Flow State
AKA: Trait Flow Scale - TFS
Background
The Flow State Scale (FSS) is a psychometric tool used to measure optimal psychological immersion (the "flow state") during a specific event or activity. Originally developed by Susan Jackson and Robert Marsh in 1996 in the realm of sports psychology, it is now widely used across a broad range of non-sporting contexts, such as in Education, in the Workplace and in the Gaming Industry.
The FSS evaluates nine dimensions of flow, including challenge-skill balance (e.g. "I was challenged, but I believed my skills would allow me to meet the challenge."), action-awareness merging (e.g. "I made the correct movements without thinking about trying to do so."), and loss of self-consciousness (e.g. "I was not concerned with what others may have been thinking of me."). The entire survey consists of 36 self-report items (four items per subscale), each evaluated on a 5-point Likert scale with the anchors 'Strongly Disagree' to 'Strongly Agree'.
Jackson and Marsh updated the FSS in 2008; however, the items of the updated FSS-2 do not reside in the public domain.
Common scale variations include:
Dispositional Flow Scale (DFS): A 36-item survey analogous to the FSS developed by Jackson and colleagues (1998) to assess a person's general experience of flow in daily life, rather than evaluating a momentary state at a single event.
Flow Short Scale: A highly condensed, 10-item version developed by Falco Rheinberg and colleagues in 2003, to measure the flow experience quickly and repeatedly during live, fast-paced activities without causing fatigue
Positive Psychology Lab Flow State Questionnaire Flow State Questionnaire (PPL-FSQ)- PPL-FSQ: Developed by Tímea Magyaródi and colleagues in 2013 to capture the core dimensions of the flow state using a streamlined two-factor model.
Task Procedure
The FSS consists of 36 self-report items run in a fixed order. Each item (e.g. "I was challenged, but I believed my skills would allow me to meet the challenge.") is assessed on a 5-point Likert scale with the anchors 'Strongly Disagree' to 'Strongly Agree'.
What it Measures
The Flow State Scale (FSS) measures momentary psychological immersion during a specific activity
Psychological domains
- Intrinsic Motivation: Pursuing an activity purely because the act of doing it is inherently rewarding (core scale of FSS)
- Focused Attention: Ability to suppress task-irrelevant stimuli and external distractions while performing activity
- Competence: Subjective skill mastery
- Chronemics (Time Perception): Subjective alteration of time when fully engaged
- Proprioception: Ability to sense one's own position, movement, and location in space while performing activity
Main Performance Metrics
- The Global Flow Score: A single, aggregated score as the main measure of 'flow'
- Subscale Scores: Measures on 'flow' on each of the nine subscales
Psychiatric Conditions
The following patients tend to score low on the FSS
- Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
- Schizophrenia
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD
Test Variations
A 36-item self report measure of flow as a personality trait in sport and physical activities as described by Jackson & Marsh (1996) and Jackson et al (1998).
A 10-item self report measure of flow as described by Engeser & Rheinberg (2008).
A 20-item self report mesaure of flow as described by Magyaródi et al (2013).
A 36-item self report measure of flow in sport and physical activities as described by Jackson & Marsh (1996).
References
Search Google Scholar for peer-reviewed, published research using the Inquisit Flow State.
Jackson, S.A., & Marsh, H.W. (1996). Development and validation of a scale to measure optimal experience: The flow state scale. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 18, 17–35.
Jackson, S.A., Kimiecik, J.C., Ford, S., and Marsh, H.W. (1998). Psychological correlates of flow in sport. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 20: 358-378
Engeser, S. & Rheinberg, F. (2008). Flow, performance and moderators of challenge-skill balance. Motiv Emot, 32:158–172.
Keller, J., & Landhäußer, A. (2011). Im Flow sein: Experimentelle Analysen des Zustands optimaler Beanspruchung [Experiencing fl ow: Experimental analyses of the experiential state resulting from optimal task demands]. Psychologische Rundschau, 62 , 213–220.
Magyaródi, T.; Nagy, H.; Soltész, P.; Mózes, T. & Oláh, A. (2013). Psychometric properties of a newly established flow state questionnaire. The Journal of Happiness & Well-Being, 1(2), 89-100.