From Flow to Fuse: A Cognitive Perspective

TL;DR

This paper redefines the concept of flow in HCI and related fields using cognitive science, introducing 'fuse' as a clearer, more consistent alternative, along with a model and design heuristics for practical application.

Contribution

It introduces 'fuse', a new concept related to flow, grounded in cognitive science, and develops a model and heuristics to improve conceptual clarity and practical design in HCI.

Findings

Fuse is defined as the fusion of activity-related sensory stimuli and awareness.

A preliminary cognitive model of fuse is proposed.

Design heuristics for implementing fuse in video games are derived.

Abstract

The concept of flow is used extensively in HCI, video games, and many other fields, but its prevalent definition is conceptually vague and alternative interpretations have contributed to ambiguity in the literature. To address this, we use cognitive science theory to expose inconsistencies in flow's prevalent definition, and introduce fuse, a concept related to flow but consistent with cognitive science, and defined as the "fusion of activity-related sensory stimuli and awareness". Based on this definition, we develop a preliminary model that hypothesizes fuse's underlying cognitive processes. To illustrate the model's practical value, we derive a set of design heuristics that we exemplify in the context of video games. Together, the fuse definition, model and design heuristics form our theoretical framework, and are a product of rethinking flow from a cognitive perspective with the purpose of improving conceptual clarity and theoretical robustness in the literature.