Abstract
The present study was designed (1) to clarify the relationship between the flow experience and improvements in visuomotor skills, (2) to examine the effects of rotating the axis of a computer mouse on visuomotor skills, and (3) to investigate the effects of sleep for improving visuomotor skills. Participants (N = 18) responded to Perturbation and nap (PER+Nap), No-perturbation and nap (NoPER+Nap) and Perturbation and rest (PER+Rest) conditions. In the PER+Nap condition, participants conducted a visuomotor tracking task using a computer mouse, which was accompanied by perturbation caused by rotating the axis of their mouse. After the task, they took a 90 min nap. In NoPER+Nap condition, they conducted the same visuomotor task without any perturbation and took a nap. In the PER+Rest condition, participants conducted the task with the perturbation and took a 90 min break spent reading magazines instead of taking a nap. Results indicated (1) the flow experience did not occur when participants’ skills and the degree of the visuomotor challenge were matching, (2) improvements of visuomotor skills occurred regardless of the perturbation, (3) improvements of visuomotor skills occurred unrelated to the flow experience, or to mood states, and (4) improvements of visuomotor performance occurred regardless of sleep. These findings suggest that improvements of visuomotor skills occur regardless of mood status and occur independently of perturbations by axis rotation. The study also suggests that the acquisition of skills is related to merely the time elapsed since learning, rather than to sleep.
Highlights
People find activities they are engaging in to be interesting when they are dedicated to an activity that is moderately difficult
Performance was significantly better in Test 2 in the NoPER+Nap condition compared to other conditions (t(17) = 2.97, p < 0.01 for the Perturbation and nap (PER+Nap) condition; t (17) = 4.27, p < 0.01 for the PER+Rest condition)
Results indicated that (1) the flow experience did not occur in the visuomotor task used in this study, which matched levels of skills and challenge, (2) improvements in visuomotor skills occurred regardless of the task perturbation, (3) improvements in visuomotor skills occurred unrelated to the flow or mood states, and (4) improvements in visuomotor performance were unrelated to sleep
Summary
People find activities they are engaging in to be interesting when they are dedicated to an activity that is moderately difficult. According to the flow theory proposed by Chiksentmihaliy [1, 2], task difficulty in relations to an individual’s skills affect the feelings of enjoyment in doing a task. A sense of enjoyment is experienced when there is a perfect balance between task difficulty and the performer’s skills. Individuals can feel a deep involvement with the task and they might feel they merge with the task [3]. People feel that the situation is PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0171907. People feel that the situation is PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0171907 February 9, 2017
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