What’s the relevance of personal values to the study of flow? A test of within-person associations

Scholars have studied the personal antecedents and outcomes of the psychological state of intense immersion in an activity, known as ‘flow’. However, the role of personal values has largely been excluded from this research thus far. In this study, we tested the bi-directional nature of the relationship between frequency of flow experiences and the strength of four domains of personal values as outlined in Schwartz’s (1992) influential model: openness, conservation, self-transcendent, and self-enhancement. A nationally representative sample of UK adults completed measures of their personal values and flow experiences at three time-points over a six-month period (T1 N = 2049, T2 N = 888, T3 N = 510). Analysis using a Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) allowed for the separation of between and within-subject effects, with our hypotheses focused on the latter to infer directionality. Results revealed that none of the value domains were predictors of the frequency of flow experiences. Increases in the frequency of flow experiences were linked to subsequent increases in the strength of self-transcendent values, but none of the other three value domains were impacted by flow experiences. The findings have implications for how we think about encouraging flow and extend understandings of flow’s outcomes to include increased care for other people and the environment.