A Qualitative Investigation of Flow and Clutch States Christian F
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University of Wollongong Research Online Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers Faculty of Social Sciences 2019 Optimal experiences in exercise: A qualitative investigation of flow and clutch states Christian F. Swann Southern Cross University, [email protected] Patricia C. Jackman University of Lincoln, [email protected] Matthew chS weickle University of Wollongong, [email protected] Stewart A. Vella University of Wollongong, [email protected] Publication Details Swann, C., Jackman, P. C., Schweickle, M. J. & Vella, S. A. (2019). Optimal experiences in exercise: A qualitative investigation of flow and clutch states. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 40 87-98. Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] Optimal experiences in exercise: A qualitative investigation of flow and clutch states Abstract Objectives: Understanding how to promote rewarding exercise experiences is important for attempts to help individuals be physically active. This qualitative study aimed to investigate the optimal psychological states experienced during rewarding exercise activities. Specifically, participants were interviewed as soon as possible after recent, rewarding exercise experiences in order to maximise detail and accuracy of recall. Design: Event-focused qualitative study. Method: A sample of 18 individuals (Mage= 32.94 years) participated in event-focused, semi-structured interviews soon after a rewarding exercise experience (M = 2 days later). Data were analysed thematically, while strategies were employed to enhance trustworthiness. Results: Participants reported two distinct optimal experiences during rewarding exercise activities, matching descriptions of flow and clutch states. Flow occurred in contexts involving exploration, novelty/variation, and flexible outcomes, while the experience was described as enjoyable at the time, and involved lower perceived effort. Clutch states occurred in contexts involving achievement and pressure. Exercisers perceived clutch states to be enjoyable afterwards but not at the time, and to involve intense effort. Notable differences were apparent in the outcomes of each state in that flow had an energising effect, whereas clutch states were fatiguing. Conclusions: This study presents evidence for flow and clutch states in exercise, supporting emerging research in sport. These findings provide insights into the occurrence, experience, and outcomes of flow and clutch states specifically from the exerciser's perspective. Such insights can inform future research on flow and clutch states in this setting, and may provide strategies for reliably inducing each state during exercise. Disciplines Education | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication Details Swann, C., Jackman, P. C., Schweickle, M. J. & Vella, S. A. (2019). Optimal experiences in exercise: A qualitative investigation of flow and clutch states. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 40 87-98. This journal article is available at Research Online: https://ro.uow.edu.au/sspapers/4476 OPTIMAL EXPERIENCES IN EXERCISE 0 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 1 2 3 4 5 6 Optimal Experiences in Exercise: A Qualitative Investigation of Flow and Clutch States 7 8 9 Christian Swann 1* , Patricia Jackman 2, Matthew Schweickle 3 & Stewart A. Vella 3 10 11 1School of Health and Human Sciences, Southern Cross University, Australia 12 2School of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Lincoln, UK 13 3School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Australia 14 MANUSCRIPT 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 ACCEPTED 22 *Address correspondence to: Christian Swann, School of Health and Human Sciences, 23 Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales 2450, Australia. Email: 24 [email protected] OPTIMAL EXPERIENCES IN EXERCISE 0 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 1 2 3 4 5 6 Optimal Experiences in Exercise: A Qualitative Investigation of Flow and Clutch States 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 MANUSCRIPT 15 16 17 ACCEPTED OPTIMAL EXPERIENCES IN EXERCISE 1 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 1 Abstract 2 Objectives: Understanding how to promote rewarding exercise experiences is important for 3 attempts to help individuals be physically active. This qualitative study aimed to investigate 4 the optimal psychological states experienced during rewarding exercise activities. 5 Specifically, participants were interviewed as soon as possible after recent, rewarding 6 exercise experiences in order to maximise detail and accuracy of recall. 7 Design: Event-focused qualitative study. 8 Method: A sample of 18 individuals ( Mage = 32.94 years) participated in event-focused, 9 semi-structured interviews soon after a rewarding exercise experience ( M = 2 days later). 10 Data were analysed thematically, while strategies were employed to enhance trustworthiness. 11 Results: Participants reported two distinct optimal experiences during rewarding exercise 12 activities, matching descriptions of flow and clutch states. Flow occurred in contexts 13 involving exploration, novelty/variation, and flexible outcomes, while the experience was 14 described as enjoyable at the time, and involved loMANUSCRIPTwer perceived effort. Clutch states 15 occurred in contexts involving achievement and pressure. Exercisers perceived clutch states 16 to be enjoyable afterwards but not at the time, and to involve intense effort. Notable 17 differences were apparent in the outcomes of each state in that flow had an energising effect, 18 whereas clutch states were fatiguing. 19 Conclusions: This study presents evidence for flow and clutch states in exercise, supporting 20 emerging research in sport. These findings provide insights into the occurrence, experience, 21 and outcomes ofACCEPTED flow and clutch states specifically from the exerciser’s perspective. Such 22 insights can inform future research on flow and clutch states in this setting, and may provide 23 strategies for reliably inducing each state during exercise. 24 25 Keywords: end-spurt, enjoyment, physical activity, runner’s high, the zone. OPTIMAL EXPERIENCES IN EXERCISE 2 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 1 Optimal Experiences in Exercise: A Qualitative Investigation of Flow and Clutch States 2 The field of positive psychology advocates studying the best experiences that 3 individuals have, in order to understand how to promote them more frequently (Seligman & 4 Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). These aims are particularly relevant in the study of exercise 5 participation, which is defined as planned, structured, and/or repetitive bodily movement, of 6 which a primary objective is to improve or maintain physical fitness (Caspersen, Powell & 7 Christenson, 1985; Pink, 2008). For example, despite the well-known benefits of regular 8 physical activity, the majority of adults in most developed countries are not meeting physical 9 activity guidelines (Andersen, Mota & Di Pietro, 2016). Furthermore, it is estimated that 10 around 50% of individuals drop out of exercise programs (Dishman & Buckworth, 1996; 11 Marcus et al., 2006; Ekkekakis, 2017), with even higher rates in the real world (e.g., 96% of 12 people dropped out of a gym membership in Brazil within one year of joining; Sperandei, 13 Viera & Reis, 2016). A meta-analysis reported that positive affect during moderate intensity 14 exercise was linked to future physical activity, butMANUSCRIPT post-exercise affect displayed a null 15 relationship (Rhodes & Kates, 2015). That is, even though people typically feel good after 16 exercise (e.g., Fox, 1999), how people feel during exercise appears to be more important for 17 determining subsequent engagement. These findings place emphasis on individuals’ 18 experience during exercise as an important mechanism for long-term engagement. Therefore, 19 understanding how and why individuals have positive experiences during exercise could 20 provide insights into how practitioners may be able to achieve such experiences consistently. 21 Optimal ACCEPTEDexperiences, such as “the runner’s high” and “the zone”, are commonly 22 discussed in exercise-related media (e.g., Fetters, 2014) and research (e.g., Boecker et al., 23 2008). The concept of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975, 2002, 2014) is the most-studied and 24 developed psychological framework for such optimal experiences. Flow is defined as an 25 enjoyable, intrinsically rewarding experience characterized by concentration and absorption OPTIMAL EXPERIENCES IN EXERCISE 3 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 1 in a specific activity, to the exclusion of irrelevant thoughts and emotions, and a sense of 2 everything coming together or clicking into place, even in challenging situations 3 (Csikszentmihalyi, 2002). Understanding of flow generally revolves around 4 Csikszentmihalyi’s conceptualization of this state as including nine dimensions (e.g., 5 Csikszentmihalyi, 2002; Jackson & Csikszentmihalyi, 1999). Three dimensions are proposed 6 to be conditions through which flow occurs (Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2002): (i) 7 challenge-skills balance; (ii) clear goals; and (iii) unambiguous feedback. The other six 8 dimensions are proposed to be characteristics of the experience: (iv) concentration on the task 9 at hand; (v) sense of control; (vi) loss of self-consciousness; (vii) action-awareness merging; 10 (viii) transformation of time; and (iv) autotelic experience which denotes that the experience 11 is enjoyable and intrinsically rewarding (e.g., Csikszentmihalyi, 2002; Nakamura & 12 Csikszentmihalyi, 2002). Given the desirability of these experiential characteristics, flow