Leisure Needs


1908 McDougall proposed that people are
born with an instinct to play that motivates
their behavior.
Expressed Leisure Needs
–
Usually identified through a list of leisure
needs from which a respondent rates the
importance of that need
Levels of causality in Leisure
Behavior
Expressed
Leisure Needs
Perceived Freedom
And competence
Need for optimal
Arousal and incongruity
Biological Dispositions and
Early socialization experiences
So, what do we really know about
motivations?




Recreation Experience Preference Scale
(REP)
Paragraphs about Leisure (PAL)
On, and on, and on!!!
Iso-Ahola
–
Two basic motivational dimensions
»
Seeking and escaping
Seeking/Escaping


Based on Iso-Ahola’s model
Personal satisfactions are mainly
comprised of
–

Self-determination, sense of competence,
challenge, learning, exploration and
relaxation
Both seeking and escaping motives are
forms of intrinsic motivation
Seeking/escaping dimensions of
leisure motivation
Seeking
Personal Rewards
Seeking
Interpersonal Rewards
Escaping
Interpersonal
Environments
Escaping
Personal Environments
Psychological Antecedents:
Need for stimulation
Need for Autonym
Social Environment
(2)
Cognitive Appraisal
Of situational Risk
(1) Attraction:
Seeking and Coping with risk
Declarative and
Procedural Knowledge
Objective/Subjective Risk
Perceived Risk
Previewed Competence
Anticipation of Outcome
(3)
Decision making:
Approach/withdrawal
Positive Affect
Self-Expression
Centrality to Lifestyle
(5)
Intuitive-Reflective
Appraisal
Intense Task Involvement
Cognitive and Affective Arousal
Task Selection
Risk Engagement
(4)
Performance
Experience
Satisfaction

I can’t get no ,
satisfaction


Appraisal and Evaluation
Quality of Life
–
–
–
Morale,
Happiness
Satisfaction
»
With what?
Satisfaction

Happiness
–

Morale
–

Reflects a person’s more temporary affective feeling
of the present moment
More future-oriented optimism or pessimism with
peoples lives
Satisfaction
–
“an act of judgment, a comparison of what people
have to what they think they deserve, expect, or may
reasonably aspire to.
Satisfaction


A lot of satisfaction research focuses on
the specific event (recreation) and is not
necessarily tied to a leisure construct
(theory)
Consumer literature
–
–
Service Quality (ServQual)
Assesses how well an agency does what it
says it does.
Chapter 8





Pop Quiz
1. Think about a recreation activity that
you do or have done
2. When, where and with whom did you
start the activity
3. Who was the most influential person
on your leisure behavior
4. Why did your family participate in the
leisure behavior(s) that they did?
Play

Play:
–
–

Intrinsically motivated behavior
Freely chosen
So why do we play?
–
Practice?
» For later life
Play


Stages people go through
Autoshpere: (birth to 2 years)
–

Microsphere: (2 to 4)
–
–

The world of play that includes the body and
what is immediately around it.
Near environment
“the world of manageable toys”
During these two periods play is largely
solitary
Play

Macrosphere: (4 to 7)
–
–
–
–

Wider world of others (going beyond the self)
Parallel play
Associative play
Symbolic & practice play
7-12
–
Cooperative play
Self-Socialization



Seeking to become a greater part of the world
around them.
Children are “producers of their own
development”
How can this be facilitated (helped)
–
1. leisure opportunities
»
–
–
Cognitive development,
2. Enjoyable activities and personally expressive
activities
3. Social interaction
Changing patterns through
Childhood


Erikson defined life stages for children
Trust vs. mistrust (earliest stage)
–
–

Autonomy (1 to 3)
–


Will this person come back and give me food?
Will this person leave me in the dark?
Being able to say no
Initiative (3-4)
Industry (above 4)
–
–
Children begin to produce
“Age in instruction”
Leisure Orientations


Socialization “into” and “through” leisure
Socialization into leisure
–

“the process, by which children acquire
motives, attitudes, values, and skills that
affect their leisure choices, behavior and
experiences throughout their lives”
Socialization through leisure
–
Preparing children for their future social roles
and responsibilities
Leisure Influences

Agents of influence:
–

Those entities that influence ones leisure
behavior.
Professionalized into sports?
–
What do children value in sports?
» Younger

»
Fairness & Equality
Older

Winning
Leisure Influences

Family (parenting styles)
–
Authoritarian
» It’s my way or the highway
–
Laissez faire
»
–

Whatever!
Democratic/authoritative
The Harried Leisure Class
–
Linder
Leisure Influences

Children achieving flow (optimal
experiences)
–
–
–
–
–
Feeling of choice and control
Clarity of rules and structures
Recognition of the value of centering or
focusing attention
Encouragement of commitment to task
Creation of meaningful challenges.
Leisure Influences

How does culture influence the games that are
played?
–
Structured and obedient
»
–
Unpredictable
»
–
Games of strategy
Games of chance
Conflict-enculturation hypothesis:
»
Games and activities both prepare children for their life in
their culture and enable them to adjust and cope with conflict
and stress resulting from child-rearing practices that
essentially attempt to control and shape their lives.
Leisure Influences

Autotelic family context
–

A context where children learn to engage in activity
for its own sake
Peer influences on leisure
–
Relatedness is important for children
»

They want to belong to a social group
Play training?
–
Emphasizing the importance of play through
activities aimed at showing the benefits of play
»
Often for disadvantaged youth
Leisure Influences

Over programming children:
–

When we structure children's lives with so
much stuff that they cannot be kids.
Premature structuring
–
Making children performers before they are
ready
Media influences

Positive vs. negative effects
–
–
–
–
Glamorization of high adventure sports
Gotta have mentality
“Do the Dew”
“If you have this, you will be it!”
From childhood to adulthood



Less than 50% of adult leisure activities
are begun in childhood
We develop a sense of self (identity) that
may be different from our parents
Individuation:
–

Process of adolescents defining themselves as
unique and different from others
However, children linked leisure with
social interaction rather than being alone
From childhood to adulthood

Intensity of experience
–
–

Being at a loud party, loud music
Extremes with others confers a sense of
belonging
Deviation amplifying
–
–
“You are the gas and I am the matches”
Friends influence each other into doing things
they normally wouldn’t
From childhood to adulthood


About 80% of people who enjoy outdoor
activities in childhood actively enjoy
outdoor activities in adulthood.
Leisure Careers:
–
Enduring leisure pattern that develop into
lifelong interests and commitments
Leisure over the lifespan



You can’t teach an old dog new tricks
Do we continue to develop after
adolescence?
Influences on development?
–
–
–
Normative age-graded influences
Normative history-graded influences
Nonnormative life events
Leisure over the lifespan

Normative age-graded influences
–
–
–
Ontogenetic changes
Specific to ages (stage theories)
Predictable life events
»
»
»

High school
Proms etc.
Retirement
Normative history-graded influences
–
–
–
Significant historical events
Generation X
Flower children (60’s)
Leisure over the lifespan

Nonnormative life events
–
–
–
Divorce
Change in job
Disability
Changes in Leisure Participation

Does age affect leisure participation?
–
–
–
How so?
Are older folks likely to go skydiving?
Are young folks likely to go square dancing?
Leisure Repertoire (Iso-Ahola)
Leisure Repertoire
Birth
Death
Number of leisure activities available to
Or participated in by the individual
Childhood
Early Adulthood
Retirement
Late Adulthood
How do we study Leisure over the
lifespan?


Studying people
Cross Sectional studies
–
–
Studies that asses types and rates of
participation across different segments of
society,
Can be segmented (sectioned) by
»
Age, rage, social class, geographic location (etc)
How do we study Leisure over the
lifespan?

Longitudinal studies
–

Studies that asses types and rates of
participation among the same group of people
Cohorts
–
People that are grouped together based on
some “criteria”
»
»
Age is a common cohort
Education levels
Play

Play:
–
–

Intrinsically motivated behavior
Freely chosen
So why do we play?
–
Practice?
» For later life
Play


Stages people go through
Autoshpere: (birth to 2 years)
–

Microsphere: (2 to 4)
–
–

The world of play that includes the body and
what is immediately around it.
Near environment
“the world of manageable toys”
During these two periods play is largely
solitary
Play

Macrosphere: (4 to 7)
–
–
–
–

Wider world of others (going beyond the self)
Parallel play
Associative play
Symbolic & practice play
7-12
–
Cooperative play
Self-Socialization



Seeking to become a greater part of the world
around them.
Children are “producers of their own
development”
How can this be facilitated (helped)
–
1. leisure opportunities
»
–
–
Cognitive development,
2. Enjoyable activities and personally expressive
activities
3. Social interaction
Changing patterns through
Childhood


Erikson defined life stages for children
Trust vs. mistrust (earliest stage)
–
–

Autonomy (1 to 3)
–


Will this person come back and give me food?
Will this person leave me in the dark?
Being able to say no
Initiative (3-4)
Industry (above 4)
–
–
Children begin to produce
“Age in instruction”
Leisure Orientations


Socialization “into” and “through” leisure
Socialization into leisure
–

“the process, by which children acquire
motives, attitudes, values, and skills that
affect their leisure choices, behavior and
experiences throughout their lives”
Socialization through leisure
–
Preparing children for their future social roles
and responsibilities
Leisure Influences

Agents of influence:
–

Those entities that influence ones leisure
behavior.
Professionalized into sports?
–
What do children value in sports?
» Younger

»
Fairness & Equality
Older

Winning
Leisure Influences

Family (parenting styles)
–
Authoritarian
» It’s my way or the highway
–
Laissez faire
»
–

Whatever!
Democratic/authoritative
The Harried Leisure Class
–
Linder
Leisure Influences

Children achieving flow (optimal
experiences)
–
–
–
–
–
Feeling of choice and control
Clarity of rules and structures
Recognition of the value of centering or
focusing attention
Encouragement of commitment to task
Creation of meaningful challenges.
Leisure Influences

How does culture influence the games that are
played?
–
Structured and obedient
»
–
Unpredictable
»
–
Games of strategy
Games of chance
Conflict-enculturation hypothesis:
»
Games and activities both prepare children for their life in
their culture and enable them to adjust and cope with conflict
and stress resulting from child-rearing practices that
essentially attempt to control and shape their lives.
Leisure Influences

Autotelic family context
–

A context where children learn to engage in activity
for its own sake
Peer influences on leisure
–
Relatedness is important for children
»

They want to belong to a social group
Play training?
–
Emphasizing the importance of play through
activities aimed at showing the benefits of play
»
Often for disadvantaged youth
Leisure Influences

Over programming children:
–

When we structure children's lives with so
much stuff that they cannot be kids.
Premature structuring
–
Making children performers before they are
ready
Media influences

Positive vs. negative effects
–
–
–
–
Glamorization of high adventure sports
Gotta have mentality
“Do the Dew”
“If you have this, you will be it!”
From childhood to adulthood



Less than 50% of adult leisure activities
are begun in childhood
We develop a sense of self (identity) that
may be different from our parents
Individuation:
–

Process of adolescents defining themselves as
unique and different from others
However, children linked leisure with
social interaction rather than being alone
From childhood to adulthood

Intensity of experience
–
–

Being at a loud party, loud music
Extremes with others confers a sense of
belonging
Deviation amplifying
–
–
“You are the gas and I am the matches”
Friends influence each other into doing things
they normally wouldn’t
From childhood to adulthood


About 80% of people who enjoy outdoor
activities in childhood actively enjoy
outdoor activities in adulthood.
Leisure Careers:
–
Enduring leisure pattern that develop into
lifelong interests and commitments
Leisure over the lifespan



You can’t teach an old dog new tricks
Do we continue to develop after
adolescence?
Influences on development?
–
–
–
Normative age-graded influences
Normative history-graded influences
Nonnormative life events
Leisure over the lifespan

Normative age-graded influences
–
–
–
Ontogenetic changes
Specific to ages (stage theories)
Predictable life events
»
»
»

High school
Proms etc.
Retirement
Normative history-graded influences
–
–
–
Significant historical events
Generation X
Flower children (60’s)
Leisure over the lifespan

Nonnormative life events
–
–
–
Divorce
Change in job
Disability
Changes in Leisure Participation

Does age affect leisure participation?
–
–
–
How so?
Are older folks likely to go skydiving?
Are young folks likely to go square dancing?
Leisure Repertoire (Iso-Ahola)
Leisure Repertoire
Birth
Death
Number of leisure activities available to
Or participated in by the individual
Childhood
Early Adulthood
Retirement
Late Adulthood
How do we study Leisure over the
lifespan?


Studying people
Cross Sectional studies
–
–
Studies that asses types and rates of
participation across different segments of
society,
Can be segmented (sectioned) by
»
Age, rage, social class, geographic location (etc)
How do we study Leisure over the
lifespan?

Longitudinal studies
–

Studies that asses types and rates of
participation among the same group of people
Cohorts
–
People that are grouped together based on
some “criteria”
»
»
Age is a common cohort
Education levels
Different types of leisure behavior

Replacers (20%)
–

Quitters (25%)
–

Quit doing one activity and did not replace it with
another
Adders (16%)
–

Quit doing one activity that they had been doing for a
while and replace it with another one
Did not quit an activity but began a new one
Continuers (40%)
–
Neither quit nor added activities
Stages of Development


Life Span vs. Life course models
Life span models
–

Distinguish between stages based on
psychological issues or challenges faced by
individuals
Life course models
–
Emphasize role-related changes that occur in
contemporary society
Stages of Development
Retirement
60
40
Culmination of middle adulthood
Settling Down
Entering the
Adult World
20
0
Early Adult
Transition
Mid-life
Transition
Late Adult
Transition
Leisure and Aging
Activity Theory

–
People will be most happy and fulfilled in direct proportion
to how much activity they are able to maintain
Disengagement Theory

–
As the end of life draws near, people will voluntarily
disengage fro mothers and from their former patterns, and
societies withdrawal from them will leave them in peace
and happiness
Continuity Theory

–
Most successful aging is consistent with recognition of the
need to establish ego integrity (people need to belong and
have things to do that they feel are important)
Chapter 10
Psychological Benefits of Leisure
Benefit:

–
“a change that is viewed to be advantageous—an
improvement in condition, or a gain to an individual, a
group, to society, or to another entity”
For it to be a leisure benefit two things must occur

–
–
1. involvement in some form of leisure is responsible for
change
2. change must be an improvement over a previous state.
Negative impacts of Leisure?

Alcohol, Drug use
–

Pre coital/coital behavior
–


Alcoholism, drug dependency
Teen pregnancy
Depreciative behavior (tagging)
Is all “leisure” necessarily beneficial?
Leisure Benefits


When studying leisure benefits, leisure is
treated as a major input.
Can look at
–
–
–
Setting
Activity
Experience
Leisure Benefit Outcomes

When talking about benefits, you have to
address the outcome
Leisure
Inputs
Production Process
Outcomes
Valuation Process
Value or worth
Benefits
And costs
Outcomes

Psychological benefits
–
–


Self actualization
Stress relief
Economic benefits
Environmental outcomes
Psychological Benefit Theories

“Keeping Idle Hands Busy”
–
–
People are most happy when they are busy
Protestant Work Ethic
» Idleness was considered and enemy of the soul
–
–
Boredom has been studied extensively in leisure
research
What about keeping the idle mind busy?
» Recharge my batteries
» “get my head screwed on straight”
» How do most people do this?

Leisure
Psychological Benefit Theories


Psychological Hedonism: Pleasure-relaxationfun theories
Hedonism:
–

Psychological theory that states that people will
seek pleasure and avoid pain.
Pleasure-relaxation-fun
–
People seek fun and although these experiences are
relatively brief, they have a cumulative affect
Psychological Benefit Theories

Need-Compensation Theory
–
Leisure provides us a “benefit” we are not getting in
other aspects of life (particularly work)
Psychological Benefit Theories

Personal Growth Theories
–
–
–
Self-esteem
Self-actualization (Maslow stuff)
Growing belief that leisure must be more than
pleasurable, diversionary, or escape oriented?
» Meaning it must be more than just an escape or fun!

Idea of commitment, serious leisure, and flow
» Belief that those who have higher life satisfaction are
more involved in leisure behavior
» Also known as high investment activities
Psychological Benefit Theories

Personal Growth Theories
–
In other words
» “the more a person invests in the activities in which they
choose to participate, the more they get out of the
activity”
» Leisure satisfaction vs. job satisfaction
Psychological Benefit Theories

Identity Formation and Affirmation Theory
–
People identify themselves by their leisure activities
» Leisure can provide an opportunity to “experiment”
Psychological Benefit Theories

Identity Formation and Affirmation Theory
–
Leisure Identities
» Express and affirm individual talents and capabilities
» Provide some degree of social recognition
» Affirm central values and interests
–
Some examples of leisure identities?
» What about posers?
Psychological Benefit Theories

Buffer and Coping Theory
Negative Life
Events
Increased Life
Stress
Leisure
Buffer
Maintained
Worse
Physical and Mental Health
Psychological Benefit Theories

Activity Substitution Theory of Aging
–
–
–
–
As we get older, keeping active will help people
adjust successfully to aging
This can be done by substituting for activities that
one cannot or is unable to do
This “active” lifestyle adds to well being
(psychologically and physically)
Ullyssean adult
Psychological Benefit Theories

So what does it all mean?
–
–
Research suggests that there are some benefits from
leisure and sport participation (no kidding!)
The theories tend to overlap
CHAPTER 11
The Benefits of Leisure in Other
Domains of Life
Leisure as a Life Force
Can the activities that people do for leisure
help them enjoy their lives and deal with the
challenges that they face in other areas of
life?
 What do you think?

Leisure vs. Non-Leisure

Leisure is treated as the Dependent Variable
– Because it is the area of life that is least
constrained and more susceptible to other
demands of life. (School, Work, Relationships,
etc.)
The Good, The Bad, and…..

Positive Effects of Leisure on Work and
Family:
– Involvement in leisure can be a form of
resistance against role constraints, thus leading
to other changes in life. (think gender
stereotypes)
….The Ugly.

Negative Effects:
– Leisure involvement can constrain men and
women’s behavior in a variety of domains if
they reinforce traditional views of masculine
and femininity.
Leisure and Life Satisfaction
Life satisfaction is a popular measure of the
quality of life.
 Life satisfaction scales measure enduring
and stable beliefs and cognitions.
 Also looks at Global vs. Local Satisfaction
and everything in between.

Small but significant relationships have
been found between frequent leisure
participation and life satisfaction
 What do you think?

What Supports That?

Successful Aging & Life Satisfaction
– Leisure activity levels may be better predictors
of life satisfaction than health and income.
– Measures of leisure satisfaction are better
predictors of life satisfaction than actual
participation.
» The higher the leisure satisfaction = higher life
satisfaction.
» This link has been found to vary based on age,
gender, ethnicity, occupation, and social status.
The Case of Job Satisfaction

Assumption that the job indicates activity
selection, participation, and contacts.
Spillover and Compensation
Suggest that the nature of peoples’ work
directly influences their choice of leisure
activities.
 Spillover: Workers are thought to
participate in leisure activities that have
characteristics similar to their job related
activities and tasks.

Spillover & Compensation
Continued…
Compensation: Deprivations experienced at
work are made up for during leisure people will satisfy needs that they cannot
satisfy at work.
 There has been more support for spillover
than compensation. Which do you agree
with?

Leisure Promoting Job
Satisfaction
The early classical theories of recreation
and relaxation suggested that leisure is an
important element in determining work
satisfaction.
 Because of this many companies started to
promote recreational programs for
employees.

“Leisure Buffing and Coping”
Hypothesis
“When work settling rules and expectations
impede the satisfaction of important needs,
leisure can provide opportunities for people
to more readily meet those needs and affirm
who they are.” (Kelly and Shamir)
 A.K.A: to compensate for psychological
needs not met by work, achieve better life
balance, and feel better about their work.

Vacations. Do they promote job
satisfaction or not?
When workers find their vacations as highly
satisfying then the majority find greater job
satisfaction when they return.
 On the other hand job satisfaction decreased
when workers had a less than satisfying
vacations.

A Further Look at Vacations
36
35.5
35
34.5
34
Low Satis.
High Satis.
33.5
33
32.5
32
31.5
Prevacation
Postvacation
Time Measured
Job Loss
Through Retirement and Unemployment
 Leisure participation often changes as a
result of these life events
 The right type of leisure may help people
maintain their well being and cope or grow
with these transitions.

Job Loss

Problems that arise
– Loss of income
– Social isolation (friends and coworkers)
– Psychological losses (not contributing to society)

Research suggest that the retirement transition is
less traumatic and more satisfying among people
with higher perceived levels of health and
economic status; who have harmonious marriages
and social support from their spouses and families.
Job Loss

Warr(1983) Identified nine potentially negative features of
unemployment
– Financial anxiety
– Less variety in life due to reduced income and more time spent at
home
– Fewer goals or aims in life
– Reduced opportunity for making important decisions
– Reduced opportunities to exercise skills or expertise
– Increase in psychologically threatening activities such as
unsuccessful job searches
– Insecurity about the future
– Fewer social contacts
– Reduced social status
Job Loss

Kilpatrick and Trew(1985) identified four groups
on how unemployed people spent their “free” time
– Passive group – Spent most of their time watching TV
or doing nothing.
– Domestic group – Spent most of their time at home,
but unlike the first, assisted with household tasks.
– Social group – Spent much of their time with people
outside their immediate family
– Active group – not only spent more time on workrelated activities, but also engaged more frequently in
active leisure pursuits outside the home.
Family, Friends, and Significant Others.
“The central social space for the
development and expression of primary
relationships” – Kelly 1993
 Some types of leisure are generally assumed
to have positive outcomes for families.
However, family leisure may lead to
conflict and some family members may feel
obligated to participate.

Family, Friends, and Significant Others

The benefits for family leisure can be
divided into three major types
– Family stability
– Family interaction
– Family satisfaction
– (Orthner and Mancini 1991)
Family, Friends, and Significant Others

Family Stability
– “The Family that plays together stays together”
– It implies a continuity of interpersonal relationships in
the family.

Family Interaction
– Refers to communication, conflict, and the distribution
of household tasks and roles among family members.
– Although it is mostly seen to enhance these features,
family leisure can create conflict and destroy
communication
Family, Friends, and Significant Others

Family Satisfaction
– A consistent finding is that husbands and wives
who share leisure time together in joint
activities tend to be much more satisfied with
their marriages than those who do not.
– There tends to be a negative impact on marital
satisfaction of frequent independent, individual
activities by family members.