Flow, The Optimal Experience

Francesco Siri

In this research I would like to investigate the psychological aspect related to the practice of a musical instrument, going deeper into the experience of the flow state that the musician can live intensely. It is a state of mind of complete absorption in what one is doing. The process started by reading and informing myself as much as possible through books, articles, and personal experience. Based on these I created a strategy of work and exercises that would help me to be more focused and inside the music both in my studies and especially in my performances. I prepared two questionnaires to be filled in after the performances: 1) Personal Questionnaire 2) Group of critical friends To check whether the strategy I had been using over the last few months was helping me to achieve my goal or not. From the results of the two questionnaires until now, I can deduce the most effective and useful aspects of the strategy I implemented. It is also interesting to see how the suggestions of critical friends are similar to the "criticism" I made myself in the personal questionnaire. Over the last few weeks while analysing my latest performances and the results of the questionnaires, I have realised an increase in pleasure in playing and concentration on the task to do, which was not always present before I started this work. I am quite convinced that whatever strategy you want to use, you need patience to see over time if it really works.

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2b. The Flow State

Through the theoretical, scientific, and experimental studies of Positive Psychology, it has come to identify Optimal Experience (also called "flow") as one of the main elements for a fulfilling and meaningful life. In the flow, the action of the subject proceeds freely and harmoniously with the surrounding context, promoting a level of total absorption in the practiced activity (Muzio, Riva, Argenton, 2012, 31). The study undertaken since the seventies by Csikszentmihalyi, one of the main interpreters of Positive Psychology (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000), was born from the curiosity that the daily manifestations of optimal experience aroused in him. In particular, the scholar was provoked by observing the act of creation, that is, how certain artists were so determined in their work that they ignored hunger, fatigue, exhaustion, and time until they had completed their work (Nakamura e Csikszentmihalyi, 2002, 89).

For these artists, passion, dedication, and joy for their work remained unchanged over time, proving to be constitutive elements of their well-being. There was something inescapable and intrinsically fascinating about the creative process itself that drove them to continue: the possibility of losing oneself in a timeless bubble and getting in full contact with one's own compositions, accessing a state of full fluidity of consciousness in which mind and body work in unison and in perfect harmony. As Csikszentmihalyi says, when we talk about flow, we refer to a holistic sensation characterized by a sudden expansion of the boundaries of the self, a deconstruction of temporal experience and a significant increase in the perception of control of the activity itself (Muzio, Riva e Argeton, 2012: 35).

Research on flow, therefore, originates from the desire to understand this phenomenon of intrinsic motivation or autotelic activity, that is, highly rewarding in itself. The flow of consciousness is a universal experience that can be understood and lived in different social and cultural contexts and is considered transgenerational and trans-cultural (Delle Fave e Bassi, 1997-98). Although some situations, such as sports or music, are more predisposed to the optimal experience, due to their specific characteristics, which will be analysed in more depth later in the thesis, flow can be experienced through any type of experience. In order to obtain an empirical assessment of the flow experience, a variety of methodologies have been used by researchers, including questionnaires, interviews, and measurement scales. Among the evaluation methods, on the one hand, the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) was developed, which allows a moment-by-moment sampling of the daily life of the individual in its situational and experiential aspects. On the other, the Flow Questionnaire (FQ) was devised for the targeted study of optimal experience itself. These procedures have been used both individually and jointly for the same sample; they are complementary for an exhaustive examination of the role and mechanisms of the onset of Flow, in daily life as well as in a broader perspective of investigation of the process of individual development (Delle Fave e Bassi, 1997-98: 35).

Of particular interest is the analysis offered by the Flow State Scale (FSS) which identifies 9 subscales that correspond well to the nine fundamental dimensions (D1-D9) of flow identified by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Muzio, Riva e Argenton, 2012: 40):

Balance between challenge and skills. It is based on the subjective perception of the opportunities for action offered by the environment, in both a challenging and stimulating sense, and on the perception that one's resources are balanced and adequate for the situation. This does not mean, however, that if we have a balance between challenges and skills at low levels we will experience a state of flow, indeed in this case the subject experiences a condition of apathy far from optimal. We speak, in this regard, of psychic entropy, referring to a cognitive and emotional state of substantial confusion, characterized by a dispersion of information between the self, the external environment and the individuals who animate it, as well as by low motivational levels. The Experience Fluctation Model map is used to give us a realistic representation of the experiential complexity underlying the balance between challenges and abilities. This balance is inherently unstable; if challenges begin to outweigh abilities, initially there is alertness and then anxiety; if abilities begin to outweigh challenges, first there is relaxation and then boredom. The quality of experience intensifies within a channel or quadrant man as challenges and skills moved away from a person's average levels. Operationally, they divided the challenge/skill space into a series of concentric rings, associated with increasing intensity of experience (Nakamura e Csikszentmihalyi, 2002).
Union of action and consciousness. The person feels totally involved in the action: the automatisms implemented allow the subject to deliver a smooth performance, without the perception of inappropriate thoughts or effort made. This does not mean that the activity carried out does not require any effort, on the contrary, it involves a high energy demand.
Clear goals. Specific, realistic, and measurable goals derive from consistent, non-contradictory information, give meaning to the challenge and the experience. These are the foundation of the flow experience and ensure total immersion in the task, increasing motivation.
Immediate feedback. During the activity, the person receives immediate and clear feedback from the situation so that he can constantly monitor his action and the correctness of the performance, in order to make any changes in the conduct.
Task Focus. Attention is focused on the action in progress and there is no room for useless information: the cognitive resources of the individual are selectively oriented in a spontaneous way to the activity.
Sense of control. The person has the perception of mastery, that is, control over the possibilities of overcoming complex challenges, control that is spontaneous and automatic and carried out in a completely natural way.
Loss of self-awareness. The person perceives that they are part of a task that they are performing, the psychic energy is entirely action-oriented, the person feels free to act regardless of external judgments. This can lead to a disappearance of conscious control with a free flow of spontaneous processes and a momentary oblivion of the known self, but without loss of self-awareness.
Deconstruction of time. The perception of the passage of time may be altered, time seems to flow faster or slower: time itself is subject to an inner clock completely adapted to personal rhythms.
Autotelic experience. The term "autotelic" (from the Greek autos=self, telos=purpose/aim) expresses an experience of activity that is intrinsically satisfying, so much so that the final result is often only a pretext for carrying out the activity itself. Thus, the autotelic dimension is concerned with the intrinsic satisfaction a person feels in completing his or her task, regardless of the expected outcome and other possible motivations to act. However, among the nine dimensions only three (challenge/skill balance, clear goals, and immediate feedback) are considered necessary conditions for the flow experience. In fact, they do not describe the state itself. What's more, flow exists as a continuum, so it's not necessary for all of the remaining six characteristics to be present simultaneously

As I just indicated, there are 9 dimensions to Flow, and it is not necessary to reach them at the same time to experience it (1.2 Flow state, dimension, and rating scales). In fact, Csiksentmihalyi (1992) uses the terms microflow and macroflow to explain these variations. In microflow only some dimensions are reached, whereas in macroflow all dimensions are reached simultaneously. Although the flow experience is not a peak condition, but one of extreme balance between all psychological components, it falls into the category of peak experiences defined as peak moments (Delle Fave e Bassi, 1997-98).

Peak moments correspond to psychological-behavioral states, in which the psychophysical resources of the individual are totally invested in the action or in the present moment (complete absence of past or future elements), with the exclusion from the attentional space of any element extraneous to the generating situation (cocoon of concentration).

In these states we detect sensations and/or positive individual emotions at high intensity. They do not respond to a logic of planning or voluntary anticipation, but are the result of a complex synergy of temporary multidimensional factors. The following terms may appear in the literature: flow, peak experience, peak performance and runner's high. Although they can be experienced in different activities, they have a high probability of occurrence (with the exception of peak experience) during the practice of motor-sport activities (Muzio, Riva e Argenton, 2012: 170).

The state of flow in sports performance consists of reaching a positive mental state and an optimal level of psycho-physiological "activation". The individual in a state of flow, assuming full control of their actions, feels in control of themselves and is able to maximize their potential.

The balance that is formed between the demands of the situation and the personal skills favors the onset of flow, that flow of consciousness that represents the maximum emotional involvement of the mind and emotions in the rewarding activity in which you are immersed. The opposite of the state of flow is characterized by boredom, demotivation, apathy and stress (Delle Fave e Bassi, 1997-98). The main factors that make possible the state of flow are: first have sufficient skills to complete a competitive activity, and then let the activity completely absorb the attention; also: program clear objectives and have instant feedback on what you are doing, feel a sense of control over themselves and the situation, lose self-awareness, and finally lose awareness of the flow of time. In the experience of flow state the interest is not in the final state of the activity, but in the deep concentration that one goes through in performing the activity. The state of flow is the kind of experience you have when you are so totally absorbed that you forget the passage of time and even hunger, thirst, heat and cold. It should be pointed out that in most athletes the state of flow occurs when they face activities that they consider of medium-high difficulty, that is neither too demanding (and therefore able to produce anxiety) nor too little (with the risk of arousing apathy or disinterest). The state of flow can be reached when the athlete perceives himself as highly skilled and sufficiently challenged: it is necessary to have an optimal intersection between the perception of one's own abilities and the perception of the difficulty/ease of the activity (Nakamura e Csikszentmihalyi, 2002).

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