A possible physiological correlate for mental flow

Mansfield, Brenda Elizabeth; Oddson, Bruce; Turcotte, J.; Couture, Roger T.

doi:10.1080/17439760.2012.691982

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Flow and togetherness are similar – both involve optimal performance, are highly engaging and rewarding ( Berliner, 1994 , p. 389) and evoke a subjective description of blurring of the boundaries between the self and the task (in flow) or the self and others (in togetherness). A number of studies, investigating the physiological processes during flow, repeatedly demonstrated that flow states are associated with increased sympathetic activation ( Kivikangas, 2006 ; de Manzano et al, 2010 ; Mansfield et al, 2012 ; Gaggioli et al, 2013 ; Peifer et al, 2014 ; Ulrich et al, 2014 ). These findings were suggested as evidence for a state of effortless attention arising through the interaction of positive affect and high attention ( Bruya, 2010 ; de Manzano et al, 2010 ; Peifer, 2012 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Being in the zone: physiological markers of togetherness in joint improvisation

Noy

Levit-Binun

Golland

2015

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

106

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Performers improvising together describe special moments of ‘being in the zone’ – periods of high performance, synchrony, and enhanced sense of togetherness. Existing evidence suggests a possible route for attaining togetherness – interpersonal synchrony, the fine-grained sensory-motor coordination that promotes social connectedness. Here, we investigated the physiological characteristics of togetherness using a practice from theater and dance, the mirror game. Pairs of expert improvisers jointly improvised synchronized linear motion, while their motion tracks and cardiovascular activity were continuously monitored. Players also provided dynamic ratings of togetherness while watching video recordings of their games. We identified periods of togetherness using kinematic and subjective markers and assessed their physiological characteristics. The kinematic and the subjective measures of togetherness showed some agreement, with more extensive game periods being marked by the subjective than the kinematic one. Game rounds with high rates of togetherness were characterized by increased players’ cardiovascular activity, increased correlation of players’ heart rates (HRs), and increased motion intensity. By comparing motion segments with similar motion intensity, we showed that moments of togetherness in the mirror game were marked by increased players’ HRs, regardless of motion intensity. This pattern was robust for the subjectively defined periods of togetherness, while showing a marginal effect for the kinematically defined togetherness. Building upon similar findings in flow research we suggest that the observed increase of players’ HRs during togetherness periods in the mirror game might indicate the enhanced engagement and enjoyment reported by performers going into ‘the zone.’ The suggested approach, combining temporal measurements of kinematic, physiological and subjective responses, demonstrates how the dynamics of spontaneously emerging dyadic states can be studied empirically.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Being in the zone: physiological markers of togetherness in joint improvisation

Noy

Levit-Binun

Golland

2015

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

106

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“…Several researches have provided evidence, for example, of how positive emotions are related to physical and mental health (Schöllgen, Huxhold, Schmiedek, 2012;Worthington & Scherer, 2004); discovered some physiological correlates of flow (Mansfield, Oddson, Turcotte, & Couture, 2012); found out what are the long-term predictors of life-satisfaction in different cultural contexts (Daukantaitè & Zukauskiene, 2012;Meulemann, 2001), etc. In other areas, such as education, the efforts of "positive" psychologists have provided some comprehension of how psychologists and educators can act in the basis of preventive practices within the school setting (e.g., Terjesen, Jacofsky, Froh, & DiGiuseppe, 2004); what are and to what extent some positive psychological characteristics are related to academic achievement (e.g., Marques, PaisRibeiro, & Lopez, 2011), etc. Not differently from any other area, much of this acquired knowledge arose from longitudinal studies.…”

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confidence: 99%

Attrition Rates in a Brazilian Longitudinal Survey on Positive Psychology: Empirical and Methodological Considerations

2015

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This study evaluates how sociodemographic and psychological variables influence the intention in participating in future waves of a positive psychology longitudinal research. Participants were 2551 Brazilian subjects (63% female), ranging in age from 18 to 82 from 21 different States of Brazil, which responded to the first wave of the research. Several constructs of the positive psychology area were assessed. From the total, 37.7% of the participants did not accept to participate in the next waves of the study. Women were more prone to acceptting to participate when compared to men. The women who accepted presented higher levels in all "positive" psychological variables measured, and lower levels in all "negative" variables when compared to those who did not accept. For men, in turn, only pessimism influenced the intention in participating in the future waves of the study. Implications for longitudinal researches in Positive Psychology are discussed. Keywords: Positive Psychology, longitudinal, research, gender, Brazil. Taxas de Evasão em uma Pesquisa Longitudinal Baseada em Psicologia Positiva:Considerações Índices de Evasión en una Investigación Longitudinal Basada en Psicología Positiva: Consideraciones Empíricas y MetodológicasResumen Esto estudio evalúa como variables sociodemográficas y psicológicas influyen en la intención de participar en futuras etapas de investigación longitudinal con enfoque en la Psicología Positiva. Los participantes fueran 2551 individuos (63% mujeres), con edades entre 18 e 82 años, oriundos de 21 estados brasileños, que respondieron a la primera etapa del estudio. Fueron evaluados diversos constructos psicológicos del área de la Psicología Positiva. De todos los encuestados 37,7% no aceptaron participar de las futuras etapas de la investigación, existiendo más aceptación de las mujeres en comparación con los hombres. Las mujeres que aceptaron, presentaron puntuaciones mayores en todas las variables "positivas", y menores en todas las variables "negativas", en comparación con las que no aceptaron. Por otro lado, para los hombres, sólo el pesimismo influenció en la intención de participar de las etapas subsecuentes del estudio. Son discutidas implicaciones para estudios longitudinales con enfoque en psicología positiva. Palabras-clave: Psicología Positiva, longitudinal, investigación, género, Brasil.

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“…On the other hand, Zheng et al [36] found that game-based learning introduced a flow experience, but it did not predict learning gains. Mansfield et al [37] researched the relationship between flow and a similar concept called coherence. Coherence is defined physiologically by a smooth sine-wave hrv pattern and qualitatively as a harmonious state between emotional, cognitive and physical systems, which has been linked to improved performance [37].…”

Section: A Theories and Tests Of Concentration In Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mansfield et al [37] researched the relationship between flow and a similar concept called coherence. Coherence is defined physiologically by a smooth sine-wave hrv pattern and qualitatively as a harmonious state between emotional, cognitive and physical systems, which has been linked to improved performance [37]. In their study, the authors induced flow and coherence through different types of questionnaires and video games.…”

Section: A Theories and Tests Of Concentration In Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inferring Students’ Self-Assessed Concentration Levels in Daily Life Using Biosignal Data From Wearables

Södergård¹,

Laakko

2023

IEEE Access

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The ability to concentrate well is an important determinant of students' learning outcomes but remains poorly understood. In this work we investigated whether there exists a mapping between students' biosignals and perceived concentration levels. If we succeed in this mapping, a wearable can function as a Concentration Tracker, a novel feature that is missing from current wearables. For this, a wearable wristband was used to record students' heart rate, heart rate variability, skin temperature, skin conductivity and acceleration from body changes. Additionally, students self-assessed their concentration levels using a smartphone application. We improved the accuracy by utilizing a big amount of unlabelled biodata from outside the study sessions. Our best boosted regression tree model predicted students' concentration level with only 1.7% NMAE error. The predictions for a user not in the training set were much weaker; the best model, a convolutional neural network, achieved a prediction NMAE error of 30.7%. This implies that the users generated biosignals highly individually. Thus, models are not well transferable from one user to another without rooting them in user-specific data. Contrary to stress research, our results showed that skin conductivity had mostly a negative correlation with students' concentration levels. Also diverging from stress reactions, skin temperature had mainly a positive correlation. Conductivity and temperature were the two dominant predictors. Further, the results suggest that an element of deep, effortless concentration was present in the learning experience of the subjects. Altogether, our work demonstrates that a concentration tracking wearable for improving learning is technically achievable.

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A possible physiological correlate for mental flow

Cited by 10 publications

References 11 publications

Being in the zone: physiological markers of togetherness in joint improvisation

Being in the zone: physiological markers of togetherness in joint improvisation

Attrition Rates in a Brazilian Longitudinal Survey on Positive Psychology: Empirical and Methodological Considerations

Inferring Students’ Self-Assessed Concentration Levels in Daily Life Using Biosignal Data From Wearables

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