The relation of flow-experience and physiological arousal under stress - can u shape it?

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

  • Corinna Peifer
  • André Schulz
  • Hartmut Schächinger
  • Nicola Baumann
  • Conny H. Antoni

In this study, we investigate the relationship between stress and flow-experience with the help of psychophysiological arousal indicators. Whereas recent studies suggest a positive relation between flow and physiological arousal, so far nothing is known on the relation between flow and high arousal in response to a salient stressor. We here suggest that the relation of flow with sympathetic arousal and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation follows an inverted u-curve rather than a linear function: moderate physiological arousal should facilitate flow-experience, whereas excessive physiological arousal should hinder flow. In order to experimentally stimulate high physiological arousal, we exposed 22 healthy male participants to a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test. Then, participants had to perform a complex computer task for 60. minutes and to rate their flow-experience on the Flow Short-Scale directly after task completion. During the experiment, cortisol samples were taken every 15. minutes, and heart rate variability measures were assessed by continuous electrocardiography. We found an inverted u-shaped relationship of flow-experience with indices of sympathetic arousal and cortisol, whereas parasympathetic indices of heart rate control during stress were linearly and positively correlated with flow-experience. Our results suggest that moderate sympathetic arousal and HPA-axis activation and possibly a co-activation of both branches of the autonomic nervous system characterize task-related flow-experience.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Experimental Social Psychology
Volume53
Pages (from-to)62-69
Number of pages8
ISSN0022-1031
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 07.2014

    Research areas

  • Psychology - flow-experience, Psychophasiology, Stress, Cortisol, Heart Rate Variability

Recently viewed

Researchers

  1. Tobias Remschel

Publications

  1. Priority effects of time of arrival of plant functional groups override sowing interval or density effects
  2. Consular Assistance: Rights, Remedies, and Responsibility Comments on the ICJ's Judgment in the LaGrand Case
  3. Customer Orientation of Service Employees—Toward a Conceptual Framework of a Key Relationship Marketing Construct
  4. Early-Career Researchers’ Perceptions of the Prevalence of Questionable Research Practices, Potential Causes, and Open Science
  5. Heterogenität
  6. Ownership Patterns and Enterprise Groups in German Structural Business Statistics
  7. Analysis of the forming behaviour of in-situ drawn sandwich sheets
  8. The mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation in the task-environment-performance relationship
  9. Progress and challenge for magnesium alloys as biomaterials
  10. Nutzen – Nutzung - Nutzer_innen
  11. Extended Income Dynamics
  12. Sachstrukturiertes Üben
  13. Conduct or Construct Ourselves?
  14. Optical flow fields and visual attention in car driving
  15. The “distinctiveness of cities” and distinctions in cities
  16. "Now I like it".
  17. Tree diversity promotes generalist herbivore community patterns in a young subtropical forest experiment
  18. Cultural influences on social feedback processing of character traits
  19. Drivers of intraspecific trait variation of grass and forb species in German meadows and pastures
  20. Antibiotics in the Aquatic Environment
  21. Evaluating the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of web-based indicated prevention of major depression
  22. The vital role of business processes for a business model
  23. Warum Diderot?
  24. Preserving Soils for Life
  25. Still some way to go
  26. Participation of Adolescents in the Development of a Smartphone App-based Intervention to Promote the Health Literacy
  27. § 26
  28. Winfried Steffani - 2. Juni 1927 – 14. August 2000