Transcript Csikszentmihalyi & Flow

Csikszentmihalyi & Flow
Freshmen Seminar Lecture
Fall, 2006
Robert Keefer
Origins
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Beyond Boredom & Anxiety, 1975
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Title is a reaction to Beyond Freedom &
Dignity, B. F. Skinner, 1971
Lays out basis for most of M. C.’s work
“It is not so much what people do but how
they perceive and interpret what they are
doing that makes the activity enjoyable.”
(p. x)
Autotelic Activities
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From the Greek:
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Auto = self
Telos = goal, purpose
Activities that require formal and
extensive energy output from the actor,
yet provide few if any conventional
rewards
Autotelic Activities
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Chess
Rock climbing
Rock dancing
Surgery
Everyday life
Autotelic Activities: Structure
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Friendship & Relaxation
Risk & Chance
Problem Solving
Competition
Creative
Elements of the
Flow Experience
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Merging of action and awareness
Centering of attention on a limited stimulus
field (concentration)
“Loss of Ego” , “self-forgetfulness”, “fusion
with the world”
Totally in control of actions and environment
Coherent, non-contradictory demands for
action; clear, unambiguous feedback
Autotelic; no external goals or rewards
Illustration of the
Flow Experience
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Balance of:
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Action opportunities (challenges)
Action capabilities (skills)
Autotelic (Flow Producing)
Activities
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Chess
Rock climbing
Rock dancing
Surgery
Everyday life
Everyday activities:
Microflow
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Social
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Kinesthetic
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People, TV, radio, books
Oral
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Daydreaming, internal music, talking to self
Attending
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Walking, touching, rubbing, fiddling, sports
Imagining
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Shopping, joking, eating, parties, sex
Snacks, smoking, chewing
Creative
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Art, playing music, working, writing a letter, doodling
The Effects of
Flow Deprivation (?)
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Physical states
Self-perception
Cognitive performance
Self-reported changes
The Politics of Enjoyment
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A reassessment of the dichotomy between
‘work’ and ‘play’
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Rather than opposites, consider how one might
restructured to be the other
The function of playful behavior
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The purpose, importance and place of play
brought into the domain of a normal, fulfilled
life
Csikszentmihalyi quote:
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“It is not so much what
people do but how they
perceive and interpret what
they are doing that makes the
activity enjoyable.” (p. x)