Social Interaction, Affect and Leisure

Abstract

This paper emphasizes two approaches to the study of leisure. First, evidence suggesting that social interaction is an important leisure activity is discussed. It is also suggested that social interaction is an important component of many other leisure activities and a central motivation for participation in, or satisfaction derived from, them, Second, it is suggested that individual attitudes are more important for understanding leisure behavior than traditional measures such as hours of participation, expenditures on activities or social class variables. Data are presented from one in-depth questionnaire study of 222 respondents and from one national probability sample of 1,297 respondents. The data consist of respondent ratings of their feelings about several types of leisure activities, including social interaction. The results strongly support the hypothesis that social interaction is an important part of leisure and illustrate the general value of attitude ratings for understanding leisure.