Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Mihaly Robert Csikszentmihalyi (/ˈmiːhaɪ ˈtʃiːksɛntmiːˌhɑːjiː/ MEE-hy CHEEK-sent-mee-HAH-yee, Hungarian: Csíkszentmihályi Mihály Róbert, pronounced [ˈt͡ʃiːksɛntmihaːji ˈmihaːj] ⓘ; 29 September 1934 – 20 October 2021) was a Hungarian-American psychologist. He recognized and named the psychological concept of "flow", a highly focused mental state conducive to productivity.[1][2] He was the Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Management at Claremont Graduate University. Earlier, he served as the head of the department of psychology at the University of Chicago and of the department of sociology and anthropology at Lake Forest College.[3]
The native form of this personal name is Csíkszentmihályi Mihály Róbert. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
20 October 2021 (aged 87)
Hungarian
Psychologist, academic
2; including Christopher
Jacob W. Getzels
Early life[edit]
Mihaly Robert Csikszentmihalyi was born on 29 September 1934 in Fiume,[4] now known as Rijeka,[5] then part of the Kingdom of Italy. His family name derives from the village of Csíkszentmihály in Transylvania.[6] He was the third son of a career diplomat at the Hungarian Consulate in Fiume.[5][7] In 1944, when Csikszentmihalyi was ten years old, one of his two older half-brothers was killed in the Siege of Budapest, and the other, Moricz, was sent to labor camps in Siberia by the Soviets.[7] Decades later, Mihaly and Moricz were reunited in Budapest.[8]
His father was appointed Hungarian Ambassador to Italy shortly after the Second World War, moving the family to Rome.[7][9] When Communists took over Hungary in 1949, Csikszentmihalyi's father resigned rather than choosing to work for the regime. The Communist regime responded by expelling his father and stripping the family of their Hungarian citizenship.[7] To earn a living, his father opened a restaurant in Rome, and Csikszentmihalyi dropped out of school to help with the family income.[5][7] At this time, the young Csikszentmihalyi, then travelling in Switzerland, saw Carl Jung give a talk on the psychology of UFO sightings.[7]
Csikszentmihalyi immigrated to the United States at age 22, working nights to support himself while studying at the University of Chicago.[7] He received a B.A. in 1959 and a Ph.D. in 1965, both from the University of Chicago.[7][10] He then taught at Lake Forest College before becoming a professor at the University of Chicago in 1969.[7]
Personal life[edit]
Csikszentmihalyi married Isabella Selega in 1961.[27] He had two sons: Christopher Csíkszentmihályi, an artist and professor at Cornell University, and Mark Csikszentmihalyi, chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Berkeley.[28]
Csikszentmihalyi died on 20 October 2021 of cardiac arrest, at his home in Claremont, California, at the age of 87.[29][30]
Awards[edit]
In 2009, Csikszentmihalyi was awarded the Clifton Strengths Prize.[31] He received the Széchenyi Prize at a ceremony in Budapest in 2011.[32] He was awarded the Hungarian Order of Merit in 2014.[9] He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of both the National Academy of Education and the Academy of Leisure Sciences.[7]
Commemoration[edit]
On 29 September 2023, Csikszentmihalyi's 89th birthday was remembered with a Google Doodle.[33] The Just Dance character, Mihaly, is named after Csikszentmihalyi.[34]