Flow (psychology)

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Flow ( English "Fließen, Rinnen, Strömen") describes the exhilarating feeling of a mental state of complete immersion ( concentration ) and complete absorption in an activity ("absorption") that goes on by itself - in German roughly creating - or a frenzy of activity or a desire to function . The happiness researcher Mihály Csíkszentmihályi is considered to be the creator of the flow theory, which he derived from observing various areas of life, u. a. by surgeons and extreme athletes , developed and published in numerous articles. Today his theory is also used for purely intellectual activities.

Flow can arise in the control of a complex, fast-running event in the area between being overwhelmed ( fear ) and under-challenged ( boredom ). The flow access and the flow experience are individually different. On the basis of qualitative interviews, Csíkszentmihályi described various characteristics of the flow experience.

Flow states can change into hypnotic or ecstatic trance under appropriate conditions . Some scientists already understand flow itself as a trance.

The phenomenon of the flow experience

Before Mihály Csíkszentmihályi coined the term “flow” in the psychological sense and examined it more closely, the phenomenon was already known - in game science , for example: This is how the game theorist Hans Scheuerl formulated his famous criteria for the essence of the game in the 1950s which he u. a. emphasizes the “being removed from the current day's events”, “being completely absorbed in the current activity” or “lingering in a state of the happy feeling of infinity” in which one would like to remain forever or again. Also in Friedrich Schiller's much-quoted sentence "(...) people only play where they are in the full meaning of the word human, and they are only fully human where they play" this happy feeling of being completely at one with oneself and the world in the game. Mihály Csíkszentmihályi has the merit of having recognized and described the significance of the phenomenon beyond the game. According to Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, the occurrence of a feeling of flow requires clear objectives, full concentration on doing, the feeling of being in control of the activity, the harmony of requirement and ability beyond fear or boredom in apparent effortlessness.

The psychologist Siegbert A. Warwitz has empirically dealt with the phenomenon of flow experience in different age groups, with different groups of people, activities and degrees of stress. He came to the conclusion: “The archetype of the human being in the flow is the playing child who is in the blissful state of being with himself.” The child who is fully absorbed in his game not only plays Robinson, it is Robinson. This means that it totally identifies with the character being played and is absorbed in it. According to Warwitz, the game already fulfills all the essential criteria that are characteristic of the flow experience:

  • The child feels up to the self-imposed demands (difficulty of the task and problem-solving skills are in balance).
  • It focuses attention on a limited, manageable field of activity (the activity takes place in the immediate vicinity).
  • Clear feedback is given on the activities (the success of the action is immediately recognizable).
  • Action and consciousness merge with one another (an outside world does not exist).
  • The child is fully absorbed in its activity (it does not hear the mother's calling).
  • The sense of time changes (it lives entirely in the here and now).
  • The activity is self-rewarding (there is no need for outside praise).

This feeling of “ oblivion to the world” can arise in a comparable way with the scientist who, while “forgetting” the need for food or sleep in long night work, almost fanatically pursues a fascinating problem solution. The technician , the hobbyist in his workshop, who neglects family and friends through his obsession with creating a product goal that captivates him, can fall for it. Warwitz found a particularly intense flow experience in people who exhaust themselves to the limit of their physical, psychological and mental possibilities. He explains that the extreme challenge of an extraordinary activity causes an intense release of happiness hormones because the actor feels that his performance is still up to an incredibly difficult task. This effect can be seen very clearly in exceptional people such as cross-border commuters , artists or extreme athletes who, in the rush of happiness at their top performance, “forget” serious injuries to their health, extreme hardships and, for example, despite frozen toes, continue to pursue their ambitious goals in a kind of overwhelming euphoria. According to Warwitz, the extreme flow experience comes about under ascetic conditions that require a high level of personal effort than in a comfortable luxury environment.

For the music scene, the flow experience was described by the music teacher Andreas Burzik. In contrast to the briefly excited excitement of the kick , this creates a longer-lasting euphoria , a form of happiness that the individual can influence .

Physical signs

The obvious assumption is growing that the perception of a flow state is accompanied by a change in psychophysiological variables such as heart rate , heart rate variability or skin conductivity . So far there have been individual studies that investigated a connection between flow perceptions and psychophysiological measurements, but no conclusive results are yet available.

Experience an activity in the flow

Diagram showing the flow between excessive and insufficient demands. Stress, excessive demands and fear are above the red line. Boredom, under-challenged and routine are below the blue line. The flow is right in between, and as skills and demands increase together, the area of ​​flow increases. The flow is like an expanding ray between the red and blue lines, not just the green line.

In order to get into the state of flow, one has to surrender to an activity, the requirement has to demand full concentration . However, it must not be so high that you are overwhelmed, because then the "effortlessness" is no longer given. The flow experience is limited by these two factors, minimum requirement and requirement limit (as lines in the graphic). Entering such a phase creates a sense of self and time forgetting, as the task requires full attention.

Csíkszentmihályi emphasizes the importance of playfulness in flow actions - not in the sense of “trivial or not to be taken seriously”, but in the sense that “the person who performs it, works creatively and creatively, […] is absorbed in it and finds its free expression in it ”. At the same time, he emphasizes the need to let go of the expectation that the action will be successful and to be free from worry and fear for yourself or your own reputation. According to Csíkszentmihályi, flow demands on the one hand a striving for control and on the other hand an awareness that the situation as a whole is unpredictable and unpredictable. Warwitz emphasizes that the flow experience "evaporates" when control over what is happening is lost or threatens to be lost: The actor falls out of the happy flow. In dangerous situations, the emotional state can turn into fear or even panic .

Flow is a state and not a technology. To experience the flow state, distracting elements must be removed. The flow state can be experienced individually, but also together in a group. Achievement is not tied to any specific activity.

"Practical" addition

The painting of the model boat goes by itself.

Some additions come partly from memory psychology , social psychology , motivational psychology and ultimately represent a kind of information processing approach.

The fit of requirement , ability and goal clarity can lead to a "rising" in action or a change in the perception of time cause of worry or disappearance. The activity that one is performing, is empractically by itself. This is not to be a permanent condition, but a temporary condition that probably every person either in his childhood when playing in the leisure as athletes or the work ( that is the context in which it apparently, empirically verified, occurs most frequently) has already experienced.

Why do people in the flow forget the time? Why don't we think about our worries? One possible explanation comes from memory psychology. The multi-memory model divides the memory into an ultra-short-term (sensory memory), a short-term and a long-term memory . Alan Baddeley's approach no longer speaks of short-term memory, but of “ working memory ”. His approach is about the fact that the working memory is limited in the amount of processing, i.e. capacity per unit of time. That is, the consciousness, the attention can only process 7 ± 2 units at a time . Through selective perception, people focus their consciousness on certain aspects in their environment or in the knowledge structures; this is called attention .

A person who now knows “what” and “how” they have to do (clarity of goals and actions) and whose abilities meet the requirements of the activity can fully engage in the execution of the activity, that is, become absorbed in the activity . The attention is entirely dedicated to solving the task. The person is no longer distracted by socio-psychologically relevant thoughts such as “what do the others think of me?”, “How do I arrive when I do this or that?”, But has the chance to concentrate fully on completing the task To develop activities in which there is a high degree of correspondence between external requirements and internal desires and goals.

Other distracting factors can also be derived from other motivational psychological approaches such as “success-motivated versus failure-motivated” or attribution styles . Here, too, disturbing thoughts or the choice of the wrong task difficulty (i.e. no match between task difficulty and ability) can be a hindrance to the occurrence of a flow.

The correspondence between requirement and ability is crucial, e.g. B. in intensive computer games , see also examples below. You do not yet know all the functions of the game, you do not yet know all the rules of the game or the contexts. Surprises will come. This is anticipated with relish. Here it would not make much sense to start with the highest level of difficulty , as you would quickly be overwhelmed. It makes more sense to gradually increase and get to know the peculiarities of the game - so to increase the level of difficulty moderately.

Activity incentives versus follow-up incentives

The phenomenon “flow” can be assigned to activity incentives. The activity is carried out for the sake of the activity (e.g. because of the good feeling, because it is fun) and not because of the potential consequences. An activity that is carried out because of potential consequences (e.g. better salary, more reputation with others ...) is to be assigned to the follow-up incentives.

Flow from the perspective of self-determination theory

According to the self-determination theory (SDT ) established by Deci and Ryan (2000, 2008) , the quality of behavior is determined by the possibility of satisfying the three basic psychological needs of competence, social integration and autonomy when this behavior is carried out. From the perspective of this theory, the experience of flow can be viewed as a prototype of autonomous motivation (SDT) , in which these basic needs are optimally satisfied. The self-determination theory fully agrees with the flow theory that the experience of flow itself, regardless of the results achieved, is sufficient to carry out and maintain the corresponding behavior. There is also agreement that in order to experience flow, the requirements based on the behavior must be exactly in harmony with one's own abilities. However, in contrast to flow theory, self-determination theory sees deficits in flow theory in determining what is required in addition to the optimal requirements for the experience of flow.

A 1999 study by John Kowal and Michelle Fortier compared the relationship between flow experiences and motivation for activities. In the autumn of 1996, the authors examined a sample of 203 swimmers (105 men and 98 women), who were on average 36.4 years old and trained 3.7 times a week, using a questionnaire based on a seven-point Likert scale ( strong rejection to strong agreement) situational motivational determinants, situational motivation and the nine characteristics of the flow asked. The study suggests that flow experiences are regularly associated with autonomous motivation for the behavior in question, thus confirming the perspective described in 1999.

Examples

The behavior scientist Bernt Spiegel uses the term flow u. a. specialized activities such as driving vehicles. In his example, he refers specifically to motorcycling, and within this activity the greatest attention must be paid to flow with regard to the risk of becoming overly “negligent”.

Many successful computer games give the gamer a flow experience by confronting the gamer with tasks of a medium level of difficulty in quick succession, which are challenging, but which he can solve with high probability. The challenge does not have to be particularly demanding, as the example of the classic flow-inducing computer game Tetris shows. Too demanding tasks can even interrupt the flow experience if they fail.

Some programmers experience a kind of flow when they work intensively with their code . The jargon file calls this state "Hack Mode".

Flow can be experienced with every single one of the human senses , often after many years of training to sharpen the sense of maximum performance. The prerequisite for the (sometimes surprising, sudden) entry into the flow state is beforehand the willingness to forego the often found, fundamentally skeptical distance to the experience, i.e. to open oneself completely to a possible experience:

  • Starting with feeling (e.g. caressing, tingling on the skin, good sex),
  • while listening (e.g. music that is perceived as very good and gripping, while listening to it one concentrates),
  • when smelling and tasting (e.g. enjoying excellent cuisine in a feel-good environment, or top-class wine),
  • and when seeing (e.g. visual experiences of outstanding beauty, be it mountains, the desert, the sea, an intensely observed flower, or an extraordinarily impressive building such as the pyramids or the Taj Mahal ).

The combination is decisive

  1. from previous activity ( efforts - what was undertaken and expended to be able to experience flow) and
  2. of passivity (then being surprised by flow).

Such great experiences of the senses or even their retreat, as in meditation, cannot be forced; you can only prepare them and create the framework conditions, but not reliably predict the occurrence of flow. Loud talking, uncomfortable participants, distractions from other sensory impressions such as smells or volume, and many other disturbances can prevent flow.

In such contexts, flow is not an analogue increase in the good experience, but a kind of digital, sudden response from the body: in flow, one is completely carried away by the high demands of doing and experiencing. It is usually short-lived, from moments to a few minutes.

Flow often occurs in sports that you have mastered to a high degree and in which you “get absorbed”, for example climbing , skiing , sailing or so-called fun sports . The dancing is of particular importance as a flow activity as "Dancing is probably the oldest and most significant, both because of its global appeal as. Also because of its potential complexity" Even while making music, painting, or joyous games a person can an intense flow experience. Studies from 2006 found an intense flow experience among contact improvisation dancers. Csíkszentmihályi conducted interviews with chess players of different strengths about their motives: Precisely because chess is relatively complex, it enables a wide variety of different individual flow experiences.

A flow is also given special importance when kayaking in white water with a difficulty level of about 3 to 6, as it is often very successful paddlers after breakneck tours in this extremely demanding sport. Such an experience only occurs with certain stresses, namely when it stresses psyche and body equally and you are mentally somewhere between fear and happiness. The condition can save lives as a particularly large amount of adrenaline and serotonin is released. As a result, information about the environment and events are processed and executed more quickly. In addition, a flow experience is always positively remembered.

Also Meditative techniques may result in a flow experience. For example, a yoga practitioner practices tension and relaxation particularly clearly, he ritualizes an existence in the moment with full concentration.

Addiction

Csíkszentmihályi describes flow as a “positive addiction”. Because the term “addiction” already has negative connotations, the Wagner expert SA Warwitz prefers to speak of “high motivation” or “passion” in connection with the flower life, which challenge the repeated moments of happiness. He offers the unencumbered term “longing” as more appropriate for describing the phenomenon. Experiments showed that people who had to forego their daily dose of happiness reacted with withdrawal symptoms (tiredness, nervousness, headache, listlessness, depressive moods).

In extreme athletes bring that sometimes their lives at risk, or in computer games that sometimes a direct social life at risk, a healthy amount of risk appetite and passion for gambling can be lost. Some computer game manufacturers even openly admit to deliberately building in the addictive effect. University projects on flow measurement use computer games to empirically examine how quickly the flow effect occurs.

With overexertion you step out of the flow channel (see graphic) and you lose your lightness. In this respect, Flow cannot cause any damage. The addictive character of flow is hardly studied because of its positive properties.

Evolutionary explanation

The greatest likelihood of experiencing a flow state are people in situations where they are not overwhelmed or bored. The Evolutionary emotion research justified this phenomenon with the following chain of reasoning from the human evolution :

  • Nature is constantly changing. Living conditions and behaviors that have for some time proven to be beneficial for the survival and reproduction of certain living beings (i.e. individuals , members of a population ) lose their advantages. Living beings are forced to acquire new skills or to seek out new habitats. Otherwise they threaten to die before they have offspring. Living beings react differently to this challenge depending on their innate emotional makeup. The range of reactions can be described using two extreme types:
  • “Conservative” living beings suffer from poor self-confidence . So they feel most comfortable in standard situations . Even small deviations from the usual cause them stress and make them feel overwhelmed . They are constantly afraid of having to give up their well-established behaviors or traditional habitats. Because of this fear of failure , they do not develop a willingness to acquire new skills in order to cope better with the changed circumstances. Because of their inflexibility , these organisms run the risk of dying as their environment changes , before they can pass their genes on to the next generation. Conservative living beings can only survive and reproduce as long as they live in a very static environment where they can rely on their tried and tested abilities.
  • Exploratory ” creatures, on the other hand, quickly feel under-challenged and become bored if they have no opportunity to experience new things . For this they are also ready to make efforts and efforts. These creatures are constantly looking for new stimuli and therefore often change their habitat even without compelling external reasons. With their restlessness and their insatiable hunger for new challenges, some opportunities open up to them that conservative creatures are denied. Out of sheer weariness, however, they easily jeopardize these opportunities again and thereby take unnecessary risks for their lives and their reproduction. Exploratory creatures benefit from their curiosity and their eagerness to practice only as long as they live in very dynamic environments, where they can find answers to the changed conditions faster than their more conservative conspecifics.
  • In recent human tribal history, moderately dynamic environmental conditions were more common than extremely static or extremely dynamic conditions (see mass extinction and evolution ). Living beings that have adapted their abilities at the same pace as the environment changed can accordingly be described as "moderately exploratory". These creatures did not feel bored when their surroundings hardly changed, nor did they shrink from the effort of acquiring new skills or looking for a new habitat. Living beings that were motivated by their feelings to “moderately exploratory” behavior thus had the greatest chance of passing on their genes. They were exposed to a weaker selection pressure than purely conservative or purely exploratory creatures.

For these reasons, people today are most likely to experience a flow state in situations that require a “moderate” level of effort. People who, on the other hand, get into a flow with very little or only very great efforts are rather rare. They belong to minorities whose lineage ancestors were lucky enough not to be selected despite their unusual emotional balance. The feeling of flow can thus be interpreted as a “reward” from nature for an evolutionarily “meaningful” exploration behavior.

Mix-ups and dangers

  • Generalization of the term flow: With the inflationary use of the term for all possible types of wellbeing and combinations with the expression "flow", the originally strictly defined flow term is increasingly watered down and meaningless: The English idiom to go with the flow in the meaning of the Swim with the current , go with the crowd , conformity, doing what everyone does has nothing to do with the concept of flow in psychology. NLP deals with a related topic under the heading of Core State and Core Transformation, a method with which triggering anchors for flow can be redefined.
  • Csíkszentmihályi does not oppose it if the flow state is placed near a state of enlightenment . Nevertheless, he points out that flow "also has its dangerous sides". He particularly points out the danger that flow can be misused in war , but also in business. Mountaineers , for example , who are extremely passionate, could also ignore essential aspects of their lives due to the resulting flow feeling; Csíkszentmihályi also cites gambling addicts as an example. In its interpretation, National Socialism also had many supporters because the population saw the opportunity to break out and experience flow through productions like that of Leni Riefenstahl , through rituals, music, uniforms and awards; they had "assured the people of a state of flow through the use of power and the use of violence, which led them to complete self-destruction".
  • Confusion of flow access and flow: Flow is subjectively experienced as the greatest happiness and is confused with the respective flow access. The door is mistaken for the room into which it leads: All subjective experiences are also under the high pressure of objectification. People want to be given techniques that will lead them into the flow. There are no such guarantees. Only the doors can be objectified, not the room itself. Due to the Tractatus Syndrome ("Only say what can be said. You have to be silent about everything else."), People talk more about the doors than about the room itself get lost in the process.

Proverbs

No hour strikes the happy → One component of flow is the suspension of the sense of time.

Happiness is nothing more than the absence of boredom. by Arthur Schopenhauer → The flow only occurs (see graphic above) when boredom is overcome.

See also

literature

  • Steff Aellig: About the sense of nonsense: Flow experience and well-being as incentives for autotelic activities: an investigation with the experience sampling method (ESM) using the example of rock climbing. (= International university publications. Volume 431). Waxmann , Münster / New York / Munich / Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-8309-1397-4 . (also dissertation at the University of Zurich 2003).
  • Mihály Csíkszentmihályi : Flow - the way to happiness. The discoverer of the flow principle explains his philosophy of life. (= Herder spectrum. Volume 6067). Freiburg im Breisgau / Basel / Vienna 2010, ISBN 978-3-451-06067-0 , p. 84. (first edition 2006)
  • Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi: The flow experience. Be absorbed in doing beyond fear and boredom. (Original title: Beyond Boredom and Anxiety. The Experience of Play in Work and Games. 1975), 8th edition. Klett-Cotta , Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-608-95338-8 .
  • Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi: Flow. The secret of happiness. 4th edition. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-608-95783-9 .
  • Juliane Handschuh: The flow phenomenon. Creation and promotion of intrinsic motivation in the workplace. VDM , Saarbrücken 2008, ISBN 978-3-8364-8408-4 .
  • Falko Rheinberg: Motivation. 6th edition. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-17-019588-3 .
  • Thomas Schmaus: Philosophy of the flow experience. An access to the thinking of Heinrich Rombach . (= Munich Philosophical Studies - New Series . Volume 30). Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-17-021831-4 .
  • Mathias Schreiber : A breath, a flick . In: Der Spiegel . No. 23 , 2009, p. 118–130 ( online - May 30, 2009 , "Where, please, are you happy? Are those who are lucky also happy?" ).
  • Siegbert A. Warwitz : The phenomenon of the flow experience. In: Ders .: Search for meaning in risk. Life in growing rings . 2., ext. Edition. Schneider, Baltmannsweiler 2016, ISBN 978-3-8340-1620-1 , pp. 207–226.

Web links

Commons : Flow (psychology)  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Flow  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Videos

Individual evidence

  1. a b M. Csikszentmihalyi: The flow experience. Beyond fear and boredom: get absorbed in doing. 10th edition. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2010.
  2. Birce Polat: Differential differences in flow experience when practicing music. epubli, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-8442-4892-0 , pp. 14-15.
  3. Hans Scheuerl: The game. Investigations into its essence. 9th edition. Weinheim / Basel 1979.
  4. Friedrich Schiller: "About the aesthetic education of man" in "Die Horen" (2nd piece) 1795
  5. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: The flow experience - Beyond fear and boredom: get absorbed in doing. 1993, ISBN 3-608-95338-8 , p. 69.
  6. a b Bente Lubahn: A short vacation from me - flow experiences in everyday life. Frankfurter Allgemeine , February 4, 2018.
  7. a b Siegbert A. Warwitz: The phenomenon of flow experience. In: Ders .: Search for meaning in risk. Life in growing rings . 2., ext. Edition. Baltmannsweiler 2016, pp. 207–226.
  8. Flow experience p. 207.
  9. ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz: The phenomenon of flow experience. In: Ders .: Search for meaning in risk. Life in growing rings . Baltmannsweiler 2016, pp. 207-218.
  10. Andreas Burzik: Practicing in the flow. In: Ulrich Mahlert (Ed.): Handbook practicing. P. 266.
  11. Andreas Burzik: " Practice with body and soul" - the secret of the masters - a holistic, body-oriented practice method. In: The orchestra. 11/2003, p. 14.
  12. ^ C. Peifer: Psychophysiological Correlates of Flow Experience. In: S. Engeser (Ed.): Advances in Flow Research. Springer, New York 2012, pp. 139-143, 157-158.
  13. Andreas Burzik: Practicing in the flow. In: Ulrich Mahlert (Ed.): Handbook practicing. P. 266.
  14. Brockhaus Psychology. 224 Keyword happiness → happiness research by Csikszentmihalyi Entry is identical to the GEO Subject Lexicon
  15. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow - the way to happiness. The discoverer of the flow principle explains his philosophy of life. (= Herder spectrum. Volume 6067). 2010, ISBN 978-3-451-06067-0 , p. 26. (First edition 2006, ISBN 3-451-28923-7 )
  16. The Buddhists have a saying that I like very much [] and it goes something like this: “Always act as if the salvation of the universe depends on your action. And always laugh at yourself, that you think you can achieve anything with your actions. ” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow - the way to happiness. The discoverer of the flow principle explains his philosophy of life. (= Herder spectrum. Volume 6067). 2010, ISBN 978-3-451-06067-0 , p. 28.
  17. In order to approach life in a playful way, it is necessary not to be too preoccupied with yourself and to worry about yourself all the time or to be afraid that you might appear ridiculous to others. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow - the way to happiness. The discoverer of the flow principle explains his philosophy of life. (= Herder spectrum. Volume 6067). 2010, ISBN 978-3-451-06067-0 , p. 61.
  18. The subject of “control” is actually an exciting one because it is exactly where our research has shown that our assumptions were wrong. In my first books, I mentioned being in control of something as an integral part of the flow experience. But as we got more and more into practice, it became clear to us that this expression does not really adequately describe what happens during flow: A person in the flow state does not really have himself under control, but tries to achieve this control precisely because he knows that he cannot really control anything. [] And that is the exciting thing in connection with the flow experience: Flow always indicates an attempt to do something as well as possible, but in the knowledge that you never have anything under control. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow - the way to happiness. The discoverer of the flow principle explains his philosophy of life. (= Herder spectrum. Volume 6067). 2010, ISBN 978-3-451-06067-0 , p. 177 f.
  19. ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz: The phenomenon of flow experience. In: Ders .: Search for meaning in risk. Life in growing rings . Baltmannsweiler 2016, pp. 207–220.
  20. Andreas Burzik: Practicing in the flow. In: Ulrich Mahlert (Ed.): Handbook practicing. Pp. 265-286.
  21. ^ Edward L. Deci, Richard M. Ryan: The "What" and "Why" of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior. In: Psychological Inquiry. 11 (4), 2000, pp. 227-268.
    Edward L. Deci, Richard M. Ryan: Self-Determination Theory: A Macrotheory of Human Motivation, Development, and Health. In: Canadian Psychology. 49, 2008, pp. 182-185.
  22. ^ Edward L. Deci, Richard M. Ryan, Self-Determination Theory: A Macrotheory of Human Motivation, Development, and Health. P. 183. In: Canadian Psychology. 49, 2008, pp. 182-185.
  23. ^ Edward L. Deci, Richard M. Ryan: The "What" and "Why" of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior. Pp. 236, 242 f. In: Psychological Inquiry. 11 (4), 2000, pp. 227-268.
  24. ^ Edward L. Deci, Richard M. Ryan: The "What" and "Why" of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior. P. 260 f. In: Psychological Inquiry. 11 (4), 2000, pp. 227-268.
  25. ^ John Kowal, Michelle S. Fortier: Motivational Determinants of Flow: Contributions From Self-Determination Theory. In: Journal of Social Psychology. 139 (3), 1999, pp. 355-368.
  26. Bernt Spiegel: The upper half of the motorcycle - on the use of artificial tools. Motorbuch-Verlag, chapter Der Flow, Blessing or Curse.
  27. Hack Mode in the Jargon File
  28. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow - The secret of happiness.
  29. Jörg Lemmer Schmid: Contact improvisation as an art of living: More quality of life through flow experience and mindfulness. loaded on June 29, 2015.
  30. ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz: The flow theory. In: Ders .: Search for meaning in risk. Life in growing rings . 2., ext. Edition. Verlag Schneider, Baltmannsweiler 2016, ISBN 978-3-8340-1620-1 , pp. 207–226.
  31. Wolfgang Plakos: The secret of the flow. Pp. 139-140.
  32. Website showing the results of a thesis on the subject of flow
  33. Wolfgang Plakos: The secret of the flow. P. 140.
  34. Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi: Flow and Evolution. In: The North American Montessori Teachers' Association Journal. Issue 22: 2, spring 1997, pp. 36-59.
  35. Core state, core states. ( Memento of September 7, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) NLP.at - The NLP Lexicon
  36. Imperative self-analysis. ( Memento from September 9, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) NLP.at - The NLP Lexicon
  37. anchor. ( Memento from September 5, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) NLP.at - The NLP Lexicon
  38. The ego includes so many things that are completely irrelevant for a flow experience: You have a name, a job, certain obligations, many problems [Question:] That could then also be seen as a state of enlightenment !? [Answer:] Yes, many Buddhists who study my flow theory see it that way too. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow - the way to happiness. The discoverer of the flow principle explains his philosophy of life. (= Herder spectrum. Volume 6067). 2010, ISBN 978-3-451-06067-0 , p. 179.
  39. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow - the way to happiness. The discoverer of the flow principle explains his philosophy of life. (= Herder spectrum. Volume 6067). 2010, ISBN 978-3-451-06067-0 , p. 92.
  40. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow - the way to happiness. The discoverer of the flow principle explains his philosophy of life. (= Herder spectrum. Volume 6067). 2010, ISBN 978-3-451-06067-0 , p. 83.
  41. a b Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow - the way to happiness. The discoverer of the flow principle explains his philosophy of life. (= Herder spectrum. Volume 6067). 2010, ISBN 978-3-451-06067-0 , p. 84.
  42. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow - the way to happiness. The discoverer of the flow principle explains his philosophy of life. (= Herder spectrum. Volume 6067). 2010, ISBN 978-3-451-06067-0 , p. 93.
  43. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow - the way to happiness. The discoverer of the flow principle explains his philosophy of life. (= Herder spectrum. Volume 6067). 2010, ISBN 978-3-451-06067-0 , p. 94.
  44. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow - the way to happiness. The discoverer of the flow principle explains his philosophy of life. (= Herder spectrum. Volume 6067). 2010, ISBN 978-3-451-06067-0 , p. 96.