Being in the zone: Using behavioral and EEG recordings for the indirect assessment of flow

Abstract

As such, video games are enjoyed most when the level and speed of the game match the players' skills. An optimal balance between challenges and skills triggers the subjective experience of "flow", a focused motivation leading to a feeling of spontaneous joy. Here we present the validation of a novel technique to indirectly assess the extent to which subjects experience flow during real game play by assessing attentional engagement; first behaviorally and in a second stage by means of electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings. An auditory novelty oddball paradigm was implemented as a secondary task while subjects played in three conditions: Boredom, Frustration and Flow. We found higher reaction times and error rates in the Flow condition. In a second stage we used advanced techniques to do source reconstruction and to investigate signal changes on both the temporal and frequency domain. EEG analysis revealed a response-locked fronto-central negative deflection significantly delayed during flow, likely signaling the need of re-allocation of attentional resources.Frequency domain analyses revealed significant power increase only in the alpha band for the flow condition. We believe that frontal alpha changes recorded as maximal at the mid-frontal lines during flow might be related with reward related processing. BEHAVIORAL AND EEG CORRELATES OF FLOWAccording to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) $22.41 billion were spent by consumers on games in 2014 and it is estimated that about 155 million Americans play video games. Gamers who are playing more video games than they did three years ago are spending less time in mainstream activities such as watching T.V., going to the cinema and watching movies at home (ESA report, 2014).What makes the gaming experience much more fulfilling than other activities is the enjoyable nature of games. As such, video games evoke most pleasure when the level and speed of the game match the players' abilities e.g. optimal mental and motor capacity (Sherry, 2004). A perfect balance between challenges and skills during game play triggers the subjective experience of "flow", which can be defined as a cognitive state of being completely absorbed by an activity, accompanied by positive feelings.Csıkszentmihalyi (1988, 1990, 2000) described the subjective experience of flow as being associated with a number of unique affective and attentional states including feelings of motivation, high energy, immersion, and complete attentional focus. Whilst all these elements are characteristic of the emergence of flow, attentional processes are thought to be crucial. Boredom, and frustration, like flow, are determined by how attention is structured at a given time and by the balance between the challenges and skills of an individual (Csikszentmihalyi, 1992). Specifically, boredom arises when the subjects perceive low challenges mismatching their higher skills. Conversely, frustration emerges when subjects perceive high challenges mismatching their low skills. Both boredom and frustration ...

Peripheral-physiological and neural correlates of the flow experience while playing video games: a comprehensive review

“…Participants played the shooter game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive under three conditions (under-challenged, flow, and over-challenged) both in a 2D and a VR set-up while they were simultaneously asked to respond to the oddball sounds. Their results did not replicate the outcome of the previous study by Castellar et al (2016) , as they reported slower reaction times and more errors in the flow condition. A marginally significant posterior mid-line P300 amplitude was recorded during VR compared to playing in 2D during the flow condition.…”

“…Castellar and colleageus utilized an auditory oddball paradigm as a secondary task to investigate attention while subjects played a game as a primary task ( Castellar et al, 2016 ). Participants were requested to play the game Star Reaction in under-challenged, flow, and over-challenged conditions while simultaneously responding to a rare sound in the auditory oddball task.…”

“…Event-related-potential (ERP) analysis showed that the maximal frontocentral negative deflection after the response onset was significantly delayed during the flow condition compared to the other two conditions in the correct-responses trials, reflecting delayed attention reallocation to the primary task during flow. Significant increases in the midfrontal alpha power during the flow condition may well indicate the intrinsic rewarding nature of the flow experience ( Castellar et al, 2016 ). A study by Yun et al (2017) extended the secondary-task idea by adding a passive random beeping sound while subjects played an FPS game ( Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 ).…”

ConVRgence (VRIC) Virtual Reality International Conference Proceedings

“…Because of this, electroencephalogram (EEG) and FMRi are the most commonly used techniques to measure CNS responses (Valenza et al, 2016). In addition, EEG has been used to measure engagement (Castellar, E Voigt A., Jan N. & Marinazzo, D.& Looy, 2016;Cirett Galán & Beal, 2012;Shestyuk et al, 2019) and it can detect the perceived cognitive absorption (Conrad & Bliemel, 2016;Léger et al, 2014). Changes on cardiovascular dynamics by specific emotional states (Marín-Morales et al, 2019) can be measured using electrocardiogram devices (ECG).…”

Flow and Immersion in Video Games: The Aftermath of a Conceptual Challenge

“…For example, Yun et al (2017) found that flow peaked after 25 min of game playing. Hence, the player may require time to transition from explicit to implicit control and to allocate attentional resources that will make him/her resistant to distractions (e.g., Jackson and Csikszentmihalyi, 1999 ; Jennett, 2010 ; Bavelier et al, 2012 ; Nuñez Castellar et al, 2016 ). Although similar observations have not been proposed for immersion, the conceptual overlap between flow and immersion ( Brown and Cairns, 2004 ; Jennett et al, 2008b ) suggests that mutual substrates are at play.…”