RECL 1P03 Lesson 1 Notes
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Leisure is important to people and our society.
As individuals, we need some freedom to become and be ourselves.
We need to develop and maintain relationships with other persons on more than a "have-to" basis.
Studying leisure helps us manage our schedules, develop priorities, and seek full and rich lives.
Leisure is a major and growing sector of our economy.
Leisure is important when measured in terms of time invested, money spent, or values expressed.
We must understand what motivates people to participate in leisure activities-why do people choose to do one
activity over another or choose to do nothing?
We study leisure to understand its potential in meeting human needs.
leisure is a very multifaceted concept – it is experienced differently by people of different eras, cultures, races,
genders, etc.
leisure may be an essential ingredient towards
o building healthy communities
o preserving our natural landscapes
o promoting environmental integrity for the next generation
o designing successful therapeutic interventions for the chronically ill
The Seven Definitions of Leisure
1. The Classical View: Leisure as a State of Being:
o The ancient Greek conception of leisure is a way of life.
o Aristotle’s notion of leisure as the greatest good connected it with:
 freedom from the necessity of labour (being free from needing to work for life’s necessities);
 engaged in for its own sake (intrinsic pleasure);
 cultivation of the mind
 contemplation
 the search for truth (‘diagoge’)
 was necessary for virtue, ethical development, & politics/governance.
2. Leisure as Activity:
 this is the view that on our free time, outside of work and obligation, we engage in leisure activities.
 leisure is defined as non-work activity in which people engage during free time – apart from
obligations of work, family, and society
 Leisure is activity…for relaxation, diversion, broadening knowledge, spontaneous social participation,
and free exercise of creativity
 Many ‘leisure activities’ may not be ‘perceived’ as leisure by some but just another form of work and
obligation.
 Recreation and Leisure are not the same concept.
o In recreational pursuits we strive to replenish the energy we lose from the exertion we expel
at work or look for pleasurable stimulation that is absent from the often mundane and
arduous nature of work.
o Recreation is inherently an activity that occurs outside of work and other obligatory tasks
3. Leisure as Free Time:
 The free time view of leisure defines it as the proportion of time outside of time used for subsistence
(i.e., work) and time used for the basic requirements for existence (e.g., eating & sleeping).
 psychological aspects involving people’s perceptions may be important to understanding leisure,
which this definition of leisure does not consider.
4. Leisure as a Symbol of Social Class: Conspicuous Consumption/Leisure:
 leisure is a conspicuous (conscious and visible) display of wealth and social standing.
 This also involves the consumption of leisure goods that demonstrate wealth
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This view of leisure removes its intrinsic character as it is no longer seen as engagement for the sake
of participating in the activity itself but instead has a direct purpose.
 status did not automatically accrue to individuals who had wealth. Rather, status was obtained by
putting wealth on display. One way is by engaging in conspicuous leisure, which Veblen defined as
“non-productive consumption of time”. The idea is people have sufficient wealth to pursue activities
and develop skills that show they are exempt from undignified work.
o Conspicuous leisure required considerable effort.
 A second way people advertise their wealth was through conspicuous consumption. In this case
goods and services were displayed to deliberately show off one’s social position.
5. Leisure as a State of Mind: Psychological Experience:
 leisure can also be understood as an experience, psychological in nature, which is thus achieved by
meeting certain conditions.
 people’s experience of leisure was a combination of perceived freedom (in which one chose to
partake and felt free from obligation) and extrinsic (motivated by external reasons) or intrinsic
(motivated by a desire to engage in the experience itself) motivation.
 Research over the years has associated other psychological factors as being associated with the
leisure experience. These include: Positive emotions/moods; enjoyment; relaxation or arousal;
creative expression; flow (intensely absorbing); spirituality; and accomplishment.
6. Feminist Leisure:
 Many women were found not to experience leisure as understood in previous decades of thinking.
our understanding of free time as leisure applied much less to women. many women felt that free
time (whether in the home, during family activities, and vacations, and so on) were times of work
and obligation.
 Leisure as activity is also challenged by women interviewed in this wave of research. Much of the
‘leisure activities’ that they participated in were family activities which also placed women (often
mothers) in a role of obligation.
 Research by Kay (1998) also looked at the leisure of working mothers in time crunched households
determining that leisure was more available to the men of the household while women were
generally responsible for taking on the bulk of the domestic responsibilities.
 Feminist leisure also considers defining it as a meaningful experience.
7. Holistic Leisure
 The holistic view of leisure looks to eliminate the leisure/work dichotomy. Essentially, leisure can be
and should be experienced in all of life’s different contexts including work, education, and family.
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An Introduction to Play
o Play, similar to leisure, is a very broad concept that is tough to define.
o Play shares similar qualities to leisure (e.g., freedom from obligation and engaged in for its own sake)
but is also a different concept from leisure (e.g., always active, bound by rules).
o one of play’s most outstanding features is not needing to have a purpose.
o Some commonly used definitions of play give it these qualities:
 Intrinsic motivation (done for own sake – not motivated by external reasons)
 Free choice (free from obligation and external demand – voluntarily participated in)
 Suspension of reality (room to imagine an alternative self and reality)
 Positive effect (positive emotions)
 Process over product (the act is preferred over the result)
 Active (the player is engaged: exploration, experimentation, manipulation, interaction,
imagining)
 Bound by rules (direct play; but imposed, regulated, & changed based on players will)
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Internal locus of control (in control of own behaviours and outcomes – not controlled by outside
forces)
o Huizinga characterizes play as: being fun or absorbing; a voluntary activity characterized by freedom;
stepping out of ordinary life, secluded and limited, and creating order or being bound by rules.
o Several early theories of why we play were posed by several theorists many years ago:
 Surplus Energy Theory: People (and animals) play to use up excess energy left over after our
survival needs are met.
 Recreation Theory: This theory posits that play is meant to restore energy used in work – thus
used as respite. This theory places play as the opposite of work.
 Recapitulation Theory: Play is posed here as a means to expel primitive instincts that are
obsolete in the modern world.
 Practice Theory: Here play is posed as the means to which children practice skills that will be
essential in adult life within a safe environment.
o Modern theories of play are strengthened by their grounding in research and support from empirical
data:
 Psychoanalytic Theory: Psychoanalysts view play to exert control over one’s world, experiment,
make meaning and feel out different emotions.
 Cognitive Theory: Researchers approaching play from the cognitive theory approach assert that
play helps children:
 assimilate knowledge – putting acquired knowledge to use through play activities
(Piaget)
 problem solve – creatively find solutions to problems, test ideas, and develop skills in a
safe space (Bruner)
 create knowledge – play offers a suitable learning environment, a safe environment to
take risks, and an opportunity to interact with other skilled individuals.
Play and work are often viewed as polar opposites or contradictory. some in our society may see play as simply a
distraction from our work and productivity.
o However, we have been seeing a trend away from this attitude and examples of play recently being
integrated into the workplace.
o Some workplaces even go as far as instilling a culture of play.
 Some work tasks are being presented and engaged in a more playful way.
 Team building activities are being utilized more and more to increase social bonding, solidarity,
and trust while lessening the sense of hierarchy or unequal power that manifests within
workplaces.
o There are several benefits to integrating play into the workplace. These include:
 Decreased absenteeism, stress, and health care costs
 More productive employees
 More energized work environment
The use of play for therapeutic purposes has also gained attention in that play has been demonstrated as being
an effective tool for mediating chronic physical and mental health. When play is used for therapeutic purposes it
can promote enjoyment, playful behaviour and a range of psychological (e.g., flow), emotional, social, and
physical benefits.
During play children learn to socialize, express creativity, foster bonds, and transition from life at home to life in
school. Play is often associated as an effective context for learning for the following reasons:
o Players/learners are focused and actively engaged
o Taking ownership of learning opportunity – authentic learning experience
o Hands on learning linked to greater motivation to learn
There are several education-related benefits of play. These include
o motor development
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o social development
o language acquisition
o problem solving/creative thinking
o exploration of cause-and-effect
o cooperation skills in a social context
there is much more to play than just fun. According to play theorists, play is a very important act that we all
engage in and it’s not just for kids.
Psychoanalysts view play to exert control over one’s world, experiment, make meaning and feel out different
emotions. Cognitive theorists propose that play is a key part of human development where we assimilate new
information, learn to problem solve and make sense of the world around us.
Adults still play- consider “cosplay”