Finding Flow with Games: Does Immediate Progress Feedback Cause Flow?

Owen Schaffer, DePaul University
Xiaowen Fang, DePaul University

Description

Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi (2002) proposed that three flow conditions lead to flow: clear proximal goals, immediate progress feedback, and challenges that stretch skills. So far, only the link between optimal challenges and flow has been validated by controlled experiments (Keller & Bless, 2008). This paper presents a between-subjects controlled experiment to investigate if one of these flow conditions, immediate progress feedback, leads to flow using a computer game. The treatment version of the game is designed to give more immediate progress feedback than the control version. This feedback shows both how well they are playing and how they can improve their performance. Flow conditions and flow indicators will be measured with questionnaires adapted primarily from Fang et al. (2013). The Flow Indicator Questionnaire will measure how much participants experience flow and the Flow Condition Questionnaire will serve as a manipulation check.

 

Finding Flow with Games: Does Immediate Progress Feedback Cause Flow?

Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi (2002) proposed that three flow conditions lead to flow: clear proximal goals, immediate progress feedback, and challenges that stretch skills. So far, only the link between optimal challenges and flow has been validated by controlled experiments (Keller & Bless, 2008). This paper presents a between-subjects controlled experiment to investigate if one of these flow conditions, immediate progress feedback, leads to flow using a computer game. The treatment version of the game is designed to give more immediate progress feedback than the control version. This feedback shows both how well they are playing and how they can improve their performance. Flow conditions and flow indicators will be measured with questionnaires adapted primarily from Fang et al. (2013). The Flow Indicator Questionnaire will measure how much participants experience flow and the Flow Condition Questionnaire will serve as a manipulation check.