Social psychology of flow: a situated framework for optimal experience

Flow research is traditionally focused on subjective experience and well-being, with less concern for the impact of these aspects on the broader social context. This chapter, introducing a situated framework of research, assigns instead a central role to flow in generating social change. We highlight how social and physical environments are continuously modeled through optimal experience and its social dissemination. Whilst some models drive their attention to flow in groups as a facilitator of performance, our approach focuses on the study of the link between flow and socio-cultural experience. This link between the person and the external context regards both the intrapsychic relationship that individuals build with cultural artifacts and the influence of affective relations and participation in groups. This perspective is supported through new research data from three different areas of study.