Flow

DEVELOPERS

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi

BACKGROUND

REFERENCES ~ Coding Spreadsheet - Web View

• Csikszentmihalyi, M. & Rathunde, K. (1993). "The measurement of flow in everyday life: Towards a theory of emergent motivation". In Jacobs, J.E.. Developmental perspectives on motivation. Nebraska symposium on motivation. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. p. 60. ISBN 0803292104. Abstract: The concept of intrinsic motivations explored in this chapter focuses on rewards emerging from the interaction of a person with his or her environment. Our approach differs from theories that look to the past for the key to motivation. Instead we are interested in what propels people to initiate or continue an activity because they enjoy its performance in the present. (Authors Abstract)
• Goleman, D. (2006), Emotional Intelligence, p. 91, ISBN 055380491X Abstract: Everyone knows that high IQ is no guarantee of success, happiness, or virtue, but until Emotional Intelligence, we could only guess why. Daniel Goleman's brilliant report from the frontiers of psychology and neuroscience offers startling new insight into our "two minds"—the rational and the emotional—and how they together shape our destiny. (Authors Abstract)
• Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1991). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper Collins. Abstract: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience describes how this pleasurable state can be controlled, and not just left to chance, by setting ourselves challenges--tasks that are neither too difficult nor too simple for our abilities. With such goals, we learn to order the information that enters consciousness and thereby improve the quality of our lives.
• Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1988), "The flow experience and its significance for human psychology", in Csikszentmihalyi, M., Optimal experience: psychological studies of flow in consciousness, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 15–35, Abstract: What constitutes enjoyment of life? Optimal Experience: Psychological Studies of Flow in Consciousness offers a comprehensive survey of theoretical and empirical investigations of the "flow" experience, a desirable or optimal state of consciousness that enhances a person's psychic state. "Flow" can be said to occur when people are able to meet the challenges of their environment with appropriate skills, and accordingly feel a sense of well-being, a sense of mastery, and a heightened sense of self-esteem. The authors show the diverse contexts and circumstances in which flow is reported in different cultures (e.g. Japan, Korea, Australia, Italy), and describe its positive emotional impacts. They reflect on the concept of flow vis-à-vis modern social structures, historical phenomena, and evolutionary biocultural selection. The ways in which the ability to experience flow affects work satisfaction, academic success, and the overall quality of life are suggested; and the childrearing practices that result in the ability to derive enjoyment from life, considered. (Publishers Abstract)
• Csikszentmihalyi, M.; Abuhamdeh, S. & Nakamura, J. (2005), "Flow", in Elliot, A., Handbook of Competence and Motivation, New York: The Guilford Press, pp. 598–698 Abstract: This important Handbook provides a comprehensive, authoritative review of achievement motivation and establishes the concept of competence as an organizing framework for the field. The editors synthesize diverse perspectives on why and how individuals are motivated in school, work, sports, and other settings. Written by leading investigators, chapters reexamine central constructs in achievement motivation, explore the impact of developmental, contextual, and sociocultural factors, and analyze the role of self-regulatory processes. Focusing on the ways in which achievement is motivated by the desire to experience competence and avoid experiencing incompetence, the volume integrates disparate theories and findings and sets forth a coherent agenda for future research. (Publishers Abstract)
• Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on flow. Perf. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, . TED: Ideas worth spreading: 2004, Film. < http://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow.html> Abstract: During the 2004 TED Convention Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi asks, "What makes a life worth living?" Noting that money cannot make us happy, he looks to those who find pleasure and lasting satisfaction in activities that bring about a state of "flow."
• Perry, S. K. (1999), Writing in flow, Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books Abstract: In Writing in Flow, Susan K. Perry applies the theories of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Flow) about the concept of "flow" to the writing process. A writer's being in flow is comparable to an athlete's being in a "zone." "You know you've been in flow," Perry says, "when time seems to have disappeared.... You become so deeply immersed ... that you forget yourself and your surroundings." For this book, Perry interviewed 76 authors--including T. Coraghessan Boyle, Sue Grafton, Donald Hall, and Jane Smiley--about their experiences with flow. How often do they experience it? What does it feel like? How does one encourage it? How does the writing that occurs during a flow state differ from that which is achieved in a more belabored manner? While the book often reads a little too much like the doctoral thesis it once was, Perry has culled some fascinating insights into the creative process from a terrific collection of writers. (Publishers Abstract)
• Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly (1996). Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 0-06-092820-4 Abstract: Based on interviews with 91 internationally recognized creative people-among them Nobel physicist John Bardeen, arts administrator-performer Kitty Carlisle Hart, writer Denise Levertov, jazz musician Oscar Peterson, electronics executive Robert Galvin-this book offers a highly readable anatomy of creativity. As Csikzentmihalyi (Flow) argues, creativity requires not only unusual individuals, but a culture and field of experts that can foster and validate such work. Most creative people, the author suggests, have dialectic personalities: smart yet naive, both extroverted and introverted, etc. Expanding on his previous book, Csikszentmihalyi suggests that complex and challenging work exemplifies fully engaged "flow." Synthesizing study results, he reports that none of the interviewees was popular during adolescence; while they were not necessarily more brilliant than their college peers; they displayed more "concentrated attention." Later, they kept a consistent focus on future work. The author reminds us that while individuals can make their own opportunities, a supportive society offering resources and rewards can foster creativity. His advice may sound like homilies-"Try to be surprised by something every day"-but is often worthy.
• Jackson, S. A., P. R., Marsh, H. W., & Smethurst, C. J. (2002). Relationship between flow, self-concept, psychological skills, and performance. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 13(2), 129-153. Abstract: 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. (Author’s Abstract)
• Sawyer, K. (2007) Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration, Basic Books. ISBN-10: 0465071937 Abstract: In Group Genius, Keith Sawyer, a psychology professor at Washington University in St. Louis, maintains that "creativity is always collaborative," that even startling discoveries aren't random bursts of genius but the products of work and study that has gone before. Revolutionary products like the automated teller machine, open source operating systems and mountain bikes all were born through a form of collaboration.
• Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly (2004). Good Business. New York: Penguin Group. ISBN-10: 0670031968 Abstract: In psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's definition of leadership, the personal is political. The bestselling author of Flow interviewed several dozen exemplary CEOs whose wisdom provides the radical job description of the books premise: "Leaders must make it possible for employees to work with joy, to their hearts content, while responding to the needs of society." Csikszentmihalyi leverages his definition of "flow"-the capacity for full engagement in an activity-to create a blueprint for a workplace in which bringing out the best in workers comes before products and profit. When leaders select and reward employees who find satisfaction at work, they can create an upwardly moral organization

Flow is defined here as fully focused motivation. It is a single-minded immersion and represents the skill in channeling one’s emotions in the service of performing and learning. In the state of flow emotions are not just contained and channeled, but energized, and aligned with the task at hand. The hallmark of flow is a feeling of spontaneous joy while performing a task. (Goleman, D. 2006)

Csíkszentmihályi defines Flow as having a sense that one’s skills are able to manage the challenges at hand in a goal focused, rule bound task that provides clear feedback as to how one is performing. A person’s concentration is so intense that there is no attention left to think about anything irrelevant. Self-consciousness vanishes, and the sense of time becomes distorted. A task that evokes such experiences is so fulfilling that people are willing to do it for its own sake (Csikszentmihalyi, 1991:71) (3).

Entering the state of flow cannot be forced or predicted. It is a spontaneous event. A flow state can be achieved while performing any activity. The probability increases when one is earnestly performing a task for intrinsic objectives. (Csikszentmihalyi, M. 1988), The below diagram depicts the balance needed to achieve the flow state, between the challenge of the task and skill required to perform the task. Any imbalance will promote a different state such as boredom or anxiety (Csikszentmihalyi, M.; Abuhamdeh, S. & Nakamura, J. 2005).

How it feels to be in flow:

Completely involved in what you are doing – focused concentration.

1. A sense of ecstasy – of being outside everyday reality.
2. Great inner clarity – knowing what needs to be done, and how well you are doing.
3. Knowing that the activity is doable – that your skills are adequate to the task.
4. A sense of serenity – no worries about oneself and the feeling of growing beyond the boundaries of the ego.
5. Timelessness – thoroughly focused on the present, hours seem to pass by in minutes.
6. Intrinsic motivation – whatever produces flow becomes its own reward (Csikszentmihalyi, M. 2004).

RECOMMENDATIONS/APPLICATIONS:

The state of flow is a fundamentally beneficial experience. The experience can "produce intense feelings of enjoyment" (Csikszentmihalyi, M.; Abuhamdeh, S. & Nakamura, J. 2005). It promotes optimal performance and skill development. Flow has a well documented relationship in enhancing performance. Studies have found that achieving a flow state is positively correlated with high performance in the fields of art and science (Perry, 1999), teaching (Csíkszentmihályi, 1996), education (Csíkszentmihályi, 1993), and sports (Jackson, Thomas, Marsh, & Smethurst, 2002).

Promoting a state of flow in any discipline will allow participants to realize a positive experience and optimize their performance. In a work setting reaching a flow state has both a personal and professional benefits. Csíkszentmihályi offers ways a group of people can work together so that each individual member achieves flow. The characteristics of such a group include (Sawyer, K. 2007):

• Creative spatial arrangements - Work primarily standing and moving
• “Playground” design - Charts for information inputs, flow graphs, project summary, safe place and open topics
• Parallel and organized work
• Targeted and group focus
• Advancement of existing one – prototyping
• Increase in efficiency through visualization Using differences among

participants as opportunities, rather than obstacles.