[The following paper was originally a directed study I completed during my second year of graduate school. More than perhaps any of my more traditional experiences in that program, the work I did on this topic has influenced my outlook and professional practice in the Real World.]
November 14, 1996
Throughout the course of human existence, countless generations of scholars and lay-people alike have endeavored to make sense of the thousands of stimuli that together form the buzzing chaos of existence. Numerous conceptual systems have been proposed over the millennia, ranging from traditional religions to modern science. The one factor that each of these paradigms have
in common is that they rest upon the founding assumption that the
purpose of life is to be happy; even if that happiness is promised
after death, as in the case of religion, or by satisfying needs, as
with science.
The Socialization of Optimal Experiences
In the early 1970's, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi began studying that specific elements led people to be happy, and he discovered that happiness emerged from optimal experiences and the altered state of awareness called flow. Optimal experiences are those situations in which attention, also referred to as psychic energy, is self-directed. Because the values of the culture or subculture in which one is immersed shapes the opportunities for access to certain activities, the choice of how one's psychic energy is invested is dependent in part on which of these values have been internalized by the individual from their interpersonal environment. A journalist, for example, would likely expend great amounts of psychic energy on the mechanical structure of language usage in daily conversation, while the artist is more attuned to color, shade, and form, and the psychologist to underlying motives
and present influences on behavior. Each of these examples
represents a specific subculture, as defined by their specialized
vocabularies, distinct social behaviors, and whatever artifacts are
indicative to the domain (Kunkel, 1994).
In more specific terms, optimal experiences are those that occur in all types of culturally diverse activities that are cross-culturally perceived as immensely pleasurable, even though those involved in them report the activities are anything but restful or relaxing; indeed, they are often rigorously demanding (Wells, 1988; Burger, 1993). There are two distinctions between optimal experiences and other socially learned activities. First, activities are generally taught with the intent of allowing the person to survive; if the person can work and satisfy their own needs, if they can "get by," they are considered healthy and
productive members of society. But use of skills in the midst of
an optimal experience need not touch directly upon ensuring
survival. Second, (within the limits of cultural values and social
opportunities), the challenges are self-selected to meet the
person's skills rather than vice versa. In fact, this sense of
free will, that one has control over how much they are involved in
the activity (how much psychic energy is dedicated to the task),
and the manner in which it is conducted has been directly linked to
positive affective responses to one's experience (Csikszentmihalyi,
1982). The psychic energy of attention is focused upon an explicit
set of rules or expectations, with immediate feedback regarding
performance. The pianist, for example, must follow the dictates of
the musical score (notes, tempo, beat, etc...), with the dissonant
jar of a wrong note to serve as instant feedback as to the quality
of performance. Rather than the goal of survival, challenges with
few extrinsic rewards and unnecessary future goals are met to
enhance competence (Csikszentmihalyi, 1978), to (borrowing from
Maslow), allow attainment of an intrinsic sense of self-actualization.
The shift of psychic energy to autotelic fulfillment, a sense
of happiness brought about by the act of performing rather than the accomplishment of a particular goal , is accomplished by a change in consciousness. This is the state of flow, mentioned above. The
term was adopted from early studies in which numerous subjects described their consciousness as "flowing" (Burger, 1993; Csikszentmihalyi, 1988; Csikszentmihalyi, 1990; Csikszentmihalyi,
1993; Csikszentmihalyi, 1996). Originally, researchers on flow developed a theoretical model that outlined an optimal experience as one in which the person determined that their challenges and skills were in balance. Hence, when those two variables were objectively defined and subjected to experimental manipulation, psychic energy was expected to be the least impeded (thus producing the altered state of flow), when challenges and skills yielded identical numerical values. Thus, when research subjects were
determined to have their challenges and skills measured at a 5, a 10, or any other equal value, the model then predicted "that consciousness performs most effortlessly, that attention, awareness, and memory work with the fewest impediments." Accordingly, people should be happy, focused, and motivated (Csikszentmihalyi, 1988). Further, when challenges exceed skills, the flow model indicated that anxiety should result, while an imbalance in favor of skills would lead to boredom
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1987; Csikszentmihalyi, 1988). Such a relationship is captured by Figure 1.
Unfortunately, the early flow model failed to be confirmed.
In actuality, empirical studies found that people did not describe their subjective experiences as more positive when challenges and skills were in balance. In its prototype form, however, the model did successfully predict a relatively positive motivation in subjects (e.g. when both variables balanced, individuals did not necessarily desire to be doing another activity), and results also confirmed that in the case of an imbalance, the amount of anxiety or boredom experienced was directly proportional to the strength of the difference between challenges and skills.
The furious search for the answer to the model's inadequacy eventually led such scholars as Fausto Massimini at the University of Milan to a fascinating breakthrough; flow occurs only when the optimal experience in which the individual engages contains the potential for skills and challenges to be in balance and above a certain level. In other words, a person must be confronted with challenges that require them to tax themselves, to stretch their abilities beyond their normal limits, to transcend their personal status quo. In fact, the goal is relevant only in that it serves
as the medium by which to improve one's level of mastery. Accomplishing the goal can bring monetary or social benefit, but these aspects of the experience are only secondary and do not contribute directly to producing flow. Subsequent research has revealed an interesting and powerful example of the impact of
social context on optimal experience; people are most likely to report this optimal balance when involved socially with opposite-sex friends (Massimini, et al., 1987). It is hypothetically possible then, that the particular mechanics of social interaction
between women and men are in some way conducive to flow in
consciousness. However, just what these specific interpersonal
behaviors are is a matter for future inquiry.
Unlike its predecessor, the modified flow model predicted
accurately that people would report feeling more active, alert,
happy, satisfied and creative (Csikszentmihalyi, 1989;
Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Figure 2 illustrates the current model.
Flow is a force for growth, because the individual must
constantly increase their proficiency to meet a difficult challenge
and then seek out new challenges to match their enhanced
proficiencies. Only then can they recapture the subjective state
of flow and all of its benefits (Csikszentmihalyi, 1988;
Csikszentmihalyi, 1993; Goleman, 1995; Rathunde, 1988). Once
again, one must not lose sight of social influences; an
interpersonal environment rich in challenges will likely allow an
individual many opportunities to experience flow, and thus find
meaning in their lives. One influence, for example, is economic
status. While not the only determining factor in the individual's
level of challenge, higher income inarguably leads to greater
choices insofar as what activities the individual may demand for
the commitment of their psychic energy. The amount of money also
influences another resource, which is time. More affluent classes
of people will be freed from the constant drain on the deprived
person's psychic energy by the distractions of potentially longer
working hours, and chronic preoccupation with the means of how
expenses will be covered if money runs out at the end of the month.
As will be seen later, however, a person's resources need not
totally dominate their access to opportunities for flow, and
indeed, many institutions of society can be altered to generate a
more egalitarian passageway into this altered state of
consciousness.
So what constitutes the subjective experience of flow in
consciousness?
As was mentioned previously, optimal experiences (the socially
engendered activities in which there are clear goals, immediate
feedback, and above average balance of skills and challenges),
allow psychic energy to flow effortlessly; the person enters an
affective state of happiness. This inner mental experience of flow
can be roughly characterized by several phenomenological dimensions
(Burger, 1993; Csikszentmihalyi, 1987; Csikszentmihalyi, 1988;
Csikszentmihalyi, 1989; Csikszentmihalyi, 1990; Csikszentmihalyi,
1993; Csikszentmihalyi, 1996).
One dimension is a merging of action and awareness. Because the high level of challenge requires the maximum output of a person's skills, all of their attention is required for each step in the task. Hence, there is none of this psychic energy left over to process other stimuli not immediately relevant to the task at hand; the intense level of involvement dissolves the normal barrier between actor and activity. The individual performs the
requirements of the activity spontaneously without critical reflection or doubt, and consciousness becomes unified. Mead (1934), identified this dimension as the joining of the I and the
Me; "the impulsive, spontaneous, nondirectional I urges behavior in correspondence with the expectations, definitions, and guidelines of the incorporated other, the Me " (Mitchell, 1988).
A second flow-induced phenomenological change in consciousness
is a trimming out of awareness of memories of past events or future
possibilities; psychic energy is focused upon the unfolding
present, leaving an insufficient amount of attention for the
concerns and problems that so often plague the mind in a normal
state of consciousness. People thus often describe the intensity
of concentration in flow as capable of driving their troubles away,
and freeing them from the ceaseless ruminating that often fuels
such psychopathology as anxiety and depression. Depending upon the
optimal experience that serves as the context for flow, this focus
on the present may prove merely desirable (a pianist whose
attention strays risks striking a wrong note), or imperative (a
surgeon who dwells on outside concerns can do catastrophic damage
to their patient's life). This aspect of flow may also have some
negative consequences regarding social interactions, as shall be
seen below.
A third phenomenological dimension of flow in consciousness is
a subjective sense of control over the experience. In one aspect,
this belief is grounded in fact, for the challenges inherent in the
optimal experience are self-selected. However, one is obviously
not in complete control while in flow, else the balance between
challenges and skills would shift in the direction of skills, and
the person would move from flow toward boredom. But since the
individual realizes that skills are adequate to the challenges,
control is possible in principle. For this reason, someone in flow
is freed somewhat from the worry of potential failure; what anxiety
does exist is in a manageable form that serves to spur performance
forward, even possibly improving the accomplishment of the task
(Reeves, 1996). This will be further addressed below.
The fourth dimension of flow is a lack of self-consciousness.
In normal consciousness, psychic energy is siphoned off at an
incredible rate by self-concern because our self is so often
threatened (e.g. body preoccupations, appearances, basic needs,
etc...). In flow, attention is directed away from the self, and
upon the ordered dictates of the optimal experience. Often,
individuals describe a "self-transcendence" while in flow, an
expanding beyond the limitations of the normal-conscious ego. Such
people report a union with the transpersonal "order of the cosmos."
This creates a fascinating paradox, that the self expands during a
change in consciousness in which one is unselfaware.
The fifth dimension of flow is a distortion in one's sense of
time. In the midst of an optimal experience, the state of flow can
cause hours to seem like minutes, or vice versa; objective measures
of time disappear from awareness, and temporal sense becomes
governed by the nature of one's activities.
As mentioned earlier, optimal experiences are those socially
learned activities that contain the criteria to induce flow in
consciousness. These activities are on a conceptual continuum in
terms of their potential for bringing about flow. Not every
optimal experience, for example, leads to a euphoric flow
containing all of the phenomenological dimensions (Burger, 1993).
Such lesser optimal experiences are known as "microflow"
activities, and are capable of creating fleeting changes in the
focus of psychic energy. Examples are simple games such as tic-tactoe, jump-rope, or hopscotch. The benefit of microflow is that
it is probably available to almost anyone, regardless of income,
intelligence, etc... On the other hand, those optimal experiences
that do contain all or most of the phenomenological dimensions,
such as "creative endeavors, complex symbolic or religious thought,
or the heights of physical performance," produce "deep flow." This
change in consciousness, the focusing of psychic energy that
organizes one's entire mental world, can result in a blissful
ecstasy that may be long lasting, even a permanent feature of the
psyche. Deep flow in consciousness is often touted by the faithful
as evidence of religion's capacity to regulate the supernatural
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1987).
Flow in Consciousness
Whether one is observing microflow or deep flow as an influence on human behavior, there can be little doubt that flow is a very real change in consciousness. Neurobiologically, this change is reflected in the brain by a settling down of neural
activity. Cortical arousal is reduced to a somewhat "cool state,"
one designed to be active only in response to the requisites of the
particular moment. This would appear to be yet another paradox
within the topic of flow; one would expect an increase in the
arousal of brain and neural circuitry, given the heightened
challenges required to produce flow. However, flow appears to be
"an oasis of cortical efficiency," because the skills one requires
to meet increased challenges are those that are already well-practiced. Hence, the brain operates at its most efficient level, with action potentials firing only when required (Goleman, 1995). Sports scientists at Arizona State University have verified much of this research with their discovery of decreases in neural activity in the left hemisphere of the brain of golfers and shooters in the instant before they release a motion. This reduction of neuronal activity, in the area believed to reflect rational thought, seems to indicate that psychic energy is focused away from the already
well-ingrained mechanics of an action, and more upon how that
action feels (Rogers and Burkholder, 1996).
The strengthening of the consciousness that is characteristic
of the aftermath of a flow experience manifests itself in several
ways. In a broad sense, people are simply happier after having
experienced flow in consciousness, and the subjective perception of
the quality of life becomes more positive. One would not be
exaggerating by claiming that the meaning of life itself lies in
learning optimal experiences and experiencing flow
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1993).
A more specific example, often reported by research subjects,
is an increased self-esteem; research has revealed that although
the ability to focus psychic energy upon some aspect either of
one's own functioning or their own current state is considered to
be a fundamental characteristic of the human level of evolution,
this same uniquely human capacity can also prove an aversive
experience because it can lead to negative evaluation of oneself.
The result of such a circumstance is a devaluing of self, and low
self-esteem (Csikszentmihalyi and Figurski, 1982).
As noted above, during flow, the person focuses all of their
psychic energy upon the optimal experience, leaving insufficient
attention for self-awareness. Following flow, people experience a
sense of being more successful, that they are meeting the standards
of others and themselves. In short, they feel better about
themselves:
As flow leads to the discovery of meaning in both one's
behavior and life in general, it also leaves the psyche with the
strength and resilience to deal with the more unpleasant
experiences of living. Realizing one's own competence and ultimate
purpose allows the person to be free of the everyday pressures of
"the rat race," of the need to constantly meet outside demands for
external compensation (be it for money, status, recognition,
etc...). In fact, many individuals, discussed further below,
successfully internalize such external standards, conceptualizing
them as challenges to be met by their skills. By converting trials
of living into optimal experiences, such people spend an above
average amount of time in flow; business executives, for example,
who discover challenge in stressful events have been found to
actually report reduced levels of stress and anxiety, and fewer
stress related health problems (Csikszentmihalyi, 1993).
Flow is a very pleasant state and research indicates that it
occurs during athletic peak performances. Hence, athletes are
motivated to perform at their highest level of excellence in order
to enter flow over and over (Csikszentmihalyi, 1993). Once in
flow, a feedback loop can develop, one in which many athletes
report that the flow in consciousness actually further enhances
peak performance . During this "zone," achievement becomes
effortless, spectators and rivals vanish, and "the ball looks
bigger, the game slows down." They seem invincible (Goleman, 1995;
Rogers and Burkholder, 1996). Though much of the research on peak
performance has tended to focus upon sports and other athletic
competitions, it does not seem confined there. In fact, there are
similar accounts by rock climbers, chess champions, musicians, even
university professors struggling for publications
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1993; Goleman, 1995; Reeves, 1996).
The Light Side of Flow
Thus it has been shown that flow can be extremely beneficial to the individual. As was stated above, a mind in flow is free of the constraints of past, future, and self-awareness concerns. This mental focus is actually a sort of "in-between" for the mind, a potential transitional state that allows the person to emerge with such changes as increased self-esteem. However, the range of convenience of the flow concept is not exceeded by expanding the claim of positive consequence from the single person to the entire society. Social events that act as the optimal experiences for the production of flow in a group of people can actually instigate this same suspended state of liminality in the aggregate (Turner and Turner, 1978). Such a state of ambiguity allows for a temporary forgetting of typical socially sanctioned patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior. An ideological limbo is generated, one in which individuals may interact with each other outside the
boundaries of accepted roles, statuses, or traditions. This
unmediated communitas produces a communion that allows for the
possibility of new directions for change in societal standards; by
suspending a group's consensual understanding of the norms of
society, what Mead called the "generalized other," the door is opened for individuals to reevaluate both their current place in the social system, and the system itself (Turner and Turner, 1978). Traditional explanations of social change tend to revolve around one of two broad classical theoretical paradigms, that the last two centuries have built upon in the form of sociological research; these include the functionalism and conflict perspectives.
The former refers to Spencer and Durkheim's conceptualization
of society as a gradual, incremental, organismic unfolding of
Darwinistic adaptations based upon need. From this orientation, as
the requirements of the social entity alter, so too will the
corresponding institutions of human behavior metamorphose to meet
those new requirements (Tallichet, 1994). Need for change, and
change itself occur on a one-to-one ratio.
Conflict theory has its origins in the thinking of Marx, who viewed change as a dialectical battle of two classes, each of which defeat each other and establish their own orders across the span of history. The conflict is characterized by an rotation of periods of calm (thesis), in which one class safely dominates, and periods of violent opposition by the underclass (antithesis), which attempts to establish a stable new order. Unfortunately, any newly formed status quo contains the seeds of its own contradiction; this sets the stage for a new antithesis (Tallichet, 1994).
The flow model provides a viable alternative explanation for these two extreme theories of social change, a "third force" of sociological explanation. Social liminality, which is essentially a result of mass flow, can produce communitas. As mentioned above, this may actually serve as a means of producing a qualitative discontinuous change in the interactions that produce social structure. Like conflict theory, then, social change is a sudden phenomenon, rather than gradual. On the other hand, the change is generally peaceful, for it arises from community, brotherhood, and cohesion; characteristics indicative of the more ordered functionalism.
The Dark Side of Flow
Although it seems capable of producing change through
emotional bonding in society, might flow not also be responsible
for negative change, even social ills? Could the pursuit of an
ordered consciousness (through self-selected challenges that are in
balance with skills), lead to all of the benefits outlined above,
yet place the individual at odds with the well-being of their
society? Unfortunately, historical and research data would seem to
confirm that there is indeed a "dark side" of flow.
Many famous people have indicated by their actions that they enjoyed their optimal experiences for their own sake, but still they produced catastrophic consequences. Crusading knights once sacked cities in the Holy Land, Jack the Ripper murdered time and again in the streets of nineteenth century England (all the while avoiding authorities), and Adolf Hitler's single-minded dedication to military strategy contributed to the bloodiest war in human history (Reeves, 1996). In fact, warfare is an optimal experience in the purest sense because it evidences clear goals, immediate feedback, and a very definite extension of skills to meet
challenges above the norm of daily existence; "despite the fear and
misery generated, war simplifies the lives of many men to the point
that it overcomes its own drawbacks and becomes intrinsically
rewarding" (Csikszentmihalyi, 1978). Little wonder that discharged
soldiers routinely harken back to their direct battle experiences
with fond nostalgia. Such grueling times often make them feel the
most alive.
Studies of the bososoku motor cycle gangs of Japan have shed
light on a population that engages in illegal and reckless biking
stunts that endanger, injure, and kill thousands of gang members
and innocent bystanders every year (Csikszentmihalyi, 1988). Many
juvenile delinquents, even those from affluent suburbs, report that
they break into houses not because of need for valuables, but
simply for the challenge of escaping without being apprehended
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1993). In a less dramatic sense, flow may also
be destructive in its impact upon interpersonal functioning;
someone in flow loses awareness of their surroundings, and all
concerns of past and future. Hence, they may forget important ties
with family, friends, or institutions, and ultimately lose their
sense of responsibility to the society in which they live (Reeves,
1996). Ultimately, in the words of Dr. Csikszentmihalyi:
Implications for Social Institutions
The autotelic personality is capable of engaging in the
dichotomous processes of integration and differentiation simultaneously . Csikszentmihalyi considers the reconciliation of
these contradictory extremes as a hallmark trait of being creative:
Autotelic personality may be linked with both social
upbringing, and a genetic advantage of noticing or finding
challenge in everyday activity. But for others, those not so
advantaged, the task becomes more difficult. Despite the existing
preponderance of social institutions that produce flow in
consciousness (e.g. sports, weightlifting, reading, religious
ceremony, etc...), for many people, finding social opportunities
for flow and happiness proves difficult in society as it currently
stands. The result is a sense of malaise or lack of meaning in the
lives of such people. As Maslow's Hierarchy reveals, modern
American society is relatively successful in satisfying direct
survival needs, but allows higher psychological needs to suffer: he
determined that the average American fulfills, at any given moment,
85% of physiological needs, 70% of safety needs, 50% of
love/belongingness needs, 40% of self-esteem needs, and 10% of
self-actualization needs (Burger, 1993). These final two needs are
what more self-directed psychic energy and altered consciousness
may improve to minimize feelings of lack of purpose for many
segments of the population.
Perhaps, then, other institutions not normally associated with
flow could be modified to not only encourage flow in consciousness,
but also to benefit from flow. Several of these social institutions, outlined below, would gain from such an endeavor, and
in fact, they are where much of the effort must begin.
The first and most fundamental of these institutions is the family. As Rathunde (1988) has shown, parents who encourage their
children to seek out challenges find that their children derive the
flow-induced self-esteem outlined above. This encouragement would
likely not prove difficult, after all, "children learn to talk
because they enjoy being able to ask questions, and to walk in
order to move where they want to be. Learning is fun..."
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1993). As mentioned previously, inborn
individual differences may actually exist in people's ability to
find opportunities to experience flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1988), but
autotelic tendency seems almost to be inherent in general early
childhood development, else socialization would be much more
difficult (having only clumsily applied extrinsic reinforcers). In
fact, Erik Erikson's theory of development may stand testimony to
the presence of autoteleism at the fundamental level of the human
being. His concept of ego virtues, or inherent strengths that arise out of overcoming each of his eight developmental challenges (which are analogous to optimal challenges), may actually be the postflow integrity mentioned previously. Overcoming these early challenges cannot simply be conceptualized as being the result of past external reinforcement, for young infants do not have a great
deal of past from which to draw, and their limited cognitive
ability precludes their being able to justify the complexity of
these life challenges through future goals. The act of achieving
the unfolding into adults must be, in some aspects, intrinsically
rewarding to children.
Children who experience frequent episodes of flow in consciousness seem to exhibit closer emotional ties to parents, and the entire family context would appear to be less torn by the dysfunction that impacts so many other modern family systems (Rathunde, 1988).
Another social institution that would benefit and be benefitted by optimal experience and flow is that of education. The most prevalent attitude toward learning that is currently conveyed by popular culture is that it is difficult and unpleasant (Csikszentmihalyi, 1993). However, if the school experience could be structured to allow students to experience flow, such an ordering of consciousness would lead to an intrinsic enjoyment of learning. Cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner asserts that
autotelic education is actually more permanent and influential on
students' development than the more transitory impact of external
reinforcers (Sprinthall and Sprinthall, 1990). Gottfried (1983) has
developed five principles applicable to both parents and teachers
for encouraging autotelic learning:
Many elements of socially constructing an optimal experience are well illustrated in this model of intrinsic learning.
These are likely not merely idealistic strategies, for research indicates that the frequency of flow experiences, rather than psychometric measures of intellectual ability (such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, or Wide Range Achievement Test), is what acts as the best means of anticipating academic success (Csikszentmihalyi, 1993).
A third institution, with the pivotal potential of indoctrinating flow into more areas of society, is work.
Occupation, like education, is supposed to be unpleasant, or such
is the message perpetuated in modern America. As a society, people
are daily bombarded by mass media messages for expensive bubble
baths, long cruises, intoxicating beverages, even technologically
advanced bed mattresses, all conveying the same idea; that
recreation is the ultimate goal and meaning of life and work is
only the useful, obligatory, "necessary evil" means of acquiring
it.
This is a sad perspective of work; after all, the average person spends a third of their day involved in work related activities, and from a starting age of 16 to retirement at 65, one would give over 90,000 hours of their life to this "necessary
evil." And the societal repulsion to work is actually deceiving,
for studies indicate that most episodes of flow occur in the lives of average adults when on the job, rather than in leisure.
Logically, this actually makes sense, for mandatory or not, work is
still more likely to (even serendipitously), provide challenges
that fit a person's skills. Further, this is true for both higher
level jobs and bluecollar manual labor jobs (Csikszentmihalyi,
1989). Thus, it would appear that people find the "most complex
and gratifying experiences" at work, yet follow the culturally
ingrained message that leisure is superior, and seek it out over
work; even though much of their leisure time is actually
unsatisfying and depressing. Unfortunately, the exalting of
leisure over work has become a latent norm in a capitalistic
society that serves to facilitate the consumer behavior which
maintains that system (Reeves, 1996). While such an institution
may benefit the society in the short run, it may not be so positive
in the long run. At the macroscopic level, this trend toward
avoiding activities that provide positive experiences in favor of
those that do not leads to a continuing "exodus from productive
activities in favor of leisure" (Csikszentmihalyi, 1989;
Csikszentmihalyi, 1993). The means by which work may be
adapted to include more flowlike experiences involves making people
aware of the fact that their jobs provide them with many challenges
for their skills every day:
The last social institution discussed here that could benefit from the flow model is that of psychotherapy. The most obvious place in psychotherapy where flow seems to already have an established history is in the standard mode of practice the
therapist adopts with the majority of their clients. As the
eclectic practitioner Garfield notes, the particular theoretical
orientation chosen by therapists seems to have little grounding in
how successful it is in a given clinical population; rather, some
colleagues of psychodynamic, behavioral, or humanistic theories
tend to espouse a particular orientation based upon what "they find
most gratifying" [Garfield, 1995 (italics mine)]. This disregard
for the goal in favor of the act of giving therapy, combined with
an almost dogmatic set of rules (e.g. theoretical assumptions of
human nature), and the client's spectrum of reactions to therapy as
feedback, indicates that a part of this institution is, in fact, an
optimal experience that is intrinsically rewarding for the
therapist. Likely then, such professionals experience flow during
a session. Given that the ideal therapist is "someone who is
sensitive to the feelings and communications of the client,
displays some warmth and interest in the client and is a good and
sympathetic listener" (Garfield, 1995), the focused psychic energy
of attention that partially defines flow in consciousness would
seem a contributing factor to enhancing the effectiveness of
psychotherapists; it requires a total devotion to the thoughts,
feelings and behaviors of the client at any given moment in time.
Such dedication is not only likely to reduce the probability of
missing vital verbal and nonverbal cues emitted by the recipients
of therapeutic services, but is probably also likely to be
transmitted from the therapist to the client. The latter then, may
possibly be further aided if they can detect the true depth of
concern of their therapist. Of course, at this point, such a
relationship of flow to therapy can only be hypothesized, for aside
from Durkheim's work on "collective effervescence"
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1987), research has yet to address the question
of whether or not flow is "contagious" (Ebben, 1996).
So flow is likely somewhat already at work in the social institution of psychotherapy. But what about increasing its impact on mental health by extending optimal experiences beyond existing dogmatic theories and methodologies? In actuality, many clinicians have already ceased overemphasizing past causes of such psychiatric disorders as depression and anxiety, in favor of remaining in the client's present; from the flow perspective, the psychopathology of many clients is conceptualized as the result of an unstimulating life in which the person cannot on their own, structure optimal experiences (Massimini, et al., 1987).
Use of optimal experience and flow in therapy involves
identifying and developing those behaviors and circumstances that
act as optimal experiences for the client, and thus provide the
greatest probability of producing flow in consciousness. In the
words of Massimini at the University of Milan:
The World Without Flow: Conclusions
Hence, there can be many potential benefits to the individual
by adapting social institutions such that they increase
opportunities for meaningful optimal experiences. Likewise,
despite the potential for destructive consequences to the society,
a great number of social problems are attributable to a lack of
flow in the consciousness of individuals of differing populations.
Substance abuse, for example, can be conceptualized as a means of
artificially altering consciousness such as to change the
perception of challenges vs. skills and thus convince the mind for
a time that the two variables are in balance; simulated flow
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1993). The result of such wasteful and
destructive behaviors is the very familiar rise in physiological
addiction and lethal overdose that characterize many segments of
the population. There are, however, criticisms that expansion of
optimal experience theory to explain such social ills as substance
abuse may cause an exceeding of the range of convenience of the
flow concept; this, of course, fosters a decline in the idea's
explanatory power (Reeves, 1996).
On the other hand, as has been demonstrated both empirically
through research data, and rationally through logical extension,
the presence of more frequent episodes of flow in consciousness is
definitely a desirable state. Social context, while already a
powerful determinant of the optimal experiences available to
produce flow, can benefit by changes in the interpersonal
structuring that would increase flow. Naturally, there are risks
involved for the many, depending upon the means of focusing psychic
energy for the few. However, the human being is not merely "just"
an animal; as Fromm observed in 1939, the individual person is an
entity separated from nature (Burger, 1993), by their reason and
capacity to confront those classic existential concerns that are as
above other creatures as the stars above the mountains. Such
questions as the purpose and meaning of life, one's place in that
life, and their fate after death occupies the mind of every healthy
person. Despite the power of external influences and genetic
predispositions on their behavior, the human being is still able to
supersede such mechanistic limitations in certain situations. Rare
as such circumstances may be argued to be, they are extremely
significant in that they reveal an inherent capacity in all people to more often reach beyond the deterministic limits of other
animals; "people fast and occasionally starve themselves to death,
they sometimes lead celibate lives, and often do exactly the
opposite of what they have always learned and been rewarded for."
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1993). People are, therefore, very flexible,
and with the right personality dimensions, and learning through
trial and error, the possibility of compromise between what serves
both individual interest and social interest must definitely exist.
Happiness as the Source of Meaning in Life
The evidence indicates that the ideal experience is one in which the person is engaged in an activity voluntarily and is not focusing attention on the self (Csikszentmihalyi and Figurski, 1982).
This appears to be an anomalous result of flow in
consciousness; an increased self-esteem resulting from an altered
state of consciousness in which one is unself-aware. However, the
immediate positive feedback that partially characterizes the
optimal experience, imbues the individual with a sense of
competence that leads them to feel successful. This feeling of
competence remains after the flow episode has passed, and acts as
a determining factor for a more robust self-concept. Each time
this mastery is reaffirmed, new information about the self enters
consciousness, and the person changes. Such unfolding changes
(through repeated episodes of flow), bring about a new strength of
self (Csikszentmihalyi, 1993; Wells, 1988).
It is important to realize that the flow experience, while personally rewarding, is socially neutral. Like
physical energy, it [psychic energy] can be used for productive or destructive ends (Csikszentmihalyi, 1978).
Yet many individuals avoid such a conflict between their own
interests and society's interests. Such creative people have
autotelic personalities; this is to say that they engage in either or both of two distinct psychological processes. One is labeled by Csikszentmihalyi as integration, which involves uniting with the
reference group and with the ideas and entities beyond the
individual. Through this process, autotelic people take a somewhat
conforming route, finding acceptable challenges in those activities
already condoned by society. Such people can find meaning in even
the most trivial or typically unpleasant activities, be it play or
work (Csikszentmihalyi, 1988). The assembly line worker who,
having done the same monotonous job for years, begins to amuse
herself by trying to complete her tasks with a self-imposed time limit would serve as an example of an integrating autotelic personality. Sometimes, however, autotelic persons take the polar extreme of integration, that is differentiation, a movement of the
self toward singularity, of separation of the individual from the
social network (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Although the person seems
to engage in their own interests at the cost to society, there is
another component; the person succeeds in altering the society such
that initially questionable choices actually become acceptable.
They are able to change the sociocultural environment so that the
optimal experiences in which they engage to produce flow are no
longer at odds with that context. A very specific classic example
of this process would be Sigmund Freud, who after years of debate
with the psychiatric field, was able to change the medical domain
such that his very nonmedical psychoanalytic technique became the
expected standard for treatment of mental disorders.
...usually we are trained to develop only one pole of the
dialectic. We might grow up cultivating the aggressive,
competitive side of our nature, and disdain or repress
the nurturant, cooperative side. A creative individual
is more likely to be both aggressive and cooperative,
either at the same time or at different times, depending
on the situation...it involves the ability to move from
one extreme to the other as the occasion requires.
Creative persons definitely know both extremes and
experience both with equal intensity and without inner conflict (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996).
This is not to imply, however, that creative people have no
problems in their lives; on the contrary, they are often only very
reluctantly drawn away from the endeavors they find intrinsically
motivating, those very efforts that allow them to change domains
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1996). For this reason, they may sanction a
side of their "dialectical" nature that favors their work, and not
social interactions with their peers and colleagues. Therefore,
creative people may be supremely callous toward those "who are
closest to them" (Reeves, 1996).
...if people realized that their jobs were more exciting
and fulfilling than they had thought, they could
disregard the cultural mandate against enjoying work and
find in it a satisfaction that at present seems to be
denied by the fact that people think of it as obligatory.
It is highly probable that if people admitted to
themselves that work can be very enjoyable or at least,
more enjoyable than most of their leisure time is, they
might work more effectively, achieve greater material
success, and in the process also improve the quality of
their own lives (Csikszentmihalyi, 1989).
Of course, people doubtless find difficult the task of simply "admitting to themselves" the value of their work when the occupational environment itself perpetuates the myth of the supremacy of leisure by its myriad bureaucratic rules, regulations, and supervision of the behavior of its employees. To make this realization a reality, the organizational structure must be adapted to be perhaps somewhat less restrictive of behaviors typically
considered wasteful, or unproductive. As Csikszentmihalyi's (1989)
research suggests, employees, who experience flow, may actually be
more productive and more materially successful. This is a reasonable compromise between the organization, indeed the wider
institution of occupation, and the individual; it increases their
utility (producing profits), as a side-effect to enhancing the
quality of the employees' working experience. Enjoyment,
regardless of its source (leisure or work), will still enhance
consumption of resources, and thus perpetuate capitalistic levels
of production.
The application of optimal experience theory in psychotherapy is centered on reinforcing both the patient's personal search for challenging possibilities for action in daily life, and his/her effort to develop personal skills in order to meet these challenges and not
avoid them. Optimal experience is related to the subjective perception of environmental challenges: each individual will selectively pursue the activities that best meet his or her own intrinsic motivation and spontaneous interests. Such a therapeutic approach is therefore individualized, focusing on the personal
motivation and tendencies of the subject (Massimini, et
al., 1987; Csikszentmihalyi, 1993).
Such an increase in the quality of experience could lead to a healing of the client. The flow model, if initiated permanently into clinical practice, could act as the same bridge for a very conspicuous gap in abnormal psychology as physiology does for pathology in the domain of medicine; a positive standard of
psychological functioning (Csikszentmihalyi, 1988;
Csikszentmihalyi, 1993; Massimini, et al., 1987).