Jeanne Oden LIS-5413 November 11, 2010

Application Exercise #4
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. 1990. Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper Perennial PART 1: Indexing Plan 1.1 Audience for the index The users for this book fall into two groups: the primarily group is a general audience and the secondary group is academic. The general audience would probably be fairly educated, as the vocabulary and sentence construction are of a medium-toadvanced level and argument development is complex. The book is designed to be a guide to personal psychological development and a reader might very well revisit and explore concepts via the index in order to aid learning. The academic users include anyone investigating subject-specific topics and could be practicing psychologists, students, scholars, and such; they would be accustomed to doing research and looking for subject-specific terms during search, and expect a high degree of reliability. Academic users would probably be in the field of psychology but could also include anthropology and history. Another way to consider the audience for both the book and the index is as two groups: those who are familiar with the subject domain (psychology) and those who are not. The user groups discussed in the first paragraph might fall into these categories, so domain terminology is an issue for this index. 1.2 Which documents will be indexed Since Csikszentmihalyis Flow is a complex work, index access to the content would be a valuable aid to any of the user groups discussed in 1.1. The arguments depend on concept definitions, descriptions, and examples that might be difficult to locate without a guide; an index would allow reference and/or research by each user group and perhaps provide a richer, fuller understanding of the work. The chapter notes include more depth of academic background, including scholarly work references, which academic users might find valuable and examine to either evaluate the book or conduct further research on certain aspects. If this book had an index and was ever revised in the future, re-indexing would have to be done very carefully since the concepts and ideas are complex and very interwoven throughout. 1.3 Which parts of the documents will be indexed For this assignment, chapters 1-3 will be indexed, as well as the associated chapter notes. The table of contents indicates that subsequent chapters will explore subjects present in the first three chapters, so it is a helpful reference guide for checking subject headings when constructing the index.

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1.4 Which concepts will be indexed The psychological concepts will be indexed at a high level, including definitions and examples. Since these concepts are so interwoven and faceted, there will be a good amount of cross-referencing and subheadings, which will be especially helpful to inform and provide context for users not highly familiar with these terms and concepts. This work includes some proper nouns, names, and events but does not depend upon them for the arguments so they will be indexed at a lower level. The References section following the index (see table of contents) will provide access to those sources so they do not need to be included exhaustively in the index. 1.5 How exhaustive will the index be There are 12 pages for the index in a book of approximately 240 pages (almost 10% of the work), so there is space for a high level of exhaustivity, which will reflect and provide access to the full scope of the work and its concepts. A highly exhaustive index for this book will also help knowledgeable users to evaluate the overall usefulness of the resource. Based on the number of pages to be indexed (text and notes), a balanced representation of the work would be approximately 1.2 pages per chapter, or a total of 3.7 pages. 1.6 How specific should your terminology be The purpose of the work is to provide a guide to understanding and implementing principles related to optimal life experience for a general audience. Therefore, one might say that the primary purpose of the index should be to provide user access for information related to this purpose, and be less oriented to the scholarly works that can be found in the References section. This document covers broad concepts with a high degree of detail and exploration. Since the space allowed for the index is fairly generous, a high degree of specificity is possible and will enable users to have greater access to the content and perhaps more precision during search. Specificity in the index will also enable users to see and access the faceted content related to a subject term. The index specificity will be carefully constructed so it does not become as complex and potentially confusing as a user might feel the text to be, although it will incorporate domain terms as found in a thesaurus. The PsychINFO thesaurus was used for this index, available in OU databases and can be located from the library site home page. 1.7 What kind of indexing language will be used A combination of free text, controlled vocabulary, and natural language will help to serve both the literary and user warrants. The bulk of this index will use free text in order to provide the most direct access to the document by providing consistency of terms; this will be especially helpful to less knowledgeable users. Among knowledgeable users, controlled vocabulary serves to enable faster recognition of the content concepts and can create a higher degree of confidence in the work. Use of a psychology thesaurus is helpful to connect knowledgeable users to relevant concepts.

Oden / p. General and less-knowledgeable users will be served by careful translation of terms to natural language as needed, with see references.

1.8 How will errors within the original be handled Errors will be handled in two ways, if discovered. First, a separate log will be maintained with a brief description of the error, location, and correction or question. Second, if the error affects the index, a notation will be made to the entry with reference to the error, providing a suggestion (if possible) for the editor or publisher to resolve. 1.9 Outline your formatting decisions This indented index is a two-column page format and primarily follows the Chicago Manual of Style with respect to punctuation, see/see also references, and column continuation. Subject headings are bolded to aid readability since there are so many subheadings. All entries are lower-case with the exception of proper names and titles, and alphabetized word by word. Chapter notes are indicated with an italicized n following the page number.

PART 2: Index Introduction This index was prepared for use by both general and academic readers, both of whom may or may not include persons familiar with psychology. For all readers, see/see also cross-references provide a guide to subject material and related content. Definitions are included as a subheading under relevant subjects. When page locators are present for a subject heading with subheadings, they indicate a primary discussion on the topic. In-depth information included in the chapter notes is included and indicated with an n following the page locator; this information can also be found under the subheading scholarly works.

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PART 3: Index abilities. See skills activities, 48-67 addictive, 61-66, 69, 255n challenges, 49-50, 52-53, 252n chess, 61-62, 253-254n control, 60-61 enjoyment, 48-53 (see also MaierLeibnitz, Heinz) gambling, 61-62, 253-254n microflow, 52, 251-252n risky, 60-61, 253n work and leisure, 67-69, 255n See also skills autonomy. See individual responsibility autotelic experience, 67-70 criminal, 69-70 cultural traditions, 255n definition, 67 development, 67-68 violent, 69-70 vs. typical, 68-69 Arisotle, 1, 20, 241n, 245n, 250n attention, 30-36 causality, 34-36 controlling consciousness, 31, 33 cultures, 248n definition, 31 examples, 31-33, 35, 42 limits, 28-31 self, 34 structure, 31 See also mind, powers; psychic energy awareness. See consciousness. See also attention; concentration Browning, Sam, 34-35. See also attention: causality challenges. See skills chaos, 7-9, 10-11, 242-244n complexity, 41-47, 249-250n. See also differentiation; integration concentration, 58-59 control, 20-22, 41, 59-62, 243n concentration (continued) consciousness, 35-36, 246n games of chance, 61 (see also activities: gambling) order, 58-59 paradox, 59-62 possibility, 60 psychic energy, 64 risky activities, 60-61 methods, 20-21 routinization, 21-22, 246n scholarly works, 243n, 252n consciousness 23-36 beliefs, 247n biological influences, 23-28, 45 (see also pleasure) control, 20-22, 31, 35-36, 49, 246n (see also quality of life) cultural influences, 23 definition, 26 events, 26-27, 38-39 (see also dreams) function, 24 intentions, 27-28 limits, 28-30, 247-248n mastering, 23-24 order, 24, 39-41, 58, 59, 65, 249n (see also flow experience) philosophy, 247n representation, 25-26 (see also phenomenology) scholarly works, 247-249n spiritual aspects, 24-25, 247n, 251n subjectivity, 26, 28, 247n control activities, 60-61 concentration, 20-22, 41, 59-62, 243n consciousness, 20-22, 35-36, 246n cultures, 9-11, 23 dreams, 26, 247n paradox, 59-62 socialization, 245n time, 7-8

D O N T F O R G E T T O A D D C O N T I N U A T I O N L I N E S T O T H E T

Oden / p. culture(s), 10-16 attention, 248n control, 9-11, 20-23 consciousness, 22-23 consequences, 11-12 religion, 11, 14, 22-23, 244n Davis, Pam, 40. See consciousness: order differentiation definition, 41, 249-250n implications, flow, 41-42 See also complexity Democritus, 70, 254n discontent, 8-16 causes, 11-13 chaos, 9 escape, 10 expectations, 12-13 human response, 9, 13-16 reactions, 13-16 religion, 14 scholarly works, 244n universe, 7-10 See also existential dread; psychic disorder disorder. See discontent; psychic disorder dreams, 26, 30, 247n. See also conscious events ecstasy, 49, 251n. See also activities enjoyment, 43-70 activities, 51-53 (see also MaierLeibnitz, Heinz) challenges, 50-53, 252n characteristics, 46, 49-70 children, 47 elements, 48-67 definition, 46 pleasure, 45-48, 250n preservation, 47-48 See also happiness: pleasure; quality of life experience, 16-20 autotelic, 67-70 control, 36 elements, 48-49 experience (continued) enjoyment, relationship, 46-70 See also individual responsibility external conditions, 43-44. See also quality of life: strategies existential dread, 12-13. See also discontent expectations, 10-13 reactions, 13 scholarly works, 243n See also discontent feedback, 54-59 importance, 49, 57-58, 253n kind, 57 variability, 56-57 See also activities; goals flow theory, 4-5 applications, 5, 242n definition, 4 importance, 42, 57-58 development, 4-5, 242n use and misuse, 70 flow experience activities, 60 addictive, 69, 255n complexity, 42 crime, 69, 256n definition, 40 description, 53-54, 59 development, 55-56 loss of self, 62-68 microflow, 52, 251-252n Medellin, Rico, 39-40, 42 overview, 5-8 painting, 252-253n paradox, 59-62, 65, 70, 256n reading, 49-50, 251n scholarly works, 249n, 252-254n self-consciousness, 62-66 socializing, 50, 251n spiritual, peak, 251n (see also ecstasy) surgeons, 56, 62, 252-254n time, 66-67 See also autotelic experience; optimal experience; time)

Oden / p. freedom, 18-22, 28. See also individual responsibility goals, 43-45, 54-58 creation, 56 long-term, 55 measure, 9-10 scholarly works, 242n unclear, 55-56 See also activities; feedback; quality of life happiness, 1-8 defined, 2 scholarly works, 241n, 250n symbols, 44 understanding, 1-3 See also optimal experience; pleasure Harris, Jim, 37-39. See also psychic entropy individual responsibility, 16-22 cultural context, 20-22 helplessness, 18 independence, 19-20 scholarly works, 246n See also paths of liberation; socialization information affects, 30 processing, human, 28-30 theory, 26 See also mind, powers integration definition, 41 implications, flow, 41-42 intentions, 26-28, 35, 55-56 definition, 27 See also complexity intentions, 27-28 definition, 27 learning, 47, 251n Luchen Defense, The, 61-62. See also activities: addictive Maier-Leibnitz, Heinz, 51-52, 251n. See also activities: enjoyment Martinez, Julio, 36-38. See also psychic entropy meaning, 244n Medellin, Rico 39-40, 42. See also flow experience mind, state, 6, 19-20. See also flow experience; flow theory mind, powers, 24-31 processing, 28-30, 248n See also attention; phenomology negentropy, 40, 59. See also psychic entropy obstacles, 8 ontological anxiety. See discontent optimal experience definition, 3-4, 39 description, 3, 53-54 examples, 3, 39-41 universal similarity, 49-50, 53, 252n See also flow experience; happiness; psychic entropy paths of liberation. See individual responsibility phenomenology, 25-26 enjoyment, 49-67 scholarly works, 247n See also consciousness; representation; mind, powers pleasure, 17-18 children, 250n definition, 45 instinct, 17-18 society, 17 See also enjoyment; happiness psychic disorder, 36-39 activities, 49-50 concentration, 58 definition, 36 goals, 47 order, 46 scholarly works, 249n See also consciousness: disorder; psychic entropy psychic energy, 30-33 concentration, 33, 49, 53-54, 58-59 definition, 33 flow, 40 scholarly works, 248n

Oden / p. psychic energy (continued) self-consciousness, 63 skills, 49-50 See also attention; concentration psychic entropy, 36-41 definition, 37 self, 40-41 See also negentropy; optimal experience; psychic disorder psychic order, 39. See also flow experience; optimal experience quality of life, 43-45 experience, 44, 58 measure, 8-10 pleasure, 46 strategies, 43, 51-53 (see also external conditions) See also happiness; wealth religion cultures, 11, 14, 22-23, 244n discontent, 14 See also discontent; ecstasy self, 33-42 attention, 34-36 self (continued) consciousness, 33-36, 61-68 loss of, 62-66, 253-254n. (see also activities: chess) growth, 42, 65 organization, 41 scholarly works, 248-49n transcendence, 64-65, 252-4n shields. See cultures; time: control skills, 49-53 definition, 50 socialization, 17-22 controls, 19-20, 245n independence, 19-20 pathology, 15, 244-45n risks, 18-19 survival, 9-10, 17, 19 time, control, 7-8 use, 29-30, 248n transformation, 66-67 universe. See discontent: universe wealth, 10, 44-45, 241n, 243n, 250n. See also happiness; quality of life

Oden / p. PART 5: Comments

It was interesting to see this customer review of Flow on Amazon.com. The reviewer looks like what I termed a general audience, non-knowledgeable (of the domain) reader. He pointed out that both the book and his learning experience would have been improved by including an index. He also agreed with other reviewers that the writing could have benefited from editing for length, but in general was a helpful book. I agree with him on all those points. Another somewhat confusing thing about the book was that the author often used terms synonymously, so although the arguments are compelling, they are also more difficult to follow because of the shifting and interwoven terminology, which created a lot of cross-references in the index. http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/memberreviews/A1QWIM0C51UJZE/ref=cm_cr_pr_auth_rev?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentRe view (accessed October 30, 2010) Amazon.com Flow Revealing information, but the editor was out to lunch, July 23, 2010 By Dave Beedon - See all my reviews This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback) Reading this book made me able to understand why I "get lost" in a pleasant way in certain activities. (I know nothing about Jung , Maslow, or Zen.) The subject matter earns five stars for giving me that personal insight, but the quality of its editing gets only two stars. The book is repetitive, repetitive, repetitive. Did I mention that it is repetitive? Another reviewer said something like "it could have been adequately covered in 50 pages." I agree. And publishers who neglect to create an index for a work of non-fiction make it difficult for a reader to go back to find certain information---not exactly conducive to learning. Good editing would have removed the repetition and included an index. In spite of the book's drawbacks, I'm glad I read it.