1. The Evolution f Leisure
Th E l ti of L i
Studies in the US
(Evolución d E di de Ocio in Los
(E l ió de Estudios d O i i L
Estados Unidos)
1910 -2010

2. Outline
Historical changes
Cultural context
Disciplinary influences
Contemporary trends
Social psychology of leisure
International collaboration

3. Historical changes
g
• Professional: from “parks and recreation”
parks recreation
to “leisure services”
• Parks and stewardship
• Re-creation of people
• Political economy and market forces
• Academic: toward respectability – “leisure
studies”

4. Cultural and academic context
• LS a product of public awareness and
political responsibility i iti ll b t th
liti l ibilit initially but then
rather quickly being driven by
economics.
i
• In colleges of education, health, and
forestry rather than h
f h h humanities & social l
science
• Tensions around purposes – undergrad –
prof prep; grad – theory & research

5. Disciplinary influences
• Sociological – Chicago school, Stebbins
g g ,
• Psychological – freedom, enjoyment and
p
pleasure ((Neulinger & Csikszentmihalyi)
g y)
▫ Developmental – play (Piaget, Sutton-Smith)
• Anthropological - play, games and festival
• Economic/political – public and private –
• Geography and Ecology - resource management
& tourism – contested space

6. • Educational sessions planned for 2011 Conference of
the National Recreation and Park Association in Atlanta
Citizen/Advocacy
Employee/Volunteer Management
Environmental/Stewardship
Healthy Lifestyles
Leadership/Management
Planning, Design, and Maintenance
g, g ,
Professional Development
Public Relations/Marketing
Recreation Programming
Revenue/ Customer Service
Sports

7. What´s left out?
• Sport
• Tourism
• Play

8. The journals – english language
• American – Journal of Leisure Research
Research,
Leisure Sciences, Therapeutic Recreation
Journal (others related to tourism and outdoor
resource management)
• Canadian – Society and Leisure Leisure
Leisure,
• British – Leisure Studies
• Australia/New Z – Annals of Leisure Research
Z. Research,
World Leisure

9. JLR and Leisure Sciences
• Isolated
• Meliorist
• Reflect field in “crisis” – no
collective identity; missing impt.
y; g p
social issues
• JLR – community bias
• LS – outdoor bias

10. Contemporary trends
p y
• Special issues of Journal of Leisure Research
social capital – ci ic engagement
civic engagement,
networking
•SSpecial i
i l issues of L i
f Leisure Sciences – active li i
S i ti living;
discrimination; nature based experience.
•SSocial justice theme
l h
• The social psychology of space/place
• Sophistication in methods
• Voluntourism

11. Contemporary trends (cont’)
(cont )
• Greater attention to experience
▫ E.g study of attention
• Attention to major social issues
▫ Climate change
▫ Discrimination and injsutice
▫ Illness & obesity
• Emergence of attention to technology
▫ negative – displacement (e.g. camping study)
▫ positive – new ways t l
iti to learn and relate
d l t

12. New Directions in Social
Psychology of Leisure
• General acceptance of SDT
• Recognition of multiple experiences of leisure
▫ e.g. savoring
• Recognition of negative aspects of leisure
▫ e.g compulsive passion
• Recognition of new connections with technology
• Post positivist accomodation of contextualism

13. Social Psychology and Leisure
• What social psychology has to say to leisure
studies
• What leisure studies has to say to social
psychology
• How leisure affords the self expression
self-expression
necessary for identity formation
• How leisure and personal expressiveness aid in
adjustment to important life events

14. SP Topics of Relevance to LS
• competition and aggression
• cooperation and pro-social behavior
• group dynamics and leadership
• motivation and social control
• personality
personalit and attitude

15. Situations and Traits (Buss)
Issue S>T T>S
context novel, formal familiar, in-
novel formal, familiar in
public formal, private
instructions detailed general, none
choice little or none considerable
response
p narrow broad

16. Leisure’s Relevance to
Social Psychology
• Understanding personality
• Understanding self-awareness
• Understanding intrinsic motivation and
subjective well being

17. Intrinsic motivation
• basis of play
• basis of flow
• basis of casual leisure
• basis of serious leisure
• basis of self e pression
self-expression

18. Self-Determination Continuum
Nonself-determined Self Determined
Extrinsic motivation Intrinsic motivation
external integrated
g intrinsic
regulation regulation regulation
introjected identified
regulation regulation
compliance,
compliance congruence,
congruence
external interest,
synthesis w/
rewards & enjoyment,
self
punishments inherent
satisfaction
self control, conscious
internal R&P valuing
Ryan-Deci (2000)

19. Self-
Intrinsic Determined
Autonomy
A E
Integrated X
T
Identified R
Competence I
Introjected N
S
I
External
E l C
Relatedness
Amotivation
A i i Non-Self-
N S lf
Determined
Self-determination Model - Adapted from Ryan & Deci, 2000

20. Personal Expressiveness
• “Activities are personally expressive to the
extent that they engage and serve to further
the development of one’s particular potentials
capacities and talents…[those] that are
integral to, or at least consistent with, one’s
purposes in living”
(Alan Waterman, 1990)

21. IV. isn t
IV It isn’t all about flow
• The dark side of flow
• Internalized extrinsic motivation
• O h “ i l” experiences
Other “optimal” i
▫ Experimentation and exploration
p p
▫ Relaxation and reflection
▫ Appreciation
▫ Savoring

22. Faces of Leisure

23. “Faces” of Leisure
Faces
•ffun, mirth, joyfulness
h f l
• relaxation
• intense engagement
• excitement
• appreciation
• reflection (cf. “savoring”)

24. Leisure as Appreciation
• “Leisure is ...an attitude of non-activity of
Leisure an non activity,
inward calm, of silence; it means not being
‘busy but letting things happen ” …“ Leisure is
busy, happen.
not the attitude of mind of those who actively
intervene,
intervene but of those who are open to
everything …of those who leave the reins loose
and who are free and easy themselves ”
themselves.
Josef Pieper

25. Ideal-Actual
Ideal Actual
Discrepancy
Harmonious
Passion
Positive
Life D
Lif Domain i
Outcomes
Obsessive
Passion
Actual-Ought
A lO h
Discrepancy
From: Stensend, F. (2008). The two faces of leisure activity engagement. Leisure Sciences,
30, 465-481.

26. Summary and Conclusion
• Leisure is a context
▫ For cultivation of
li i f
interest and
enjoyable
engagement
▫ For relaxation and
appreciation
▫ For narrative
reconstruction

27. International collaboration
• Where does your work fit in?
• What are the benefits of collaboration?
• Is language the only barrier?
▫ If so, how can it be overcome
▫ If not, what else and how can it be overcome
not