Fausto Massimini

Optimal experience: The systematic assessment of flow in daily experience

In considering possible future empirical research on flow, a central desideratum was expressed in the last pages of Beyond Boredom and Anxiety : “The flow model could be extended to work situations and other ‘non leisure’ settings…it is important to find out piecemeal and experimentally what combination of challenges and skills can be accommodated in a schoolroom, a neighborhood, or at home, so that … [we] can maximize flow involvement in as many people as possible” (Csikszentmihalyi 1975b, p. 203). The present chapter describes such a project. The transition from theory to empirical validation is never easy, especially when the phenomenon is a complex one. When it belongs to the class of “subjective experiences,” the methodological challenge becomes even more baffling. In this context, the problem consists of finding a way to describe variations in the quality of subjective experience as a function of variations in the conditions of flow – that is, as a function of the relationship between the levels of perceived challenges and perceived skills. Flow is a relatively rare experience, difficult to encounter every day, at least in our culture and for the majority of people. It was first described in groups of people who, because of their specialized activities and because of their strong involvement, were able to come in contact with this experience in its highest forms – chess masters, rock climbers, surgeons, and so on (Csikszentmihalyi 1975b).

The monitoring of optimal experience. A tool for psychiatric rehabilitation.

This article illustrates the use of quantitative time-sampling data in developing a psychology of “optimal experience” to help in the psychiatric development of adequate rehabilitation approaches. The Experience-Sampling Method was used on a sample of 47 Italian adolescent students to measure fluctu

Quality of Experience and Risk Perception in High-Altitude Rock Climbing

Six climbers were monitored during an expedition in the Himalaya, comprising 13 days of traveling and 26 days of mountaineering. The aim was the investigation of the quality of experienceand risk perception associated with high-altitude rock climbing. By means of experience sampling method, participants provided on-line repeated self-reports about activities carriedout, and the associated quality of the experience, in terms of mood, intrinsic motivation, potency, confidence, engagement, and risk assessment. The experience fluctuation model wasapplied to identify experiential profiles on the basis of the perception of environmental challenges and personal skills. When both challenges and skills were positive, flow experience wasreported. In particular, we found that the opportunity for experiencing flow can motivate climbers to take part in a risky expedition. The results showed that risk played a minor role in climbing,in line with a goal-directed approach to risk seeking. These findings have two implications: (a) Studies on motivation in sport should distinguish between risk and search for challenges andopportunities for action, especially in dealing with extreme sports; (b) In the recreational domain, outdoor programs, among other things, should aim at providing opportunities for flowand personal development.

On the psychological selection of bio-cultural information

MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI* and FAUST0 MASSIMINIi *Department of Behavioral Sciences, Committee on Human Development, The University of Chicago, 5730 South Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60637, U.S.A.; tDepartment of Psychology, University of Turin, Center for Research in Human Cultural Evolution and Behavioral Development, Istituto Di Psicologia Della Facolta Medica Dell’Universita Degli Studi Di Milano, 20122 Milano, Via Francesco Sforza, 23, Italy

Coping with Boundaries: The Quality of Daily Experience of Rom Nomads in Europe

In the globalisation process, the social organisation of sedentary cultures represents the uni versal model. Few nomadic communities resist this trend, facing difficulties in survival and intercultural relations. To analyse the daily life and future expectations of these populations from the individual perspective, 60 Rom people living in Italy were administered Flow Questionnaire and Life Theme Questionnaire. These instruments investigate the quality of experience in daily life, particularly focusing on optimal experiences, characterised by engage ment, intrinsic motivation, and skill development. The joint family emerged as the main source of optimal experiences in daily life of Rom participants. The constraints of semi- sedentary lifestyle, and the integration problems due to cultural differences were also high ligbted. Results suggested that the experience associated with daily contexts should be taken into account in projects with minority communities, to design programmes promoting the perception of opportunities for optimal experiences and development in a foreign environ ment.

Hedonism and Eudaimonism in Positive Psychology

Positive psychology aims at catalyzing a change in the focus of psychology from preoccupation only with repairing the worst things in life to also building positive qualities. A key interest of positive psychology is the analysis of happiness which has been broadly defined according to two opposing philosophical traditions: hedonism and eudaimonism. The hedonic view equates happiness with pleasure, comfort, and enjoyment, whereas the eudaimonic view equates happiness with the human ability to pursue complex goals which are meaningful to the individual and society. Besides analyzing the antecedents, correlates and consequences that happiness entails for human well-being at the individual and community levels, recent trends in positive psychology call for the integration of the hedonic and eudaimonic views into a global theory of human well-being, and stress the need to adopt a cross-cultural perspective on happiness which would take into account a world-wide concept of a life worth living.

Psychological Selection and Optimal Experience

Individuals play an active role in determining their life trajectories and in influencing the long-term development of the human species. This role is made possible by the evolution of consciousness and cognition that enable the individual to actively and uniquely process information coming from the external environment and the inner world. Since individuals are faced with excessive information at any given moment, they have to choose among them through the selective focus of attention. Criterion for selection is the quality of subjective experience. Flow or optimal experience was identified as a particularly complex and positive state of consciousness characterized by deep involvement, absorption, and enjoyment. Flow is the core of psychological selection, the process leading to the selective cultivation of activities, to the life-long construction of personal meaning and to the pursuit of self-determined goals. This chapter will focus on the psychological features of optimal experience, on its role in psychological selection, and on its neurophysiological underpinnings. Flow will be finally evaluated in its relation with bio-cultural inheritance and with the eudaimonic perspective in positive psychology.

Living at home or in institution: adolescents' optimal experience and life theme building

A influencia das relacoes familiares no comportamento e desenvolvimento de adolescentes tem sido amplamente investigada. Este estudo examina a relacao entre a estrutura familiar e a qualidade das experiencias de adolescentes nas atividades diarias e contextos sociais, e a percepcao que eles tem das influencias em suas vidas, de seus desafios e metas. Para atingir estes objetivos, Flow Questionnaire e o Life Theme Questionnaire foram aplicados a 50 adolescentes italianas (15-21 anos), 25 vivendo em familias com ambos os pais, 25 em Instituicoes Abrigo. Os dados sugerem que a percepcao dos adolescentes de um ambiente familiar positivo e acolhedor incentiva a busca por atividades diarias desafiadoras e agradaveis e o envolvimento em contextos sociais produtivos. Ao contrario, uma percepcao negativa da familia esta relacionada com falta de engajamento e motivacao e a prevalencia de atividades com baixo indice de desafio como fonte de divertimento e satisfacao. Os resultados, apesar de se ter uma amostra pequena que nao permite generalizacoes, confirmam o papel crucial da familia no influenciar o desenvolvimento psicologico e comportamental dos adolescentes.

Acculturation and Optimal Experience

In today’s rapidly changing environment, multicultural societies are gradually replacing monocultural ones. This poses several issues as concerns the coexistence of different traditions and belief systems, and the opportunities for adjustment and integration of immigrants and minorities within a dominant culture. In order to investigate the impact of these phenomena on the quality of experience and on psychological selection, we administered flow questionnaire, life theme questionnaire, and ESM to different groups of participants. Some of them had migrated to Italy from India, Africa, South America, and eastern Europe. Others were members of an ancient population—the Navajos—who had been living in the North American territory long before the arrival of Europeans. The investigation of flow and daily experience fluctuation, together with the analysis of participants’ long-term projects, shed light on their level of socio-cultural adjustment and acculturation strategy. Findings confirmed that biculturalism is the best strategy to maintain flexibility and increase individual complexity in a host culture.

Education, Learning, and Cultural Transmission

Education represents the primary means of cultural transmission, and a crucial unit in the set of challenges human groups have to meet in time. A variety of educational systems and pedagogic strategies have been created in order to deal with this challenge. By promoting the association of their memes with individuals’ psychological selection, cultures can successfully survive in the long term, and at the same time support individuals’ development and well-being. Given the importance of learning for both individuals and societies, flow researchers have devoted much attention to its investigation. In this chapter, we will sum up major findings related to the quality of experience during formal learning activities across cultures. We will identify the activities associated with optimal experience, the contextual and individual factors favoring flow in education, and we will outline the short- and long-term consequences of flow in learning. We will conclude by stressing the active role of the individual in perpetrating cultural information and the importance of an educational system allowing for the integration of memes from different cultures thus sustaining plurality, complexity, and differentiation in a global society.