The Conditions of Flow in Reading: Two Studies of Optimal Experience

McQuillan, Jeff; Conde, Gisela

doi:10.1080/0270271960170201

Cited by 78 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…A few studies which have applied flow theory in language learning have confirmed the relationship between flow and classroom language learning (Egbert, 2003;Ghonsooly & Hamedi, 2014;McQuillan & Conde, 1996;Schmidt & Savage, 1992). As noted, among the classroom activities, reading is reported as a flow inducing task in that the recreation of the writer's intended meaning can be accomplished only when the reader integrates the textual information with his background knowledge (Haji Maibodi, 2008).…”

Section: Flow In Language Learning and Readingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Initailly, Terevino and Webster (1992) held a view that flow experience can be noted in native language reading, however, subsequent International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences,6(3) 235 studies (e.g., Ghonsooly & Hamedi, 2014;McQuillan & Conde, 1996) notified a number of non-native English speakers who reported flow while reading English texts. The participants' characterized concentration on the task, interest, attention, immersion, and the loss of self sense as the major determinants of the flow experience (McQuillan & Conde, 1996). Moreover, with regard to the modes of writing Ghonsooly and Hamedi (2014) found the descriptive genre as the most contributing cause of incidence of optimal experience in reading.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The point of the fact is that among the most reported flow inducing activities, reading is the most noted flow generating activity (Massimini, Csikeszentmihalyi & DelleFave, 1988;McQuillan & Conde, 1996;Sato, 1988). Initailly, Terevino and Webster (1992) held a view that flow experience can be noted in native language reading, however, subsequent International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences,6(3) 235 studies (e.g., Ghonsooly & Hamedi, 2014;McQuillan & Conde, 1996) notified a number of non-native English speakers who reported flow while reading English texts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In other words, it is an intense engagement or complete absorption in the task as the mind is in its optimal state in which the individual feels deeply involved, highly motivated, and cognitively efficient (Csikeszentmihalyi, 1990). Indeed, from the time Csikeszentmihalyi pioneered studying flow in the mid-sixties, several flow studies have been conducted in various contexts and across a variety of cultures to develop a robust and empirically well confirmed universal theory of flow (Asakawa, 2004;Csikszentmihalyi & Csikszentmihalyi, 1988;Ghonsooly & Hamedi, 2014;Inghilleri, 1999;McQuillan & Conde, 1996;Massimini & DelleFave, 2000;Mirlohi, Egbert & Ghonsooly, 2011;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a matter of fact, although the widespread occurrence of flow in reading has been well confirmed, little is known about the procedures through which people engage with the optimal experience promoting texts (McQuillan & Conde, 1996). As Chastain (1988) maintained that reading is sometimes erroneously regarded as a passive skill while it requires mental processing for communication to take place, specifically, the present study attempts to examine the effectiveness of the application of Csikeszentmihalyi's (1988) flow model along with Fairclough's (1989) model and Van Dijk's (1995) framework for CDA, in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes as the contributing factors to promoting optimal experience in reading journalistic texts.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Investigation into the Optimal Experience in Reading Journalistic Texts in Light of Instructing Fairclough’s and Van Dijk’s Model

Hamedi¹,

Hamedi²,

Hamedi³

et al. 2017

RIMCIS

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The present study aims at exploring the extent to which Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) familiarity may have an impact on flow experience. In so doing, the community sample of 60 students comprising 16 males and 44 females participated in the study. Initially, the pretest was conducted to ensure the homogeneity of their proficiency level. Besides, the participants were asked to reflect on their flow experience while reading three distinct genres of journalistic texts prior to the application of the treatment. During the treatment phase, they were instructed how to critically examine other journalistic texts relying on Fairclough’s (1989) three dimensional model along with Van Dijk’s (1995) theoretical framework of CDA over 10 successive sessions. Finally, utilizing paired- samples t-tests, the results of the posttests on the very three texts which were conducted at the pretest stage, indicated that the application of CDA has a significant influence on the students’ optimal experience while reading descriptive, expository, and narrative genres of journalistic texts.

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Section: Flow In Language Learning and Readingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Investigation into the Optimal Experience in Reading Journalistic Texts in Light of Instructing Fairclough’s and Van Dijk’s Model

Hamedi¹,

Hamedi²,

Hamedi³

et al. 2017

RIMCIS

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At the Heart of Optimal Reading Experiences: Cardiovascular Activity and Flow Experiences in Fiction Reading

Thissen

Schlotz

Abel

et al. 2021

Reading Research Quarterly

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Fiction reading is a popular leisure activity associated with a variety of pleasurable experiences, including suspense, narrative transportation, and—as indicated by recent empirical studies—also flow. In the context of fiction reading, flow—generally defined as a pleasurable state of mind experienced during an optimally stimulating activity—is specifically related to an optimal balance between text‐driven challenges and the reader’s capabilities in constructing a mental story model. The experimental study reported here focused on the psychophysiological underpinnings of flow in the reading context. Cardiovascular data were collected from 84 participants both during a relaxation baseline prior to reading and during reading. Participants were randomly assigned to read one of three versions of a chapter from Homer’s Odyssey. According to statistical readability indices, these versions were low, intermediate, or high in readability, and hence in cognitive challenge. Flow was measured immediately after reading with a self‐report scale that was tailored to assess reading‐specific flow experiences. Regression analyses revealed that cardiovascular activation patterns measured before reading that are reflective of parasympathetic dominance—that is, an inner state associated with relaxation and cognitive fluency—moderated flow experiences during reading. In line with the stipulations of flow theory in regard to matching challenge levels being the key determinant for flow, this pattern supported subsequent flow experiences only in response to text versions of high or intermediate, but not of low cognitive challenge. Differences in cardiac vagal tone during reading were, however, not sensitive to our experimental modifications and not predictive of flow experiences.

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Making the Discovery: The Creativity of Selecting Fiction Manuscripts from the Slush Pile

Fürst

2018

Symbolic Interaction

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Gatekeeping appears central to creative industries. To better understand gatekeeping, this article introduces a distinction between discovering and justifying the selection of cultural goods. Most research deals with legitimation and justifications for selecting cultural goods. This article draws on American pragmatism to elucidate gatekeepers' discovery of cultural goods under conditions of uncertainty and abundance. The article focuses on the discovery of publishable unsolicited manuscripts. Publishers learn to act upon particular kinds of experiences associated with publishable manuscripts. Gatekeepers learn to abandon preformed ideas of what to look for and instead use either an aesthetic or an efferent reading strategy. In aesthetic reading, a reading flow experience becomes the means to discover manuscripts. Through efferent reading, gatekeepers identify manuscripts as participating in a literary convention and view them either as exceptional within that convention or as adding something to the convention. The qualities of these experiences create the realization of a publishable manuscript; acting on this realization moves the process to the next phase, in which gatekeepers make justifications for selecting or rejecting the manuscript. Gatekeepers discover cultural goods when they have been professionalized and sensitized to produce the "right" type of experiences and creatively act on the qualities of these experiences.

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The Conditions of Flow in Reading: Two Studies of Optimal Experience

Cited by 78 publications

References 8 publications

An Investigation into the Optimal Experience in Reading Journalistic Texts in Light of Instructing Fairclough’s and Van Dijk’s Model

An Investigation into the Optimal Experience in Reading Journalistic Texts in Light of Instructing Fairclough’s and Van Dijk’s Model

At the Heart of Optimal Reading Experiences: Cardiovascular Activity and Flow Experiences in Fiction Reading

Making the Discovery: The Creativity of Selecting Fiction Manuscripts from the Slush Pile

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