Csikszentmihalyi and Psychic Entropy Research Paper Example

Csikszentmihalyi describes psychic entropy as “information that conflicts with existing intentions, or distracts us from carrying them out,” . When goals that have created the self are challenged, inner disorder occurs, impairing the ability to pursue and invest attention into furthering the survival of the self. Understanding this process gives an individual valuable insight into their judgements, turmoil, fear, anxiety and jealousy. One may be less likely to cast judgement outwardly if they know that their emotion is actually a defense mechanism to preserve their ego. So what if individuals had a practice where their rigid idea of self became less vulnerable? It could lead to less conflict, less judgement, and more open exploration and expression.

The opposite of psychic entropy is optimal experience, or flow. The information the brain is taking in reinforces the alignment between preexisting goals and new input. This results in a greater availability of free psychic energy to deal with new inputs of experience from inner and external happenings. This process is a positive feedback loop that reinforces the sense of self with increasing alignment of goals and input (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). One may ask at this point, “Isn’t reinforcing the self a bad thing if it makes us more rigid in our ability to process new information?” This assumption is valid and even accurate in some cases, which is why it is imperative to address the concepts of differentiation and integration.

Differentiation and integration are two different ways of processing the highly complex input that occurs after an individual experiences flow. After a flow experience, the information that has been taken in and determined congruent with the individual’s goals creates a sense of accomplishment that accompanies joy and full involvement. This is where integrating versus differentiating becomes dangerous. If the individual goes too far differentiating, the individual orders their experience high up in the rankings of data that creates the self. This means that the flow experience is highly impactful in creating the individual’s sense of self, and is judged as one of the most positive things to ever happen to them. If they go down the route of differentiation, they see the optimal experience as something that sets them apart from other individuals. As Csikszentmihalyi puts it, “differentiation implies a movement toward uniqueness, toward separating oneself from others.” Integration, on the other hand, refers to “A union with other people, with ideas and entities beyond the self,” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). When an individual’s sense of self is too influenced by the differentiated view, they may achieve a high level of accomplishment but they will be flawed by egoistic tendencies and self centered action. An individual who is too influenced by integration will feel very connected to those around them, but they will lack a sense of self sovereignty. This results in the tendency to follow instead of lead. These two elements are concordant when balanced, handling the increased complexity that occurs after a flow experience. Csikszentmihalyi describes the balance, writing “Paradoxically, it is when we act freely, for the sake of the action itself rather than for ulterior motives, that we learn to become more than what we were."