Developments and Trends in Flow Research Over 40 Years: A Bibliometric Analysis

Since Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi outlined the foundation of the flow theory in 1975, the study of flow has grown into a massive multi-disciplinary field. This study aimed to employ bibliometric techniques for analyzing the extensive body of literature accumulated in flow research, addressing five research questions: (a) What is flow research's quantitative status and growth trends? (b) What is the publication pattern of flow research? (c) What are the cornerstone publications in this field? (d) What are the major research themes in this field? (e) What are the promising directions of flow research? A total of 2622 peer-reviewed documents published between 1982 and 2021 were retrieved from Scopus. The results revealed an exponential rise in publications after the new millennium. Researchers of various disciplinary backgrounds across the globe have contributed to the field, and flow theory has been frequently connected with self-determination theory and the technology acceptance model. Eight major themes were identified in the 2622 publications, including three theoretical themes (mechanism, positivity, and health) and five application themes (technology, gaming, sports, creativity, and education). Among these themes, technology and gaming reign supreme. These findings provide a macroscopic overview of the field and guidance for future studies.