The Concept of Flow
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Creating an optimal balance between skill level and task challenge optimizes chances of experiencing flow.
“Finally, learners can be stimulated to create and seek learning conditions that provide an optimal balance between their skill level and the level of challenge of the task at hand, as this will optimize chances of experiencing 'flow' (Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2014).”
From Worth the Effort: the Start and Stick to Desirable Difficulties (S2D2) Framework (2023) · cites this paper as Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2014
Cites
Deci, E. L. (1975) · doi:10.1007/978-1-4613-4446-9 · Cited by 2,911 · see citing works
Validity and reliability of the Experience-Sampling Method
CSIKSZENTMIHALYI, M., & LARSON, R. (1987) · The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/00005053-198709000-00004 · Cited by 2,544 · see citing works
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The benefits of playing video games.
Granic, I., Lobel, A., & Engels, R. C. M. E. (2014) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/a0034857 · Cited by 2,456 · see citing works
Student engagement in high school classrooms from the perspective of flow theory
Shernoff, D. J., Csikszentmihalyi, M., Shneider, B., & Shernoff, E. S. (2003) · School Psychology Quarterly · doi:10.1521/scpq.18.2.158.21860 · Cited by 1,237 · see citing works
Self-citationPositive Psychology in Clinical Practice
Lee Duckworth, A., Steen, T. A., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2005) · Annual Review of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.1.102803.144154 · Cited by 1,095 · see citing works
The Unengaged Mind: Defining Boredom in Terms of Attention
Eastwood, J. D., Frischen, A., Fenske, M. J., & Smilek, D. (2012) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691612456044 · Cited by 909 · see citing works
Mental illness and well-being: the central importance of positive psychology and recovery approaches
Slade, M. (2010) · BMC Health Services Research · doi:10.1186/1472-6963-10-26 · Cited by 754 · see citing works
The Emerging Neuroscience of Intrinsic Motivation: A New Frontier in Self-Determination Research
Di Domenico, S. I., & Ryan, R. M. (2017) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2017.00145 · Cited by 542 · see citing works
Gardner, F. L., & Moore, Z. E. (2012) · Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne · doi:10.1037/a0030220 · Cited by 241 · see citing works
Croom, A. M. (2015) · Musicae Scientiae · doi:10.1177/1029864914561709 · Cited by 221 · see citing works
Ronimus, M., Kujala, J., Tolvanen, A., & Lyytinen, H. (2014) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2013.10.008 · Cited by 203 · see citing works
From Gamification to Gameful Design and Gameful Experience in Learning
Dichev, C., Dicheva, D., Angelova, G., & Agre, G. (2015) · Cybernetics and Information Technologies · doi:10.1515/cait-2014-0007 · Cited by 169 · see citing works
Montana, J. I., Matamala-Gomez, M., Maisto, M., Mavrodiev, P. A., Cavalera, C. M., Diana, B., Mantovani, F., & Realdon, O. (2020) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm9020500 · Cited by 156 · see citing works
Hanley, A. W., Nakamura, Y., & Garland, E. L. (2018) · Psychological Assessment · doi:10.1037/pas0000615 · Cited by 130 · see citing works
Positive psychology and adolescents: Where are we now? Where to from here?
Norrish, J. M., & Vella-Brodrick, D. A. (2009) · Australian Psychologist · doi:10.1080/00050060902914103 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
What’s coming next? Epistemic curiosity and lurking behavior in online communities
Schneider, A., von Krogh, G., & Jäger, P. (2013) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.09.008 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Schoneveld, E. A., Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A., & Granic, I. (2018) · Prevention Science · doi:10.1007/s11121-017-0843-8 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Game elements improve performance in a working memory training task
Ninaus, M., Pereira, G., Stefitz, R., Prada, R., Paiva, A., Neuper, C., & Wood, G. (2015) · International Journal of Serious Games · doi:10.17083/ijsg.v2i1.60 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Worth the Effort: the Start and Stick to Desirable Difficulties (S2D2) Framework
de Bruin, A. B. H., Biwer, F., Hui, L., Onan, E., David, L., & Wiradhany, W. (2023) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-023-09766-w · Cited by 79 · see citing works
“Flowlike experiences can also be interpreted as examples of the extremely goal-driven approach (Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2014) because under these circumstances perceptions of effort also appear to be silenced (Swann et al., 2016).”
BackgroundInternet gaming disorder: feeling the flow of social games
Hu, E., Stavropoulos, V., Anderson, A., Scerri, M., & Collard, J. (2019) · Addictive Behaviors Reports · doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2018.10.004 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
How and why people synchronize: An integrated perspective
daSilva, E. B., & Wood, A. (2025) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/10888683241252036 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Laffan, D. A., Greaney, J., Barton, H., & Kaye, L. K. (2016) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.09.004 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
“Flow is a positive state inwhich an activity is so engaging that all else becomes oblivious to the individual (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990; Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2002).”
BackgroundHolding, A. C., St-Jacques, A., Verner-Filion, J., Kachanoff, F., & Koestner, R. (2020) · Motivation and Emotion · doi:10.1007/s11031-019-09777-7 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Wilkie, L., Arroyo, P., Conibeer, H., Kemp, A. H., & Fisher, Z. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648286 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Yankouskaya, A., Babiker, A., Rizvi, S., Alshakhsi, S., Liebherr, M., & Ali, R. (2025) · ACM Transactions on the Web · doi:10.1145/3765895 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Piniel, K., & Albert, Á. (2019) · The Palgrave Handbook of Motivation for Language Learning · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-28380-3_28 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Meggs, J., & Chen, M. (2021) · Perceptual and Motor Skills · doi:10.1177/0031512520984422 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Body Mapping in a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Program: Eliciting New Identity and Experience
Macken, S., Nathan, S., Jersky, M., Boydell, K. M., & Gibson, A. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18094942 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Metacognitions and mindfulness in athletes: an investigation on the determinants of flow
Love, S., Kannis-Dymand, L., & Lovell, G. P. (2019) · Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology · doi:10.1123/jcsp.2017-0038 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
- Authors
- Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M.
- Affiliations
- University of Chicago (US)
- ORCID
- Nakamura, Jeanne
- Venue
- Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology
- Publisher
- Springer Netherlands
- Published
- 2014
- Pages
- 239-263
- OpenAlex
- W2162114525
- Cited by
- 1,608
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 77 · 2025: 83 · 2024: 67 · 2023: 95 · 2022: 110 · 2021: 136 · 2020: 97 · 2019: 134 · 2018: 113 · 2017: 83 · 2016: 96 · 2015: 89 · 2014: 86 · 2013: 72 · 2012: 68
- FWCI
- 220.53
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Springer eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Flow Experience in Various Fields
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management
- Keywords
- flow, optimal experience, optimal development, positive psychology, good life, full immersion, well-being
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