Being in the zone: Using behavioral and EEG recordings for the indirect assessment of flow

As such, video games are enjoyed most when the level and speed of the game match the players’ skills. An optimal balance between challenges and skills triggers the subjective experience of “flow”, a focused motivation leading to a feeling of spontaneous joy. Here we present the validation of a novel technique to indirectly assess the extent to which subjects experience flow during real game play by assessing attentional engagement; first behaviorally and in a second stage by means of electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings. An auditory novelty oddball paradigm was implemented as a secondary task while subjects played in three conditions: Boredom, Frustration and Flow. We found higher reaction times and error rates in the Flow condition. In a second stage we used advanced techniques to do source reconstruction and to investigate signal changes on both the temporal and frequency domain. EEG analysis revealed a response-locked fronto-central negative deflection significantly delayed during flow, likely signaling the need of re-allocation of attentional resources. Frequency domain analyses revealed significant power increase only in the alpha band for the flow condition. We believe that frontal alpha changes recorded as maximal at the mid- frontal lines during flow might be related with reward related processing