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Flow and quiet eye: the role of attentional control in flow experience

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Abstract

This report was designed to investigate the role of effective attention control in flow states, by developing an experimental approach to the study of flow. A challenge-skill balance manipulation was applied to self-paced netball and basketball shooting tasks, with point of gaze recorded through mobile eye tracking. Quiet eye was used to index optimal control of visual attention. While the experimental manipulation was found to have no effect, quiet eye was associated with the experience of flow. Furthermore, mediation revealed an indirect effect of quiet eye on performance through flow experience. This study provides initial evidence that flow may be preceded by changes in visual attention, suggesting that further investigation of visual attention may elucidate the cognitive mechanisms behind flow experience.

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Notes

  1. The state of immersion refers to being fully present and absorbed in an experience and is a common occurrence during gaming. However, it differs from flow in that it can also occur in passive experiences (such as TV viewing) whereas flow requires an active engagement in the task.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Exeter, St. Luke’s Campus, Exeter, EX1 2LU, UK

    David J. Harris, Samuel J. Vine & Mark R. Wilson

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  1. David J. Harris
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  2. Samuel J. Vine
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Correspondence to David J. Harris or Mark R. Wilson.

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David Harris, Sam Vine and Mark Wilson declare that they have no conflicts of interest relevant to the content of this paper.

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Handling editor: Fabio Lucidi (Sapienza University of Rome).

Reviewers: Francesca Vitali (University of Verona), Dario Fegatelli (Sapienza University of Rome).

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Harris, D.J., Vine, S.J. & Wilson, M.R. Flow and quiet eye: the role of attentional control in flow experience. Cogn Process 18, 343–347 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-017-0794-9

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