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Brief approaches to assessing task absorption and enhanced subjective experience: Examining ‘short’ and ‘core’ flow in diverse performance domains

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Abstract

The overarching aim of the present study is to expand current approaches to assessing task absorption and subjective experience by assessing two brief measures of flow: (1) ‘short’ flow, reflecting an aggregate or global measure drawn from the ‘long’ multi-item multi-factor flow instrument and (2) ‘core’ flow reflecting the phenomenology of the subjective flow experience itself. We propose that short and core flow have complementary but non-overlapping merits, purposes, and applications. Study 1 examines ‘short’ flow in work (N = 637), sport (N = 239), and music (N = 224). Study 2 examines ‘core’ flow in general school (N = 2,229), extracurricular activity (N = 2,229), mathematics (N = 378), and sport (N = 220) contexts. With few exceptions, both flow measures demonstrated: (a) acceptable model fit, reliability, and distributions, (b) associations with motivation in hypothesized ways, and (c) invariance in factor loadings across diverse samples. Where common data are available, both short and core flow are positively correlated, but with approximately half the variance unexplained they are clearly not the same construct, and so we offer guidance regarding which measure/s to use under particular circumstances. We conclude that the brief flow measures are appropriate for research examining task absorption, subjective experience, and cognate constructs such as motivation.

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Notes

  1. The music and sport samples have also been the focus of three motivation and engagement studies of domain-specificity and the use of correlated uniquenesses in domain-specificity research (Martin 2008b, in press a, in press b).

  2. Although the present study focuses on the generality of the short flow factor structure and comparative psychometrics across performance domains, for completeness it is appropriate to note that the sport sample reported significantly higher mean levels of short flow than both the music and work samples, F(2, 1075) = 11.30, p < 0.001.

  3. The sport sample is the focus of construct validity research with the short flow scale in Jackson, Martin, and Eklund (in press).

  4. Although the present study focuses on the generality of the core flow factor structure and comparative psychometrics across performance domains, for completeness it is appropriate to note there are significantly higher mean levels of core flow for general school than for math and netball, F(2, 2824) = 664.71, p < 0.001.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, A35, Education Building, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Andrew J. Martin

  2. School of Human Movement Studies, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia

    Susan A. Jackson

Authors
  1. Andrew J. Martin
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  2. Susan A. Jackson
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Correspondence to Andrew J. Martin.

Additional information

This article was in part prepared while the first author was Visiting Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Education at Oxford University and while the second author was a recipient of a University of Queensland Re-Entry Fellowship for Women.

Appendix: Short and core flow items and factor loadings

Appendix: Short and core flow items and factor loadings

When I participate in this activity…

Short flow items

Music

Sport

Work

 

I feel I am competent enough to meet the high demands of the situation

.58

.67

.63

 

I do things spontaneously and automatically without having to think

.41

.61

.25

 

I have a strong sense of what I want to do

.69

.69

.73

 

I have a good idea while I am performing about how well I am doing

.71

.69

.63

 

I am completely focused on the task at hand

.44

.55

.23

 

I have a feeling of total control

.68

.67

.53

 

I am not worried about what others may be thinking of me

.56

.47

.37

 

The way time passes seems to be different from normal

.70

.71

.65

 

The experience is extremely rewarding

.69

.56

.57

 

Core flow items

Extracurricular

Math

Sport

General school

I am ‘totally involved’

.71

.79

.65

.72

It feels like ‘everything clicks’

.72

.76

.73

.66

I am ‘tuned in’ to what I am doing

.75

.82

.78

.72

I am ‘in the zone’

.80

.89

.85

.81

I feel ‘in control’

.72

.79

.70

.82

I am ‘switched on’

.77

.81

.82

.61

It feels like I am ‘in the flow’ of things

.79

.86

.84

.85

It feels like ‘nothing else matters’

.53

.56

.59

.80

I am ‘in the groove’

.74

.80

.80

.84

I am ‘totally focused’ on what I am doing

.62

.71

.68

.79

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Martin, A.J., Jackson, S.A. Brief approaches to assessing task absorption and enhanced subjective experience: Examining ‘short’ and ‘core’ flow in diverse performance domains. Motiv Emot 32, 141–157 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-008-9094-0

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