College Honors Program

Breakin’ Down Flow State: An Analysis of The Flow State Within Breakdancing

Date of Creation

5-17-2024

Document Type

Campus Access Only

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Michael Creane

Abstract

In understanding breakin’ (breakdancing) and the flow state (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975), the present study evaluated a potential connection between the two. A total of 58 students at the College of the Holy Cross participated in experiments designed to evoke flow. To ascertain and quantify variables, surveys were distributed to differing Hip Hop/Breakin’ classes. Through a parallel survey, data for the ‘working out’ control group was gathered at a campus gym. Flow was calculated utilizing the flow state short scale, adapted from Engeser and Rheinberg (2008). Results show the working out condition had significantly higher flow scores than the breakin’ condition. Although no significant connection was found between breakin’ activity and an increase in flow state, high levels of prior experience with breakin’ yielded significantly higher flow scores than those who had little or no prior experience. I conclude that while breakin’ is an activity that induces flow, it is heavily impacted by the amount of prior expertise one has with the dance, as well the learning curve for beginners. Avenues for future research include how the development of dancers impacts their ability to enter and maintain flow states and the role of expertise within dance and its effects on flow.

Comments

Reader: Taylor Travassos-Lomba

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