differences in cortisol release between the experimental groups at T2. In addition, we
found the expected inverted U-shaped relation between cortisol release and flow absorption
at T2. A moderate level of cortisol was associated with a higher level of flow absorption. In
contrast, a higher level of cortisol was associated with a lower level of flow absorption.
Against our expectations, flow fluency was not related to cortisol release. We discuss
practical and theoretical implications of our results as well as potential for future research.
Keywords Flow experience Psychophysiology Cortisol Motivation Chess play
&Tahmine Tozman
t.tozman@psych.uni-frankfurt.de
1
Institute of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 6,
60629 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2
School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Brennan MacCallum Building A18, Manning
Road, Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia
123
J Happiness Stud (2017) 18:247–268
DOI 10.1007/s10902-016-9726-0
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... Flow is a state of complete absorption or engagement in an autotelic activity, an activity that one finds rewarding intrinsically irrespective of any end-product or extrinsic benefit. As such, it has been a paragon for research on well-being and positive psychology of human flourishing, thriving, and optimal experience (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990 include rock climbers (MacAloon & Csikszentmihalyi, 1983;Schattke et al., 2014), dancers (Bernardi, Bellemare-Pepin & Peretz, 2018) and other athletes (Swann et al., 2012), chess players (Tozman, Zhang & Vollmeyer, 2017), musicians (Chirico et al., 2015) and surgeons (Mulligan, 2016) who describe their state of complete absorption and full involvement as being "in flow" or, in more colloquial terms, as being "in the zone". While much of the scholarly work on flow comes from western-educated, industrialised, rich, democratic (WEIRD) contexts, continued investigation outside these contexts is revealing that the core features of the experience are widespread, present across cultural contexts and perhaps throughout history as well. ...
... Adapting the challenge to the individual is relevant for both choosing the initial degree of task difficulty as well as the speed and degree to which the challenge is adapted from one level to the next to match skill level, that is, whether the animal advances in quick or slow steps or in small or large steps. It is important to note, however, that the tuning of challenge and skill level for the purpose of striking a precise balance between the two is likely to be dependent on the context of the flow-induction Biological Reviews (2022) The range of flow-inducing activities in humans is large, including a variety of sports (Schattke et al., 2014), chess (Tozman et al., 2017), performing surgery (Mulligan, 2016), playing music (Chirico et al., 2015) or even reading a book (Thissen, Menninghaus & Schlotz, 2018). If we consider non-human animals with very different sensory and Challenge must fit to the individual's skills and must dynamically adapt to improved skills due to repetition of the task; one can make full use of whatever skills are required. ...
... Physiological correlates of flow have been explored in humans (Keller et al., 2011;Knierim et al., 2018;de Manzano et al., 2010;Peifer et al., 2014) and may also be fruitful in animals to identify physiological patterns indicative of flow-like states. In humans, flow seems to be associated with a moderate co-activation of both parasympathetic and sympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system (de Manzano et al., 2010;Peifer et al., 2014;Tozman et al., 2017). However, the relationship between flow and sympathetic arousal is U-shaped whereas flow and parasympathetic activity are linearly and positively correlated (de Manzano et al., 2010;Peifer et al., 2014). ...
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The concept of flow, a state of complete absorption in an intrinsically rewarding activity, has played a pivotal role in advancing notions of human well‐being beyond minimising suffering towards promoting flourishing and thriving. While flow has played a fundamental role in human positive psychology, it has not yet been explored in non‐human animals, leaving an enormous void in our understanding of intrinsic motivation in animals. As ethology and related fields keep progressing in uncovering complex cognitive and affective capacities of non‐human animals, we propose the time is ripe to translate the concept of flow to animals. We start by embedding flow in the topic of intrinsic motivation and describe its impact on positive human psychology and potentially positive animal welfare. We then disambiguate flow from related concepts discussed in the animal literature. Next, we derive experimental approaches in animals from the canonical characteristics of flow in humans and provide guidelines for both inducing and assessing flow by focusing on two characteristics that do not necessarily depend on self‐report, namely resistance to distraction and time distortion. Not all aspects of the human flow experience are (yet) translatable, but those that are may improve quality of life in captive non‐human animals.
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... Some exploratory studies have identified positive correlations between medium to high levels of stress and flow (e.g. Peifer et al., 2015;Peifer and Tan, 2021;Tozman et al., 2017) but failed to identify diverse stressors. This lack is problematic, as the repercussions of stressors largely depend on how they are cognitively appraised to affect personal growth, development and well-being (LePine et al., 2016); thus, conclusions based purely on the intensity of stress may be overly simplistic (Webster et al., 2010). ...
... Studies that have considered this issue have concentrated mainly on the level rather than the type of stressors (e.g. Peifer et al., 2014;Tozman et al., 2017), while recent studies that have differentiated among stressors have investigated only personality traits as relevant factors (e.g. van Oortmerssen et al., 2020). ...
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Purpose This study aims to illustrate the mechanisms underlying the effect of stress on flow states in the context of a multilevel organization, in which case employees' perseverative cognition and reactions to challenge–hindrance stressors are affected by leader mindfulness. Design/methodology/approach Study 1 employed a three-wave time-lag survey, and study 2 conducted a diary study across 10 workdays to replicate the results of study 1. Multilevel structural equation modeling and Monte Carlo simulation were performed using Mplus 8.0 software to test all hypotheses. Findings Problem-solving pondering transmits the nonlinear effect of challenge stressors on flow, and affective rumination mediates the negative effect of hindrance stressors on flow. Leader mindfulness amplifies the tendency of followers to ruminate on the positive aspects of challenge stressors, consequently increasing their positive reactions and flow. Although leader mindfulness fails to influence followers to ruminate less on hindrance stressors, it negates the harmful effect of affective rumination on the flow experience. Originality/value This study is one of the first to examine the associations between stressor types and flow in the workplace. The authors also develop a new theory that highlights the ability of leader mindfulness to shape subordinates' stress, cognitions and reactions through social modeling and the authors identify the boundaries of its beneficial effects.
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... En effet, évaluer l'état de flow au cours de l'activité elle-même (en direct) est une solution appropriée dans certains contextes en évitant ainsi des limites de la méthode du questionnaire (e.g., rétrospection, interruption des états de flow). À cette fin, quelques études ont évalué le flow avec des mesures physiologiques, telles qu'avec des électroencéphalogrammes (Nacke et al., 2011), avec le niveau de cortisol salivaire (Tozman et al., 2017), avec le rythme cardiaque ou encore avec des électromyogrammes (De Manzano et al., 2010). ...
... entre les scores issus de la grille d'observation et les scores issus du questionnaire, semble assez satisfaisante, particulièrement pour deux outils de nature différente (e.g., Cronbach, 1960). En comparaison, les recherches examinant la convergence entre les mesures physiologiques et les questionnaires en auto-évaluation indiquent des corrélations comprises entre 0.10 et 0.20, et jusqu'à 0.45 pour les plus élevées (voirBian et al., 2016;de Sampaio Barros et al., 2018;Kivikangas, 2006;Peifer et al., 2014;Tozman et al., 2015Tozman et al., , 2017. Ainsi, la méthode d'observation est au moins aussi efficace que les mesures physiologiques. ...
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Les données de la littérature indiquent que la stratégie de distraction (e.g. jouets, distractions audiovisuelles) est efficace dans la régulation de l’anxiété préopératoire auprès des enfants. Il paraît cependant nécessaire de s’intéresser aux processus à l’œuvre dans l’efficacité de cette technique, notamment avec l’étude de l’état de flow (état d’intense concentration et d’absorption). La problématique de ce travail de recherche est d’évaluer si l’engagement de l’enfant sur l’activité distractrice peut influencer son effet bénéfique. Dans cette thèse l’étude 1, réalisée auprès de 50 adultes vise à développer et valider une grille d’observation du flow afin de pallier le manque d’outil de mesure du flow qui soit adapté au contexte péri-opératoire et aux enfants. Puis, trois études ont été menées dans un service d’anesthésie pédiatrique auprès de 100 enfants, afin d’étudier l’effet du flow, généré par une distraction technologique (jeu vidéo ou dessin animé), sur la régulation de l’anxiété préopératoire. Dans l’ensemble, les résultats obtenus mettent en évidence que les enfants en flow sur la distraction tirent davantage de bénéfices de cette intervention que les enfants faiblement en flow. Également, le flow montre un caractère dynamique au cours de l’attente. Par ailleurs, dans une démarche exploratoire, les répercussions postopératoires de l'anxiété ont été examinées ainsi que d’autres variables qui semblent moduler la relation entre flow et anxiété (rôle du parent accompagnateur et des soignants). Cela ouvre des perspectives prometteuses dans l’amélioration clinique de cette stratégie de régulation de l’anxiété.
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... The most commonly investigated hormone thought to be related to flow states is cortisol (Tozman et al., 2017). Although cortisol is often referred to as the 'stress-hormone', cortisol plays a crucial role in helping individuals to cope with stress (Ulrick-Lai & Herman, 2009). ...
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Adventure recreation participants, such as rock-climbers, skydivers, and free-style skiers have reported that one of the most important reasons for continued participation in adventure recreation is a state of mind focused on the present moment. Most psychologists have referred to this state as flow. More recently, sport and exercise psychology researchers have proposed another optimal state called clutch. However, the majority of optimal psychological states research in adventure recreation contexts has generally made use of flow models that treat optimal psychological states as a singular state. Thus, there is a need to better understand if and how distinct optimal psychological states, such as flow and clutch, function in adventure recreation contexts. This project is an investigation of flow and clutch states with a focus on the adventure recreation context. To understand the antecedents, characteristics, and consequences of flow and clutch states, the following three studies were completed: a systematic review of flow states in adventure recreation (Study One), a mixed method study with advanced rock-climbers in outdoor and indoor settings (Study Two), and a qualitative study with a diverse group of adventure recreation participants (Study Three).
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... Flow experience differs from this pattern of physiological arousal. Even though flow-associated patterns of physiological arousal have been far less examined than acute stress and relaxation, the preliminary research suggests an inverted u-shaped relationship between the flow experience and the activation of the HPA axis, and also the SNS [41,48], implying that during flow a moderate level of physiological arousal occurs. Regarding PNS activity, the associations appear to be more complex, as research has revealed another inverted u-shaped relationship with flow [49] and also generally increased activity of the PNS during flow in stress-relevant contexts [41]. ...
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