Flow state is a positive mental state during which people are highly motivated and absorbed in their activity. This construct has been linked to the creative personality. Creative people differ from each other, but what they share is that they love what they do due to the pure pleasure they derive from their activity. We studied the possible relationship between people with high ability (HA) who dedicate themselves to music (students or professionals) and the flow state that occurs while they are engaged in musical activities (concert or informal event). The “Flow State for Musical Performers” (Estado de Fluidez para Intérpretes Musicales—EFIM) was used in this study. The scores of musicians with HA were compared with those of musicians who are not identified as HA. The study used a sample of 101 Spanish people (HA 28.7%, general population 71.3%). No significant statistical differences were identified in any of the EFIM subscales, except regarding the Loss of Self-Consciousness. This suggests a relationship between HA and the experience of flow, particularly with regard to loss of self-consciousness, but also with characteristics of the creative personality (capacity for enjoyment, attention and learning). Limitations of the study and future lines of research are presented.

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Resumen: El objetivo de esta investigación era desarrollar un instrumento en español, que fuera completo y adecuado psicométricamente, para la medida del estado psicológico de los corredores de maratón durante los días y horas previos a la carrera. En el estudio 1 participaron 1060 corredores aficionados de 18 a 57 años. El análisis factorial exploratorio mostró cinco dimensiones que reflejaban motivación, autoconfianza, ansiedad, percepción del estado físico y apoyo social percibido. En dos estudios posteriores se examinaron las propiedades psicométricas de una versión depurada de esta medida. En el estudio 2 completaron el cuestionario 801 corredores aficionados (17-63 años) de una muestra independiente. El análisis factorial confirmatorio con modelos alternativos apoyó un modelo de seis factores. La consistencia interna fue de .72 a .90. En apoyo de la validez de constructo, la escala de auto-confianza correlacionó positivamente con la percepción del estado físico, la escala de motivación correlacionó positivamente con el apoyo social y la auto-confianza, y la ansiedad correlacionó negativamente con los factores motivación y auto-confianza. En el estudio 3, una muestra independiente de 22 corredores aficionados (28-47 años) cumplimentaron los cuestionarios PODIUM y MOMS. Adicionalmente, otra muestra independiente de 36 corredores aficionados (23-57 años) cumplimentaron el PODIUM y el CSAI-2. En apoyo de la validez concurrente del PODIUM, la escala de motivación correlacionaba con el MOMS, y las escalas de ansiedad y auto-confianza correlacionaban con el CSAI-2.

Positive Psychology has turned its attention to the study of emotions in a scientific and rigorous way. Particularly, to how emotions influence people’s health, performance, or their overall life satisfaction. Within this trend, Flow theory has established a theoretical framework that helps to promote the Flow experience. Flow state, or optimal experience, is a mental state of high concentration and enjoyment that, due to its characteristics, has been considered desirable for the development of the performing activity of performing musicians. Musicians are a population prone to health problems, both psychological and physical, owing to different stressors of their training and professional activity. One of the most common problems is Musical Performance Anxiety. In this investigation, an electronic intervention program was carried out for the development of psychological self-regulation skills whose main objective was to trigger the Flow response in performing musicians and the coping mechanism for Musical Performance Anxiety. A quasi-experimental design was used with a control group in which pre- and post-measures of Flow State, Musical Performance Anxiety and, also, Social Skills were taken. Sixty-two performing musicians from different music colleges in Spain participated in the program. Results indicated that the intervention significantly improved Flow State (t = –2.41, p = 0.02, d = 0.36), and Sense of Control (t = –2.48, p = 0.02, d = 0.47), and decreased Music Performance Anxiety (t = 2.64, p = 0.01, d = 0.24), and self-consciousness (t = –3.66, p = 0.00, d = 0.70) of the participants in the EG but not CG. The changes in the EG after the program showed the inverse relationship between Flow and Anxiety. Two important theoretical factors of both variables (especially in situations of performance and public exposure), such as worry and the feeling of lack of control, could be involved. The results are under discussion and future lines of research are proposed.

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