Disentangling the effects of task difficulty and effort on flow experience
Hairong Lu1, Dimitri Van der Linden2, Arnold B Bakker2,3,4
1Center of Excellence for Positive Organizational Psychology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. luhairong00@163.com.
Psychological Research
|June 26, 2025
Summary
Effort, not just task difficulty, influences the subjective experience of flow. Increased effort exertion correlated with flow states, but physiological markers like P300 amplitude did not show a parallel trend.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- Flow state is a subjective experience of deep focus and enjoyment.
- Optimal flow is often linked to tasks matching skill level and optimal difficulty.
- Effort exertion is typically high during optimal task difficulty.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of effort exertion, beyond task difficulty, in subjective flow experiences.
- To disentangle the effects of perceived task difficulty and effort exertion on flow.
- To examine the relationship between effort, flow, and physiological indicators.
Main Methods:
- A visual discrimination task was employed.
- Stimulus complexity manipulated perceived task difficulty.
- Expected probability manipulated effort exertion.
- Subjective flow experiences and P300 amplitude were measured.
Main Results:
- Perceived task difficulty increased with stimulus complexity.
- Effort exertion, indexed by reaction time, increased with task challenge and expectancy.
- Subjective flow experiences aligned with effort exertion patterns.
- No correlation was found between flow and P300 amplitude.
Conclusions:
- Subjective flow experiences are influenced by both task difficulty and the level of effort exerted.
- Effort exertion appears to be a significant factor in the subjective feeling of flow.
- Physiological indicators like P300 amplitude may not directly reflect subjective flow states related to effort.
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