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Proxies and Balancing for Shared Flow in Older Adult Cyclists

Kahnt, Laura (2023) Proxies and Balancing for Shared Flow in Older Adult Cyclists.

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Abstract:Cycling, a healthy and eco-friendly activity, can be further encouraged by improving the experience. The mental state of flow, characterized by complete absorption in an activity that matches one’s skill level, is considered as the optimal experience. While flow has mainly been studied in individual settings, it can also be experienced in groups and has been shown to be more enjoyable. However, differences in fitness levels among cyclists can make it difficult to experience shared flow. The motor of electric bicycles can help address this by providing more support to less-fit cyclists (positive balancing) or reducing support for fitter cyclists (negative balancing). An experiment was conducted with pairs of older adult cyclists, a group which is encouraged to cycle more by the Dutch government. The collected data was analyzed using mixed-effects regression models. The results indicate that position and cadence could serve as proxies for shared flow, while heart rate cannot. However, these findings may not be generalizable to other populations or contexts due to the limitations of this study. Furthermore, the impact of balancing on shared flow was not significant in this study. Future research should improve data collection and analysis, test with diverse populations, and incorporate additional measures.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:EEMCS: Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science
Subject:02 science and culture in general, 54 computer science, 76 recreation, leisure, 77 psychology
Programme:Interaction Technology MSc (60030)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/95055
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