Student Resources History and Biographies Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Biography The life, career, and contributions of the father of "flow" By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book." Learn about our editorial process Updated on October 20, 2023 Fact checked Verywell Mind content is rigorously reviewed by a team of qualified and experienced fact checkers. Fact checkers review articles for factual accuracy, relevance, and timeliness. We rely on the most current and reputable sources, which are cited in the text and listed at the bottom of each article. Content is fact checked after it has been edited and before publication. Learn more. by James Lacy Fact checked by James Lacy James Lacy, MLS, is a fact-checker and researcher. Learn about our editorial process Print Ehirsh / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain Table of Contents View All Table of Contents Csikszentmihalyi's Early Life Csikszentmihalyi's Career Contributions to Psychology Selected Publications by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Trending Videos Close this video player Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is a psychologist who created the concept of flow. He is particularly known for flow psychology and positive psychology. Even without success, creative persons find joy in a job well done. Learning for its own sake is rewarding." — MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI FROM CREATIVITY: FLOW AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DISCOVERY & INVENTION, 1996. Csikszentmihalyi's Early Life Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced me-HIGH chick-sent-me-HIGH-ee) was born in Fiume, Italy, now Rijeka, Croatia, on September 29, 1934. Growing up, he was fluent in Hungarian, Italian, and German. During World War II, he spent time in an Italian prison camp where he discovered chess. He found playing chess to be an excellent way to divert his attention away from what was happening around him, something he believes helped him fare better than many others. You may be reminded of Victor Frankl's theory of logotherapy, focused around motivation and our desire to find meaning, which he based in part on his experiences in a concentration camp. At age 16, he traveled to Switzerland where he had the opportunity to listen to Carl Jung speak. The experience had an influence on him. He later explained, "As a child in the war I'd seen something drastically wrong with how adults—the grown-ups I trusted—organized their thinking. I was trying to find a better system to order my life. Jung seemed to be trying to cope with some of the more positive aspects of human experience." After studying books by Jung and Freud, Csikszentmihalyi decided to immigrate to America at the age of 22 in order to study psychology. He attended the University of Chicago where he earned his BA in 1960 and his PhD in 1965. In 1969, he returned to the University of Chicago as a professor where he continued to work until 2000. Csikszentmihalyi's Career Csikszentmihalyi is best-known for his theory of flow, which he outlined in his seminal 1990 book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. According to Csikszentmihalyi, people are happy when they are in a state of flow, a type of intrinsic motivation that involves being fully focused on the situation or task. He describes flow as "being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost." If you've ever felt the hours melt away while playing a video game, doing a puzzle, or even studying, then you probably know exactly the kind of feeling he's talking about. If you have the kind of job where you are able to regularly enter a flow state while completing necessary tasks, Csikszentmihalyi might argue that you've chosen the perfect career to keep you happy and engaged in your work. Contributions to Psychology Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair were reportedly influenced by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Jimmy Johnson, former coach of the Dallas Cowboys, utilized Csikszentmihalyi's ideas to prepare for the 1993 Super Bowl. Csikszentmihalyi's ideas have also influenced people in business, government, education, and the arts. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's theory of flow has influenced people in a wide range of fields. Selected Publications by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Csikszentmihalyi is a prolific writer, having published more than 120 articles and book chapters on a wide variety of topics in psychology. His research and writings on happiness and creativity have also played an important part of the growing interest positive psychology. Here are a select few: Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1975). Beyond Boredom and Anxiety: Experiencing Flow in Work and Play, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Csikszentmihalyi, M. and Csikszentmihalyi, I. S., eds. (1988). Optimal Experience: Psychological studies of flow in consciousness, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper and Row. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York: Harper Perennial. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1998). Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement With Everyday Life. Basic Books. Gardner, H., Csikszentmihalyi, M., and Damon, W. (2002). Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning. Basic Books. Sources Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Cooper, A. (1998). The Man Who Found the Flow. Shambhala Sun. http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1942. Encyclopedia of World Biography. (2006). Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Michigan: The Gale Group. Geirland, John (1996). Go With the Flow. Wired. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.09/czik_pr.html Sobel, D. (1995). Interview: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Omni 17(4), 73. By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book." See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Helpful Report an Error Other Submit