Historical lines and an overview of current research on flow

Abstract

This chapter introduces the flow concept by listing the components of flow as provided by Csikszentmihalyi. We will show that these components constitute the widely shared definitional ground of researchers in the field, with only minor variation between research groups and time periods. Next, we try to clarify some lingering ambiguities regarding the components of flow, and then talk about flow as an optimal experience as well as discussing the relationship between flow and happiness. Subsequently, we trace the history of flow. We take time to describe the beginnings of flow research by Csikszentmihalyi and a similar research program by Rheinberg in Germany. Following the description of flow and qualitative analyses, we will present the quantitative approach of Experience Sampling Method (ESM), which has greatly influenced research on flow. Then we will look at current lines of research on flow, identifying and describing topics of increasing interest in the last years. Creativity (e.g., in music and arts) and well-being remain an important part of flow research, but flow research has entered many other areas, spanning from the emerging research on flow in teams or psychophysiological correlates of flow to flow in sports, learning (education), development, work, and human computer interaction-all topics that will be addressed in more detail in the chapters of this book. Finally, we complete this first chapter by discussing methodological aspects of the research on flow.