Randbedingungen und Konsequenzen des Flow-Erlebens (English shop)

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According to flow theory, flow experience can occur while performing skill-related activities under the following conditions: (1) clear goals, (2) immediate feedback, and (3) a fit between task demands and skills. To date there is little evidence for the causal influence of the central factor in flow theory – the perceived fit between demands and skills – since previous research in this field has been largely correlational in nature. This work therefore presents three experimental procedures (computer game, mathematics program, knowledge test) that make it possible to test the influence of the fit between demands and skills directly. By reporting and analysing several studies of recent years in which these experimental procedures were used, the following central research questions of this work are addressed: (1) Are the assumptions of flow theory generalizable across different activities? (2) Which boundary conditions are of central importance for flow experience? (3) What consequences does flow experience have with regard to cognitive, affective and physiological mechanisms?