Serious and Casual Leisure Flashcards
Serious leisure definition
The “systematic pursuit of an activity that participants
find so substantial and interesting that they embark on a ‘‘career’ centered on acquiring special skills, knowledge and experience”
Characteristics of Serious Leisure
Need to persevere over time, put in effort to progress
2. Availability of a leisure career*
3. Realization of personal benefits
4. Unique ethos (spirit/culture) and social world, identity
Leisure Career Definition
A long-term process of “acquiring and expressing a
combination of special skills, knowledge, and experience”
≠ “going pro”
Hobbyist
Interested in acquiring knowledge or skill for their own sake;
no true professional counter part
Example: Collecters
Amateur
Activities linked to professional counterparts
Pros are identified in economic rather than identity terms
Volunteer
Activity for the benefit of others
2. No/token pay (intrinsic motivation)
3. Can be highly skilled
Occupation devotee
Those for whom work and leisure blur together
Livelihood comes from self-enhancing form of work
Shares motivational and actualization potential with leisure
What is the value of serious leisure
Experiencing short-term stress may lead to increased long-term happiness
Fulfills a range of psychological needs
Competence
Connection
Autonomy
Casual Leisure Definition
Pleasurable activity requiring little/no skill to enjoy
Hedonic definition
We do it because it gives us pleasure, sensory stimulation
Short lived in duration, reward
No leisure career
Why is casual leisure important
Provides social outlet
Time to relax and recharge
Project Based Leisure
Short-term, reasonably complicated, occasional or one-shot free-
time undertaking
1. Requires planning, effort, skill, or knowledge (like serious leisure)
2. BUT never develops into a leisure career (like casual leisure
