Flow Experience and Performance: A Study of Elite Turkish Handball Players

IntroductionToday, with the agreement upon the fact that various psychological skills influence physical performance, the number of studies carried out in the field is gradually increasing. Knowing the effect of the athletes' flow state on behavior is considered to be important in terms of improving performance. In addition, the assumption that flow state can have a positive effect on performance increases the importance of any research into the issue. Flow State is the optimal mental state coming out of the balance between the skills performed by individuals during physical activity and the perceived state at that time, the individual's concentration on an activity, the requirements or struggle in an environment of sports and physical activity (Acci et al.2007; Csikszentmihalyi 1990). In another definition, on the other hand, flow is an individual getting wholly absorbed in an activity (Bakker et al. 2011), how much individuals are engaged in what they are doing, how well they can concentrate, the enjoyment they have doing that job without any external pressure and a psychological state when the individual feels cognitively capable, motivated and happy at the same time (Ozcahin 2005). Schuler and Brunner (2009) define flow state as the "positive" and "motivating force" experienced during an activity, Csikszentmihalyi (1997) expresses that flow can be formed in a peak experience in any activity and Eccles and Wigfield (2002) highlight that flow experience occurs with overcoming challenges or adapting to a given situation. This situation is enjoyed so much by the individual experiencing flow that the individual agrees to bear any kind of challenge just to reach this happiness. The joy doing this and the desire to continue with intrinsic motivation are seen as the reason that flow experience covers the individual completely (Fullagar and Kelloway 2009). In their study, Lutz and Guiry (1994) define flow as the state in which the human mind is deeply engaged in an activity and the individual is so completely absorbed in the event that feels as if time has stopped during this process. In addition, some researchers report that flow occurs in the course of a number of different activities within the sport (Demerouti 2006; Jackson and Csikszentmihalyi 1999). Many research studies have been carried out on flow state/flow experience in the field of education and sports. Studies regarding education are mainly related with flow state that occurs during preparation for academic examinations and participation in out-of-class activities and academic achievement (Cermakova et al. 2010; Seo 2011). Studies on flow state/flow experience and sports on the other hand are important since they are related to positive emotional states, skills development, performance improvement, life satisfaction, self-conception, psychological skills, motivational climates, social objectives, goal orientation, perceived competition, selfconfidence and anxiety (Csikszentmihalyi 1990; Cutre et al. 2009; Koehn 2013). On the other hand, many studies have been conducted on the concept of flow in sports in elite athletes and recreational activities (Kimiecik and Stein 1992; Jackson et al. 1998). These studies suggest that elite athletes can experience flow both in training sessions and in matches.A number of studies on flow in sports focus on individual and team (Jackson 1995; Russell 2001) sports. For instance, the study of Bakker et al. (2011), in which they examined the relationship between flow and performance, included team sports such as football, volleyball, baseball, women baseball and basketball as well as such individual sports as swimming, running, wrestling and triathlon. Still, other studies have shown that flow state has a positive effect on performance in the branches of cycling, golf, athletics and basketball (Lindsay et al. 2005; Judge et al. 2010). Most studies have revealed a strong positive relationship between flow and peak performance in sports (Beal et al. …