1. HISTORICAL CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF LEISURE

2. Aristotle’s Three Levels of Leisure
Amusement – at the base
Lowest form of leisure
Discouraged by philosophers
Recreation – in the middle
Lower form of leisure
Deemed acceptable
Contemplation – at the top
Highest form of leisure
Encouraged
Inquiry into the natural world
Contemplate the meaning of life

3. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Base – Physiological needs
Food, drink, etc…
Safety Needs
Security, Psychological safety
Belongingness and Love Needs
Affiliation, Acceptance, Affection
Esteem Needs
Competence, Approval, Recognition
Self-Actualization
Maslow believed that after fulfilling their basic physiological needs humans will move upward on the hierarchy and ultimately seek the full use and exploration of talents, capacities and potential. Which equals self actualization.

4. Flow Experience - Csikszentmihalyi
Challenge requiring skill
Merging of action and awareness
Clear goals
Concentration on task at hand
Sense of control
Loss of self-consciousness – mindfulness
Total emersion in activity
Transformation of time
Change in perception of time

5. CONTEMPORARY CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF LEISURE

6. Leisure as Time
Time based definitions of leisure appeared because of the transition to the modern organization of work.
The motivation to work was assumed to be the desire for wages received in exchange for surrendering control over one’s activities for a specified time at a specified place.
Leisure came to be defined as a time when one was not getting paid, away from work and in control of one’s undertakings

7. Leisure as an Activity
Leisure is defined as activity when pursued for its own sake and for enjoyment or fun.
One of the problems with the conceptualization of leisure as activity is that not all traditionally identified activities are leisure for every person.

8. Leisure as Psychological Experiences or State of Mind
Psychological definitions of leisure distinguish between leisure and non-leisure in 3 ways:
Leisure is freely chosen
Leisure is done for its own sake
Leisure allows the participant a sense of control over the outcome

9. Leisure as a Cultural Construct
All of the previous definitions of leisure separate leisure from other activities.
Today, the separation of leisure and work are not absolute due to changing work schedules and technology.

10. Acts can be broken down into two different types:
Expressive acts
Expressive acts are concerned with the process, (the journey not the destination) doing something that you enjoy that the outcome is less important
Instrumental Acts or Values
Instrumental acts are concerned with the outcomes (they are testable and measureable), these are typically acts that we should or must complete such as attending class, work or doing chores.
What kind of act do you think leisure interests are?

11. Leisure activities are more likely to be expressive acts, less concerned with the outcome than the process. These definitions can also help someone define whether something is a leisure interest or “work”

12. Play…what is it?
Play: Activities in which one engages freely and from which one derives personal satisfaction.
Other definitions imply a lack of formal organization that is implicit of play (know this).

13. Play continued
Play is universal across cultures and even across species.
Implications are that there is a biological purpose to develop kinesthetic awareness.
Studies have even found traces of a “play center” in the brain.
Play provides stability and a process of learning.

14. Factors that motivate play:
desire to belong
undergo new experiences
to achieve recognition
to express ones self

15. Interpretations of Play
Biological Interpretations of Play
The young play across species because they are impelled to play by certain biological traits.

16. Karl Groos (a swiss philosopher) theorized that play prepares the young for demands of life.
Ex. Long before a kitten captures a mouse, it practices the act by playing with a ball or wads of paper. Humans have a longer play dominated stage.

17. Psychological Interpretations of Play
Erikson and Piaget (theorist) believed that play is essential for the establishment of self and that certain types of play are critical to certain stages of development (especially for children)

18. Sociological Interpretations of Play
Joseph Lee: need to belong can be filled through play through “membership” in a group.
George Mead: believed that play is second only to language in the development of the social self

19. Cultural Interpretations of Play
Culture considers the relationship of play to the customs of a given society
Forms of play have permeated almost all human activities since the dawn of civilization and that play has helped humankind create society

20. Three things affect the cultural aspects of play: Quality of time Peer pressure Social norms Cultures define work and leisure differently; in the same way that some people view different activities as work while others view them as leisure, the same is true with different cultures

21. The structure and value of work will determine how a culture views leisure
This varies from country to country