Do Attentional and Reward Networks Synchronize During Media Induced Flow Experiences? A Test of the Synchronization Theory of Flow

• In Event: Processing Stories, Films, and Music

Abstract

Flow is a positively valenced psychological state characterized by focused attention and reward that is thought to result from a balance between task challenge and individual skill. The central prediction of the synchronization theory of flow understands flow as an emergent property of a network synchronization process that manifests itself in functional connectivity between attentional and reward structures during flow-inducing media use. However, there is no well-established procedure for experimentally manipulating the construct. In three behavioral experiments, we validated a protocol for manipulating flow. This included the development of an open-source video game stimulus that allowed for a high degree of experimental control while providing a log of in-game events. Three conditions were manipulated: (1) boredom – low challenge/high skill, (2) frustration – high challenge/low skill, and (3) flow – balanced challenge/skill. This procedure was then replicated in a brain-imaging (fMRI) context where the results were largely consistent with theoretical predictions.

Authors

• Richard Wayne Huskey, The Ohio State University

• Britney Nicole Craighead, University of California, Santa Barbara

• Rene Weber, U of California - Santa Barbara