Skip to main content

Exploring Flow Psychophysiology in Knowledge Work

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Information Systems and Neuroscience

Abstract

We report on a first exploration of a new paradigm to study flow physiology in knowledge work that we call controlled experience sampling (cESM) in order to build a bridge for flow physiology research to more unstructured tasks. Results show that the approach elicits a consistent flow experience with intensities as least as high as in an established difficulty-manipulated math task. Yet, significantly lower stress perceptions and heart rate variability (HRV) responses are found in the cESM approach which highlights gaps and consequences for the diagnostic potential of HRV features for the understanding of flow physiology and automated flow observation in bio-adaptive systems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Csikszentmihalyi, M.: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. Harper Collins, New York (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Bakker, A.B., van Woerkom, M.: Flow at work: a self-determination perspective. Occup. Heal. Sci. 1, 47–65 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Spurlin, S., Csikszentmihalyi, M.: Will work ever be fun again? In: Fullagar, C.J., Delle Fave, A. (eds.) Flow at Work: Measurement and Implications, pp. 176–187 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Quinn, R.W.: Flow in knowledge performance experience. Adm. Sci. Q. 50, 610–641 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Ceja, L., Navarro, J.: “Suddenly I get into the zone”: examining discontinuities and nonlinear changes in flow experiences at work. Hum. Relations. 65, 1101–1127 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Knierim, M.T., Rissler, R., Dorner, V., Maedche, A., Weinhardt, C.: The psychophysiology of flow: a systematic review of peripheral nervous system features. Lect. Notes Inf. Syst. Organ. 25, 109–120 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Harris, D.J., Vine, S.J., Wilson, M.R.: Neurocognitive mechanisms of the flow state. Prog. Brain Res. 237, 221–243 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Adam, M.T.P., Gimpel, H., Maedche, A., Riedl, R.: Design blueprint for stress-sensitive adaptive enterprise systems. Bus. Inf. Syst. Eng. 59, 277–291 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Rissler, R., Nadj, M., Li, M.X., Knierim, M.T., Maedche, A.: Got flow? Using machine learning on physiological data to classify flow. In: Proceedings of the Conference of Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Léger, P.M., Davis, F.D., Cronan, T.P., Perret, J.: Neurophysiological correlates of cognitive absorption in an enactive training context. Comput. Human Behav. 34, 273–283 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Moller, A.C., Meier, B.P., Wall, R.D.: Developing an experimental induction of flow: effortless action in the lab. In: Bruya, B. (ed.) Effortless Attention, pp. 191–204 (2010)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  12. Frey, C.B., Osborne, M.A.: The future of employment: how susceptible are jobs to computerisation? Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change. 114, 254–280 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Csikszentmihalyi, M., Hunter, J.: Happiness in everyday life: the uses of experience sampling. J. Happiness Stud. 4, 185–199 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Klarkowski, M.: The Psychophysiologial Evaluation of the Player Experience (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Csikszentmihalyi, M.: Beyond Boredom and Anxiety. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Nakamura, J., Csikszentmihalyi, M.: Flow theory and research. In: Lopez, S., Snyder, C.R. (eds.) Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology, pp. 195–206. Oxford University Press, New York (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Swann, C., Keegan, R.J., Piggott, D., Crust, L.: A systematic review of the experience, occurrence, and controllability of flow states in elite sport. Psychol. Sport Exerc. 13, 807–819 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Gruzelier, J., Inoue, A., Smart, R., Steed, A., Steffert, T.: Acting performance and flow state enhanced with sensory-motor rhythm neurofeedback comparing ecologically valid immersive VR and training screen scenarios. Neurosci. Lett. 480, 112–116 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. de Manzano, O., Theorell, T., Harmat, L., Ullén, F.: The psychophysiology of flow during piano playing. Emotion 10, 301–311 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Harmat, L., de Manzano, Ö., Theorell, T., Högman, L., Fischer, H., Ullén, F.: Physiological correlates of the flow experience during computer game playing. Int. J. Psychophysiol. 97, 1–7 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Erhard, K., Kessler, F., Neumann, N., Ortheil, H.J., Lotze, M.: Professional training in creative writing is associated with enhanced fronto-striatal activity in a literary text continuation task. Neuroimage 100, 15–23 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. McQuillan, J., Conde, G.: The conditions of flow in reading: two studies of optimal experience. Read. Psychol. 17, 109–135 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Moneta, G.B.: On the measurement and conceptualization of flow. In: Engeser, S. (ed.) Advances in Flow Research, pp. 23–50 (2012)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  24. Tian, Y., Bian, Y., Han, P., Wang, P., Gao, F., Chen, Y.: Physiological signal analysis for evaluating flow during playing of computer games of varying difficulty. Front. Psychol. 8, 1–10 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  25. de Manzano, O., Theorell, T., Harmat, L., Ullén, F., de Manzano, Ö., Theorell, T., Harmat, L., Ullén, F.: The psychophysiology of flow during piano playing. Emotion 10, 301–311 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Harmat, L., Ullen, F., de Manzano, O., Olsson, E., Elofsson, U., von Scheele, B., Theorell, T.: Heart rate variability during piano playing: a case study of three professional solo pianists playing a self-selected and a difficult prima vista piece. Music Med. 3, 102–107 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Engeser, S., Rheinberg, F.: Flow, performance and moderators of challenge-skill balance. Motiv. Emot. 32, 158–172 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Tozman, T., Magdas, E.S., MacDougall, H.G., Vollmeyer, R.: Understanding the psychophysiology of flow: a driving simulator experiment to investigate the relationship between flow and heart rate variability. Comput. Human Behav. 52, 408–418 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Klarkowski, M., Johnson, D., Wyeth, P., Phillips, C., Smith, S.: Psychophysiology of challenge in play: EDA and self-reported arousal. In: Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1930–1936. ACM Press, New York, New York, USA (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Bian, Y., Yang, C., Gao, F., Li, H., Zhou, S., Li, H., Sun, X., Meng, X.: A framework for physiological indicators of flow in VR games: construction and preliminary evaluation. Pers. Ubiquitous Comput. 20, 821–832 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Keller, J., Bless, H., Blomann, F., Kleinböhl, D.: Physiological aspects of flow experiences: skills-demand-compatibility effects on heart rate variability and salivary cortisol. J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 47, 849–852 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Ulrich, M., Keller, J., Gro, G., Grön, G.: Neural signatures of experimentally induced flow experiences identified in a typical fMRI block design with BOLD imaging. Soc. Cogn. Affect. Neurosci. 11, 496–507 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Galluch, P.S., Grover, V., Thatcher, J.B.: Interrupting the workplace: examining stressors in an information technology context. J. Assoc. Inf. Syst. 16, 1–47 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Flower, L., Hayes, J.R.: A cognitive process theory of writing. Coll. Compos. Commun. 32, 365–387 (1981)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Doran, G.T.: There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write managements’s goals and objectives. Manage. Rev. 70, 35–36 (1981)

    Google Scholar 

  36. Ulrich, M., Keller, J., Hoenig, K., Waller, C., Grön, G.: Neural correlates of experimentally induced flow experiences. Neuroimage 86, 194–202 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Keller, J.: The flow experience revisited: the influence of skills-demands-compatibility on experiential and physiological indicators. In: Harmat, L., Andersen, F.O., Ullén, F., Wright, J., Sadlo, G. (eds.) Flow Experience, pp. 351–374 (2016)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  38. Tams, S., Hill, K., Ortiz de Guinea, A., Thatcher, J., Grover, V.: NeuroIS—alternative or complement to existing methods? Illustrating the holistic effects of neuroscience and self-reported data in the context of technostress research. J. Assoc. Inf. Syst. 15, 723–753 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  39. Bradley, M.M., Lang, P.J.: Measuring emotion: the self-assessment manikin and the semantic differential. J. Behav. Ther. Exp. Psychiatry 25, 49–59 (1994)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Makowski, D.: NeuroKit (2016). https://github.com/neuropsychology/NeuroKit.py

  41. Martinez, C.A.G., Quintana, A.O., Vila, X.A., Touriño, M.J.L., Rodriguez-Liñares, L., Presedo, J.M.R., Penin, A.J.M.: Heart Rate Variability Analysis with the R Package RHRV. Springer (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  42. Rissler, R., Nadj, M., Adam, M.T.P., Mädche, A.: Towards an integrative theoretical framework of IT-mediated interruptions. In: Proceedings of the 25th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), Guimarães, Portugal, pp. 1950–1967 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  43. Tozman, T., Zhang, Y.Y., Vollmeyer, R.: Inverted U-shaped function between flow and cortisol release during chess play. J. Happiness Stud. 18, 1–22 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Katahira, K., Yamazaki, Y., Yamaoka, C., Ozaki, H., Nakagawa, S., Nagata, N.: EEG correlates of the flow state: a combination of increased frontal theta and moderate frontocentral alpha rhythm in the mental arithmetic task. Front. Psychol. 9, 1–11 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael T. Knierim .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Knierim, M.T., Rissler, R., Hariharan, A., Nadj, M., Weinhardt, C. (2019). Exploring Flow Psychophysiology in Knowledge Work. In: Davis, F., Riedl, R., vom Brocke, J., Léger, PM., Randolph, A. (eds) Information Systems and Neuroscience. Lecture Notes in Information Systems and Organisation, vol 29. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01087-4_29

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics