Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology

The second volume in the collected works of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi covers about thirty years of Csikszentmihalyi's work on three main and interconnected areas of study: attention, flow and positive psychology. Describing attention as psychic energy and in the footsteps of William James, Csikszentmihalyi explores the allocation of attention, the when and where and the amount of attention humans pay to tasks and the role of attention in creating 'experiences', or ordered patterns of information. Taking into account information processing theories and attempts at quantifying people's investment, the chapters deal with such topics as time budgets and the development and use of the Experience Sampling Method of collecting data on attention in everyday life. Following the chapters on attention and reflecting Csikszentmihalyi's branching out into sociology and anthropology, there are chapters on the topic of adult play and leisure and connected to that, on flow, a concept formulated and developed by Csikszentmihalyi. Flow has become a popular concept in business and management around the world and research on the concept continues to flourish. Finally, this volume contains articles that stem from Csikszentmihalyi's connection with Martin Seligman; they deal with concepts and theories, as well as with the development and short history, of the field and the "movement" of positive psychology.

Introduction. - 1. Attention and the Holistic Approach to Behavior; M. Csikszentmihalyi. - 2. The Experience Sampling Method; R. Larson and M. Csikszentmihalyi. - 3. Validity and Reliability of the Experience-Sampling Method; M. Csikszentmihalyi and R. Larson. - 4. The Experience of Freedom in Daily Life; M. Csikszentmihalyi and R. Graef. - 5. The Situational and Personal Correlates of Happiness: A Cross-National Comparison; M. Csikszentmihalyi and M. Mei-Ha Wong. - 6. Happiness in Everyday Life: The Uses of Experience Sampling; M. Csikszentmihalyi and J. Hunter. - 7. Television as Escape: Subjective Experience before an Evening of Heavy Viewing; R. W. Kubey and M. Csikszentmihalyi. - 8. Measuring Intrinsic Motivation in Everyday Life; R. Graef, M. Csikszentmihalyi and S. McManama Gianinno. - 9. Energy Consumption in Leisure and Perceived Happiness; R. Graef, S. McManama Gianinno and M. Csikszentmihalyi. - 10. Play and Intrinsic Rewards; M. Csikszentmihalyi. - 11. Motivation and Creativity: Toward a Synthesis of Structural and Energistic Approaches to Cognition; M. Csikszentmihalyi. - 12. The Dynamics of Intrinsic Motivation: A Study of Adolescents; M. Csikszentmihalyi and J. Nakamura. - 13. Emerging Goals and the Self-Regulation of Behavior; M. Csikszentmihalyi and J. Nakamura. - 14. Toward a Psychology of Optimal Experience; M. Csikszentmihalyi. - 15. Flow; M. Csikszentmihalyi, S. Abuhamdeh and J. Nakamura. - 16. The Concept of Flow; J. Nakamura and M. Csikszentmihalyi. - 17. Flow with Soul: An Interview with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi by Elizabeth Debold. - 18. Positive Psychology: An Introduction; M. E. P. Seligman and M. Csikszentmihalyi.