Is it possible to experience flow in pro-social activities??

RICHAUD DE MINZI, M.C; MESURADO, B.; CARLO, G.

Vancouver

Congreso; 2012 SRA Biennial Meeting; 2012

Is it possible to experience flow in pro-social activities? Csikszentmihalyi described flow as ?a state of optimal experience that people report when they are intensely involved in doing something that is fun to do? (1999, p. 381). Although the concept of flow has been applied to study the subjective experience in work, sport, leisure, daily life, study (Salanova, Martínez, Cifre, & Schaufeli, 2005; Jackson & Eklund, 2002; Delle-Fave & Massimini, 2003; Rathunde & Csikszentmihalyi, 2005), few studies have examined the subjective quality of pro-social activities (behaviors intended to benefit others) in childhood and adolescence. The purposes of this chapter are to examine a) If it is possible to experience flow in pro-social activities, b) what specific contexts (e.g. into family, into school, etc.) of pro-social behavior were associated with flow experience, c) to examine: different levels of flow experience in different specific context of pro-social activities, and finally d) to examine possible correlations between the nine flow dimensions and different types of pro-social behavior.