Find over 25,000 psychological definitions


flow

n. a state of optimal experience arising from intense involvement in an activity that is enjoyable, such as playing a sport, performing a musical passage, or writing a creative piece. Flow arises when one’s skills are fully utilized yet equal to the demands of the task, intrinsic motivation is at a peak, one loses self-consciousness and temporal awareness, and one has a sense of total control, effortlessness, and complete concentration on the immediate situation (the here and now). [proposed in 1990 by Hungarian-born U.S. psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1934–  )]

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

November 28th 2024

postural reflex

postural reflex

any of a variety of automatic movements that serve to maintain body posture. See also stance reflex.