Examining flow experiences in sport contexts: Conceptual issues and methodological concerns

Abstract

Athletes' subjective states and experience generally are neglected by sport psychology research due to an emphasis on performance and competitive outcomes. The purpose of this paper was to discuss how the concept of flow—an optimal psychological state—can be studied in the sport context to increase an understanding of athletes' subjective experience. Conceptual issues with respect to conducting flow research in sport were presented, followed by a discussion of the methodological concerns to consider for researchers who want to study flow in sport. Two major conceptual questions were addressed: What is flow and how do flow states occur? The latter question was discussed taking into account both the person and situation factors that may underlie athletes' flow experiences. The section on methodological concerns highlighted the pros and cons of conducting flow research with qualitative or quantitative approaches, explained the experience sampling form, and briefly discussed the complexity of analyzing flow data.