A meta-analysis of flow effects and the perception of time.
P A Hancock, A D Kaplan, J K Cruit, G M Hancock, K R Macarthur, J L Szalma
Acta psychologica July 1, 2019 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2019.04.007 via PubMed
Summary
An altered sense of time is one of nine dimensions characterizing the flow state. A meta-analysis of 63 studies (1,094 effect sizes) found moderately positive correlations between affective aspects of flow and time perception (r = 0.4), consciousness aspects (r = 0.21), and performance-based aspects (r = 0.17), supporting the original conceptualization of their role in generating and maintaining flow. Variations in physical and social environmental conditions had differential effects on the overall level of experienced flow. The results inform further model development to quantify and predict temporal perception as a metric of flow.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Meta-analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Flow Meta-analysis Temporal distortion Time perception |
| Citations | 40 |
| Key finding | Moderately positive correlations were found between affective, consciousness, and performance-based aspects of flow and time perception (r = 0.4, 0.21, and 0.17, respectively), with environmental conditions differentially affecting experienced flow. |
Abstract
An altered sense of the experience of time represents one of the nine dimensions that is conceived as characterizing a state of flow. While a number of other factors necessarily contribute to this overall experience of flow, subjective time perception is of particular quantitative interest and thus serves as the focus of the present meta-analysis. The extant body of relevant quantitative research was evaluated to identify data relating to both flow and change in the sense of time. Sixty-three (n = 63) articles were determined to qualify under the current specified inclusion criteria. These sixty-three studies yielded one thousand and ninety-four (n = 1094) effect sizes. All studies included in the meta-analysis were also coded for relevant moderator variables. Results indicated moderately positive correlations between affective, consciousness, and performance based aspects of flow (r = 0.4, 0.21, 0.17 respectively), thus reinforcing the original conceptualization of their relationship for the generation and maintenance of the flow state. Additionally, variations in environmental conditions (both physical and social) were found to have differential effects on the overall level of experienced flow. The results of this meta-analysis also serve to inform the process of further model development that can more accurately quantify and predict temporal perception as one metric of flow.