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The Psychological State Of Mind

Decent Essays

Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi coined the term ‘flow’ to describe a psychological state of mind where the individual is completely immersed in the activity they are undertaking regardless of its possible costs merely for the purpose of doing it. As the matrix above indicates, when someone finds a task too difficult or too easy, they cannot enjoy an optimal flow state (AlMarshedi, et al., 2014). Furthermore, feelings of happiness and accomplishment are often derived from these flow states (Cherry, 2012). There are several conditions necessary to achieve a flow state. First, the activity must be performed while having clear goals in mind. Second, there must exist an appropriate balance between a person’s perceptions of their skill level and challenges of the activity the task in hand. Third, a certain level of confidence must exist before undertaking the task. Fourth, there needs to be immediate feedback when performing the activity (Korn, 2012). Intuitively, we understand that these mind states are essential for accomplishing mundane tasks that are often repetitive. However, even in video games that that are intrinsically fun, it is necessary for game designers to think about the flow concept. This is most apparent when thinking about the balance between game levels and the player’s skill level (Kumar, 2013). The person experiencing ‘flow’ is in a state between boredom and frustration, and finds the task challenging enough but believes he can use his ability to overcome it. This

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