Abstract
Although flow has been studied extensively in music and sport, there is a lack of research comparing these two domains. With the aim of filling this gap, elite musicians and top athletes in Slovenia were contrasted in the current study. Differences for flow and satisfaction with life between elite musicians and top athletes were explored. Individual versus group performance setting and gender differences were considered. 452 participants; 114 elite Slovenian musicians (mean age 23.46 years) and 338 top Slovenian athletes (mean age 22.40 years) answered questions about flow and satisfaction with life measures. The results show differences between elite musicians and top athletes in four flow dimensions: transformation of time and autotelic experience were higher in musicians while clear goals and unambiguous feedback were higher in athletes. However, differences in global flow were not confirmed. Elite musicians and top athletes experienced flow more often in group than in individual performance settings and surprisingly it was experienced more in male than in female top performers. Satisfaction with life has a positive correlation with all nine dimensions of flow, but only challenge-skill balance was a significant predictor for satisfaction with life.
Highlights
There is a growing interest in research into flow in music and sport
Flow was extensively studied in top athletes (Lindsay et al, 2005; Nicholls et al, 2005; Sugiyama and Inomata, 2005; Aherne et al, 2011; Pain et al, 2011; Pates et al, 2012; Briegel-Jones et al, 2013; Pates and Cowen, 2013; Hodge et al, 2014; Koehn et al, 2014; Norsworthy et al, 2017; for review, see Swann et al, 2012), but there is a scarcity of data exploring flow in elite musicians (Sinnamon et al, 2012)
Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener et al, 1985) SWLS is a scale composed of five items, which measure the overall self-estimation of quality of life
Summary
There is a growing interest in research into flow in music and sport. These two fields have several aspects in common, such as that both music and sport are performative activities in which the performers have to give their best. Flow and SWL in Top Performers measurements of life satisfaction could complement traditional affective measurements which has proven useful in predicting reactions to stressful events (Huebner and Dew, 1996; Bradley and Corwyn, 2004) Trying to fill this gap, the current study contrasted elite musicians and top athletes for flow and satisfaction with life. Individual versus group performance settings and gender differences were considered. Previous studies on flow and well-being reveal that experiencing more intense flow correlates positively with hedonic and eudemonic well-being (Smolej Fritz and Avsec, 2007; Delle Fave et al, 2011a; Moneta, 2012; Bassi et al, 2014; Baker et al, 2015). H4: Flow in top/elite performers would positively correlate with satisfaction with life
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