[go: up one dir, main page]
More Web Proxy on the site http://driver.im/ Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Flow, performance and moderators of challenge-skill balance

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Motivation and Emotion Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The concept of flow is briefly reviewed and several theoretical and methodological problems related to flow research are discussed. In three studies, we attempted to avoid these problems by measuring the experience of flow in its components, rather than operationally defining flow in terms of challenge and skill. With this measure, we tested the assumption that experience of flow substantially depends on the balance of challenge and skill. This assumption could only be partially supported, and, as expected, this relationship was moderated by the (perceived) importance of the activity and by the achievement motive. Furthermore, flow predicted performance in two of the three studies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
£29.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (United Kingdom)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Later on, other authors separated some of the components and considered “autotelic” or “intrinsically rewarding” experience as a component of flow (e.g. Jackson and Eklund 2002; Nakamura and Csikszentmihalyi 2005). We also consider flow as a rewarding experience for which people strive but do not consider it as a separate or additional component (see also the last two paragraphs discussion section).

  2. Massimini and colleagues proposed an eight- and even 16-channel model (e.g. Massimini and Carli 1988). The models are refined extensions of the quadrant model, having the same theoretical implication.

  3. Hope of success is equivalent to the achievement motive as measured by Atkinson (1957).

  4. Regression analysis with difficulty and skill showed a total explained variance of the perceived balance of 54%. There was a reliable main effect of difficulty and skill of similar magnitude, β = −0.42, t(244) = −8.32, p < 0.01, β = 0.36, t(243) = 7.16 p < 0.01, and a significant interaction, β = −0.25, t(242) = 5.67, p < 0.01.

References

  • Abuhamdeh, S., Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2005). Flow. In A. J. Elliot & C. S. Dweck (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation (pp. 598–608). New York: Guilford Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aellig, S. (2004). Über den Sinn des Unsinns: Flow-Erleben und Wohlbefinden als Anreize für autotelische Tätigkeiten [On the sense of nonsense. Flow experiences and well-being as incentives of autotelic activities]. Müster: Waxmann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J. W. (1957). Motivational determinants of risk-taking behavior. Psychological Review, 64, 359–372. doi:10.1037/h0043445.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J. W. (1958). Motives in fantasy, action and society. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berlyne, D. E. (1960). Conflict, arousal and curiosity. New York: Mc-Graw Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brunstein, J. C., & Heckhausen, H. (2008). In H. Heckhausen & J. Heckhausen (Eds.), Motivation and action (pp. 137–183). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, S. G., & Haworth, J. T. (1994). Flow experience in the lives of six-form college students. The British Journal of Psychology, 85, 511–523.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1975). Beyond boredom and anxiety. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1988). The flow experience and its significance for human psychology. In M. Csikszentmihalyi & I. Csikszentmihalyi (Eds.), Optimal experience: Psychological studies of flow in consciousness (pp. 15–35). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper Perennial.

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding Flow. The psychology of engagement with everyday life. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Csikszentmihalyi, I. (1988). Optimal experience: Psychological studies of Flow in consciousness. Cambridge: University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M., Larson, R., & Prescott, S. (1977). The ecology of adolescent activity and experience. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 6, 281–294. doi:10.1007/BF02138940.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M., & LeFevre, J. (1989). Optimal experience in work and leisure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 815–822. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.56.5.815.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dahme, G., Jungnickel, D., & Rathje, H. (1993). Güteeigenschaften der Achievement Motives Scale (AMS) von Gjesme und Nygard (1970) in der deutschen Übersetzung von Göttert und Kuhl—Vergleich der Kennwerte norwegischer und deutscher Stichproben. Diagnostica, 39, 257–270. Psychometric indices of a German version (Goettert and Kuhl) of the Achievement Motives Scale (Gjesme and Nygard, 1990). A comparison of Norwegian and German samples.

  • DeCharms, R. (1968). Personal causation. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1980). The empirical exploration of intrinsic motivational processes. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 39–80). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227–268. doi:10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberger, R., Jones, J. R., Stinglhamber, F., Shanock, L., & Randall, A. T. (2005). Flow experiences at work: For high need achievers alone? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 755–775. doi:10.1002/job.337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliot, A. J., & Harakiewicz, J. (1996). Approach and avoidance achievement goals and intrinsic motivation: A mediational analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 10, 461–475. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.461.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, G. D., Voelkl, J. E., & Morris, C. (1994). Measurements and analysis issues with explanation of variance in daily experience using the Flow model. Journal of Leisure Research, 26, 337–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engeser, S. (2005). Lernmotivation und volitionale Handlungssteuerung : eine Längsschnittsuntersuchung beim Statistik Lernen im Psychologiestudium [Learning motivation and volitional action regulation: A longitudinal study on learning elementary statistics]. Dissertation, Institut für Psychologie, Universtität Potsdam (http://pub.ub.uni-potsdam.de//volltexte/2005/240/).

  • Goldberg, I. I., Harel, M., & Malach, R. (2006). When the brain loses its self: Prefrontal inactivation during sensorimotor processing. Neuron, 50, 329–339. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2006.03.015.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hebb, D. O. (1955). Drives and the CNS. Psychological Review, 62, 243–254. doi:10.1037/h0041823.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heckhausen, H. (1963). Hoffnung und Furcht in der Leistungsmotivation [Hope and fear in achievement motivation]. Meisenheim: Hain.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heckhausen, H., Schmalt, H.-D., & Schneider, K. (1985). Achievement motivation in perspective. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, S. A., & Eklund, R. C. (2002). Assessing Flow in physical activity: The Flow State Scale-2 and Dispositional Flow Scale-2. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 24, 133–150.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, S. A., Thomas, P. R., Marsh, H. W., & Smethurst, C. J. (2001). Relationships between flow, self-concept, psychological skills, and performance. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 13, 129–153. doi:10.1080/104132001753149865.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keller, J., & Bless, H. (2008). Flow and regulatory compatibility: An experimental approach to the flow model of intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 196–209. doi:10.1177/0146167207310026.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation–a 35 year odyssey. The American Psychologist, 57, 705–717. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.57.9.705.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Massimini, F., & Carli, M. (1998). The systematic assessment of flow in daily experience. In M. Csikszentmihalyi & I. Csikszentmihalyi (Eds.), Optimal experience: Psychological studies of flow in consciousness (pp. 266–287). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McClelland, D. C., Atkinson, J. W., Clark, R. A., & Lowell, E. L. (1953). The achievement motive. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

    Google Scholar 

  • McClelland, G. H., & Judd, C. M. (1993). Statistical difficulties of detecting interactions and moderator effects. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 376–390. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.114.2.376.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McClelland, D. C., Koestner, R., & Weinberger, J. (1989). How do self-attributed and implicit motives differ? Psychological Review, 96, 690–702. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.96.4.690.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McReynolds, P. (1971). The nature and assessment of intrinsic motivation. In P. McReynolds (Ed.), Advances in psychological assessment (Vol. 2). Palo Alto: Science and Behavior Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moneta, G. B., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). The effect of perceived challenges and skills on the quality of subjective experience. Journal of Personality, 64, 274–310. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1996.tb00512.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moneta, G. B., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1999). Models of concentration in natural environments: A comparative approach based on streams of experiential data. Social Behavior and Personality, 27, 603–638. doi:10.2224/sbp.1999.27.6.603.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mueller, J. H. (1992). Anxiety and performance. In A. P. Smith & D. M. Jones (Eds.), Factors affecting human performance (Vol. 3, pp. 127–160). London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nachtigal, C., & Wolf, A. (2001). Fragebogen zur Wahrscheinlichkeitstheorie (FWT) [Questionnaire on probability theory] (Rep. No. 3). Institut für Psychologie der Friedrich Schiller-Universität-Jena, Psychologische Methodenlehre und Evaluationsforschung, Jena, Germany.

  • Nakamura, J. (1988). Optimal experience and the uses of talent. In M. Csikszentmihalyi & I. Csikszentmihalyi (Eds.), Optimal experience: Psychological studies of flow in consciousness (pp. 319–326). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2005). The concept of flow. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 89–105). Oxford: University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pang, J. S., & Schultheiss, O. (2005). Assessing implicit motives in U.S. college students: Effects of picture type and position, gender and ethnicity, and cross-cultural comparisons. Journal of Personality Assessment, 85, 280–294. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa8503_04.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfister, R. (2002). Flow im Alltag. Untersuchungen zum Quadrantenmodell des Flow-Erlebens und zum Konzept der autotelischen Persönlichkeit mit der Experience Sampling Method (ESM) [Flow in everyday life: Studies on the quadrant model of flow experiencing and on the concept of the autotelic personality with the experience sampling method (ESM)]. Bern: Peter Lang.

  • Puca, R. M., & Schmalt, H.-D. (1999). Task enjoyment: A mediator between achievement motives and performance. Motivation and Emotion, 23, 15–29. doi:10.1023/A:1021327300925.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rand, P. (1987). Research on achievement motivation in school and college. In F. Halisch & J. Kuhl (Eds.), Motivation intention and volition (pp. 215–232). Berlin: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Remy, K. (2000). Entwicklung eines Fragebogens zum Flow-Erleben [Constructing a questionnaire to measure flow]. Bielefeld: Diplomarbeit. Fakultät für Psychologie und Sportwissenschaft.

  • Rheinberg, F. (2004). Motivationsdiagnostik [Motivation diagnosis]. Göttingen: Hogrefe.

  • Rheinberg, F. (2008). Intrinsic motivation and flow-experience. In H. Heckhausen & J. Heckhausen (Eds.), Motivation and action (pp. 323–348). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rheinberg, F., Manig, Y., Kliegl, R., Engeser, S., & Vollmeyer, R. (2007). Flow bei der Arbeit, doch Glück in der Freizeit. Zielausrichtung, Flow und Glücksgefühle. Zeitschrift für Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie, 51, 105–115. Flow during work but happiness during spare time. Goals, flow experience and happiness. doi:10.1026/0932-4089.51.3.105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rheinberg, F., Vollmeyer, R., & Engeser, S. (2003). Die Erfassung des Flow-Erlebens [The assessment of flow experience]. In J. Stiensmeier-Pelster & F. Rheinberg (Eds.), Diagnostik von Selbstkonzept, Lernmotivation und Selbstregulation [Diagnosis of motivation and self-concept] (pp. 261–279). Göttingen: Hogrefe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schallberger, U., & Pfister, R. (2001). Flow-Erleben in Arbeit und Freizeit. Eine Untersuchung zum Paradox der Arbeit mit der Experience Sampling Method. Zeitschrift für Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie, 45, 176–187. Flow experiences in work and leisure. An experience sampling study on the paradox of work. doi:10.1026//0932-4089.45.4.176.

  • Schüler, J. (2007). Arousal of flow-experience in a learning setting and its effects on exam-performance and affect. Zeitschrift fur Padagogische Psychologie, 21, 217–227. doi:10.1024/1010-0652.21.3.217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, C. P. (1992). Motivation and personality: Handbook of thematic content analysis. New York: Cambrige University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verleye, G., Pepermans, R., & Despontin, M. (1998). Missing at random data problems and maximum likelihood structural equation modelling. In J. Hox & E. D. de Leeuw (Eds.), Assumptions, robustness, and estimation methods in multivariate modeling (pp. 111–140). Amsterdam: TT-Publikaties.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, R. W. (1959). Motivation reconsidered: The concept of competence. Psychological Review, 66, 297–333. doi:10.1037/h0040934.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Woodworth, R. S. (1918). Dynamic psychology. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zwick, W. R., & Velicer, W. F. (1986). Comparison of five rules for determining the number of components to retain. Psychological Bulletin, 99, 432–442. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.99.3.432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lehrstuhl für Psychologie, Technische Universität München, Lothstr. 17, 80335, München, Germany

    Stefan Engeser

  2. University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany

    Falko Rheinberg

Authors
  1. Stefan Engeser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Falko Rheinberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stefan Engeser.

Appendix—Flow Short Scale

Appendix—Flow Short Scale

figure a

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Engeser, S., Rheinberg, F. Flow, performance and moderators of challenge-skill balance. Motiv Emot 32, 158–172 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-008-9102-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-008-9102-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation