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Previous studies have suggested that only flow in the activity that one finds important contributes to well-being. This study was done in order to further investigate the role of flow in different activities and its impact on well-being in two types of students, i.e. nonworking students (NWS) and part-time working students (PWS). The sample comprised first and second year university students (85% female) at the University of Zagreb, 113 NWS and 110 PWS. Several questionnaires were administered in order to assess flow in different activities, well-being, and burnout. Also, students reported their grade point average (GPA). The results showed that in both groups flow in academic activities was the only stable positive predictor of well-being and academic achievement, and a negative predictor of burnout, in line with the finding that both groups of students assessed academic activities as the most important and most useful. Additionally, there were no differences between NWS and PWS in well-being, burnout, and GPA, suggesting that this PWS group was not yet experiencing any negative consequences of parttime working. The importance of introducing flow inducing activities in academic assignments is suggested as crucial for students' well-being.

Flow is a highly enjoyable, optimal psychological state people feel when they are so focused on a task that it amounts to complete absorption in an activity. Flow was found to be related to desirable educational outcomes as well as higher well-being. The aim of this study was to assess how often students experience flow at the faculty (during lectures, seminars and exercises, learning, preparing for presentations and other study-related activities) and in everyday life, and to assess the relationship between the flow experiences of students and their well-being. The sample comprised 176 second-year female students at the University of Zagreb, the Faculty of Teacher Education. In addition to the questions about faculty-related and unrelated flow experiences, the participants filled in two questionnaires: the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985) and the Flourishing Scale-FS (Diener et al., 2009). The results revealed that students, at least occasionally, experience flow while carrying out faculty-related activities. The participants experience flow most frequently while preparing for seminars and similar tasks as well as while preparing for exams, and least frequently during lectures. Flow experiences in non-academic activities are more frequent than in the academic activities. However, only the flow in the academic activities is positively correlated to students' well-being while there are no significant correlations between the non-academic flow experiences and wellbeing. The only significant predictor of well-being was the flow students experienced while preparing for exams. That leads to the conclusion that the flow experienced during activities related to achievement at the faculty is more important for students' well-being than the flow experienced during activities in other areas of life.

Abstract:The aim of the study is to assess the relationship between executive functions and flow experiences in learning. Female college students assessed their flow in learning activities and performed phonemic verbal fluency task (PVF) and a lexical Stroop task. Flow in learning was associated with performance on the PVF task, but not with the lexical Stroop task. In addition, flow in learning mediated the effects of verbal fluency performance on the Grade Point Average (GPA), while inhibition and controlled selective attention measured by the lexical Stroop test had direct effects on the GPA. Results suggested that the better executive functions embodied in verbal fluency task are cognitive correlates of flow. The results are also in line with the neurobiological model of flow pointing to brain regions that are suggested to be involved in language processing and the prefrontal brain region.