Name:Zala Kodrič

School/Affiliation:Goldsmiths, University of London

Co-Authors:Oliver Durcan, Dr Peter Holland

Virtual or In-person:In-person

Abstract:

Flow, as an optimal experience often experienced during creative activity, has been associated with positive affective experience (Norsworthy et al., 2021). However, professional creative practitioners often experience poor mental health and well-being (Kenny et al., 2014), despite frequently engaging in what could be flow-inducing activities. The effect of flow on positive and negative affect was investigated in a longitudinal daily-diary study of professional, student, and hobby creative practitioners, engaging in composition, practice, or performance. In addition, the most cited flow antecedents, challenge-skill balance and motivation (Norsworthy et al., 2021), were examined in their effect on flow. The present study found that flow increased positive affect and decreased negative affect. Feelings of competence were the strongest positive predictor of flow, followed by challenge-skill balance. Perceived difficulty was a negative predictor of flow. The three types of motivation measured (intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, and external regulation) did not have a significant effect on flow; however, in the sample, intrinsic motivation had a marginally significant small-to-moderate effect on flow. This study offers support for the importance of challenge and skill over motivation in fostering flow and corroborates studies which have found that feelings of competence are more strongly predictive of flow than challenge-skill balance.

Link to video presentation: https://youtu.be/v6hLa0iG2Ns