Measuring flow in gamification: Dispositional Flow Scale-2

•Psychometric properties of the DFS-2 are examined in gamification of exercise.•A good model fit for the original DFS-2 structure is found.•A respecification of the model is created to reach higher level of goodness-of-fit.•The data suggest a division of the components of flow into conditions and outcomes.•The study also shows which components of flow are salient in gamification.

This paper measures flow in the context of gamification and investigates the psychometric properties of the Dispositional Flow Scale-2 (DFS-2). We employ data gathered from users of an exercise gamification service (N = 200). The results show that the original DFS-2 factorial structure does result in a similar model fit as the original work. However, we also present a factorial respecification that satisfies more recent model fit thresholds. Beyond validating the original DFS-2 instrument in the context of gamification, the psychometric analysis and the respecifications suggest that the components of flow divide into highly correlated conditions of flow (which were also found to be more salient in the context of gamification: autotelic experience, balance of skill and challenge, control, clear goals, and feedback) and into possible outcomes (merging action-awareness, concentration, loss of sense of time, and loss of self-consciousness) from achieving flow.