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Flow Scales

 

Authors: Susan A. Jackson, Robert C. Eklund, & Andrew J. Martin

Most people would agree that being in flow is a great experience, but: (1) how do we know when someone is experiencing flow, and what is it like when they are in this state; or (2) to what extent are your athletes/students/ employees/performers absorbed in, and enjoying, what they are doing?

The Flow Scales can provide answers to questions such as these. The Flow Scales assess the optimal psychological experience of flow — an experience involving total absorption in the task at hand. When in flow, one acts with confidence and ease, and usually at superior levels of performance. The Flow Scales have been used in a wide range of performance settings. A suite of scales have been developed — the Long, Short, and Core Flow Scales — providing a range of instrumentation to suit a diversity of research and applied purposes including in performance domains (e.g. sport, music, arts), work settings, free time activities and hobbies, and school settings.

The Flow Scale Suite
The Flow Scales are used to assess flow, and have been developed and validated by Dr. Sue Jackson and colleagues. One general characteristic of this approach to assessing flow has been to do so at two levels:

1. Dispositional level: Frequency of flow experience in particular domains (e.g., sport, work, school) – these versions are known as the dispositional versions of the flow scales.

2. State level: Extent of flow experienced in a particular event or activity (e.g., a race, a work project, or a test) – these versions are known as the state flow scales.

The dispositional and state flow scales are parallel forms, with wording differences reflecting whether the disposition to experience flow (Dispositional), or a specific flow experience (State), is being assessed. All versions of the scales have been validated through confirmatory factor analyses, and the scales have demonstrated good psychometric properties.

Copyright © 2010 by Susan A. Jackson

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  • Manual
    $50.00
    Includes details on reliability, validity, scoring, etc. and a review-only copy of The Flow Scales. PDFs are not refundable.
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  • Transform Survey Hosting: DFS-2-General (Data)
    $2.75
    Minimum purchase of 20. Allows you to administer the FLOW DFS-2 General as an online survey using Mind Garden's Transform™ System. Includes data collection: data file with participants' raw data and raw scale scores. Customization services are available.
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  • Transform Survey Hosting: DFS-2-Physical (Data)
    $2.75
    Minimum purchase of 20. Allows you to administer the FLOW DFS-2-Physical as an online survey using Mind Garden's Transform™ System. Includes data collection: data file with participants' raw data and raw scale scores. Customization services are available.
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  • Transform Survey Hosting: FSS-2-General (Data)
    $2.75
    Minimum purchase of 20. Allows you to administer the FLOW FSS-2-General as an online survey using Mind Garden's Transform™ System. Includes data collection: data file with participants' raw data and raw scale scores. Customization services are available.
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  • Transform Survey Hosting: FSS-2-Physical (Data)
    $2.75
    Minimum purchase of 20. Allows you to administer the FLOW FSS-2-Physical as an online survey using Mind Garden's Transform™ System. Includes data collection: data file with participants' raw data and raw scale scores. Customization services are available.
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  • Transform Survey Hosting: S DFS-2 (Data)
    $2.75
    Minimum purchase of 20. Allows you to administer the FLOW S DFS-2 as an online survey using Mind Garden's Transform™ System. Includes data collection: data file with participants' raw data and raw scale scores. Customization services are available.
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  • Transform Survey Hosting: S FSS-2 (Data)
    $2.75
    Minimum purchase of 20. Allows you to administer the FLOW S FSS-2 as an online survey using Mind Garden's Transform™ System. Includes data collection: data file with participants' raw data and raw scale scores. Customization services are available.
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  • Transform Survey Hosting: C DFS-2 (Data)
    $2.75
    Minimum purchase of 20. Allows you to administer the FLOW C DFS-2 as an online survey using Mind Garden's Transform™ System. Includes data collection: data file with participants' raw data and raw scale scores. Customization services are available.
  • Transform Survey Hosting: C FSS-2 (Data)
    $2.75
    Minimum purchase of 20. Allows you to administer the FLOW C FSS-2 as an online survey using Mind Garden's Transform™ System. Includes data collection: data file with participants' raw data and raw scale scores. Customization services are available.
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  • License to Reproduce
    $2.75
    Minimum purchase of 50. Allows you to administer the FLOW as an online survey via a non-Mind Garden survey system or as a paper and pencil survey. The downloadable PDF file includes one copy of the FLOW, scoring key, and permission to administer the FLOW up to the quantity purchased. The PDF is non-refundable.
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  • Manual: Printed for shipping
    $60.00
    Includes details on reliability, validity, scoring, etc. and a review-only copy of The Flow Scales. This is a paper product. The manual will be printed, bound, and shipped to you (FedEx shipping costs apply).
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Features of the Flow Scales

Purpose: Assess the optimal psychological experience of flow

Length:

LONG Dispositional Flow Scale - General (DFS-2-General) = 36 items
LONG Dispositional Flow Scale - Physical (DFS-2-Physical) = 36 items
LONG Flow State Scale - General (FSS-2-General) = 36 items
LONG Flow State Scale - Physical (FSS-2-Physical) = 36 items

SHORT Dispositional Flow Scale (S DFS-2) = 9 items
SHORT Flow State Scale (S FSS-2) = 9 items

CORE Dispositional Flow Scale (C DFS-2) = 10 items
CORE Flow State Scale (C FSS-2) = 10 items

Average completion time:

LONG Dispositional Flow Scale - General (DFS-2-General) = 10 minutes
LONG Dispositional Flow Scale - Physical (DFS-2-Physical) = 10 minutes
LONG Flow State Scale - General (FSS-2-General) = 10 minutes
LONG Flow State Scale - Physical (FSS-2-Physical) = 10 minutes

SHORT Dispositional Flow Scale (S DFS-2) = 5 minutes
SHORT Flow State Scale (S FSS-2) = 5 minutes

CORE Dispositional Flow Scale (C DFS-2) = 5 minutes
CORE Flow State Scale (C FSS-2) = 5 minutes

Target population: Ages 12 and older

Administration: For individual or group administration; Can be administered to younger children in a read-aloud administration

Uses of the Flow Scales

  • Research flow and factors associated with flow
  • Intervention effectiveness research
  • Identify when an individual is experiencing flow
  • Measure absorbtion and enjoyment individuals are experiencing with what they are doing

Scales
There are three main flow instruments (each of which has a dispositional and a state version):

1. LONG Flow Scales
These 36-item instruments assess the nine key dimensions of flow. These nine dimensions have been described in detail in Csikszentmihalyi’s writings about flow. They are: challenge-skill balance, action-awareness merging (automaticity of actions), clear goals, unambiguous feedback (knowing how you are going), concentration on task at hand, sense of control, loss of self-consciousness (lack of worry about what others are thinking of you), a sense of time transformation, and autotelic (intrinsically enjoyable) experience.

The LONG Flow Scales (i.e., Dispositional & State) are particularly useful when a detailed picture of flow experience is important. LONG Flow provides a multidimensional approach that is grounded in Csikszentmihalyi’s conceptualization of flow. These scales are the instrument of choice for targeted interventions, and/or when a detailed understanding of the flow dimensions is important.

There are two versions of LONG Flow, which we have named LONG Flow–General, and, LONG Flow–Physical. The Long Scales–Physical were the first versions to be developed. They were developed in sport and performance settings, and several items contain words related to movement and performance. Long Flow-General scales have minor wording changes to make them adaptable to a wide range of settings. Users intending to assess people who are performing in a sport or other movement-based context should select LONG Flow–Physical. Users intending to assess people whose activity does not involve movement or some sort of physical performance, should use the LONG Flow–General Scales.

2. SHORT Flow Scales

These 9-item Dispositional and State scales are abbreviated versions of LONG Flow. One item is used to represent each of the nine flow dimensions.

The SHORT Flow Scales provide a brief assessment of the nine-dimensional flow model. They offer a concise means of assessing the dimensional flow model, and are useful when research or practical constraints prevent use of a longer scale.

3. CORE Flow Scales

These 10-item Dispositional and State scales assess what it feels like to be in flow. The aim of these scales is to tap into the phenomenology of flow – consistent with original conceptualizations of subjective optimal experience underpinning flow.

The CORE Flow Scales focus on the flow experience from the performer’s perspective. They provide an assessment of what it feels like to be in flow, and complement the more analytically-derived LONG and SHORT Flow Scales. While LONG and SHORT Flow assess the factors that comprise and/or lead to flow, CORE Flow captures the central subjective experience.

From the Manual

"The different versions of the Flow Scales provide complementary, but non-overlapping ways to assess flow. The scales are useful for assessing individuals’ flow experiences and also for the design of interventions aimed at more structured approaches to developing flow. Together, the Flow Scales provide useful tools for diverse research goals, and are also relevant to practitioners interested in enhancing outcomes that are related to being in flow."

-- Susan Jackson, Robert Eklund, Andrew Martin, The Flow Manual

If you are unable to find the translation you need, you can request permission to make a translation.

Available with the Flow Scales License to Administer:
These translations are available free of charge with your purchase of the license. Translations are provided in a separate pdf-format file. Select the language from the Translation drop-down list. Need multiple translations? Contact us.

  • Chinese - All Long Flow forms, S DFS-2, S FSS-2
  • Croatian - DFS-2-General and FSS-2-General only
  • Dutch - S DFS-2 only
  • German - DFS-2-Physical only
  • Hebrew - S FSS-2
  • Indonesian - FSS-2-General only
  • Japanese - DFS-2-Physical and FSS-2-Physical only
  • Italian
  • Macedonian - DFS-2-General only
  • Norwegian - DFS-2-General only
  • Portuguese - S DFS-2 and S FSS-2 only
  • Russian - DFS-2-General only
  • Spanish - FSS-2-General and DFS-2-General only
  • Swedish - FSS-2-General only
  • Turkish - DFS-2-Physical, FSS-2-Physical, SDFS-2, SFSS-2

No translations available with Flow Scales Transform™ Survey Hosting.

Note: We cannot assure translation quality — many are made by individual researchers and we are not necessarily familiar with the particular language or dialect. Some of the translations are partial and typically do not have validation data. Basically, we offer whatever is available to facilitate your work.

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