Abstract
The present chapter provides evidence for the association between flow and identity via quantitative examinations based on Eudaimonistic identity theory, where an individual is seen to recognize elements of his or her true self, including interests, talents, and abilities, through participating in a range of personally salient (identity-related) and therein self-defining activities. Specifically, salient characteristics of activity experiences, i.e., feelings of personal expressiveness and flow, are seen to facilitate an individual’s personal growth in the process of solidifying self-definition. On these bases, a relationship between flow experience and personal identity strength is hypothesized and confirmed via a multinational investigation, in which identity consolidation is observed to be facilitated through the participation in self-defining activities that are platforms to optimal experience. In sum, the present investigation makes a cohesive case for the relationship between subjective experiences of flow and sense of self-identification. Finally, further and ongoing research directions are outlined.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
We conducted preliminary analyses to investigate possible age or gender difference on the subjective experience of both flow and personal expressiveness. Results obtained from Independent sample t test did not find any significant gender difference on flow (male: M = 2.87, S = .96 vs. female: M = 2.67 SD = .81), t(107) = 1.16, p > .05), or on personal expressiveness (male: M = 2.81, SD = 1.09 vs. female: M = 2.42 SD = .91), t(107) = 2.03, p > .05). Results from univariate ANOVAs indicated that age does not affect either flow (M = 2.77, SD = .89, F = .67, p > .05), or personal expressiveness (M = 2.61, SD = 1.01, F = .49, p > .05). Thus both gender and age groups were combined for further manipulation check and correlational tests.
- 2.
A set of indices for CFA data analytic technique used in present investigation (and relative cut-off values for acceptable fit) has been considered (see Hu and Bentler 1999). Such indices are: the significance value with a cut off value of .05, the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) with a cut-off value of .08 (see Browne and Cudeck 1993), and finally the chi-square/df ratio falling below 3 (Carmine and McIver 1981).
References
Adams, G. R., & Marshall, S. (1996). A developmental social psychology of identity: Understanding the person in context. Journal of Adolescence, 19, 429–442.
Aristotle. (IV c. B.C.). The Nicomachean ethics (D. Ross, Trans., 1925). New York: Oxford University Press.
Barber, B. L., Eccles, J. S., & Stone, M. R. (2001). Whatever happened to the jock, the brain, and the princes? Young adult pathways linked to adolescent activity involvement and social identity. Journal of Adolescent Research, 16, 429–455.
Bassi, M., & Delle Fave, A. (2004). Adolescence and the changing context of optimal experience in time: Italy 1986–2000. Journal of Happiness Studies, 5, 155–179.
Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136–162). Newbury Park: Sage.
Carmines, E., & McIver, J. (1981). Analysing models with unobserved variables: Analysis of covariance structures. In G. Bhornstedt & E. Borgatta (Eds.), Social measurement (pp. 65–115). Beverly Hills: Sage.
Chen, H., Wigand, R. T., & Nilan, M. S. (1999). Optimal experience of web activities. Computers in Human Behavior, 15, 585–608.
Coatsworth, J. D., Sharp, E. H., Palen, L., Darling, N., Cumsille, P., & Marta, E. (2005). Exploring adolescent self-defining leisure activities and identity experiences across three countries. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29, 361–370.
Coatsworth, J. D., Palen, L., & Sharp, E. H. (2006). Self-defining activities, expressive identity, and adolescent wellness. Applied Developmental Science, 10(3), 157–170.
Cooper, J. M. (1999). The psychology of justice in Plato. In J. M. Cooper (Ed.), Reason and emotion. Essays on ancient moral psychology and ethical theory (pp. 138–149). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1975). Beyond boredom and anxiety. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1977). Beyond boredom and anxiety, second printing. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1982). Towards a psychology of optimal experience. In L. Wheeler (Ed.), Annual review of personality and social psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 13–36). Beverly Hills: Sage.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1988). The flow experience and its significance for human psychology. In M. Csikszentmihalyi (Ed.), Optimal experience: Psychological studies of flow in consciousness (pp. 15–35). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Flow: The psychology of discovery and invention. New York: Harper Perennial.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. New York: Basic Books.
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Csikszentmihalyi, I. (Eds.). (1988). Optimal experience. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Csikzsentmihalyi, I. (Eds.). (2006). A life worth living: Contributions to positive psychology (Series in positive psychology). Oxford University Press: New York.
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Massimini, F. (1985). On the psychological selection of bio-cultural information. New Ideas in Psychology, 3, 115–138.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum Press.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1987). The support of autonomy and the control of behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(6), 1024–1037.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1991). A motivational approach to self: Integration in personality. In R. Dienstbier (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation: Perspectives on motivation (Vol. 38, pp. 237–288). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2002). An overview of self-determination theory: An organismic dialectical perspective. In E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan (Eds.), Handbook of self-determination research (pp. 3–33). Rochester: Univeristy of Rochester Press.
Delle Fave, A. (2007). Individual development and community empowerment: Suggestions from studies on optimal experience. In J. Haworth & G. Hart (Eds.), Well-being: Individual, community, and societal perspectives (pp. 41–56). London: Palgrave McMillan.
Delle Fave, A., & Bassi, M. (2003). Italian adolescents and leisure: The role of engagement and optimal experience. In S. Verma & R. Larson (Eds.), Examining adolescent leisure time across cultures: Developmental opportunities and risks. New directions in child and adolescent development (pp. 79–93). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Delle Fave, A., & Massimini, F. (2005). The investigation of optimal experience and apathy. European Psychologist, 10, 264–274.
Delle Fave, A., Massimini, F., & Borri Gaspardin, M. (1993). Televisione e qualita’ dell’esperienza quotidiana [Television and daily quality of experience]. Ikon, 26, 81–109.
Delle Fave, A., Massimini, F., & Bassi, M. (2011). Acculturation and optimal experience. In Psychological selection and optimal experience across cultures (pp. 273–293). Dordrecht: Springer.
Diener, E., & Lucas, R. E. (2000). Explaining differences in societal levels of happiness: Relative standards, need fulfillment, culture, and evaluation theory. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1, 41–78.
Eccles, J. S., & Barber, B. L. (1999). Student council, volunteering, basketball, or marching band: What kind of extracurricular involvement matters? Journal of Adolescent Research, 14, 10–43.
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: Norton.
Erikson, E. H. (1980). Identity and the life cycle. New York: Norton.
Fraser, C. (2014). Wandering the way: A eudaimonistic approach to the Zhuāngzǐ. Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy, 13, 541–565.
Fredricks, J. A., Alfeld-Liro, C. J., Hruda, L. Z., Eccles, J. S., Patrick, H., & Ryan, A. M. (2002). A qualitative exploration of adolescents’ commitments to athletics and the arts. Journal of Adolescent Research, 17(1), 68–97.
Hansen, D. M., Larson, R. W., & Dworkin, J. B. (2003). What adolescents learn in organized youth activities: A survey of self-reported developmental experiences. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 13, 25–55.
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1–55.
Huta, V. (2012). Linking peoples’ pursuit of eudaimonia and hedonia with characteristics of their parents: Parenting styles, verbally endorsed values, and role modeling. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13, 47–61.
Irwin, H. (1985). Flight of mind: A psychological study of the out-of-body experience. Metuche: Scarecrow Press.
Kubey, R. W., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Television and the quality of life. New Jersey: Erlbaum.
Kubey, R. W., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2002). Television addiction is no mere metaphor. Scientific American, 286, 62–68.
Larson, R. (1995). Secrets in the bedroom: Adolescents’ private use of media. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24, 535–550.
Mao, Y., Robert, S., Pagliaro, S., Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Bonaiuto, M. (2016). Optimal experience and optimal identity: A multinational study of the associations between flow and social identity. Frontiers in Psychology, 7:67. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00067
Maslow, A. H. (1970). Religions, value, and peak experiences. New York: Harper & Row.
Massimini, F., & Delle Fave, A. (2000). Individual development in a bio-cultural perspective. American Psychologist, 55, 24–33.
Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2002). The concept of flow. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 89–105). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nielsen, K., & Cleal, B. (2010). Predicting flow at work: Investigating the activities and job characteristics that predict flow states at work. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 15(2), 180–190.
Norton, D. L. (1976). Personal destinies. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Novak, T. P., Hoffman, D. L., & Yung, Y. (2000). Measuring the flow construct in online environments: A structural modeling approach. Marketing Science, 19, 22–44.
Peterson, C., Park, N., & Seligman, M. E. (2005). Orientations to happiness and life satisfaction: The full life versus the empty life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 6(1), 25–41.
Ross, W. D. (1949). Aristotle (5th ed.). London: Methuen.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68–78.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141–166.
Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. H. (2006). Best news yet on the six-factor model of well-being. Social Science Research, 35, 1103–1119.
Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. H. (2008). Know thyself and become what you are: A eudaimonic approach to psychological well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9, 13–39.
Serafini, T. E., & Adams, G. R. (2002). Functions of identity: Scale construction and validation. Identity, 2(4), 361–389
Schwartz, S. J. (2006). Predicting identity consolidation from self-construction, eudaimonistic self-discovery, and agentic personality. Journal of Adolescence, 29, 777–793.
Schwartz, S. J., & Waterman, A. S. (2006). Changing interests: A longitudinal study of intrinsic motivation for personally salient activities. Journal of Research in Personality, 40, 1119–1136.
Seligman, M. E. (2002). Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment. New York: Free Press.
Serafini, T. E., Maitland, S. B., & Adams, G. R. (2006, March). The functions of identity scale: revisions, validation and model testing. Poster presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Francisco, California.
Sharp, E. H., Coatsworth, J. D., Darling, N., Cumsille, P., & Ranieri, S. (2007). Gender difference in the self-defining activities and identity experiences of adolescents and emerging adults. Journal of Adolescence, 30, 251–269.
Tietze, R. L. (2008). Jazz and American identity: Case study of a college course. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 2, 245–255.
Waterman, A. S. (1984). Identity formation: Discovery or creation? Journal of Early Adolescence, 4, 329–341.
Waterman, A. S. (1990a). Personal expressiveness: Philosophical and psychological foundations. Journal of Mind and Behavior, 11, 47–74.
Waterman, A. S. (1990b). The relevance of Aristotle’s conception of eudaimonia for the psychological study of happiness. Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, 10, 39–44.
Waterman, A. S. (1992). Identity as an aspect of optimal psychological functioning. In G. R. Adams, T. P. Gullotta, & R. Montemayor (Eds.), Adolescent identity formation: Advances in adolescent development (pp. 50–72). Newbury Park: Sage.
Waterman, A. S. (1993a). Finding something to do or someone to be: A Eudaimonist perspective on identity formation. In J. Kroger (Ed.), Discussions of ego identity (pp. 147–167). Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum & Associates.
Waterman, A. S. (1993b). Two conceptions of happiness: Contrasts of personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 678–691.
Waterman, A. S. (2004). Finding someone to be: Studies on the role of intrinsic motivation in identity formation. Identity, 4, 209–228.
Waterman, A. S. (2005). When effort is enjoyed: Two studies of intrinsic motivation for personally salient activities. Motivation and Emotion, 29, 165–188.
Waterman, A. S. (2007). On the importance of distinguishing hedonia and eudaimonia when contemplating the hedonic treadmill. American Psychologist, 62, 612–613.
Waterman, A. S., Schwartz, S. J., Goldbacher, E., Green, H., Miller, C., & Philip, S. (2003). Predicting the subjective experience of intrinsic motivation: The roles of self-determination, the balance of challenges and skills, and self-realization values. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 1447–1458.
Waterman, A. S., Schwartz, S. J., & Conti, R. (2008). The implications of two concept of happiness for the understanding of intrinsic motivation. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9, 41–79.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mao, Y., Roberts, S., Bonaiuto, M. (2016). Optimal Experience and Optimal Identity: A Multinational Examination at the Personal Identity Level. In: Harmat, L., Ørsted Andersen, F., Ullén, F., Wright, J., Sadlo, G. (eds) Flow Experience. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28634-1_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28634-1_18
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28632-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28634-1
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)