Flow State as an Existential Tool to Increase Optimal Experience and Life Enjoyment

The purpose of the present study was two-fold, (1) to examine the psychological elements of flow state experienced by top athletes during competition and (2) to explore the psychological states leading to flow experience. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 29 Japanese athletes regarding experiences in which they felt they were able to display 100% of their abilities and which they fully enjoyed. Interview contents were classified by the main investigator and independently by an external examiner. Analysis indicated that 92.6% of elements agreed with Csikszentmihalyi's model of flow. Three categories in Jackson's nomenclature (1996), unambiguous feedback, concentration on the task at hand, and autotelic experience, reported at a higher rate in the present study, may be the basic characteristics of flow state. The psychological states leading up to flow state were placed into six categories: relaxed, self-confident, highly motivated, completely focused, lack of negative thoughts and feelings, and extremely positive. Relaxed, self-confident, and highly motivated were reported by most of the athletes, suggesting they are primary elements for an optimal experience.

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Development and Validation of a Scale to Measure Optimal Experience: The Flow State Scale

Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology ◽

10.1123/jsep.18.1.17 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 17-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 543

Author(s):

Susan A. Jackson ◽

Herbert W. Marsh

Keyword(s):

Past Research ◽

Optimal Experience ◽

Flow State ◽

Factor Analyses ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽

Activity Settings ◽

Confirmatory Factor ◽

Quantitative Analyses ◽

Development And Validation ◽

State Scale

The Flow State Scale (FSS) is a new measure of flow in sport and physical activity settings. The nine FSS scales of the 36-item instrument represent the dimensions of flow discussed by Csikszentmihalyi (1990, 1993), and each scale is measured by four items. Development of items was based on (a) past research with flow state both within and outside of sport settings, (b) qualitative analysis of interviews with elite athletes, and (c) quantitative analyses conducted in the present investigation. Internal consistency estimates for the nine FSS scales were reasonable (alpha M = 33) for administration of the scale to 394 athletes. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the nine scales. Consistent with the theoretical basis of the FSS, there was also support for a hierarchical model in which one global (higher order) flow factor explained correlations among the nine first-order FSS factors. Suggestions for use of the scale and for further research are discussed.

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DeepFlow: Detecting Optimal User Experience From Physiological Data Using Deep Neural Networks

Proceedings of the Twenty-Eighth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence ◽

10.24963/ijcai.2019/196 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Marco Maier ◽

Daniel Elsner ◽

Chadly Marouane ◽

Meike Zehnle ◽

Christoph Fuchs

Keyword(s):

User Experience ◽

Affective State ◽

Professional Sports ◽

Low Flow ◽

Optimal Experience ◽

Physiological Data ◽

Flow State ◽

Affective States ◽

High Productivity ◽

Human In The Loop

Flow is an affective state of optimal experience, total immersion and high productivity. While often associated with (professional) sports, it is a valuable information in several scenarios ranging from work environments to user experience evaluations, and we expect it to be a potential reward signal for human-in-the-loop reinforcement learning systems. Traditionally, flow has been assessed through questionnaires which prevents its use in online, real-time environments. In this work, we present our findings towards estimating a user's flow state based on physiological signals measured using wearable devices. We conducted a study with participants playing the game Tetris in varying difficulty levels, leading to boredom, stress, and flow. Using an end-to-end deep learning architecture, we achieve an accuracy of 67.50% in recognizing high flow vs. low flow states and 49.23% in distinguishing all three affective states boredom, flow, and stress.

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Flow and the dynamics of conscious thought

Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences ◽

10.1007/s11097-021-09762-x ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Joshua Shepherd

Keyword(s):

Sport Psychology ◽

Structure And Function ◽

Optimal Experience ◽

Clear Understanding ◽

Flow State ◽

Standard View ◽

Functional Roles ◽

Creative Thought ◽

And Function ◽

Control Resource

AbstractThe flow construct has been influential within positive psychology, sport psychology, the science of consciousness, the philosophy of agency, and popular culture. In spite of its longstanding influence, it remains unclear [a] how the constituents of the flow state ‘hang together’—how they relate to each other causally and functionally—[b] in what sense flow is an ‘optimal experience,’ and [c] how best to describe the unique phenomenology of the flow state. As a result, difficulties persist for a clear understanding of the flow state’s structure and function. After explicating the standard view of the flow construct (section one), I articulate several basic questions regarding its nature and functional roles (section two), and I argue that these questions are best answered by integrating flow within broader streams of research on the dynamics of thought, on cognitive control resource allocation, and on creative thought (sections three and four).

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THE THEORY OF AN OPTIMAL EXPERIENCE AS A SPECIAL VIEW ON THE CONCEPT OF “HAPPINESS”

10.31108/7.2021.64 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Iryna YAVORSKA-VIETROVA ◽

Keyword(s):

Quality Improvement ◽

Key Words ◽

Personal Growth ◽

Life Quality ◽

Optimal Experience ◽

Flow State ◽

The World ◽

Personal Attitudes ◽

Autotelic Personality

The article analyzes M. Csikszentmihalyi’s theory of an optimal experience and its links with the system of personal attitudes as a component of personal growth and life quality improvement. The factors and conditions are examined that support formation of the autotelic personality, who “independently determines the goals and reflects the idea that most of such person’s goals are intrinsic”. A person, having learned to set goals, developing own skills, attentive to results of their actions, focusing and fully dedicating to a process or an activity, is able to achieve an optimal experience, a flow state in any area of relations with the world, other people, themselves, or in any activity. Key words: personality, attitude, system of attitudes, optimal experience, flow.

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