Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1934–2021) was a Hungarian-American psychologist best known for developing the concept of “flow,” the state of deep absorption in an activity. He was born in Fiume (then in Italy; now Rijeka, Croatia) and later emigrated to the United States. Csikszentmihalyi taught at the University of Chicago and later served as a professor at Claremont Graduate University. His research helped shape positive psychology by focusing on creativity, motivation, and well-being. He reached a wide audience with *Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience* (1990) and subsequent books exploring how people find meaning and satisfaction in everyday life.