Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi | |
|---|---|
 Csikszentmihalyi in 2010 | |
| Born | Csíkszentmihályi Mihály Róbert 29 September 1934 (1934-09-29) |
| Died | 20 October 2021(2021-10-20) (aged 87) Claremont, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago (BA,PhD) |
| Occupations | Psychologist, academic |
| Known for | Flow (psychology) Positive psychology Autotelic activities |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingChristopher |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Psychology |
| Institutions | Claremont Graduate University University of Chicago Lake Forest College |
| Thesis | Artistic problems and their solutions; an exploration of creativity in the arts. (1965) |
| Doctoral advisor | Jacob W. Getzels |
| Doctoral students | Keith Sawyer |
Mihaly Robert Csikszentmihalyi (/ˈmiːhaɪˈtʃiːksɛntmiːˌhɑːjiː/MEE-hyCHEEK-sent-mee-HAH-yee,Hungarian:Csíkszentmihályi Mihály Róbert,pronounced[ˈt͡ʃiːksɛntmihaːjiˈmihaːj]ⓘ; 29 September 1934 – 20 October 2021) was a Hungarian-American psychologist. He recognized and named the psychological concept of "flow", a highly focused mental state conducive to productivity.[1][2] He was the Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Management atClaremont Graduate University. Earlier, he served as the head of the department of psychology at theUniversity of Chicago and of the department of sociology and anthropology atLake Forest College.[3]
Mihaly Robert Csikszentmihalyi was born on 29 September 1934 inFiume,[4] nowRijeka,[5] then part of theKingdom of Italy. His family name derives from the village ofCsíkszentmihály in Transylvania.[6] He was the third son of a career diplomat at the Hungarian Consulate in Fiume.[5][7] In 1944, when Csikszentmihalyi was ten years old, one of his two older half-brothers was killed in theSiege of Budapest, and the other, Moricz, was sent to labor camps inSiberia by the Soviets.[7] Decades later, Mihaly and Moricz were reunited in Budapest.[8]
His father was appointed Hungarian Ambassador to Italy shortly after theSecond World War, moving the family to Rome.[7][9] WhenCommunists took over Hungary in 1949, Csikszentmihalyi's father resigned rather than choosing to work for the regime. The Communist regime responded by expelling his father and stripping the family of their Hungarian citizenship.[7] To earn a living, his father opened a restaurant in Rome, and Csikszentmihalyi dropped out of school to help with the family income.[5][7] At this time, the young Csikszentmihalyi, then travelling in Switzerland, sawCarl Jung give a talk on the psychology of UFO sightings.[7]
Csikszentmihalyi immigrated to theUnited States at age 22, working nights to support himself while studying at theUniversity of Chicago.[7] He received a B.A. in 1959 and a Ph.D. in 1965, both from the University of Chicago.[7][10] He then taught atLake Forest College before becoming a professor at the University of Chicago in 1969.[7]
Csikszentmihalyi was noted for his work in the study ofhappiness andcreativity, but is best known as the architect of the notion offlow and for his years of research and writing on the topic.[11]Martin Seligman, former president of theAmerican Psychological Association, described Csikszentmihalyi as the world's leading researcher onpositive psychology.[12] Csikszentmihalyi once[when?] said: "Repression is not the way to virtue. When people restrain themselves out of fear, their lives are by necessity diminished. Only through freely chosen discipline can life be enjoyed and still kept within the bounds of reason."[13] His works are influential and are widely cited.[14]
In his seminal work,Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Csíkszentmihályi outlined his theory that people are happiest when they are in a state offlow—a state ofconcentration or complete absorption with the activity at hand and the situation.[16] It is a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter.[16] The flow state is colloquially known as beingin the zone orin the groove.[17] It is an optimal state ofintrinsic motivation, where the person is fully immersed in what they are doing.[17] This is a feeling everyone has at times, characterized by a feeling of great absorption, engagement, fulfillment, and skill—and during which temporal concerns (time, food, ego-self, etc.) are typically ignored.[17]
In an interview withWired magazine, Csíkszentmihályi described flow as "being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playingjazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost."[18]
Csikszentmihályi characterized nine component states of achieving flow:[19]
To achieve a flow state, a balance must be struck between the challenge of the task and the skill of the performer.[20] If the task is too easy or too difficult, flow cannot occur as both skill level and challenge level must be matched and high; if skill and challenge are low and matched, apathy results.[20]
Csikszentmihalyi researched autotelic personalities.[19] The autotelic personality is one in which a person performs acts because they are intrinsically rewarding, rather than to achieve external goals.[21] Csikszentmihalyi described the autotelic personality as a trait possessed by people who can learn to enjoy situations that most others would find miserable.[22] Research has shown that aspects associated with the autotelic personality include curiosity, persistence, and humility.[23]
Most of Csikszentmihalyi's final works focused on the idea ofmotivation and the factors that contribute to motivation, challenge, and overall success.[24] One personality characteristic that Csikszentmihalyi researched in detail was that ofintrinsic motivation.[25] He and his colleagues found that intrinsically motivated people were more likely to be goal-directed and enjoy challenges that would lead to an increase in overall happiness.[24]
Csikszentmihalyi identified intrinsic motivation as a powerful trait to optimize and enhance positive experience, feelings, and overallwell-being as a result of challenging experiences.[26] The results indicated a newpersonality construct, which he calledwork orientation, characterized by "achievement, endurance, cognitive structure, order, play, and low impulsivity".[26] A high level of work orientation in students is said to be a better predictor of grades and fulfillment of long-term goals than any school or household environmental influence.[26]
Csikszentmihalyi married Isabella Selega in 1961.[27] He had two sons:Christopher Csíkszentmihályi, an artist and professor atCornell University, and Mark Csikszentmihalyi, chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at theUniversity of California, Berkeley.[28]
Csikszentmihalyi died on 20 October 2021 of cardiac arrest, at his home inClaremont, California, at the age of 87.[29][30]
In 2009, Csikszentmihalyi was awarded the Clifton Strengths Prize.[31] He received theSzéchenyi Prize at a ceremony in Budapest in 2011.[32] He was awarded theHungarian Order of Merit in 2014.[9] He was aFellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of both theNational Academy of Education and the Academy of Leisure Sciences.[7]
On 29 September 2023, Csikszentmihalyi's 89th birthday was remembered with aGoogle Doodle.[33] TheJust Dance character Mihaly is named after Csikszentmihalyi.[34]
B.A., University of Chicago, 1960
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