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Flow and the Quality of Life Flow and the Quality of Life Flow and the Quality of Life IPPA Workshop IPPA Workshop IPPA Workshop APRIL 2010 APRIL 2010 APRIL 2010
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, PhD Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, PhD Quality of Life Research Center Quality of Life Research Center Claremont Graduate University Claremont Graduate University
Claremont, CA Claremont, CA
COPYRIGHT © 2006 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FLOW DESCRIPTION OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE EXPERIENCE
WHEN WRITING POETRY WHEN WRITING POETRY
“You're right in the work, you lose your sense of time,
you're completely enraptured, you're
completely caught up in what you're doing…. there's no future or past, it's just an
extended present in which you're making meaning…”
Poet Mark Strand, 1991 1
“To go into a dark room and look through the microscope and see these glowing objects which may be moving around or may be stationary, and in different colors – it's a video game, if you will. It's just beautiful…I can sit in front of a microscope for three or four hours at a time, just looking at the material and analyzing it….I can be very disconcerting to other people in the degree to which I can concentrate on something and not pay too much attention to what's going on around me.”
DESCRIPTION OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE DESCRIPTION OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE WHEN DOING RESEARCH WHEN DOING RESEARCH
Cell biologist Joseph G. Gall (1991)
2
DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE
– Attention is focused on a limited stimulus field. There is full concentration, complete involvement.
3
“Concentration is like breathing: you never think of it. The roof could fall in and, if it
missed you, you would be unaware of
it.”
Chess player (Csikszentmihalyi,
1975)
DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE
4
DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE
– Attention is focused on a limited stimulus field. There is full concentration, complete involvement.
– Action and awareness merge
5
“You’re so involved in what you’re doing, you aren’t
thinking about yourself as separate from the
immediate activity. You’re no longer a participant
observer, only a participant. You’re moving in harmony with something
else you’re part of.”
Rock climber (Csikszentmihalyi,
1975)
DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE
6
DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE
– Attention is focused on a limited stimulus field. There is full concentration, complete involvement.
– Action and awareness merge.
– There is freedom from worry about failure.
7
“You feel like…there’s nothing that will be
able to stop you or get in your way. And
you’re ready to tackle anything, and you don’t
fear any possibility happening, and it’s just
exhilarating.”
Cyclist (Jackson & Csikszentmihalyi, 1999)
DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE
8
DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE
– Attention is focused on a limited stimulus field. There is full concentration, complete involvement.
– Action and awareness merge.
– There is freedom from worry about failure.
– Selfconsciousness disappears.
9
“You are not aware of the body except your
hands….not aware of self or personal problems….If
involved, you are not aware of aching feet, not aware of
self.”
Surgeon (Csikszentmihalyi,
1975)
DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE
10
DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE
– Attention is focused on a limited stimulus field. There is full concentration, complete involvement.
– Action and awareness merge.
– There is freedom from worry about failure.
– Selfconsciousness disappears.
– The sense of time becomes distorted.
11
“Two things happen…. After it’s passed, [time] seems to have passed really fast. I see that
it’s one o’clock in the morning and I say, ‘Ahha,
just a few minutes ago it was eight o’clock.’ But then while
I’m dancing…it seems like it’s been much longer than it
really was.”
Social dancer (Csikszentmihalyi,
1975)
DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE
12
DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE
– Attention is focused on a limited stimulus field. There is full concentration, complete involvement.
– Action and awareness merge.
– There is freedom from worry about failure.
– Selfconsciousness disappears.
– The sense of time becomes distorted.
– The experience become its own reward autotelic.
13
“Do it for the satisfaction it gives….This is what I tell my students. Don’t expect to make money, don’t expect fame or a pat on the back, don’t expect a damn thing.
Do it because you love it.”
Composer (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975)
DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE
14
TO SUMMARIZE: TO SUMMARIZE: DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE
– Attention is focused on a limited stimulus field. There is full concentration, complete involvement.
– Action and awareness merge.
– There is freedom from worry about failure.
– Selfconsciousness disappears.
– The sense of time becomes distorted.
– The experience become its own reward autotelic.
…WHAT CONDITIONS FOSTER FLOW?
15
CONDITIONS OF THE FLOW CONDITIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE EXPERIENCE
1. There are clear goals every step of the way.
16
“It’s selfcatalyzing…the moves create each
other. The move you’re planning to do is also the genesis of
the move you’re going to do after you’ve done that
one…”
Rock climber (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975)
17
CONDITIONS OF THE FLOW CONDITIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE EXPERIENCE
1. There are clear goals every step of the way.
2. There is immediate feedback to one's action.
18
“My reward is hearing what I’ve done, and unlike most composers, I can hear it immediately. That’s why I keep these expensive gentlemen with me.”
Duke Ellington 19
CONDITIONS OF THE FLOW CONDITIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE EXPERIENCE
1. There are clear goals every step of the way.
2. There is immediate feedback to one's action.
3. There is a balance between challenges and skills.
20
HIGH Cha
lleng
es
Skills
FLOW
BOREDOM
ANXIETY
HIGH
21
HIGH
L o w
Cha
lleng
es
Skills H I g h
A B
C
D E FLOW
BOREDOM
ANXIETY
High
22
Arousal
Flow
Control
Relaxation Boredom
Apathy
Worry
Anxiety
SKILLS high low
high
CHALLENGES
23
HIGH
LOW
Cha
lleng
es
Skills HIGH
New Tasks, Learning Work Stress,
Sudden Threats
Favorite activity, Hobby, Work, Love
Life
Driving, Work
Family Problems, Work Hassles
Loneliness, TV Viewing
Work, Household Chores
Eating, Reading,
Conversation
24
25
Some Physiological Correlates of Flow Some Physiological Correlates of Flow While playing the Piano While playing the Piano
• Zygomatic Major Muscle activity (Smiling)
• Respiratory Depth • Heart Period (negative) • Blood Pressure (negative)
From: De Marzano, Theorell, Harmat, & Ullen (In Press) The Psychophysiology of Flow, Emotion.
26
College
1.5
1
0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
Concentration Control Happiness Involvement Wish doing the activity Goals
Opt.exp. (N=19) Apathy (N=15)
Optimal experience and apathy during work and study
From A. Delle Fave, & F. Massimini. European Psychologist 2005 27
High School Italy
1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
1.2
Concentration Control Happiness Involvement Wish doing the activity Goals
Opt.exp. (N=25) Apathy (N=20)
Optimal experience and apathy during work and study
From A. Delle Fave, & F. Massimini. European Psychologist 2005 28
High School Nepal
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
Concentration Control Happiness Involvement Wish doing the activity Goals
Opt.exp. (N=28) Apathy (N=23)
Optimal experience and apathy during work and study
From A. Delle Fave, & F. Massimini. European Psychologist 2005 29
Disablement
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
Concentration Control Happiness Involvement Wish doing the activity Goals
Opt.exp. (N=14) Apathy (N=10)
Optimal experience and apathy during work and study
From A. Delle Fave, & F. Massimini. European Psychologist 2005 30
31
32
33
Books by Dr. Books by Dr. Csikszentmihalyi Csikszentmihalyi • Psychological Studies of Flow
Consciousness
• Good Business: Leadership Flow and the Making of Meaning
• Beyond Boredom and Anxiety: Experiencing Flow in Work and Play
• Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
• Creativity
• Flow: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness
• Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life
• The Evolving Self: A Psychology for the Third Millennium