Abstract

Flow state is a valued psychological state of enjoyment and well-being. It is characterized by feelings of intrinsic self-reward and marked by nine dimensions theorized to contribute to flow state. Flow has been studied mostly in elite athletes, whom report highly lucid flow experiences; to a much lesser extent it has been studied in recreational exercisers. Most prior research methodologies involve experience sampling or qualitative techniques, such as interviewing. Only one demonstrably valid and reliable flow instrument is widely available for efficient, quantitative measure of flow experiences. This study measures flow longitudinally in a recreational exercising population by comparing a new flow instrument with the established one. The new instrument’s psychometric properties are analyzed, and measures of convergent and divergent validity are provided, as well as internal consistency and factor structure. This study also examines the predictive powers of the new instrument and the existing instrument in predicting exercise frequency at four-month follow-up.

LLU Discipline

Psychology

Department

Psychology

School

Graduate School

First Advisor

Leslie R. Martin

Second Advisor

Kendal Boyd

Third Advisor

John Flora-Tostado

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Degree Level

Ph.D.

Year Degree Awarded

2003

Date (Title Page)

9-2003

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Optimism; Cheerfulness; Sports -- Psychological aspects; Recreation; Exercise

Type

Doctoral Project

Page Count

x; 100

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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