Psychological Experience of Leisure - Essay Example

Psychological Experience of Leisure Reflect upon three instances in which you recently experienced leisure (the more diverse the situation the better). Your reflection should include the nature of the experience, as well as a discussion regarding any social influences which may have contributed directly and/ or indirectly to it. In addition you should consider to what extent personality and identity are factors in the context of the situation (i.e. social individual, risk, etc) as well as to the experience(s) itself. Introduction Since the time of the ancient Greek philosophers and the writings from the Middle Ages, thinkers have created new ideas about the nature of leisure and the idea of doing something for pleasure (Vaknic, 2006). However, leisure and the role of leisure in our day lives in terms of the psychological motivations and the elements which combine together to create a sense of leisure are only a recent development in the fields of psychology and sociology. There are instances where one person may find extreme relaxation while another may suffer extreme anxiety, for example, the idea of going to a classical music recital may appeal to some but may be considered torture by others (Caldwell, 1992). The definition of leisure is a complex one since there are a numbers of ways which accurately define what leisure is. In its broadest definition, it can be understood as time left after work is done as it is explained in contemporary terms by Roberts (1999). This does not include an application of this idea to those who are retired or those who have no employment to take up the majority of their time. Additionally, there can be situations where work itself becomes so absorbing and entertaining that it falls under the heading of Leisure (Haworth & Lewis, 2005). Therefore a personal definition of leisure is important and it can be said that a person intrinsically knows when they have experienced leisure as opposed to work that is mentally or physically draining. Additionally, a leisure activity may be influenced by guilt associated with indulgence and avoidance of work which might alter the nature of the experience as well as the quality (Bérubé, 2005). In fact, Haworth and Lewis (2005) make the point that research on leisure should be conducted on an experiential basis focusing on the positive dimensions of the leisure experience by including aspects of motivation, autonomy and personal enjoyment. Such an experience of leisure would also cover serious leisure as discussed by Stebbins (2004), who differentiates between the forces of work, leisure and serious leisure e.g. volunteering for a social organisation. In such cases the leisure activity would demand time and possibly monetary investment from the person seeking leisure. A certain amount of confidence, motivation and social skills would also be required and exercised in social volunteer work. Additionally, a person would make such leisure activity a part of their identity due to the investment made in the same (Iwasaki, 2005). However, both serious and non-serious attitudes towards leisure are required if a person wants to maximize their leisure gains. The differentiation made between the two is that non-serious leisure gives immediate rewards, requires little or no training and is relatively short lived. Serious leisure may require significant investments of time or money as well as training or special education for engaging in the activity but it is very rewarding in the long term (Stebbins, 2004). With these elements in mind, it can be said that leisure and the related relaxation which comes from indulging in leisure activities are more or less intrinsic (Godbey, 1999). At the same time, personal application of the activity can give an idea of what makes a person enjoy which activity to what level. Additionally, social influences and personality differences can also affect the quality and nature of the leisure activity. For this purpose, I plan to examine three different scenarios i.e. playing a computer game, reading a novel and taking a walk as leisure activities which I took part in recently and found to be quite relaxing. Elements in My Leisure Activities I found that all these activities were connected with the four aspects of leisure which were discussed by Barnett (2005) which assigns certain values to the leisure experience. The values are: Boredom Challenge Anxiety Awareness Along with these, I believe that guilt could also be a significant part of the leisure experience as discussed by Bérubé (2005). Therefore a discussion of the activities I took part in would be incomplete without an examination of the various aspects of leisure. Boredom This aspect is the most important one since not only it generates a desire for leisure activities it also kills the enjoyment being gathered from an activity once boredom sets in. Russell (1996) has suggested that boredom is a construct of the perception that a person has too little to do with too much time available to them. It has also been called the result of participation in activities which are too tightly directed leaving no room for deviance which makes them frustrating or repetitive (Barnett, 2005). There are certain ways in which boredom can be lowered, i.e. having a variety of activities as a part of the general leisure activity, lowering the restraints on leisure activity, becoming more aware of the value of leisure, having higher self motivation for leisure activity as well as lowering the work ethic or raising the leisure ethic. While I did not realise this at the time I was engaged in the leisure activities I can now confirm that these were the elements which brought about a feeling of boredom with the tasks I was engaged in (Trenberth, 2005). Once bored, I found it very difficult if not impossible to continue with the leisure activity. Challenge While simply the presence or even a hint of boredom can cause an activity to become tedious, without the presence or hint of challenge, a leisure activity will quickly become boring. Ewert & Hollenhorst (1989) report that individuals who seek out high risk activities and adventure are actively engaged in leisure activities while taking part in mountain climbing, kayaking on white water rapids, hang gliding etc. The challenge itself is a motivating factor which improves their well being and satisfaction with the activity (Iso-Ahola, 1989). As in most of the other things in life, challenge requires balance. I am all for lifestyle activities and becoming an active participant in outdoor situations but I do not like the challenge to overtake the idea of leisure. For me, being close to nature is as easily done by sitting on a park bench as it is done by climbing a steep rock face. However, as demonstrated by my playing a computer game, once the challenge is overcome, the task becomes repetitive and unless the game can be played at a higher level boredom sets in quickly. Then my mind starts wandering and a feeling of anxiety comes over me when I think about all the work which I have to do. Leisure Anxiety While the literature suggests that leisure anxiety takes place when a person does not know how to fulfil their leisure time (Barnett, 2005), I did not experience much of this aspect. Perhaps because I did not feel the need to plan out my leisure activities to such an extent as those who wish to fly in a hot air balloon or mountain climbers. In fact, it was only because of the paper that I actively recognized the times I was engaged in a leisure activity since most of the time I believe that my leisure happens without awareness. Guilt and the idea of engaging in leisure too much could also form a part of this anxiety although the construct could be changed to make guilt an independent part of leisure. Leisure Awareness This was confirmed by the associated literature which says that awareness of the self and awareness of being engaged in the leisure activity can actually decrease the amount of pleasure derived from it (Barnett, 2005). At the same time, the counter argument is presented to say that if an individual invests time and money into a leisure activity, they will realize that it was their decision to engage in the pursuit and therefore be more motivated to gain a richer experience (Ryan & Deci, 2000). From my own leisure activities, I form the opinion that having a high sense of awareness that the activity is a leisure activity will undermine the pleasure derived from it. That is why I like to be ‘lost in a film’ or ‘completely focused on the characters in a book’. My Leisure Experiences Historical evidence shows us that the meaning of work as well as that of play has changed over the course of history. Additionally, while it was commonly expected in the 1960s and 70s that advancements in technology would give us more leisure time, that development has not taken place and technology often has a negative impact on our leisure time (Roberts, 1999). The tools given to us by modern technology have made a lot of our work easier, yet at the same time, they find more applications in our work life than in our spare time. The Game However, the use of technology does not remain exclusively in the domain of work since I personally use computers to their full extent while I am playing a computer game. As far and as long as I can remember, I have enjoyed playing computer games of all kinds and have become relatively adept at using the mouse and keyboard to provide me with some relaxation when I need it. The types of games which I play range from action oriented games where the objective is to shoot and kill virtual enemies to puzzle solving adventures. I have even engaged in making the games a part of my social life since I also play online card games and online adventure games with my real world friends, two of whom were introduced to the gaming world by me. In fact, I can engage in gaming sessions which last a few hours or more depending on how much time I have on the weekends. Boredom does not set in if the game itself is interesting, the aspects of leisure mentioned in the literature all come across as connected and relevant when I applied them to my gaming activity. For instance, there are times when I start playing a certain game but due to the nature of the game or repetitive actions which the game requires, I may quit in the middle of the session and do something else. Often, a gaming session which bores me can be countered with a TV session of mindless channel surfing, which as discussed by Verghese (2006) can also be a source of relaxation. The last session which I had was particularly exciting since I was about to advance to a new level, the sole aim for me while playing the game was to get my character to the next level in the game to the point that I lost self-awareness. This was certainly something which had happened several times before, but since I was consciously examining my state I believe the experience was not as rich as it had been in the past. I was also anxious about the papers which I had to write therefore it was difficult to keep my mind focused on the game. While the challenge of the game was still there, distractions and constant thoughts about unfinished work made me realize that I could not continue. I think that it was about this time that leisure anxiety kicked in with some guilt over wasting times with games. Social influences could also be in effect here since I have been repeatedly told by people in authority that computers are not meant for playing games and that playing games is a waste of time. Given the social and recreational benefits of leisure, as well the new economic benefits which can be acquired from being an expert at computer games, it can be imagined that they have been proven wrong, but it still nags me that I am wasting time where it could be better spend elsewhere. The Story Book While getting back to work might have been an acceptable form of getting rid of the anxiety created by playing the game, I engaged in another leisure activity which I thought could be better than the game itself. I have read the set of famous novels written by Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) and seen the movies, and played the related video games based on the movies but the original set of novels is a part of my permanent book collection. I began to read the first part of the story, i.e. Fellowship of the Ring and soon drifted into the comfortable descriptions and the familiar characters from the book. As suggested by Hughes-Hassell, & Lutz (2006) this was one of the means of escape which I had for avoiding work and engaging in leisure. Here there was no challenge per se, the characters, the situations and the names were familiar to me and not having a challenge in fact helped the leisure activity. However, the thought of getting back to work kept gnawing at me and I believe that boredom soon crept into the leisure experience when I got a phone call from my friend who said she was coming over to visit. My mind was drawn out of the book and although I was still scanning the lines, I was fixated on her coming over so we could do something more fun in a social setting. The experience of leisure would certainly be highlighted if the social company taking part in the leisure activity is acceptable. The familiar knock on the door signified that she was here and the book automatically flew out of my hands as I opened the door and greeted her. She told me that she needed to get some shopping done and wanted to know if I could come along. Ignoring the need to finish my projects and knowing as well as expecting the pleasure of accompanying a friend to the grocery store, I decided to join her. Awareness was certainly a factor as suggested by Barnett (2005) because I was completely aware of being with her as a more enjoyable thing than reading a book or playing a computer game and certainly more pleasurable than doing research for a project or writing a paper. The Walk It is certainly true that time flies when you are having fun because the time we took to get to the store did not seem more than a few minutes while my watch told me that it had taken us a fifteen minute walk most of which was done over inclines that slowed our progress. However, since we were having our usual banter concerning work and classes as well as complaining to each other about the ‘miserable’ lives we had, the walk turned in to a leisure activity on its own. In fact, of all the three activities, this turned out to be the most fun due to the interactive nature of the conversation I was having with my friend. The quality of the leisure activity was such that I almost wished we had more time to walk and talk before we got to the store. Additionally, the sensory input which was coming from walking, breathing fresh air and looking at the people around us was very refreshing. I completely forgot about the work which was yet to be completed or the character I was playing in the game and the place where I left the novel. Nothing seemed important and there was no need to hurry for anything in the world. Eventually we got to the store and she brought out a list of things she wanted, this is where the experience turned negative since she is a rather strict shopper and instead of taking it as a leisure activity she takes it as a competitive sport where her objective is to find the best possible deal even if it means saving a small amount of money by investing a large amount of time and effort. Not to seem impolite, I went along with her as she roamed aisle after aisle looking for the best deal in the market. Needless to say, boredom suddenly reared its ugly head and I was getting distracted with all the other things which were on display rather than roam with her and look for the best value detergent. When she was done, we walked back to her place in relative silence and once she had deposited the shopping bags in her house she wanted to go to the library to finish some research she was doing. I also realised that there are several papers waiting for me on my hard disk so I too walked back home to work on unfinished business. After all is said and done, I completely agree with the idea that if play was done for work then it would soon become as tedious as work itself. Moderation seems to be the key to enjoy both work and play and achieve the work-life balance which is so important for the well being of human minds and bodies. Conclusion Veal (1987) has suggested that the time spent in non-work activities by a person during the time they are awake is greater than the work related activities. Clearly, if we are just going by the numbers, it is clear that a lot more research needs to be done concerning our leisure rather than the mountains of research conducted on personnel management and organisational behaviour. Haworth & Lewis (2005) give strong evidence as to how work satisfaction and overall satisfaction with life is directly connected to satisfaction with and availability of leisure time. They even go as far as to recommend government intervention to increase the leisure time available to people. With all these factors in mind, I am glad to say that my leisure activities were very satisfying over all but as is the case with all good things; they must come to an end. In conclusion, I find that a balance in all activities is necessary for us to enjoy and appreciate the various aspects of work and leisure which must be combined if we are to have a satisfactory life. Word Count: 3,435 Works Cited Barnett, L. 2005. Measuring the ABCs of Leisure Experience: Awareness, Boredom, Challenge, Distress. Leisure Sciences, 27(2), 131-155. Bérubé, M. 2005. Guilty to a Tee. Chronicle of Higher Education. 51(47), 5-6. Caldwell, L. et. al. (1992). 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London: Allen & Unwin Publishers. Verghese, J. 2006. To View or Not to View: Television and Mental Health. Southern Medical Journal. 99(3), 202-203. Read More