Flow

Flow is an intrinsically rewarding state of deep absorption that may be experienced when a challenging activity fully engages an individual’s skills. When athletes speak of being in the zone while playing, they are referring to being in flow. Flow appears to be experienced at all ages, although the contexts in which it is most frequently experienced change in predictable ways with age. Flow is a form of optimal experience that contributes to psychological well-being. Moreover, flow is of interest to life-span developmental psychologists as a catalyst of learning, achievement, and development. This entry describes characteristics of flow at different points in the life span.

In 1975, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi introduced the concept of flow based on interview research investigating intrinsically motivated activities such as chess and rock climbing. In the flow state, one experiences complete concentration of attention on the stimulus field defined by the activity being pursued, a merging of action and awareness, and a fluid sense of control; one may be aware of oneself as part of the evolving interaction with the environment but disruptive self-consciousness recedes. Awareness of time also recedes, or the passage of time seems distorted, either slowing or accelerating. Researchers have identified a set of experiential conditions that encourage the flow state, including proximal goals that one perceives clearly, feedback that is immediate and unambiguous, and perceived challenges that stretch one’s perceived capacities for action. The experience in and of itself is rewarding or autotelic. In large-scale U.S. and German polls, 10–15% reported never experiencing flow, while 20–25% reported experiencing it very often, suggesting that most people easily recognize the experience.