Neural correlates of flow experience

• Main Authors: NAH, Fiona Fui-hoon, YELAMANCHILI, Tejaswini, CHEN, Langtao, SIAU, Keng, MALLAPRAGADA, Chandana
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2018
• Subjects: Human-computer interaction; Flow state; Electroencephalogram; EEG; Neural correlates; Graphics and Human Computer Interfaces
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sis_research/9626
• Institution: Singapore Management University

An optimal experience, termed “flow,” has been experienced by users who are deeply involved in human- computer interaction. The flow state is characterized by total control over the task, loss of consciousness of oneself and the physical environment, concentration on the task at hand, distortion or transformation of time, merging of actions and awareness (i.e., actions become automatic and effortless), and autotelic (i.e., intrinsically rewarding) experience (Csikszentmihalyi 1990; Nah et al., 2014). The most common and traditional approaches to assess user experience are self-reported measures (e.g., using questionnaires and interviews) that are typically retrospective in nature and could be subjected to biases (e.g., social desirability and recall biases). With advancements in technology, electroencephalogram (EEG) offers an alternative approach for assessing user experience in real-time (Nah, et al. 2017). Given the importance of understanding flow experience in an online environment and the potential of EEG to provide a promising means of assessing flow experience in real-time, the objective of this research is to identify EEG correlates of flow experience in an online gaming context. We used a laboratory experiment to capture EEG data for the flow and resting states of video game players and carried out data analysis to compare the EEG power of various frequency bands (e.g., theta (4-8 Hz) and alpha (8-12 Hz)) between the flow and resting states. The results, which will be presented at the conference, suggest that the flow state is manifested mainly in the left frontal region of the brain. The research findings will be useful to information systems (IS) designers, who can utilize EEG to assess user experience in real-time and understand the effects of different design elements and interfaces (e.g., gamification features) on the flow state of users, thus building IS that better engage users (Zhao and Siau, 2016).