The psychophysiology of flow: A systematic review of peripheral nervous system features

Abstract

As information systems (IS) are increasingly able to induce highly engaging and interactive experiences, the phenomenon of flow is considered a promising vehicle to understand IS user behavior and to ultimately inform the design of flow-fostering IS. However, despite growing interest of researchers in the phenomenon, knowledge about how to continuously assess flow during IS usage is limited. Hereby, recent developments in NeuroIS and psychophysiology propose novel possibilities to overcome this limitation. This article presents the results of a systematic literature review (SLR) on peripheral nervous system indicators of flow. The findings revealed that currently four major approaches exist towards physiological measurement. Propositions for simple and unobtrusive measurement in IS research are derived in conclusion.