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Seeking flow in the achievement domain: The achievement flow motive behind flow experience

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Abstract

The authors propose a flow motive behind flow experience. It is defined as the intrinsic component of the achievement motive (i.e., need to seek and master difficulty), assessed with an operant motive test (OMT), and investigated with a multimethod approach. The achievement flow motive was stable over 2 years (Study 1) and positively correlated with the following variables: self-determination (Study 2), work-efficiency according to multisource feedbacks (Study 3), and flow experience during an outdoor assessment center (Study 4). In addition, the achievement flow motive was associated with the simultaneous presence of two sets of overt behaviors: Seeing difficulty (planning, analytical problem solving, and task focus) and mastering difficulty (high commitment, spreading optimism, and staying power). The direct relationship between achievement flow motive and flow experience was mediated by this behavioral pattern (Study 4). The achievement flow motive offers researchers a way to operationalize Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of autotelic personality.

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Notes

  1. Csikszentmihalyi used the label challenge instead of demands (i.e., task difficulty). This already implies a regulatory process within persons because demands can be perceived as a challenge or a threat depending on their match with skills. Thus, it would be more precise to talk about a demand-skill balance

  2. The fourth question is often not considered for coding the OMT because it elicits happy endings out of the blue. Only if responses are coherently connected to and an integral part of the whole story, they can be used to define the implementation strategy.

  3. A comprehensive scoring manual for the OMT is available in German and in English from the authors

  4. Consistent with previous self-infiltration findings, an ANCOVA for items with a low level of attractiveness (with norm-split AOF scores, median-split threat scores, and source as independent variables) yielded a significant AOF × Threats × Source interaction, F(1, 107) = 4.31, p < .05: State-oriented participants had an increased tendency towards false self-ascription (FSA) of unattractive assignments when threats were high (FSAassigned_unattr = 20.37 vs. FSAremaining_unattr = 14.30; FSADiff_unattr = 6.07) compared to low (FSAassigned_unattr = 12.43 vs. FSAremaining_unattr = 15.30; FSADiff_unattr = −2.87). In contrast, action-oriented participants had a reduced tendency towards false self-ascription of unattractive assignments when threats were high (FSAassigned_unattr = 16.77 vs. FSAremaining_unattr = 19.35, FSADiff_unattr = −2.58) compared to low (FSAassigned_unattr = 22.89 vs. FSAremaining_unattr = 17.20, FSADiff_unattr = 5.69). Nevertheless, achievement flow motive was negatively correlated with self-infiltration when controlling for these effects.

  5. We believe that negative affect does not play a role in flow experience for individuals with an achievement flow motive. However, the absence of negative affect may be an additional prerequisite for individuals high in fear of failure. They experience flow only under very relaxed conditions, for example, when tasks are so easy that success is guaranteed or when tasks are so difficult that a failure cannot be attributed to inability (Schüler 2007).

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  1. Differential Psychology, Personality Psychology and Diagnostics, Department I, University of Trier, 54286, Trier, Germany

    Nicola Baumann

  2. Nordakademie, Hochschule der Wirtschaft, Elmshorn, Germany

    David Scheffer

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Baumann, N., Scheffer, D. Seeking flow in the achievement domain: The achievement flow motive behind flow experience. Motiv Emot 35, 267–284 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-010-9195-4

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