Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Csikszentmihalyi in 2010
Born	September 29, 1934 (1934-09-29) (age 82) Fiume, Kingdom of Italy (now Rijeka, Croatia)
Doctoral students	Keith Sawyer
Known for	Flow (psychology) autotelic activities

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (/ˈmiːhaɪ ˈtʃiːksɛntˈmiːhaɪ/, Hungarian: Csíkszentmihályi Mihály, pronounced [ˈt͡ʃiːksɛntmihaːji ˈmihaːj]; born 29 September 1934) is a Hungarian psychologist. He recognised and named the psychological concept of flow, a highly focused mental state. He is the Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Management at Claremont Graduate University. He is the former head of the department of psychology at the University of Chicago and of the department of sociology and anthropology at Lake Forest College.

Csikszentmihalyi is noted for his work in the study of happiness and creativity, but is best known as the architect of the notion of flow and for his years of research and writing on the topic. He is the author of many books and over 120 articles or book chapters. Martin Seligman, former president of the American Psychological Association, described Csikszentmihalyi as the world's leading researcher on positive psychology. Csikszentmihalyi once said: "Repression is not the way to virtue. When people restrain themselves out of fear, their lives are by necessity diminished. Only through freely chosen discipline can life be enjoyed and still kept within the bounds of reason." His works are influential and are widely cited.