theory
Source: Adapted from Apter (2001): 6–13 and 44.
On a rollercoaster where a high level of arousal is experienced in the paratelic state, the predominant emotion is excitement, but if a person as a result of frustratio n associat ed w ith height ened perce pt ion of dange into the telic state, then the excitement is replaced
by anxiety. Apter and his colleagues have documented paratelic-telic reversals in parachutists on either side of the moment of maximum danger; in dancers in the moments before and after curtain-up; in experimental participants faced with completing exceptionally frustrating puzzles; and in experimental participants given the option of shifting from a telic to a paratelic laboratory-based task when satiated.
Young (1998) in a study of professional tennis players found that absorbing flow experiences (described below) may be associated with either telic or paratelic metamotivational states. So paratelic states and flow experiences are not identical.
Reversal theory also proposes that people have dominant metamotivational states (Apter, 2001). Dominance is the tendency to spend more time in one metamotivational state than another. A telic dominant person spends more time in the telic than the paratelic state. Telic dominance has been found to be associated with less intrinsic motivation; more intense work motivation; stronger association between work and life satisfaction; more organised lifestyle; greater fear of failure and less hope of success; less teenage delinquency and drug abuse; less adventurous sexual behaviour; more stress in response to daily hassles or major life changes; and the use of problem-focused coping strategies.
Being in the telic state is associated with a distinctive psychophysiological profile.
Compared with people in the paratelic state, those in the telic state show greater build-up in tonic muscle tension (EMG) during tasks requiring concentration; greater tonic physiological arousal in response to threat indexed by increased heart rate and respiration rate; and a more focal and localised pattern of cortical activation. In contrast, the paratelic state is associated with greater phasic fluctuations in muscle tension when completing a psychomotor task; greater phasic fluctuations in heart rate in response to comedy; and greater phasic changes in respiration amplitude in response to comedy.
Measures of metamotivational constructs
A variety of measures have been developed to measure metamotivational states and profiles of dominant metamotivational arrays (Apter, 2001, ch. 3). For research on telic and paratelic states which are of particular relevance here, the instruments listed below may be useful.
Telic State Measure (Kerr, 1997)
This measures current or recent status on the telic-paratelic dimension. It contains five six-point rating scales: serious—playful; planful—spontaneous; low-preferred arousal—
high-preferred arousal; low arousal—high arousal; and low effort—high effort.
Telic-Poratelic State Instrument (Kerr, 1999)
This 12-item inventory measures current or recent status on the telic-paratelic dimension (7 items); and the arousal-avoidance—arousal-seeking dimension (5 items). The scales have good reliability.
Metamotivational State Interview and Coding Schedule (O’Connell et al., 1991)
This interview includes questions about pairs of metamotivational states and the coding system allows transcripts of the interview to be coded reliably when the interview is completed. It yields scores for eight metamotivational states, i.e. telic and paratelic states associated with the means-ends domain; negativistic, and conformist states associated with the rules domain; mastery and sympathy states associated with the transactions domain; and the autic and alloic states associated with the relationships domain.
Apter Motivational Style Profile (Apter International, 1999)
This reliable and valid 40-item inventory measures telic dominance along with dominance on three other pairs of metamotivational states, i.e. negativistic-conformist, mastery-sympathy and autic-alloic. It also yields subscale scores for all eight metamotivational states, i.e. telic, paratelic, negativistic, conformist, mastery, sympathy, autic and alloic.
Paratelic states, using signature strengths, and intrinsically motivating activity may all be associated with flow experiences, and it is to these that we now turn.
FLOW
Flow experiences occur when we become engaged in controllable but challenging tasks or activities that require considerable skill and which are intrinsically motivating (Csikszentmihalyi and Csikszentmihalyi, 1988; Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, 1997). For flow experiences to occur we must have a good chance of completing these tasks. There must be clear goals and immediate feedback. These tasks require total concentration so we become deeply and effortlessly involved in them, so much so that we no longer think of the worries and frustrations of everyday life. Our sense of self disappears when involved in these tasks and paradoxically the sense of self emerges as strengthened after the task is completed. Time perception is altered during flow experiences. Hours can pass in what seem to be minutes and minutes can seem like hours.
Flow experiences may occur during reading, sports, involvement in creative arts and music or involvement in certain types of work. Examples of activities that have been shown in scientific psychological studies to lead to flow experiences include reading, sailing, chess, rock climbing, dancing, writing and gang motorcycling. The frequency of flow experiences in everyday activities is diagrammed in Figure 2.3. The defining characteristic of activities that lead to flow experiences is that they become an end in
themselves. While the tasks may initially be done for other reasons, ultimately they are done because they are intrinsically rewarding. Writers often say that they write not for financial or occupational advancement but because it is so enjoyable. Sailors may spend a lot of money and time getting their boats