Flow experience in computer game playing among Thai university students

Abstract

     This study was based on the flow theory of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. A cross sectional study was performed to examine flow experience in computer game playing among university students and to identify behavior that led to positive consequences and addictive behavior. Multi-stage sampling was conducted to select a sample of 478 university students aged 18-24 years who usually played computer games. Data were collected using the assessment instruments of computer game addictive behavior and perception of the consequences from game playing. Based on exploratory factor analysis, the construct of flow experience could be divided into two dimensions: 1) cognitive flow which was composed of challenge-skill balance, clear goals, and unambiguous feedback, and 2) emotional flow which was composed of action-awareness merging, concentration on the task at hand, sense of control, loss of consciousness, and time transformation. Based on structural equation modeling, cognitive flow was positively correlated to perception of utility from the game (β = .85) and emotional flow was positively correlated to physical and psychological impacts from the game (β = .52). Moreover, males were more likely to spend time on computer games than females. This study found that time duration was not a key indicator of game-playing consequences. However, the state of flow in computer game playing was indeed a key factor that could perpetrate positive or negative outcomes. The findings of this study suggested that flow experience in computer game playing has both benefits and drawbacks. It is recommended that youth-related organizations should promote cognitive flow experiences to develop the self-improvement of computer game players rather than emotional flow experiences.