Environments and the experience of flow: A scoping review

CUMMING, MEGAN; Gatersleben, Birgitta; Davies, Jason; BUURINGEN, AISHA; Isham, Amy

doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102605

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Environments and the experience of flow: A scoping review

MEGAN CUMMING, Birgitta Gatersleben, Jason Davies

, AISHA BUURINGEN, Amy Isham

Journal of Environmental Psychology, Volume: 104, Start page: 102605

Swansea University Authors: MEGAN CUMMING, Jason Davies , AISHA BUURINGEN, Amy Isham

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DOI (Published version): 10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102605

Abstract

Investigations into the impact of natural and built environments on mental health often place greater emphasis on hedonic experience over other meaningful aspects of human wellbeing such as flow. Psychological flow occurs during episodes of deep immersion in intrinsically motivated activities. Givin...

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Published in:	Journal of Environmental Psychology
ISSN:	0272-4944 1522-9610
Published:	Elsevier BV 2025
Online Access:	Check full text
URI:	https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69370

first_indexed	2025-04-29T13:18:10Z
last_indexed	2025-05-13T09:11:21Z
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spelling	2025-05-12T15:34:43.9202584 v2 69370 2025-04-29 Environments and the experience of flow: A scoping review e84607e6002cddf460df2cbddb2dbeba MEGAN CUMMING MEGAN CUMMING true false b7dab4136f5c9c0614cda9bf2d5910b0 0000-0002-1694-5370 Jason Davies Jason Davies true false f070466a3492e86612429161244034bb AISHA BUURINGEN AISHA BUURINGEN true false 5fce1ddf9df54207881ee2541a8e0074 0000-0001-6089-709X Amy Isham Amy Isham true false 2025-04-29 Investigations into the impact of natural and built environments on mental health often place greater emphasis on hedonic experience over other meaningful aspects of human wellbeing such as flow. Psychological flow occurs during episodes of deep immersion in intrinsically motivated activities. Giving rise to feelings of fulfilment and self-transcendence, it can contribute to both hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing. Although individual differences and social contexts can enable or inhibit flow, it is not entirely clear how natural and built environments are associated with flow experiences. The objective of this review is to map existing primary research concerning how environments (natural and built) relate to flow experiences. A total of 60 included sources, published between 1975 and the end of 2022, illustrate that flow is not only impacted by the environment, but also connected to place-based meaning. Four themes reflect the type of source findings, highlighting the importance of 1. contact with nature, 2. person-environment fit, 3. aesthetics and 4. relationship to place. Review findings explore areas for future research and potential implications for nature-based interventions. Journal Article Journal of Environmental Psychology 104 102605 Elsevier BV 0272-4944 1522-9610 Flow experience; Psychological flow; Natural environments; Built environments; Nature contact 1 6 2025 2025-06-01 10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102605 Review COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) This research is part of a PhD funded by the Laudes Foundation, in collaboration with the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP). 2025-05-12T15:34:43.9202584 2025-04-29T14:10:27.1010712 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences School of Psychology MEGAN CUMMING 1 Birgitta Gatersleben 2 Jason Davies 0000-0002-1694-5370 3 AISHA BUURINGEN 4 Amy Isham 0000-0001-6089-709X 5 69370__34251__06f800e72a77414492d1b76f5a24dea1.pdf 69370.VoR.pdf 2025-05-12T15:32:01.4270967 Output 4276813 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 The Authors. This is an open access article under the CC BY license. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title	Environments and the experience of flow: A scoping review
spellingShingle	Environments and the experience of flow: A scoping review MEGAN CUMMING Jason Davies AISHA BUURINGEN Amy Isham
title_short	Environments and the experience of flow: A scoping review
title_full	Environments and the experience of flow: A scoping review
title_fullStr	Environments and the experience of flow: A scoping review
title_full_unstemmed	Environments and the experience of flow: A scoping review
title_sort	Environments and the experience of flow: A scoping review
author_id_str_mv	e84607e6002cddf460df2cbddb2dbeba b7dab4136f5c9c0614cda9bf2d5910b0 f070466a3492e86612429161244034bb 5fce1ddf9df54207881ee2541a8e0074
author_id_fullname_str_mv	e84607e6002cddf460df2cbddb2dbeba_*_MEGAN CUMMING b7dab4136f5c9c0614cda9bf2d5910b0__Jason Davies f070466a3492e86612429161244034bb__AISHA BUURINGEN 5fce1ddf9df54207881ee2541a8e0074_*_Amy Isham
author	MEGAN CUMMING Jason Davies AISHA BUURINGEN Amy Isham
author2	MEGAN CUMMING Birgitta Gatersleben Jason Davies AISHA BUURINGEN Amy Isham
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description	Investigations into the impact of natural and built environments on mental health often place greater emphasis on hedonic experience over other meaningful aspects of human wellbeing such as flow. Psychological flow occurs during episodes of deep immersion in intrinsically motivated activities. Giving rise to feelings of fulfilment and self-transcendence, it can contribute to both hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing. Although individual differences and social contexts can enable or inhibit flow, it is not entirely clear how natural and built environments are associated with flow experiences. The objective of this review is to map existing primary research concerning how environments (natural and built) relate to flow experiences. A total of 60 included sources, published between 1975 and the end of 2022, illustrate that flow is not only impacted by the environment, but also connected to place-based meaning. Four themes reflect the type of source findings, highlighting the importance of 1. contact with nature, 2. person-environment fit, 3. aesthetics and 4. relationship to place. Review findings explore areas for future research and potential implications for nature-based interventions.
published_date	2025-06-01T05:28:00Z
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Environments and the experience of flow: A scoping review

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